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October 16, 2006Joe Lieberman Sells Out the InternetMonday, October 16, 2006 by David S. Isenberg I just got a letter from my senator, Joe Lieberman, dated Oct. 6, that indicates that he's completely flaking on network neutrality and other key telecom reforms. The letter says that he supports the principle of net neutrality, but underneath the letter's tricky language he's saying that he will vote for the telecom industry's telecom bill (S. 2686), the bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last summer without any net neutrality provision. Moreover, it shows that Lieberman is not willing to wait a year to see if his (former?) party wins a majority in one House of Congress so maybe the country can get a more balanced law. Commerce Committee chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) has been scrambling to find the 60 votes needed to stop the filibuster promised by Senator Wyden, Senator Kerry and others who believe that the Stevens bill is anti-democratic and an industry give-away. To date, Stevens has lined up about 57 votes, and now with Lieberman and perhaps other swing senators falling Stevens' way, passage of the Senate telecom bill looks more likely than ever before. Continue reading here. Note: For more about David, see his home page. Posted by Jock Gill at October 16, 2006 10:47 PM | TrackBackComments
David, For a refreshingly different point of view, I recommend Robert Steele's book "The Smart Nation Act: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest". Congressman Simmons (R-CT-02), who wrote the Foreword to the book, and is the sponsor of the Act by the same title, The Smart Information Act, "gets it." He understands that democracy is about information sharing and informed citizens, not partisan politics. This comment applies equally well to the problems created by Global Warming. Open Source Intelligence is a key foundation block for the transition to "a more intelligent, high knowledge sharing, less concentrated, more equitable, renewable energy economy." Further, OSI supports the "good news is that within a greater democracy we can collectively choose paths starting from our origins within our own traditions and engage in movements toward a common, sustainable, stewardship of the environment by participating in collaborative action to secure resilient, sustainable communities. Resilience starts with community dialogue metaphorically similar to the way the Amish raise barns for members of their community." A society of secrets is no way to nurture resilient communities based upon collaborative actions. If we can create resilient communities, we have a chance of ending the civil war raging in America today. After all, what else is the War on Everything?
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