Her advice on this subject probably comes from people who are vastly more knowledgeable about the side-effects of the proposed regulations than most of us.

Patty may be getting her advice from Maria, but as the Senator From Microsoft(tm) she’s probably going the other way.

“OK then what about another staff member on NN?

Well he’s the man.
Try calling again on Monday.

“OK I’ll call again on Monday.
[Both offices keep a tally of pros and cons, yes or no for each issue.]

“And put me down in strong support of NN.
Against any sellout or giveaway to the telecoms.
The internet belongs to American citizens.
And I don’t want to see happen to the Internet what has happened to Television.
Corporate hands off!

“But do Maria/Patty HAVE a position on the Net Neutrality vote?

No official position at this time but she’s in favor of open communication.

“OK but she doesn’t HAVE a position on the Tuesday vote?

“Why DOESN’T she have a position, with her experience in the communications industry and the Senate?

silence

[I describe the typical Congressional Representative for the receptionist:]
“It concerns me that our Representatives ask us to be patient while they “study the issue” or “get more input from constituents”.

“This one-way communication continues right up until the vote itself, after which any meaningful discussion is moot and there’s nothing left to do but commiserate about the loss of more citizens’ rights.

“We shouldn’t have to call and pester you folks for our Senator’s’ position, swarm your fax machine, generally make a nuisance for you.

“But the Senator’s staff should have already studied the legislation, should have already prepared the Senator to discuss the bill’s implications with their constituents.

“The Senator should HAVE a position AND the explanation of how they arrived on that position - well ahead of their vote.

“The lack of a position just tells constituents their representative lacks diligence and confidence of conviction and brings into question their leadership ability, maybe even their integrity.

“We need TIMELY TWO-WAY communication with our Senators on these important issues affecting our Constitutional rights.

“Those post mortem letters just don’t cut it any more.

“OK thanks for listening to me and I hope you have a great weekend!

No ISP would re-direct Google searches elsewhere, but if they did the COPE Act as it stands would whup ‘em with a $500,000 fine.

And no, Comcast does not support these regulations, and neither do the wireless folks. And in the past, Internet co-daddy Vint Cerf spoke against Internet regulation.

Let’s get some actual facts here, dude, not just wild speculation.

The fact that you like cable isn’t what makes you awfully dumb. Sorry, couldn’t help that one. You set yourself up for it ;-]

But, our point is that the cable companies are not the ones talking about packet level
discrimination. The phone companies are. Comcast has stated that they are all for net
neutrality. ATT and Verizon have both publically stated that they are not.

But, let me ask you this: If your cable provider was yelling and screaming that they think
they should be able to charge Google extra to let you connect to Google, or you would
be redirected to CableCompanySearch.com instead — what would you do?

That is the damn worst case — but I don’t put that above the telco cartel. Obviously
1 million of my fellow internet users agree with me there.

Blah. You’re obviously a lost cause.

-d

I must be awfully dumb to like it.

Korea has broadband because it’s easier to run fiber in a high-rise apartment building than in a town with 100 years worth of copper wire under the street, and also because they privatized their phone company. In all these countries that are ahead of the US in broadband, the phone company was owned by the government until very recently, and the cash they raised by privatization funded the broadband build-out.

In the US we have two major broadband networks, one never regulated by “neutrality” laws (cable) and that was has been (DSL).

Which is better?

The US isn’t Korea and it isn’t Japan. We should to follow the policies that have worked well here and avoid those that haven’t.

You’ve got to be kidding. Hey Rich, you mind telling us why South Korea’s Internet service is far superior to ours? They have enforcable Net Neutrality laws, yet the average Internet connection over there is eight megs… considerably more than what we’re getting in the America.

I hear crickets chirping.

Net neutrality, profit, and innovation seem to be quite compatible with each other in other countries. But in a backward plutocracy like the United States, the corporations will never be satisfied until they squeeze their customers, and the government, for every last dime. Who needs that pesky freedom of expression? It’s getting in the way of our profit!

If anyone’s anchoring us to the past, it’s the telcos and cable companies. It’s a good thing some OTHER countries still believe in empowering the people, rather than big business.

JR