The New Internet?

[swizzlenuts]

Dear swizzlenuts6,

As you know, I almost never reach out to you personally with a request to get involved in a debate in the U.S. Congress. However, today I feel I must.

Right now, the telephone and cable companies in control of Internet access are trying to use their enormous political muscle to dramatically change the Internet. It might be hard to believe, but lawmakers in Washington are seriously debating whether consumers should be free to use the Internet as they want in the future.

Join me by clicking here -- http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/netneutrality -- to send a message to your representatives in Congress.

The phone and cable companies now control more than 95% of all Internet access. These large corporations are spending millions of dollars to promote legislation that would allow them to divide the Internet into a two-tiered system.

The top tier would be a "Pay-to-Play" high-speed toll-road restricted to only the largest companies that can afford to pay high fees for preferential access to the Net.

The bottom tier -- the slow lane -- would be what is left for everyone else. If the fast lane is the information "super-highway," the slow lane will operate more like a dirt road.

Today's Internet is an incredible open marketplace for goods, services, information and ideas. We can't give that up. A two-lane system will restrict innovation because start-ups and small companies -- the companies that can't afford the high fees -- will be unable to succeed, and we'll lose out on the jobs, creativity and inspiration that come with them.

The power belongs with Internet users, not the big phone and cable companies. Let's use that power to send as many messages as possible to our elected officials in Washington. Please join me by clicking here right now to send a message to your representatives in Congress before it is too late. You can make the difference.

Thank you for reading this note. I hope you'll make your voice heard today

What the fuck is this? I hope it doesn't happen.

 

[lizard]

the major telcos are really pimping it with Congress

 

[Erik]

fuck america

 

[Chromatose]

they've been blabbing about that for a while. Won't happen.

 

[swizzlenuts]

I know... pisses me off, I mean I spend 90% of my free time on the internets/listening to music, and if they change to that bullshit, I'll be kind of upset.

 

[Henrik Main]

fuck america

.

 

[skeptik]

I think it would be more accurate to say, Fuck the current American government.

 

[Krilons Resa]

naa, let's all stay aboard the ignorant "i hate america" hipster trend-bus. choo choo motherfuckers!!

 

[Krilons Resa]

look i dont hate any country that has produced big red chewing gum entirely but face it your entire political and legal system is utterly corrupt and fucked beyond the point of repair

yeah, its heading there. as is every other gubment.

 

[skeptik]

i completely understand now

 

[MFJ]

i hate to say it, but erik is RIGHT

 

[dill_the_devil]

Has Erik ever been called up as 'wrong' on this forum? Seriously, I don't recall anyone ever having convincingly disagreed with him on anything... Does everyone really agree with everything he says?

But yeah, he's right.

 

[dill_the_devil]

Link to thread plz - could do with shits and giggles.

 

[dill_the_devil]

And so modest, too.

 

[Demonspell]

they've been blabbing about that for a while. Won't happen.

Yes, this isn't the first time I've heard of this, I'm sure it will collapse like just about every other attempt to regulate the net, although it would be a convenient trigger for revolution...hails to the senator from Oregon who has vowed to block the corporate-friendly version of the bill.

 

[cthulufhtagn]

i hate to say it, but erik is RIGHT

erik is right and i say it all the time


what he's saying, not that he's right specifically























although i do, sometimes


agree with erik

























sometimes

naa, let's all stay aboard the ignorant "i hate america" hipster trend-bus. choo choo motherfuckers!!

ah yes, let's write off a rather sizeable (and perfectly legitimate) list of grievances as trendy hipster crap! no need for sincere reflection or change--problem solved! our descendants have my sympathies :Smug:

 

[Krilons Resa]

hey sherlock, Im more pointing towards the generalizations made and how people can't differentiate between the crooked-assed government and the actual people.

BLAME CAPITALISM.

 

[lizard]

yes, the markgugs/erik clashes are legendary, but then, markgugs clashing with almost anyone has an inherent entertainment value of 24657688679568

........................

The first major overhaul of telecommunications laws in a decade appears to be sinking in the quicksand of election-year politics.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), is racing to round up enough support for the measure to clear the 60-vote hurdle set by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) before granting the measure floor time. But the Alaska Republican is running into resistance in his own ranks -- including from GOPers locked in tough reelection races. . . .

Now, with several Senate Republicans eager to avoid controversial votes as they struggle to hang on to their seats in a difficult election climate, many are resisting Stevens' drive to push the measure to a vote before the November elections, said aides and lobbyists close to the issue.


The article singles out Santorum, DeWine, and Chafee as resisting efforts to push the bill to the floor before the elections. Not only are they hearing from constituents on this issue, they are raking in some serious cash from moneyed interests on both sides of the debate. They really don't want to have to vote on this before the election.

.........
now, that does not mean it can't come up for a vote again AFTER the election. Keep in mind, Senator Stevens is the guy who described the intarneweb as a "series of tubes."