The Democratic-Republican Party

I have been having many online conversations with both Republicans and Democrats, along with the few who call themselves Independent or Libertarian, etc. One thing I have noticed is, the Democrats and Republicans have been getting very nasty to each other online, and also in the "real world". I don't believe some of the things I read and hear from people on BOTH sides of the fence! What once was "We, The People" has become "Us and Them". We have been divided and conquered, my friends. And most of us don't even know it!

History lesson:
All of our founding fathers were Republicans originally, because they were actually forming a Republic.
Benjamin Franklin, when asked what type of Government they were forming, wisely answered, "A Republic, if you can keep it".
Mr. Franklin knew the ways of men and politics very well! It wasn't long before the Federalists wanted to take more power over the individual states.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison countered the Federalists by creating the Democratic-Republican Party. They could see the influence the aristocracies were having in Government from miles away, and the party was created to to keep Democracy in government. "We, The People" meant ALL of us...and each state would be able to Govern itself, without giving total power to the "Federal" Government. Unfortunately, after Jefferson's term in office, it all fell apart, and eventually became the Democrats and Republicans that we have to this day. Now instead of working things out within the one party, we fight each other tooth and nail about which side we are on. The results are that now a corporation or person can buy politicians, judges, and just about anyone they want to.

I am writing in the hopes that this will make some of you think, and stop fighting between yourselves! We are letting them destroy our Republic by pushing our hate buttons every day in the media. We argue over flags, gay rights, immigrants, guns, we even argue over which religion is the standard for our country. Meanwhile, in back rooms when no one is paying attention they pass legislation that affects us all....that no-one is even allowed to read! "If you want to keep your job, you'll sign here". It reminds me of the scene in "The Godfather" ..."Either your signature goes on that contract...or your brains do."

In conclusion, I'd like to say that in this world of technology, ignorance is a CHOICE!
The next time you see a post on facebook that you agree with, or even disagree with, for god's sake, at least research it a little to find out if it's even true before you just blindly pass it on!

A democracy of ignorant people is NOT working!! We must educate ourselves if we ever want to take back our country!

I say, bring back the Democratic-Republican Party, and start talking to each other like intelligent adults!!

References:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/federalists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party

The Sea of Ethereal

From cave drawings, to robot airplanes in space
we have embarked on this ethereal sea

Communication, interaction, a distraction.....
sent messages in bottles, with love from you to me

Frequency unknown, your device is not calibrated,
A fatal error has occurred....!

"We no longer accept messages in bottles, nor cave drawings...
this type of information has been deprecated...
rendered now absurd!"

# [chorus]
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, satellites, drones, and pigs on the wing
I've been watching for decades, and humans STILL can't learn a thing!

Dreamers, poets, artists, dancers, and lovers... all bare and share their soul
for your "infortainment"
....on your own personal idiot boxes

Hypatia, Galileo, King Arthur, Tesla, Jesus... and even Crazy Horse...
none could stop the blind mobs ..
of the gold-toting foxes

# [chorus]
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, satellites, drones and pigs on the wing
I've been watching for decades, and humans STILL can't seem to learn a thing!

Global warming of the village has been making the monkeys nervous....
and they are still afraid of it's bright light

The new world order, global consciousness, the eventual fall to grace...
will be truly a miraculous site!

# [chorus]
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, satellites, drones, and pigs on the wing
I've been watching for decades, and humans STILL can't learn a thing...

The monkeys all play in the darkness and point at the moon...
as they covet it for themselves, for it's glory and power

Fourty six and two troglodytes notice that it's cooler in the shade..
depending on the angle of the sun, and the hour

Ten million priests, doctors, lawyers, and jesters who all wore heavy cloaks in the court sun
They petitioned the king, so he proudly proclaimed;
  "The 'Son God' is declared no longer the center of the universe!"
...and he immediately commissioned the court masons to build a tower,
and snuff out this annoyance at once!

The tower fell.. (of course) and the king was exiled in shame
and as he sat in the darkness with the monkeys, and fourty-six and two troglodytes
they all started pointing at the moon...

All of the pharaohs and pirates
all your heroes and villains
all your demons and gods
all the wizards and sods
the red and the blue
the left and the right
are all but messages in bottles
floating on the sea in the brilliant moonlight...


of this ethereal sea

Net Neutrality

What is "Net Neutrality?"

Before I begin, I would like everyone who doesn't fully understand what "Net Neutrality" actually is, to please watch the video below:

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/video/technology/100000002881329/how-net-neutrality-works.html?smid=pl-share">NY Times Video</a>

[ Ref: NYTimes.com ]

That being understood, your internet connection is currently totally controlled by the Internet Service Providers like TWC, ATT, Verizon, Comcast and etc. They really do have the power to control every aspect of your internet connection, from your connection speed, to being able to block out certain websites, domains, and IP address. This also includes your internet browsing history, and online activity which can be used against you in court. This means it's up to you to learn about, and practice safe conduct online!

That much power in the hands of the "movers of the packets", and the "keepers of the bandwidth" sounds almost scary, doesn't it? In fact, in order to run the network you are subscribed to, they have to control the network traffic to make it work all work. There is no way around it.

To protect our rights, and be able to set standards for everyone to be truly "net neutral", there becomes the need to have rules set up be make sure everyone plays fair. Agreed?

As President Obama points out in the video below, Net Neutrality is protected under Title II, of the Telecommunications act of 1996.

[ Ref: Whitehouse.gov and FCC.gov ]

This is all well and good, and since there is no monopoly of the almighty bandwidth by any one giant corporate entity, you always have the right to vote with your dollar, and switch ISPs. This forces the ISPs who don't want to lose their customers to be competitive and honest, and it also keeps prices down for the end user (that's us!). This is how business is supposed to work in the USA, right?

At this point I would like to steal a line from the late Paul Harvey, and say:

"And now... the rest of the story."

Tom Wheeler

"Thomas Edgar Wheeler (born April 5, 1946; Redlands, California) is the current Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2013. Prior to working at the FCC, Wheeler worked as a venture capitalist and lobbyist for the cable and wireless industry, with positions including President of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA)."

[ quoted from: WikiPedia.org ]

At face value one could say that Mr. Wheeler has all the experience needed to lead the FCC, because he understands the infrastructure and how business is done from his telecom experience. The problem comes with if he and the federal government takes more control over the internet, and decided to start imposing federal Taxation. This would shift the power to the FCC over more issues than just Net Neutrality, and may take away the competitive edge for the existing telecom companies. In other words, Mr. Wheeler would know just how to take over the internet, and put it under total control of the FCC. And if he is still a venture capitalist, this would be a major conflict of interest and highly illegal.

According to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson

"We have now, under the president's urging with the FCC, moved from pursuing a free and open Internet to regulating the Internet end to end."

[ Ref: Investors.com ]

"Ajit Pai, one of two Republican Commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), inferred in a tweet that President Barack Obama’s secret, 332-page “Net Neutrality” document is a scheme for federal micro-managing of the Internet to extract billions in new taxes from consumers and again enforce progressives’ idea of honest, equitable, and balanced content fairness."

[ Ref: breitbart.com ]

In conclusion, this reporter believes that Net Neutrality is a very important thing to maintain, but not if it puts the Federal Government in total control. We are net neutral as it is now, and we are currently regulated under a telecommunications act originally from 1934 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and reclassified in 1996 by Bill Clinton. Internet technology has changed quite a lot since 1996, and another reclassification may be in order. But I never like when the Government keeps all the fine print a secret from the public when they pass new laws.

I am going to pass on supporting the reclassification, until we know what is actually in the mysterious 332 secret pages! Total Federal Government Control is the opposite of "Net Neutral"!

Jeff Bechter ~ February 25, 2015

All reprinting rights hereby granted, in the interest of informing the public.