It's sad when we have to create laws simply to keep people and businesses from doing things that are intuitively evil and wrong.

Props to savetheinternet.com. They are trying to push a bill called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which would stop Big Businesses from twisting the existing system of internet to their own design, and screw over independent artists and labels.

Data service providers are pressuring Congress to allow them to create different levels of internet access speed; not to the music and media consumers, but to the providers. Media providers willing to pay more money would have their content moved through the internet at a preferred/faster rate. We can also look at this from another point of view: those who cannot or will not pay extra get their data traffic slopped into the slow lane.

So it won't matter if you have a full-blown 25GBPS connection, if you aren't accessing sites that can afford "Premier Platinum Top-Shelf Delivery" you're going to be remembering what it was like when you had a 28.8 dial-up modem. OK, maybe that's a bit harsh, but not impossible. But the problem is worse than simply an issue of speed, and it goes deeper than just music.

The phone companies should not be allowed to monitor your voice communication and edit out swear words, or political phrases they don't agree with, right?

Internet Service Providers should not be allowed to block blog posts that are anti-Republican, or Anti-Anything, right?

But we've already seen AT&T censor political statements during their web broadcasts. If the Republican Party can afford to pay AT&T more money, their messages get premium (read: unfiltered) service. If the Green Party can't.... well, without some intervention this is where the system is headed.

Comparing this to the way the cable company works is not an accurate analogy. The cable company decides their own content, and they can make you pay more for better content. This makes sense; you pay for content. Data service providers have NOTHING to do with the content coming through them. They are a service, and they have no right to tamper with the data going through their pipes, unless they would like to be held responsible. Do you think AT&T could be held responsible for providing data service to terrorists? Could your internet service provider be held responsible for allowing you access to illegal pornography, or allowing someone to send e-mails about how to construct an atomic bomb?

This is the very reason the FCC exists, to stop nonsense like this from happening. Otherwise, the services might just as well be deregulated, shut down the FCC and save the taxpayers a few billion.

Thank goodness a more reasonable solution was devised, a bill called The Internet Freedom Preservation Act or HR5353, which basically tells data service providers to leave the system the way it is, and let the data flow "...without unreasonable interference or discrimination..."

What you can to do help is make your representative aware of this bill, savetheinternet.com provides a simple way for you to get in contact with your rep and a prepared text to make him/her aware of the situation, and hopefully get the bill passed into law.

Props (as always) the Future of Music Coalition for the linkage and their ongoing efforts to maintain Net Neutrality.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Business Phenomena, Call To Action, Cool Website, Good Cause, political

While I find politics as distasteful as Emo music, and as boring as watching golf on television, it does give me an abundant supply of material to blog about.

Take votechooser.com for instance. Select your opinions on the issues that matter, and Vote Chooser selects the candidate whose opinions most closely match your own...

...except for one large detail.

Did you notice that only Republicans and Democrats are represented? There are other parties, you know. In fact, those who come to see Jagged Spiral perform at Club Underground tonight will get to hear me announce an entirely new and different political party! All the more reason to brave the cold and come out to hear some live, loud guitars!

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Concert, Jagged Spiral, political, Politics

What happened?

As reported by the Future of Music Coalition, it seems that AT&T censored anti-Bush lyrics sung by Pearl Jam front man, Eddie Vedder during their recent "blue room" webcast from Lollapolooza.

Read Pearl Jam's Press Release on the issue here.

Wired has also dug up other instances of censorship at AT&T, including Tom Petty, the Nightwatchmen, and others, at other webcast music festivals.

AT&T admitted to the censorship, but said it has to censor foul language. Strangely, this report suggests otherwise:

"AT&T originally said that it only edits Blue Room Webcasts for profanity since the site is available to all age groups. But a group calling itself the Future of Music Coalition, counted 20 instances of curse words being used during the Pearl Jam Webcast that were not censored by the content monitor."

So, AT&T seems to think that cursing is NOT profanity, since it was allowed, but saying "George Bush, leave this world alone!" IS profanity, because it was censored.

Got that?

Why is this a problem?

The analogy would be the power company shutting off your power because you were using it to run your skilsaw to make "Anti Bush" signs for your frontyard. Or, the phone company shutting down your voice every time you tried to tell your parents what a blithering idiot George Bush is.

For a country that was founded on freedom of speech, this kind of activity is worse than simply unacceptable. We simply cannot allow people to censor the speech of others simply because they have the power to do so; that is beyond Unconstitutional. Any company that would edit out Anti-Bush comments during a webcast would also disable access to websites/blogs/news/etc.. of any content they did not agree with.

If we allow this, then we might just as well burn the Constitution of the United States of America, and let the Anarchy begin. Personally, I'm fine with either way, but I think most people would prefer we all just follow the rules, since it has gotten us quite far with few internal wars.

What can you do about it?

Well, your options here are limited.

1. Storm the White House, take the Constitution of the United States, and burn it. Unfortunately, if AT&T provides the webcast, no one will see it, so your Anarchy will be pretty limited.


2. Storm AT&T, take the CEO's underwear, and burn them (while he is still wearing them). Post the video to YouTube. This will show people that Americans won't put up with censorship.


3. Support the Future of Music Coalition, even if that means just subscribing to their free newsletter and passing along stories like this one, and make sure the word gets out there to people: Here is PROOF that the Man is keeping you down! Here is a CRIMINAL caught in the act! It's not just rumor, it's not just hear-say, and it's not an isolated incident. Anyone with an Internet connection can see this for themselves.


4. Resume your life of Quiet Desperation.


KTHXBYE,
-CZ

Labels: political, Politics

If you aren't into Internet Radio yet, you should be. Check these sites out:

Accuradio
Live365
Pandora
Digital Gunfire (My personal favorite)

Do you enjoy the content? Diverse huh? Cool, huh?

Not for long. Internet Radio sites are being unfairly shafted by 'The Man'. They need your help. Check the following link, they do a better job of defining the problem than I do.




The solution is to call your Congressional Representative, and tell them (don't ask, that's not how it works.) TELL your representative to cosponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act, or forever hold your tongue about how internet radio became the same bland shit as terrestrial radio.

You have until 15 July 2007.

Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: Call To Action, Music Industry, political, Politics

I wasn't aware that gamerz needed a "voice". Aparrently, the Entertainment Consumers Association at www.right2game.com thinks they do. Their adverts and website claim yet another version of 'the Man keeping us down' and suggest you supplement the cause.

Is there a demographic left that doesn't have it's own political platform? Some organization put together as fast as they can slap a 3-letter acronym on it, so people can "Make their voice heard" and "defend against threatening political activity"?

I have an idea - since over 90 percent of Americans are idiots, I came to the realization that their needs aren't being met by the government. I have invented an assocation for them, (literally, I just now thought this up) the A.S.S. which stands for Assocation for Stupid Sitizins. The odds are good that someone you know is an idiot (YOU of course, are not an idiot, YOU are an intelligent, thoughtful, bright, and uber-cool individual, for the simple fact that you read this blog.)

The A.S.S. is here to represent Stupid People, and make sure that their voice can be heard, preserve their right to be idiots, and that they receive the freedoms they are entitled to. Just send me money, and I will make sure that the Idiots of America have a voice. Because if anyone is qualified to be a 'Voice' for the American Idiot, it's me.

I'm Conrad Zero, and I approve this message.

Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: anti, political, Video Games

Someone can tell all the idiots in Washington D.C. to go home now, and get real jobs. Thanks much, but we can handle it from here.

How's that you ask? How are we, meager, mild-mannered citizens able to take control of decisions made at a national level? We already do.

I will admit it's kind of sad that the best model for our government comes from a 'Reality' TV show, but no one can deny that it operates under true democracy. Issues can be listed on the evening news, and concerned citizens can cast their vote by phone, or internet, or e-mail ballot. A computer (which really needs to be called "Big Brother" or "Deep Thought"...) can track the votes, and debates can be held on www.wikipedia.org. Hell, Simon can even provide running commentary; he can turn to the board and say, 'Survey Says...' every time the numbers are updated like on Family Feud. We could have Vanna White stand there and do the same thing she does on Wheel of Fortune: Nothing.

To keep the process fair, everyone must have access to TV/radio/phone/internet. Thanks to the public library system, broadcast TV, and public radio, this is mostly the case.

No more 'Representatives' who have their own agendas and can be swayed by special interest groups. No more 'Electoral College' bullshit. Are you Anti-Abortion? Anti-Gun? Anti-Dashboard Confessional? Cast your vote, and if you are in the minority, deal with it. Fuck the 'checks and balances' and the '3-ring circus'.

No more Jury system. Broadcast all trials on TV/internet, and everyone turns in their vote. All the money that went into funding our 'representatives' can be reduced to a roomful of servers and a handful of underpaid geeks to play Oblivion and reboot the servers when they crash.

It will be argued that this system would be prone to some problems, for instance, if 51% of Americans hated Michael Jackson, they might have voted his plastic ass into prison just because they didn't like him, and not based on whether he was guilty or not. The same case can be made rich people/parties buying up the votes of the people who don't give a damn. I can see the commercials now, "Vote to Burn all of Dashboard Confessional's Albums and their lead signer, and I will give you one dollar! Paid for by the Conrad Hates Dashboard Confessional committee."

This argument is a valid one, but I never said that Democracy was the best system of Government. Especially for a group of people as narrow, selfish, and uneducated as Americans, but I'm saying it would be a true democracy, and not the sham we have now.


Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: americans, Million Dollar Idea, political