Net Neutrality

[Dave W]

It's very important but most people don't understand what it's about.

Sometimes it takes a comedian to point out what the big boys are trying to do to the rest of us. I hope some of you will take the time to watch this.

Some NSFW language.

[Rob]

Absolutely agree

[dadagoboi]

My crappy bare minimum internet service from ATT costs me more every month than my entire all electric energy bill.

Once again the USA is Number 0ne... in screwing its citizens for the benefit of corporations.  Long live the Corporatocracy!

[Granny Gremlin]

To me it's not just about Net Neutrality.  "The Big Boys" are doing this to us in every capacity imaginable; laws/punishment, natural resource exploitation, development rules, you name it.

Did a remix of an old band's track about this a few years back (relevant lyrics are the second half, after 2:20 or so): 



RIP Utah Philips too while on topic


song starts at 3:03 but it's all worth a listen



The Past Didn't Go Anywhere was mindblowing to teen me. 

Also John Oliver is pretty brilliant.  I knew he'd get his own show after watching about a few days of him filling in for John Stewart.

[Dave W]

Thanks to John Oliver's call to action, the FCC's comments site crashed and was down yesterday. Right now it's extremely slow. Gosh, maybe the FCC needs to pay some cash bribes to its cable company.

[Granny Gremlin]

LOL

[4stringer77]

[nofi]

charlie daniels, the southern ted nugent. you can throw mark farner and ricky medlocke into that 'super patriot' pile as well.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The FCC was put up for sale in the mid 80's by Reagan with his bullshit lies about deregulation benefiting anyone other than giant corporations. Housing market bubble? There USED to be be laws that would have prevented all of it. Banks getting trillions in tax dollars "bailouts" because they invested in the aforementioned? Likewise. 

Until all the self-righteous morons who think the government lives and dies by their paycheck wake up to the fact that they are on the side of the folks who are screwing everyone but the ultra-wealthy, the real folks in charge quietly chuckle in the country club gardens watching the rest of us squabble over what few crumbs they let dribble out.

The company I used to work for regularly ignored FCC broadcast regulations at will once it learned who in Washington to bribe/"lobby" and they were relatively small potatoes compared to the giants of AT&T and Comcast. Governments are seldom perfect, but the one we have now might as well have a "For Sale or Rent" sign on all the DC area road signs.

[4stringer77]

Can't forget good ole' Bocephus now Nofi 

[Pilgrim]

The FCC was put up for sale in the mid 80's by Reagan with his bullshit lies about deregulation benefiting anyone other than giant corporations. Housing market bubble? There USED to be be laws that would have prevented all of it. Banks getting trillions in tax dollars "bailouts" because they invested in the aforementioned? Likewise. 

Although I wasn't a big fan of the Fairness Doctrine, I have come to the conclusion that the public interest in using the public airwaves was better served by it than what happened after it was eliminated during the Reagan years. The monopoly of talk radio by one side of the political view gets really old, and I honestly don't think that we benefit by having political drones spend hours drumming propaganda into the ears of either party. People seem to spend their time listening to hard-core belief sets that they already hold.

[Nocturnal]

The monopoly of talk radio by one side of the political view gets really old, and I honestly don't think that we benefit by having political drones spend hours drumming propaganda into the ears of either party. People seem to spend their time listening to hard-core belief sets that they already hold.

Couldn't agree more.

[Lightyear]

Although I wasn't a big fan of the Fairness Doctrine, I have come to the conclusion that the public interest in using the public airwaves was better served by it than what happened after it was eliminated during the Reagan years. The monopoly of talk radio by one side of the political view gets really old, and I honestly don't think that we benefit by having political drones spend hours drumming propaganda into the ears of either party. People seem to spend their time listening to hard-core belief sets that they already hold.

I don't see it as much as a monopoly but something that sells ad space.  The opposing side has tried for decades to compete and just can't seem to put up a product advertisers want spend money on. 

[drbassman]

Although I wasn't a big fan of the Fairness Doctrine, I have come to the conclusion that the public interest in using the public airwaves was better served by it than what happened after it was eliminated during the Reagan years. The monopoly of talk radio by one side of the political view gets really old, and I honestly don't think that we benefit by having political drones spend hours drumming propaganda into the ears of either party. People seem to spend their time listening to hard-core belief sets that they already hold.

I couldn't disagree more.  If droning bothers someone, they should turn it off.  It's really simple.  Radio and TV survive based on audience.  No audience, no program.  Darwin was right.

[westen44]

I really like John Oliver's show.  It's one of the best things I've seen like that in a long time.