Internet Freedom Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee

The House Judiciary Committee reported the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act favorably to the full House the other day.

The bill seeks to prohibit broadband providers from discriminating against customers, areas, and applications, to withhold information about the network, or to refuse to interconnect with other broadband providers. It also forces providers who prioritize one type of traffic to give all other traffic of that same type the same privilege, at no additional cost.

This bill is an important step towards equality online, however, much of the wording is ambiguous, and is sure to create plenty of situations that must be settled at a judge's discretion.

GOP Negatives Mean Something This Year

Jeffrey Goldberg, of the New Yorker, speculates on the Democrat's chances of regaining power in all three branches of government in the coming years. Goldberg believes that, despite more than a 99% retention rate for congressmen in the last election, Democrats can win back the House, simply by running campaigns based on Republican incompetence and corruption. Nevertheless, he reiterates the point many analysts make when he says that GOP failures will not beat a McCain or even a more mainstream Republican in 2008.

Speaker Under Investigation

Via Political Wire:

According to ABC News, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is under investigation by the FBI for possible participation in an ongoing corruption case being waged against Jack Abramoff's allies on Capitol Hill. Hastert wrote a letter three years ago urging the Secretary of the Interior to disallow the construction of a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with casinos run by tribes represented by Abramoff.

Hastert's office shot back immediately, saying that the ABC story was untrue; that the speaker was under no investigation.

Interestingly, the New York Times front page article today was about a separate congressional investigation concerning William Jefferson (D-LA), who was videotaped stashing $100,000 in a freezer at his home. Hopefully the man with the gavel will get the same attention from newspapers all over the nation.

Verizon Cable Tax Controversy Continues

PoliticsNJ reports on the Cable Competition Crisis in New Jersey.

Two Republican assemblymen spoke out against the Democratic sponsored tax that targets competition in the cable industry.

The two lawmakers, Guy Gregg and Richard Merkt, described the cable competitiveness bill that passed the assembly 61-13 as another opportunity for hidden taxes.

However, most of New Jersey has welcomed the small increase as a way to break the growing possibility of a Verizon cable monopoly. The bill also stipulated that cable companies such as Verizon would be required to provide service to all towns with a certain population density, thus ending the practice of ignoring poor urban areas.

Weinberg Wants More Transparency In Government

Jay Lassite Reports:

State Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Ber), has called for more transparency in the state government. Weinberg has sponsored a bill that will make legislator's voting records more accessible to constituents, who are often oblivious to what goes on in Trenton because of the lack of resources on the web. The Philadelphia Enquirer reports that the only way someone can find out how their representative voted on a bill is to call the lawmaker's office. This is not standard for the 21st century. The United States Senate and House of Representatives have every roll call vote since 1989 and 1990 respectively.

President Bush's Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are risk takers and dreamers and doers. Entrepreneurs and small businesses play a crucial role in the U.S. economy.
- President George W. Bush

Stephen Baker, from Blogspotting, has an interesting take on this statement. His "small business," Stephen Baker Media Ltd., has no employees, generates no money, but receives plenty of tax benefits. It makes us wonder how many small businesses nationwide exist only so one individual can have lower taxes.

The Religious Left

Sharon, from Center of NJ Life, has an excellent post that describes how the media has played into the hands of the Republican Party in its search to define itself as the party of moral values.

Conservatives nationwide have proudly claimed the rights to the "values voters," voters who choose candidates based on values, rather than....??

Yes, it is rediculous that the party of big business and war has run away with the Values title, however, what is even more curious is how Democrats and liberals nationwide have done very little to repudiate the claim. Democrats haven't communicated the idea that their policies reflect values. Values that say that government should help the poor before the wealthy, the uninsured before the pharmaceutical companies, and the worker before the CEO.

Even if "values" is a word only being used to describe religion, it is apparent that the media doesn't take the religious left seriously. Although preachers all over the nation have opposed the reactionary policies of the Bush administration, it is too common that the media brands "values voters," or "people of faith" as property of the right.

Senate Oligarchy Reminiscent of Old Days

When Lyndon Johnson was made the Senate Democratic Leader in 1953 he had one important task that he knew needed to be done in order to make the senate an effective legislative body: he had to put committee chairmen in their place. For the best part of two centuries, the seniority system in the senate had prevented virtually everybody except the oldest members of the majority party, who were the committee chairmen, from doing anything at all. The chairman ruled his committee in anyway he liked, controlled the flow of bills at any pace, and was the only person the president could go to see on issues of that committee.

50 years later, the most secretive presidential administration in modern history seeks to recreate that system. The only members of the senate who were aware of the president's spy program were Sen. Pat Robertson (R-KS), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the ranking member of that committee.

In the first Judiciary Committee hearing on the matter, it was embarassing, not only for senators, but for the administration as well, that the national legislature was not aware of the domestic spy program that was very possibly infringing upon the rights of millions of Americans.

Republican Insurgents Turn to TV

Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donavon has begun to run 30 second ads on cable networks, vowing to prove the myth that Republicans can't win in Bergen County false, as she runs for a 7th consecutive term (Via PoliticsNJ).

Donavon is in charge of an entire slate of rebel Bergen Republicans, including candidates for freeholder positions and the county surrogate. Together they have raised over $144,000, which crushes the measly $26,000 inside the warchest of the Bergen County Republican Organization, which has repeatedly criticized Donavon's team as "Whitman Republicans," who are appeasing the Democrats on the local and state level.

Nevertheless, it looks as if Donovan's wing of the GOP is going to take charge in Bergen County, largely due to the superior funding and increased access to cable media outlets. Those who don't underestimate the value of money in national politics should look to local campaigns, which are oftentimes even more heavily affected by the wealth of the candidates. A candidate with $10,000 to spare is a heavy favorite against one who doesn't.

Any candidate who has access to media is likely to crush one who doesn't have any. Press Releases, such as this one, are not available to the poorer candidates.

Good Reporting Gets Kean

State Senator Tom Kean Jr. might face trouble in the fall on the issue of immigration. Although he previously was quoted as having a relatively liberal stance, Kean, when prodded on the issue at a press conference, expressed support for the deportation of approximately 11,000,000 illegal immigrants nationwide.

Now, is Kean flip-flopping on this issue, or has he always been a hardliner? The Bergen Record quoted him endorsing "not deportation, but a $2,000 fine for violating U.S. law, paying back taxes, and going to the back of the line to obtain legal status."

It is because of articles like this by the Bergen Record that politicians are forced to form solid positions on issues.