For those of you who do not realize it just yet, politicians at all levels of government has declared outright war on every one of us. No, it is not war on our lives, but on our property. They seek to regulate, restrict, and ultimately redistribute what we have earned legitimately. It is happening everyday in America, from the corrupt drug cops who steal cash from people on the grounds that they are drug runners to the Federal government which will confiscate your home if you have not paid your taxes or broken tax laws (which all of us have since it is too big and complex not to break).
The latest in the war on our property comes from the FCC:
U.S. communications regulators voted unanimously Thursday to support an open Internet rule that would prevent telecom network operators from barring or blocking content based on the revenue it generates.
The proposed rule now goes to the public for comment until Jan. 14, after which the Federal Communications Commissions will review the feedback and possibly seek more comment. A final rule is not expected until the spring of next year.
"I am pleased that there is broad agreement inside the commission that we should move forward with a healthy and transparent process on an open Internet," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.
The vote came despite a flurry of lobbying against the net neutrality rule by telecommunications service providers like AT&T Inc (T.N), Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Qwest Communications International Inc (Q.N), which say it would strip them of the ability to manage their networks effectively and would stifle innovation and competition.
The rule would prevent operators from discriminating against any legal content a third party wants to deliver to consumers on their networks, though it allows for "reasonable" network management to unclog congestion, clear viruses and spam, and block unlawful content like child pornography or the transfer of pirated content.
Now, I know that many people are looking at this and asking why freedom of speech does not apply here. Well, it does not apply. Freedom of speech was a restriction on Congress where Congress is not allowed to pass laws that silence us. The first amendment applies to Congress and to government, not to private individuals or companies.
No, this is about violating property rights in the name of free speech. These Internet service providers own the Internet service they allow their customers to us. They can filter the content as they see fit in order to provide valuable service to their customers, who pay for the service.
What is even more maddening is that the FCC has essentially declared that they are the guardians of free speech. Nothing could be further from the truth. The founding fathers were weary of this because they believed that by explicitly defining the powers of the Federal government, they had limited their authority. When you say that an institution cannot do something, they suddenly become the guardians of protecting it like it was some sacred belief.
Leftists and left-leaning moderates are usually driven by one vice: envy. They envy us when we have stuff and the ability to use it as we see fit. Even if they have it, they are envious that we have it too. That is why they desire to control and regulate our property. They would rather see us have nothing and no options instead of the ability to prosper or fail on our own merit.
I also think that the members of Congress are driven by greed. I am almost certain that the Democrats who are pushing this new regulation through are being paid off by a competitor of the companies who do not want this regulation. It may not even be a direct competitor, but a company who wants this pushed through so they can spam the networks with their crap.
There is no such thing as property rights in the United States anymore. As such, there is no point in ownership as the government can just take it away from you or regulate it for your own good. Freedom of choice is something that both Republicans and Democrats despise and frankly, I am getting a little tired of being taxed to death and then told that I do not know how to spend my money.
And now I am being told that I have to pay more for crappy Internet service because the government cannot respect the property rights of Internet Service Providers. Why are we letting these failed lawyers and failed businesspeople ruin our lives again?