Pointless US Congress net neutrality vote will take place tomorrow! After weeks of teasing, Senate Democrats will finally take decisive action on bringing back net neutrality to America on Wednesday – by holding a pointless vote. "BREAKING," yelled Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) on Twitter. "The Senate's vote to save Net Neutrality will take place this Wednesday, May 16th. Keep raising your voices …
Like the highest UN-emplyment records set by any recently elected President in history. By actually getting North Korea to talk to us, and hopefully end all the hostillity. (Instead of giving them candy, and kicking the can though the years till a guy like Trump comes along. Here's looking at you Bill.)
By actually getting North Korea to talk to us,
The only reason Korea talked was that it achieved its aim to make the Kaddaffi scenario too expensive for everyone.
At which point it was offered candy by Mike Pompeo combined with a demonstration that we would still like the Kaddaffi scenario in the form of the currently ongoing military exercises. By the way - these exercises were cranked up by Bolton/Trump one level above last year. Stealth aircraft and nuclear bombers. Just in case you know... Defensive weapons you know...
At which point it cancelled the talks. Frankly, cannot blame them - they are for once consistent. It is pretty much a given they will cancel the Singapore summit too.
If anything Trump and Pompeo have destroyed whatever was achieved so far between the Koreans themselves.
No. That's because there was no single popular vote, but rather 50 separate popular votes, and he won enough of those to become president. It was designed that way to prevent the large cities from controlling the rest of the country. You could argue that's a bad thing, but I tend to think having the inner city government dependents in charge is sub-optimal. They have a slight conflict of interest.
"all the things the Trump administration has foisted on the US populace"
like, BETTER ECONOMY, FEWER REGULATIONS, LOWER TAXES, MORE JOBS, LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES *EVAR* FOR MINORITIES and WOMEN, ...
I do not think that word 'foisted' means what you think it means.
But as for 'net neutrality' (the ironically named attempt at gummint control of content on "teh intarwebs"), *THAT* in and of itself (aka 'net neutrality') is "the pointless thing".
The economy was already on the upswing before Trump. Remember the economy under collapse at the end of Bush's term. Lots of rebuilding under Obama but trump claimed it was a bubble. The economy is now on amphetamines as this increase in economic activity is pushing the National Debt is through the roof. Buy a nice membership to Sam's Club with your tax break unless you are super rich in which case get yourself a new jet.
You wouldn't want the quality of your water or air to be regulated as it might interfere with bidness. Enjoy your free market choices with the end of net-neutrality.
"I think the point is that Democrats aren't actually in government right now. So they can't do anything but try pointless things."
If that's their point, it's badly damaged by their claim that the LAST time they held the presidency and both houses of Congress (by overwhelming majorities) that the Republicans blocked them at every turn but one.
Why are the Democrats so dang impotent now when they are only *one vote* short in the Senate and reasonably close in the House? You frustrate me, Ds!
"And then Trump might get impeached (but won't)."
After he just flew out a squad to support his favourite terrorist apartheid state in it's illegal occupation which then shot over 2000 unarmed Palestinians in a single day, hopefully sanity will prevail and his remaining tenure will be brief. He is an embarrassment to America.
"terrorist apartheid state in it's illegal occupation"
Let's not forget "invented by Great Britain in 1948 to give Jews a place to go that wasn't Fair Albion".
"He is an embarrassment to America."
A joke, anyway. At least his tenure will be short. Should only take a couple years to clean up the mess after we take out the trash. Mid-terms in a few short days should be a start as to how the country really feels about the rotund orange idiot-in-chief.
"Let's not forget "invented by Great Britain in 1948 to give Jews a place to go that wasn't Fair Albion"."
Well yes, but only after a Zionist terrorism campaign in Palestine that killed several hundred British such as the bombing of the King David Hotel. Americans are apparently oblivious that the Palestinians learnt everything they know about terrorism from the occupying regime.
Anyway, those bits are not generally in dispute. It's all the other land they took by force and that they have systematically expelled the ingenious population from and then colonised.
Mid-terms in a few short days should be a start as to how the country really feels about the rotund orange idiot-in-chief.
He is trying to replicate (sometimes verbatim) the previous idiot - Ronnie the Demented Raygun. Judging by the votes then and the American nostalgia to Ronnie's tenure I would not hold your breath if I was you. It was Ronnie's tax cuts and super-weapon spending that started USA on the path to bankruptcy. It was Ronnie who brought us to the brink of bequeathing the Earth to the roaches. It was Ronnie...
None the less the USAsians still like him. So frankly, in a worst case scenario, expect another democrat defeat and plan accordingly. At best - expect a congress where any of the new democrats are indistinguishable from hardcore pro-Trump republicans.
> "America has the finest politicians money can buy."
Not in the White House. Mrs. Clinton massively outspent Trump and still lost. Sometimes money cannot overcome a poisonous personality and a huge smelly baggage train.
Not that Trump is a lily, but his personality is merely loud and brash, not actually repellent (except among those already opposed). And Trump's baggage is mostly just inflammatory stuff he has said out loud, while hers is composed of equal parts influence peddling, money laundering, underhanded electoral dirty tricks, and outright rigging. No contest, really.
Next November's Election commercials:
So and so "Voted against Net Neutrality..."
They'll probably also add a few other line-items to the bill such as help for orphans, assistance to veterans, and national "middle class" day, to make voting it down as toxic as possible.
Yes, same reason republicans held meaningless votes on repealing Obamacare. At least the democrats will (hopefully) only vote on this once, instead of dozens of times!
If democrats think net neutrality will be a winning issue for them this fall, then we can look forward to the "blue wave" crashing onto the rocks before it reaches shore.
The only way net neutrality becomes an issue is when ISPs begin to abuse their "freedom" and start trying to extort money out of streaming companies that use a lot of bandwidth - especially those who directly compete with their TV offerings like Netflix, Directv Now, Sling TV, etc. - and "de-prioritize" those who won't play ball. They aren't going to be dumb enough to do that before the 2018 elections, and undoubtedly will start small - just ask for a small amount to get them all used to paying up, then ratchet up slowly to see where the streamers start to become screamers.
If/when it does become an issue, republican legislators who voted it against it won't face any repercussions because their vote will have been years ago. They will say "my thinking on this issue has involved" or profess shock that ISPs couldn't be trusted to self-regulate and admit that this is a rare case where regulation is required.
"Of course the Democrats want to make the Net 'neutral'
Any sane consumer would want to make the Net Neutral. The only real interest of not having net neutrality is for restricting content or changing someone for certain traffic types. Neither of which benefit consumers.
"like they've made gender 'neutral' and it will work out the same way"
Well no, this is more like charging you extra to go the bathroom if you are a vegetarian...
When Trump reversed DACA all the talk was "Congress should pass a law, that's their job."
We're all agreed, aren't we, that leaving important policy decisions to unaccountable government agencies is a bad thing? The correct approach is for elected lawmakers to propose, debate and vote on appropriate laws.
Now they're trying to do that, you're still giving them grief. What do you people want?
The basic problem is as you stated... The correct approach is for elected lawmakers to propose, debate and vote on appropriate laws. Our government has for at least a decade been going around the lawmaking to department regulations and rules, presidential orders, etc. All that can be wiped out as shown by the current White House tenant. Apparently, Congress just got a wake up call...
Mark, I totally agree with you on this. Let Congress do its job, period. Obama's great sin was to eschew congress and go it alone. If his ideas were so great then they could have been passed by Congress, regardless of GOP opposition (NN included).
T'was ever thus.
After all, even a fair amount of Rep voters are not entirely happy at Pai's Net Neutrality gimmicks.
This law has little semblance to true Red conservative causes, like abortion, coal production or gun control. It's just a predatory bit of regulatory capture. If doomsayer predictions come true and people's bills and services worsen, why not have Rep lawmakers on the record in front of their constituents as having voted for it?
Maybe the next election Rep voters can elect representatives who can think for themselves and vote for the greater good rather than by party line? Not that it would hurt Dems any to apply that unsurmountable hurdle to their own Congress critters ;-)
So long as campaign money (bribery) is the mother's milk of American politics, and so long as money is considered "speech," and campaign "speech" (money) is unlimited, making the "speech" coming from some locations (corporations, wealthy people, and lobbyists) of much greater volume than from ordinary people, the American people will never be heard from again.
Come on, leave the bot herders to earn a living. It is easy to ignore and even if the author of the Bombastic Bob bot renames his creation as Michael Habel and changes the style generator slightly, that is still run by the same herder. Easy to discern.
By the way, the bot herding thingie is very IT. At least so I have heard.
even if the author of the Bombastic Bob bot renames his creation as Michael Habel and changes the style generator slightly, that is still run by the same herder.
I think bob has enough technical savvy that he could set up another e-mail account to get another El Reg account. After all, he has his treasured upvote:downvote ratio to be proud of, and that would be wiped out if he changed his handle.
I also doubt that the style generator is amenable to change. I've encountered him elsewhere (the handle there also had "Bob" in it") and although it was clear that he was on very different drugs from usual (ecstasy rather than methamphetamine), the style was recognizably his.
I don't look like a bot when I look into a mirror. Strangely I'm being accused of being one.
I just don't tow the liberal-lefty-line. Maybe everyone *ELSE* is a bot... [and based on what we see in social media in general, according to the 'Russian Collusion' investigation, using bots to make one person look like "a swarm" is commonplace]
but I figure the "howler monkey" downvotes are either bots OR collusion. Or both. HA HA HA HA HA!
Seriously, I sometimes think that commenters are being hired by organizations like "Media Matters" to individually comment so they don't LOOK like bots. Those of us who are conservative, true libertarians, or simply "disagree" with the politically correct socialist viewpoint, get *PUMMELLED* all of the time by the gang-up bullying LEFTISTS (aka 'howler monkeys' slinging poo).
That's ok, like Trump, I'll just throw it back at 'em.
(my 'fan club' can find me on USENET, too)
"even if the author of the Bombastic Bob bot "
The bot that changes his posts to random CAPS?
"I think bob has enough technical savvy that he could set up another e-mail account to get another El Reg account"
There is more to it than that. There are numerous ways to detect if someone uses multiple accounts, and plenty of forum tools to help with that - and avoiding / working round them requires some knowledge, skill and effort. And besides I don't think anyone needs to see the handle to know WHEN BOB POSTS.
> "...but can we perhaps not have these almost bot-like posts of X party is better than Y party?"
I must disagree here. Many of the comments on this thread are actually suggesting that locally elected legislators should do their jobs, in opposition to calls for top-down control at the federal level we're usually treated to by the "botish" commentators.
It's quite different from what's been happening lately, and most refreshing. Further, the "we're better than you" tone (on all sides) is finally muted a bit. I'm seriously wondering if there's a sea-change going on.
The "net neutrality" debate is silly, and the fact that it's become politically partisan is downright stupid.
All you have to do is mandate that anyone who supplies last-mile connections, must offer those last-mile connections as unbundled elements. When they did this with DSL in 1996 it was wonderfully successful; if you didn't like your ISP you could switch to another one who had access to the same wires.
Do this for fibre and coax, and all problems are immediately solved. And no partisan bickering either -- both Congress and the President could easily get behind it.
"But even though everyone knows it won't pass, the fact that it only requires one additional vote to pass the Senate has led to seemingly endless commentary pieces on how it actually might pass because it only needs one vote."
Are there any senators that haven't said anything or taken a side? If there are, I highly suspect at least one found out that there were already fifty votes and is keeping quiet in order to be the Big Damn Hero. After all, people might like heroes who never let the evil reach the city, but they love and remember the ones who stop it at the gates.
I don't know about all of you folks, but I know that I've had enough of Kieren McCarthy!
Even for a British news outlet, where I already expect a healthy amount of snark with any coverage of the U.S. political system--but somehow he manages to take the level of smugness far beyond anything I ever thought was possible!
I realize that someone has to cover those stories, but could El Reg please find someone that's less misanthropic or annoying to read?!
I'd honestly rather read the news, as delivered by Bombastic Bob! Yup--he's that annoying! Mind you, it takes a lot for me to be willing to subject myself to the word salad, of a troll in a tinfoil hat, rather than deal with Kieran's incessant whining, and nay-saying!
While I agree that the vote is pointless, it's not exactly new either. The reubs had 35 or so votes against obamacare while they we out of power. And it's certainly possible the dems retake the house, rollcall seems to think so, so they can certainly impeach trump, convict? no possible way. Meanwhile the telco get their winfall...
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