Why I will not be joining WordPress in the Fight For Net Neutrality

net neutrality world logo
net neutrality world logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Being libertarian, and also a staunch supporter of private property rights, I’m totally against the whole Net Neutrality movement. Unfortunately i’ll have to revert to some simple analogies to make my points relatable to people that believe they have a right to others property (and vicariously their prosperity).

“The Government invented the Internet, therefore, access needs to remain neutral”, is one frequent argument. NASA engineers invented the microwave oven. Does that mean the public should be able to dictate how Amana or GE manufacture microwave ovens, and what is approved for cooking in those ovens? Of course not. Comparing the early “Internet” used by the state to today’s internet is like comparing a tricycle to a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Yes they both have wheels, but, well, you get the idea.

“Those big, evil corporations will control, restrict, charge for, and otherwise dictate what and how content is streamed to you.” Yes, they built the pipes, manage the pipes, and provide those pipes all the way to your router. Dictating that they must grant blanket access to those pipes to all content providers is nothing less than taking their property. Stealing. Socialism.

“But what if they somehow compromise my access to my preferred content (Netflix, Pandora, LastFM, WordPress, etc.)?” Of course content providers want to have a free ride on highways someone else built. They can optimize their revenue stream and shareholder value and push the cost of doing business to someone else. How can that be a bad thing as long as you (the consumer) get your episode of Real Housewives at no extra charge?

And that my friends is the bottom line. It’s not really about restricted access, it’s about free riders. The content providers and the consumers don’t want to have to pay to play. All the “what if” scenarios fall by the wayside, because they are just fear-mongering used by master manipulators to push an agenda. You don’t like how Comcast is treating you and your preferred content? Then move to AT&T. And that’s the solution the the problem.

An internet that is responsive to the will of the consumer is one where the free market is allowed to operate, and competition between content providers, internet providers, and those in dual roles (like Google) are vying for advertisers and consumers. It will ultimately drive down costs, up quality, and increase access. To get there will require government to quit interfering, and people to stop using the power of the state to impose their will on others. Just because it’s popular (democracy) does not mean it’s right.

Reagan Quote

Coalition of Journalism Groups Denounce Obama Administration for “Politically-Driven Suppression of the News”

“…The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.” – John Swinton, Chief Editorial Writer, New York Times

With the concentration of ownership of mainstream media outlets by a hand-full of corporations – all of which are large donors to political agents – all with lobbyists and agendas of their own, you can assume that the news is manipulated to manage politicians and laws rather than inform the public as a primary agenda. Where the truth conflicts with a financial, PR, or political agenda, the story will be sanitized or buried.

Avatar – Promoting that Ol’ Timey Religion

I just finished watching Avatar, a visually stunning movie written and produced by James Cameron. This film sets the bar high for combining real life with CGI-generated characters, in a fantastic foreign world. I believe this movie will be for my kids’ generation what the original Star Wars was for mine.

And that’s where the problems I have with this movie begin.

I should warn you about plot spoilers at this point, but Avatar’s is a very well-worn plot. Oh, don’t get me wrong; the story and characters are different enough to keep you quite engaged. But if you’ve seen Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest, well, that’s basically it. It’s just not as kid-friendly, and has very little humor. And, much like Fern Gully, there are no subtle spiritual belief systems being promoted here – they are about a overt as it gets.

Part of me wonders why Hollywood continues to reiterate the same themes over-and-over again:

  • Evil corporatists, whose only desire is to rape the planet to satiate their greed
  • The predominately White oppressors, seeking to crush the indigenous species (a la White Europeans & Native Americans)
  • A group of “enlightened scientists”, who are also victimized by the evil corporatists and their heartless former Marine minions
  • The “Anointed One”, who magically shows up at just-the-right-time to deliver the oppressed
  • Gaia Worship

And part of me doesn’t wonder.

If you want to have make a movie blockbuster, it has to be based on universal themes that resonate with people’s beliefs. In this case, people have been so indoctrinated with the above themes, they assume an immediate identification with the protagonist and his mission. As a result they ride the (almost literal) roller coaster, and come out the other side, feeling like their beliefs have been confirmed and justified.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Ignore the fact that “evil” corporatists (20th Century Fox) will make hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars off the unsuspecting movie-goers who: Purchase all the soundtracks, action figures, toys, games, and other film-related merchandise; Go to theatres built by corporatists that "raped" the earth for all those materials; Purchase DVDs or stream entertainment built with infrastructure "mined" at the cost of planet earth and the thousands of "exploited" workers around the world.

Between the politically correct themes, and a globalist pagan worship, Hollywood is being consistent in its agenda – the demise of conservative thought, as well as the Christian Religion. They promote the worship of the god of entertainment and new age enlightenment, setting up a priesthood of the liberal elite which dominate the popular media.

The ignorant masses just open their wallets and enthusiastically go along. Didn’t Lenin have something to say about "useful idiots"?