There Goes the Internet

[smc]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

All it takes is for an incident to happen, such as for some whack-job gunman to gun down a congresswoman, a judge and several other people. Then the liberals start pointing fingers at Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Fox News, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party and their so called hate rhetoric before the blood even dries on the parking lot. It doesn't matter that the left spews the same hate speech. It doesn't matter that it's been much much worse in the past. And it doesn't matter one hill of beans that the gunman is a whack job who doesn't even watch the news or listen to talk radio and never mentioned any of the above right wingers in any of his rants! Because you never let a good crisis go to waste. It only goes to show how necessary it is to take away your freedoms.

And this has what do do with the topic of this thread that you yourself started?

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by smc

And this has what do do with the topic of this thread that you yourself started?

I am illustrating how incidents like the shooting are constantly used by the left to call for restrictions on free speech. Talk radio is a forum where a few people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc can get on and say whatever is on their minds and a few callers get through and say their mind as well, but the internet is the one forum where anyone can get on and pour out every thought they have to their heart's content. You can have your own private rants. You can discuss with other people, whatever.

Considering that the FCC commissioner, Robert McDowell raised the possibility with bloggers in Washington D.C. of applying the Fairness Doctrine to the internet, where the government would actually regulate content on the web and then that very same FCC voted to regulate the internet, I don't see how you could just shrug your shoulders.

I want the internet to remain a place where free speech is possible. An internet ID is a way for the government to do all kinds of searches. Forget demographics... which people support my policies and which do not?

Of course, I know this will all remain irrelevant to you, since it's not your liberal bias they would be censoring, and you may support free speech for those who agree with you, but I think this obsession the administration has with getting into our lives is dangerous to our freedoms.

[smc]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

I am illustrating how incidents like the shooting are constantly used by the left to call for restrictions on free speech. Talk radio is a forum where a few people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc can get on and say whatever is on their minds and a few callers get through and say their mind as well, but the internet is the one forum where anyone can get on and pour out every thought they have to their heart's content. You can have your own private rants. You can discuss with other people, whatever.

Considering that the FCC commissioner, Robert McDowell raised the possibility with bloggers in Washington D.C. of applying the Fairness Doctrine to the internet, where the government would actually regulate content on the web and then that very same FCC voted to regulate the internet, I don't see how you could just shrug your shoulders.

I want the internet to remain a place where free speech is possible. An internet ID is a way for the government to do all kinds of searches. Forget demographics... which people support my policies and which do not?

Of course, I know this will all remain irrelevant to you, since it's not your liberal bias they would be censoring, and you may support free speech for those who agree with you, but I think this obsession the administration has with getting into our lives is dangerous to our freedoms.

Who the fuck do you think you are to make the statement in bold above? I am NOT a liberal. I do not have a liberal BIAS. You simply assume that because I have questioned your views that I am a liberal.

I have spent time in jail in this country for exercising my free speech rights. How dare you presume that this is irrelevant to me. You have a lot of fucking nerve!

[randolph]

Tracy, I would suggest you read this report. It is so alarming the Obama administration suppressed it after the Republicans freaked out.

http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf

This entire exchange illustrates what I was talking about in my previous post. This is why I won?t discuss anything like politics online. I know smc personally and believe he is very fair-minded, tolerant, and unbiased when it comes to other people?s opinions--which he has shown to be many times over in his job as moderator. I also believe that his character is above reproach. I consider him a friend and colleague. In fact I would be honored to be able to sit in on one of his classes.

Net Neutrality is an issue worthy of serious discussion. The Internet has always been an unregulated medium. Computer professionals, security experts and social scientists disagree on many of the issues involved. It is not a topic that should be reduced to Fox News ?sound bytes? and name calling. I would suggest that the members truly interested in learning more about this complex subject do some research on ?Net Neutrality? rather than wasting time in this thread. The last time I checked Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin were not considered ?computer professionals.? Their views on technology are not taken seriously by anyone that I know.

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Tracy, I would suggest you read this report. It is so alarming the Obama administration suppressed it after the Republicans freaked out.

http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf

OMG... I was aware of the DHS looking into to right wing extremism as a source of terrism rather than the obvious Al Qaeda who had declared war on us. But I hadn't actually seen it.

Originally Posted by aw9725

Net Neutrality is an issue worthy of serious discussion. The Internet has always been an unregulated medium.

That is about to change.

Originally Posted by aw9725

The last time I checked Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin were not considered ?computer professionals.? Their views on technology are not taken seriously by anyone that I know.

I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. But then nothing was said on this thread about Glenn Beck's, Rush Limbaugh's, or Sarah Palin's professional opinion of computer technology.

[randolph]

A free and open internet is extremely uncomfortable for politicians. At last the public can find out what they are up to behind our backs. Bureaucrats are right now watching what we are saying on the internet. So far there is not much else they can do to control the flow of information. Even Wikileaks has gotten away with releasing extremely sensitive information. Other countries are not willing to put up with that (China, Iran, etc.).

The first step in control would be allowing the media companies to selectivity regulate the broadband aspects of the internet, this must be resisted at all costs.