Congress Bowing Down to the Telecoms

Politics 6 replies 329 views
I
I Wear Pants
Posts: 16,223
May 26, 2010 4:18pm
Got this in my email today from freepress.net and savetheinternet.com
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/10/05/26/will-dirty-politics-kill-internet
Your representative in the House just sold you out to Comcast, Verizon and AT&T.

Rep. Charlie Wilson has joined 73 other Democrats in signing an industry-written letter telling the FCC to abandon its efforts to protect Internet users and stop big companies from blocking Internet traffic.

It’s yet another example of dirty politics destroying our democracy, and it has to stop.

The nasty little secret that everybody knows? Almost every one of these representatives has accepted massive contributions from the phone and cable lobby. Now the industry is demanding a return on its investment.

By signing the industry letter, your representative has drastically undercut the FCC’s ability to get a fast, affordable and open Internet to everyone in America. Your representative is actually taking a position against the interests of rural and low-income communities.

We aren’t going to let this outrageous and unethical behavior stand. Today, we’re asking hundreds of thousands of Americans to sign our own letter telling the FCC and Congress that Rep. Wilson doesn’t speak for us, President Obama or the millions of other Americans who support an open and affordable Internet.

That Rep. Wilson would intentionally sell out the public may be hard to imagine. Perhaps these representatives didn’t know what they were signing. Or perhaps this is just business as usual, another D.C. betrayal of the public trust. (Is it any wonder the latest Gallup public opinion poll counts a congressional disapproval rating of 73 percent?)

These members of Congress acted on blind faith that phone and cable companies have the best interests of Americans in mind.

But Comcast and AT&T can no better police themselves to protect the open Internet than BP can police itself to protect the oceans. And we already know how that ends.

Congress can’t hand the future of communications over to these companies. The results would be disastrous.

By taking action today, you’re telling Rep. Wilson that bad deeds won’t go unnoticed.

Thank you,

Timothy Karr
Free Press Action Fund


I really don't like this. 74 House Democrats and 37 Senate Republicans have decided that allowing telecoms to decide what is allowed to be transferred on the internet.

Internet providers need to stop trying to be content providers and just be dumb pipes. (They can have their own content sites and delivery methods but they need to stop trying to screw over competing content delivery people or speech/data that they don't like).

Color me disappointed.
CenterBHSFan's avatar
CenterBHSFan
Posts: 6,115
May 26, 2010 5:56pm
I've been down on Charlie Wilson for a lonnggggg time.

This isn't the first time he's sold out, and as long as he keeps getting voted in, it won't be the last.

The man won't even face any of his constituents. He does all his townhall meetings via telephone.

There's a site out there call "anybodybutcharlie" haha, you should check it out.
I
I Wear Pants
Posts: 16,223
May 26, 2010 6:06pm
I thought that had to do with Charlie Gibson?
CenterBHSFan's avatar
CenterBHSFan
Posts: 6,115
May 26, 2010 6:09pm
no, let me look it up and I'll edit this post and include it

*EDIT

Ok I found the email and pulled it up. I forgot it was a facebook thing, but here it is



http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=107144962643316&ref=ts

ts1227's avatar
ts1227
Posts: 12,319
May 26, 2010 6:10pm
CenterBHSFan wrote: I've been down on Charlie Wilson for a lonnggggg time.

This isn't the first time he's sold out, and as long as he keeps getting voted in, it won't be the last.

The man won't even face any of his constituents. He does all his townhall meetings via telephone.

There's a site out there call "anybodybutcharlie" haha, you should check it out.
I've never been a fan of him, either.

I voted for the Green Party candidate in 2008 to replace him, the only time I've legitimately chose third party over the D/R choices I was given.
I
I Wear Pants
Posts: 16,223
May 26, 2010 6:23pm
Wilson is goofier looking than I remembered.
IggyPride00's avatar
IggyPride00
Posts: 6,482
May 26, 2010 6:24pm
It's not a big deal, less service for more money is the American way :rolleyes:.