Howard Dean is guest blogging for Larry Lessig:
The Internet might soon be the last place where open dialogue occurs. One of the most dangerous things that has happened in the past few years is the deregulation of media ownership rules that began in 1996. Michael Powell and the Bush FCC are continuing that assault today (see the June 2nd ruling). The danger of relaxing media ownership rules became clear to me when I saw what happened with the Dixie Chicks. But there's an even bigger danger in the future, on the Internet. The FCC recently ruled that cable and phone based broadband providers be classified as information rather than telecommunications services. This is the first step in a process that could allow Internet providers to arbitrarily limit the content that users can access. The phone and cable industries could have the power to discriminate against content that they don't control or-- even worse-- simply don't like
Scary perspective indeed, and a very real threat. Dean doesn't even mention the hideous Fox 'News' or other parts of the News Corp. republican campaign (New York Post with the original WW2 graves on the cover attacking France is also owned by News Corp.)
For a look at what Dean and others are up against check out this impressive list of books by right wing assholes. I wish I knew a nicer word for this kind of thinking, but I don't. The American right (well, some elements of it - of course there are decent poeple too) has a unique disregard for opinions other than their own, that is threatening all the life, the liberty and the pursuit of happiness for anyone who dares to disagree.
And these right wingers are the same people telling us about the totalitarian nightmares of communism. It's time for a new banner on classy.dk I think : 'Ideas don't pervert people. People pervert ideas'.
Perhaps the lack of responses are a refelction of the true knowledge of your readers; Who in their right mind would answer to such dangerous line of thought? Any way I think your reasoning would have been right on just a couple of years ago, as of the present time we have moved from Huxly's world to a much sinister Lenninist style of rule, can you imagine the result of such marriege?
Well good luck,
Oscar Escobar
Lakeland, FL
Oscar,
I'm not sure I understand you correctly. Are you saying that "If you criticize Bush you must be wrong" or are you just agreeing with me?
The notion that any american government has been in any danger of letting in any kind of communism is absurd.
Posted by: Dee on November 12, 2003 9:29 AMWell Dee: I agree with you, but I think that the political climate today is so confusing and frigthening that many people don't realize what we are up against. Communism? no! more like a dictatorship by commity. I resently had the opportunity to read "Totalitarian Nigmares" by Frank B. Elwell, (google search), also "A Brave New World REVISITED" (Huxley), regarding the last title I was causioned by someone not to purchase it becouse its political content was so relevant to today that it was dangerous. Any way good luck, ah one more thing, in the past couple of months it seems that some networks, and print media have grown some "cojones" and try to be somewhat more balanced. See ya!
Oscar Escobar