An old Leftist axiom was:
“Speaking truth to power.”
But that was when the Left didn’t have any power. (They almost never had any truth.)
Now the Left has nearly all the power. They control just about everything.
As has nigh always been the case, truth is an impediment to the ever-greater expansion of their power.
So time and again we now see truth get power stamping its boot on truth’s face.
The new Leftist axiom is:
“Speaking power to truth.” Or “Screaming power to truth.” Or “Stamping power to truth.”
Speaking of George Orwell and his 1984:
“In 1984, ‘2+2=5’ is a false statement created by the Party and an example of the many ways the Party controls people.
“In making people believe that a random, false statement is an objective truth, the Party distorts and claims control of truth itself. Winston understands that slogans like ‘2+2=5’ are mechanisms of the Party’s social control until he is tortured.
“In the end, he traces the equation in dust, showing that the Party eventually controls him, too.”
Which naturally makes one think of Voltaire:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities – can make you commit atrocities.”
To paraphrase: “So we’ve got that going for us – which is nice.”
There are literally countless contemporary equivalents to Orwell’s absurd math equation. Which are repeatedly stamped on our faces.
“Men can get pregnant.”
“Gender is a social construct.”
And on, and on, and….
To paraphrase: “The beatings will continue – until submission improves.”
And then they’ll continue – just because. Because permanent submission – requires permanent beatings.
We are now in the Time of the Bigs: Big Government, Big Media, Big Education, Big Tech, Big Business, etc.
The Bigs dominate the nation – in no small part because they are all in league together.
This is where the fascism kicks in. When Big Government works hand-in-glove with the nominally private Bigs – that’s fascism.
(Fascism is inherently a Leftist ideology. Precisely because it requires a Big Government to happen. No right-winger wants a Big Government.)
So you end up with Leftists everywhere claiming to speak truth to power – when they are actually speaking power to truth. Promoting the fascism of the biggest Bigs – by demanding you believe the absurdest of absurdities.
Former Republican Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Ajit Pai on Sunday tapped into all of this.
The Death of the Internet, Five Years Later:
“Do you remember where you were five years ago today, on June 11, 2018? I’d be surprised if you don’t.
“For that was the day the internet ended – the day the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) repeal of so-called ‘net neutrality’ regulations went into effect.
“Why was this a big deal? What led apparent journalists to prepare lists like ‘The six terrible ways your life will change when Net Neutrality dies’?
“What led apparent celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Mark Ruffalo to issue fevered tweetstorms, saying that repeal of net neutrality was ‘one of the biggest’ issues ‘threatening our democracy,’ and an ‘authoritarian dream’?
“What led public officials to claim that this decision put ‘lives at risk’?…
“Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) proclaimed, as did ‘news’ outlet CNN, that this was ‘the end of the Internet as we know it.’
“Not to be outdone, a columnist at the New York Times moaned that ‘the freewheeling internet has been dying a slow death,’ and that repealing net neutrality rules ‘would be the final pillow in its face.’
“The Senate Democratic Caucus’s Twitter account proclaimed, ‘If we don’t save net neutrality, you’ll get the internet one word at a time’ – putting each word on a separate line to emphasize the danger.
“Famed telecommunications regulatory experts like anonymous street artist Banksy and Silicon Valley representative Ro Khanna predicted that internet applications would become pay-per-view, with consumers having to pay $1.99 per Google search or to purchase them in packages.
“And for good measure, multiple U.S. senators called the decision ‘un-American.’
“On top of this, there was no end of hyperbole about how every conceivable group would suffer.
“GLAAD claimed that ‘without net neutrality, censorship and erasure of the LGBTQ community is not only possible, but inevitable.’ The Black Women’s Health Imperative and the National Hispanic Media Coalition warned that ‘for low-income Americans and people of color, who have been historically underserved by the healthcare system, ending net neutrality could dramatically reduce access to life-saving health services.’
“The highly partisan special interest group Free Press argued that ‘without Net Neutrality, ISPs could block speech and prevent dissident voices from speaking freely online. Without Net Neutrality, people of color would lose a vital platform.’
“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops claimed that ‘we might be forced to pay fees to ensure that our high-bandwidth content receives fair treatment on the internet.’
“Even the National Association of Realtors jumped in, warning that without net-neutrality regulations, real-estate agents would face barriers in sharing property-listing information online.…
“In sum, the critics were confident and clear: A digital apocalypse was upon us. Half a decade later, we can now make a sober assessment of their predictions….
“Going only on press coverage, social media, and political rhetoric, you would have been justified in preparing for civilization’s demise.”
All these Leftists – speaking power to truth. By asserting the absurdest of absurdities.
Of COURSE repealing the idiotic Net Neutrality meant none of their absurdities. In fact – it meant the exact opposite of all of their absurdities:
“The evidence is indisputable today that in the five years since the FCC’s decision to repeal net-neutrality regulations went into effect, American consumers are benefiting from broadband networks that are stronger and more extensive than ever.
“According to independent measurement service Ookla, average fixed broadband speeds in the U.S. are 287 percent faster today than they were in June 2018 (269.28 Mbps download speeds today versus 93.98 Mbps in 2018).
“Average mobile broadband speeds have increased even more, at 570 percent (156.51 Mbps versus 27.47 Mbps). Millions more Americans have access to the internet today compared with 2018, thanks in large part to private investment in digital infrastructure.
“And on top of that, consumers are benefiting from more choice than in 2018. Indeed, competition has not just increased but transformed since then.
“Residential fiber deployment hit an all-time high last year. Wireless companies like T-Mobile are providing high-speed 5G fixed wireless service to millions of customers.
“Companies like Starlink are launching low-Earth-orbit satellites to support residential-broadband service, especially in harder-to-reach rural areas.
“And cable companies are expanding their footprint and upgrading their systems to enable much faster speeds.”
The Left’s Net Neutrality power-to-truth absurdities are in service of Big Tech – the biggest Big Businesses in the history of the planet.
Big Tech wants Net Neutrality – for a variety of very selfish reasons. Big Government wants to give it to them – for a variety of very crony reasons.
To discuss but one:
Net Neutrality is Big Government outlawing Big Tech having to pay for the bandwidth it uses. How very crony fascist.
As you can probably guess – Big Tech uses a LOT of bandwidth.
Telco Business Models Must Change as Big Tech Generates the Majority of Internet Traffic:
“Google, Facebook, and other ‘top-6’ digital brands generate more than 56% of global network traffic.”
Telcos have two choices: Charge Big Tech something – or charge We the Little Guys even more.
Big Government is looking to ensure Big Tech never, ever pays anything – anywhere. How very crony fascist.
EU Ministers Side with Big Tech on Fair Contribution
EU Regulators Group Against Big Tech Paying for Telco Infrastructure
Big Tech is only using more than half of all global bandwidth. Why should they pay for any of it?
I’ll close with my periodic reminder of comparative Market Caps.
Here are some of the biggest of Big Tech companies:
Apple: $2.854 Trillion
Microsoft: $2.427 Trillion
Alphabet-Google: $1.622 Trillion
Amazon: $1.281 Trillion
Meta-Facebook: $562.19 Billion
Total: $8.746 Trillion
Here are some of the biggest US telcos:
Comcast-Xfinity: $168.01 Billion
Verizon: $149.93 Billion
AT&T: $113.85 Billion
T-Mobile $155.37 Billion
Charter-Spectrum: $50.13 Billion
Total: $637.29 Billion
Big Government and the Left?
Are helping the $8.7 trillion companies.
At the exorbitant expense of the $637.2 billion companies. And us.
That seems fair.
Shouting out loud – power to truth.
How very absurd.