Slashdot Mirror
Internet Activists Urge Congress to Fire Trump's FCC Chief Ajit Pai (vice.com)
Open internet advocates and Democratic lawmakers are mounting a last-ditch effort to remove Federal Communications Commission chief Ajit Pai over his anti-net neutrality stance, just days before Pai is set to be approved by the Senate for a new term. From a report: Since being elevated by President Trump to lead the FCC in January, Pai has become the bete noire of open internet advocates for a variety of anti-consumer actions, but none more so than his crusade to kill federal rules protecting net neutrality, the principle that all internet content should be equally accessible to consumers. [...] During a blistering floor speech on Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat, portrayed Pai, a Republican former Verizon lawyer, as an industry stooge who has worked relentlessly to deliver gift after gift to the nation's largest broadband companies. "Mr. Pai has a long track record of putting big cable before consumers, big corporations above small businesses, and pay-to-play over the free and open internet," Wyden wrote in a blog post accompanying his speech. Free Press, a DC-based public interest group, has also launched a campaign to pressure the Senate to "fire Pai," citing his proposal to kill the FCC's net neutrality policy and other anti-consumer actions. But if reconfirmed, Pai is expected to try to ram through his plan to torpedo the FCC's net neutrality rules before the end of the year. "Rehiring Pai to head the agency that oversees US communications policies would be a boon for the phone and cable companies he eagerly serves," Tim Karr, Free Press Senior Director of Strategy, wrote in a blog post.
Is for the drawing and quartering.
The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
I see a lot of people whining about the FCC's stance turning around and gloating about corporate freedom everytime Apple/Google/Twitter/Facebook/Cloudflare takes down or censors another White nationalist app or alt-right website.
Ajit Pai is Trump's sort of guy -- advancing the desires of big business over what's good for the average joe.
For those who haven't seen it before, the phrase "bete noire" is from the French language. "Noire" means "black", as in the color. "Bete" means "penis". In French, adjectives follow the noun they refer to. So the phrase "bete noire" literally means "black penis".
The English equivalent of this phrase is "black sheep".
Now before any BLM types get all up in arms over the use of the word "black" in these sayings, please keep in mind that these are ancient sayings that predate most British and French interaction with Africans or people with darker skin. "Black" in those contexts referred to the darkness of night, and not to anyone's skin color. In a time before electric lighting, and where candles and fire were the main source of light after dark, the blackness of night was tied to feelings of uncertainty and fear.
Thus the word "black", or "noire" in French, came to be associated with negativity. That's why outcasts were called "bete noire" in French, or "black sheep" in English. It's also why the bubonic plague was known as the "black death".
[Logical Explanation Detected]
[Banning IP Address]
but I doubt it's going to happen for two reasons. First is that the FCC isn't one of those headlining institutions that the GOP cares about. In fact, they'd rather it all just go away right now because they can't be bothered to govern let alone care about governing. So as long as Pai isn't causing it to rain on their parade, they couldn't care less. And second, I'm pretty certain if it came down to a close vote there would be more than enough lobbying action on his behalf to see him through. There's a lot of moneyed interests that want to keep him that post.
Not to mention that if does deliver on this agenda there's probably a pretty cushy job waiting for him with whichever telecom or cable operator he chooses when it's all over.
All these rich fuks are on the SAME TEAM. They just ACT like they aren't... Its called political theater. And its DESIGNED to keep us bickering. Rather than rising up and ousting the traitors and thieves that line our politics on BOTH sides of the so-called "Fence" Hillary = Bad, Trump = Bad, Ajit Pai = Bad, Government in the modern age = BAD! Its time to Re-establish the Constitution, and remove hundreds of thousands of bad/useless/unconstitutional laws from our books, and burn the Federal Reserve to the Ground. Banning the institution from America PERMANENTLY. Credit Card Companies should be Fined 90% of their worth, and then forced to utilize ONLY the percentage rates the American people AGREE to. Then, and ONLY then, can we build a nation for ALL persons, Equally.
Except bête means animal, not penis.
Senator Coons (D-DE): Call (202) 224-5042
Senator Donnelly (D-IN): Call (202) 224-4814
Senator Tester (D-MT): Call (202) 224-2644
Senator Manchin (D-WV): Call (202) 224-3954
Senator McCaskill (D-MO): Call 202-224-6154
These are key swing votes that need to hear from you today!
but I doubt it's going to happen for two reasons. First is that the FCC isn't one of those headlining institutions that the GOP cares about. In fact, they'd rather it all just go away right now
You can say all of that about Puerto Rico too, but neither the Internet nor Puerto Rico are "going away right now"
I don't think it would be POSSIBLE to make a more flimsy argument than you just did
Well you certainly invoked a broad interpretation of "they'd rather it all just go away right now". Let's make the set of things represented by "all" to include Anonymous Coward trolls on slashdot because you know, you can do that apparently.
We'll make great pets
The Democratic opposition to Ajit Pai's re-confirmation was launched today by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who accused the Federal Communications Commission chairman of abandoning the public interest. Cantwell criticized Pai's in-progress attempt to eliminate net neutrality rules and said he has taken other actions that hurt Americans.
Where's the Maryland Senator stand on this? I'm not running for Senate (my primary policy interests fall on the House Ways and Means Committee--yes that is an insane amount of power), just curious.
Support my political activism on Patreon.
TLDR: Sexconker admits he and most Trumpies are scat fetish faggots of no value to America.
good place to look for more info is https://www.fightforthefuture....
thanks for playing!
No, thank you for playing! You gave me everything I needed. Except, I won't divulge the nature of the game we're playing. That would spoil the OCD paranoia. I think you'll really like it though. Oh alright. It would be rude of my not to give you a hint. Cheers!
We'll make great pets
AFAIK "bete" means "beast".
it was your friends, families and neighbors who are the ones who actually put him in charge
Umm, no, it wasn't.
AFAIK "bete" means "beast".
Yup. That's what I was taught in my high school advanced English class. It means "black beast."
An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
Can we start a new political party, the WTF Party? We just want shit to work. Our Symbol can be the poo emoji.
You were probably taught Modern French, not Old French, in high school. We're talking about Old French here, because we're discussing the etymology of the phrase "bete noire".
Since we're looking at the origin of the phrase, and it's an ancient phrase, we need to look to the meaning of the word "bete" in Old French, and not its meaning in Modern French.
There are similar situations involving words derived from Old English where the earlier definition differs from the more common Modern English definition, and often in ways that we wouldn't expect.
For example, the Modern English word "weapon" is derived from an Old English word that meant "penis".
Another example is the Modern English word "tweezers". It's also derived from an old English word that meant "penis".
English is a fascinating language, especially when it comes to how it has borrowed from so many other languages. French is also fascinating, although it doesn't derive as many words from non-Latin sources. Both exhibit many modern words that have very unexpected original meanings.
Many words that are seen as innocent today were originally used to describe very primal things or actions such as the penis, the anus, intercourse, defecation, and so forth.
blithely misspoke:
For those who haven't seen it before, the phrase "bete noire" is from the French language. "Noire" means "black", as in the color. "Bete" means "penis".
Mmm ... no. You're correct about the definition of "noire" and profoundly incorrect regarding the word "bête":
Here's one source's definition of "bête".
As you can see, it best translates to English as "beast". Nor is the above the only authority for that definition.
It may well be that "bête" is also a French slang term for penis, but that is not its primary meaning ...
Check out my novel.
This is what democrat politicians are especially bad at - foresight.
They want all of these regulatory bureaucracies but never think about when the pendulum swings and the other party is in charge.
Obama and his pen are another great example. How is that legacy working out for him?
blithely misspoke:
It may well be that "bête" is also a French slang term for penis, but that is not its primary meaning ...
French native speaker here, one of the (there are more) slang terms for penis is "bite" but certainly not "bête".
And I'm not sure that "black sheep" is the right translation, since it refers to a disease (brebis galeuse in French).
Maybe "bogeyman" but it does not convey exactly the same meaning. Really a "bête noire" is an adversary/opponent
which makes the other side obsessed with him/her.
...please keep in mind that these are ancient sayings...
Except it isn't ancient. The first known use of "bête noire" dates to 1805. So it is "black beast".
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
You obviously know what you're talking about. What are you doing posting on Slashdot?
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Wrapping *shit somebody obviously made up* in a quote doesn't suddenly make it true.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Maybe you should do something about that cognitive dissonance thing, or maybe you've already forgot what your own sig says.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Are you happy now? And did your PA coal mine reopen that was closed during Reagonomics time? Redeem yourself and put the "genie" back into the bottle...and then hurl it as far away as you can.
You can always get fired for not doing your job or overstepping your boundaries. Both is the case with Pai.
You can always get fired for not doing your job or overstepping your boundaries.
Sure, sure. But that's not what the write-up says, emphasis mine:
Both is the case with Pai.
Is it? We all know and understand perfectly well, that it is exactly his opinion on net-neutrality, that's causing all this inordinate amount of hate against him. If establishing the "net neutrality" in 2014 was within FCC's boundaries, abolishing it in 2017 is too.
Your attempts to rationalize it failed. Why don't you join your simpler minded-brethren in calling me names instead?
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
you're the one who's providing the analytics engines with data about your personality
Except what you'd really need to get what you want are meta analytics and only I have that. Thanks again for playing. Here's some data analytics for you: I'm an expert at cognitive science and psychology.
We'll make great pets