Dark Holy Elf Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 from the linked article: Pai said his proposal would prevent state and local governments from creating their own net neutrality rules because internet service is “inherently an interstate service.” Well, here's a good chance for folks who rail about states' rights to do so for a useful cause instead of as a dog-whistle for racism and homophobia. I have some hope that some of the big web-based companies (Google etc.) may raise enough of a fuss about this to prevent the worst damage but I don't know enough about the details about how possible this is so maybe I'm just being an optimist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just call me AL Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 15 minutes ago, Archer of Red said: There's almost no chance of this not passing, and it's been that way since Ajit Pai took over. Congress doesn't have any say in this, it's entirely in the hands of the commission. Congress could probably do something to soften the blow, but since Obama was in favour of net neutrality and their overwhelmingly crony-capitalist views, you can expect the GOP to do nothing about this. It's an issue of damage control until an actually competent government comes into power and hopefully un-fucks everything, although it might be too late by that point. Could you blame a guy like me for hoping, though? I mean, this is the same sort of government that repeatedly failed to repeal Obamacare because of public backlash against the repeal attempts. Not to mention, people nowadays use the internet every day. This issue should be getting some attention among even the GOP, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time the Crestfallen Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 34 minutes ago, Just call me AL said: Could you blame a guy like me for hoping, though? I mean, this is the same sort of government that repeatedly failed to repeal Obamacare because of public backlash against the repeal attempts. Not to mention, people nowadays use the internet every day. This issue should be getting some attention among even the GOP, at least. It isn't in the hands of Congress though because Net Neutrality is an FCC policy rather than a law. It's going through the FCC commission, of which the GOP has 3 of the 5 seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 The Czech Republic is just looking better and better. Although I suppose this could get European companies to push for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time the Crestfallen Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, blah the Prussian said: The Czech Republic is just looking better and better. Although I suppose this could get European companies to push for it... Much like how Trump's election emboldened far-right dipshits around the world, if the vote passes I won't at all be shocked if crony-capitalists in other nations begin to push against net neutrality. Makes me wonder what the 'librul tears' crowd will have to say if this goes through. Edited November 22, 2017 by Phillius the Crestfallen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 4 hours ago, Phillius the Crestfallen said: Much like how Trump's election emboldened far-right dipshits around the world, if the vote passes I won't at all be shocked if crony-capitalists in other nations begin to push against net neutrality. Makes me wonder what the 'librul tears' crowd will have to say if this goes through. That's not actually true. Most of the far right victories were before Trump's election; Wilders lost in the Netherlands and le Pen lost in France, and here in the Czech Republic, the center right under Andrej Babiš(who, admittedly, is still a piece of shit) beat out the far right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time the Crestfallen Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, blah the Prussian said: That's not actually true. Most of the far right victories were before Trump's election; Wilders lost in the Netherlands and le Pen lost in France, and here in the Czech Republic, the center right under Andrej Babiš(who, admittedly, is still a piece of shit) beat out the far right. Well, 'emboldened' doesn't necessarily mean successful, but I get your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) I think the funniest/saddest part is that I've seen Trump supporters bring up the valid point that Net Neutrality is really the only thing stopping ISPs from slowing down services to competitors or sites that they don't like unless you pay them additional money. Say, Breitbart or right-wing media sources, for example. I don't want that to happen. There's of course those that think this is a matter of "overbearing government regulations" who don't know what they're talking about as usual, but I've genuinely seen them calling Ajit Pai a corporate shill, but completely reject any connection he has to Trump. Edited November 22, 2017 by Tryhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just call me AL Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) Well, here's something related to the whole current Net Neutrality thing. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fcc-stonewalling-probe-massive-scheme-involving-fake-net/story?id=51332865 I certainly hope Schneiderman finds enough evidence to charge Ajit Pai, or any Repug in the FCC, with criminal misconduct and voter fraud. Edited November 23, 2017 by Just call me AL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time the Crestfallen Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 You guys remember all those times the GOP said State's Rights are so important? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zasplach Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 The net neutrality decision seems like a dumpster fire waiting to happen, but it's the issue with having a highly bureaucratic system whereby decisions can changed on the whim of a new administration. I suspect when history looks back at the Obama administration and this one, whatever conclusion each person draws on the policy issues, one of the critiques will be the lack of concession drawn to create legislation and the tenuous nature of their accomplishments. My favorite news story of the holiday season though has to be one man-baby doesn't want to say thank you and the other man-baby wants more thanks. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-slams-ucla-players-dad-lavar-ball-ungrateful/story?id=51320968 This feels like a WWE story-line and if this doesn't drive me to the bottle because of the nature of 21st century American life, I don't know what will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time the Crestfallen Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Zasplach said: The net neutrality decision seems like a dumpster fire waiting to happen, but it's the issue with having a highly bureaucratic system whereby decisions can changed on the whim of a new administration. I suspect when history looks back at the Obama administration and this one, whatever conclusion each person draws on the policy issues, one of the critiques will be the lack of concession drawn to create legislation and the tenuous nature of their accomplishments. Part of that is the GOP being salty and trying to obstruct everything Obama did. Which of course, makes it extremely easy to get rid of quite a few things that he got into place. 31 minutes ago, Zasplach said: My favorite news story of the holiday season though has to be one man-baby doesn't want to say thank you and the other man-baby wants more thanks. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-slams-ucla-players-dad-lavar-ball-ungrateful/story?id=51320968 What makes it especially dumb is that both the player and his teammates were (to my knowledge) very grateful for what he did, but he's saying he should've left him in jail because the dad wasn't grateful. Doesn't matter what everyone else says, apparently having so much as a single person not as pleased with him as he expects is too much for his ego to handle. 31 minutes ago, Zasplach said: This feels like a WWE story-line and if this doesn't drive me to the bottle because of the nature of 21st century American life, I don't know what will. I mean Spoiler http://www.wwe.com/videos/donald-trump-enters-the-hall-2013-wwe-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony Edited November 23, 2017 by Phillius the Crestfallen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slumber Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Looks like Tillerson's out. That's what happens when you call der Führer an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crysta Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 I mean, he's not wrong, and I wouldn't wish the frustration of working with Trump on my greatest enemy -- but he was pretty bad at his job. I wonder which incompetent crony is gonna take his place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 It's going to be Pompeo. Tom Cotton would most likely be the Head of CIA. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/politics/state-department-tillerson-pompeo-trump.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slumber Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Agent 707 said: I mean, he's not wrong, and I wouldn't wish the frustration of working with Trump on my greatest enemy -- but he was pretty bad at his job. I wonder which incompetent crony is gonna take his place. It's definitely a conflicting feeling. On one hand, yeah. Tillerson REALLY shouldn't have had that job. On the other, it's very unlikely that he was fired over his lack of qualifications or being bad at his job. He was probably fired to insulting our Manbaby in Chief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zasplach Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 19 minutes ago, Slumber said: It's definitely a conflicting feeling. On one hand, yeah. Tillerson REALLY shouldn't have had that job. On the other, it's very unlikely that he was fired over his lack of qualifications or being bad at his job. He was probably fired to insulting our Manbaby in Chief. Eh, Secretary of State is mostly a managerial position, not really a political one and Tillerson had experience at Exon with high level management. Most secretaries of state haven't really been political animals, minus in the late 18th/early 19th century when SOS was basically the heir-apparent Jefferson to Madison, Madison to Monroe, Monre to Adams, and it made President Obama's choices of Mrs. Clinton and Mr Kerry to that position a little strange. In fact both Clinton and HW Bush had non-political secretary of states. I cringed a little when President Trump decided to appoint the CEO of Exon Mobile to the position, but he brought a seriousness to the job that I didn't expect a Trump nominee to have. I think most of the problems at Downing street have to do with the Bannon agenda of gutting the federal bureaucracy by simply not filling political positions by appointments. I don't think Mike Pompeo is an improvement to Mr. Tillerson, at least it looked like Tillerson was willing to call the President on his rancorous garbage, Pompeo on the other hand is a political fellow and knows his political fortunes is entirely reliant on the shape of this Presidency. Pompeo was the one who as head of the CIA took a meeting on Trump's recommendations with a conspirator who said that the DNC hacks was an inside job, so I don't see the good of Pompeo on the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 (edited) Flynn is pleading guilty for false statements. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-01/flynn-to-plead-to-false-statements-in-d-c-court It has also been stated (we'll see how true it is) that Mike Flynn is "prepared to testify" against Trump, his family, & the campaign, including Trump ordering him to talk to Russians Edited December 1, 2017 by Tryhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thane Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 7 minutes ago, Tryhard said: Flynn is pleading guilty for false statements. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-01/flynn-to-plead-to-false-statements-in-d-c-court It has also been stated (we'll see how true it is) that Mike Flynn is "prepared to testify" against Trump, his family, & the campaign, including Trump ordering him to talk to Russians Interesting. I wonder where this will lead. I hope Mueller's got adequate protection, too. To what extent do we know of Russian collusion in the American election? I seem to recall a lot of people saying it was either non-existent or not a big deal, though of course I don't believe that myself. ...Didn't the U.S and Russia use to be enemies and rivals? What happened to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 23 minutes ago, Thane said: Interesting. I wonder where this will lead. I hope Mueller's got adequate protection, too. To what extent do we know of Russian collusion in the American election? I seem to recall a lot of people saying it was either non-existent or not a big deal, though of course I don't believe that myself. ...Didn't the U.S and Russia use to be enemies and rivals? What happened to that? I'm not going to go into hysteria but it seems fair to see that Russia attempted to tamper in the US election, but this is not something that is exclusive to Russia, as bad as it is. The more interesting part that might be revealed by whatever information Flynn has is if there was any direct collusion or ties to the Trump campaign, which is more contentious. I'm not really sure by the wording of it if it is referring to scheduled meetings with Russian officials or more sinister reasoning for such meetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thane Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 4 minutes ago, Tryhard said: I'm not going to go into hysteria but it seems fair to see that Russia attempted to tamper in the US election, but this is not something that is exclusive to Russia, as bad as it is. The more interesting part that might be revealed by whatever information Flynn has is if there was any direct collusion or ties to the Trump campaign, which is more contentious. I'm not really sure by the wording of it if it is referring to scheduled meetings with Russian officials or more sinister reasoning for such meetings. I see. I'm not very knowledgeable about these things, so I must ask this: just how much are two parties like these allowed to talk with each other and work together? Like, where do you draw the line between illegal and just frowned upon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slumber Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Christmas came early! ... Is what I would say, if the dickless corporate shills in the senate didn't just vote AGAINST tax cuts for the middle class. Not even trying to pretend anymore that they're for less taxes. But Trump's in hot water, so hopefully the end of this nightmare is in sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Res Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 The tax reforms are going to screw so many people over that I'm having a really hard time not being super angry over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 (edited) Scandals aside, I can only hope the Republicans are actually blamed for it and the death of net neutrality among other things that hurt the average person. Does everyone just forget that Republicans only answer to the economy is to deregulate and cut taxes (mostly for the rich)? It lead to the Great Depression, it lead to Reagan (Reaganomics, supply side economics) trashing the debt/deficit, it lead to George Bush crashing the economy in the Great Recession as recently as 2007-2008, and yet people still conveniently forget. It doesn't work. Edited December 1, 2017 by Tryhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slumber Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 8 minutes ago, Tryhard said: Scandals aside, I can only hope the Republicans are actually blamed for it and the death of net neutrality among other things that hurt the average person. Does everyone just forget that Republicans only answer to the economy is to deregulate and cut taxes (mostly for the rich)? It lead to the Great Depression, it lead to Reagan (Reaganomics, supply side economics) trashing the debt/deficit, it lead to George Bush crashing the economy in the Great Recession as recently as 2007-2008, and yet people still conveniently forget. It doesn't work. Trickle Down has been a complete disaster, and the deification of Reagan has made it damn near impossible to get anybody on the right to even consider that there might be better ways than just giving all money to the rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.