HOSTILE GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF INTERNET

Posted by Jared Law (912 Project) So-called "Net Neutrality" is the power to regulate the Internet. And as you can imagine, the White House would love sites like http://www.the912project.us, http://www.glennbeck.com, http://www.foxnews.com, http://www.biggovernment.com, and all other blogs, websites, etc. sympathetic to the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and the cause of Liberty, to simply shut up, sit down, and take it like a man, instead of daring to question with boldness, hold to the truth, and speak without fear. Here's the news this morning, but the article was written from a business analysis perspective, and it totally ignores the plight of America, of those who love the Founding Fathers, The Constitution, true American History, The Free Market, American Heritage, and Freedom itself, so brackets [ ] were added to insert what they failed to mention: MAY 6, 2010, 7:15 AM ET How the FCC Plans to Regulate Internet LinesBy Amy Schatz Worried that phone and cable company stocks could take a tumble, Federal Communications Commission officials will brief Wall Street analysts before the markets open Thursday morning to explain in greater detail how they plan to regulate Internet lines [and take control of the Internet, take the power to regulate free speech in America, especially those pesky Tea Partiers/9.12'ers]. On Wednesday afternoon, aides to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski began briefing other FCC officials and lawmakers about how the agency plans to make sure it can enforce net neutrality, or the requirement that Internet providers treat all legal Internet traffic equally [but don't pay attention to what the White House might deem unequal, or illegal, especially Glenn Beck and those who agree with him]. Mr. Genachowski plans to circulate a notice of inquiry to other FCC board members next week on his plans to reclassify Internet lines — both cable and phone Internet lines — as common carrier services under Title 2 of the Communications Act. In 2002, the FCC deregulated Internet lines, and this move basically reverses that decision. At the same time, he will propose a “notice of proposed forbearance,” which will essentially lay out details about all of the parts of Title 2 that the FCC won’t try to enforce on Internet providers. Mr. Genachowski wants the agency to act quickly on the notices so they can be put out for public comment, with an eye toward making the changes official this fall, FCC officials said. FCC officials say they don’t want to apply most of the provisions of Title 2 to Internet lines, including things like rate regulations and rules that would require phone and cable companies to share their Internet lines and facilities with competitors at regulated rates. “This is not your father’s Title 2,” says one FCC official familiar with the proposal, which has been dubbed “Title 2 lite” by some analysts. Although consumer advocates [and progressives who can't wait to shut down free speech opposing the White House] couldn’t be more thrilled, phone and cable companies [, not to mention Tea Partiers, 9.12'ers, limited government advocates, and other Principled Constitutionalists] aren’t exactly happy about the plan. Mr. Genachowski may not want to wade into rate regulation, but future FCCs can easily reverse forbearance decisions, raising uncertainty about how companies and investors might be able to recoup billions of dollars in investments they’ve made in Internet networks. “We would expect a profoundly negative impact on capital investment,” warned Stanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett in a research note to clients Wednesday night titled “The FCC Goes Nuclear.” “The only potential winners are the satellite providers, DirecTV and Dish Network, for whom incremental broadband regulation would dramatically reduce the risk of competitive foreclosure in the video business at the hands of bottleneck broadband providers,” he wrote. Other analysts noted there’s almost 100% certainty that phone and cable companies will challenge the FCC’s decision in court, and the litigation could take several years. (Although, to be fair, almost every major thing the FCC does ends up in a federal appeals court anyway.) “We believe the FCC’s attempt to reclassify broadband will create a prolonged period of regulatory uncertainty and invite protracted litigation in a way that could complicate various high-priority policy initiatives,” wrote Jeffrey Silva, a telecom analyst for Media Global Advisors in a research note. Click the link in the story title to read the story in original context. UPDATE: Republicans prepare to fight possible FCC net-neutrality push by ye...By Sara Jerome - 11/19/10 10:51 AM ET Republicans are preparing to make things very difficult for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman if he tries to push ahead on net neutrality in December. Chatter that the agency may move to create net-neutrality rules before year's end has put the GOP on high alert, crafting plans this week how it would oppose any such effort. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is preparing a letter, expected to go out Friday or Saturday, urging the FCC to back down, according to House aides. The aides say they expect the letter to hit the traditional anti-net-neutrality notes: that there is no need to rush on rules for Internet lines and that there is no clear case for regulation. They also said they expect it to extol the growth of the broadband sector. Barton, the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce panel, is a candidate to lead the committee in the next Congress. Republicans are also speaking up individually to oppose the potential effort. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), who wants to lead the committee if Barton's bid fails, issued a statement on Friday panning the possibility that net neutrality could come in December. “Ramming through Internet regulations would ignore the will of a bipartisan majority of Congress and the American public," he said. "It would further impede economic growth and job creation." The political calculus that might push the FCC to move in December is that Congress would be out of session and the Republicans would not yet have the House majority to immediately fight the effort. Stearns suggested the timing is crafty. "Since the December meeting agenda will be released next week when Congress is in recess, it appears that Chairman Genachowski is trying to slip it under the radar and hope no one notices,” he said, referring to the standard set of agency procedures. FCC officials said this week they have heard rumors that net neutrality, a proposal delayed since last October, could be featured on the agency's December agenda; however, certainty and direct knowledge were scarce. Jen Howard, the spokesperson for the chairman, would neither confirm nor deny the possibility. Telecom industry analysts also began saying this week that they think the commission seems "likely" to act.