green_the_fish
04-25-2006, 10:29 AM
Hey everyone, I know we're not really supposed to discuss politics here, but this is something I feel strongly about.
A friend recently told me about http://www.savetheinternet.com and I was just appalled at what I found out...
Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called "Network neutrality" that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.
Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online.
There is also a corresponding article here: http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29086. If you Google "net neutrality", I'm sure you will find more.
My reason for posting this here is that this will affect us. As you know, our Jill is a small business owner; IC-Network.com and our new forums at IC-Network.org are relatively small sites on relatively small servers, in the scheme of things. If this law gets passed, the little guy is definetely gonna get the short end of the stick. That's us!
We are all here to get support, and to reach out to others in need of "support, enocouragement, empowerment". We are, as a whole, caring and compassionate people. But we are not part of a huge website with a lot of corporate funding. If this law gets passed, we could be hindered in our mission of helping and supporting fellow IC sufferers, and we just can't let that happen!
I think we need to speak out about this. Please take a few minutes of your time to go to http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet and write a letter online. When you fill out the info and hit submit, they automatically send it to the Members of Congress.
Also, there is a SavetheInternet.com Coalition made up of organizations that want to save net neutrality. They are not just big political websites; there are also smaller sites and organizations on that list. I was thinking of writing a letter to Jill, in case she doesn't get to read this, and asking if our IC-Network could join them. I don't know if Jill would want to get the IC-Network involved in anything political, though, and I will understand if she is not able to do it.
In any case, what can do here is write some letters! Remember when Jen (Sarojini) told us about that magazine that wrote a prejudiced article about med addicts? We banded together and wrote letters voicing our disapproval. And when they saw how serious we were, they sent back a reply to one of our letter-writers, Barb (Babs RN), and apologized to us. In case you missed it, here's a link to that thread: http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15613&page=1&pp=15.
Our letters made a difference that time, and I think we can make a difference again!
Now, I am going to go write a letter to Congress to myself. I hope you will join me.
P.S.
Mods, I'm sorry if this post was too political, but I have been trying to get the word out since I heard about this. If you guys need to edit this message, I understand, and I won't take it personally.
A friend recently told me about http://www.savetheinternet.com and I was just appalled at what I found out...
Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called "Network neutrality" that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.
Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online.
There is also a corresponding article here: http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29086. If you Google "net neutrality", I'm sure you will find more.
My reason for posting this here is that this will affect us. As you know, our Jill is a small business owner; IC-Network.com and our new forums at IC-Network.org are relatively small sites on relatively small servers, in the scheme of things. If this law gets passed, the little guy is definetely gonna get the short end of the stick. That's us!
We are all here to get support, and to reach out to others in need of "support, enocouragement, empowerment". We are, as a whole, caring and compassionate people. But we are not part of a huge website with a lot of corporate funding. If this law gets passed, we could be hindered in our mission of helping and supporting fellow IC sufferers, and we just can't let that happen!
I think we need to speak out about this. Please take a few minutes of your time to go to http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet and write a letter online. When you fill out the info and hit submit, they automatically send it to the Members of Congress.
Also, there is a SavetheInternet.com Coalition made up of organizations that want to save net neutrality. They are not just big political websites; there are also smaller sites and organizations on that list. I was thinking of writing a letter to Jill, in case she doesn't get to read this, and asking if our IC-Network could join them. I don't know if Jill would want to get the IC-Network involved in anything political, though, and I will understand if she is not able to do it.
In any case, what can do here is write some letters! Remember when Jen (Sarojini) told us about that magazine that wrote a prejudiced article about med addicts? We banded together and wrote letters voicing our disapproval. And when they saw how serious we were, they sent back a reply to one of our letter-writers, Barb (Babs RN), and apologized to us. In case you missed it, here's a link to that thread: http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15613&page=1&pp=15.
Our letters made a difference that time, and I think we can make a difference again!
Now, I am going to go write a letter to Congress to myself. I hope you will join me.
P.S.
Mods, I'm sorry if this post was too political, but I have been trying to get the word out since I heard about this. If you guys need to edit this message, I understand, and I won't take it personally.