Hail the chief
To the editor:
President Barack Hussein Obama has just mitigated any uneven thoughts I may have had about him. His strong support for the concept of net neutrality in the face of gigantic opposition is truly courageous. He stated that, “An open Internet is essential to the American economy and increasingly to our very way of life.” The Federal Communications Commission an independent agency is nearing a decision on whether broadband providers should be allowed to cut deals with content providers.
It is incredible that in a so-called free society a majority of the five members of the FCC could challenge net neutrality. However, think about it, as recently as October of 2009 nine members of the Supreme Court with a majority opinion of 5 to 4 actually validated the Citizens United verdict which proclaimed that a corporation has the same rights as an individual citizen regarding unlimited funding for Political Action Committees.
Critics like David Rockefeller; multi-national corporations like Comcast, Verizon and other providers now want full control over the contents of the Internet. Keep in mind that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist, was the inventor of the World Wide Web. With that knowledge he could have had unbelievable wealth and control of his invention yet he gave this World Wide Web to you, me and the world free of charge. He is the No. 1 advocate of net neutrality. This grab for power over the Internet by the elitists of the political class would virtually destroy everything the Bill of Rights and First Amendment freedom of speech stand for.
Net neutrality supporters hailed the president’s comments as a victory for Internet users and free speech advocates everywhere.
Obama deserves a medal with the inscription, “He did the right thing.”
Jon Larsen Shudlick
Fort Myers