01-09-2018, 08:18 PM
Anyone who follows what I write (...why would you, wtf?) knows that I'm a bit passionate about this topic. I haven't chimed in on recent events at all through because I'm too demoralized. While I realize that evil just needs good people to do nothing, I wind up doing nothing while evil people continue to do things that are just...bad for humanity, all to make a bit more money.
Lissa, FiT, I realize you may be passionate about this too, but your responses to GhastMaster are unlikely to sway his opinion when you come off attacking him out the gate as you did. Chill a bit?
In short, GhastMaster, I believe the free market doesn't apply here when the ISPs in question do not operate under free market conditions. The government has granted ISPs broad powers and stifled free market mechanics in order to establish them as monopolies. Thus, consumers such as myself have exactly one option for high-speed Internet access, putting me at that company's mercy regarding pricing and access policy. This makes their behavior to shape my Internet access a violation of my freedoms similar to having access to water or power controlled by them would be. Some could call this hyperbole, as "you don't need Internet access to survive," but it's also true that I cannot function in modern society without Internet access - financially, socially, and economically.
I agree that Congress should have settled this issue long ago, but in our current political climate that has proven impossible. It thus falls on lesser organizations (in this case, the FCC) to overstep their authority, thus allowing members of Congress to publicly complain / make loud statements without having to take any action. And that's been the status quo for years.
Free market would be fantastic. If I could freely choose between five Internet providers and select the one that won't screw with my fundamental right to open Internet access, I wouldn't care what Verizon or Comcast would do. I would ignore them.
Lissa, FiT, I realize you may be passionate about this too, but your responses to GhastMaster are unlikely to sway his opinion when you come off attacking him out the gate as you did. Chill a bit?
In short, GhastMaster, I believe the free market doesn't apply here when the ISPs in question do not operate under free market conditions. The government has granted ISPs broad powers and stifled free market mechanics in order to establish them as monopolies. Thus, consumers such as myself have exactly one option for high-speed Internet access, putting me at that company's mercy regarding pricing and access policy. This makes their behavior to shape my Internet access a violation of my freedoms similar to having access to water or power controlled by them would be. Some could call this hyperbole, as "you don't need Internet access to survive," but it's also true that I cannot function in modern society without Internet access - financially, socially, and economically.
I agree that Congress should have settled this issue long ago, but in our current political climate that has proven impossible. It thus falls on lesser organizations (in this case, the FCC) to overstep their authority, thus allowing members of Congress to publicly complain / make loud statements without having to take any action. And that's been the status quo for years.
Free market would be fantastic. If I could freely choose between five Internet providers and select the one that won't screw with my fundamental right to open Internet access, I wouldn't care what Verizon or Comcast would do. I would ignore them.
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.