All of the Internet Must Be Neutral & Easily Accessible

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UPDATE 6/22: The Senate Commerce Committee is taking up the Ted Stevens (R-AK) telecommunications bill, or otherwise known as "another way to screw up Americans who want a free internet"! The vote in the committee will be a close one. Here's an easy & free way to make an impact: Call 888-355-3588, the Capitol switchboard, and they will transfer you to any Senate or House office. Tell your state senators to vote against the Stevens bill and for the Snowe/Dorgan amendment (S. 2917). The Senators on the Commerce Committee especially need to hear from all of us. A phone call to your senator's office will record your "vote" on this important issue.
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I’ve been watching the World Cup [no, not those World Series that exclude most of the ..world] often by using my computer to live-stream the games. So, between the frequent matches, the heat and the cool beverages, I heard some noise about “tiered internet” and changing the way the internet works today. First, I noticed that the telecoms are pouring big bucks into buying the Republicans in Congress to “reform” the system. That’s a red flag to me. Then when the oligopolies talk about “improving your service” through competition, I certainly sit up and look carefully into the issue because instinctively I know they’re trying to fool us.

An Internet on a Need-to-Know Basis! Swell!
You know, I’m fond of my blogging. I also like reading several other blogs a day. Although I would have to shoot a heavy dose of Novocain through my brain before I read the many crappy blogs out there, yet, the quality isn’t much different than the so-called mainstream media! Faux News and the likes of Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, O’Reilly, et al, are actually much worse than a lone blogger who advocates any crazy idea. To repay O'Reilly the compliment he gave to Jon Stewart the other day, any reasonable person "must be stoned" to be able to sit through the crustacean* "logic" and incoherences of the most popular right wingnuts.

But, every surfer of the internet should be able to choose the content without interference by the telecoms. And, this is the bottom line. If the proposed legislation goes through Congress, then my blog may be downgraded to the speed of molasses due to the decision of an ISP or the telecom company that connects you to the internet. I would not like that, and I’m willing to bet that you wouldn’t either!

Better Defense Against the Telcos Needed!
I understand that if I want a DSL connection I have to pay more than a Dial-up one. Fine. But, what I do after I connect it’s my own business, and, I want to have the same speed/access to any site I want. I may buy a higher-octane gasoline for my car, but where I go with my car is my own business. It’s this simple. Can you imagine if Exxon-Mobil could tell you that once you bought their brand they would discourage you from visiting that ..liberal of a person down the street, or that a sensor/regulator would slow down your car once you turned on Liberty Lane?

The Internet today is a necessity. It can provide access to information and thus empowering people. It can give access to goods and services, employment opportunities, and connect people in ways not possible before. The fewer resources a person has the more important the internet has become. Having inexpensive and unrestricted access to it and through it to the world is of vital importance! Internet neutrality is a must!


Editor’s note: For more information on this issue, Save The Internet is a good place to start. Here's some contact numbers and a follow-up on the debate.

* I have to appologise. I got curious (you know, us liberals being inquisitive and all) so I looked into the crustacean intelligence and I'm afraid I made a mistake by comparing those right wingnuts idiots to the sea creatures.... Sorry. But, you have to admit, the former exhibit similar behavior to the latter: they crawl at the bottom and use their claws to attack anything in their vicinity!