Quotes

"Fascism and communism both promise "social welfare," "social justice," and "fairness" to justify authoritarian means and extensive arbitrary and discretionary governmental powers." - F. A. Hayek"

"Life is a Bungling process and in no way educational." in James M. Cain

Jean Giraudoux who first said, “Only the mediocre are always at their best.”

If you have ten thousand regulations, you destroy all respect for the law. Sir Winston Churchill

"summum ius summa iniuria" ("More laws, more injustice.") Cicero

As Christopher Hitchens once put it, “The essence of tyranny is not iron law; it is capricious law.”

"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

"Law is where you buy it." Raymond Chandler

"Why did God make so many damn fools and Democrats?" Clarence Day

"If I feel like feeding squirrels to the nuts, this is the place for it." - Cluny Brown

"Oh, pshaw! When yu' can't have what you choose, yu' just choose what you have." Owen Wister "The Virginian"

Oscar Wilde said about the death scene in Little Nell, you would have to have a heart of stone not to laugh.

Thomas More's definition of government as "a conspiracy of rich men procuring their own commodities under the name and title of a commonwealth.” ~ Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples

“Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” ~ Jonathon Swift

Saturday, April 10, 2010

U.S. Court of Appeals: The FCC Does Not Have Authority to Regulate the Internet

U.S. Court of Appeals: The FCC Does Not Have Authority to Regulate the Internet

A federal court ruled this week that the Federal Communications Commission does not have the power to control how private Internet providers manage their online networks. Says Cato scholar Jim Harper, "Slow-moving, technologically unsophisticated bureaucrats do not know better than consumers and technologists how to run the Internet. The FCC's 'net neutrality' hopes are nothing more than public utility regulation for broadband."

"Network neutrality" activists have long pushed for legislation that would give the government massive regulatory powers over the Internet. Now that the FCC no longer has the power, advocates will look to Congress. Harper explains why that would be a major step in the wrong direction:

The Internet is far more durable than regulators and advocates imagine. And regulators are far less capable of neutrally arbitrating what’s in the public interest than most people realize. The FCC doesn’t have authority to regulate the Internet. Congress and the president shouldn’t give it that authority.

To understand “network neutrality,” read Timothy B. Lee’s definitive paper, “The Durable Internet: Preserving Network Neutrality without Regulation,” which explains how the market can continue to provide the most promising future for the Web.

No comments:

Post a Comment