Hello all. So, this week is a special blog post. As most of you know (because most of you are in the same class as I am... BECA 560, the best class ever) this blog coincides with a class I am taking at San Francisco State University. Go Gators! Anyway, this blog post is supposed to be centered around the idea of Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality, for the one person that reads this blog who is not in this class, is basically the idea that the Internet is the last frontier that is completely unfiltered and equal to everyone.

Unlike television, phone networks, radio, etc. the internet has no restrictions about who can use it, where you can go, and how fast you can get there, provided you have the internet, of course. This is, in fact, awesome. But the shitty phone companies in the world are trying to filter the internet for those on top so that they can put a couple of extra pennies on top. Basically, they are trying to designate certain levels of internet connection based on the plan you have, kind of like the phone plans. so if you can't afford the coolest phone plan, then you will probably have an internet that is ridiculously slow. As you can tell, I am completely objective about this.

Obviously there are two sides to every story, but this is pretty much trying to take money away from the little guy. The pros and cons are not even in my book. The good news is at least some people in congress seem to agree with me. It just sucks because they say that the whole world is run by like five companies and the web was the only thing left that we had to be completely equal. It was unfiltered, and awesome. Now they are trying to take that one thing left that we have and rip it apart. I just went off on a little tangent, which I am completely fine with, by the way, but now I should get back to business.

Okay, without further delay, my top ten list for this week is as follows:

Top Ten reasons Net Neutrality restrictions suck ass.

10. The world is full of greedy bastards. This is sort of a general statement about the state of affairs in which we live. But specifically, those companies that due run the universe, Disney, Time Warner, Viacom, Mr. Murdoch and his greedy little fingers, and Sony (I think is the last one), have enough of everything else in the world. They don't need to hog the internet too. Just my two cents. 

9. There are three websites I check in the morning. If I can't check said websites (mlbtraderumors.com, espn.com, and movies.com) then it is almost the equivalent of my mother not getting her coffe fix in the morning. And nobody wants that. Not even the CEOs of those previously mentioned companies.

8. How will they filter pornographic sites? I mean, we are talking about the internet; it is eventually going to come up and be an uncomfortable subject for someone. Does that mean someone has to make restrictions on every porn site that there is in the world wide web? I guess there are worse jobs.

7. These sort of restrictions just remind us about how our society is set up in a hierarchy. Equality and freedom are the two principle that this country is based on, so I think it is bull shit to try and take something like the Internet and twist it into a money making machine. I guess everyone is trying to do that, but they are still not limiting the rest of us to what we can and cannot look at on the web.  

6. How are we going to get cool ideas like youtube and myspace if they take away our freedom. Google would have never made billions of dollars on things like that. Nobody wins there.

5. Think about it... We probably wouldn't be able to do this blog right now if someone restricts net neutrality. And who wouldn't want to hear my opinions? That was more or less a rhetorical question. 

4. I wonder how this would affect the way we all get email. I mean, I get enough shitty mail as it is without some corporate giant getting in my grill with some other mail I don't need. Although it will be a nice change of pace from the Viagra adds. I think it is really funny that everyone seems to be getting those emails too. And if you don't, please don't point it out and make me feel awkward by bringing up Viagra.

3. There are other things for Congress to be worrying about. First off, our economy sucks ass right now. We need to find some sort of boost or none of us will ever be able to find a job. Second, and this probably should have been first, there are thousands of troops that should be allowed to come home soon. I'm not going to get into a huge "War On Terror" debate here, but there is something to be noted when we are messing with a perfectly good Internet instead of getting our soldiers back.

2. The online BECA community will never be seen! Our work will be for nothing!

1. In all seriousness, there is even a greater tragedy at stake, the way I see it. Freedom of speech is one of the most basic freedoms we can possibly have. Other than free will, which is the basis of human existence, freedom of speech is like the freedom. I should be able to say what ever I want, whenever I want, where ever I want. As it turns out, we can't because of censorship of music, movies, and TV. But if nowhere else, I should be able to view and say anything I want on the internet. 

This is a serious issue that the public has yet to realize. To restrict our Internet availability would change our lives drastically and we really need to be ready for it.