House Ignores Public, Sells Out the Internet through Passage of COPE Act

[Breeze54]

House Ignores Public, Sells Out the Internet through Passage of COPE Act
From Free Press, June 9, 2006

http://www.freepress.net/news/15952

Today the U.S. House passed the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement
(COPE) Act without meaningful network neutrality provisions promoted by the diverse,
right-left www.savetheinternet.com coalition of public interest and business groups.

The 152 to 269 vote coincides with a massive lobbying effort by telephone companies to enter
the national television market and prevent preservation of network neutrality requirements.

“Special interest advocates from telephone and cable companies have flooded the Congress
with misinformation delivered by an army of lobbyists to undermine decades-long federal
practice of prohibiting network owners from discriminating against competitors to shut out competition.
Unless the Senate steps in, today’s vote marks the beginning of the end of the Internet
as an engine of new competition, entrepreneurship and innovation,”
said Consumers Union Senior Policy Analyst Jeannine Kenney.

“The American public favors an open and neutral Internet and does not want gatekeepers
taxing innovation and throttling the free market,” said Ben Scott, policy director for
Free Press.
“The House has seriously undermined access to information and democratic communication.
Despite the revisionist history propagated by the telcos and their lobbyists,
until last year, the Internet had always been a neutral network.
It is the central reason for its overwhelming success.
This issue is not about whether or not the government will regulate the Internet.
It’s about whether consumers or cable and phone companies will decide what services
and content are available on the Net.”

The grassroots coalition backing network neutrality includes more than 700 groups,
5,000 bloggers and 800,000 individuals who have rallied in support of net neutrality
at: http://www.savetheinternet.com.
The coalition is left and right, public and private, commercial and noncommercial.
Supporters of net neutrality include the Christian Coalition of America, MoveOn.org,
National Religious Broadcasters, the Service Employees International Union,
the American Library Association, AARP, ACLU, and every major consumer group in the nation.
It includes the founders of the Internet and hundreds of companies that do business online.

“This is not Google vs. AT&T,” said Mark Cooper,
Director of Research at Consumers Federation of America.
“CFA has been battling to keep the phone companies from putting tollbooths on the Internet
since the early 1980s, but now every business and every consumer that uses the Internet has
a dog in the fight for Internet freedom.
This coalition will continue to grow, millions of Americans will add their voices, and Congress
will not escape the roar of public opinion until Congress passes enforceable net neutrality.”

The battle for Net Neutrality — or Internet freedom — now moves to the Senate, where there
is significantly stronger bipartisan support. Senators Snowe (R-Maine) and Dorgan (D-N.D.)
have introduced the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006” that enjoys the strong support
of the SaveTheInternet coalition.

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CLEAN THE HOUSE AND SENATE 2006!!!!
:grr: :grr:

[NVMojo]

1. yep, it happened yesterday while DUers were still stroking Ann Coulter

to orgasmic levels. We get what we deserve.

[INdemo]

4. Well I signed three petitions and

sent letters and emails to my Congressional reps.There is only one obvious reason why the Democrats sold out and that is $$$$..This country is controlled by big money corporations ..forget the equal representation...

[Breeze54]

6. Not just that though...

I have a couple of friends who thought it was a GOOD thing.
There's a LOT of confusion out there about this issue.
Hence the disinformation campaign by the large corporations!
I wasn't here at DU yesterday so I the missed the discussion about "that bitch" here.

One guy actually thought it would lead to "more competition" and LOWERING of prices for internet services!!
:rofl:

People can still sign the petition to SAVE the INTERNET though! ;)

http://civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/

or just go direct!
http://www.savetheinternet.com/

Send a personal message too! I sent a 'not so nice' message!
:rofl:

[acmejack]

2. People missed a great floor debate.

Reptiles versus Congressman Edward Markey (Democrat, Advocate for the People's Interest) that was quite interesting. The litany of unrealistic rationalizations for ignoring the desires of the public and also raising the cost of VOIP for good measure was disgusting.

[rodeodance]

3. as someone said on Amy Goodman--this bill is capitalism cronism!

[Supersedeas]

11. isn't all cronism that way?

[Bonobo]

5. Here are the bastards to call!

http://www.savetheinternet.com/=tally

[Breeze54]

8. Thanks for the Link to the asshole Sell outs!

We are voting them all out this year, right?? Here's hoping!

Red = Sell Out to the Telecom Cartel
Green = Pro-Internet Freedom

Is that the full list? :shrug: It seems short.

Thanks though! ;)

[mrcheerful]

7. Well if they start paying the price gouging game I'm done with using a pc

plain and simple raise the price of going on line bye bye internet. If my service is slowed same thing, screw it, they can stuff it. BTW, unlike gasoline we can boycott using IPS servers and hit them where it counts.

[Breeze54]

9. Tell Congress that they can't hand over control of the Internet... !

You can help keep the internet free for all.

Tell Congress that they can't hand over control of the Internet to AT&T and Verizon:

1 - Sign the petition and send a message to Congress

2 - Support the SavetheInternet.com Ad Fund

3 - Call your Senators

4 - Write a letter to your hometown newspaper

5 - Promote SavetheInternet on your Blog or site

6 - Tell five friends to join the fight for Internet freedom

7 - Join SavetheInternet MySpace as a friend

Take action today!

Go HERE http://www.savetheinternet.com/=act for Links!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[OneBlueSky]

10. can this bill be stopped in the Senate? . . .

we're going to have to pull out all the stops to kill it in the upper chamber . . .

[_dynamicdems]

12. S. 2917, the bipartisan Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006

is still on the table. Act for Change (Working Assets) also has a campaign to contact Congress about S.2917. From today's e-mail:

ACTFORCHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE: June 9, 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously taken action on ActForChange in support of progressive values.

Save the Internet!

1. Tell the Senate to preserve a free and open Internet by supporting the bipartisan "Internet Freedom Preservation Act."

2. Want to send them a message they can't ignore? Switch your mobile phone or long distance service to Working Assets, the only phone company working to preserve internet freedom.

Imagine if AT&T and Verizon controlled everything you see and do online.

This morning, our House of Representatives dealt a serious blow to Internet freedom by passing a telecom bill stripped of protections for net neutrality.1

Currently, our free and open Internet allows individuals and organizations to speak truth to power -- and small businesses to compete and flourish on a level playing field. However, big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon are currently spending tens of millions of dollars to push legislation that would abandon the "First Amendment of the Internet" -- a principle called network neutrality.

As the Internet grows, it's not surprising that the big corporations want to seize control, discriminate against people with alternative viewpoints, favor certain types of content, and set up tollbooths wherever they can.

Without network neutrality, AT&T, Verizon and others will be free to slow down or block emails and Web sites they don't like -- effectively silencing the voices of their critics and of people who don't share their politics. We can't let them get away with it.

While the House of Representatives has just rolled over to big corporations and passed a telecom "reform" bill with no protections for net neutrality, our chances are much better in the Senate. Senators Snowe and Dorgan have introduced S. 2197, the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006," which restores key protections for consumers. The bill prohibits preferential pricing for access tiers, and has a meaningful enforcement mechanism to deter network discrimination.

Click here to tell your Senators to support this important legislation. http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=20933&afccode=n56lk1

A broad and diverse grassroots coalition -- uniting groups ranging from the Christian Coalition and Gun Owners of America to Working Assets and Common Cause -- is working together to ensure Congress preserves net neutrality. The Snowe-Dorgan legislation is our last, best chance to put this common-sense principle into law -- so contact your senators today in support of this important bill!

Send a message to Big Telecom by switching to Working Assets

In addition to helping you raise your voice to Congress, Working Assets has a unique role to play in the fight to save the Internet. We're the only phone company participating in the Save the Internet coalition. But we also make it easy for you to stick it to AT&T and Verizon and help organize for Internet freedom with one simple act: switch your mobile phone and long distance service from the bad guys to Working Assets.

The best way to make AT&T and Verizon pay the price for this attack on our Internet is move your dollars to another company. So far, they say recent scandals aren't causing them to lose customers. If you're currently with AT&T, Cingular (AT&T's wireless arm) or Verizon, we can help you send them a message and raise money for the fight to save the Internet.

We're keeping a count of everyone who switches their mobile phone and long distance service in support of net neutrality (or pledges to switch their mobile phone when their contract is up.) And for every phone number you switch in response to this email, Working Assets will make a $50 donation to nonprofit groups organizing for Internet freedom.

Click here to switch your wireless or long distance service, or pledge to do so once your current contract is up. http://www.workingassetswireless.com/campaigns/sti_waw_wald/index.cfm

1To see how your representative voted, click here. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll241.xml

Then, please forward this email to anyone you know -- friends, family, and colleagues -- who enjoys the free and open nature of the Internet.

Thank you for working to build a better world.

Michael Kieschnick
President
Working Assets