From: "Toto" <toto@sk.sympatico.ca>
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 19:57:31 -0800 (PST)
To: "Declan McCullagh" <declan@well.com>
Subject: The modem tax never left...
Message-ID: <004901bd5ec5$18730000$0262a58e@uymfdlvk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
>To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu
>Subject: http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1869,00.html

The NotReally News ReportWhore informs us:
>        *  *  *
>       Is the "modem tax" back? FCC Commissioner Susan Ness said on
>   Monday that ISPs might have to pay so-called universal service charges
>   that help subsidize cheap rural phone service and school and library
>   Internet connections.

Declan,
Something that Republican children of the post-JFK generation all remember
is where they were when George Bush said, "Read my (moving) lips...No New
Taxes!"
The great tragedy of their times, though they still fail to recognize it
even today, is that the citizens present at that occassion did not rush the
stage and drag him to the nearest tree with a limb strong enough to hold his
weight when a rope was thrown over it and attached to his neck.

The sticky PrePubescizens of the WebGeneration will someday regret that
their parents stood by and didn't even bother watching as the Analogue Lies
of the Controllers were transformed into Digital Lies suitable for implant
into the brains of the Robotizens, via the infrared wave emission
capabilities of TeleTunnelVision and JavasCrapGraphics.

I know that you make your living in the Belly of the DCBeast, so you don't
want to slay the Monster Who Lays The Golden Eggs, but couldn't you at least
try to make sure that the Monster gets a little of the Bad Eggs it is
hurling at the Flockizens on its own face?

How about some headlines such as:
  "Lying Piece of DC Shit Claims Hands-Off Internet Policy"
  "Arrogant Thieves Expect Victims To Believe They Won't Shake Down
NetUsers."
  "Armed Terrorists Fake Retreat To Draw Victims Into Ambush."

>        *  *  *
>Some excerpts from Commissioner Ness' remarks:
>
> "Local telcos complain that data calls typically last much
> longer than voice calls, tying up switches and requiring
> the addition of more capacity in the loop and the central
> office.


And this is True (TM)?
Are there any real reporters left in the media who are capable of analyzing
the Claims (TM) being made by those promoting Facts (TM) meant to serve
their own-self interests?
(Not a 'crime', but neither should it be a 'gimme.')
Is their anyone in the techno-reporting industry who is capable of including
an analysis of the claims of various players in the game of  Buy The Pot?
Are any of those reporting on the
Telecos' claims capable of informing those with a limited knowledge of the
technology involved if the analog and digital signals being discussed are
comparable in terms of the 'burden' that they place on the Telecos, or if
InterNet service would be more efficient or competitive if put into the
hands of other communications infrastructures?

If the local Telecos are finding themselves 'burdened' by InterNet traffic,
then perhaps they should share that terrible burden with Cable Companies,
and other entities who would like a chance to compete for the InterNet
business which is currently in the dictatorial grip of the Regulators Who
Feed At The Teleco Trough.

I expect that I can find the answers to the questions I have about these
matters by reading a mountain of information from various sources, and then
distilling it down to manageable proportions suitable for analysis.
It seems to me that if the media is not providing that type of service to
me, then I might save myself time by accessing the original 'press releases'
by various government and corporate entities, and not have to wade through
mountains of media 'news' which adds little to what was handed to them on a
silver platter for advertising/disinformation/promotion purposes.

~ ~
Toto
 ~ ~
"The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre"
http://www.clas.net/~dave/public/xenix

"WebWorld & the Mythical Circle of Eunuchs"
http://www.clas.net/~dave/public/webworld

"InfoWar -- The Digital Revolution"
http://www.clas.net/~dave/public/infowar3

"Space Aliens Hide My Drugs"
http://www.clas.net/~dave/public/sahmd