Thursday is for freedom a very bad day. That is the day the free speech-free market Xanadu that is the Internet will be unilaterally seized by the Barack Obama Administration.
Per the President’s demand, the allegedly independent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is pretending to be Congress – and writing new Web-regulating law for themselves. And on Thursday they will vote on it – and thereby grab expansive, broad and deep overlording powers.
The President influencing the FCC is at the very least problematic – if not illegal.
House to Probe White House Role in FCC’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Proposal
Senate Investigating Whether Obama Meddled with the FCC’s Net Neutrality Plan
In defense of the Commission’s apparent lackey-esque capitulation, Special Counsel for External Affairs Gigi Sohn “reassured” us:
“There are…places where our proposal is actually stronger than President Obama’s proposal.
“Our power grab is even worse than President Obama’s” isn’t very reassuring.
Obama’s One-Man Rule Amounts To A ‘Gradual, Quiet Coup’
President Obama’s Immigration Plan: Rewriting the Law
Obama Rewrites The Law Again, IRS Waives Obamacare Subsidy Clawback Penalties
Obama Proposes Massive Gun Ban by Regulation Fiat
The FCC is allegedly an “expert agency” – and they will apply this expertise to their command-and-control of the Web.
Government Agency That Wants To Commandeer The Internet Just Had Their Website Crash – Twice
Oops. Well, perhaps the combined technological expertise of the entire $4-trillion-a-year federal government will help.
Technology Failures Grow All Too Common in Government Projects
High-Risk List: Government IT Projects Fail ‘Too Frequently’
Traffic Didn’t Crash the Obamacare Site Alone. Bad Coding Did Too
Three Months Later, State Department Hasn’t Rooted Out Hackers
Not so much. Well at least they’re experts at other things – maybe it will rub off.
Why Does Government Fail So Often?
A Fatal Wait: Veterans Languish and Die on Veterans Administration Secret List
Why Are We Not Talking About the Federal Government’s $123 Trillion In Unfunded Liabilities?
Not so much. Well they don’t wield well their massive power – but at least they don’t abuse it.
Constitutional Experts Call Obama’s Abuse of Power Historic
New IRS Scandal Revives Past Allegations Against Agency
Gov’t Obtains Wide AP Phone Records in Probe
Obama’s ‘Abuse of Power’ Argument on Recess Appointments
Not so much. Is our data safe in government hands?
‘Thousands of NSA Analysts Can Listen to Domestic Phone Calls,’ Read Emails, Texts, IMs
Think NSA Spying Is Bad? Here Comes ObamaCare Hub
Confirmed: US Counterterrorism Agency Can Amass Data On Any Citizen
Not so much. Are they at least honest and transparent with us?
Obama’s “Keep Your Plan” Promise Labeled “Lie of the Year”
Obama’s ‘Blame the Video’ Fraud Started in Cairo, Not Benghazi
EPA Chief’s Secret ‘Alias’ Email Account Revealed
Jon Stewart Accuses Kathleen Sebelius of Lying to Him About Obamacare
Not so much. Do they at least want to correct things – and admire and appreciate those inside government who point out this endless stream of abuses and failures?
The Obama Administration’s War on Whistleblowers
Obama has Prosecuted More Whistleblowers than All Other Presidents Combined
Obama Has Sentenced Whistleblowers to 25 Times the Jail Time of All Prior U.S. Presidents Combined
Not so much. Do they at least want to work with the media – you know, “The most transparent administration in history?”
President Obama Promised Transparency and Open Government. He Failed Miserably
Obama Administration Has Gone To Unprecedented Lengths To Thwart Journalists
New York Times Reporter: Obama Admin “Most Closed, Control-Freak Administration I’ve Ever Covered”
Not so much.
Does the FCC behave any differently than any other tentacle of the Leviathan?
FCC: Lifeline Program Fraud and Abuse Surpasses Two Million Subscribers
FCC Admits CableCARD a Failure
FCC Votes Itself 17.2% USF E-Rate Tax Increase
The FCC’s Plan To Steamroll State Laws Against Government Broadband
Not so much. And what of the FCC’s looming Net Neutrality power grab? Can we get a peek – in the interest of transparency?
(Obama-Campaign-Cash-Bundler FCC) Chairman Wheeler Won’t Release Net Neutrality Draft
Not so much. Why not?
“What you have suggested in terms of releasing the preliminary discussion draft of the Order runs contrary to Commission procedure followed over the years….”
Their defense of their anti-transparency – is years and years of precedent anti-transparency.
Speaking of anti-transparency – and abuse of power, and silencing critics, and…:
Top Pai Aide Says Press Release Was Blocked
Matthew Berry, chief of staff to FCC commissioner Ajit Pai, took to Twitter earlier this week to suggest “FCC leadership” was attempting to prevent the commissioner from posting a press release excerpting critics of network neutrality regulation.
Pai has been extremely outspoken in his criticism of chairman Tom Wheeler’s plan—he calls it the President’s plan—to reclassify ISPs under some Title II regs as a way to support new network neutrality rules.
Asked what Berry meant by a Feb. 18 tweet saying “FCC leadership now trying to block Commissioner Pai’s press releases from FCC website. So much for Open Internet!,” Berry said that the FCC’s Office of Media Relations “told us that the Office of General Counsel had directed that our statement be removed from the website.”
So the FCC is just like every other federal Department, Agency, Commission and Board – hopelessly incompetent, abusive, dishonest and anti-transparent.
And they’re about to commandeer control of the Internet.
Well, the Web was fun while it lasted.
Next up: The conga line to the courthouse – to sue to undo this egregious overreach.
AT&T Ready to Sue FCC Over Net Neutrality
NCTA Will Probably Sue FCC Over Title II Regulation
Smaller Cable Companies Hint They’ll Sue the FCC on Net Neutrality, Too
What we can do: Call our respective Congressmen and Senators and tell them to do everything in their power (there’s quite a bit, actually) to rein in the rogue FCC.
(202) 224-3121.
Editor’s Note: This first appeared in PJ Media.