What is Digg?212 Comments
- Imagine3, on 10/12/2007, -10/+64Another this is this is not Bush's problem. Back in 1996 The Bells (telephone companies) signed an agreement with Congress that they would have fiber optic cable to the door of every US citizen. In return they would receive over 8 BILLION dollars in tax breaks, and governmental grants. They have failed. The government has also failed to hold them tot he agreement, but you can't just blame Bush, you have to also blame Clinton as well for not keeping on them and making sure they are taking steps towards the goal. boo
Also as you have all read, the Bells and ISP's are considering a tiered Internet where content from certain companies would take higher precedence over others and have more bandwidth devoted to their content. Also you would have to pay for the otherwise free service. double boo - toekneebullard, on 10/12/2007, -45/+94It's so easy to criticize when you know you can't be held responsible for the solution. Cause I'm sure if we all had broadband by 2007, Kerry would say that Bush wasn't thinking about the war enough...blah blah blah
Term limits for all of Government would solve a lot of our problems. - plumpy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+31I think Kerry's point is that the government is putting up too many regulations that make it harder for private carriers to provide the service. I don't think he's actually advocating for the government to provide broadband.
In other words, his claim is basically that government is involved NEGATIVELY right now and he would like the government to step out of the way (e.g. by making WiMax more feasible) - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -62/+85its also easy to criticize a president when he doesnt follow the laws of his own country and is taking the world into a pothole of doom. just a thought..
- Beanis, on 10/12/2007, -6/+28Kerry isn't blaming Bush. He is blaming the FCC, but the headline gets more attention since Bush was mentioned.
@imagine3: Why is it that any time someone mentions something going wrong in the Bush administration it can always be traced back to Clinton. Some problems would be ok, but it is EVERY single problem. - tobsterius, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Politics: You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't.
- clickwir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Yup. we are falling behind. Too many regulations and restrictions. Need more competition.
- ryan_merket, on 10/12/2007, -7/+22Screw how many people are on broadband... what about the people in Africa who can't even get clean drinking water?
- Rotkiv, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19yes, the inventor of the internet should be able to handle this. :P
- fredclown, on 10/12/2007, -7/+21Cause everything is Bush's fault. Gosh darn it ... it's our right as Americans to have broadband. While we're at it Bush should make sure that ever American has a cell phone and 52 inch high definition flat panel TV ... with cable. I tell you we are so deprived living in America under Bush.
- Despero, on 10/12/2007, -10/+24And what would have Kerry done about this problem? Nothing at all.
- Godric, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21If Bush gave more tax incentives to the people laying down copper and fiber, Kerry would just complain that the Republicans are in the pocket of business.
If the trend of broadband penetration in this non-partisan Pew Center study holds, we'll have 70-100% penetration by 2010. I wouldn't be surprised if advances in wireless broadband make that happen even faster. And remember, even in places where broadband is available, lots of people choose to stay with dialup or simply want nothing to do with computers to begin with.
http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Rural_Broadband.pdf - cptshamrock, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14last time i checked the govenment has little or nothing to do w/ my broadband connection and that is the way I would like to keep it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+20And you don't think it's mildly socialist to give ONE company complete control over broadband for entire regions without any competitions? Hah!
- tratch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13****BREAKING NEWS****
Politician and potential Presidential candidate criticises current President and political rival.
Oh wait a second, that's commonplace. Nevermind. - kajoob, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
--Alexis de Tocqueville - Barlo_Mung, on 10/12/2007, -6/+17
Yesterday he failed to back Russ Feingold resolution to censure Bush for his illegal spying efforts. Today he picks this issue to harp about. Amazing.
The dems are so effed right now they can't even agree on what is important. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15If only there was some sort of country we could invade that had plentiful bandwidth resources. Tokyo?
Seriously, though, I don't think I like the idea of "universal broadband" anymore than I like the idea of "universal healthcare". At least - if we're talking about giving it away. However, in 2007, there is no reason we should not be able to provide broadband to everyone who *wants* it, just because they don't live in the very heart of a downtown metropolis.
This isn't much different than making sure that you can get telephones everywhere - even if your house isn't in the heart of LA or Portland or DC, but out in some more rural place. - jinxed72, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13How did I know that the socialist dems out there would turn this topic into an anti-Bushfest? We're talking about broadband, folks... not your ill-informed opinions on the patriot act, etc...
- eclectro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Remember the "We are the World" album?? They made millions and bought boatloads of food. It ended up rotting on the docks or going to the armies and supporting all the civil wars they were/are having.
- Petronski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Feingold's own leadership is blocking that. Frist wants a vote.
Feingold might even be a bigger schmuck than Schumer (if that's possible). - thelastknowngod, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12he can say all he wants about everything that i want to hear but i still will never vote for him.
- uptown, on 10/12/2007, -9/+17Maybe we can get Al Gore on the task ...
- appidydafoo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+20The Democrats are on an all out offensive, focusing their crosshairs on the core issues polarizing the nation...
Kerry is bringin' it down on the broadband tip, and Hillary is smoking out those nefarious video games and their godless developers. I for one am absolutely thrilled to see such scrutiny provided to these crucial issues - thanks again, Democrats! Hit 'em where it hurts...
We are so *****... :( - rodon, on 10/12/2007, -11/+18You think there would be enough to slam Bush about these days other than broadband internet access.
- snowthrower, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Alright Kerry boy, your moment of shine has been over since November 2004. Go back to doing nothing, like your used to.
- Wubbie, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14That's not the Bush Administrations fault either... We give them a lot of Aid, the most in the world at that... But obviously our help isn't good enough and/or their government isn't using it sparringly.
- Godric, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Yeah, Frist called their bluff on the censure thing and now they're in disarray as usual.
- stark23x, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Why the HELL is this the government's job?
- speedmaster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Lost on Kerry is the plain fact that the federal govt. has absolutely no business or interest in "broadband for all".
- SyDIGG, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Sure ...blame this on Bush too ...Bush is responsible for the ills of the world.
- cmw72, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7That's all well and good if you're lucky enough to live in an urban setting. The reality however is that for many people the only options are dial-up (which sucks) and satellite (which sucks and is cost prohibitive).
Also lets not forget that most of these telcos and cable companies have already received tax breaks and subsidies for the purpose of wiring up that "last mile", which they have yet to do in most cases. Then they complain when communities create their own municipal ISP's. And the worst part of all, is that our elected officials give in to the telecommunication industry lobbyists and pass laws prohibiting local governments from taking the initiative and dealing with the situation themselves.
So, without getting into a Bush vs. Kerry debate, I think it is certainly fair at this point for the citizenry to have certain expectations of it's government in this matter, especially when you consider that with each passing day, the Internet is becoming more and more like a utility.
Oh, and BTW, Cuba blocks most the Internet. - afpunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I remember hearing about Bush's broadband proposal and thinking "finally, something I can agree with Bush about." Unfortunately, he hasn't pushed hard to get it moving, which doesn't necessarily surprise me.
My personal opinion is that the government should provide incentives to provide broadband access to homes that currently have none, but should not supply the access for "free" (i.e. paid by taxes).
The home I grew up in had no cable access, despite being less than a mile from the highway. Heck, the dial up calls have to go through so much wire that the highest connection I ever managed was 31200 bps. I know if DSL or cable was available, my parents jump on it at the first opportunity. Many of you have no idea how frustrating it is to do anything productive on a connection like that. Things like researching colleges, online banking, shopping, and more. I believe that if something will be helpful to citizens who are typically at a disadvantage (those in rural areas compared to those in cities/suburbs) and they are willing to pay for it, then reasonable measures should be taken to provide them with the opportunity. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Just a stellar response.
- meatypuffs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9"Term limits for all of Government would solve a lot of our problems." - toekneebullard
Um, and would be unconstitutional. Article III judges receive lifetime appointments. - geekee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Broadband internet access isn't a necessity and shouldn't be subsidized by the govt. I'm already subsidizing T1 lines to public libraries and schools every time I pay my phone bill. Go to the library if you really need broadband access but can't afford it. It's bad enough that Bush and congress wastes our tax money on all kinds of stupid crap. Lets not give people more "rights" that taxpayers need to subsidize.
- Vlatro, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10The fact remains, Internet service in the US is run by private business. The president and/or any government official or agency should have nothing to do with it. Adoption of broadband will continue to be slow in rural areas, as for many telcos / cable providers it means a costly upgrade to hardware. There has to be a customer base to justify the in ital costs within the first year or two of deployment. The expense has to be covered fast before new technologies render the current upgrades obsolete. That requires a large customer base. A town of 1500 people just wont cut it most of the time.
The last thing we should want is government offering grants or tax breaks to these companies (beyond what they already have). How many billions have Verizon and AT&T ripped off the Federal government for in the last few years. I seem to remember several articles posted here as well as major television news stories and a couple of books published on that topic. The number was very high in the BILLIONS!
Bush should worry first about WINNING the war in Iraq, and bring our troops home safely. After that, there are literally millions of other foreign and domestic issues that should be addressed long before we start meddling with the principals of a free market. You worthless communist liberals should stop bitching about your dial-up connections and do something about it your selves. Not every little inconvenience you suffer is the fault or even the responsibility of the government. Petition your ISP to show them there is a good stable market for broadband in your area. Switch to satellite broadband. I know it's expensive and has slow upstreams, but with the exception of only a few places in this country, its widely available even in remote areas and far exceeds the downstream of dial up.
Maybe if Kerry won the election, the Internet would be faster... but I doubt it. Surely if Al Gore won the 2000 election it would be. After all, he helped "invent" it. No. This douchebag just hasn't heard his name in the media recently and thought he should stir up some ***** for the guy who sank his dreams of presidency. ***** him. - zodiacal, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9"And you don't think it's mildly socialist to give ONE company complete control over broadband for entire regions without any competitions? Hah!"
some other company with better service is welcome to complete for the subscribers. no one is stoping them. - jarva, on 10/12/2007, -14/+19Bush slams Kerry on being President
- RaysinX, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8who needs broadband???? get working on fiber optics across america
- drawkbox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I agree that this is not the federal government place and we are not a socialist state but they did subsidize the lines, they have dark fiber sitting that was paid for by tax payers (blocked by the telcos in their VoIP fears) and businesses that do get help from the government should complete their task they were paid for. The companies even get to own the lines after they do it after basically getting paid by the government. Its becoming a need to do this more though. The government subsidizes gas, roads, parks, pharma research and many other things. Are these all socialist also or are these investments? If so tomorrow the price of gaas will be 5.00 the government falsley keeps it at a maintainable level with 60 billion in subsidies. Oh I forgot this is a free market and eff the schools, parks, roads, telephone lines, broadband, every little company can pay for all that themselves or I can myself. INvesting in infrastructure is fueling free market America not making it socialist. Would there be an internet as advanced without governmetn subsidies that we all pay for? no. THerefore an entire market would not exist as it does today. Again somethings are an investment not some bs about socialism. That will never exist here, although fascism seems to be a neo con favorite. If you dont' belive read up on Leo Strauss.
- GuineaPig, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Either we have it so good that this sort of minutiae matters, or it's so bad that none of the opposition to this Administration has the spine to speak up on matters of substance.
Sadly, I suspect it's the latter. - eclectro, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8As soon as the China workforce becomes too expensive, companies will move to Africa and give them clean drinking water. Of course they will have to work 12 hour days.
- Petronski, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11jmknapp, tell us about your Ivy League MBA.
And if Bush is so stupid, how is it he continually kicks the democrat ass? - fantasticFlan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5And he'd be right to complain. We already gave the tax incentives and got nothing in return.
- harrisbradley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6You can NEVER make any presidential-race-loser happy. Never EVER. Just look at that guy Gore.
- DullesGuy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I agree with some people here. The problem isn't Bush, it's the FCC. While Bush can be chatised for not exposing the problem to the masses, it's hardly his responsibility.
- SyDIGG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4As if you liberals don't bury pro-bush comments on other stories. Well too bad ...this story now is officially BURIED like all the other anti-bush politically motivated crap on digg
- eaasness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Bush is just waiting for Google to give free WiFi to everyone!
- SuperBeast, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Term limits for congressmen aren't unconstitutional. I really wish we had these, but there is no way that Congress would pass that amendment. It would have to be done through the state governments and that really isn't feasible.
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