Net Neutrality = Federal Control of New Media

From Americans For Prosperity
Phil Kerpen
Director of Policy,
Americans for Prosperity
Chairman,
The Internet Freedom Coalition

The net neutrality movement is an outgrowth of the larger so-called media reform project of radical left-wing activists like Robert McChesney who seek to destroy private control of the country's communications systems.

McChesney and the so-called media reform movement was discussed Monday night on the Glenn Beck show, and you can watch that clip here. [Mr Kerpin] will be on with Glenn again Tuesday night to discuss net neutrality specifically.

The push for a Washington takeover of the Internet is coming from the White House. It includes Susan Crawford, the so-called Internet Czar, who told The Wall Street Journal in April that the $7.2 billion of stimulus money for broadband she is helping spend is a "down payment on future government investments in the Internet." She went on to say: "We should do a better job as a nation of making sure fast, affordable broadband is as ubiquitous as electricity, water, snail mail or any other public utility."

Here's what you should already know if you're reading this: none of this is neccessary. The internet ain't broke and anyone that wants to get online, can, if they have a job or a reliable source of income to pay for the service. The internet ain't free, just as water and electricity ain't free.

Connecting to the internet is as easy as flipping a switch or turning a faucet, if, IF you have the equipment and the provider. It is as ubiquitous as any utility you already pay for and have the equipment to utilize.

Once the government has control of this media, we have lost.
Best advice right now: buy a ham radio.

Free Speech Under Attack...in Canada, Brazil, Great Britain

Free Speech Under Foreign Assault
Robert Spencer - Oct 09, 2009 Front Page Magazine

Does the United States Constitution protect the freedom of speech of American citizens, or does it not? In this era of globalization, the answer is becoming increasingly muddled. Thursday, an American citizen, Paul Williams, went on trial in Canada. He is charged with violating Canadian libel laws in charges he made in his book The Dunces of Doomsday about a jihad terror cell at McMaster University in Ontario.

Likewise in Brazil, an American business writer, Joseph Sharkey, is on trial for what he wrote about Brazilian air-traffic controllers after he survived an airplane crash in Brazil.Williams and Sharkey both live in the United States, which guarantees that its citizens’ freedom of speech not be infringed. Should Canadian and Brazilian libel laws apply to them? Williams has already had to pay enormous amounts of money for his defense, and Sharkey is likely to be found guilty and given a $500,000 fine. McMaster University wants a cool two million dollars from Williams.

Shouldn’t the United States government protect American citizens from such bullying by foreign powers?

If nothing is done, the problem is certain to get worse - for Williams and Sharkey are not the first American victims of the tactic that has come to be known as "libel tourism."

The late Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz sued Rachel Ehrenfeld, founder and director of the American Center for Democracy, several years ago. Bin Mahfouz was upset about Ehrenfeld’s book, Funding Evil, in which she wrote that he was involved in funding Hamas and al Qaeda – a charge for which there was abundant evidence from Western intelligence agencies.

Nevertheless, taking advantage of British libel laws that place the burden of proof on the defendant, rather than the plaintiff, bin Mahfouz sued not in the United States, where Ehrenfeld lives and published her book, but in Britain, where neither he nor Ehrenfeld lived and where his entire case depended upon a handful of copies sold in that country mostly through special orders from Amazon.com, and the appearance of one chapter of the book on the Internet, where could have been read by British readers. A British court awarded bin Mahfouz $250,000, and Ehrenfeld had to devote the bulk of her time for years to fighting this judgment.

Robert Spencer is a scholar of Islamic history, theology, and law and the director of Jihad Watch. He is the author of eight books, eleven monographs, and hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran, is available now from Regnery Publishing.

Fairfax County Alert

Contact your County Superviser, your School Board Member, and Barbara Hunt at The Department of Communications and Community Outreach. Let them know you are extremely upset at Officer (School Cop) Cheeks storm trooper behavior.
The School Board Membership
A 12-member School Board is elected to four-year terms that are concurrent with the terms of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; one School Board member represents each of nine magisterial (election) districts, and three members serve at large. The current School Board members’ terms expire on December 31, 2011.
A student representative, selected for a one-year term at a nominating convention conducted by the countywide Student Advisory Council, participates in discussions but does not vote.
*Chairman, Kathy L. Smith, 571-423-1085
*Vice-Chairman, Tessie Wilson, 571-423-1088
* Braddock District, Tessie Wilson, 571-423-1088
* Dranesville District, Jane K. Strauss, 571-423-1087
* Hunter Mill District, Stuart D. Gibson, 571-423-1082
* Lee District, Brad Center, 571-423-1081
* Mason District, Kaye Kory, 571-423-1083
* Mt. Vernon District, Daniel G. Storck, 571-423-1086
* Providence District, vacant, 571-423-1084
* Springfield District, Elizabeth T. Bradsher, 571-423-1080
* Sully District, Kathy L. Smith, 571-423-1085
* At-Large Member, Martina A. Hone, 571-423-1089
* At-Large Member, Ilryong Moon, 571-423-1090
* At-Large Member, James L. Raney, 571-423-1091

For Dems, Home Is Where the Heartburn Is

Don't forget the wannabe socialists will also change the names from time to time. They are now calling it health insurance reform.

The same way they went from "global warming" to "climate change" when the data didn't fit the message.

I seem to remember reading about these methods of mis-direction somehwere in my distant past. I seem to recall that the Soviets were notorious for these tactics.

From Family Research Council

The same members who wrote the book on political antagonism under President Bush are lashing out at voters for being outspoken on health care. In a stunning column in USA Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) seethed about the "ugly campaign" to derail the government takeover of health care. While everyday people are turning out by the thousands to voice concerns, the message from the top was simple: Anyone who disagrees with us is "simply un-American."

Obviously, these leaders have been so insulated from public opinion that any kind of focused resistance is uncomfortable. After getting their way for years, Congress seems shocked that voters are paying attention-so much so that any form of accountability or pointed questioning has them unnerved. Democrats who are used to seeing a few dozen constituents at their townhalls are facing boisterous, standing-room-only crowds--and their best retort is that dissent is "un-American"? Our nation was founded by dissenters! Deep down, these leaders know that this conflict is not a threat to society but only to their political fortunes.

In my home state of Louisiana, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) put it best this weekend. "Someone told me I should have security for this meeting today because of the angry crowds... I told them the best security is to vote right!" Pelosi and Hoyer would do well to heed that advice. Like us, they realize that this debate is about more than health care reform. It's about President Obama's ability to push a radical social agenda. With every packed townhall, every phone call to a member's office, and every email expressing concern, these leaders' dream of redefining America is slipping away. Whether people realize it or not, this is an historic moment in our nation's development. If we can drive back the government takeover of health care, we could turn the tide for our country's future.

Decades ago, a mathematician named Jacob Bronowski wrote, "Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime." Don't conform! Join the movement to "question authority" in Washington. Check out our nationwide townhall schedule at www.frcaction.org. A few hours of your time could literally save the nation. If you don't see your district or state mentioned, I encourage you to call your members of congress and ask them to meet with those whom they represent. Let us know what you find out.