The FCC Just Caved in to Republican Demands That It Halt Work on Major Issues

[dixiegrrrrl]

The Federal Communications Commission has deleted every important item from Thursday’s monthly meeting after Republicans in Congress warned the agency not to move forward on any major issues before Donald Trump’s inauguration as president.

Over the last 24 hours, influential Republicans in both the Senate and the House sent letters to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler essentially telling him to cease work on the remaining big-ticket items on his agenda.

“I strongly urge the FCC to avoid directing its attention and resources in the coming months to complex, partisan, or otherwise controversial items that the new Congress and new Administration will have an interest in reviewing,” wrote Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.

The FCC’s move to delete several items from Thursday’s agenda amounts to an acknowledgement that Wheeler’s tenure as the nation’s top communications regulator, a period marked by a variety of pro-consumer reforms, is coming to an end. Trump will nominate a new FCC chairman after he is inaugurated on January 20.

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-fcc-just-caved-in-to-republican-demands-that-it-halt-work-on-major-issues?utm_source=mbtwitter

Trump is expected to work with the Republican-controlled Congress to install FCC officials who will seek to dismantle current US rules safeguarding net neutrality.
The FCC’s recently approved policy bolstering online privacy for consumers is also at risk.

[Else You Are Mad]

1. This is where it starts.

It is a step forward in making Breitbart the state media.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. How lovely of them. NOT.

Always trying to make things better for us.

[guillaumeb]

3. Elections have consequences.

Not voting, or voting for a non-viable vanity candidate also has consequences.

[Else You Are Mad]

4. So does running a poor campaign.

Hillary is as much to blame as those assholes that voted green party.

[guillaumeb]

11. Clinton, or her advisers?

To me, voting Green is a vote for a non-viable candidate (Stein) who comes out every four years for attention but ignores the work of actually building a Green infrastructure.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. the only thing is, there's somewhere between a half and a percent that votes Green EVERY 4 years.

So when we're doing the math we would do well to not count on those votes, at all.

Arguably one might make the case that the difference, for instance, between the Green performance in 2012 & 2016, that could be pointed at and said "stupid fucks, you should have voted for Hillary".

But, really, anyone who didn't vote for Hillary, one could make the same argument.

As to your first question, I think Clinton the candidate did an exemplary job from the Convention onward. But I think her campaign made some profound tactical errors around ignoring the rust belt as well as not coming up with a simple cogent message to the economic anxieties of those voters.

[guillaumeb]

23. Agreed, especially on this:

As to your first question, I think Clinton the candidate did an exemplary job from the Convention onward. But I think her campaign made some profound tactical errors around ignoring the rust belt as well as not coming up with a simple cogent message to the economic anxieties of those voters.

The campaign ignored states like Michigan and Wisconsin because of their reputation as reliably blue states. But both states are actually governed by the GOP. An insane oversight on the part of the campaign, not the candidate.

And the Democratic Party has pushed free trade that translates to free movement of jobs, money, and manufacturing facilities. A movement that has devastated manufacturing areas all over the country.

[kcr]

12. Let that comfort you when the internet goes down the tank, then. n/t

[nolabels]

24. Na, it's been in the tank for years

Problem is that it has grown so large they will have take everything back to the stone age before they might be able to drown it.


Remember, be scared, be very a-scared

[workinclasszero]

20. Clinton won the popular vote

The green party can go to hell!!

[Else You Are Mad]

21. She did win the popular vote.

But, for now, the popular vote does not win the presidential election in this country. She ignored the rust belt that went solidly for Obama -- and that was a mistake. There was a huff post article today about how even the campaign insiders admit that they messed up by not sufficiently campaigning hard enough in the rust belt. I am not an anti-Hillary Bernie or Buster. I proudly voted for her. But, ignoring what she did wrong does no good.

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. "article today about how even the campaign insiders admit that they messed up "

good to know the campaign is confirming what a lot of us are thinking.

[R B Garr]

25. No one came to California and we still managed to get it right despite

Sanders' constant smearing of our nominee. Clinton had no control over Sanders staying in the race months after he should have departed when there was no path to victory. She had to tread water until he was done milking every bit of attention he could get -- and to what end?!

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. As Edward R. Murrow said

A nation of sheep will begat a government of wolves.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. as does living in a bubble that tells you your campaign can safely ignore a state like Wisconsin

derpy derp derp derp

[guillaumeb]

10. And Michigan.

How any strategist who gets paid to strategize could ignore these two "reliable blue states" while ignoring that both states have Republican Governors and GOP controlled legislatures is beyond me.

[kcr]

13. Yes. That totally explains why Feingold lost.

Derpity derp derp derpity!

[Warren DeMontague]

15. fine, yes, no one screwed up.

Everything was run exactly as perfectly as it possibly could have been. The only person whose feet at which we can possibly conceive of laying any blame whatsoever is, uhhhhhh.... Bernie Sanders. Or something.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clinton-campaign-neglect_us_582cacb0e4b058ce7aa8b861

[kcr]

17. Or it's perfectly fine to remind people votes have consequences

Like I pointed out to someone else in this thread. I guess it can be a comfort when the internet goes to shit they can remind themselves that Hillary didn't earn their vote.

[Else You Are Mad]

18. I believe that you were referring to my post...

And, I did vote for Hillary and proud that I did. I was just referring to the fact that her campaign was not effective in states that went solidly for Obama.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. I voted for her. And, I thought she was gonna win.

But I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that there weren't some deep problems that maybe we should try to avoid, next time around.

[msongs]

5. maybe obama can direct them to go ahead with their current agenda

[barbtries]

6. deja vu

they're so full of hubris, so drunk with power, they'll do anything.

omigawd i hate republicans.

[SCVDem]

9. Just like wartime

They can't stop the underground comm systems.

If the government tries, people will get hurt.

[andym]

14. Yikes. Nt.

[workinclasszero]

19. Bye bye net neutrality

[dixiegrrrrl]

26. Damn......it's hard to think of all the areas that can be damaged.

VA
Any idea of single payer, gone
The Consumer Protection Bureau that Warren set up....

Obviously Dodd-Frank and other financial safeguards, such as they were.

[workinclasszero]

28. They have total control

We can stop nothing Trump and the alt right want to do for two years at least.

[Hugin]

22. It's a natural reflex of an authoritarian regime to begin censorship.

To protect itself from the messages of dissent and dissatisfaction. IOW... The Truth.

Next up, it must physically protect itself... So, hey, gun lovers, they WILL gather them up. For your own protection... Can't have them falling into the libturds enemies' hands. You understand.

[edhopper]

29. There will no longer be

effective regulation of anything in this country.