Government set to give corporations the internet

[Ke?poFist]

Do not talk directly to me. All comments must be submitted, legibly handwritten, to my secratary. You must use half-sized envelopes with twice the current postage rate in stamps that must contain either airplanes, monkeys, or trees, or I will not read them.

Damn you and your self-imposed importance! :new_cussi

[MEGA JESUS-SAMA]

If I was important enough for people to be writing me letters, I think I'd enforce a rule like that, to A) Quickly and easily sort between kneejerk BS and people who wrote a thoughtful letter, and B) Because it proves people are willing to bend over backwards to write me stuff, so I must be really awesome.

[Truculent Sheep]

It seems the 'Save The Internet Campaign' is getting results already...

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...=Breaking+News

...The danger of the bill passing may not be as clear and present as it once was. Judiciary committee members were talking about starting a process--of looking at the issue--on a bill that other legislators were hoping to approve by Wednesday night.

As one lobbyist pointed out, the net neutrality lobby has succeeded in pushing that issue to the front burner, overshadowing the the bill's core, which is national video franchise reform.

While Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.) has vowed the telecom reform bill would pass this session, the more contentious it becomes, and the net neutrality lobbying letters and e-mails are multiplying like virtual rabbits, the less likely a bill can be agreed-on, voted out, reconciled with a much more comprehensive Senate version not yet marked-up, passed, and signed in the dwindling days of the legislative calendar.

[Truculent Sheep]

The wankers have just won in Congress. It all depends on how much the Senate can be lobbied now...

...A hotly contested Democratic bid to enshrine extensive Net neutrality regulations in the law books failed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

By a 22-to-34 vote, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee rejected a Democratic backed Net neutrality amendment that also enjoyed support from Internet and software companies including Microsoft, Amazon.com and Google.

"I'm concerned about e-mails being blocked from advocacy groups, of all sides," said Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat who supported the amendment. "I'm concerned about start-ups that may be shut down."

There are some hopeful signs, though.

...Net neutrality backer Media Access Project was not surprised, but saw hopeful signs for adding net neutrality in the Senate version of the bill, buoyed by the lrecent obbying blitz by 'neutrality' forces.

"A broad-based industry and citizen coalition supporting net neutrality is rapidly gaining steam. Prospects in the Senate are looking better and better."

Savetheinternet.com, one of the groups that had just coalesced around the issue, called the vote a sell-out and vowed to "continue rallying public support for Internet freedom as the legislation moves to the full House and Senate."

[JKing]

Well, this COPE bill has passed another hurdle to passing - however here are some select quotes from another site:

Select quotes

Ok, so the vote on the Markey amendment to protect the internet has happened, and it was voted down, 34-22. That is a big deal. It’s too bad we lost the vote, but we expected that loss. What we did not expected was the narrow margin. By way of comparison, the subcommittee vote was 23-8, which means we should have gotten blown out of the water.

there was noticeable defensiveness among Congressmen on the wrong side of this. They are wrong, they know it, and they are ashamed.

today was a victory as a few key players on the full committee changed their votes. Important action is required heading into the Senate but we have created significant momentum

Stay tuned