Net Neutrality - The End is the Beginning

[HeyYou]

Truth be told I cried the first time I picked up a bag of Hershey's candy labelled Made in Mexico. We can't even make our own flipping candy any more. Also my now two year-old and still unmet challenge is still on: find a single set of stainless steel kitchen measuring cups that are still made anywhere in the United States. After 45 years of bloodletting virtually nothing remains to save in our former country. We're already destroyed and the only question is how long it will take for us to acknowledge that reality and start to rebuild. Because nothing else remains to be done imo. A few visits from the IMF which are also inevitable will greatly speed the recognition process, along with our current president who continues redefining incompetence, mismanagement and arrogance every day. At this point he's got everyone from Rex Tillerson (who called him a moron) to AIPAC (due to the Jerusalem debacle, which we're still not sure was unintentional) looking at him like he's from Mars, while according to one news story Mike Pence faithfully issues at least 12 compliments to Mr. Trump every 16 minutes, or whatever the exact numbers were. How much lower can we go? We've elected a fascist king complete with a queen.

I would be REAL careful with questions like that...... You might get an answer. :)

 

Yeah, I used to see 'articles' on a fairly regular basis from American companies that used to produce really well-made stuff right here in the states, about how their products were still 'just as good', even though they were now made in China.... and of course, it was a blatant lie. I have two Revereware pots. One is 40 plus years old, that was made here in the states, the other is relatively recent, and made in China, and the difference between the two is night and day. The american made unit is of MUCH better materials, put together better, and shows less wear than the pot that is less than a tenth of its age. "same quality" my ..... erm.... nether region.

 

And that is just one example. There are literally millions of others.

 

I keep seeing folks advocating boycotting 'made in china' products, or anything at all not made right here at home.... problem is, NOTHING is made 'right here at home' any more. Even some foreign brand name cars have more american content in them than the american brands..... it's depressing. Almost 100% of our electronic products are made in China...... and now, even some of our Buicks are made in China..... What's really funny is, we DON'T do business with Cuba, because they are a communist country, with a poor human rights record. Yet here we are, with China, a communist country, with a poor human rights record..... that has 'most favored nation' status. Where in the hell is the sense in that? This is a country that is ideologically the polar opposite of the US, yet we are doing our best to boost their economy, making them a direct competitor on the global stage, and giving them the money to develop their military to be on par with ours. We still have the advantage in numbers, and a bit of a technological advantage, but, that simply isn't going to last. If the feces hits the rotary oscillating device in the south china sea, we are going to be at an EXTREME disadvantage, as they will be on their 'home court', so to speak, and we will have incredibly long supply lines. (which will be rather vulnerable to China's expanding submarine fleet.....) Trade with China is wrong on so many levels, it just stuns me it has gone this far.

 

Basically, in my opinion, this just boils down to our government bowing to the will of it's corporate masters, enabling them to make a fast buck, at the expense of our nations long-term security. But then, corporate america really couldn't care less about that......

[TheMastersSon]

Almost 100% of our electronic products are made in China...... and now, even some of our Buicks are made in China..... What's really funny is, we DON'T do business with Cuba, because they are a communist country, with a poor human rights record. Yet here we are, with China, a communist country, with a poor human rights record..... that has 'most favored nation' status. Where in the hell is the sense in that?

You keep looking for sense where none exists, except for multinational corporations which have no national loyalties or allegiance to any labor force. I think the major reason Nixon's "gate" remained and remains open, aside from simple human nature which is to enjoy money savings and artificially cheap products, is because a substantial number of Americans are either unable or unwilling to believe our own federal government (more specifically, our two-party political cartel) has sold us out permanently to foreign interests, including a regime of thugs called the PRC that amounts to not much more than one monolithic and colossal graft operation, with countless soldiers at every street corner holding automatic weapons. Our federal government is the same colossal graft operation but without the soldiers on our street corners, but imo if we get one more orchestrated terror attack of any significance our own country will have that covered too. We will both look and feel like what we are, a nation of Communist prostitutes ruled by fascism. In fact I'm told in prayer that martial law is in the script for us at the appointed time and just before the final end of civilization, caused by Donald Trump.

 

Thus the singular long-term and actual threat to our country is our own federal government. This is not a claim, they've already brought our country to the brinks of economic and moral ruin since 1970. Not North Korea, Iran, Syria, China, Cuba or any other foreign country. Nobody compelled Nixon to send secret and illegal U.S. enyoys to Beijing to sellout our country, which is what started not only our economic collapse but those of most other free market capitalist and socialist countries around the world.

Edited December 31, 2017 by TheMastersSon

[TheMastersSon]

A friend has a theory about this FCC decision that I hope is true. As part of Comcast's purchase contract for NBC they are obligated to continue net neutrality until September of this year. A few cable providers have much longer net neutrality obligations (e.g. Charter's isn't up until 2025 etc). My friend is saying our FCC made an intentionally horrible and incorrect decision to force action and remedy (and permanent protection of our rights etc) from Congress, by this September date. In other words they just did what needed to be done to get the inevitable accomplished. In which case I owe Mr. Pai a very long letter of apology for my first letter to him. :D

 

We'll know in a few weeks if this is just planned evolution or the greatest single implementation of federal fascism in U.S. history. Congress has 60 days from publication of this new rule in our Federal Register to reverse it entirely with a single and simple majority vote. If that window closes without this specific action and nothing short of it I dread the results. Any exceptions for net neutrality now will directly translate into compromised eventual protected rights later, and it's likely these same exceptions will be either tough or next to impossible to remove at any point in the future. So this FCC decision must be reversed both entirely and permanently.

 

As I said before, the internet has always been, still is and can only be a two-way communications network, not a one-way cable/satellite TV network. Last century's methods are incompatible with this century's new technology, it's true from forced advertising to extra-cost programming "packages" from cable TV providers, that do nothing whatsoever except remove the same artificial restrictions that were installed by the providers in the first place. Etc. The infinite greed model for revenue that worked for cable TV companies for almost 40 years is mutually exclusive with net neutrality, it can only work on an internet that's been artificially limited and restricted, the same as our cable TV network. To do this to the internet is whatever is beyond ridiculous. It's the forced and artificial reduction of reach and bandwidth, for no reason whatsoever other than corporate extortion for extra money where none is due.

Edited January 3, 2018 by TheMastersSon

[HeyYou]

A friend has a theory about this FCC decision that I hope is true. As part of Comcast's purchase contract for NBC they are obligated to continue net neutrality until September of this year. A few cable providers have much longer net neutrality obligations (e.g. Charter's isn't up until 2025 etc). My friend is saying our FCC made an intentionally horrible and incorrect decision to force action and remedy (and permanent protection of our rights etc) from Congress, by this September date. In other words they just did what needed to be done to get the inevitable accomplished. In which case I owe Mr. Pai a very long letter of apology for my first letter to him. :D

 

We'll know in a few weeks if this is just planned evolution or the greatest single implementation of federal fascism in U.S. history. Congress has 60 days from publication of this new rule in our Federal Register to reverse it entirely with a single and simple majority vote. If that window closes without this specific action and nothing short of it I dread the results. Any exceptions for net neutrality now will directly translate into compromised eventual protected rights later, and it's likely these same exceptions will be either tough or next to impossible to remove at any point in the future. So this FCC decision must be reversed both entirely and permanently.

 

As I said before, the internet has always been, still is and can only be a two-way communications network, not a one-way cable/satellite TV network. Last century's methods are incompatible with this century's new technology, it's true from forced advertising to extra-cost programming "packages" from cable TV providers, that do nothing whatsoever except remove the same artificial restrictions that were installed by the providers in the first place. Etc. The infinite greed model for revenue that worked for cable TV companies for almost 40 years is mutually exclusive with net neutrality, it can only work on an internet that's been artificially limited and restricted, the same as our cable TV network. To do this to the internet is whatever is beyond ridiculous. It's the forced and artificial reduction of reach and bandwidth, for no reason whatsoever other than corporate extortion for extra money where none is due.

Interesting premise. I hope your friend is correct.

[TheMastersSon]

The end really is the beginning:

 

http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180103-senator-wiener-introduce-net-neutrality-legislation-today-california-legislature

 

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB460

 

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/01/california-introduces-its-own-bill-protect-net-neutrality

 

https://www.fastcompany.com/40510095/snubbing-fcc-states-are-writing-their-own-net-neutrality-laws

 

IMO the third line item in the first link will be the one that winds up protecting our net neutrality:

 

"Require net neutrality as part of cable franchise agreements, as a condition to using the public right-of-way for internet infrastructure"

 

It's one of the two main reasons this campaign to convert the internet into just an alternate delivery network for cable TV was doomed from the start. Through previously passed legislation the American people have already paid for a high-speed internet for our entire country, and large portions of this network infrastructure is publicly owned and/or regulated. And by publicly I mean by our states and people, NOT our federal government. Our courts have properly ruled that the feds have no authority to stop states from implementing their own utility protections, in this case the only plausible reason not to implement these protections is to keep last century's cable TV industry artificially alive.

Edited April 23, 2018 by TheMastersSon

[TheMastersSon]

The CA bill is SB460 and it has cleared its final Senate committee:

 

http://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB460

 

This legislation and a host of others from NY to WA and OR are why I stopped updating this topic. Good job, fake FCC. Welcome to America. We don't abide fascism here, we outlaw it, and whenever no other option is left to us we burn it to the ground.

[TheMastersSon]

Latest word from Congress is that "they" are one vote short of reversing Pai's decision in the Senate, and even further from reversal in our House -- against the will of 93% of the American people. Thus our own federal government is now, officially, and imo even primarily a fascist traitor to and active enemy of our Constitution, and I will continue to pray daily and fervently for its forced replacement. I'm not sure why I'm so astonished by this inaction, this is the exact same group of human garbage that has been selling their own childrens' economic and political futures to the PRC for the last half century. Selling our First Amendment, privacy and other constitutional rights to Disney, Comcast and Rupert Murdoch must be second nature to "them". At this point I am absolutely convinced that our federal government is entirely collapsed and simply awaits the inevitable popular march to replace it. A la the USSR in 1992. "They" have just proven their inability or unwillingness (doesn't matter which) to perform even their most basic and essential duty, namely to defend and protect our Constitution. Are the people now supposed to appeal to this same industry-contaminated FCC that has thumbed their noses at 93% of the people who pay their salaries and provide their offices?

 

IMO the real doo-doo will hit the fan if our federal courts decide to defend this unprecedented fascism, as our own federal employees usurp control of our own utility traffic from the states and people. Beyond pathetic.

Edited February 10, 2018 by TheMastersSon

[TheMastersSon]

This suit should be interesting imo:

 

https://vimeo.com/blog/post/vimeo-sues-fcc-over-net-neutrality-repeal?&utm_source=email&utm_medium=blog-blogdigest-201506&utm_campaign=28949

 

Especially that second charge. Our feds are trying to usurp control of the same internet traffic that the American people are and will remain legally liable for. In addition to usurp the right of states and the people to implement net neutrality laws etc. Fascism does not get any purer and I pray for its end ASAP.

Edited March 5, 2018 by TheMastersSon

[TheMastersSon]

Congress has until April 22nd to reverse our fake FCC's decision with a simple majority vote. If it doesn't happen, and it's looking like it won't, 22 state attorneys general will be demanding remedy in our courts from inexorable and infinite rights predation for internet traffic from both our own government and private industry. My worst fear is that this wholesale collapse of Congress has extended to our federal courts, and the latter chooses to justify this self-serving, unprecedented and catastrophic imposed fascism. If that happens please watch as trickle-down economics instantly morphs into burn-down economics. It's happened before in our country (e.g. L.A. Times, 1910) and it will with absolute certainly imo happen again if no other option remains for the defense of our constitutional rights. I refuse to believe our courts don't already know this better than anyone else.

 

https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/22/23-attorneys-general-challenge-fcc-net-neutrality-repeal/

Edited March 31, 2018 by TheMastersSon

[TheMastersSon]

Gotta wonder how much progress Google have made in trying to buy off 23 state AG. Not much methinks. We will know next week. In the meantime Trump and the current Republican Party leadership in our Congress, whomever or whatever that might be, are hereby officially welcomed this day and into our history books for ever more as proven fascist traitor destroyers and enemies of the U.S. Constitution.

 

Or rather delusional attempted destroyers. I still think my friend has the correct answer to this utter nonsense: Pai's decision was simply the required kick in the pants to get our states and/or Congress to do anything on this issue, which transcends political parties and partisanship. Very shortly, at least in my state, internet traffic will be permanently protected with the same net neutrality protections that were outrageously stripped by Trump's intentionally corrupted and thus fake FCC. Our inherent rights for this traffic will enjoy, forever, the exact same protections enjoyed by our landline telephone, cellular, postal mail and all other utility traffic in our country. So long-term I think thank-yous will be in order for Mr. Pai. Still, the history books have already recorded him as the one who claimed the American people's best interest was served by his decision, the same books have also recorded our president as the one who not only claimed likewise but specifically facilitated this intentional treason. And finally the books will note that a corrupted and as of today entirely dysfunctional Republican leadership in Congress was unable to muster even a simple majority to undo and remedy the most outrageous act of imposed federal fascism in U.S. history.

 

https://speedmatters.org/news/ca-net-neutrality-bill-passes-out-of-committee

 

Also I wanted to bump this page from my Google topic, because long-term imo, the conflict of interest that caused this corrupted decision, namely allowing last century's and now almost entirely obsolete cable TV and media establishments to also be our internet providers, is fundamental, inherent and will never be solved as long as this practice is allowed at all:

 

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/6159978-google/page-9

Edited April 22, 2018 by TheMastersSon