<nettime> Fwd: Net Neutrality resolution

[Michael H Goldhaber <mgoldh@well.com>]

fyi

Best,
Michael

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Brad Parker" <riozen@riozen.com>
> Date: July 26, 2007 11:18:18 AM PDT
> To: progressivecaucuscdp@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [progressivecaucuscdp] Net Neutrality
> Democrats,
>
> On July 15th, 2007 the Executive Board of the California Democratic  Party
> passed the following resolution in favor of Net Neutrality and affordable
> high  speed Internet for America.
>
> The adoption of this resolution was made possible by the  unprecedented
> cooperation of both the Labor Caucus and the Progressive Caucus of the CDP.
> Working together over the months following the CDP convention in San Diego,
> representatives  of both caucuses, led by Jim Gordon, chair of the Labor
> Caucus and Brad Parker, officer  of the Progressive Caucus, were able to
> craft a resolution that addressed the concerns  of both groups and Americans
> as a whole. Once again, after 100 years of organizing and  political
> activism, Progressives and Union members have found common cause. Our hope is
> that this resolution will become a blueprint for legislation across the
> country that preserves Internet integrity with open, equal and impartial
> access and Net Neutrality.  Further, that the build out of high speed
> Internet be undertaken as a public utility  maintained by union members
> bringing affordable broadband Internet access to all Americans.
>
> No issue of public governance is more critical at this time in our  history
> than the immediate need for every level of government to pass and enforce
> legislation to embody the principles of this resolution. Therefore, we call
> upon every  Democrat in America to send this resolution to every elected
> official across the nation  and to insist that Net Neutrality and affordable
> high speed Internet become the law of the  land.
>
>
> Support of Affordable High Speed Internet for America and Internet
> Neutrality
>
> WHEREAS to secure the rights of assembly, and free speech online,  which are
> guaranteed by the Constitution and encourage new innovative American
> businesses to flourish, Americans are entitled to and require, open, equal
> and impartial  Internet access; we need high speed internet for our homes,
> schools, hospitals and  workplaces to grow jobs and our economy; enable
> innovations in telemedicine, education, public  safety and government
> services; foster independence for people with disabilities and  strengthen
> democratic discourse and civic participation and;
>
> WHEREAS the United States - the country that invented the Internet  - has
> fallen from first to sixteenth in internet adoption; US consumers pay more
> for slower  speeds than people in other advanced nations; millions of
> Americans, especially in rural  and low income areas do not have access to
> affordable, high speed broadband; the United  States alone among the advanced
> nations has no national, Internet policy; the US  definition of "high speed"
> at 200 kilobits per second (kbps) is too slow and has not changed in nine
> years: the US and California collection of broadband data does not tell us
> what we  need to know about broadband deployment, adoption, speeds and prices
> and consumer and  worker protections must be safeguarded on high speed
> networks and;
>
> WHEREAS the growth of a free and open Internet has provided  historic
> advances in the realms of democracy, free speech, communication, research and
> economic development; California and US consumers are entitled to and require
> open,  unfettered access to the lawful Internet content of their choice
> without interference by any  entity, public or private; build out of
> universal, high speed, high capacity networks will  promote an open Internet
> by eliminating bandwidth scarcity;
>
> THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party  endorses
> national, state and local policies to promote affordable, high speed
> broadband for  all with strong protections for consumers and the workers who
> build, maintain and  service those networks; and a national goal for
> universal access and deployment  of networks capable of delivering 10
> megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per  second upstream by the year
> 2010 and the California Democratic Party supports federal  and state
> initiatives to improve data collection on high speed broadband deployment,
> adoption, speed and prices as a necessary first step; upgrading the current
> definition of high  speed to 2 megabits per second downstream, 1 megabit per
> second upstream and policies that  promote public programs to stimulate build
> out of high speed networks to all homes  and businesses in the nation and;
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party in  order to
> promote vigorous free speech, a vibrant business community, and unfettered
> access to all information on the Internet, supports policies to preserve an
> open,  neutral and interconnected Internet; protect against any degradation
> or  blocking of access to any websites or content on the Internet and insure
> consumers have the  right to free email; encourages build out of high speed
> networks to all homes and  businesses so that everyone can go where they want
> and upload or download what they  want on the Internet as a public utility
> maintained by union workers.
>
> Submitted July 14th, 2007 by the Labor Caucus of the California Democratic
> Party represented by Jim  Gordon - Chair Progressive Caucus of the California
> Democratic Party represented  by Brad Parker ? Officer
>
> Adopted July 15th, 2007 by the Executive Board of the California Democratic
> Party meeting in  Sacramento, California.

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