The corporations pushing for legislation that would gut Net Neutrality and allow them to extract protection money from websites are flooding the Internet with this deceptive ad. If they have their way, consumers will pay more to view content they decide is in their best interest to access.
BuzzFlash is wondering why Atrios, Josh Marshall, Raw Story and other “progressives” are hosting the “don’t regulate” ad which is exactly what the government would be doing on behalf of big business.
“We understand that most sites need advertising to pay their costs and pay their salaries, and BuzzFlash has never before May 15 objected to other sites taking advertising, although we don’t. But this ad is different. It’s like letting someone pay you to try and persuade the public you should be hung; that is to say, all of us who believe in democracy on the Net. You can accept advertising in general, but you don’t have to run every ad.
The irony is that there are many conservative groups who have joined the Save the Internet coalition because they are profoundly worried about having their views heard on the Net, which is what democracy is all about. “
It’s not ironic. Real leftists and conservatives have a lot in common, just as neoliberals and neocons are slaves to big business. I’m surprised that DailyKos isn’t carrying the ad.
If the latest Zogby poll on presidential candidates for ’08 is a harbinger of the “race” to come count me out. The Democrat part was structured to choose a candidate to run with Hillary Clinton whilst the Republicans were listed individually as who would beat her. I don’t like any of the candidates, least of all, Clinton and McCain.
This macabre plan for yet another non-election requires a path-breaking response.
A ticket representative of the left and right, (fill in the blank – Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, Karen Kwiatkowski ?)/(fill in the blank -Ralph Nader, Jody Williams, Noam Chomsky?). Would they win? Stranger things have happened. But the debate would certainly be the most interesting this country has ever heard, if only on the internet.
Unless Hands off the Internet gets its dirty mitts on it.