'It's not 1934, and we are not dealing with telephones you hold in 2 parts'
WND
Struggling to come up with a second-term success after his policies were rejected by voters in the midterm elections and as his health-care law faces court challenges, President Obama on Monday ventured into “Net neutrality” – essentially more government regulations for the Web – only to be inundated with a torrent of negative reaction.
“It’s not 1934, and we are not dealing with telephones you hold in two parts,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I’m proud of the work Senate Republicans have done to lay out an agenda for encouraging growth and innovation here in America, and we must defend against the use of a decades-old regulatory framework that would hurt that progress,” Hatch said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, released a one-liner that reverberated around the Web: “‘Net Neutrality’ is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government.”
Obama, claiming to want an “open Internet,” has asked the Federal Communications Commission to “implement the strongest possible rules” for it.
Two attempts to impose regulations already have been struck down by the courts. But Obama, whose party suffered massive defeats in last week’s midterms at local, state and national levels, said all he wants is “simple, common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day.”
His specific demands are “no blocking,” “no throttling,” “increased transparency” and “no paid prioritization.”
“For almost a century, our law has recognized that companies who connect you to the world have special obligations not to exploit the monopoly they enjoy over access in and out of your home or business. That is why a phone call from a customer of one phone company can reliably reach a customer of a different one, and why you will not be penalized solely for calling someone who is using another provider,” he said.
“The FCC was chartered to promote competition, innovation, and investment in our networks,” he said. He said there is no higher calling in that mission than to adopt the policies he has outlined.
Hatch said the Internet is improving because of “one-up each other” competition, and consumers are adapting “at lightning speed.”
“Yet the president now seeks to use 80-year-old regulations.”
Reposted with permission
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