Only a reform movement so radical that it would appear revolutionary within the context of the existing U.S. economic and social order, fundamentally reducing the field of operation of the capitalist market, holds any chance of substantially improving the conditions of most people in society.
These gains will only be made through a reform movement so radical that it would appear revolutionary within the context of the existing U.S. economic and social order, fundamentally reducing the field of operation of the capitalist market, holds any chance of substantially improving the conditions of most people in society. Needless to say, for such a struggle to succeed people will have to have a sense of real things to struggle for that will materially affect their lives.
http://survivalstation.org/blog/tyranny-and-gun-control-46346.html
Over the years, I’ve had conversations with Europeans about gun control. Not surprisingly, they have been very critical of America’s “gun culture” — that is, the widespread ownership of guns among the American people. They have extolled the situation in Europe, where gun-control laws preclude people from freely owning guns, arguing that such laws make for a more peaceful society.
….So this is where we stand: much of local and state government, whole federal departments and agencies, American activities around the world, the world itself--vast areas of great public concern–are either neglected or on the verge of neglect. Politicians and administrators will work increasingly without independent scrutiny and without public accountability. We are entering historically uncharted territory in America, a country that from its founding has valued the press not merely as a watchdog but as the essential nurturer of an informed citizenry. The collapse of journalism and the democratic infrastructure it sustains is not a development that anyone, except perhaps corrupt politicians and the interests they serve, looks forward to. Such a crisis demands solutions equal to the task. So what are they? Free Press proclaims the role of journalism is to serve government. Do you agree?
“vast areas of great public concern–are either neglected or on the verge of neglect”
Court Questions FCC Authority to Impose Net Neutrality
No decision has been made yet, but, if Friday’s arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals in DC are any indication, it doesn’t appear that the FCC will prevail in exerting its authority over Comcast. Losing this battle may be just what the FCC needs to move forward with its efforts to formalize net neutrality guidelines.
Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules for “Net Neutrality” — a set of regulations intended to help innovation and free speech continue to thrive on the Internet.
But is the FCC’s version of Net Neutrality the real deal? Or is it a fake?
Buried in the FCC’s rules is a deeply problematic loophole. Open Internet principles, the FCC writes, “do not… apply to activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.”
Everything you need to know about Net Neutrality and ACTA
Government and trade officials are currently working on agreements that may affect your future Internet use. Some of the outcome may be good, some of it bad. Here’s a peek into some of these issues.
by Capitol Confidential In a stunning new development that observers say could significantly impact the ongoing debate regarding net neutrality, Big Government has confirmed that sixteen minority and civil rights groups recently submitted a joint filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raising red flags regarding the policy’s potential effects.
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) urges the Federal Communications Commission to adopt rules preserving open and nondiscriminatory access to the internet.
The debate about network neutrality is complex and contentious, but we wish to address a specific myth advanced by network neutrality opponents: that this regulation would stifle innovation and create disincentives for investment in next-generation broadband networks.
Andrew Keen of Arts + Labs, twists a Free Press statement about an important speech delivered by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (actual headline: “Free Press Echoes Secretary Clinton’s Call for Internet Freedom”) into an attack. He tries to drive a wedge into the broad alliance of individuals and organizations – Democrat and Republican, innovative companies and consumer groups, churches and libraries – that support the free and open Internet.
Free Press argues Net Neutrality is better than corporate control. Which would you prefer? Corporate control or Government control (hint: corporations don’t have guns)
Net Neutrality Dangers
Net Neutrality proponents argue that this policy will create an open and free internet while opponents cite the mechanisms that will be used to create this ‘open net”, namely centralized government controllers who will have the power to control the web like never before.
CBO Projects 2010 Budget Deficit at $1.35 Trillion
WASHINGTON — A senior congressional aide says the latest estimates put this year’s federal budget deficit at $1.35 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office figures confirm the massive problem facing President Obama and his Democratic allies just days before his Feb. 1 budget submission. The White House says Obama will propose freezing domestic agency budgets, though the savings would barely make a dent.
The deficit would slide to $480 billion by 2015, CBO says, but only if tax cuts on income, investments and large estates are allowed to expire at the end of this year. Most budget experts see deficits as far higher once tax cuts and other policies are factored in.
But in his appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the Arizona Republican said that Obama “has got to veto bills that are laden with pork-barrel spending, earmarks.” He also said he’s determined to vote against another term for Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, “because I believe he was the captain of the ship when it hit the iceberg. He was there at the casino when all the gambling went on and he didn’t do anything about it.”
A U.S. government investigator is opening a probe into disclosures made as part of the government’s rescue of American International Group Inc. when the company’s trading partners were paid billions in November 2008.
Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, plans to tell a U.S. House panel Wednesday that he is investigating whether there was any “misconduct relating to the disclosure or lack thereof” surrounding the deals, in which banks who had traded with the giant insurer got paid in full on $62 billion in bets on soured mortgage securities.
For the first time, a new poll shows that Gov. Charlie Crist is losing to former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in Florida’s nationally watched Republican U.S. Senate race.
Rubio leads by just 3 percentage points — 47-44 — and is well within the error margin of the Quinnipiac University poll. Yet the trend of Rubio’s rise and Crist’s fall is stark. In October, Crist led 50 – 35 percent. In August, Crist’s lead was even bigger (55 – 26) and in June the race looked like Crist would blow out Rubio by 54 – 23 percent.
Gloves off in Kirsten Gillibrand vs. Harold Ford fight
Several Democratic sources told POLITICO that Gillibrand and her team get it — and are now seeking to augment her communications team with a consultant who will more aggressively target Ford, who spent Monday blasting away at the senator and her patron Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on New York Post columnist Fred Dicker’s radio show.
“One could argue that, to date, she had not been sufficiently aggressive in the New York media market, and that has backfired,” said Hank Scheinkopf, a veteran Democratic operative who has worked for many of the state’s elected officials.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31993.html#ixzz0djNScEbY