Written by Derek Brigham
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16 August 2010
I wrote a few days ago about the coming of the Obama FCC "Net Neutrality" roadshow. On Thursday, August 19th at 6:00 PM, there will be a public hearing on “The Future of the Internet” at South High School in Minneapolis. No surprise that libertarians and conservatives like myself oppose this—just another massive arm of the federal government that will never go away.
Here’s the actual copy from the promotion ad that was run in the St Paul Pioneer Press and apparently the Washington Post:
The Federal Communications Commission is making decisions right now that will shape the future of the Internet. Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn are coming to town, and they need to hear from you.
The future of the Internet is the future of free speech, our economy, our democracy …everything!
Sound more than a little bit desperate for attention? That’s because they’ve taken the roadshow to a few different cities and they were absolute flops with 15 to 20 people showing up. They are counting on Al Franken and Mark Ritchie as star power to get more bodies In the room.
But if the show fails here in Minnesota the big government power grab tour may die, even if the effort behind the bill does not. They close with this in bold:
Tell the FCC to stand with the public and stand up to the phone and cable companies.
Read: Government and activists should oppose the free market by swallowing it whole. But who is “organizing” this government power grab anyway? You guessed it, the usual suspects of anti-capitalists, radicals and egalitarians:
Organized by Main Street Project, Center for Media Justice, The Benton Foundation and Free Press
Main Street Project: Main Street Project helps community organizations and residents organize, build relationships and coalitions, identify priorities and create community action plans.
Center for Media Justice: Our mission is to create media conditions that advance racial justice, economic equity, and human rights
FreePress: We're working to make media reform a bona fide political issue in America. Powerful telecommunications, cable and broadcasting companies have plenty of lobbyists to do their bidding. We're making sure the public has a seat at the table, and we're building a movement to make sure the media serve the public interest.
The Benton Foundation: ...seeking policy solutions that support the values of access, diversity and equity, and by demonstrating the value of media and telecommunications for improving the quality of life for all.
Pretty easy to read the agenda there. Breaking it down simply: They know they will not be successful unless they dismantle the free market system. They want Government to run journalism and the internet. And they desperately need the people's support. Have a look at a few quotes from Robert McChesney:
“Our job is to make media reform part of our broader struggle for democracy, social justice, and, dare we say it, socialism. It is impossible to conceive of a better world with a media system that remains under the thumb of Wall Street and Madison Avenue, under the thumb of the owning class.” (Robert W. McChesney, “Journalism, Democracy…and Class Struggle,” Monthly Review, http://www.monthlyreview.org/1100rwm.htm, 11/2000)
“…any serious effort to reform the media system would have to necessarily be part of a revolutionary program to overthrow the capitalist system itself.” (Robert McChesney, “The U.S. Media Reform Movement,” Monthly Review, http://www.monthlyreview.org/080915mcchesney.php, 9/2008)
“Only government can implement policies and subsidies to provide an institutional framework for quality journalism...The democratic state, the government, must create the conditions for sustaining the journalism that can provide the people with the information they need to be their own governors.” (Robert McChesney and John Nichols, “The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers,” The Nation, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090406/nichols_mcchesney/2, 3/18/09)
The net is working fine—prospering—and the last thing it needs is government regulation to quash this great frontier of free market innovation.
Many minority groups, and rural groups—the very same groups the net neutrality advocates claim they will help have opposed this for the reason that once Government takes over, private investors will neglect underserved areas unless they could win government contracts.
For some good articles on opposition to this big government takeover, check out NetCompetition.org. Their mission statement sounds a whole lot better than the folks sponsoring this tour: NetCompetition advocates continuing a free market Internet and opposes a government-run Internet.
If you can come out to speak out against this, please do, Thursday at 6:00.
