THE END OF THE INTERNET AS YOU KNOW IT....HELP SAVE NET NEUTRALITY!

IT IS CRUCIAL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE JOIN THIS STRUGGLE (1.7 MILLION HAVE JOINED SO FAR) TO PROTECT NET NEUTRALITY. BELOW IS THE E MAIL FROM FREE PRESS AND OPEN LEFT OF THE LATEST PHASE OF THIS BATTLE. EVEN IF YOU HAVE TAKEN ACTION BEFORE THE FCC AND YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN. WATCH THE VIDEO AND TO JOIN IN THE ACTION CLICK THE HEADER OF THIS POST.

   The fight for Net Neutrality has reached a crucial moment. The
    FCC Chairman just called for new Net Neutrality rules, and he is being
    supported by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and numerous
    congressional leaders. Now we need a powerful, public show of support.
    More than 1.7 million people have already called for Congress and the
    FCC to support Net Neutrality. If we can reach 2 million, we'll send a message that Washington won't be able to ignore. Please join
    the campaign to save the Internet now:
    https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?id=356

Net neutrality is about to go under, and your urgent help is needed to save it.


The New York Times is reporting that Verizon and Google have cut a deal to be announced next week that "could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege. The charges could be paid by companies, like YouTube, owned by Google, for example, to Verizon, one of the nation's leading Internet service providers, to ensure that its content received priority as it made its way to consumers. The agreement could eventually lead to higher charges for Internet users."

That would mean the end of the Internet as we currently know it.

For months, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has had the ability to enact strong net neutrality protections. But he sat on his hands. Meanwhile, President Obama, who as Candidate Obama promised to "take a back seat to no one" on net neutrality, has remained silent.

It's time to join the fight by signing up with Free Press, the organization leading this fight, to tell the FCC and your member of Congress to enact strong net neutrality protections.

This deal between Verizon and Google would make the Internet the way corporations want it. It would allow the wealthiest, most powerful corporations to have the best channels of production and distribution, while everyone else gets crumbs or worse. It could even mean the end of blogs like OpenLeft, as it becomes nearly impossible for you to load the blog the way you do now.


Solidarity,
The Open Left Team