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It's Time to Fight for Net Neutrality

11 05 14 - 08:56 Good old fashioned, corporate greed triumphed earlier this year, when the US Court of Appeals again ruled in favor of Big Business over the US taxpayer. Despite a very vocal opposition from the public, the Court tossed out the FCC's long standing rules for an "open internet".

Now the FCC's chairman, Tom Wheeler is now encouraging internet "providers" to experiment with carving up the internet based on a surcharge for high content users like Netflicks or Youtube. This gives the big corporations priority access to the web, effectively rendering small companies & the average citizen to 2nd class citizens of the web. CNN explains

The US taxpayers paid to develop the internet (not you Al) & we gave it to the world for free. Greedy SOBs at the cable/phone companies managed to wrangle their way in-between us & the web, so they can hit us with usurious "access fees" to connect to a system that we paid for in the 1st place. Most likely, AT&T, Comcast & Verizon wouldn't be viable corporations today, if the US taxpayers didn't fund internet development years ago. Old fashioned land-line phones, TV viewing, & over priced cell phone packages are being eschewed by today's consumers.

The suits from Verizon & other internet "providers" seem to have convinced bureaucratic puppets like Fred Upton (R., Mich.) and Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.), that pushing aside innovation, new ideas, &/or political discourse in the name corporate profits is a good idea. Now emboldened, Verizon is working to obtain Gov't approval to swallow up Time-Warner, thereby giving them control of 40% of all US web traffic. Rest assured that Washington & Verizon don't give a shit about your right to free speech, small business, or an open internet. It's all about the "benjamins" in corporate profits or campaign contributions.

Call or repeatedly email your Congressman & let it be known that the internet is for everybody, not just the Big Money Corporations that are at war with their customers over access to the world-wide web.

MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!!!