FCC Won’t Delay Vote, Says Net Neutrality Supporters Are “Desperate”

Megalith

Megalith

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FCC boss Ajit Pai has called net neutrality supporters "desperate" after a coalition of 40 consumer groups penned a letter asking him to delay the December 14 vote to kill net neutrality until a landmark court case between AT&T and the FTC can be settled, which could strip the agency of any authority it currently has over ISPs.

"This is just evidence that supporters of heavy-handed Internet regulations are becoming more desperate by the day as their effort to defeat Chairman Pai's plan to restore Internet freedom has stalled," Pai's office said in a statement. "The vote will proceed as scheduled on December 14." Pai has gone on the record previously with a similar sentiment saying, "Commission outcomes are not and cannot be decided by poll numbers or letter counts."
 
Last i checked, the government was elected by the people and represent the will of the people. so what? At worst you'll suffer through 7 more years of nothing. Then it'll get reversed by someone who's chomping to regulate.
 
BSmith said:
Yet another nail into the coffin of what is supposed to be a government run by the people, for the people.

I have never felt so damn powerless in my entire life.
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This is a representative republic, not mob rule democracy. Obama appointed Pai as commissioner and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously back in 2012, so maybe next time campaign and vote for a better President and Senators.
 
Wouldn't be surprised if this dude winds up missing. The sheeple are too weak now and the worst is yet to come as far as freedoms being lost and more regulation is to come.
 
Armenius said:
This is a representative republic, not mob rule democracy. Obama appointed Pai as commissioner and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously back in 2012, so maybe next time campaign and vote for a better President and Senators.
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Problem is that this doesn't work unless you are filthy rich and can buy the media.
 
This is a representative republic, not mob rule democracy. Obama appointed Pai as commissioner and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously back in 2012, so maybe next time campaign and vote for a better President and Senators.
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That is a fine bit of rationalization right there.

So Pai can operate completely independent of anything the people of this country want. No checks or balances for him. He is the absolute ruler of his domain and our only choice is to wait until the next election cycle and hope those people replace him.

Like said, I have never felt so powerless before.
 
ThatsAgood1jay said:
"Commission outcomes are not and cannot be decided by poll numbers or letter counts."

Wow.
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"Commission outcomes are and can be decided by campaign contributions and payouts."

At least we can know who is buying out people. Everything seems to be very partisan, and each party has their list of sponsoring corporations. Time for the NASCAR style pictures...

"We couldn't have won this campaign without the Coca-Cola crew that helped us out. Our Coca-Cola congressman did a fine job campaigning and we came out ahead this time. Overall, it was a great campaign." *puts on Coke hat*.

Man, how long until Daytona?
 
Exavior said:
In other words, i have been paid too much money to make my choice so go fuck yourself.
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I doubt they're outright bribing him at the moment, but you can be assured that he'll have a sweet paying job once he steps down from the FCC and his retirement will be everything he'll want it to be. They're bribing him alright, just with future dollars which isn't technically illegal if they don't link it directly to his job as FCC chairman.
 
BSmith said:
That is a fine bit of rationalization right there.

So Pai can operate completely independent of anything the people of this country want. No checks or balances for him. He is the absolute ruler of his domain and our only choice is to wait until the next election cycle and hope those people replace him.

Like said, I have never felt so powerless before.
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It's less than a year away. If you've called your representatives and let them know if this passes they will never get money or votes from you again. Then it sounds like it's time to start campaigning against them for the next 11 months.
 
BSmith said:
That is a fine bit of rationalization right there.

So Pai can operate completely independent of anything the people of this country want. No checks or balances for him. He is the absolute ruler of his domain and our only choice is to wait until the next election cycle and hope those people replace him.

Like said, I have never felt so powerless before.
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If you want to take that line of thought, you've always been powerless.

If you feel strongly about it, write to your congress critters and get them to pass a law stating ISPs will always be title 2 regulated utilities that are for profit and allowed to operate without competition. The FCC is just a commission and are still required to follow laws.
 
Armenius said:
This is a representative republic, not mob rule democracy. Obama appointed Pai as commissioner and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously back in 2012, so maybe next time campaign and vote for a better President and Senators.
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That's a severe twisting of reality. McConnell nominated him and generally votes to the FCC are non-partisan. It is telling that his renomination by Trump was one of the very few partisan FCC confirmations in history.
 
aaronspink said:
That's a severe twisting of reality. McConnell nominated him and generally votes to the FCC are non-partisan. It is telling that his renomination by Trump was one of the very few partisan FCC confirmations in history.
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Thank you for providing insight into the scenario.
I'm afraid many people will not put down their torches and read though.
 
Gigus Fire said:
If you want to take that line of thought, you've always been powerless.

If you feel strongly about it, write to your congress critters and get them to pass a law stating ISPs will always be title 2 regulated utilities that are for profit and allowed to operate without competition. The FCC is just a commission and are still required to follow laws.
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Oh, I am big on writing my representatives, even though it has never really worked, I keep hoping one day someone will actually get voted in who will listen to the people they are suppose to be representing. Yeah, I know. I best not hold my breath.

As far as laws go, the rich and powerful seem to be able to ignore those trifles.
 
Congress, especially the Senate, CAN stop the FCC vote in number of manners. Get to your Senators NOW! 27 of them already wrote a letter /suggesting/ a delay - http://thehill.com/policy/technolog...ors-calls-on-fcc-to-delay-net-neutrality-vote - If your senator isn't on that list, call and ask them why not and express your anger at the FCC, especially in light of what could be not just the standard corporate bribery which has sadly become commonplace, but especially considering there's an argument to be made for malfeasance given the FCC's response to the shutting down of the website when comments first opened, people's identities being stolen to post anti-Net-Neutrality comments, and much more. Offer your support for a law enshrining Title 2 Net Neutrality protections for ALL ISPs, but demand that the FCC hold the vote until a full Congressional investigation takes place into conflicts of interest and the aforementioned nastiness, and hold the FCC Commissioners accountable. Praise those Senators who signed on the letter, but demand stronger action than a "Dear Colleagues" request without any teeth!

Likewise, if you are able to take place in the protests in the upcoming weeks, do so! December 7th is a major day of action - check out - http://verizonprotests.com/ . Getting out on the streets (peacefully and without showing violence towards Verizon store workers - they may join in solidarity especially as they recently protested against their horrid wages) is important and will be followed up with both communication (calls, tweets, emails etc) to elected officials and trips to their offices if nearby. Protesting against Verizon, Comcast and other ISPs who are bankrolling this is critical and especially during the holiday shopping season costing them sales is a good way to do so. There will be other events as well closer to the Dec 14th voting date, so keep your eyes open.

Even if you can't go for whatever reason, at least giving a call to your representitives with a vehement though polite message can at least contribute.

Edit:

Just to let everyone know, these are the official Twitter accounts of the two Democratic appointees who remain FCC Commissioners. They're both strongly pro-Net Neutrality, but sadly this is a majority vote issue. However, we may be able to count on their support to stymie Pai and his cronies if Congress manages to end/delay/block/invalidate the vote - https://twitter.com/mclyburnfcc and https://twitter.com/JRosenworcel

Commissioner Clyburn actually prepared a pretty nice, informative letter about Net Neutrality and the issues with Pai's proposal . Its a little bit older now compared to the latest draft of Pai's catastrophe, but it is still very useful - https://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db1122/DOC-347935A1.pdf
 
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lollerwaffle said:
Let's just get this straight. Pai was appointed CHAIRMAN by TRUMP in January 2017. That he was Commissioner appointed by Obama is not the issue. The Right owns this guy.
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You're so close and yet not there. The establishment left nominated him, then the right appointed him. Just like the right went to war in Iraq, then the left EXPANDED the number of wars we were in. Or how the right started the bailout for the banks and the left CONTINUED that bailout. You see a pattern here?

We don't really have a left party in this country anymore, just on social issues that don't matter to big money interests.
 
Rahh said:
Problem is that this doesn't work unless you are filthy rich and can buy the media.
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Trump certainly didn't buy the media. They are tirelessly trying to get rid of him and have been since way before the election even happened.

None of the corrupt swamp monsters on either side in Washington like him and want him gone. That is a HUGE win for the people in the USA and the world IMHO.
 
tetris42 said:
You're so close and yet not there. The establishment left nominated him, then the right appointed him. Just like the right went to war in Iraq, then the left EXPANDED the number of wars we were in. Or how the right started the bailout for the banks and the left CONTINUED that bailout. You see a pattern here?

We don't really have a left party in this country anymore, just on social issues that don't matter to big money interests.
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Do not confuse " Democrats" with "The Left". Two very, very different things. Establishment Democrats especially are the most right-aligned in the party. There is less (not always ZERO) distinction between the "Republicans" an "The Right", as the former almost always upholds policies that are in line with right-wing ideologies. On the whole, the Democrats tend to be a socially centrist (which for a variety of reasons is why they are erroneously seen as left, only in comparison to the right wing stances taken by the other side), fiscally- center right party, with the Republicans being socially and fiscally far(ther) to the right. This is not to say there aren't a few individual current elected officials that don't fit into these paradigms (ie Bernie Sanders is one of the few who does more than pay lip service to truly left-wing policies, both social and fiscal. ) , but on the whole the alignment of the two major parities is sadly a major reason for many problems of this nation. I agree with you that we don't have a major Left party and the differences between the major parties are (though significant, like this FCC issue) smaller than they should be where their agreements are typically on things that don't benefit We The People.

That said, the Democrats did not choose to place Pai, but simply followed the rules and conventions of not blocking the Republican's nomination.. There are 5 FCC commissioners, 3 including the Chairman are of the party in power, 2 of the minority party. Pai was one of the two Republican suggested commissioners during the Obama era - Democrats didn't "choose" him., but simply didn't stand in thew ay of his appointment. Trump's election changing the balance and the appointment of Pai as Chairman is the major reason we're dealing with this issue. There's evidence that Pai was appointed specifically to undermine Net Neutrality and more generally to give money and power to the major telecom corporations while stamping out bothersome programs that threaten their bottom lines.
 
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that guy has the most punchable face I have seen in a good while
 
tetris42 said:
You're so close and yet not there. The establishment left nominated him, then the right appointed him. Just like the right went to war in Iraq, then the left EXPANDED the number of wars we were in. Or how the right started the bailout for the banks and the left CONTINUED that bailout. You see a pattern here?

We don't really have a left party in this country anymore, just on social issues that don't matter to big money interests.
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I agree with this sentiment. If you really believe that net neutrality helps the little people and is a way to prevent corporate control of the internet and removal of "free speech" on the internet because they're chomping at the bit to throttle/split apart the internet then point to which companies are republican or democrat that stand to gain from this. Because last i checked, all the massive ISPs donate to both parties and throw money at politicians at both sides of the aisle.

If you're like me who thinks this isn't a bit impact anyways and even though there are a lot of what ifs and uncertainty that any company who tries to piece meal out the internet will figuratively blow their own brains out and commit corporate suicide. The customer backlash would be so huge that i see the start up of a lot of municipality ISPs will which be a good thing in the long run.
 
cyclone3d said:
Trump certainly didn't buy the media. They are tirelessly trying to get rid of him and have been since way before the election even happened.

None of the corrupt swamp monsters on either side in Washington like him and want him gone. That is a HUGE win for the people in the USA and the world IMHO.
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Trump has done nothing that the establishment doesn't want. It is the political face they are putting on when they are attacking him because the polls tell them it looks good when you attack him. The Dems and the republicans are ecstatic at how he is pushing the corporate agenda. Plus his nonsense gives the right wing a scape goat so when he leaves they can say all the damage was done by a madman even though they loved everything he did. And the dems get to use the madman as a rally cry since they really have nothing else to use to get people on their side since they stand for nothing these days. When Trump leaves office very little will change unless we get someone like Bernie or Tulsi Gabbard in there. With anyone else it will be corporate establishment business as normal.
 
Gigus Fire said:
I agree with this sentiment. If you really believe that net neutrality helps the little people and is a way to prevent corporate control of the internet and removal of "free speech" on the internet because they're chomping at the bit to throttle/split apart the internet then point to which companies are republican or democrat that stand to gain from this. Because last i checked, all the massive ISPs donate to both parties and throw money at politicians at both sides of the aisle.

If you're like me who thinks this isn't a bit impact anyways and even though there are a lot of what ifs and uncertainty that any company who tries to piece meal out the internet will figuratively blow their own brains out and commit corporate suicide. The customer backlash would be so huge that i see the start up of a lot of municipality ISPs will which be a good thing in the long run.
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The problem with municipality ISPs is the current FCC. The FCC under Wheeler was in favor of that kind of competition and they would work to defend them. Pai sure as hell isn't going to do anything that goes against the big ISPs. So don't expect a lot of support for municipality ISPs and expect the big ISPs to spend even more money to try and get them outlawed.
 
Derangel said:
The problem with municipality ISPs is the current FCC. The FCC under Wheeler was in favor of that kind of competition and they would work to defend them. Pai sure as hell isn't going to do anything that goes against the big ISPs. So don't expect a lot of support for municipality ISPs and expect the big ISPs to spend even more money to try and get them outlawed.
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I don't see how the FCC has jurisdiction over local municipalities. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-celebrate-fccs-court-loss-on-muni-broadband/
 
cyclone3d said:
Trump certainly didn't buy the media. They are tirelessly trying to get rid of him and have been since way before the election even happened.

None of the corrupt swamp monsters on either side in Washington like him and want him gone. That is a HUGE win for the people in the USA and the world IMHO.
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Trump says outlandish things all the time, which made him more a spectacle in politics, which means more people watching, which is what got him more media attention.

The establishment both does and doesn't like Trump. The right is more or less 100% on board with his policies, they just don't necessarily like how boorish and ineffective he is at governing, though I think they're realizing he serves as a great diversion for media attention so they can get more done. The left generally hates him since he is radically right of even the establishment left, but they focus on how he conducts himself and his overall manner 10x more than anything he does policy-wise. They also love him in the sense that he's a scapegoat and can be blamed for all of USA's problems (which he really can't) and takes the attention off of them not having any real policies for the people anymore. I mean hell, the left voted to increase military spending ABOVE what even Trump asked for, that should tell you how much "against" him they really are.

As for how that adds up to a "huge win", I don't follow your logic. As far as I'm concerned, the only "win" Trump has accomplished for the American people has been coming down against the TPP, which was likely to happen anyway. By all means, enlighten me what he's done or trying to do that's going to help us all out in 10 years. Dismantling the EPA so we'll have more toxins in the water and air and let cancer rates go up? Bombing Syria? Giving massive tax breaks for the rich? Helping to repeal Net Neutrality?
 
Armenius said:
This is a representative republic, not mob rule democracy. Obama appointed Pai as commissioner and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously back in 2012, so maybe next time campaign and vote for a better President and Senators.
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Pai was nominated by the GOP and you're not allowed to have more than 3 commissioners from the same party so yeah blame Obama.
 
Gigus Fire said:
I agree with this sentiment. If you really believe that net neutrality helps the little people and is a way to prevent corporate control of the internet and removal of "free speech" on the internet because they're chomping at the bit to throttle/split apart the internet then point to which companies are republican or democrat that stand to gain from this. Because last i checked, all the massive ISPs donate to both parties and throw money at politicians at both sides of the aisle.

If you're like me who thinks this isn't a bit impact anyways and even though there are a lot of what ifs and uncertainty that any company who tries to piece meal out the internet will figuratively blow their own brains out and commit corporate suicide. The customer backlash would be so huge that i see the start up of a lot of municipality ISPs will which be a good thing in the long run.
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Dude you need to look at what has already happened around the world in places like Portugal. NN has been holding back a wave. We got lucky last time that Wheeler listened to reason. Yes dems and repubs are both beholden to their corporate sponsors. So it is naïve to think one will come in and save the day next election, that is the kind of thinking that has us in a 2 party system moving in a downward spiral. Municipality ISPs are the way to go but there are many hurdles for that.
 
The left has Obama care the right has Net Neutrality dissolution. Both are bad, but at least one isn't forcing me to pay $800 for random indigents medical care at the end of the year...
 
All I have to say is that most people are fine with their civil liberties being infringed upon, but mess with their internet, and shit will get out of hand quickly. It may be time for a house cleaning at the top and fucking with peoples internet could be the spark...
 
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