Few noticed that a significant erosion of liberty took place this week in a room in Washington where three Democrat party commissars voted to classify the internet as a public utility.
This means that over the next few years, slowly, almost imperceptibly, the federal government will levy increasingly heavy taxes on the internet. In ways both subtle and flagrant, internet content will be heavily influenced by Washington bureaucrats. Keep in mind that the internet is becoming indistinguishable from TV or even the movie screen. Thus, the greatest tool of propaganda—American movies—will, over the next few years, fall under the shadow of federal regulations.
The internet has been one of the greatest engines of innovation and free market capitalism since the invention of the printing press. The truth is, if the government had controlled the internet from the outset we’d still be using dial-up to get a slow-poke connection.
Of course, the Democrats understand that to control the internet is to control the message, which is what’s needed in order to centralize power. And the postmodern Democrat party is all about the exercise of raw power in order to establish a soft tyranny of the very highly paid whose mission is to redistribute every one else’s wealth and foster the illusion of liberty and equality.
We have gone from ObamaCare to ObamaNet.
And on that cheery note, let’s look at some moments in time that will, hopefully, brighten your weekend.