Net neutrality is back on track, thanks to corporate stupidity

“The hands-off approach hasn’t served consumers well. And the Web is far too important to entrust the free flow of information to the shifting whims of a few big companies. Government must step in and tell them to leave our content alone.”
Sounds like something you’d expect me to say, right? Or maybe Matt Stoller over [...]

The “untouchables” of Virginia

Today’s Washington Post looks at the net result of anti-illegal immigration measures passed in Virginia’s Prince William County last week–an exodus of Latinos (both legal and illegal) from the region:
Diaz, a supermarket checkout clerk, was one of nearly 400 people who waited for hours to comment on the bill during the marathon pre-vote session that [...]

Saturday Video Roundup: edufication in the America

Howdy, folks, and welcome to Saturday Video Roundup, where today our guests tackle the tricky issue of education and politics. Up first, one of our heroes offers some thoughts on education in our ownership society.

Quotabull

We have a responsibility to provide a moral framework for our kids.
— John Arthur Eaves Jr., Democratic candidate for governor in Mississippi, who once “rebuked the Democratic National Committee for leaving Jesus out of an Easter statement” and says he wants a “new day in Mississippi, where our children go to school with voluntary, student-led [...]

The future of news: rational business decisions

Begin writing the long-term obituary of the American newspaper — at least for the newspaper envisioned by the Founders as a public service and a significant component of the checks and balances that once allowed American democracy to function properly and purposefully.
You think know the now-familiar story: Advertising revenues are down. Circulation’s declining. Corporate ownership [...]

China, toys and the tragedy of xenophobia

Over the past two months a tragedy has been playing out in Europe and the US. Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, has recalled more than 20 million of their products, including Fisher Price and Barbie.
The cause? Toys with paint containing too high a lead content and poorly attached magnets that could present a [...]

Life’s tough: A billion dollars gets no respect

If I had a net worth of one billion dollars today, I’d be depressed. What’s the use of having all that moolah if I can’t lord it over mere mortals by adding fame to that forturne?
But I only have one billion dollars. And folks, that’s no longer enough to get me on the Forbes 400 [...]

“Data Shadows” and online privacy

I learned a new word yesterday: “Data Shadow”. It’s the footprint your activity data makes on the infosphere- your credit, cell phone and banking records, and your tracks on the Internet. I’ve been online for over 15 years, so my Internet ‘data shadow’ is quite long, I’m afraid. There isn’t much I can do to [...]

Justice Department on net neutrality: “Trust us”

Yesterday the Justice Department filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission opposing the principle of “net neutrality” and urging the FCC not to sanction regulations to protect it. In a report and press statement that sound like they were written by executives from AT&T and Verizon, the DOJ regurgitates telecom talking points that falsely claim [...]

Municipal Wi-Fi isn’t dead, and neither is the Internet

One of the big technology news items this week was a cascading series of failures on the front of municipal wireless networks, from Earthlink’s financial troubles causing it to pull back on many of its ambitious Muni WiFi projects, and similar projects stalling out in Chicago and Houston. Naturally, this led pundits–including the [...]

Comcast and the amazing invisible bandwith barrier

If you’re a Comcast subscriber who likes to use your connection for downloading videos, playing games, or anything more intensive than surfing the Web and checking e-mail, watch out–your connection could get restricted or shut off without any notice.
My esteemed ConsumerAffairs.Com colleague Joseph Enoch has more:
The company has a bandwidth limitation that, if broken, [...]

Scroguely Works: “How much land does a man need?” by Leo Tolstoy

How much land does a man need? by Leo Tolstoy, first published 1886, collected short-stories 256 pages, ISBN 978-0140445060
“What things one does dream,” thought [Pahom]. - “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”
The greatest struggle in the American experience is the one between democracy and capitalism. As de Tocqueville observed, [...]

George W Bush is a liberal, and other oddities

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Aside from a few odd social experiments, such as Hugo Chavez’ Venezuela, or Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe (identical except for the fact that Chavez can maintain his worker’s paradise through [...]

Unfriendly cellphone contracts shine light on dangers of arbitration

This week’s Business Week has a look at how the wireless industry is being challenged over its notoriously unfriendly contracts, which demand consumers give up their rights to resolution by jury trial or class action in court in favor of arbitration:
One class action involving early-termination charges, a leading gripe among cell users, should get a [...]

Bush’s “immigration crackdown” won’t solve anything

Yesterday the Bush regime announced a new series of “get tough” moves against illegal immigrants and their employers, in the form of cracking down on employees using unverified Social Security numbers, more raids and border protection measures, and streamlining existing guest visitor programs. The press (doing its job for once) largely recognizes these manuevers for [...]