R.I.P. Net Neutrality, Again

Well, it's official.  Net Neutrality has been struck down by the 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals on January 2, 2025.  While Big Tech, and Big Business in general, are celebrating this as a victory and salivating like a Pavlov's Dog, make no mistake, this is a major loss for We the People.  Now internet service providers can rig the internet in favor some people or entities over others via blocking access or varying speeds as "fast and slow lanes".  Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

(Meanwhile, at the same time, various vain and illiberal attempts to "childproof" the internet with mandatory age verification have met with varying degrees of legal success.)

2025 seems to be starting out on the wrong foot already, and of course the new dark age will begin in earnest on January 20, 2025 when Trump is re-inaugurated as President of the United States.  All with his puppet master Muskrat, the richest person in the world (and in literally all of recorded history) pulling his strings.  Grifters gonna graft, believe me.

We will admit, while we at the TSAP have always loathed Trump, a few years ago, we thought that Muskrat was a real-life Tony Stark.  Now it is obvious that he is more like Doctor Octopus on ketamine, only worse.  And Trump?  Well, he is more like Ganondorf, the villain from the Legend of Zelda series.  And the current moment in history is reminiscent of the part of Ocarina of Time when Ganondorf snuck in and took over, casting Hyrule into a new and horrible dark age.  Like Ganondorf, King Of Evil, Trump is the epitome of toxic masculinity, while Link the hero is the epitome of TONIC masculinity.  Unfortunately at this juncture in the real world, Link seems to be nowhere to be found these days, and Kamala Harris, the closest equivalent to Princess Zelda, will be out of power completely as VP on January 20.  

Buckle up, as we are in for a VERY wild ride!

R.I.P. Net Neutrality

Today on January 15, 2014 at 11 am, Net Neutrality kicked the bucket--for now at least.   A federal court struck down FCC regulations designed to prevent broadband Internet service providers from favoring certain Internet services at the expense of rivals.  Essentially, they can now charge more for some services to have access to higher speeds than others, creating "fast lanes" and "slow lanes", and thus making the formerly open Internet more analogous to what cable TV companies do.  And that's not a good thing at all, since a few mega-corporations would be able to afford to use the "fast lanes", while the rest of us get stuck in the "slow lanes", creating yet another unfair advantage for the wealthiest and most powerful among us.  As if they didn't already have enough privileges as it is.  Even the very concept of free speech is at stake as well.

However, all is not lost just yet.  Rest assured that the ruling will be appealed, and also remember that the FCC can simply write new rules that reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, which would get around the court ruling entirely and enable them to restore our free and open Internet with the stroke of a pen.   Of course, that would put them at loggerheads with the corporate giants who currently control broadband, and these companies have tremendous lobbying power in Washington.  And given the venality of most members of Congress these days, the corporations could still potentially achieve victory at our expense.  Our job as concerned citizens is to prevent that from happening.