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from the hopefully-not-paying-lip-service dept.
Fluffeh writes:
"When the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the FCC's Open Internet Rules, a White House Petition was put up to 'direct the FCC to classify ISPs as "common carriers"'. With over 100k signatures, there is now an official response.
Absent net neutrality, the Internet could turn into a high-priced private toll road that would be inaccessible to the next generation of visionaries. The resulting decline in the development of advanced online apps and services would dampen demand for broadband and ultimately discourage investment in broadband infrastructure. An open Internet removes barriers to investment worldwide.
The petition asked that the President direct the FCC to reclassify Internet service providers as "common carriers" which, if upheld, would give the FCC a distinct set of regulatory tools to promote net neutrality. The FCC is an independent agency. Chairman Wheeler has publicly pledged to use the full authority granted by Congress to maintain a robust, free and open Internet a principle that this White House vigorously supports."
(Score: 1) by keplr on Wednesday February 19 2014, @10:24PM
Term limits sound nice to people who haven't studied political science. What actually happens is that term limits obliterate the institutional knowledge of any governing body/office and hand the real power over to the people who have been there the longest--which becomes unelected lobbyists and advisers who can make a career out of learning the system. Term limits make government more inept and less responsive to constituencies.
Your real concern is the amount of money needed to run a political campaign, and where that money comes from. We would be better off with a short, publicly financed, campaign season focused on public debates and discussion.
(Score: 1) by cykros on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:23AM
Wish I had some mod points for this, because it's right on the money. Term limits do sound nice, but in reality solve nothing, and are more of the same doublespeak, as the elected officials aren't the ones holding the power in the first place...it's the people who got them there that pull the strings. Not to say they may not have a little wiggle room (and really what we need is a really good Houdini for prez), but they are pretty solidly beholden to their financiers, who more often than not will secure their investment by digging up some good dirt to keep them in check, which is getting a bit easier in the age of Big Data.
This is the message that Occupy should have remained focused on, which unfortunately is not what happened. But, the people are free to choose their actions, whether or not they're ultimately wise. Hope things go better next time around.