TELL THE SENATE TO CONFIRM GIGI SOHN, PRES BIDEN'S NOMINEE TO THE FCC 15FEB23

 THE FCC is paralyzed from restoring net neutrality and increasing broadband access across the nation because the Senate has not approved Gigi Sohn, Pres Biden's nominee to the FCC. Big cable and internet companies along with right wing media like fox news and the wall street journal are running a dishonest propaganda campaign against her confirmation, keeping the FCC deadlocked and so protecting corporate profit margins as well as poor service. This from Demand Progress, and please take the time to e mail your senators telling them to get Gigi Sohn approved so she can take her seat at the FCC.

My e mail to Sens Kaine & Warner....

I expect you to push the Democratic Senate leadership to schedule a vote on Gigi Sohn's  nomination to the FCC and to vote for her approval. The propaganda campaign by the right wing media like fox news, breitbart and the wall street journal can not be allowed to succeed. 

“The most cynical and baseless smear campaign ever”

The corporate smear campaign against Gigi Sohn — Biden’s nominee to the Federal Communications Commission — just won’t quit.

For nearly a year and a half, Comcast surrogates have pushed a shameless campaign against Sohn, and right-wing outlets like Fox News and Breitbart have lobbed personal attacks at her, all in an effort to prevent her from casting tiebreaking votes on key issues, like restoring net neutrality.

It’s gotten so bad that a former executive for Disney and Fox came forward to condemn the attacks as “the worst, and most cynical and baseless smear campaign ever waged against a nominee to serve on the FCC."¹

On Tuesday, Gigi Sohn stood up to attackers like Ted Cruz at her latest confirmation hearing, proving once again that she’s exactly the right person to take on Comcast and the rest of Big Cable.²

We need to have her back. That’s why Demand Progress Action is pressuring Democratic senators to defend Sohn against these baseless attacks and confirm her to the FCC ASAP.

Will you make a donation to support Demand Progress Action, including our work to defend Gigi Sohn against a vicious smear campaign and restore net neutrality?

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Without a fifth member, the FCC remains at a 2-2 stalemate on a range of issues, effectively blocking action on net neutrality and stymying progress on issues like expansion of broadband access. The deadlock leaves Comcast and the rest of the telecom industry with far less oversight — just the way it prefers.

That’s why Comcast and the right-wing media have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Sohn to stall her confirmation for nearly two years.

Fox News and The Wall Street Journal editorial board have repeatedly distorted and attacked her record.³ One group has poured money into false ads that claim she doesn’t support rural broadband access.⁴

If these attacks succeed, they will ensure that the FCC remains deadlocked and powerless to act on key issues like net neutrality. We can’t let that happen.

Demand Progress is turning up the heat on Democrats to defend and confirm Gigi Sohn, once and for all.

Will you donate $20 to Demand Progress Action to support our work, including restoring net neutrality and pressuring the Senate to confirm Gigi Sohn?

With gratitude for all that you do,

Tihi and the team at Demand Progress Action

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Sources:
1. Next TV, "Preston Padden: ISPs Complicit in Smear Campaign Against FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn," January 30, 2023.
2. Ars Technica, "Biden FCC nominee slams critics, says ISPs shouldn’t get to choose regulators," February 14, 2023.
3. Fast Company, "When will Democrats deliver on their promise to restore net neutrality?," May 16, 2022.
4. Common Dreams, "'Infuriating': Telecom Lobbyists Spending Big Money to Keep Gigi Sohn Off FCC," April 28, 2022. 

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PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (DemandProgress.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Facebook or Twitter.

What is Biden waiting for? SAVE NET NEUTRALITY! 19JUN21

 I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I have access to high speed internet. Amazingly my sister and brother in law, living about 50 miles from Washington, D.C. (in Midland, VA)  had to depend on dial-up until last year when a tower was installed so they now use wifi. And where I am from in rural NW PA many areas only have satellite internet service that is expensive and unreliable. We all need  to push Pres Biden to to nominate a progressive Democrat to be the fifth member of the  FCC, someone who will address the lack of basic internet service in too much of the country and who will reverse the policies of ajit pai and restore net neutrality. E mail Pres Biden  and tell him to make his nomination to the FCC now. This from Demand Progress.....

 ( Here is my e mail to the White House and I also donated $10 to Demand Progress' campaign. You need to nominate a Democrat, preferably a progressive Democrat, to be the fifth member of the FCC so ajit pai's regressive policies can be reversed and Net Neutrality restored. The FCC also needs to address the lack of high speed internet access in too much of the country.  I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I have access to high speed internet. Amazingly my sister and brother in law, living about 50 miles from Washington, D.C. (in Midland, VA)  had to depend on dial-up until last year when a tower was installed so they now use wifi. Too often they had to take their kids to the library to use the computers there because their home service was so slow and unreliable. And where I am from in rural NW PA many areas only have satellite internet service that is expensive and unreliable (cell phone service is also extremely limited too).)

It’s been more than 150 days, and President Joe Biden still hasn’t named a fifth member to the Federal Communications Commission. Each day that goes by without a fully-functioning FCC is a day that Ajit Pai's legacy of sabotaging a free and open internet lives on.¹

And it is leaving the commission deadlocked 2–2—unable to act on critical initiatives to bridge the digital divide and restore the net neutrality protections repealed by Trump-administration FCC Chair Pai.

Congress has to confirm the FCC appointee, and the legislative calendar days are dwindling. If Biden doesn’t act soon, the agency charged with ensuring a free, open internet and broadband access for everyone will remain stalemated.

Time is running out. Demand Progress is waging a full court press on Biden to get him to name a fifth person to the FCC—so the agency can do its job and restore net neutraity. Will you chip in?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

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The pandemic laid bare the grave digital divide in our country. Poor families and people of color are disproportionately disconnected from high-speed internet access, threatening their health, their education, and their livelihoods.

The FCC has a long list of initiatives that can help ensure an open internet for everyone, no matter the size of their paycheck.²

It includes reviving the long-neglected Lifeline program, which helps ensure internet access for low-income customers.³

It includes guiding federal funds for building broadband infrastructure in an equitable, effective manner.

And it includes restoring net neutrality rules dismantled during the Trump administration.

But the commission can’t move any of these efforts forward effectively without a fifth member appointed by the president. And with a limited number of legislative calendar days left this year, we’re running out of time to get that member confirmed and the FCC operating at full capacity.

That’s why Demand Progress is waging a full-court press to get Biden to name his appointee. We've gathered together dozens of groups to urge the administration to act and flooded the president with petition signatures.

Unless Biden acts soon, the FCC could be deadlocked for the rest of the year, unable to restore net neutrality or ensure internet access for all. Will you chip in to get the president to name an appointee ASAP?

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

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Sources:

1. Ars Technica, "Pai’s legacy lives on for now as Biden fails to nominate Democrat to FCC," June 14, 2021
2. Demand Progress Education Fund, "57 groups call for 5th FCC commissioner," June 14, 2021
3. Federal Communications Commission, "Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers," March 31, 2016

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PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (DemandProgress.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Facebook or Twitter.

kapo jared kushner is in charge of WHAT?!?!?!?!?

THE only thing kapo jared kushner is experienced in is licking fotze ivanka drumpf's/trump's dad's ass! This just proves the drumpf/trump-pence administration isn't about America, it is about taking from America because kapo kushner will make sure the 1% profits from everything he is "in charge" of....

Tell the FCC: Give us net neutrality and stop the Comcast Time Warner merger & Battle for the Net: Write and send your comment to the FCC urging them to preserve net neutrality before 15SEP14

15 SEP 14 is the deadline for public comment to the FCC / Federal Communications Commission on the proposed new rules regarding the internet and net neutrality. If the ISPs / Internet Service Providers, like verizon, comcast, aol, cox, at&t and time warner to name a few, get their way they will take over the internet and be allowed to regulate the speed with which we are able to access everything on the net based on how much we pay. Be assured it will not be cheap, these companies are not interested if fair and equal access for all to the internet, they are greedy and will increase fees for internet access to everything and if you don't pay for premium access you will be restricted to the slow lane on the net. Here is your chance to submit your comments to the FCC before 15 SEP, hope you do and that you share this with others. From +Daily Kos ....

Tell the FCC: Give us net neutrality and stop the Comcast Time Warner merger

Today (4 SEP 14), in a major speech about the future of broadband, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler somehow managed to avoid talking about net neutrality.

Given the topic of the speech, and the looming September 15 deadline for public comments on proposed FCC net neutrality rules, it’s concerning that he still has not come out in favor of protecting an open internet.

With September 15 approaching fast, it’s time to keep piling on the pressure. Tell the FCC to protect real net neutrality. Let Tom Wheeler know he can't avoid us.

Wheeler's speech focused mainly on how to expand access to and promote competition in the broadband marketplace--which sounds great. But, he also talked himself in circles, leaving us to wonder: Will he use Title II common carrier status to protect net neutrality and make the internet a public utility available to all? Will he deny the proposed mega-merger of Comcast and Time Warner?

If Wheeler truly wants to expand broadband and increase competition, this is his path:

• Use Title II authority to promote broadband expansion and to prevent Big Telecom from creating fast and slow lanes on the internet.
• Reject the Comcast Time Warner merger. If you want to promote competition, you don’t allow 2 of the 4 national broadband providers to merge.

Please, take a moment to sign and send a personal comment to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler urging him to do the right thing.

Keep fighting,
Rachel Colyer
Campaign Director, Daily Kos

Battle for the Net: Write and send your comment to the FCC urging them to preserve net neutrality

September 15 marks the end of the public comment period at the FCC about the proposed net neutrality rules, which threaten the internet as we know it.

As the proposed rules stand, Big Cable and Telecom providers will legally be able to control the speed of service—including creating a fast lane for corporations, and slowing-down service to independent sites—like Daily Kos, to outright blocking content they don’t want on their networks. Fundamentally, we are in a fight to determine who controls the internet—people or corporations.

We can’t let this happen—which is why we are embroiled in the Battle for the Net.

We need you to help us win by presenting record-breaking numbers of unique public comments. Will you take a few minutes of your time to write a completely unique comment below, in your own words expressing why we need to preserve net neutrality on the internet? This unique expression is the most important way for you to make an impact at the FCC.

If you need some background, here it is:

Net neutrality has been the default state of the internet since its invention—internet service providers load all websites at the same speed. Now, Big Telecom wants to change the rules so they can extract more money from websites by making them pay to be served to customers at faster speeds.

In order to preserve net neutrality, the FCC needs to ban Big Telecom from creating these so-called “fast-lanes” which only large companies could afford. Start-ups and independent sites like Daily Kos would be left behind and crushed.

The FCC has tried protecting net neutrality twice before, and been defeated by Big Telecom in court both times. In order to legally prevent Big Telecom from destroying net neutrality once again, the FCC should assert authority it already has under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 to regulate the internet as a public utility. This legal argument offers the most protection for real net neutrality to prevent ISPs from controlling content speed and blocking websites.

After a meeting with Chairman Wheeler in May, he told us that he pays the most attention to hand crafted comments in the docket which share personal experiences. Right now, net neutrality has already received an impressive percentage of personal comment. We need you to add to that number.

Join the growing number of organizations, businesses, and people who are committed to battle for the open internet.

Please use the form below to write and send the FCC your personal story and thoughts about why an open internet, free from corporate control by AT&T, Time Warner, Comcast, and Verizon is essential to your life. Original, personal emails are basically the only public comments Chairman Wheeler takes seriously. (These comments will be part of a public record).

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Below are a few writing prompts for you, if you need some inspiration. But please don't send exactly what we have suggested. The most important thing is that the email comes from you, in your words, to urge Chairman Wheeler to protect real net neutrality.

How do you feel about allowing Big Telecom to extract more money from companies that operate on the internet and allowing Internet Service Providers to make deals that would prioritize content consumers can access?

Are you a student, educator, business owner, tele-health user, or any other person that depends on the internet?

Are you concerned about the first amendment implications of prioritizing, blocking, or slowing down access to information on the internet?

Why are you concerned about a pay-to-play internet arrangement with Big Telecom as gatekeepers? Tell the FCC why net neutrality is important to you.

Links to look at: Net Neutrality: How did we get here and where do we go now, This 13-year-old wants you to help save the internet, John Oliver on net neutrality "Call it preventing cable company f***ery", and FCC Chair Wheeler's convoluted path to net neutrality