“House Speaker John A. Boehner lashed out against efforts to regulate Internet traffic before an audience of evangelical Christian media leaders and pointedly responded to President Obama by comparing the challenge of the burgeoning national debt to the Sputnik-era space race,” Mark A. Kellner reports for The Washington Times.
“In a speech to religious broadcasters that received a sustained ovation at his conclusion, he said free expression is under attack by a power structure in Washington populated with regulators who have never set foot inside a radio station or a television studio,” Kellner reports. “‘We see this threat in how the FCC is creeping further into the free market by trying to regulate the Internet,’ Mr. Boehner said. ‘The last thing we need, in my view, is the FCC serving as Internet traffic controller, and potentially running roughshod over local broadcasters who have been serving their communities with free content for decades.'”
Kellner reports, “But, the Ohio Republican warned, one threat ‘dwarfs others in terms of the danger it poses to freedom and our children’s future… You may recall President Obama, in his State of the Union address, talking about a ‘Sputnik moment,’ the moment that shocks our generation into getting serious. In my view, America’s ‘Sputnik moment’ is our shocking national debt.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Related articles:
House passes amendment to block funds for FCC ‘Net Neutrality’ order – February 17, 2011
Rasmussen: Just 21% of likely U.S. voters want FCC to regulate Internet – December 28, 2010
FCC cites Android ‘openness’ as reason for neutered ‘Net Neutrality’ – December 22, 2010
U.S. FCC approves so-called ‘net-neutrality’ regulations – December 21, 2010
Tim Lee on ‘network neutrality’: Libertarian computer geeks should forge a third way – December 16, 2010
Google and Verizon propose ‘Net Neutrality’ rules, but exempt wireless’ – August 9, 2010
Big win for Comcast as US court rules against FCC on authority to impose ‘Net Neutrality’ – April 6, 2010
Agreed. Let’s keep the focus here on the evolving Mac environment. There’s other more suitable forums for political ranting, moronic political comments, and chest thumping.
Net Neutrality sounds good but the bottom line is the government does not need to be, nor should it be, involved. It will just lead to more taxes.
Rule of thumb: less government, the better. I would like to see the free market be brought back.
BTW, anybody who blames the free market for their problems ought to first explain where the free market is. It no longer exists. Governments regulate just about everything now. So when people blame Wall Street or the “free market” they don’t know what they are talking about cuz there’s no such thing anymore!!!
“..too bad Repubs weren’t worried about the national debt during the years when Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 were adding billions to it. ”
Sadly, the American people wasn’t very concerned either! Face it. The citizens of this nation have been asleep for decades. They are as much to blame for this mess as the incompetent politicians they send to Washington.
The citizens aren’t asleep. Bubba is completely invested in his willful ignorance, doesn’t understand logical argument, and buys the crap Beck, Limbaugh, et al, spew to feed his fear of ‘the other’ who is to blame for his poor lot in life. That way Bubba doesn’t have to look in the mirror to see why he’s responsible for his own state or how the corporate oligarchy is exploiting his mindlessness; it’s all them librals in the gubmint. The Russians used to do keep the masses in line with cheap alcohol, we do it with Caribou Barbie’s fear mongering and lying.
Fear of ‘the other’ is a pillar of PROPAGANDA. You kids really need to read about how ‘information’ is used in a propagandist society for nefarious ends. Here’s a start:
<a href="[TEXT OF LINK]” target=”_blank”>Propaganda
While screaming bloody murder at one side of the dimwitted 1 dimensional political spectrum, don’t forget to look behind you at the propaganda flowing from the other side of the dimwitted 1 dimensional political spectrum.
Also keep in mind that when a society is reduced to full scale distortion of information in order to reach its goals, the goals have also become distorted, resulting in both sides climbing what amounts to a mountain of SHITE, with actual truth buried far below.
That’s not good. Propaganda stinks.
error:error apologies and correction of your reading assignment:
Propaganda
The shocking national debt created by Republicans and their wars? Yeah, it’s time you dealt with those Republicans.
“evangelical Christian media leaders”
Almost everything that’s wrong with the USA can be summed up by that phrase.
Almost everything wrong with you can be summed up in your response.
Back atcha, little guy!
Sadly, I’m with you His Shadow. The Christian community has been played like sheep for decades by psychopathic criminals who have used them to damage the USA to the point of our current ongoing depression. All they had to do was play on the fears, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) of the Christian community, saying the right words to get them goose stepping in line with the “Crazies” (Ronald Reagan’s term for them) agenda. What we have right now is the result. Congratulations Crazies. So long Christian ideals in America.
Of course Boehner hates net neutrality…. it favors consumers over corporations and Republicans have taken a LOT of $$$ for the corporate world.
And you anti-government types need to get your heads out of your asses.
Here are some products the atrocity of government regulation are stopping business from shipping.
Food that doesn’t have poison in it.
Vegetables that don’t have shit in them.
Vehicles that don’t burst open like piñatas and throw passengers all over the road.
Kids toys that aren’t made of lead.
Baby clothes that don’t burn like flash paper.
And the list goes on.
If you are incapable of grasping this, let’s spell it out.
The reason regulation exists is because left to their own devices, most major manufacturers will ship inferior products that injure, maim and kill. Do you have to be reminded of the trillion dollar industries that single handedly melted down your economy? Was it that long ago that you forget Enron? Why do you think “pro business” politicians are so prone to taking away the rights of workers?
Yes, exactly. Look at what is happening in communities where the energy industry is extracting gas by fracking – people are being poisoned and earthquakes being generated. These corporations aren’t going to stop doing whatever makes money unless they are forced to – by government regulation.
I blame Thatcher.
Why do people make “Net Neutrality” so complicated?
It is simple. Net Neutrality means every bit is treated like every other bit. It’s neutral. Period.
If the path goes like this
A -> B
where A is the source of the bits and B is paying for the service then B is the *only* entity that can say what can be done differently to the bits B receives. A can decide to have the pipe or not. It can be a source or not. A negotiates a service with B that B chooses. If A is just putting the bits out there it cannot treat the bits going to B any differently than if it sending bits to X, Y or Z unless it negotiates that with B and B agrees.
If the path goes like this
A -> B -> C -> D -> E
and E pays for the service to D (and sometimes to A) (and part of that money goes from D to C, and part of C’s money goes to B, etc.) then E is the only entity can say what can be done differently to the bits along the path to it. Elements B, C and D are *neutral* to all the bits except as explicitly directed by E who is paying the bill. Again, A can decide to be a source or not.
If the path goes like this
A -> B -> C -> D -> F
(note last element is “F” as opposed to “E”) again, B, C and D are just neutral pipes. They don’t get to choose what bits get priority or any other differentiating factor for those bits that are received by F. F gets to choose its service. B, C and D cannot treat any data going to F any differently than the data going to E unless F says so. Similarly, A gets to chose to be a source or not. It cannot treat its service to F any differently than its service to E unless F and E themselves choose different service plans and agree to them with A. Don’t want to be a source on the ‘net, then just don’t do it.
Anything else is not “Net Neutrality”. Any other description of this is pure obfuscation.
Doing net neutrality — and enforcing net neutrality — per the description here stops throttling except as authorized by the end user. Doing net neutrality as described here eliminates any argument over municipal systems (the end user gets to choose what system he/she gets to purchase from, no other discussion allowed).
This is the closest thing possible to true neutrality. The ‘net itself is 100% neutral to the bits. No prioritization the providers of the pipes, no behind the scenes shuffling.
Want a free market? Make the ‘net 100% neutral. Any start up or entrenched ISP or carrier can be elements A, B, C or D.
Want to stop illegal traffic? Prosecute those that send or receive that illegal traffic. Don’t make the “bit pipe” do it for you. It won’t work.
OK, I’m done with my tirade.
In case logic isn’t your strong suit, let’s try a net analogy.
Governments regulate sewage treatment, essentially guaranteeing a system of sewage neutrality. Now, let’s assume corporations were given unfettered control and decided to throttle the flow from certain neighbourhoods to certain treatment plants.
Catch my drift?
Well done. Really well done.
MDN,
Start a new blog! Call it AmericanPoliticsDailyNews or APDN.
How about AmericanBullshitDailyNews or ABSDN.
Think of the ad hits. Think of the eyeballs. This could be bigger than MDN.
Then, you could get the bullshit politics off this site and still have twice the ad hits that you do now.
Post to disappear in 3..2..1
Looks like somebody needed to generate more hits.
An MDN specialty.
Sputnik Moment? Not Really.
What I want to know is back when the banks were collapsing and people were calling Congressional offices 100-1 against Bush’s TARP program the Congress turned it down on a Thursday and the following Monday approved it after the markets dropped even more. Who said what to change the Representatives and Senator’s minds? We have never been told.
THAT is a Sputnik Moment.
I hate political crap on MDN. But since we’ve been baited, here goes:
IF John Boehner was telling the truth I would applaud. But John Boehner only tells the truth when is isn’t paid to lie. In this case, Boehner has a massive lobby from a contingent of the Corporate Oligarchy who want BUSINESS to take total control of the Internet. Money changes hands, sock puppet politicians say anything they’re told to say.
And yes, this same disease is in the Democratic Party as well. It’s one thick and sick soup of taking away citizen’s rights and handing them over to Oligarchs who’d rather be our overlords than actual business men. Thus my use of the term ‘biznizz’ to describe what these parasites really do all day.
Is the FCC all shiny and clean in this? NO WAY. They literally GAVE AWAY THE INTERNET to mobile phone service providers. We The People got SCREWED. If Boehner and the other sock puppets get their way, we’ll get screwed out of land-based Internet as well.
End Result: The Last Dark Age with We The People as the peasant serfs. 😡
The most cynical argument I’ve heard so far is that the Republican machine is intent on savaging the current weak recovery in order to oust the Democrats in 2012. Given that the state legislators are redistricting with the exact intent of maximizing Republican’s electoral power and minimizing Democrat’s electoral power; that the states, led by Walker, are bent on destroying the public employee unions — which are the last “big-money” source of campaign financing for Democrats (of the top 10 sources, 7 were right-wing, mainly funded by a small number of billionaires; only 3 were supporting Democrats, and those 3 were all public-employee unions) — and the state legislators (led by Wisconsin again) are putting “voter ID” laws in place to counter essentially nonexistent voter fraud (but really to make registration more difficult for the lower classes who tend to favor Democrats), the obvious conclusion is that the main Republican goal is to change the US to a one-party system in support of the corporate oligarchy.
It’s a cynical argument, but it explains a lot, especially, Boehner and McConnell.
BTW: If you’d like to know where the unrecoverable US debt came from, there are two main factors:
1) Starve The Beast: A nutjob concept from the Neo-Con-Job Crazies (started during Ronald Reagan’s terms in office) to deliberately EXPLODE the debt to the point where there is a catastrophe. At that point the government is drastically cut down to a tiny size, killing off ALL entitlements, all civil services EXCEPT the military. This is the phase we are in right now in the USA. Watch and learn…
2) Criminal greed, as well as STB noted above, that drove the US and the rest of the world along with it into a depression, forcing the sucker Democrats to spend billions of dollars to try to dig the country out of it again. This is precisely why the Obama Administration further blew out the debt. This is precisely what the Neo-Con-Jobs required to trigger Part 2 of STB, pointing their fingers at the Democrats for over-spending when in fact it was a deliberate scam by the Neo-Con-Job contingent of the Republicans.
There was a time, decades ago, when there were actual factual fiscal conservatives. I remain one. But who took over were The Crazies who fscked up everything playing the nasty game of Starve The Beast. I say fsck that! 😕
Most of the national debt was created by republicans in the last 8 years.
How about that huge prescription drug program for seniors – ah socialism is OK when you need votes to get reelected.
The FFC needs to insure the internet remains open and unimpeded.
Better the FCC than AT&T!
doesn’t anybody read? (see below)
The FCC was in favor of NN. It’s the lack of regulation t hat opened the flood gates for ISPs to begin to change NN rules. A collusion of corps can artificially set the market where they want. Much like health insurance.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. That was a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable company, which had challenged the FCC’s authority to impose such ‘Net neutrality’ obligations on broadband providers.”
“The ruling marks a serious setback for the FCC, which is trying to adopt official net neutrality regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, argues that such rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over Internet access to favor some online content and services over others”
“derp de der. keep your government hands off my Medicare!”
The above series of posts really show how our school system has failed.
Oh yea, who runs the school system? Is there a conflict of interest here?
yeah, DARN those unionized commies for learning’ folks to read an’ such – exposing them to french ideas like communism & encouraging them to think instead of following the orders of their betters!
The freaking nerve….
yes macloui, pure brainwashed nincompoops. pathetic. sick. sad. disgusting liberals.
I cant wait for the new iPad 2
we just nationalised our network in Australia. The conservatives sold off the government telco, who then proceeded to rip us all off big time, and withhold technologies because they could. Australians got fed up, changed the government and they broke up the old telco and took the network back into public hands. Of course the right wing are furious. They can see they will miss out on the raping and pillaging. We have had a stream of big telco owners from around the world dropping in to warn us of disaster. Hehe. We’re building fibre to the wall right across the country. And we own it. We have learned NEVER to trust a corporation. Americans should have learned that by now. Look at your energy sector! Children are waking up covered in blood in areas where they are extracting gas by fracking. And still the right wing wants to Drill, baby, drill…
If corporations can treat customers with respect, then GREAT! Let them run things. But they don’t. That’s why we’re in a worldwide economic depression (except for Australia).
If government can treat customers, aka citizens, with respect, then GREAT! Let them run things. But they don’t. That’s why we’re in a worldwide economic depression (except for Australia).
The fact is that it is possible for either corporations or government to do things correctly, to have efficient systems and to treat their customers wonderfully. Capitalism can work if you follow the rules. Government can work if you follow the rules.
What is really wrong is people. FSCKED up people FSCK these institutions and turn them in to parasitic organizations that FSCK up everything they touch, including themselves. Where does this rampant self-destruction come from? You tell me. I don’t get it. I just observe it.
@Derek
The rampant self-destruction comes from the US culture, which has evolved to celebrate four things: MONEY, SELFISHNESS, DISHONESTY, GREED. To be successful in the USA it helps if you are good at these four things.