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Ajit Pai - The Joke Who Became a Reality
Feb 7, 2018 11:43:32   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Theoretically, government agencies exist to protect the public. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. Take Ajit Pai, for example, the head of the FCC who decided that it was more important to let online companies get richer by denying the public the service it used to have.

In a video produced by the FCC, "...FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and a Verizon executive joke about installing a “Verizon puppet” as head of the FCC." Yes, that is exactly what they did, and Pai has been performing admirably for them. Unfortunately, they decided to block release of that video, so we won't be able to laugh along with them.

“We want to brainwash and groom a Verizon puppet to install as FCC chairman,” Grillo says. “Think Manchurian Candidate.”

Naturally no "proper authorities" took notice of this comment - and the fact that it has become a reality. Maybe we don't have proper authorities anymore.
https://gizmodo.com/fcc-says-releasing-jokes-it-wrote-about-ajit-pai-collud-1822763256

They are allowed to withhold the video because releasing it would harm the FCC.
https://gizmodo.com/fcc-says-releasing-jokes-it-wrote-about-ajit-pai-collud-1822763256

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Feb 7, 2018 19:24:12   #
MichaelH Loc: NorCal via Lansing, MI
 
If it was made with our tax dollars I say - "Freedom Of Information Act". Let the courts decide if the "harm to the FCC" outweighs the need of the public to see how their tax dollars are spent. Some Good Samaritan will file the appropriate forms for the release. Some people are very shallow and don't see beyond their billion$. Remember the photo of Steven Mnuchin posing with his pretty young wife:


(Download)

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Feb 8, 2018 06:27:05   #
sb Loc: Florida's East Coast
 
Instead of "draining the swamp" it is now full of snakes.

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Feb 8, 2018 06:50:51   #
edwdickinson Loc: Ardmore PA
 
Net neutrality is Orwellian speak for let government be in control of something that was working fine for 25 years. Investment in internet infrastructure goes down if the businesses can't make a profit from the investment. Disband the FCC. We do not need a government agency in charge of censorship. Their time has past.

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Feb 8, 2018 08:42:32   #
JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ
 
edwdickinson wrote:
Net neutrality is Orwellian speak for let government be in control of something that was working fine for 25 years. Investment in internet infrastructure goes down if the businesses can't make a profit from the investment. Disband the FCC. We do not need a government agency in charge of censorship. Their time has past.


Wow, you've really drunk the Kool-aid........

"Net Neutrality" IS the "something that was working fine for 25 years". It was only because ISPs started to violate the unwritten rule was a formal law required. NN in no way prevents businesses from making a profit from infrastructure improvements. Dropping NN just allows them to increase profits WITHOUT making any improvements.

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Feb 8, 2018 09:25:53   #
edwdickinson Loc: Ardmore PA
 
Sorry man, kool-aid is the preferred beverage of the left. We libertarians prefer to be free to choose our own beverage.

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Feb 8, 2018 12:59:27   #
PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
 
jerryc41 wrote:
Theoretically, government agencies exist to protect the public. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. Take Ajit Pai, for example, the head of the FCC who decided that it was more important to let online companies get richer by denying the public the service it used to have.

In a video produced by the FCC, "...FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and a Verizon executive joke about installing a “Verizon puppet” as head of the FCC." Yes, that is exactly what they did, and Pai has been performing admirably for them. Unfortunately, they decided to block release of that video, so we won't be able to laugh along with them.

“We want to brainwash and groom a Verizon puppet to install as FCC chairman,” Grillo says. “Think Manchurian Candidate.”

Naturally no "proper authorities" took notice of this comment - and the fact that it has become a reality. Maybe we don't have proper authorities anymore.
https://gizmodo.com/fcc-says-releasing-jokes-it-wrote-about-ajit-pai-collud-1822763256

They are allowed to withhold the video because releasing it would harm the FCC.
https://gizmodo.com/fcc-says-releasing-jokes-it-wrote-about-ajit-pai-collud-1822763256
Theoretically, government agencies exist to protec... (show quote)


My question for those who say additional services/increased speeds should be provided free: who pays for it ? Another way to look at it is I am going to be charged more for something I don't use so the big companies can increase revenue in order to replace/upgrade infrastructure and do the development. The folks that need and want the upgrades should be the persons who pay for it. My home internet access is 1/3 the cost of most people around me because I don't need or want super high speed access. Don't need immediate access to see what my friends are eating via twitter or snapchat or facebook. I don't need to be able to look into my refrigerator from my office to figure out what groceries to buy on the way home. My washing machine does not need to contact my cell phone to tell me the cycle is done. I don't need Netflix streaming or Hulu or the like so why shouldn't those who want to be able to do these things pay more for the services and infrastructure needed to allow them?

Why shouldn't the ISP's who have to keep increasing the number and size of their pipes to service those who want super high speed access be allowed to attach the cost to the people who use and demand it (and restrict speed from those who refuse to pay for it) ? In my world, you get what you pay for and pay for what you want. There is no 'right' to any service or commodity only a price for your convenience. The problem comes from the previous administration reclassifying ISP's as more of a 'common carrier' than an information service.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need internet to live. Pretending that you do is the only justification for what the previous administration did in reclassifying internet companies as a common carrier arrangement. In the common carrier scheme, the companies who support and administer internet connectivity and infrastructure would come under a greater amount of governmental control. This control was ultimate goal of the previous administration.

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Feb 8, 2018 15:10:15   #
kdogg Loc: Gallipolis Ferry WV
 
FUBAR!

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Feb 8, 2018 18:11:17   #
incognito
 
One needs to be a savvy consumer. If you call the ISP and ask them to lower your bill they just laugh at you. If you Drop them you will find that they will bug you to death with a better offer, better than the one you wanted in the first place. Now why couldn't they have given the better offer in the first place and save themselves a customer? I was just as happy with dialup and my dumb phone. I only paid for what I used and not a bunch of crap that I don't use or want.

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Feb 8, 2018 19:08:07   #
PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place
 
We are in a very sorry state as a nation and it is looking to get worse.

Don

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Feb 9, 2018 22:23:00   #
clanmack Loc: Asheville, NC
 
What happens to people in rural areas? Small businesses. The ISPs have made plenty of money already. This an anti- consumer, pro business policy change. Anyone surprised?
Anyone can choose less on a personal basis now.

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