Weve been seeing a wide array of incredible all-encompassing government overreaches on cell phones and the Internet come cascading out ever since Edward Snowden first broached the subject.
And then some
We learn of new Fourth Amendment violations seemingly every week. And the DC Establishment are time and again caught lying about the extent and reach of these anti-Constitutional programs.
These government data power grabs are horrendous attacks on the Internet end user and his or her content. We the People are having our phone calls emails Web searches text messages instant messages and video chats illegally vacuumed up stored and examined.
Just as egregious are the governments attacks on the Internets spine the technological backbone that makes all of these end-use data grabs possible. The government has for instance illegally imposed co-opt sharing" of cell phone networks.
And then theres Network Neutrality. Net Neutrality mandates that the government regulate the entire Web. Which means the government lords over every single website on the planet. NoFirst Amendment problem there right?
And the thought of an entity as wholly incompetent as is the federal government in charge of the constantly-transforming Internet is preposterous. Hows Social Security doing? Broke. Medicare? Broke. Medicaid? Broke. The Post Office? Broke. Amtrak? Broke. Hows ObamaCare looking? Broke.
We know how theyll do overlord-ing the constantly cutting edge Internet.
What makes Net Neutrality additionally untenable is that its proponents keep changing and expanding what it means. Kind of like ObamaCare. Just a month ago ObamaCares heinousness damaged businesses in 2014 and Congress immediately. Now not so much.
And thats precisely what has been going on with Net Neutrality ever since it was first illegally imposed in December 2010. Now nearly anything anyone doesnt like in the Internet realm is absurdly decried as a Net Neutrality violation!!!" With the decriers then demanding the government step in and further regulate. The latest example may be the worst.
CBS and Time Warner Cable (TWC) are having a retransmission consent dispute. In English that means they can not agree on how much TWC will pay CBS for its content. We will set aside for the moment how ridiculously over-regulated the retransmission market is and look at what came next.
The two parties couldnt reach a deal so CBS went black on TWC. CBS also blocked its online content from TWC customers.
Net Neutrality violation!!!" shouted Democrat Congressman Jim McDermott.
He said (CBSs online blocking) violates the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)s 2005 policy statement on Net Neutrality which stated that consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice."
Congressman McDermott isnt even citing the FCCs illegal 2010 Net Neutrality order. Hes pulling out a feel-good unenforceable inert proclamation.
But think about what the Congressman wants. That the government mandate CBS give away its content. The Congressman is saying that under Net Neutrality CBS has no right to its own product.
Thank you Congressman for again pointing out that Net Neutrality is also an incredible violation of personal property rights. Not just of those who spend trillions of dollars building the Internet but of everyone who produces content for it.
And thank you Congressman for again pointing out that Net Neutrality is a constantly shifting over-regulatory mess of an illegal imposition.
No man can be all things to all people. Neither can a DC mandate. The constantly shifting sand of unilateral law rules and regulation changes coming out of Washington are a gi-normous contributor to the ongoing economic malaise through which we are suffering. DC uncertainty begets private sector non-performance.
Net Neutrality is one-step worse still. Imposed without benefit of Congress constantly being mutated to meet the over-regulatory needs of whomever whenever.
Thats no way to run a railroad and certainly not the Information Superhighway.