On Mon, April 12, 2010 13:28, Lonnie Olson wrote: > I do not agree that Net Neutrality is Marxist or socialist. It is > simply all about protecting Capitalism, Free Enterprise, and > Competition in the best American way. Very similar to Gov't > restrictions on monopolies, SEC oversight, etc. > > Yes, current abuses of Net Neutrality in America are few, but they are > very damaging. Also, they are just a sign of what is to come. The > threats of expanding these abuses have already been coming. > In our current state of broadband in the US, competition is scarce. > In most places only 1 or 2 providers are available. And given that > DSL's extremely slow evolution is going to make it even more > irrelevant. It is important to protect our options legally since > there is no free market options to do so.
I really liked this point of view Lonnie. The reality is that most analogies we can think of to explain the challenge of Internet regulation/protection ultimately fail. I've been debating back and forth in my mind - is my ISP more like the telephone company, or the power company? Maybe my ISP is like both, or neither. Should the market self-regulate, or should our government step in because the people need protection? I believe one of the challenges here is coming up with a belief surrounding what we want the Internet to be. Is it a right to have Internet service in your home? No, but neither is telephone service, running water, sewer, garbage services, or electricity. You could argue that while these things aren't rights, they are certainly desirable for as many citizens to participate in as possible. Is it desirable for as many of our fellow citizens as possible to participate on the Internet? I would argue it is. The free exchange of ideas, access to government & private services, and commerce via the Internet are all very beneficial things for us to have access to. It helps make our country stronger. It allows us to have important discussions like the one we are having now. When was the last time you got together with your neighbors and discussed politics? Here, on this list, via the Internet, is the finest example of free speech and active citizenship you're likely to see. Linux is the reason we are here, but what we do has impact beyond our little group. Do I trust either a corporation or the government to protect this technical landscape? No, I trust neither of them. In my experience the government isn't always capable of working for me, and corporations can't seem to help cheating in the marketplace to my detriment. This is why, in my opinion, the very struggle for control is exactly what needs to happen. I sincerely hope this discussion never dies. -Ryan P.S. Glenn Beck - I love you. You're so cute when you get wound up about the NWO Marxist takeover by the Illuminati flying around in black helicopters. You are truly a special, special person. Only your deep insight can possibly protect us from the take over of America by Islamic extremists, and illegal aliens, and liberals (*shudder*). My neighbors who listen to every word you say as though it came from heaven could not have put their trust in a better, more well informed individual than yourself. I especially like your Third Reich analogies, but I must ask - why do you know so much about Nazi Germany and nationalist propaganda? *deep, long, uncomfortable man hug* /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
