Pay attention to this!

Have you ever heard of the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act? If not, now is the time to get informed – and then get mad. And then do something! COPE passed the House yesterday by more than two-thirds, and if it passes in the Senate, the Internet as we know it will die. And no, I don't think I'm exaggerating.

According to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now:

The bill would effectively end what is known as "net neutrality" which is the concept that that everyone, everywhere, should have free, universal and non-discriminatory access to the Internet. The bill would also cut back the obligation of cable TV companies to devote channels to public access and fund the facilities to run them. And the COPE bill would replace local cable franchises with national franchises.

Democratic Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey had proposed an amendment to the COPE bill that would have included stiff net neutrality regulations and prevented broadband providers from treating some Internet sites differently from others but the amendment was rejected. read more

I'm passionate about free access to information, and community media (like personal blogs, local radio and local newspapers) is one of the best ways to get information out there. It's how I make a living, and it's one of the ways I express myself politically and as an artist. The Internet is a truly democratic medium – you don't even have to own a computer to use it! Anyone with a library card can access the whole world – not just as a consumer, but as a contributor. I want every voice to be able to be heard! Let the people decide what we will and will not listen to – not Southern Bell.

This one is so important to me that I'm doing more than just listening to KPFA and fuming. I'm sending emails to everyone I can think of. During my lunch break, I'll be making some phone calls too.

A good introduction to media reform, from Free Press:

Why care about media?

The media play a huge role in our lives.

We spend countless hours exposed to television, radio, CDs, books, newspapers, magazines, billboards and the Internet. These media inform our ideas and opinions, our values and our beliefs. They reflect and influence our culture through arts and entertainment.

As such, they play a vital role in our democracy, shaping citizens' understanding of social and political issues and functioning as gatekeepers through which issues, people, and events must pass. No matter what you care about — gun rights or abortion rights, the environment or economics — the media influence the perceptions of citizens and policymakers, affecting the policies that touch us all.

Media must not be considered just another business: they are special institutions in our society. Information is the lifeblood of democracy — and when viewpoints are cut off and ideas cannot find an outlet, our democracy suffers. read more

Please get involved in this. Here are some links.

Free Press
Alliance for Community Media
Democracy Now
Save the Internet
Save Access

Or just Google "Internet neutrality." Do it now, while Google still exists.

[end rant]