How Much Danger Is Net Neutrality In Now?
By Thom Hartmann A...
You need to know this....
The Electoral College voted yesterday, and despite a last minute push to get some electors to switch their votes, Donald Trump secured the minimum 270 votes he needs to win.
It's now official: he will be our next President.
Needless to say, some big, big changes are now on the way.
Obamacare is probably a goner, as is President Obama's executive action on immigration, his Clean Power Plan, and the Iran nuclear deal.
Basically all the progress the Obama administration has made over the past 8 years is now in danger - and so is the internet as we know it.
It doesn't get talked about on corporate mainstream media because the cable companies were violently opposed to it, but one of the single most important things the Obama administration did was its decision, through the FCC last February, to classify the internet as a public utility.
That decision was important because it preserved the principle of net neutrality, which bans internet service providers like Comcast from discriminating against web traffic they don't like.
Without net neutrality, Comcast or Verizon could force you to pay extra to stream videos hosted on a website owned by a rival company.
They could also slow down content from rival-owned websites to make those rival-owned websites unusable.
It's not hyperbole to say that net neutrality is the one thing standing between us and the nightmare scenario: a completely corporate-controlled internet.
The election of Donald Trump has now made that nightmare scenario a very real possibility.
Comments
#2
I'm going to thoroughly enjoy watching Trump's chumps whimper and whine when his many broken promises begin to negatively, inevitably impact their pathetic little lives and circumstances, which they were gullible enough to believe would somehow, magically improve under his infantile tutelage.
Mmm ... now, what did the fake-haired boy once bark out to his starry-eyed boneheads when they were beating up a protester? Oh yeah, "I'd like to punch 'em in the face." Yes, I would thoroughly enjoy that type of ironic justice. Ah, metaphorically of course ...
:)))))
#3
Revolution is the answer
However, it is doubtful whether the character of a modern American carries those qualities displayed by men during the American Revolutionary War circa 1766 thru 1783
Observably not
Nevertheless, there was an educated literal recognition of what they were up against and fighting for
None such appears to exist in this day
#4
I wonder if Las Vegas bookies are taking bets on how long Trump will remain in office.
Sometimes, I just want to kick Life square in the teeth.
#5
(twelter001 - #1)
"I think that it is going to take a minimum of two years before the idiots that have been assigned to do any of the changes will be able to figure out how the government even works much less propose changes to it. They might have made a lot of money in the private sector but government is a little different."
I see a President Trump solving that little problem in short order with one repeated phrase - two short words the viewing public knows and loves so well by now ...: "YOU'RE FIRED!!"
Do you think he can make it stick - here on Turtle Island ... or anywhere ...?
#6
200,000 years of evolution -- and Homo sapiens' most advanced societies are on the brink of nuclear war and anthropogenic climate disruption, both of which threaten to destroy most life on Earth.
Sol is a fourth-generation star, 4.6 billion years old in a universe 13.8 billion years old in a galaxy of 100 billion stars in a known universe of one to two trillion galaxies, very probably only one dimension of countless other dimensions and galaxies. Our universe is still very young, in its heyday of star formation, beginning from virtually nothing (a singularity) and lasting virtually forever (hundreds of trillions years more before it's hydrogen is expended).
We exist on a superbly balanced planet born out of the unimaginable violence of an accretion disk, a perfect globe that can only be described as a miraculous paradise, existing in the cold, dark expanses of a truly strange and chaotic yet beautifully symmetrical universe, of which we only comprehend about five percent, with little clue to what dark matter and dark energy is, two of the most profound mysteries driving the forces of nature.
According to the laws of physics, we are completely isolated in every way imaginable in the fabric of time and space -- utterly alone and on our own. Evolution is a harsh mistress; if a species cannot adapt to a changing environment, it goes extinct, never to return. 10,000 years of false religions and gods have not led to the so-called higher consciousness or spiritual enlightenment that we hoped and prayed would somehow alter the course of our self-imposed, inevitable destruction.
If (or when) we fail, we won't be missed. Earth is still relatively young, orbiting in the Goldilocks zone around a sun with five billion years of fuel left. The planet given enough time will recover its balance -- as it always has -- erasing most traces and stains of humanity, to once again become a paradise, where, perhaps, members of another species may evolve an intelligence to fully appreciate and enjoy their time in the sun.
We've had our spit of time -- a nanosecond of near eternity. It's too bad we are blowing it on the stupidity of petty, ego-driven thought whorls that lead nowhere. For the human spirit to defy this dynamic of base human nature is the only revolution that matters!
#7
First on the list of broken promises is he is not having Hillary arrested. How many of you that were chanting "lock her up" are getting buyers remorse? There will be many more.
#8
Yes! "Buyers remorse." Not yet, but soon. In the near future, Trump will have to reveal his true intentions. He promises cotton for all, but all you're going to get is lint. In a way, he's sealing the fate of the Republican Party. Too bad it's going to take four years.
#9
Democrats haven't been this upset since the Republicans took their slaves away.
When listening to radio and TV bobbleheads on both sides, remember their job is to divide and create fear. That's how they make money (profit), that dirty word they all love to hate.
Instead, how about a glass of wine, shot of Black Jack, or spark up a doobie and enjoy the holidays without constant media induced panic dominating your lives.
It is Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, Eid-al-Adha, Diwali, Winter Solstice, Bodhi Day, Yule, Zartusht-no-diso, and Fesivus season.
Personally, I am hoping for a new AR-10.
#10
Michael Moore issued some dire warnings about the Trump presidency. Could there possibly be another Sedition Act passed by Congress? The Sedition Act of 1918 made it illegal to say or do anything unpatriotic, including criticism of the government. Trump would love that.
#11
@Diane#9:
If you're going to insert rascism, at least try to stay historically relevant to our times. If you go too far back, people, attitudes, issues, circumstances, and party platforms shifted, evolved, and changed. Liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican identities were much different than those of today.
Perhaps a better place to begin that more accurately reflects modern attitudes would be Lyndon Johnson's Civil Rights Act. As a result, Southern white bigots abandoned the Democratic Party en masse and became Republicans. Nixon swooped in to take full advantage of this seismic shift, which was termed, "Nixon's Southern Strategy." Saint Reagan was just as crass.
Merry Christmas. Enjoy your AR-10. Although, I would still take the old, fully rock 'n roll M-16 service weapon from my Army days over most of the over-hyped commercial crap nowadays that are pushed onto civilians who like to play soldier.
#12
Tuned in while you were saying Dems wouldn't appoint Garland during recess. Before the election, I argued with many Busters in favor of the Dems and HRC. I am now disgusted with them for such weak-kneed attitudes. They won't acknowledge Crosscheck either. And it isn't like this stuff is altogether new - I've been following Palast's reporting on election integrity since 2001. If a nobody like me knows, how is it that they don't? And with his legacy at stake, with the fate of the planet at stake, both in terms of war and climate change, and the profoundly fraudulent nature of this election, and Trump's total lack of qualifications, I actually would go as far as to say that Obama would be justified in staging a counter-coup! But I know there is absolutely no way our enabler-in-chief will do so. With the death of democracy it is arguable that the Democratic Party is irrelevant.
#13
Turns out Mitch McConnell's gamble with Garland turned out to be a stroke of pure genius. Had Hillary not dropped the ball and lost the election it still gave the senate time to approve him if necessary.
#14
McConnell's gamble with Garland.
Gamble is the right word, and it's not a stroke of genius. Too often we hear that the Dems or Obama are playing chess; and that's the problem. The game is poker, and Obama and the Dems are terrible poker players; they are always falling for bluffs, tipping their hand, folding too soon, etc.
Dan, San Diego.
#15
Trump team not up to speed.
As someone stated above, it will take Trump and the gang time to get up to speed on how government works. The thing is things are not going to play out the way many expect. Trump and the gang might stumble and fall on a few things; but what is more likely is that the nutjobs in Congress, the lobbyists, groups like ALEC, and others who know the ropes; are going to seize the opportunity to get some of their wishlist implemented.
Dan, San Diego
#16
The original question for this blog is "How much danger is net neutrality in now?"
Our Republican Community of Westminster, MD decided several years ago to start its own Fiber Optic Network. We partnered with Ting, a Canadian company, who will provide us with 'Crazy Fast' internet speeds of 1,000G up and 1,000G down, no matter how many people are online. I'm not promoting Ting, there are other companies who will partner with communities to offer an alternative to Comcast, Verizon and others. We are a community of doer's (remember I said we are Republican's), not complainers. The first phase of the project is nearing completion. 1,000's of residents are enjoying 'Crazy Fast' internet for $89.00/month, business is $139.00/month. We are our own ISP.
#17
Net neutrality isn't the only scam.
Net neutrality has been getting some attention recently; but we have been massively shafted on something else, courtesy of the FCC. Way back in the day (the 70s,) there used to be monthly fees for cable boxes, and a fee for each box that you used. Then TVs and recorders were manufactured with cable-ready tuners and you no longer needed cable boxes unless you wanted premium channels or specialty packages. To again cash in on fees/pure profit; cable companies shifted some popular shows to channels beyond the tuner range of TVs and recorders. Over time, TVs and recorders were manufactured with tuners with more channels. Then cable went digital and you again had to have a cable box, until TVs and recorders were manufactured with digital tuners. The cable companies again denied of their fees/pure profit; have now encrypted cable signals so that you again need a cable box or adapter for each TV and recorder, with a monthly fee for each device. In essence you are paying a monthly fee for TV tuners that used to be and should be free!!! Talk about a scam, it's pure profit other than maybe the cost of adapters and cable boxes. And I don't buy the assertion that encryption of cable signals was necessary because cable was going all-digital; devices with digital tuners worked just fine until encryption. The next step is they are going to contrive some way to do away with the boxes and adapters and you'll have to use one of their DVRs to record anything --- at which point they will raise fees at will. The brakes need to be put on this scam.
Dan, San Diego
#18
Deepspace, I fully agree with your historical context. "Saint Reagan" also stooped to racist dog whistles with his numerous "strapping young buck" references. You know, Republicans are quick to criticize progressives for calling out the conservatives for their clear racist, anti-zionist, and just plain cowardice of the evil "other" noticeably unlike ourselves. But you know, it was none other than Ted Cruz who warned that "Political correctness will ruin our nation!" Well, calling out such ugly characteristics they embrace is simply pushing back against Political Correctness. They should just get over it!
#19
Yes. It is either the truth or the lie, and the truth needs to push back against the lie. It's too bad for so-called "conservatives" that the truth sounds liberal. And I never could figure out what they are "conserving" exactly, other than their own selfish power and greed at everyone else's expense.
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I think that it is going to take a minimum of two years before the idiots that have been assigned to do any of the changes will be able to figure out how the government even works much less propose changes to it. They might have made a lot of money in the private sector but government is a little different