:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 ::

Recently Sent To The Hon. Timothy V. Johnson

Rep. Barton's COPE Act aims, among many things, to end Net Neutrality, and thus kill the democracy of the internet. Instead of being a marketplace for all ideas, without net neutrality it would become the domain of moneyed interests and become as ugly and near-useless as cable television. As such, as my congressman, I urge you to support Rep. Markey's "Network Neutrality Act of 2006." It will preserve the essential neutrality of the internet and allow it to remain central to the modern marketplace of ideas.

The main justification one hears for the COPE Act is that telecommunications companies need this concession to finance the improvement of the underlying infrastructure of the internet. Rep. Johnson, please do not fall for this cannard. The telcos have spent the past 11 years developing the internet perfectly fine with neutrality in place. Removing it now would be a big mistake.

Sir, if you truely care for the interests of your constituents over those of large corporations, you need to support this bill. Otherwise the quality of discourse in this nation will decline, and that's not good for any democracy.

(I have to run to class, I'll add hyperlinks when I get back)

Update: Added a link to a site explaining the issue. If you want to send your own thoughts on the issue to Rep. Johnson, you can do so through his website. If you want to actually do something to improve things in congress, vote for Johnson's opponent, David Gill in November.

:: The Squire 12:47 PM :: email this post :: ::
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