The End of the Net as We Know It…
June 11th, 2008 by 
Morgan J. Locke
…due in 2012. For reals. Via Avedon Carol:
I’ve worked in industry for many years, and I have no doubt that these kinds of plans are being made. But it will only happen if we let it. If you are a reporter, or know a reporter, there’s a huge story here.
Also, I urge everyone to join the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and donate to the cause of net neutrality. They’ve been fighting the good fight against usurpation of the internet by monied interests since dinosaurs roamed the Earth (or thereabouts…). And while you’re at it, buy Cory Doctorow’s bestseller, LITTLE BROTHER, a can’t-put-it-down thrill ride that deals with these kinds of issues.
I have said before, and I truly believe, that equal access to the internet is not just a First Amendment issue, but also a Second Amendment issue. The founders intended to create a power balance between and among the different actors in our democracy. The power people hold over our government is not through handguns and assault rifles; it is through our ability to share information and join forces to hold the powerful accountable to us.
Posted in Dammit!, Morgan, Politics, Technology | 
July 13th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
RELOADED:
Comment on The End of the Net as We Know It… by Sean Craven
Date:Sunday 15 June 2008 12:39
Author:Sean Craven
This is something I’ve been concerned about since I became aware of it.
The internet is, in my opinion, the single most powerful tool that populism has ever received. Think of how many of the issues currently facing America broke into public consciousness through blogs — this administration would have gotten away with a hell of a lot more if we hadn’t had private citizens keeping an eye on things and speaking their minds in a public forum.
The internet is potentially town hall for the world. This won’t happen without net neutrality. The foundations of the internet were built with public funds and they belong to us, he said and wandered off cursing under his breath.
July 13th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
RELOADED:
Comment on The End of the Net as We Know It… by Morgan J. Locke
Date:Sunday 15 June 2008 13:11
Author:Morgan J. Locke
Yup. It seems unavoidable that monied interests are going to try to control it for their own gain (and our loss…)
There are just so many things to wander around and look at — it’s like everyone is trapped in one of Tom Disch’s fairy traps — going round and round looking at all the cool and urgent and cool and annoying and cool things that keep grabbing at our attention… I wonder if it’s not going to be till it’s gone that people realize we’ve been outmaneuvered and the net has just become another Big Media tool for shoveling ads and pablum.