Debunking stupid articles: Part 1 – Freepress.net working with the FCC “on the inside”

UPDATE:  Looks like I’m not the only person on the Net who noticed this stupidity!

So… this week all the talk about Net Neutrality appears to be yet another smear campaign to discredit it.  Well, we’ve seen this probably about a dozen times already but what makes this interesting is how many people are posting and re-posting this but I do not think ANYONE has actually read the “dirt” that was collected regarding the probe as you will.

David Wade - making the internet blazing fast

Freepress.net very openly advocates and solicits action from people regarding the new net neutrality rules and regulation to the FCC and absolutely are requesting that the FCC take appropriate action to stop corporations from controlling the internet.

Open your eyes people!

FACTS:

– in 10 years “wired” internet will become like a “wired” telephone line

– AT&T + T-Mobil = 80% market share in the wireless industry

– the Obama Administration paid $7 bil to a broadband stimulus plan which was supposed to have helped the US keep broadband up to snuff (I don’t think anyone knows where this money went much like the TARP bailout)

– year after year a required broadband report continually shows the US carriers to be making little to no progress (these measures were implemented in 2009).  The US is always in the bottom 20 in terms of broadband speed and availability

FICTION:

– Broadband upgrades are too expensive because you have to cover so much land mass to reach all these people

PROOF:  http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/chattanooga-tn-beats-google-to-1gbps.ars

Quote:  As for the National Broadband Plan, which envisions a rather anemic 100Mbps to 100 million homes in another decade, services like this remind me of just how modest those goals are. Chattanooga points out that it is already “10 times faster and 10 years ahead of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.”

This is exactly why Freepress is pressuring the FCC – everyone ‘likes’ what they are doing in at least attempting to regulate the internet so that instead of fueling greed, it fuels innovation.   BUT  they aren’t taking it far enough.

Quote 2 (more relevant from http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/04/how-chattanooga-uses-1gbps-internet-connections.ars ):  “This costs more, but EPB is a beneficiary. It uses the fiber to power its own “smart grid” electrical program, and deploying the program everywhere adds value to the electrical system. But once the fiber’s in place, it can be used for TV, Internet, and phone service without digging any new trenches; indeed, even upgrading the entire network to support 1Gbps service was relatively inexpensive, since it only required an electronics upgrade at central locations. While few customers buy the 1Gbps tier, many use slower EPB Internet services, but at least the network is ready for the future at relatively minimal cost.”

Not enough?   Well then I give you yet more proof as an alternative that these daunting infrastructure upgrades are indeed inexpensive.  How about leveraging all that now unused wireless spectrum that your old TV with bunny ears used to use?    Right – remember that whole DTV transition thing?   Well guess what – we can push data over that EXISTING network with relatively minor upgrades and yes folks it’s fast, WAY faster than what you can squeeze out of any Cable or Telco provider connection right now.

Don’t believe me?  Read up on “White spaces Collation” and the proposals to use it.   This, much like everything else in the US, is being hotly contested and lobbied for corporate control.

“The White Spaces Coalition consists of eight large technology companies that planned to deliver high speed broadband internet access beginning in February 2009 to United States consumers via existing “white space” in unused television frequencies between 54-698 MHz (TV Channels 2-51). The coalition expected speeds of 80 Mbps and above, and 400 to 800 Mbit/s for white space short-range networking.^[9] The group includes Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP, Intel, Philips, Earthlink, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics.”

From left, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Rep. Lee Terry R-Neb. and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn appear at a town hall meeting in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. The meeting was held to discuss Nebraska's limited broadband Internet access and the need to increase access to rural America through the Universal Service Fund. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

So after having read this and the facts, if you’re still strongly believing that Net Neutrality + the FCC + Obama is a “far left” Marxist plan for socialism then I propose that we re-define what it is to be “far left and right” in the USA:

Far left =  Individuals who believe in freedom and innovation

Far right = individuals that believe in the status quo, protecting corporate interests (greed and control) and tradition.

Now the funny part about the “far right” is that they believe in patriotism, capitalism and freedom.    All of these things are dying because these people are not actively advocating them.   You’re not free if you think or say you are.  You have to PROVE it, WORK for it and EARN it.

You don’t sit on your fat ass all day sipping Bud Light talking about what ma and pa used to tell you about Uncle Sam.   That was then and this is now.   Smell the beans.  Men and women got off of their asses and fought for their freedom to established what you now take for granted and expect someone else to maintain.

There are no real differences between Democrats and Republicans other than beliefs in social issues.   Social issues are not going to fix the economy, get Americans jobs or help with unemployment and poverty.  Nor will they help change the government’s completely irresponsible behavior when it comes to spending both domestically and abroad.

Let’s look at this “collusion” between the FCC and Free Press:

The evidence of coordination between the FCC Democrats and Free Press uncovered by Judicial Watch includes:

• Emails between former Free Press president John Silver and Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps from October 2010, coordinating “how we’d like to proceed during these next three months on NN [net neutrality].”
• Documents summarizing a phone call between Silver and Copps in which, before an FCC vote on the proposal in November 2010, Silver “emphasized that a strong net neutrality rule is critical to preserving the Internet as a vibrant forum for speech, commerce, innovation and cultural expression.”
• Correspondence between FCC Special Counsel David Tannenbaum and Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott coordinating speakers for a taxpayer-funded series of FCC “internet workshops” that were intended to generate public support for the proposal.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/06/conn-carroll-documents-show-fcc-coordinated-net-neutrality-effort-outside#ixzz1OK4KQVjw

 

Let’s look at points 2 and 3 first of all – Really guys?   Is this all you have?   I hope you’re not wasting tax payer time or money with this crap.  THIS INFORMATION IS ALL PUBLIC!!   There’s no curtain!!

Right from the freepress.net website:  http://www.freepress.net/policy_updates

Holy smokes look at all those issues they’ve been encouraging the public to push on the FCC for…  That’s insane!

Now “how we’d like to proceed over these next few months on Net Neutrality” – that’s subjective.   And it requires context.   “we’d” implies the public when I read it.  Being that the Free Press maintains a forum to discuss these topics and is well read on them I’d figure they would be offering public opinion on the matter (for those who care).

The only terms which could be violated here are if the member that was spoken to refused to openly discuss that they had been contacted by an outside party and the details of that conversation – which from what I see there’s no proof to suggest that it hadn’t been done thus far.

This is nothing further than an empty charade that you need only take a few minutes to read and research to dispel.

There is ZERO evidence here that suggests that the FCC has been corrupted in any way – the only evidence is that people like Mrs. Baker who are approving policy and then jumping ship to work for corporations which they helped push decisions in favor for as opposed to an unbiased effort.

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