McCain Opposes Net Neutrality. (Hmm... I Wonder Why.)

Here's why.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is the top recipient of campaign contributions from large Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast over the past two years, according to a new report from the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics. McCain has taken in a total of $894,379 (much of that money going to support his failed 2008 bid for the presidency), more than twice the amount taken by the next-largest beneficiary, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ($341,089).

Meanwhile, McCain has emerged as the ISPs' biggest champion against new "network neutrality" rules from the Federal Communications Commission, which voted Thursday to move forward in the process to adopt such rules. Shortly after the FCC vote, McCain introduced a bill (the "Internet Freedom Act") that would block regulation of the nation's largest broadband networks.

Net neutrality rules would amount to a federal mandate that broadband providers cannot block or hinder the internet traffic of any web site or service, regardless of whether or not that site or service completes with a similar site or service offered by the ISP itself. In other words, a telco ISP could not limit bandwidth used for Skype VoIP traffic, while maximizing bandwidth available for its own VoIP service.

So, in a nutshell, the ISPs want to be able control the information on their bandwidth, especially if they deem it harms their interests.  The government is trying to prevent these big businesses from dictating what the consumer has access to, and how to access it.  

And yet, McCain likens net neutrality to "government control of the internet."

Go figure. 

Daryl Metcalfe Is A Dick.

Daryl Metcalfe (R-PA) thinks that if you served in the military (as I did), and show concern for the environment and the effects of global warning (as I do), then you are, simply put, a traitor.

“As a veteran, I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took to defend the Constitution of our great nation!” Mr. Metcalfe’s email reads. “Remember Benedict Arnold before giving credibility to a veteran who uses their service as a means to promote a leftist agenda. Drill Baby Drill!!!”

Rep. Metcalfe, who served in the U.S. Army from 1980-84, today defended the remarks, saying that “if the type of policies that an individual promotes undermines the Constitution and the law of the land in our country, then they are not patriots.”

Mind you, this is the same dickhead that refused to support Domestic Violence Awareness Month because he believed it was part of some nefarious LGBT agenda.

So, Cranberry Township in Pennsylvania... you should probably have a word with your boy.  I'm sure some of you are bound to be veterans that care about the environment, right?  Your representative thinks you hate your country.

Palin's Coming To Oprah.

Sarah Palin's going to be on Oprah November 16th to pimp her Going Rogue book.

I might actually have to watch an episode of Oprah.  This is fraught with potential.

Iraq Veteran Opens Fire on Police.

Remember when the Department of Homeland Security put out a report that said to keep an eye on extremist right wing groups for potential terrorist activity? (I've talked about it a couple of times.)

Anyway, Malkin got her draws up in a bunch, even labeling the following excerpt as "anti-military bigotry."

(U) Disgruntled Military Veterans

(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.

Nobody panders like the right.  And nobody denies reality like them as well.

Because, lo and behold:

Iraq War veteran opens fire on Indy police

LYNN, Ind. — An ex-Marine who served in Iraq has been charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer after firing on police.

Authorities say 26-year-old Andrew Ward of rural Lynn fired four shotgun blasts at three officers Friday night at a rural farm house. No officers were hurt.

After that weapon and another malfunctioned, officers used a stun gun to subdue Ward. He was being held without bond Sunday. He also faces preliminary charges of criminal recklessness, battery and intimidation.

Relatives say Ward was discharged from the Marines last month and is seeking disability veterans benefits for anxiety and post-traumatic-stress disorder. An older brother who also served in Iraq killed himself in 2003.

Now if you check reference back to what the DHS report stated one more time (bolds are mine):

(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.

And again, for clarity, Malkin dismissed that paragraph as "anti-military bigotry."

Look, I don't think all veterans are potential terrorists.  And neither does the Department of Homeland Security.  But in the Broad Brush Stroke world of today's GOP - an entire party seemingly incapable of subtlety or nuance - the paragraph above can't even be written because it offends our men and women in uniform.  And that actively ignores the potential for something like this happening.

Who knows... maybe one of Malkin's readers decided to dismiss the report as well, painting it as liberal phooey from a President who apparently detests our country, and disrespects the military that serves to protect it.

Maybe someone who knew Andrew Ward.

 

Columbus Day.

Quote of the day:

They…brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bell.  They willingly traded everything they owned…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, the took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane… They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.

-Christopher Columbus, from A People’s History of the United States.

Hey Michael Steele: You Stop Talking Now, M'Kay?

Apparently the Republican leadership isn't too pleased with the chairman of the RNC right now.  Mostly because he's a moron, it seems.

The congressional leaders were particularly miffed that Steele had in late August unveiled a seniors’ “health care bill of rights” without consulting with them. The statement of health care principles, outlined in a Washington Post op-ed, began with a robust defense of Medicare that puzzled some in a party not known for its attachment to entitlements.

Not hard to believe that the GOP is having a hard time staying on message, when they don't really have one to begin with. 

And no, "Whatever Obama is against" is not an adequate party platform.

Shep Smith Is At It Again.

Long time AEL readers know that I might have a little man crush on Shep Smith over at Faux News, mostly because he seems to be the only guy over there (now that Alan Colmes is gone) interested in getting the other side of the story any airtime at all.

And he's done it again, this time regarding health care reform.

Go get 'em, Shep.

America's Uninsured Crisis.

Podcast courtesy of The National Academies Press.

When policy makers and researchers consider potential solutions to the crisis of uninsurance in the United States, the question of whether health insurance matters to health is often an issue. This question is far more than an academic concern. It is crucial that U.S. health care policy be informed with current and valid evidence on the consequences of uninsurance for health care and health outcomes, especially for the 45.7 million individuals without health insurance.

Worth a listen, if you want to hear objective voices speaking on the subject of health care reform.