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Senator Al Franken Accuses AT&T of "Skirting" Net Neutrality Rules
McGruber writes In a letter to the U.S. Federal Communication Commission and the Department of Justice, Senator Al Franken warned that letting AT&T acquire Direct TV could turn AT&T into a gatekeeper to the mobile Internet. Franken also complained that AT&T took inappropriate steps to block Internet applications like Google Voice and Skype: "AT&T has a history of skirting the spirit, and perhaps the letter' of the government's rules on net neutrality, Franken wrote."
why not go after the worst offenders?
lose != loose
Guess who won't be receiving much, if any campaign contributions for the next election from ATT? (Or Verizon, or Comcast).
You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
They'd make quite a team, and the debates might finally be watchable.
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Make a lot of noise but not actually do anything.
Even if AT&T did abide by these rules in three years their commitment is over and they can do what they want.
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Aldous Huxley
they'd never make it out of the Sheldon Primary
For those of you that don't know, any serious candidate for office in America gets approved by the top 1% here before they're allowed to run because without the support of the very rich they can't win.
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It's the best of the franken-foods!
"I find it hard to take anything this guy says seriously"
Because you are too stupid to realize that people can be funny and serious? Or have multiple careers in one life time?
But more likely, because you are resorting to an Ad Hominem attack, where you attack the person instead of the message because you can't really make a reasonable logical argument against his point.
Humor takes intelligence. I think he's done a far better job representing the people and their interests than Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Ronald Reagan.
"why not go after the worst offenders?"
"go after" means the Federal Government to **enforce** laws or pass new ones
Republicans block every effort to pass new Net Neutrality laws or enforce currenet ones
> enforcement: GOP excuse: "can't...no money to do it...we got us a budget crisis b/c of government spending"
> pass new laws: GOP excuse: "can't...new laws are 'regulation' and that's bad for business and jobs"
So the answer to "why not go after..." is simply BECAUSE REPUBLICANS
if you disagree...you must contradict my dual thesis...policy and laws exist and we enforce them...Republicans and Democrats control that...on both issues my thesis is that Democrats want to "go after verizon, comcast" and that Republicans oppose such actions by vote and by administrative decisions....you must show Republicans who advocate for both Net Neutrality AND increased enforcement/regulation on big teleco's specifically if you want to have a discussion
Thank you Dave Raggett
I have to appreciate the Senator going off on what could be a win for us. Although huge corporations have the lobbyists behind them Al Franken only has us. And I sure love the guy, crying out loud for the little consumer getting raked over the coals. Thanks Al Franken Go get 'em!. I wish you all the support you'll need.
Not worth responding too...Blind baby
I am Vinz, Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer...Volguus Zildrohoar, Lord of the Seboullia. Are you the Gatekeeper?
Agreed. Not so sure about Ronald Reagan not being a good representative of the people, he's highly respected. I recall a recent poll on how people felt about the Presidents we've had in the last 50 years and Reagan ranked highly if not on top.
While making a good joke takes intelligence I doubt that is what people were thinking when they voted for him. I think they voted on name recognition. The guy was a clown before his political career. He played complete idiots on TV. Reagan had his time as a clown in the movies (Bedtime for Bonzo!) but he also did serious roles.
I just don't recall Franken ever acting seriously even when not in character. I only saw him being a goofball. Steve Martin is another clown that has shown himself to be very talented and intelligent. I just cannot see him running for elected office because when I hear his name I think of the line, "I was born a poor black child."
I'm just baffled on how this guy got into office.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
To think, if not for a stash of ballets found in the back of a car, the joker would not be representing anyone. But in Franken case, it was stupid humor not humor from being intelligent.
I doubt any Democrat could ever do better then Ronald Reagon.
He's senator for a state that elected a professional wrestler as governor. After Jesse Ventura, it's easy to taken Franken seriously.
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Don't forget, he was a noted political pundit/analyst as well. He just decided to put his money where his mouth was. Tell Ann Coulter to run for congress or the senate, and see what happens.
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You know in his early days on SNL he wasn't all that funny. I never thought he'd be a Senator but you know he actually makes a lot of sense.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
He's a senator because the Democrats learned from the mistakes of the 2000 Presidential election and this time, made sure the ballots were counted "properly".
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Minnesota does tend to elect kooks and one-of-a-kinds.
I'd also like to nominate Rudy Perpich (governor, kook), Keith Ellison (IIRC the only Muslim in Congress), and possibly Michelle Bachman (representative) and Paul Wellstone (senator). It can get pretty colorful on the lower levels, also.
In defense of Jesse "the governor" Ventura, he did a pretty good job at running the state, although I never thought he had a real vision for where it should go. The guy hired competent advisers and listened to them, always a good thing in a politician.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
He's a senator because he got very slightly more votes than his opponent, as determined in a painstaking recount that took months. This recount was overseen by a three-judge panel, and then examined at length by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Half of those judges were Republican appointees, and only two were DFL appointees. The Republican governor then signed the election certificate without any demur.
There were some problems found in the voting (most notably that the absentee ballot instructions didn't conform to absentee ballot law), and these were largely corrected later on.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
yeah...I addressed your point, directly...from the post you responded to:
the GOP controls the budget...exec branch included...this is the end of the discussion
Thank you Dave Raggett
Agreed. Not so sure about Ronald Reagan not being a good representative of the people, he's highly respected. I recall a recent poll on how people felt about the Presidents we've had in the last 50 years and Reagan ranked highly if not on top.
Which alone should tell you that those polls are a joke. Especially if you look into the analysis of the vote, and notice how heavily weighted that is on a partisan basis.