For years, proponents of so-called “net neutrality” have been calling for strong regulation of broadband “on-ramps” to the Internet, like those provided by your local cable or phone companies. Rules are needed, the argument goes, to ensure that the Internet remains open and free, and to discourage broadband providers from thwarting consumer demand. That sounds good if you say it fast. Nothing is broken and needs fixing, however. The Internet has been open and freedom-enhancing since it was spun off from a government research project in the early 1990s. Its nature as a diffuse and dynamic global network of networks defies top-down authority. Ample laws to protect consumers already exist.

A black farmer who was an original litigant in the racial discrimination case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture is prepared to testify before a congressional committee about the way some attorneys rounded up plaintiffs – including homeless people and others who never farmed. The potential witness told a Republican congressman the attorneys went through neighborhoods, looking for people to be among the nearly 16,000 plaintiffs who received $1 billion in compensation for alleged farm-loan discrimination.

The statists will not be satisfied until they control every aspect of your life, from the food you eat, to the kind of car you drive, to the temperature of your home, to demanding that you purchase health insurance. Next week, FCC democrats are likely to pass new internet regulations. Reuters reported:

Contentious Internet traffic rules facing a vote next week are likely to be adopted without radically veering from a proposal unveiled earlier in the month, telecommunications policy analysts said on Wednesday. The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Dec. 21 on whether to adopt regulations that ban the blocking of lawful traffic but allow Internet service providers to ration Web traffic on their networks.

Had Enough Government Yet?

Can we all just focus on the operative word, “SUSPECTED?”

The U.S. government is shutting down websites suspected of copyright infringement or selling counterfeit goods as Congress debates a bill that would give feds more authority to do so. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the Homeland Security Department, has seized more than 70 websites in recent days, according to the Wall Street Journal, and posted a notice saying that the domain name has been seized by ICE through court-ordered warrants. The notice also states penalties for willful copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods. Neither ICE nor Homeland Security responded to messages seeking comment.

Related articles

• DOJ seizes domain names of more than 70 websites suspected of piracy (hotair.com)
• Homeland Security Seizes Dozens of Piracy Websites (escapistmagazine.com)
• Homeland Security Seizes Websites as Part of Piracy War (blippitt.com)
• US shuts down counterfeit goods, music sites (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• US shuts down counterfeit goods, music sites (alternet.org)
• A Torrent of Gov’t Seizures in Online Piracy War (cbsnews.com)
• U.S. Government Seizes Multiple Domain Names and Sites (zacjohnson.com)