ftc further *fiddlesticks*s over consumers!

http://www.consumeraffair...ws04/2007/06/ftc_net.html

well, with that glowing report of the u$a and its 'free markets' giving consumers the 24th best broadband speeds in the world and alll....

who needs something as trivial as network neutrality...
 

Sometimes?   

How to say this without getting all political?  During the 20th century we invited the federal government into our daily lives.  Some of that was good (the bits where people didn't die starving and cold) and some of it was bad (the bits where we created a society of dependence - at the individual, societal and corporate levels).  What we need now is a bit of a reversal.  Get rid of the bad bits and keep the good bits.  Impossible challenge, I believe.  The eggs are broken and the omelet's on the table.

science/tech understanding aside,  since we (the u$ taxpayers) gave these asshats almost 1/2 a Trillion in subsidies/breaks/easements/etc   in the 90's under the claims that we would have broadband penetration over 90% at speeds 10x faster than the current {2007}  'average',  i fail to see the ruling at hand as viable considering this simple fact alone shows that these corporations are in fact providing  jack shiat to us-   quite the opposite of this claim




we gave them a shiatload of $ and infrastructure without regulation or penalty for noncompliance.  they have failed to live up to their duty.  why  should we believe they will operate competently, fairly, and ethically in other aspects with no regulation ?

i guess just the fact that it works better now (status quo neutrality) than it did as dial up 91' compuserve era or so....    why risk going back?   

and why let corporations control taxpayer resources (a more philosophical point i suppose) ... WE own all the lines . they run through OUR lands.   

also regarding regulation:  fda, usda, epa, etc.  you're right, we are enveloped in it.  but for the most part, we seem to like/demand it.  is information less vital than sustenance?    (what about information that says the fda is covering stuff up! )

This might be a bit of a threadjack but the Government is not all to blame. We are a society of lazy people. I see it every day. People just want to get a pay check and not worry about what it is they are really doing and how it affects others. They only care about themselves. I am not saying everyone is like that but most people are. They don't want to get involved, hell look at the number of voters at any given election.

You can bash the government and the prez all you want but it's not all their fault.