Sen. Kerry Blogs for SavetheInternet.com!

[whometense]

http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2006/06/30/stopping-the-big-giveaway-by-john-kerry/

Stopping the Big Giveaway - by John Kerry

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest blog for SavetheInternet.com by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.):
Calling all Net Heroes

On Wednesday in the Senate Commerce Committee I warned that those of us who believe in net neutrality will block legislation that doesn’t get the job done.

It looks like that’s the fight we’re going to have.

The Commerce Committee voted on net neutrality and it failed on an 11-11 tie. This vote was a gift to cable and telephone companies, and a slap in the face of every Internet user and consumer.

It will not stand.

I voted against this lousy bill for two reasons: because net neutrality and internet build-out are crucial to building a more modern and fair Information Society, and both were pushed aside by the Republicans.

Everyone says they don’t want the new world we’re living in to be marked by the digital divide — the term is so clichéd it’s turned to mush — but yesterday was a test of who is willing to ask corporate America to do anything to fix it, and the Commerce Committee failed miserably. Why are United States Senators afraid to say that companies should be expected to foster growth by building out their broadband networks to increase access?

Free and open access to the internet is something all Americans should enjoy, regardless of what financial means they’re born into or where they live. It is profoundly disappointing that the Senate is going let a handful of companies hold internet access hostage by legalizing the cherry-picking of cable service providers and new entrants. That is a dynamic that would leave some communities with inferior service, higher cable rates, and even the loss of service. Not to mention inadequate internet service — in the age of the information.

This bill was passed in committee over our objections. Now we need to fight to either fix it or kill it in the full Senate. Senator Wyden has already drawn a line in the sand — putting a “hold” on the bill, which prevents it from going forward for now. But there will be a day of reckoning on this legislation soon, make no mistake about it, and we need you to get engaged — pressure your Senators, follow the issue, demand net neutrality and build-out.

[_dynamicdems]

1. Thank you for posting this. This is something we should all be very

concerned about.

I'm so proud of Senator Kerry and Senator Wyden. They are heroes!

"Lousy legislation" is about it.

We have to haunt our senators to make sure they know exactly where we feel when that day of reckoning arrives.

[Democrafty]

2. Oh, fantastic!

So happy to see him blogging on this issue.

[MH1]

6. Me too

I was pretty sure he supported net neutrality but it's even better that he's making a strong statement about it.

[bananas]

3. k&r nt

[Unbowed]

4. They're trying to screw us even in cyberspace. Shit!

I hope enough people care about this. It's the kind of thing you don't usually notice until after you're screwed and it's too late to do a damn thing about it.

[whometense]

5. I've been watching this one

for quite a while, and agree - it's exactly the kind of "screw the little guy" crap they try to sneak through in the dead of night. The more sunlight gets shone on it, the better.

[blm]

7. Yep - like kill the overtime pay bill for millions of low-salary workers

That went over really quietly because news organizations are made up of thousands of lower-salaried employees. The owners wanted to kill overtime pay, and they succeeded by not giving it any airtime or print.

[Eric J in MN]

17. Yes, I wish that everyone in America was familiar with

"Net Neutrality," but even among people involved in politics, a lot don't seem to know about it.

Rocketboom video on Net Neutrality (with a pretty woman):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPap8ijDv5g&search=rocketboom%20net%20neutrality

[rox63]

8. So glad to see him going public on this in a big way

That's my Senator! (and President!)

[Reckon]

9. Great news!

Thanks for the info!

[Eric J in MN]

10. Ask your Senators to support Ron Wyden

(D-Oregon) who is putting a hold on the telecommunications bill until "Net Neutrality" is added.

"Net Neutrality" means stopping companies like AT&T from making some websites run more quickly and some run more slowly for its customers.

PHONE NUMBERS OF SENATORS:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Call the phone number of a Senator, ask to speak to someone about "Net Neutrality," then leave a message.

[ProSense]

11. Free the Internet! n/t

[Cha]

12. Props To Kerry

and Senator Wyden! And to all the other non fascist Congress people who will vote this DOWN!

[ray of light]

13. net neutrality is a difficult concept for many people to comprehend

we really need an easier way to explain this to them!

[Eric J in MN]

14. Should AT&T be allowed to make "Democratic Underground"

...run more slowly? (one way to explain the issue of "Net Neutrality.")

This video is another way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPap8ijDv5g&search=rocketboom%20net%20neutrality

[The Wizard]

15. The Republican plan

is right out of the Goebbels play book. Controling the flow of information and getting the dupes to believe it's for their own good.
You vill be a dum kopf und you vill like it. Pardon my feeble attempt to sound like Seargent Shultz.
CHENEY/SATAN 08

[Eric J in MN]

16. K & R. NT

NT

[Raydawg1234]

18. Hey, If the Republicans win on this, then might DU no longer exist??

[DespisedIcon]

19. The Price of Silencing Dissent

The attack on internet neutrality is being utilized to silence dissent and quash free speech. It is the last democratic medium of communication. The six-figure salaried journalists regurgitate only what they are told to print or read off of a teleprompter. Senators on both sides need to stop this bill cold in the Senate before the information superhighway becomes unevenly taxed tollway.

[Eric J in MN]

20. It's more likely that DU would load more slowly

or that fewer people could access it though AT&T and Verizon simultaneosly than that it would cease to exist.

The best case scenario is that it will be slower, but to an extent which isn't noticeable.

Skinner will probably have the option of paying protection money to AT&T and Verizon to avoid beind discriminated against. In which case our donations will go less far.

The FCC Chair, Kevin Martin, doesn't want companies to block websites completely. But AT&T could place a limit on the amount of bandwidth which AT&T customers can use to access DU.

[whometense]

21. God help us,

Ted Stevens is the chair of the committee.

Check out his deep understanding of the issue he's setting public policy on: http://media.publicknowledge.org/stevens-on-nn.mp3

More here: http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/497

[ProSense]

22. That is complete lunacy! n/t