myJaxonIf we don’t go crazy once in a while, we’ll all go crazy. - Hawkeye

It’s weekly geeks time again and this weeks theme:

Choose a political or social issue that matters to you. Find several books addressing that issue; they don’t have to books you’ve read, just books you might like to read. Using images (of the book covers or whatever you feel illustrates your topic) present these books in your blog.

I’ve been a supporter of Net Neutrality for awhile now, but I never really thought about looking up any books on the topic until Dewey came up with this weeks theme. So I went over to Amazon and came across a couple books that caught my interest.

1. Net Neutrality or Net Neutering: Should Broadband Internet Services Be Regulated by Thomas M. Lenard and Randolph J. May
2. Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age by Jonathan E. Nuechterlein and Philip J. Weiser

Net Neutrality has been going on for the past couple of years and still there are Congress members who have no idea what it is. I’m sure we’ve all seen the footage of Senator Ted Stevens calling the internet nothing but a bunch of tubes. However, I’m hoping that the Senator, and other non informed members, have learned what the internet is by now. Net Neutrality is a huge issue to independent website owners, like me, because if it isn’t passed into law, then the larger companies can pay to have their sites load faster, while mine would load up as if it was still on dial-up.

Already, there are a bunch of “Save the Internet” campaigns going on. I’ve been a part of the Free Press Media Reform newsletter for awhile now, and while I don’t religiously read it daily, I do keep my eyes open. While I do agree that the internet does need to be regulated, the speed at which sites are loaded should not be something that is. Afterall, if Literary Escapism took forever to load, who would read it? Would I spend as much time working on that site if it took forever to see it? Reading has saved my sanity over the last 15 months (can you guess how old my son is) and all of the reviews and work I’ve been able to put into Literary Escapism have kept me from going stir crazy. So, I’m going to say it, “Save the Internet has a write in campaign on their site that will automatically detect who your congresspeople are simply by putting in your zip code. Go over to the site and fill out their form and send it to your Congress representatives. Although, at the moment, it seems like the Free Press site is under construction, so go over there once it starts working (if it isn’t already working by the time you read this).

One other issue that is being discussed in Congress right is the Reading is Fundamental government program. I’m going to be shameless and plug it again, but they are talking about cutting all funding to this program and that would mean millions of children who were receiving free books will no longer be able to do so. Right now, there is a write in campaign going on and all it takes is a few moments to fill in some blanks. I’m urging everyone who reads my site, to write in and make their voice heard.

Just so people can get a clear understanding on what Net Neutrality is, the Daily Show has a pretty good explanation and here it is…

Some of you may know this, but I’m a huge net neutrality advocate. At least I try to be. Either way, the Senate introduced legislation earlier this week that would reverse the FCC’s decision to let the largest media companies swallow up more local and independent news outlets. Congress only has 60 days to pass it, which gives us time to write to our senators telling them we don’t want it to pass. If you want to join me in protesting this new bill, all you have to do is click on the following link and it’ll send you to StopBigMedia.com where they have a form you can fill out and they will make sure it gets to your senator.

It’s important that we continue getting unbiased and diverse reports from our news especially during this upcoming election season. We want to make sure we get all the facts, not just the ones they want us to know.

Save the Internet.com has released a new commercial in their effort to get more information to the consumers. They took a very “mars attacks” theme for the commercial, going so far as painting AT&T’s CEO Ed Whitacre green.

DTE Energy in Detroit may start offering renewable electricity to its consumers in the coming year. The proposal still needs to be approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission. I’m not really sure if it will be cheaper or not. From what the article states, it’s going to cost about $2.50 per month for every 100 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. I’m not sure if that’s in addition to the cost that we’re already paying for or what. I’m hoping to get more information soon.

They found a 4800 year-old prosthetic eye at the Burnt City historical site in southeastern Iran. Archaeologists are saying that it probably looked more like the real thing than most devices previously found throughout the history. They are still examining it to see what it is made of, but still, it’s kind of cool that it survived this long.

An airline associated with Spring Airlines in China was busted for selling seats on flights from Shanghai and to Jinan for 1 yuan (13 cents). I guess the government in China has state mandated prices for airfare and they only allow companies to offer discounts of up to 45%. For the few that were able to use those tickets, that had to be exciting. I’m not sure how far away the cities are, but if you need to fly there, something tells me it is a good distance. Now that’s a deal.

Oh yeah, one more thing for the pro-net neutrality supporters. HR-5252, Sen. Ted Steven’s telcom bill, is dead with the end of the 109th Congress. When they reconvene in January, Congress will be filled with more net neutrality friendly legislators. Granted, the telcoms will only come back, but at least this time they can’t ignore the grassroots efforts that have informed the public about what is going on. Afterall, Time Magazine made a very valid point with this year’s “person of the year“.

SaveTheInternet.com Coalition is holding a protest rally against the “Michigan Video Franchising Bill” (HB 6456) in Lansing tomorrow. Here are the particulars:

WHO: SavetheInternet.com Michigan
WHAT: Petition delivery to Michigan Senate
WHERE: First floor Capitol Rotunda, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, Mich.
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006, 12p

Wish I could go, but alas it’s a little short notice for me.

So the elections were yesterday.  Did you vote?  I did, although I wasn’t exactly happy with my choices for governor.  Both of the major candidates had things going against them:
Granholm - our economy is improving?  where are all the jobs? 
DeVos - he got rid of jobs, how does that help us?

Anyway, in happier news, it seems that a lot of Net Neutrality supporters won seats in the Senate.  There is even new blood for the Sentae due to this issue.  And since the the Democrats regained control of Congress, that means they get to head up the committees and that puts two pro-net neutrality supports in positions of power for the Energy and Commerce Committee (the panel that oversees phone, cable operators and Internet companies) and the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee.  The only thing we have to worry about now is whether the Lame Ducks try to push it through before they leave in January.