Comments on: The lullaby of broadband http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/ Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:44:58 +0000 hourly 1 By: Danny Jeffrey http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/comment-page-1/#comment-3157 Danny Jeffrey Thu, 13 May 2010 06:22:01 +0000 http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/?p=5977#comment-3157 The courts have ruled that Obama's Net Neutrality bill for controlling the Internet is unconstitutional. They naturally are right, as the underlying plan was to impose censorship on all who use it. Taking away more of our first amendment rights goes right along with long range plans. The anointed one will not be held back. He and his comrades have a plan that will not be stopped. So the new plan is that he will by executive order declare the internet to be a public utility; ergo he can then impose regulations. He will not let a little thing like the constitution or a court keep him from his plan to transform us. Microsoft is going right along with the plan as they now have developed a cyber-bot. This technology will intercept each and every email and any thing that is not politically correct will be rewritten before it is received. Big brother is not only watching. Soon he will be emailing. The courts have ruled that Obama’s Net Neutrality bill for controlling the Internet is unconstitutional. They naturally are right, as the underlying plan was to impose censorship on all who use it. Taking away more of our first amendment rights goes right along with long range plans. The anointed one will not be held back. He and his comrades have a plan that will not be stopped. So the new plan is that he will by executive order declare the internet to be a public utility; ergo he can then impose regulations. He will not let a little thing like the constitution or a court keep him from his plan to transform us.
Microsoft is going right along with the plan as they now have developed a cyber-bot. This technology will intercept each and every email and any thing that is not politically correct will be rewritten before it is received.
Big brother is not only watching. Soon he will be emailing.

]]> By: Daniel Wisehart http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/comment-page-1/#comment-2982 Daniel Wisehart Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:07:01 +0000 http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/?p=5977#comment-2982 Hello Mr. Bowden, I enjoyed your article. I have a follow-up question. What do you think needs to be done to convince businessmen that it is crucial they think in principles? I suspect the average CEO would read your article and think: "Google and Verizon want minimal government involvement, ARC-IR wants no government involvement at all, this is just an argument over a small detail: the degree of government involvement." Now I know that is not what you intended, but, again, I suspect those CEOs would write a matchbook outline for each paragraph that would looks something like: 1. Google and Verizon invite minimal government involvement into Internet service. 2. Are you crazy? 3. Obamacare is an example of what to expect from the government. 4. This horrible result is unavoidable. 5. The CEOs need to change their position or their companies will be hurt. What we want, of course, is for those same CEOs to read your opening paragraph and immediately jump to the conclusion "Google and Verizon could have done this privately--alone or with a consortium of companies--without any government intervention. If they are inviting the government into Internet access, they should at the same time give the government a few seats on their board of directors because, in principle, there is nothing to stop the government from weighing in on all private economic decisions once you invite them into one. How do we shut these CEOs down? Who do we know that could get a Bowden op-ed in the Journal?" Explaining the need to think and act in principles is not easy at all, but it is sorely needed. I rarely, if ever, find a non-Objectivist that understands when I give an example of thinking in principles. It is not that we argue about whether or not a particular case is an example of thinking in principles, it is that they are completely unfamiliar with any argument why one must think and act in principles. The closest I come to familiarity is when I say: "If you let a young child once do XXX, then he will want to do it again and again." They understand that, but they think it is just the cute behavior of a young child with no tie to the decisions of an adult." Regards, Daniel Hello Mr. Bowden,

I enjoyed your article. I have a follow-up question. What do you think needs to be done to convince businessmen that it is crucial they think in principles? I suspect the average CEO would read your article and think: “Google and Verizon want minimal government involvement, ARC-IR wants no government involvement at all, this is just an argument over a small detail: the degree of government involvement.” Now I know that is not what you intended, but, again, I suspect those CEOs would write a matchbook outline for each paragraph that would looks something like:

1. Google and Verizon invite minimal government involvement into Internet service.
2. Are you crazy?
3. Obamacare is an example of what to expect from the government.
4. This horrible result is unavoidable.
5. The CEOs need to change their position or their companies will be hurt.

What we want, of course, is for those same CEOs to read your opening paragraph and immediately jump to the conclusion “Google and Verizon could have done this privately–alone or with a consortium of companies–without any government intervention. If they are inviting the government into Internet access, they should at the same time give the government a few seats on their board of directors because, in principle, there is nothing to stop the government from weighing in on all private economic decisions once you invite them into one. How do we shut these CEOs down? Who do we know that could get a Bowden op-ed in the Journal?”

Explaining the need to think and act in principles is not easy at all, but it is sorely needed. I rarely, if ever, find a non-Objectivist that understands when I give an example of thinking in principles. It is not that we argue about whether or not a particular case is an example of thinking in principles, it is that they are completely unfamiliar with any argument why one must think and act in principles. The closest I come to familiarity is when I say: “If you let a young child once do XXX, then he will want to do it again and again.” They understand that, but they think it is just the cute behavior of a young child with no tie to the decisions of an adult.”

Regards,
Daniel

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/comment-page-1/#comment-2911 uberVU - social comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:19:32 +0000 http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/?p=5977#comment-2911 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by AynRandCenter: VfR: The lullaby of broadband: In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, the CEOs of both Google and Verizon have endorsed t... http://bit.ly/duVJMr... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by AynRandCenter: VfR: The lullaby of broadband: In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, the CEOs of both Google and Verizon have endorsed t… http://bit.ly/duVJMr...

]]> By: Angela Richter http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/comment-page-1/#comment-2909 Angela Richter Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:05:12 +0000 http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/?p=5977#comment-2909 My husband is a broadband engineer, and quite brilliant. When our region was melded with a more "liberal" region he began having troubles with his work. They want him to give up bonuses and pay raises for making their network the envy of the national corporation, but they cut his budget and tell him to keep creating the best network ever with less capital and then in April giving him the funds for his department that should have been his in January, oh, and cut in half. I am finally beginning to get him to see the strategy of the offices there. I am finally able to get his strategy in place. Beating them at their game and by their own rules is a fun game I am teaching him. Now I have to let him in on the secret that it's all futile and he should give up, and let it all fall down around him. I'm finding it harder to do than I thought it would be. He does not yet see that they use him to make themselves look as if they are producers. They keep leeching off him to justify their own jobs. Much like in Atlas Shrugged, a couple of the looters have tried to "run" things when they have no idea what they are doing and he's had to go clean up. Of all of the people I've ever met who reminded me of characters in Atlas Shrugged, he most reminds me of Dagny Taggart. He loves his job and they are using his love to slowly strangle him and bleed him dry. I can't make him see this and it's frustrating. Thanks for letting me vent to someone about it. Angela Richter My husband is a broadband engineer, and quite brilliant. When our region was melded with a more “liberal” region he began having troubles with his work. They want him to give up bonuses and pay raises for making their network the envy of the national corporation, but they cut his budget and tell him to keep creating the best network ever with less capital and then in April giving him the funds for his department that should have been his in January, oh, and cut in half.

I am finally beginning to get him to see the strategy of the offices there. I am finally able to get his strategy in place. Beating them at their game and by their own rules is a fun game I am teaching him. Now I have to let him in on the secret that it’s all futile and he should give up, and let it all fall down around him. I’m finding it harder to do than I thought it would be.

He does not yet see that they use him to make themselves look as if they are producers. They keep leeching off him to justify their own jobs. Much like in Atlas Shrugged, a couple of the looters have tried to “run” things when they have no idea what they are doing and he’s had to go clean up. Of all of the people I’ve ever met who reminded me of characters in Atlas Shrugged, he most reminds me of Dagny Taggart. He loves his job and they are using his love to slowly strangle him and bleed him dry. I can’t make him see this and it’s frustrating.

Thanks for letting me vent to someone about it.

Angela Richter

]]> By: Emil http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/the-lullaby-of-broadband/comment-page-1/#comment-2908 Emil Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:29:26 +0000 http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/?p=5977#comment-2908 The idea of making broadband available for all people is something that has already been tried in my home country: Sweden. Prime minister Göran Persson promised that everyone in Sweden would get broadband access in the year 2000. That did not happen. What did happen though, was that a newly created corporation in my home region Södermanland (a region, or 'län', is in between county and state in size) got government subsidies, built a few internet connection points and then mysteriously disappeared with the rest of the money. My family did get free internet for a few months (since it took a while before someone realized what had happened), but seeing that the regional government lost a lot of money on it, I'm not cheering. The idea of making broadband available for all people is something that has already been tried in my home country: Sweden. Prime minister Göran Persson promised that everyone in Sweden would get broadband access in the year 2000. That did not happen. What did happen though, was that a newly created corporation in my home region Södermanland (a region, or ‘län’, is in between county and state in size) got government subsidies, built a few internet connection points and then mysteriously disappeared with the rest of the money. My family did get free internet for a few months (since it took a while before someone realized what had happened), but seeing that the regional government lost a lot of money on it, I’m not cheering.

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