Good evening. In case you missed it, I weighed in with great detail on the Level 3/Comcast/Netflix flap, getting down to the basics to unravel the issue technically.
But tonight we discuss Net Neutrality. House Republican Reps. Cliff Stearns and Joe Barton fired a warning shot, challenging the FCC to justify any action it takes this month, so now that’s an issue getting some attention. ISPs are already scoffing at one proposed legal avenue because it’s ridiculous. Net Neutrality has zero to do with deploying high speed Internet access, and in fact such regulations would likely hinder deployment. Even left-wing universal access folk have been saying that for ages.
I guess it’s a good thing various big names turned down stimulus bucks for deployment.
Continue reading »
Foreign politics are a tricky subject. While the broad strokes of politics can generally be understood the world over, when traditionalists battle leftists, and small government folk take on both, every country has its own exceptions, its own cultural taboos, and other factors that make it unique.
Our politics for example completely baffle your typical European. Our conservative movement has few like it in the world, because the colonies had as a practical matter limited government and federal autonomy from day one. Then we had a revolution which, unlike any other, didn’t actually throw off our elites, but rather secured their previous autonomy. As a result our right is different, and the way our Republican party operates just confuses and frustrates them. Likewise, when we try to decipher the right in Europe, we run the risk of drawing the wrong conclusions and getting disappointed.
That said, I think we’re beginning to see a real change in the politics of western Europe, and in the coming years we will see the rise of a right which we will recognize better, and be able to engage with on the pressing global issues of the day. It won’t be a TEA party as we know it, but it’ll be the best we can hope to see from Europe.
Continue reading »