from the equal-justice-under-the-law...for-those-who-have-money dept.
Submitted via IRC for Fnord666
FCC plans to stop reviewing informal complaints—filing a formal one costs $225.
Ajit Pai's Federal Communications Commission is proposing that it stop reviewing the vast majority of consumer complaints about telecom companies. Going forward, consumers harmed by broadband, TV, and phone companies would have to pay $225 in order to get an FCC review of their complaints.
The FCC accepts two types of complaints: informal ones and formal ones. It costs nothing to file an informal complaint and $225 to file a formal one; given that, consumers almost always file informal complaints. Besides the filing fee, formal complaints kick off a court-like proceeding in which the parties appear before the FCC and file numerous documents to address legal issues. It isn't an easy process for consumers to go through.
[...] Chairman Pai's proposal to change the informal complaint procedure comes in a larger proposal about formal complaints; the change to informal complaints is explained in a footnote. "We delete the phrase 'and the Commission's disposition' from the last sentence of that rule because the Commission's practice is not to dispose of informal complaints on substantive grounds," the footnote says.
Customers will still be able to submit informal complaints, and telecom providers will still be required to respond to them within 30 days. But consumers who don't get what they want from the ISP will have to file a formal complaint and pay the $225 in order to get the FCC to take any action.
Even if the telecom provider fails to reply to an informal complaint, the only recourse would be filing a formal one. "[T]he Commission will notify the complainant that if the complainant is not satisfied by the carrier's response, or if the carrier has failed to submit a response by the due date, the complainant may file a formal complaint," the proposed version of the FCC complaint rule says. By contrast, the current version of the rule says that "the Commission will contact the complainant regarding its review and disposition of the matters raised. If the complainant is not satisfied by the carrier's response and the Commission's disposition, it may file a formal complaint."
Democrats from the FCC and Congress say the change will make it more difficult (and expensive) for consumers to get complaints resolved. "This is bonkers. It's unacceptable," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement to Ars.
But, see also: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/07/11/no-fcc-is-not-forcing-consumers-pay-file-complaints/.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @05:56AM
Ajit Pai is saying FCC should be disbanded. How noble.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @05:59AM (38 children)
The backlash for Trumpism is going to be delicious. It's a shame a lot of people will have already been hurt, but when it turns around, the reckoning will be awesome.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TheReaperD on Monday July 16 2018, @06:07AM (17 children)
You're giving a lot a credit to your average 'Murican. *sigh* I so want to be wrong, but I can't muster any faith in the populace of the US anymore. I am in the US myself but, people keep disappointing me again and again and my vote alone doesn't mean shit.
Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday July 16 2018, @06:42AM (6 children)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @06:47AM (5 children)
Don't underestimate Americans we eventually work around to doing the right thing. As Dr King said, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
There are certain stains that will never come out. We may have to burn the bed linens at the White House. Hell, we may have to burn the whole thing down and start over. But we'll get there.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @03:23PM (2 children)
He was speaking in a time before legalized bribery. When he and his fellow civil rights activists were struggling, it was mostly a matter of getting enough voters on board with making steps towards equality as they could change things without the consent of the ruling class.
Those days are long behind, there's plenty of companies out there that don't need to care about their public image because there's no competition left or the little competition that exists is also bad on that issue. When they want to engage in unpopular political activity, they just funnel it through one of those political nonprofits that issues issue ads that are supposed to be non-partisan, but in practice all but tell voters who or what to vote for.
If the progressive wing of the Democratic party doesn't have a massive showing during the next couple elections, we can pretty much stick a fork in our democracy as it's done.
(Score: 1, Troll) by khallow on Monday July 16 2018, @04:42PM (1 child)
No, he wasn't. Legalized bribery has been a thing for thousands of years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @12:08AM
I had to think about that troll mod you got, my guess is that the point was that the Civil Rights movement was not about monetary corruption. The dickheads in charge got to push their racist agendas because the general population still needed to catch up to modern morality.
Today we are still waiting for a LOT of people in the US and in other countries to get with the modern culture. Equal status for all races and genders.
Maybe we should go the route of Team America: World Police, but I just don't trust our "current" leadership. Maybe JFK or FDR could have been decent choices, I don't know enough about them really, but everyone since has been garbage sellouts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @09:42PM (1 child)
MLK killed more people than JFK and LBJ together.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @12:37AM
I am very curious to see how this claim is constructed. MLK Jr? Or Sr?
Who would win? MLK vs. HRC! Let's have a death battle!
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday July 16 2018, @11:33AM (3 children)
... as well as section 8 housing, or the Permanent Assistive Housing that I'm presently on.
I watched a video about Mitch McConnell's home town in Kentucky. The people there were deeply distressed that McConnell and Trump were both acting _directly_ in opposition to their own interests.
I don't expect _all_ those people to vote Democratic. Quite likely lots of them will stay home.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 16 2018, @12:57PM (1 child)
They have a great guy in Kentucky, Governor Matt Bevin. He wants to put folks BACK TO WORK. And he said, OK, you want the Medicaid dental & eyes, first you go to work. Or go to school. You work, you study, we check your eyes & make your teeth look FABULOUS. And you can be VERY PROUD because you earned it! Great offer, right? But a judge told him "no." And Governor Bevin canceled the eye checks & dental for everybody. At the beginning of July he canceled, we still have to go through the legal on that one. The appeals. Possibly to SC (Judge Brett & Justice Gorsuch). But if it goes through, BIG SAVINGS!!!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:01PM
Boring, time to make a new joke account the Trump parody is getting stale.
But hey you're running a troll account so I'm sure any annoyance / boredom caused is just more reason to keep going. I suggest branching out into Sanders, maybe Conway, expand your repertoire.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:33PM
That's odd, most Trump supporters cheer when he acts directly against their interests.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by RS3 on Monday July 16 2018, @12:44PM (4 children)
Could it be that us "'murcenz" [phonetic pronunciation] vote largely on what we hear in the news media? Notice I did not say "in accordance with the news" - some vote in opposition to mainstream news stories.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @08:39PM (3 children)
Where is it that people leave off the initial "A" in american? I've never heard it every pronounced like that IRL except ironically by hipsters.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday July 17 2018, @01:19AM (2 children)
It's somewhat sarcastic / self-effacing stereotype. It refers to a fairly large percentage of the US population who are somewhat "backwoodsy", "hicks", "redneck". The stereotype usually includes a fairly heavy accent and kind of lazy drawl in speech, hence the "'merican", generally into Country music, driving trucks, usually into guns, hunting, beer, somewhat sloppy clothing. I'm sure others will help augment my response (as well as bash it).
(Score: 2) by TheReaperD on Monday July 30 2018, @10:34PM (1 child)
You're dead on for the redneck reference I was making. Where I live, there's a nearby neighborhood filled with stereotypical rednecks and the way they slur "America" just makes me laugh and shake my head.
Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday July 31 2018, @12:35AM
I'm quite aware and honored that people around the world use this system. A common social gaffe, which I've done too many times, is to hear a slang term, think you understand it, and misuse it. Recently here someone defined "troll" perfectly for me, so I thought I'd toss in my $0.02 for "Murican". "Rednecks" come in many flavors. I cross paths with too many in and around Appalachia. I even see them in and around big cities, in their lifted pickup trucks with huge tires, essentially no muffler, and of course, red neck.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @07:45PM
Voting with the ammo box won't work, so voting with your feet is the only way to make your voice heard while not being oppressed by the idiots. Our forefathers did it coming to America in search of a better life. We can do it going elsewhere or founding new nations as they once did. We have the technology to live in far more inhospitable places than past societies existed with far better trade and communications.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:37AM (16 children)
Tit for tat, and you're saying that you'll delight in whichever your party goes for. And, the mindless game goes on and on, ad nauseum.
How about some kind of SOLUTION?!?!?!?!
Face it, Ajit Pai is the telecom's bitch. We knew that, he knew that, the telecoms knew that, and Trump certainly knew that. Why in hell hasn't congress written laws to prevent this kind of shit? Somewhat like immigration, the two parties kick the can around and around, passing off any decisions, and taking advantage of confusion for their own ends. One party sees illegals as potential votes, the other party sees them as cheap labor - and the US citizen is screwed again and again. Why aren't we demanding that congress FIX THIS STUFF?
But - instead, you look forward for some comeuppance when your party takes charge?
Think again, little buddy. The Orangutan is busily installing one supreme right now. Chances are, he'll appoint another before his term is up, maybe even two. At that point, your progressive hopes are well and truly fucked, for decades to come. And, just think. Trump MIGHT win another term, and appoint yet another supreme or two!!
If you add two and two, and get four, then you should understand that the progressives won't be seeing any comeuppance any time soon.
Now, instead of gloating over some imaginary future payback that won't happen in your lifetime - can you offer any solutions?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @06:43AM (12 children)
Oh, you don't want my solutions. They all involve public corporal punishment and/or executions of some powerful public figures and corporate leaders.
The good news is that after my solutions, the elite will be a lot better behaved.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:51AM (9 children)
Actually - I might like your solutions. I'm a believer in corporal punishment, as well as capital punishment. The average neighborhood dickhead who wants to be a gangsta shouldn't be in prison. He should have be publicly caned, and forced to make reparations for his petty crimes, while working in the community to support himself and/or his woman and his children. Instead, we have this whole prison for profit scam, with families destroyed, lives ruined, and only rich sons of bitches gloating.
Now, if you're going to mete out proper justice to politicians - you'd better make damned sure to pass it on to your own party. If you think that there aren't several hundred democrats who deserve flogging or execution, then you are deluded.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @02:02PM
Id say the vast majority on both sides of the aisle could do with a good flogging and a few weeks in the stocks.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday July 16 2018, @02:43PM
Mr. Filch, is that you?
I'm a believer in justice. There's a lot of problems with punishment, and the worst is unfair punishment. It's bad enough when honest mistakes lead to the innocent being punished for something they didn't do. Destructive punishment, like deliberately breaking a toy two children are fighting over, so neither can ever have it again, is worse. The MAFIAA goes for that sort, wants people cut off from the Internet immediately and permanently, on the mere accusation of piracy. (Well, they really want everyone kicked off the Internet, forever, in the religious conviction that it unfairly hurts their profits.) Then there's disproportionate punishment, such as 30 years for downloading a few research papers. Corrupted and bribed judges, referees, umpires and the like are horrible. Think of all the scandals in sports over the years passed off as bad calls and bad officiating. So now the FCC doesn't want to do their jobs and officiate any more, unless they receive a hefty fee?
But when it's a railroading, when the officials know they have the wrong person and dish it out anyway because they don't care, and they want to put on a big fat lie of a punishment circus for the public, to show how tough they are on crime, or the accused and wrongly convicted knows a few embarrassing things about them and they want to silence that citizen, or they want to fill the cells at their buddies' private prison and extract all the wealth they can from whatever the citizen may have, or all of the above, it's dangerous. Prison industrial complex. They can get away with a little of that, but push it too far, and it will spark a rebellion.
Look at red light cameras for an example. Increasing safety and punishing wrongdoers were merely the excuses for the real agenda of taking in money. Most telling were the numerous times the operators were busted for doing one of the most unsafe things they could do, shortening the yellow light. Obviously they shortened the yellow to generate more ticket revenue, and safety be damned. I make a point of not patronizing cities that run such scams. Helps when they post signs bragging about their red light cameras.
Having said all that, I do want to see punishment dished out when it will serve as a deterrent for genuinely anti-social and harmful behavior. But be very careful, very, very careful, that it is a just punishment.
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @03:27PM (1 child)
Politicians would not be first on my list. I was thinking more along the lines of their sponsors in the corporate world and state-run (Fox/Sinclair/Mercer) media.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday July 16 2018, @04:26PM
I'm thinking BOTH!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @05:27PM (4 children)
Just FYI this is one of your fascist-lite posts. It is hard for you to realize since in so many ways you are pro-freedom and anti-corruption, but I think the fascist in all of us stems from anger and desire for vengeance. It then becomes the slippery slope.
Depriving someone of freedom and their property (restitution) is enough. Physical assault is unnecessary and often counter productive.
On a side note, I sure hope you believe that water boarding is torture. If not, then do your homework and then realize how easily you accept things you staunchly say you don't.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:57PM (3 children)
I really don't know what reality you live in. There is nothing "fascist" about seeking justice. Physical assault? Yeah, that's some bad stuff. But, you tell me which is more barbaric, and more torturous:
Man commits a petty crime, he is sentenced to ten lashes with a cane, or maybe a cat o' nine. He takes his lashes, lays around the house for a couple days being doctored, then gets his ass to work to pay off the fines and restitution. When the money is paid off, he is a free man.
Same man commits a petty crime in today's America, he gets a slap on the fingers - twice, ten times, twenty times. Again and again, he's sent to lounge in the county jail, for periods of a week, up to six months. Finally the judge decides the guy is incorrigible, and sends him to prison for a decade. It takes 5 to 10 years of molly-coddling the average wannabe gangsta, before the judge hammers him. Now the young idiot has anywhere between 10 and 20 years invested in his life of crime - all because no one could convince him that a life of crime would kill him.
Had the first judge to address this young man CONVINCED HIM that a life of crime can and will kill a man, the kid could have learned a skill, and started a meaningful career. Instead, people with your attitude and/or opinion simply scolded the kid for a couple years, then talked sternly, then finally locked him up for a significant portion of his life.
Whether on the giving or the recieving end, I'll opt for a public whipping on the town square, thank you very much. Prison is very close to the most barbaric thing you can do to the bad boys.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 17 2018, @03:17PM (1 child)
Define "formative years", please. I'm 62 years old, and I'm still learning. I realize that is not fashionable - most people put in 8 to 12 years of "public education", and never learn another (legal) thing in their lives.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @07:25PM
So a Big Fat Yes?
Heinlein had a lot of great ideas, but the dude was a total misogynist pretending to be a feminist. Ditto for benevolent dictatorships. I give him a bit of a pass due to the generation he was raised in, taking that into account he was quite progressive.
As for being fascist, per wikipedia "Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and control of industry and commerce."
Besides, I said fascist-lite. You are pro-freedom in many ways but apparently you can't comprehend that you might have aspects that are anything else. Typical human cluelessness, totally a bipartisan issue lol. You quite frequently regress back to your military training / brainwashing and make me go from "Runaway is conservative but not too crazy" to "wait WTF? Really?" Take or leave the feedback, but it would do you good to keep that in mind. Maybe one day you'll see your behavior and kinda pop out of your usual mindset and say "WTF did I just say? Why??"
(Score: 5, Funny) by c0lo on Monday July 16 2018, @06:58AM
It sounds to me closer to a gel (like in "beaten to a pulp") than clear solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 16 2018, @11:37AM
Oh, please don't spank me with a Forbes magazine!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @04:06PM (2 children)
First thought, stop complaining at and about congress and other leaders. They're developing a thick skin and immunity to us and our wishes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:06PM
Developing???
It was always there, they just had to pretend otherwise so people wouldn't get too upset. Trump desensitized everyone to shitty behavior and unsurprisingly Republicans just went nuts with ... errr... "honesty".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @10:59PM
"Leaders"? In your country you do as *THEY* say instead of the other way around?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by SpockLogic on Monday July 16 2018, @12:03PM
My fear is there are far too many "everything else's" yet to come.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 4, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 16 2018, @12:28PM (1 child)
Nah, they'll just blame it on obama, hillary, the democrats, liberals, hippies, atheists, and pot smokers; the ignorant masses will eat that shit up and business continues as usual. Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity -BTT
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:10PM
Thankfully the "millenial" generations seem to be a shifting of the tides, fewer and fewer young people engage seriously in religion and the hardcore rightwing loyalty. Human fallibility will be there forever, but I do have very real hope that the insane levels of ignorance and stupidity are decreasing.
Problem is the corporate controlled media feeding us opposing narratives, blowing things way out of proportion and downplaying any story about people successfully pushing back against the system.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TheReaperD on Monday July 16 2018, @06:25AM (1 child)
Here we have pay to play at its finest and without shame.
Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @04:34PM
Yeah, I was thinking pretty much the same thing.
<sarc>Sure, citizen, you can lodge a complaint with the government about your ISP, but first you have to pay $225 for the privilege.</sarc>
Anyone care to try arguing that our government is not wholly owned by a bunch of corporatists and plutocrats?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @07:03AM (13 children)
No, I'm not arguing Ajit's case. I merely want to point out that this may not be as bad as people believe.
The typical complaint probably doesn't involve minor errors on bills - which are most likely fixed when the error is brought to the business' attention. The typical complain involves business practices. That is - whatever the telecom is doing to piss you off, it is also doing the same thing to all the rest of it's customers. Maybe you work at McDonald's, and Burger King, and the local custard stand, and you simply cannot afford the fees.
Become something of a community activist. Get enough people together to share the cost. You get a hundred, or a thousand signatures, and get each of them to put something in the pot. A dollar, six dollars, or a hundred dollars, whatever they can afford. Ideally - the problem is a big enough problem that lots of people are signing on. Get a lawyer to submit the complaint if there are enough people and money involved. There is always a lawyer who is happy to stir the shit, often times pro bono.
Maybe Pai is hoping to close the doors on consumer complaints. But, the door hasn't been closed - all that he's done is to put a stronger self-closing hydraulic cylinder on the door. You just have to push a little harder. Bring some friends along, and make the job of opening the door a little easier.
I'm a wee bit curious (not enough to even try searching) about how many complaints are so frivolous that I would have to laugh or cry, given the chance to read them. THOSE will probably be eliminated.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday July 16 2018, @07:09AM (12 children)
Yeah, right.
Become on activist with the energy you still have after you flip burgers all the day (and possibly working 4 jobs every day and, in spite of that, you still cannot afford the fees).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @07:26AM (11 children)
Whining certainly won't get the results you expect, now will it? If conditions are intolerable, then you have to DO SOMETHING. Your favorite asocial asshole has taken part in a number of issues, in his lifetime. I have my own style, my own methods, so you would never have found me on a street during a riot, chanting moronic slogans fed to me by Soros or the Kock brothers. Instead, I write letters - to the White House, to congress critters, to state representatives, to mayors, etc. I've written editorial pieces for newspapers, about half of which have been published - the other half being rejected.
Maybe my style isn't very effective, but I actually DO SOMETHING.
And, yes, I am a working, taxpaying American. My time is no less valuable than the millenial incel working at three fast-food dumps. I've worked physically demanding jobs all of my life, and still found the time and energy to stand up and be counted.
But, you go on and cry us a river.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 16 2018, @07:50AM (8 children)
At what point whining just become "impossible to do otherwise given the circumstances"?
Like, yeah, it's purely whining that the US middle class can't use the banks in Bermuda for... umm, what's it call? yeah... tax optimization purposes, right?
And? Would it solve the "can't access the internet other than at dialup speed, if ever. Not at my level of income from McDonalds"?
One on top of the other: seems that you suggest what Pai's doing may be "admissible" since it doesn't make impossible formal complaints, only harder.
How much harder? Well, "harder" like in: get your bunch of friends, all in the same overworked/underpaid category, and push as hard as you can against that hydraulic door, maybe it will be easier to open it (but maybe not).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @09:12AM (7 children)
How many letters to your congress critter have you written? (you're not a US citizen, right? The question is applicable to all US citizens who whine) None? Then your whining is meaningless. There are enough voting-eligible citizens to take back the government, if only they put their minds to it. Unfortunately, the voters are allowing their minds to be manipulated, and distracted. Should we list the meaningless bullshit that voters have allowed themselves to be divided over, instead of addressing meaningful issues?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday July 16 2018, @11:30AM (6 children)
Our elderly folk like nothing more than writing letters to their congresscritters.
And they vote.
Bernie was wildly popular with the young people in 2016. But young people in general do not vote, and specifically the young people did not vote in 2016.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @03:38PM (3 children)
There were plenty of young voters to swing things to a Sanders Presidency, it's just that there's no particular reason for young people to vote. The politicians offer young people absolutely nothing to entice them to vote. The old people get all sorts of benefits out of the government, but not the young people. They're the ones that are going to have to pay to clean up the mess that the older and extremely narcissistic Baby Boomers have left for them.
We ended up with President Trump in large part because we have 2 right wing parties and it turns out that if people are going to vote for a rightwinger, they'd rather vote for somebody that's not a Clinton.
The Democrats could easily clean up during the midterms, it's just that they refuse to do the thing that would work. Namely refusing corporate money and actually advocating for the voters. Things like medicare for all and national guaranteed employment are incredibly popular as are gun control regulations.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @04:53PM
You may find this incredible to believe but we've been paying for those benefits, like social security, out of our paychecks for decades. These aren't freebies being thrown to aging voters to curry favor with them. You're damn straight I expect to get something out of that benefit I have been paying into when it comes my time to retire. And, no, I don't consider it "narcissistic" to get back out what I have been paying into since the first day I earned a paycheck. Just so you know.
*Snort* Umm...yeah. Do let us know when any gun control legislation manages to get through Congress. It will be a truly astounding achievement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:40PM
we may just let you pass some gun control so we can kill you when you start the war to enforce it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @12:41AM
Politicians pay attention to people who vote. Not voting because the politicians aren't paying attention to you is a nonsensical reason to not vote. It's a good reason to consider voting against that politican, sure. And if none of them appeal to you, hand in a blank ballot; no one other than you needs to know it's blank. You're still recorded as having voted.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday July 16 2018, @05:32PM (1 child)
Except that it didn't happen that way at all [census.gov]: A slightly higher percentage of younger voters (< 30 years old) voted in 2016 than had voted in 2012, and they were the only age group to increase their voting participation. The largest drop in voting was in the 65+ set.
But I don't blame you for thinking that was the problem: A lot of people have spent a lot of time and money convincing the general public that the main reason Hillary Clinton isn't president right now has something to do with the young people who supported Bernie Sanders not being "loyal" to the Democratic Party, and had nothing at all to do with this [census.gov].
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @07:39PM
And these days it now seems likely that Trump got the electoral votes by some hacking of election machines. The recent indictments are a total smoking gun, I wonder how many heads around here will explode if it turns out Trump had to rely on cheating to win.
Eh who am I kidding, they'll just repeat the same "bussed in illegals to vote!" garbage. Maybe that fake news got started as a way to insulate Trump's base from the likely discovery of the truth?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday July 16 2018, @11:28AM (1 child)
There's always some manner of protest going on here in the Pacific NorthLeft but I always find myself strangely uninterested in actually attending.
Instead I write. For example I wrote Is This the America I Love? [warplife.com] in response to the first incident I ever heard of, of the No-Fly List being used for political repression.
Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads [warplife.com] got roughly five million hits. I wrote it in direct response to the twelve year old daughter of a single mother who lived in The Projects getting sued by the RIAA.
The RIAA used to work very hard to spread the lie that it is _always_ illegal to download music.
No. No it's not.
It's completely legal to download music if you have permission. My own piano EP [soggywizards.com] was the very first link.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday July 16 2018, @03:06PM
Used to? The MAFIAA is still at it! They've shifted tactics, and toned down the lawsuits, but they have not changed their fundamental attitudes and positions. Have you rented a movie, recently? Watch closely at the start, and you'll still see their propaganda that tries to equate copying with theft. You know, the big scary law enforcement badges, and the phrase "digital theft is not a victimless crime!" And what do you suppose will happen if you try to use a camcorder in a theater? They'll throw you out, and they might even call the police to have you arrested. I resent having my taxpayer dollars wasted to enforce such bull.
Oh, and it's also perfectly legal to download material for which the copyright has expired. That copyright terms are too long is another problem.
Of course, the MAFIAA are hardly the only ones trying to capture regulators, censor material, and monopolize a market.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @08:40AM (3 children)
People have increasingly used means of indicating abnormal undesired behavior as a means of disagreement. For instance on any social media app people will 'report', 'flag' or whatever the site's terminology of choice is posts simply because they disagree with them. This completely destroys the utility of these systems since it means the 1 thing that genuinely needs to be dealt with is buried under thousands of things that were inappropriately reported.
I've no doubt this is exactly the same at the FCC, and most other institutions, given the power of the internet to remove any barriers to complaints. Consequently, the vast majority of 'complaints' are going to end up being, effectively, 'Comcast sucks.' This is certainly true, but that's not why these systems are in place. Adding a financial cost to complain may not be ideal, but how else would you propose solving the problem of people inappropriately using complaint systems?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @02:21PM
A $20 fee would already block off partisan robots.
(Score: 1) by bzipitidoo on Monday July 16 2018, @03:23PM (1 child)
How else? The same way it's dealt with in email! Spam filters! Legal action against spammers! The idea of charging a tiny amount to send an email has been toyed with for years, but it has never come to pass for a variety of reasons.
Note that we no longer have poll taxes. They were abused to suppress voters, especially voters of a particular skin color. Yes, running an election costs money. But no, it is not appropriate to collect the necessary money in exchange for being allowed to vote. Same with this move. Imagine if each time a sports player broke the rules, the victims had to pay the referees to get a ruling?
And look, even without a poll tax or a fee to file a complaint, these actions are not really free. It still takes time and effort to draft a complaint and navigate the filing process, fill in a ballot, and so forth. Yes, even to check just one box, like to vote straight party. To email your representatives costs nothing, and yet they are not overwhelmed with mail.
Comcast love, love, loves any move that silences complaints, including legit ones.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:22PM
I don't think the comparison between voting and filing complaints is logical. The big problem is overhead and processing time. Voting has very little of either and the entire process is largely automated in most areas. This is not really comparable to complaints. Complaints take extensive time to process and resolve, and entail guaranteed responses within a time frame. These are absolutely great features for people with genuine grievances but they also open the door to 'trolling.' People think they're attacking e.g. Comcast by making them respond to countless spurious complaints, but in reality the people they're attacking are those with genuine grievances who must go through substantially more effort to have their complaint handled properly.
It is not illegal, nor should it be illegal, to make a complaint even if not done in good faith. And such things also cannot reasonably be handled by spam filters since the cost of a false positive is unacceptably high. Not only would the headlines bring out the worst in people, but such a mistake would also likely be unlawful. So these are not really viable solutions. I'd agree that $225 is too high, but going this direction is acknowledging that it's probably the right solution, just not the right price.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday July 16 2018, @11:20AM
It would have to be initiated by someone we could trust with the money.
Got a gripe with your provider? We'll cover the formal complaint fee.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 16 2018, @12:21PM (1 child)
Obama was very consistent. Obama had trillion dollar budget deficits for years in a row. At least he was consistent.
But that's not us. That's not what you elected us for. Me and our terrific #SenateGOP [twitter.com]
#HouseGOP [twitter.com] We did the BIGGEST TAX CUT in history. As everybody knows. Putting TRILLIONS of dollars back in the pockets of our great Corporations -- and other taxpayers.
You have tremendous waste, fraud, and abuse. That we’re taking care of. That we’re taking care of. It’s tremendous. There’s tremendous waste, fraud, and abuse, and we’re going to get it. So many robots writing to our FCC. So many so-called complaints coming in. Obama had guys looking at those, he payed those guys. He didn't pay them. Our Farmers, Workers & Taxpayers payed. Such a big and unfair price to pay! Not fair to the PEOPLE of America!
So we're asking the folks that put in the complaints to pay a VERY SMALL fee. Less than what you'd pay to eat at Masa or Per Se in NYC -- or Kurumazushi. And that's if you don't bring a date. We all date, right? We're not babies.
And don't worry, we're looking at things like this in many of our agencies. Our government agencies. And hopefully with a lot of those agencies, they'll be payed for by the folks that use them. Not by me and you -- and our tremendous Industries. While we give money back to the companies & the folks that earned it!!!
(Score: 2, Touché) by anubi on Tuesday July 17 2018, @06:56AM
Sounds great as long as this also applies to DMCA takedown notices. As stated by the FCC, each takedown notice will cost the sender $225 per item.
Or does law only apply if the rich guy is getting nipped? Does law that does not apply equally abrogate the Pledge of Allegiance?
Also, that $225 only means it will be "looked at" with no implication or guarantee of any action to be taken.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]