Unconstitutional FCC Power Grab Threatens All Of Us

Who the hell do these unelected bueaucrats, like Julius Genachowski, think they are? The sheer arrogance of people like him, and many others in this administration, who truly believe that they should be the final authority on what we should watch, what we can say, what we eat, where we should crap, and how many squares of paper we should use, is infuriating. Their presumption of their own intelligence and importance is mind-boggling.
The FCC is poised to vote this morning to seize control of internet content and access, in perhaps one of the biggest power grabs in U.S. history.  One sixth of the economy is tied up in the internet, and the FCC is proclaiming themselves overseers of all of its inner workings.  If Congress allows this to stand the FCC will be able to regulate content, speech, and access.  Many of the critics have pointed out the effect on investment and innovation, but Government monitoring of political contributions and speech is a much more insidious threat.  The American public needs to be informed of what effects this will have.  Unfortunately, most are busy with the Christmas shopping season, and the media will lose interest before the New Year. It will be up to a grass roots campaign of citizens informing citizens, and then contacting the members of the new Congress to take action.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and anyone on the FCC board who votes for this unconstitutional, Caesar Chavez-like power grab should be forced to resign, or fired. - Brian

The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom

'Net neutrality' sounds nice, but the Web is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers.
By ROBERT M. MCDOWELL


Tomorrow morning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will mark the winter solstice by taking an unprecedented step to expand government's reach into the Internet by attempting to regulate its inner workings. In doing so, the agency will circumvent Congress and disregard a recent court ruling.

How did the FCC get here?

For years, proponents of so-called "net neutrality" have been calling for strong regulation of broadband "on-ramps" to the Internet, like those provided by your local cable or phone companies. Rules are needed, the argument goes, to ensure that the Internet remains open and free, and to discourage broadband providers from thwarting consumer demand. That sounds good if you say it fast.

Nothing is broken that needs fixing, however. The Internet has been open and freedom-enhancing since it was spun off from a government research project in the early 1990s. Its nature as a diffuse and dynamic global network of networks defies top-down authority. Ample laws to protect consumers already exist. Furthermore, the Obama Justice Department and the European Commission both decided this year that net-neutrality regulation was unnecessary and might deter investment in next-generation Internet technology and infrastructure.
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• FCC to approve Net neutrality rules Tuesday (news.cnet.com)