Free Republic

We have two branches of government—Congress and the courts—expressing grave concerns with our agency becoming increasingly unmoored from our statutory authority. By seeking to regulate the Internet now, we exceed the authority Congress has given us, and justify those concerns. —FCC Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker[1] Should regulators in Washington, D.C., set the rules for the Internet? Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), thinks so. He has crafted a plan to impose so-called “net neutrality” rules on Internet service providers, setting an FCC vote on the proposal for next Tuesday.[2] Details of the plan are not yet known...

Las Vegas (AP) - Republicans said for months that if the Nevada Senate race was a referendum on Harry Reid, the unpopular Majority Leader would lose. Reid didn't let that happen. He adeptly painted opponent Sharron Angle as an extremist immediately after she won her primary -- and proceeded to make the contest as much about her awkward and unconventional statements as Reid's own troubles. Then he deployed his secret weapon: a powerful turnout machine that brought Democratic and Hispanic voters out to the polls in droves. Reid's relentless TV ad assault against Angle and his powerful get-out-the-vote effort were...

Two liberal Democrats launched into a verbal argument that turned physical on the floor of the House Thursday night during a debate over an appropriations earmark one was seeking, according to Roll Call. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., split apart from a heated conversation and began yelling at one another. “You’re out of line,” Waters shot while walking down toward the well. “You’re out of line,” Obey shot back before turning and walking away. But then Obey stopped, turned back toward Waters, and shouted: “I’m not going to approve that earmark!”