Friday, December 3, 2010

Barker's Pre-Vacation Newsbites: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010


I was actually gonna use "Travelin' Man" as today's newsbites theme song...

(*PAUSE*)

But to tell you the truth... I like this song better!

Anyway... I'll be away till the 11th.

Check back on Sunday, Dec. 12th or Monday, Dec. 13th for new posts!

Wish me bon voyage!

1 comment:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/wave-goodbye-to-internet-freedom/

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to add the Internet to its portfolio of regulated industries.

The agency's chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced Wednesday that he circulated draft rules he says will "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet."

No statement could better reflect the gulf between the rhetoric and the reality of Obama administration policies.

* FOLKS... THIS ISN'T A STRAIGHTFORWARD ISSUE... DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH... BUT WITH THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S TRACK RECORD... (*SIGH*)

With a straight face, Mr. Genachowski suggested that government red tape will increase the "freedom" of online services that have flourished because bureaucratic busybodies have been blocked from tinkering with the Web.

Ordinarily, it would be appropriate at this point to supply an example from the proposed regulations illustrating the problem. Mr. Genachowski's draft document has over 550 footnotes and is stamped "non-public, for internal use only" to ensure nobody outside the agency sees it until the rules are approved in a scheduled Dec. 21 vote.

So much for "openness."

* LIKE I SAY, FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THERE ARE CERTAIN PATTERNS THAT OBAMA FOLLOWS... (*FROWN*)

Existing laws already offer a number of protections against anti-competitive behavior... The FCC regulates broadcast television and radio because the government granted each station exclusive access to a slice of the [public] airwaves. Likewise when Ma Bell accepted a monopoly deal from Uncle Sam, it came with regulatory strings attached. No such rationale applies online, especially because bipartisan majorities in Congress have insisted on maintaining a hands-off policy.

* THIS IS A KEY POINT, FOLKS; ONCE AGAIN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS MAKING AN END RUN AROUND THE CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE OF LAW.