FCC Rules Against Comcast, Score One For Net Neutrality

After last month's depressing loss concerning FISA and the validity of the Fourth Amendment in our Constitution, it was nice to get some good news on the 'electronic rights' front. Yesterday, the Federal Communications Committee ruled not for the big corporation, but the average, everyday Internet user.

From C|Net News:

The Federal Communications Commission handed Comcast a cease-and-desist order and required the company to disclose to subscribers in the future how it plans to manage traffic. Comcast had said that its measures to slow BitTorrent transfers, which it voluntarily ended in March, were necessary to prevent its network from being overrun.

"We need to protect consumers' access, said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican. "While Comcast has said it would stop the arbitrary blocking, consumers deserve to know that the commitment is backed up by legal enforcement."

The vote was not unexpected. Martin said recently that he planned to side with the commission's two Democrats on the request submitted in November by Free Press and its political allies, including some Yale, Harvard, and Stanford University law school faculty. That led to a backlash against Martin this week from economic conservatives, including the Bush administration and House Republican Leader John Boehner.

The party leaders within the GOP might have gotten upset with Martin for siding with those that challenge the dominance of corporate America, but there isn't much fear in their voice. Comcast will be appealing the decision and many doubt that the FCC has the strength to enforce their rulings. That could take an act of Congress to enable and Congress hasn't been ready to step up to the plate for the enforcers of Net Neutrality.

Perhaps with indicted Senator Ted "Internet Tubes" Stevens on his way out, we can make legislation come out of committee and onto the floor for a vote under President Obama, so the free-flow of information is not abated by a few internet providers such as Comcast.

McCain Could Lose Arizona

If the Grand Canyon State goes against their Senator in the Presidential election, you know Obama's win will be of landslide proportions.

Another McCain Lobbyist In The Crosshairs

John McCain, despite his feeble attempt at casting himself as a reformer and a maverick, continues to display the status quo in all of its glory. He hates earmarks at the podium, but having lobbyists on his staff that specialize in special favors is his true forté. The latest evidence of hypocrisy from the campaign comes in the form of John Green. Green is known for his efforts to tear down the embargo with Cuba, something his boss has tried to paint Barack Obama with.

From TPM:

Such conflicts between lobbyists on McCain's campaign staff and McCain's hard-line foreign policy positions have already created controversy and generated criticism for McCain. Campaign manager Rick Davis, for instance, made news and was criticized by Democrats for his lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian businessman with deep commercial ties to Iran -- even though McCain has called for divestment against Iran.

McCain has argued in favor of keeping all sanctions against Cuba in place until they undertake various democratic reforms. What's more, he has aggressively attacked Obama for not taking as hard a line on Cuba. Obama argues in favor of easing travel restrictions with the country, something McCain says would "send the worst possible signal" to Cuba's leaders by unilaterally dropping travel restrictions.

McCain's employment of a lobbyist who pushed for the lifting of Cuba sanctions could also prove to be a controversial issue in the critical swing state of Florida, where many in the large Cuban exile community favor a hard line against Cuba.

McCain is having problems all across the map. Florida is just one state Bush won that is in jeopardy of going to Obama a little over three months from now. Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Virginia, even the Dakotas, Montana and various other southern states besides Florida are now in play.

Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering why Green was lobbying against the stated position of McCain's regarding Cuba....it is because Green's client is an European giant in the alcohol business and the "Havana Club" rum brand is just that important. I wonder how his wife feels about all of that, coming from the domestic booze business herself.

WalMart: I'm Not Telling You How To Vote, But....

From their policies and executives, it isn't hard to tell how the upper echelons of the largest U.S. employer feels about partisan politics in our country. WalMart has nearly 90% of their employees in poverty and for the bottom-line, that is good for business. However, this year WalMart and their Republican friends see change on the horizon and they loathe it. So what do you think management will do about it?

From The Wall Street Journal:

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.[...]

The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.

"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.

WalMart will go to any lengths to keep their workers down, especially here in the United States. Thanks to stronger governments in Europe and even China, workers in those countries are protected from the abuses that U.S. employees are subjected to. WalMart, being the evil corporate behemoth that they are, left Germany two years ago because their unethical practices were not tolerated.

Now here at home, people are fed up with the status quo and with how WalMart and others like them treat workers. The Bush Administration has helped companies fight unions off while managers use fear tactics straight out of the old Gilded Age handbook on union-busting (save for the Pinkertons). Wealthy Wal-Mart executives do not want an environment where unions can thrive again and empowered workers demand better wages and rights. That is why they are trying to force the Republican brand down the throats of their lower-level managers. Well try as they might, the word about them is getting out and things will change as more and more Americans wake-up to the realities of WalMart.

The Commander In Chief Test

McCain doesn't think Obama is up to the task to be Commander-in-Chief....but really, the question should be presented to him as well:

An Anniversary Republicans Wish Not To Remember

In a little over a month from now, thousands of Republicans will gather in the beautiful city of Minneapolis-St. Paul. From the party faithful to the party elite to the wealthy backers, hob nobbing, networking and more mundane issues like party platform will be hammered out (still important though). They'll all have a great time and cheer themselves on, but one thing that would be surprising if mentioned would be the tragic anniversary that the city of Minneapolis is remembering today.

From The Politico:

It’s a year today since the Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people, but don’t expect Gov. Tim Pawlenty to showcase the reconstruction.

Indeed, with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul just a month away and Pawlenty reported to be high on John McCain’s running mate list, Republicans want to drive attention away from the infrastructure disaster that spotlighted the nation’s crumbling bridges and from the criticism the governor faced for what some critics said was a slow response.

The governor’s staff reports there are no plans to hold any events near the site of the bridge collapse, about 10 miles from the convention hall. And GOP convention planners have organized hundreds of buses to ease the congestion expected when some 45,000 conventioneers, guests and media commute to the hall.

Pawlenty claims the two aren't related, but to callously dismiss the connection is telling of a party that cares more about itself and less about the health of our nation. In fact, it goes straight to the core of why the Republican party needs to be walloped in this year's election. See, maintaining infrastructure takes money and a competent government that will fix and repair old bridges. Like one speaker or at least prominent attendee at the upcoming RNC once said, “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”

Dead governments can't fix our infrastructure....and don't think that privatizing every road, bridge and tunnel will do the trick either.

McCain Says Anything To Big Oil For Big Contributions

Despite the McCain's desperate attempts to still have their candidate labeled as a maverick, more and more people (including some in the press) are realizing that the Straight Talk Express had derailed a long time ago. One item he was adored for previously was his tough talk against special interests and for campaign finance reform. Now, in regards to the oil industry, he'll do and say anything to get the big petro-contributions....and boy are they coming in.

From ThinkProgress:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has made his complete reversal on offshore drilling a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, insisting that expanding offshore drilling into protected areas would lead to more oil supply on the market “within a matter of months” — regardless of the Energy Information Agency’s projection that oil would not reach the market for nearly a decade and “would not have a significant impact” on oil prices.

Though more drilling won’t help Americans save money at the gas pump, it has certainly helped McCain win massive campaign donations from Big Oil. A new report by Campaign Money Watch shows that contributions to McCain from Big Oil skyrocketed directly following his June speech in Houston, when he pledged his support of offshore drilling before an audience oil executives. The report notes:

In Texas alone, June oil and gas-connected donations to McCain’s Victory ’08 Fund, his hybrid fundraising venture with the RNC and state committees, reached $1,214,100.

Of that total, $881,450, or 73 percent, came after June 15. McCain announced his position in favor of offshore drilling on June 16.

Now that my friends, is the way old Washington works. With record profits being recorded by ExxonMobil, Chevron and others, a few hundred thousand in "investments" is nothing compared to the ridiculous profits they are and will continue to make as long as George Bush's third term commences under John McCain.

Maddow Smacks Down Buchanan

Last night as they talked about the candidates, negative ads and hubris vs. humility, Rachel Maddow made mince meat of Pat Buchanan:

Judge Bates Reminds White House No One Is Above The Law

Since they walked into the White House, George Bush and his minions believed that they were above the law. This was proven time and time again when they broke the law and when called on it by the blogosphere (and rarely by the timid traditional media) they hid behind a veil of secrecy. When Congress changed hands and gave the Democratic Party some power to hold hearings and deliver subpoenas, they claimed executive privilege. Well after what seems like months and months of delays, a federal judge known for his executive branch bias has reminded the White House that no one is above the law.

From MSNBC:

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates said there’s no legal basis for Bush’s argument and that his former legal counsel, Harriet Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify, he said, she must do so in person. The committee also has sought to force testimony from White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten.

“Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena,” Bates wrote. He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to bolster the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. The Bush administration argued it was immune from such subpoenas, arguing that Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

Contrary to the wishes of the President and those beneath him that carried out crimes against the people of the United States and in particular several U.S. Attorneys (for this specific matter, the scandal is but one symptom of a devastating disease ravaging our Constitution). Judge Bates realizes that in our democracy, Congress has the power to check the Executive branch in order to give balance to our system of government. You know, the stuff written into the Constitution.

Of course now the White House will come up with another tactic to delay, most likely in the form of an appeal. That is why the Congress must find its spine and act now to circumvent their skirting of the justice system. Pelosi claims that they'll act, but only the people can pressure her and the caucus she leads into choosing real action over blustering and issuing sternly worded statements with nothing behind them.

ExxonMobil Continues To Clean House

The majority of Americans are struggling at the pump and consequently in all other places that deal with their bank account (food, health care, utilities, etc). With record prices for oil and the popularly refined product known as gasoline, people are being tapped out more than ever to get from point A to point B. So where is all that money going?

From RawStory:

HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results fell well short of Wall Street expectations and shares fell in premarket trading.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Nearly twelve billion in profit....that is approximately a billion dollars a week....for one single oil company (granted it is the largest, but still). How we do not have a windfall profits tax on these greedy bastards is incredible. People are suffering across the country because of the high cost of oil and only a select few are making money off of it.

Bush would never sign anything to help anyone but his base, but Congress must get a bill ready for President Obama to sign in January so that we can start to fix this problem by reining in the oil companies and starting to make a meaningful investment in alternative energy.

McCain's On The Lowest Of Low Roads

Obama's latest ad counters the lies and smears that John McCain has been spreading recently. Now that we all know he is a liar, the next ad should get back to business and bring the fight to John himself.

Nearly Seven Years Later FDNY And NYPD Can Communicate

Nearly seven years ago, our city experienced one of the worst national tragedies our country has ever witnessed. Thousands died in the attacks on the World Trade Center and that included hundreds of firemen, but not from the police department. That occurred because while the NYPD could hear on their radios to get out, the firefighters didn't get the message because their radios weren't able to pick up the same frequencies. Not long after that terrible day, we as a city realized that Giuliani had a chance to fix the radios several years earlier but he did nothing. And now, in 2008, it seems to have taken several years afterwards to fix the error.

From The NY Times:

Emergency medical workers can now contact the police directly via radio. Fire officials use information beamed down from police helicopters. Law enforcement officers and emergency service agencies hold joint drills at high-rise buildings, jails and the city’s tunnels.

Seven years after the harsh lessons of the Sept. 11 attacks, New York City has improved the ability of its Police and Fire Departments to operate together.

On Wednesday, these and other advances were enumerated before the Federal Communications Commission at a public hearing in Brooklyn on improving public safety through better communications among government and emergency agencies.

I am glad to hear that things are working the way they should have nearly fifteen years ago. Though we needed this technology to be in working order as soon as people understood just how much New York is a target for attacks, namely after the 1993 WTC bombing. Yet Giuliani was negligent with the radio problem....and it took nearly the entire term of the Bloomberg Administration too.