Slashdot Mirror
FCC Member Copps In Favor of Municipal WiFi
Cryofan writes "Michael Copps, one of the five members of the FCC, spoke on the recent controversy over legislation to outlaw municipal WiFi: "I think we do a grave injustice in trying to hobble municipalities. That's an entrepreneurial approach, that's an innovative approach. Why don't we encourage that instead of having bills introduced--'Oh, you can't do this because it's interfering with somebody's idea of the functioning of the marketplace...a municipality is a democratically run institution. They can make their own decisions. They don't need the Bells. They don't need the Administration, and they don't need me telling them what kind of decision they should be making.'"
2 of the 5 FCC members are Demcrats. 3 are Republicans.
eat shiat and bark at the moon
Why don't we encourage that instead of having bills introduced--'Oh, you can't do this because it's interfering with somebody's idea of the functioning of the marketplace...a municipality is a democratically run institution. They can make their own decisions. They don't need the Bells. They don't need the Administration, and they don't need me telling them what kind of decision they should be making.'
Someone in the federal government actually understands the role of the federal government? Sad to say, he probably won't last long.
Search google for him:
0 &s tart=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org. mozilla:en-US:official
http://www.google.com/search?q=fcc+copps&start=
Against Big media, looks out for the indi media and is looking to actually SET RULES instead of "notions" of what is wrong.
Privatization is not by its nature "better and cheaper"; it is only "better and cheaper" if it actually is. If it is in comparison to the municipal government, that government will eventually shift toward privatization- if it then becomes worse and more expensive, that government will reclaim it and collectivize private suppliers. This is a matter for policy decision, not a damned law one way or the other. Aside, government provision, assuming adequate tax funds and appropriate use, should stimulate its economy and increase the wealth of its populace equal to or over the former levels.
Half of Slashdot is mad at Apple. http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/05/03/04/138234.sh tml?tid=123&tid=153&tid=3
Oh we shouldn't be mad at Apple. They are being businessmen even if they are being assholes. I don't expect anything less. Who I am pissed at is the fucking judge who decided that he can determine who and who isn't a journalist.
Sorry but journalists shouldn't be required to work for a "commercial entity" in order to be considered one. That only gives protections to the employees of media conglomorates who are known to be influenced by threats on their jobs...
The leakers broke the dumb law that was passed by lawmakers that had big IT business in their pockets not the journalists.
More specifically, Congress created the FCC in 1934 (from the Radio Act of 1927) and the FCC derives whatever authority it has from congress. The FCC has been known to, at least according to some in congress, overstep their authority. You won't find every agency in the Constitution but you will find the means to create an agency and bestow authority upon that agency.
http://www.busyweather.com/
Concur.
But there's hope. We're now able to get all our weather data directly from the NWS office of our choosing, as opposed to having to get it from some bogus subscription service that just regurgitates our own data that we had already bought and paid for, back at us.
Maybe things will shake out alright with wireless?
Is it fascism yet?
Excuse me - rails aren't public infrastructure. The local system through Seattle is owned by BNSF.
This presumes that all 10 people have the means to execute their 'individual choice'. In reality, many times the upper class chooses to suppress the lower class's choice. Straight up free-market think just doesn't work when players start changing the rules for others.