Is it time to Democratize The Media to Fight Net Neutrality?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Jake Johnson reports on Common Dreams, "Study Shows Corporate Cable Networks Largely Ignoring FCC Plan to Kill Net Neutrality".
You might want to ask ABC about this - if you can figure out a way to get through to them, this is one of the problems with having corporations rather than elected officials; they don't have to take your call. In fact, if you show up with a sign in front of their building they can have you arrested if it's their property. ABC spent 25 seconds in the last week talking about net neutrality, CBS 2 minutes, NBC: zero.
NBC, of course, is owned by Comcast. Comcast, of course, the company that has been suing the FCC to end net neutrality. These guys, hey, they want their money, right? They want to be able to jack up your Internet service prices, they want to be able to sell your information. In order to get your information, they want to be able to listen in on, read, watch everything you do on the Internet, so they know what you buy at the stores. They know what you're talking to your friends about that you want for Christmas in your emails. They know what websites you're browsing.
So they can take that information and they can sell it to to companies that want to market to you, that want to influence you, that want to get your money.
You are the product, right? When you get a service free, you are the product.
Well, it goes even worse than that. You're going to pay these Internet Service Providers for access to the Internet. You're going to pay them about three times what average people in the rest of the developed world pay for Internet services. And you're going to get crappier Internet service than you get in most of the developed world.
It's slower, it's clunkier, the interface is clunkier and on top of that they want to be able to say, "oh, you want to visit verizonsucks.com?" I don't know if that's a real site or not, but just for example. "If you want to visit verizonsucks.com or comcastsucks.com? Can't do it, sorry, that website is not available, it looks like it doesn't exist on the Internet."
Why would that be? Well, it would be because the big Internet Service Providers are doing exactly what China is doing only China's not doing it to make money. China is doing it to maintain political power.
Well, there's a certain point in the United States where making money and wielding political power become the same thing and that's what these corporations are all about.
This is an existential threat to democracy.
Comments
#2
Tom , I respect your knowledge of politics and passion for progressive causes, but I did think you were a little short with the lady that was critical of Democrats for not being as tough as Republicans. She was upset because Al Franken had to resign, though Trump and Moore are still in office. Even if she is wrong and like you say Democrats need to always take the "high road", it's becoming even more apparent that Republicans don't reponse to 'reason'.
Earlier you had a guess talk about the 'possiblity' of Right Wing companies controlling and having access to voting machines. This brings to question, just how far they might go to win an election and stay in power.
#3
Justice is democratic Chicago
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Chicago_Woman_Who_Filmed_Brutal_Kidnappin...
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"Nothing about Donald Trump?" Where have you been? Whose idea was it to declare Obama an illigitimate prez because he wasn't born in the U.S.? Whose idea was it to run on a compaign to save Social Security, Medicare & Medicare, and once elected has completely flipped to finding a way to make Paul Ryan's wet dream come true? Who promised to "drain the swamp" from big corporations, then proceeded to appoint every head of Goldman Sachs to head his cabinet positions? Who said "I love all people -- rich or poor -- but in those particular positions, I just don't want a poor person," he said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "Does that make sense? If you insist, I'll do it -- but I like it better this way." Name one person he has appointed to anything that was not uber-rich.
That last one was, of course, your supposedly rich friend (don't know how rich because he's the only president since Nixon who would not release his tax records) Donald Trump. I hope you are super rich, because with Trump at the helm, this boat is going down fast. There won't be any jobs offered by the government to improve roads and bridges because that money has to float up to the billionaires so they will have even more money to hide overseas. And those tax cuts being given to the super wealthy - they get to keep all their tax loopholes and writeoffs, but in that new tax scam by your party, we the people lose every single one of our "deductibles." Is that really fair with you? "Leftie/socialists?" What do you think Jesus was, a fascist? You're disgustingly out of step, and I have to wonder if you aren't a millionaire yourself.