AT&T has a sneaky plan.
It wants to exploit a loophole in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s rules to kill what remains of the public telecommunications network — and all of the consumer protections that go with it. It’s the final step in AT&T’s decade-long effort to end all telecommunications regulation, and the simplicity of the plan highlights a dysfunction unique to the American regulatory system.
AT&T and other big telecom carriers want to replace the portions of their networks that still use circuit-switching technology with equipment that uses Internet Protocol (IP) to route voice and data traffic. But because the FCC previously decided that it has no direct authority over communications networks that use IP, this otherwise routine technological upgrade could lead to a state of total deregulation.
We are already living with the consequences of the FCC IP decision: an uncompetitive broadband market. Our broadband providers enjoy the kinds of high profit margins that would make a 19th-century robber baron blush. And our ability to use these networks to communicate openly and freely is under constant assault. Meanwhile, consumers in other countries not only have better access, but they pay far less for far better services.
But there are large portions of the public telecom network that don’t use IP, and that are still subject to varying degrees of regulatory oversight — including traditional landlines, alarm circuits, and many of the “special access” connections that carry voice and data traffic from cellular towers.
Now AT&T wants approval to convert all of this to an all-IP system. And because of the FCC’s flawed view of IP, this move would jettison all of the public interest protections that govern common carriers like AT&T. (The centuries-old “common carriage” concept applied to entities like railroads, shippers, and telecoms that transport goods often using public rights-of-way; since these functions are critical to commerce, common carriers are usually regulated even if they don’t operate in monopoly markets).
The immediate consumer impact of AT&T’s proposal would be swift and severe:
Higher prices. Remember what happened after California partially deregulated AT&T in 2006? The price of some basic voice services tripled. AT&T wants to make this happen everywhere. Also, the ability of many smaller wireless carriers to offer competitively priced services is based on specific regulations that prevent special access providers like AT&T and Verizon from charging exorbitant rates. These protections against monopoly prices will disappear if AT&T gets its way.
Service disruptions. Brinksmanship between AT&T and smaller wireless carriers that use the public network to transport their own traffic would lead to telecom blackouts. Just look at how cable customers are held hostage in carriage spats between cable providers and content owners. The rules that require carriers to get networks back online after outages would also be history if the FCC approves AT&T’s petition.
Inequality and discrimination. Seniors, low-income families, and rural residents — all of whom are more likely to rely on fixed-line voice services or dial-up internet access — would especially feel the pinch. Carriers that are now required to offer universal service will be free to redline poor neighborhoods and disconnect consumers at will. Elderly grandmothers living on fixed incomes rely on rate-regulated landlines to stay connected, but they need not worry: AT&T has an expensive wireless plan they can purchase instead.
It’s bad enough that we’re on the verge of losing all of the consumer protections that keep the price of basic voice service reasonable and ensure the most vulnerable stay connected. But by putting the last nail in the coffin of the public telecommunications network, AT&T’s plan poses an even greater threat to the future of American innovation and internet freedom.
This is because the internet itself would not exist if it were not for a delicate balance of public policies that made sure the public telecommunications network was an open platform: Anyone could use it as a building block for innovation.
Before the FCC adopted rules to keep the public network open, companies like AT&T were able to prohibit customers from using the network for anything other than what it approved. (We wouldn’t have been allowed to have answering machines, for example, if AT&T didn’t approve them.) Thanks to the FCC’s intervention then and continuing oversight, Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf didn’t need AT&T’s permission to connect computers. They simply used the public network as a platform to launch the IP technology that led to the internet we all use today.
When Congress updated the Communications Act in 1996, lawmakers reinforced this clear separation between devices on the edges of networks and the wires that connect them. And this approach worked: Consumers had choices for cheap long distance. There were dozens of dial-up ISPs, and even multiple options for DSL and cable modem service. Prices dropped, quality improved, and investment soared.
While the rest of the world followed this American blueprint to great success, our captive regulators dismantled the competitive framework, replacing it with nothing more than the vain hope the market would sort it all out. So it should come as no surprise that the rest of the world is busy undertaking its own transition to all-IP networks without threatening the basic consumer protections that ensure universal access to essential communications services.
We stand at the edge of a cliff, and AT&T is eager to jump. It’s the FCC’s own bad decisions that led us to this cliff. But it’s not too late to step back. In updating its rules for an all-IP world, the FCC shouldn’t let the carriers kill off the public telecom network. We can protect consumer rights and free-market commerce without sacrificing the infrastructure’s open nature and its potential as a platform for innovation.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
How AT&T Is Planning to Rob Americans of an Open Public Telco Network | Wired Opinion | Wired.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Voter Apathy Linked to Fraud and Security Concerns by ELyssa Durant, Ed.M. © 2012
VOTER APATHY LINKED TO FRAUD IN TENNESSEE
Voter Apathy?
Uploaded by elyssadurant on Mar 1, 2012Laptop stolen just before the election, turns up at a strip club that got shut down for operating without a license. Voter Apathy or common sense. Wackenhut at it's finest.
Gee—with all the bitching we do about voter apathy, low voter turnout, and then about the people who are ultimately elected by the few who do vote; the media seems to be making an awful big deal about the upcoming primary elections.
The deadline to register for the upcoming primary was today, January 7, 2008.
Yet, in the midst of it all, I just received a letter dated January 2, 2008 along with approximately 370,000. Coincidentally—this is roughly the same number of TennCare recipients who were dropped from the rolls (dis-enrolled due to reform) just a few years ago]] people that my personal information (including my social security number) has been compromised due to a break-in at the Davidson County Election Commission on Christmas Eve in Nashville, Tennessee.
GOOD GOING!!!
I cannot be the only one who is wondering how this will affect voter registration, turnout, or “apathy” in the future.
Ironically, as an additional side note, the state of Tennessee just happened to pass new, “progressive” legislation regarding identity theft the very same day the “warning” letter was mailed. It is almost too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?
Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I am still trying to wrap my head around this one!
Publication: The City Paper; Date:2008 Jan 08; Section:Front Page
From The Powers That Beat
Answering the call by asking the right questions...
Citypaper.comments viewpoints from ourWeb site: Nashville City Paper
Citypaper.comments
“…I just received a letter dated Jan. 2, 2008 along with approximately 370,000… people that my personal information (including my social security number) has been compromised due to a break-in at the Davidson County Election Commission on Christmas Eve in Nashville, Tennessee. I cannot be the only one who is wondering how this will affect voter registration, turnout, or “apathy” in the future. Ironically, as an additional side note, the state of Tennessee just happened to pass new, “progressive” legislation regarding identity theft the very same day the “warning” letter was mailed. It is almost too much of a coincidence, don’t you think? Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I am still trying to wrap my head around this one!” — elyssad, in response to “Councilman wants independent audit of Election Commission,” Jan. 7.
http://women.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/elyssadurant
OOPS! I MISSED MY SECOND ELECTION SINCE I FIRST VOTED FOR CLINTON JUST DAYS AFTER I TURNED 18.
I COULDN'T VOTE THIS YEAR... NOT IN THIS SWING STATE.
I HAD MY REGISTRATION FORMS ON TIME, MADE PHOTOCOPIES OF ALL THE REQUIRED PHOTO AND RESIDENCY DOCUMENTATION.
DESPITE MEETING ALL THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS, *AND* BEING EXEMPT FROM THE PHOTO ID REQUIREMENT DUE TO A MEDICAL DISABILITY, THE ELECTION BOARD DECIDED THAT UTILITY BILLS, A PASSPORT AND LEASE SIMPLY WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO VOTE IN THIS DEMOCRATIC COUNTY... SILLY RABBITS! I WAS ABOUT TO CROSS PARTY LINES... AND IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER!
HI GOVERNOR SCOTT! REMEMBER ME? I'M BAACK!
;)
Monday, October 1, 2012
Mama I'm Coming Home || B'bye Karen CON
"Not Afraid"
[Chorus:]
I'm not afraid (I'm not afraid)
To take a stand (to take a stand)
Everybody (everybody)
Come take my hand (come take my hand)
We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just letting you know that, you're not alone
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road (same road)
[Intro (during Chorus):]
Yeah, it's been a ride
I guess I had to, go to that place, to get to this one
Now some of you, might still be in that place
If you're trying to get out, just follow me
I'll get you there
You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay 'em
But you won't take the sting out these words before I say 'em
Cause ain't no way I'ma let you stop me from causing mayhem
When I say I'ma do something I do it,
I don't give a damn what you think,
I'm doing this for me, so fuck the world
Feed it beans, it's gassed up, if it thinks it's stopping me
I'ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt undoubtedly
And all those who look down on me I'm tearing down your balcony
No if ands or buts, don't try to ask him why or how can he
From "Infinite" down to the last "Relapse" album
He's still shitting, whether he's on salary paid hourly
Until he bows out or he shits his bowels out of him
Whichever comes first, for better or worse
He's married to the game, like a fuck you for Christmas
His gift is a curse, forget the Earth, he's got the urge
To pull his dick from the dirt, and fuck the whole universe
[Chorus]
Okay quit playing with the scissors and shit, and cut the crap
I shouldn't have to rhyme these words in the rhythm for you to know it's a rap
You said you was king, you lied through your teeth, for that
Fuck your feelings, instead of getting crowned you're getting capped
And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact
Let's be honest, that last "Relapse" CD was ehhh
Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground
Relax, I ain't going back to that now
All I'm trying to say is get back, click-clack, blow
Cause I ain't playing around
It's a game called circle and I don't know how, I'm way too up to back down
But I think I'm still trying to figure this crap out
Thought I had it mapped out but I guess I didn't, this fucking black cloud
Still follows, me around but it's time to exorcise these demons
These motherfuckers are doing jumping jacks now!
[Chorus]
And I just can't keep living this way
So starting today, I'm breaking out of this cage
I'm standing up, I'ma face my demons
I'm manning up, I'ma hold my ground
I've had enough, now I'm so fed up
Time to put my life back together right now! (now)
It was my decision to get clean, I did it for me
Admittedly, I probably did it subliminally
For you, so I could come back a brand new me you helped see me through
And don't even realize what you did, believe me you
I been through the ringer, but they could do little to the middle finger
I think I got a tear in my eye, I feel like the king of
My world, haters can make like bees with no stingers
And drop dead, no more beef flingers
No more drama from now on, I promise
To focus solely on handling my responsibilities as a father
So I solemnly swear to always treat this roof, like my daughters
And raise it, you couldn't lift a single shingle on it!
Cause the way I feel, I'm strong enough to go to the club
Or the corner pub, and lift the whole liquor counter up
Cause I'm raising the bar
I'd shoot for the moon but I'm too busy gazing at stars
I feel amazing and I'm
[Chorus]
Thanks to camila, Christopher Chiocca, Romi Ezzo, Kim, Katie Mueller for correcting these lyrics.
Cleaning out my Closet || Dedicated to Karen #CON
"Cleanin Out My Closet" by Eminem
Where's my snare?
I have no snare in my headphones - there you go
Yeah... yo, yo
Have you ever been hated or discriminated against?
I have; I've been protested and demonstrated against
Picket signs for my wicked rhymes, look at the times
Sick as the mind of the motherfucking kid that's behind
All this commotion emotions run deep as ocean's exploding
Tempers flaring from parents just blow 'em off and keep going
Not taking nothing from no one give 'em hell long as I'm breathing
Keep kicking ass in the morning and taking names in the evening
Leave 'em with a taste as sour as vinegar in they mouth
See they can trigger me, but they'll never figure me out
Look at me now; I bet ya probably sick of me now ain't you momma?
I'm a make you look so ridiculous now
I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet (one more time)
I said I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet
Ha! I got some skeletons in my closet
And I don't know if no one knows it
So before they thrown me inside my coffin and close it
I'm a expose it; I'll take you back to '73
Before I ever had a multi-platinum selling CD
I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months
My faggot father must have had his panties up in a bunch
Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye
No I don't on second thought I just fucking wished he would die
I look at Hailie, and I couldn't picture leaving her side
Even if I hated Kim, I grit my teeth and I'd try
To make it work with her at least for Hailie's sake
I maybe made some mistakes
But I'm only human, but I'm man enough to face them today
What I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb
But the smartest shit I did was take the bullets outta that gun
Cause I'da killed him; shit I would've shot Kim and him both
It's my life, I'd like to welcome y'all to "The Eminem Show"
I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet (one more time)
I said I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet
Now I would never diss my own momma just to get recognition
Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissing
But put yourself in my position; just try to envision
Witnessing your momma popping prescription pills in the kitchen
Bitching that someone's always going through her purse and shit's missing
Going through public housing systems, victim of Munchhausen's Syndrome
My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't
'Til I grew up, now I blew up, it makes you sick to ya stomach
Doesn't it? Wasn't it the reason you made that CD for me Ma?
So you could try to justify the way you treated me Ma?
But guess what? You're getting older now and it's cold when your lonely
And Nathan's growing up so quick he's gonna know that your phony
And Hailie's getting so big now; you should see her, she's beautiful
But you'll never see her - she won't even be at your funeral!
See what hurts me the most is you won't admit you was wrong
Bitch do your song - keep telling yourself that you was a mom!
But how dare you try to take what you didn't help me to get
You selfish bitch; I hope you fucking burn in hell for this shit
Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?
Well guess what, I am dead - dead to you as can be!
I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet (one more time)
I said I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet
I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet (one more time)
I said I'm sorry momma!
I never meant to hurt you!
I never meant to make you cry; but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet
Sunday, July 1, 2012
BREAKING: Neal Rauhauser Believes SWATter is One of His Own | The Trenches
This is a bombshell in the Weinergate SWATting saga. The Trenches was contacted by a source who shared the following email from Neal Rauhauser to Mike Stack and Jay Leiderman with us.
Neal Rauhauser stabs his very own Beandog/Twittergate crew in the back by saying that they’re involved in the SWATting of Mike Stack. Et tu, Neal? That’s probably going to make some people very unhappy.
Neal presents himself in this email as a victim, ironic considering his direct involvement in much of this dangerous and pathetic internet drama from the onset. Neal also appears to be playing an angle for a settlement between Patrick Frey and Stack. Odd bit of “altruism” at the 11th hour. He makes the claim to Leiderman that Stack was duped by Frey and Robert Stacy McCain, and that has somehow exposed Stack to a federal hate crimes charge. Really?! Is that an intimidation tactic to get Stack to drop his case against you, Neal? Anyway, Rauhauser concludes with the desire to pay his attorney Leiderman for a couple hours time to draft an agreement wherein both parties drop their complaints/charges against one another.
What’s the disposition of the case? Did Stack drop his proceedings? Did Neal keep his end of the bargain? We’ll examine this soon.
Who is Jay Leiderman? He’s the attorney who’s been making a habit of representing criminals from the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the hacker group Anonymous. It looks like “Commander X” ran to Canada and someone lost $35,000 in bail money. Oops, Jay! Wait a minute, doesn’t Jay also represent Nadia Naffe? You remember Nadia – she’s the one who made the outrageous claim that she was mysteriously drugged by James O’Keefe and woke up at a train station. The company these people keep…
Strange. There’s an intersection of Neal with SWATting, Occupy, Anonymous, Beandogs, Weinergate, Twittergate and more to follow.
I wonder if anyone will notice the significance of this development? We do. Leftist freakout moment in 3, 2, 1…
