What You Dont Know About Your Freedom

Please Take Action to Keep the Internet Free
VOTE for Barack Obama!

Dear Friends,

If you’re reading this via e-mail, it’s likely that you spend some time surfing the Internet. You may have an Internet business, or maybe you like to check out the seemingly endless variety of Internet websites, or maybe you go on-line to get news that goes beyond the corporate generated “no news” dominating the print and electronic media today, or maybe you have a page on MySpace. Whatever the reason that you tune onto the Internet, you need to know that this cherished freedom is in serious jeopardy.

A Free Internet Could Be Soon Gone

Over the last few years as American freedoms have eroded, unlimited access to the Internet has come under increasing attack. Currently, The Internet operates under the principle of “Net Neutrality,” an idea of fairness and equity which guarantees that all websites open at the same speed. However, big phone and cable companies want to rule the Internet by creating a system whereby websites will open at various speeds, depending on one’s ability to pay. Further, they want to block access to websites at their discretion.

If the phone and cable companies have it their way, the Internet will no longer be free. Gone will be easy access to the plethora of information on the web as only the wealthiest corporations, organizations and individuals will be able to afford to have websites open quickly. Website owners with less money will have to hope that people trying to access their websites will have the time and patience to wait and wait and wait for them to open.

Freedom of Speech At Risk

“Freedom of Speech is definitely at stake. In one of the more recent efforts to restrict Internet usage, Comcast blocked access to a website. Their challenge to Net Neutrality went before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which ruled against Comcast by a slim 3-2 vote. Now, Comcast is using its corporate billions to fight the case in court. (Several of these telecommunications’ companies worked with the current administration to spy on civilian and military citizens of the United States at home and abroad.)

The Internet must operate under the principle of Net Neutrality which guarantees to 1”treat all content, sites, and platforms equally”; where all information 2 “packets are forwarded on a first-come, first served basis, without regard for 3quality of service considerations”. The principle of Net Neutrality also should imply 4“Absolute Non-discrimination”. 5“Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet”.

VOTE TO KEEP THE INTERNET FREE!

This campaign season we have an opportunity to take an important stand to keep the Internet free. Barack Obama has voted for Net Neutrality while John McCain has voted against it. In fact, John McCain’s position on net neutrality sounds a lot like his position on regulating the financial sector. His website states, “John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like net-neutrality, but rather he believes that an open marketplace…is the best deterrent against unfair practices.” Hmmmm. Let’s hope that what happened to the de-regulated financial markets does not happen to the Internet.

We’re asking you to stand up for freedom of speech and for the free flow of information by spreading the word about Net Neutrality to everyone on your list serve. We are asking everyone to vote for the candidate with a history of supporting Absolute Non-Discrimination or impartial access to the Internet. Barack Obama is that candidate and has been the most technologically savvy of each person who announced for president during the primaries.

Take a minute to think about how your life and life in America will change if the phone and cable companies have it their way. During this period of economic duress and uncertainty, we need to stay connected now more than ever. And just think, if the phone and cable’ companies win the right to charge for websites to open quickly or to block access to websites, how long will it be before they charge for e-mail?

To learn more about Net Neutrality, please visit:

SaveThe Internet.com. Wikipedia – Network Neutrality
FreePress.net Wired.com – candidate score card
Internetforeveryone.org http://walterose.blogspot.com/


Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Howard Walters and Andrea Payne
Webneutrality@gmail.com

For those of you in the New York area, FreePress.net is hosting an Internet Freedom Party on October 23rd. Check out their website for details.

1- Tim Wu – professor, Columbia Law School – credited with coining the term Network Neutrality
2- Susan Crawford – professor, Cardozo Law School - founder of “OneWebDay”
3- Quality of Service or QOS is the guarantee a certain level of performance to a data flow
4- Wikipedia – Network Neutrality
5- Google's "Guide to Net Neutrality"