#Common Cause

[kp777]

By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

Sept. 26, 2023

Open internet advocates across the United States celebrated on Tuesday as Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced her highly anticipated proposal to reestablish FCC oversight of broadband and restore net neutrality rules.

"We thank the FCC for moving swiftly to begin the process of reinstating net neutrality regulations," said ACLU senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff. "The internet is our nation's primary marketplace of ideas—and it's critical that access to that marketplace is not controlled by the profit-seeking whims of powerful telecommunications giants."

Rosenworcel—appointed to lead the commission by President Joe Biden—discussed the history of net neutrality and her new plan to treat broadband as a public utility in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., which came on the heels of the U.S. Senate's recent confirmation of Anna Gomez to a long-vacant FCC seat.

Back in 2005, "the agency made clear that when it came to net neutrality, consumers should expect that their broadband providers would not block, throttle, or engage in paid prioritization of lawful internet traffic," she recalled. "In other words, your broadband provider had no business cutting off access to websites, slowing down internet services, and censoring online speech."

"Giant corporations and their lobbyists... will try every trick to block or delay the agency from restoring net neutrality."

After a decade of policymaking and litigation, net neutrality rules were finalized in 2015. However, a few years later—under former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, an appointee of ex-President Donald Trump—the commission caved to industry pressure and repealed them.

"The public backlash was overwhelming. People lit up our phone lines, clogged our email inboxes, and jammed our online comment system to express their disapproval," noted Rosenworcel, who was a commissioner at the time and opposed the repeal. "So today we begin a process to make this right."

The chair is proposing to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, which "is the part of the law that gives the FCC clear authority to serve as a watchdog over the communications marketplace and look out for the public interest," she explained. "Title II took on special importance in the net neutrality debate because the courts have ruled that the FCC has clear authority to enforce open internet policies if broadband internet is classified as a Title II service."

"On issue after issue, reclassifying broadband as a Title II service would help the FCC serve the public interest more efficiently and effectively," she pointed out, detailing how it relates to public safety, national security, cybersecurity, network resilience and reliability, privacy, broadband deployment, and robotexts.

Rosenworcel intends to release the full text of the proposal on Thursday and hold a vote regarding whether to kick off rulemaking on October 19. While Brendan Carr, one of the two Republican commissioners, signaled his opposition to the Title II approach on Tuesday, Gomez's confirmation earlier this month gives Democrats a 3-2 majority at the FCC.

"Giant corporations and their lobbyists blocked President Biden from filling the final FCC seat for more than two years, and they will try every trick to block or delay the agency from restoring net neutrality now," Demand Progress communications director Maria Langholz warned Tuesday. "The commission must remain resolute and fully restore free and open internet protections to ensure broadband service providers like Comcast and Verizon treat all content equally."

"Americans' internet experience should not be at the whims of corporate executives whose primary concerns are the pockets of their stakeholders and the corporations' bottom line," she added, also applauding the chair.

Free Press co-CEO Jessica J. González similarly praised Rosenworcel and stressed that "without Title II, broadband users are left vulnerable to discrimination, content throttling, dwindling competition, extortionate and monopolistic prices, billing fraud, and other shady behavior."

"As this proceeding gets under way, we will hear all manner of lies from the lobbyists and lawyers representing big phone and cable companies," she predicted. "They'll say anything and everything to avoid being held accountable. But broadband providers and their spin doctors are deeply out of touch with people across the political spectrum, who are fed up with high prices and unreliable services. These people demand a referee on the field to call fouls and issue penalties when broadband companies are being unfair."

Like Rosenworcel, in her Tuesday speech, González also highlighted that "one thing we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is that broadband is essential infrastructure—it enables us to access education, employment, healthcare, and more."

That "more" includes civic engagement, as leaders at Common Cause noted Tuesday. Ishan Mehta, who directs the group's Media and Democracy Program, said that "the internet has fundamentally changed how people are civically engaged and is critical to participating in society today. It is the primary communications platform, a virtual public square, and has been a powerful organizing tool, allowing social justice movements to gain momentum and widespread support."

After the Trump-era repeal, Mehta explained, "we saw broadband providers throttle popular video streaming services, degrade video quality, forcing customers to pay higher prices for improved quality, offer service plans that favor their own services over competitors, and make hollow, voluntary, and unenforceable promises not to disconnect their customers during the pandemic."

Given how broadband providers have behaved, Michael Copps, a Common Cause special adviser and former FCC commissioner, said that "to allow a handful of monopoly-aspiring gatekeepers to control access to the internet is a direct threat to our democracy."

Rosenworcel's speech came a day after U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led over two dozen of their colleagues in sending a letter calling for the restoration of net neutrality protections. The pair said in a statement Tuesday that "broadband is not a luxury. It is an essential utility and it is imperative that the FCC's authority reflects the necessary nature of the internet in Americans' lives today."

"We need net neutrality so that small businesses are not shoved into online slow lanes, so that powerful social media companies cannot stifle competition, and so that users can always freely speak their minds on social media and advocate for the issues that are most important to them," they said. "We applaud Chairwoman Rosenworcel for her leadership and look forward to working with the FCC to ensure a just broadband future for everyone."

#net neutrality #FCC #Jessica Rosenworcel #ACLU #Common Cause #open internet #democracy

[wayti-blog]

Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

#thich nhat hanh #peace #peace in our time #present #feeling #thinking #acting #being #now #be the change #together #unity #team humanity #human family #open dialogue #cooperation #divine work #common cause #care #love

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas received $555,000 from his campaign account two months ago, according to new documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

And the one-time presidential candidate and two-term Senator has the US Supreme Court to thank for it.

When Cruz first ran for the United States Senate in 2012, he loaned his campaign over $1 million of his own money amid a heated primary campaign against then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst of Texas. Cruz would go on to win a run-off against Dewhurst.

However, the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act — championed by the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona — set a $250,000 limit on the amount of money that candidates could raise after the election for the purpose of paying off personal loans to their campaign committee.

Thus, Cruz essentially lost $545,000 of his own money after the campaign, with the outstanding portion of the loans converted to an in-kind contribution.

Six years later, facing an unexpectedly competitive re-election campaign against then-Rep. Beto O'Rourke in 2018, Cruz opted to challenge the law. He lent his campaign $260,000 — just $10,000 more than the limit — on November 5, just one day before the election.

That allowed Cruz to initiate a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, which eventually made its way up to the Supreme Court.

In a 6-3 decision issued in May, the Supreme Court ruled in Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate that the limit was unconstitutional, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that the limit "inhibits candidates from loaning money to their campaigns in the first place, burdening core speech."

That's despite concerns not just from the three liberal justices who dissented, but from outside good-government groups — including Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center for Justice, Public Citizen, and Common Cause — that argued lifting the cap could fuel corruption by allowing campaign donors to essentially pay candidates directly by contributing to the repayment of their personal loans.

Trevor Potter, a former Republican FEC chairman and today president of the Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement that lifting the limit "gives an obvious and lamentable opening for special interests to purchase official favors and rig the political system in their favor."

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan echoed that same argument in her dissenting opinion.

"It takes no political genius to see the heightened risk of corruption — the danger of 'I'll make you richer and you'll make me richer' arrangements between donors and officeholders," she wrote. "In discarding the statute, the Court fuels non-public-serving, self-interested governance."

But for Cruz and other conservatives, the issue was a matter of free speech.

A Cruz spokesman confirmed to Insider that the payments came as the result of the May ruling, declaring in a statement that the court "delivered a decisive 6-3 victory for the First Amendment when it ruled that these restrictions unconstitutionally limited free speech, benefitted incumbents, and discouraged challengers."

And on August 5, Ted Cruz for Senate paid the Senator $545,000 — the original amount that he'd been unable to recover after his 2012 primary campaign — along with the extra $10,000 he loaned his campaign in 2018.

Cruz's campaign noted the loan repayments in quarterly disclosure forms filed with the FEC on October 15, 2022. — Federal Election Commission

#us politics #news #business insider #sen. ted cruz #federal election commission #us supreme court #Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act #campaign finance laws #campaign funding #Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate #Ted Cruz for Senate #gop #conservatives #Republicans #Chief Justice John Roberts #justice john roberts #Campaign Legal Center #Brennan Center for Justice #Public Citizen #common cause #Trevor Potter #Justice Elena Kagan #2022 #2012 election #2018 election

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Common Cause

Mercadia City's troops are at their best when they have no enemy to fight.

Artist: John Matson TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

#mtg #magic the gathering #tcg #$0.29 #john matson #common cause #mercadian masques #enchantment

[lawofcollage]

Always love seeing my art in print. Common Cause put a book together for last year, and I have the first published piece in the whole book! (Which is also the piece that came in second last year in their Artivism contest)

#proud #published #collage art #common cause #pandemics and protests #artivism

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Noor Inayat Khan was the daughter of an Indian Muslim family of musicians and poets, a descendant of the ruler Mysore, Tipu Sultan. She overcame her Buddhist belief in not taking life because of her opposition to Nazism and her hope of making common cause between Indian and English people.

She was the first woman radio operator ever dropped into France, and she chose to stay on in Paris as the only English radio operator, even when her circle was broken up and she was offered evacuation.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

#book quotes #normal women #philippa gregory #nonfiction #noor inayat khan #indian #muslim #musician #poet #mysore #tipu sultan #buddhist #nazi #common cause #india #england #common ground #radio operator #france #paris #evacuation #ww2 #wwii #world war two #george cross #courage #dachau #special operations executive

[closethikikomoriblog]

Common Cause: How Our Similarities Teach Us How to Love

When people, despite their differences, focus on what they have in common instead, the act breeds compassion. The perspective shift also grants them superpowers, strong enough to push back against evil. Here's my essay about Ray Bradbury's 1960s novel.

View On WordPress

#Books I Reread #Common Cause #Fantasy Novel #Father and Son #Fiction #Human Compassion #Introspections #Kindness #Love #ray bradbury #Reflections #book blog #books #books and reading

[chittychittyyangyang]

Listen, you should never film strangers in public without their consent, but I swear there need to be fines or something for people who do that shit in some spaces. For example: I had to go to the ER last night, and some jerk filmed a woman who just came in and was clearly having an asthma attack. She immediately got to go back, and he was unhappy about that. Believe me, I get that it sucks having to wait when you're in pain, but you don't get to pick who deserves care when. The medical system in the US is a nightmare, and the ER could be the worst moment of someone's life. No one deserves to be recorded because some jack ass believes someone doesn't look like they need care.

This is fine to reblog. People who film strangers should be shamed if nothing else.

#ccyy talks #sorry for posting this here but I'm pissed and this shit really needs to stop #For all I know he recorded me too cause I'm young and look healthy but got to go back next #Sorry about your cough buddy but the way things work I was a more immediate emergency #1k #5k #10k #30k #this post clearly has a life of its own now #and in case someone wants to know some clarifications for common points #people in a position of authority/actively hurting someone with the intent to protect/help the person is fine #so cops doctors nurses mental health workers and educators (to name a few) who actively are abusing their power and authority? free game #this post was filming random ass people for Content(tm) #random ass people more so those in distress aren't your content and you do not know the harm you can do to someone by posting that shit #50k

[calilili]

#scotus #important #democracy #voting #elections #savedemocracy #listen #nealkatyal #common cause #law #legal #legalnews

[amygdalae]

fun fact: in the 50s the Kent cigarette brand had a type of cig with micronite filters that literally had crocidolite in them, aka BLUE ASBESTOS, literally THE most lethal type of asbestos by a mile. and you could just buy it at the store and huff it

#even tho it was less commonly used than chrysotile or amosite asbestos a lot of sources im seeing say it may have caused more cancer deaths #citation needed on that but it really is much more lethal than the other types despite being a bit less common #it was also used in gas mask filters in like the 30s. though white asbestos seems to more commonly have been in gas masks overall #<- white asbestos is chrysotile

[beescake]

Is Solkat the last two braincells in your brain or something/pos

yeas

stupid crush

#ask #eliza-kinnie #homestuck #karkat vantas #sollux captor #solkat #2024 #vioart #outside of wips for this blog i do draw other stuff.. other ships other fandoms n the occasional paid work etcetc #one thing ill always love more than slkt is. Drawing #but here's the latest feed on my slkt braincells 🎤: #RGGHRGHNFHGRHHG. #GHNFHGRHHGNGHRGH. #GRRRRGHRHGH. #NGHRGHHGHHHHG. #PAIN. #childhood close friends #who no longer have any reason to talk to each other............. #unless plot gives them a new purpose #to reunite and work towards a common cause.............................

[fluffyartbl0g]

FRICK YOU *age regresses all ur nakama including their memories for leik a month or two*

#one piece #op fanart #strawhat pirates #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #op sanji #nakamaship #jinbei #op robin #op brook #tony tony chopper #op franky #op nami #GOD I HATE TAGGING EVERYONE #CAUSE IM ALSO LIKE…. WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON TAG FOR THESE PEEPS????? #luffy is like… something things wrong here but i cant rlly put my fonger on it #ALSO this is set like in the future when luffy is pirate king #which is y he looks older! #sanji is literally SOOOOOO soggy and sad omg

[wernher-von-brawny]

“For 40 years, our country's been going backward. The working class keeps being left behind while billionaires strip our communities for parts. There's only one thing that can stop that. It's us. It's the working class united in a common cause.”

- UAW president Shawn Fain

#United in a Common Cause

[asg-stuff]

“In Tom's [Crompton] latest blog he explores why it's so easy for us to reject the facts when confronted with "inconvenient" information”.

#behaviour change #research #Common Cause #Tom Crompton #Common Cause Foundation #George Lakoff #values #framing #social change

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Creature of Hell, hark unto me!

Turn not against your own kind!

Consider how all of you are minions of Lucifer,

How all labor for a common cause.

"Incarnations of Immortality: For Love of Evil" - Piers Anthony

#book quotes #incarnations of immortality #for love of evil #piers anthony #singing #song #hell #demon #infighting #minions #lucifer #common cause #working together #unionized

[radiance1]

Killer Croc's little bro was apparently in Gotham.

How did everyone know? Because he was seen physically dragging said older brother out of the sewers and into the nearest cafe.

And Killer Croc was just. So docile??? He was shy, a bit nervous, amused, and was practically harmless. Which wasn't something anyone would have associated with Killer Croc.

And the fact that said little bro can lift him up easily too? What kind of parents did they have for their son to be able to lift up the Killer Croc so easily?

Meanwhile, Jack just doesn't get why everyone reacts negatively to his big brother, it's not like he was a ghost for goodness sake and yea he's working on not being like he was before his son revealed himself to be part ghost, but still.

His brother was still human, just extra.

Why did Jack come to Gotham? He was kinda maybe forced out the house to go and find his brother because he liked talking about him but never actually went out to find him.

Jack and Croc may be half-brothers, yes, but he's still family.

Jack strongarms Killer Croc into not living in, well, the sewers and at his house he bought when he came to Gotham and they both caught up with each other's lives. Jack told Croc about his family, and by extension the shit views he's had on ghost because it was a major part in their family dynamics, and Croc told him about his own life in Gotham.

Minus the more gruesome, parts.

Killer Croc lives with him for a while and notices that he didn't really seem to care for his life. Which is a major no to Croc, who tries to get him to gain some amount of self-preservation, yes he knows that his little bro is more durable than the average human has any right to be but please for the sake of your big bro's heart, please take care of yourself.

Jack is a bit floored by this, and tries to wave it off as a non-issue. But if Jack can strongarm Croc into living with him, then Croc can definitely strongarm Jack into things as well.

Busting through walls is fine, alright. He gets it, it's very fun. But please don't stick random things into your mouth that can kill you, nor follow strangers down an alleyway and shrug off a stabbing (Killer Croc had some choice words and actions for the person who did such a thing.), and please, please practice stranger danger, little bro. Please.

No, he doesn't give two, three, four, five or ten fucking shits if you have microsurgeons in your blood that gives you a superhuman healing factor, you can still feel pain little bro, and stop skipping meals and sleep to work on your inventions! No, you cannot substitute either for energy drinks!

The batfam keep an eye on the two brothers and find it to just be the both of them strongarming the other into healthy behaviors basically. (With a lot of verbal and physical "I love you"'s, the Batfam could NEVER. slash joke teehee.)

#dc x dp #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc #dcxdp #Jack Fenton and Killer Croc half-brother's au #Just wait until Croc finds out about his wife and son cause oh boy are they just as bad as he is when it comes to self-preservation. #Jack strongarms him into living a normal life where he doesn't hide away and deserves to be treated as a person #While Croc strongarms Jack into having more self-preservation that he seemingly lacked. #Wouldn't ya know a lack of self-preservation is a common trait in the Fentonnightingle history since the days or yore #Their dad had it and Jack got it unfortunately #Jack would also like to punt his mother for abandoning his brother. #You know your self-preservation is bad when Killer Croc has to strongarm you into taking care of yourself