The Man Who Invented the Web on Net Neutrality

[Aenlic]

If you think only the telecoms are opposed to net neutrality, you'd be wrong. Many groups, including the staunch libertarian Cato Institute (see above), Citizens Against Government Waste, the Center for Individual Freedom, and even the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation all oppose net neutrality- that's just to name a few.

Ooh, let's examine all those, shall we?

The Cato Institute isn't a libertarian think tank it's a Libertarian shill for corporate interests think tank. The Cato Institute is funded in part by money from those very same telecoms. And let's not forget that Rupert Murdoch is a former board member of the Cato Institute. No conflict of interest there, eh?

Citizens Against Government Waste might as well just be called Cato Institute Take II. Most of the funding for CAGW comes from the same sources as those that fund Cato. CAGW's biggest claim to fame is a Microsoft-funded campaign against open source software. No conflict of interest there. Nope.

Center for Individual Freedom is just a joke. It was started by Thomas Humber, who runs the National Smoker's Alliance, a pro-cigarette front group funded entirely by Philip Morris. Interestingly, Philip Morris is also one of the leading corporate funders of the above two special interest groups as well.

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. Ah, yes. William Bowles of The Black Commentator has some interesting things to say about that in this article. It turns out the NCBCP didn't even tell it's board of directors about the endorsement of the U.S. Telecom's lobbying. Some of the board members, like Howard Dean are just a tad upset.

Care to drag any more ultra-rightwing so-called think tanks out of the woodwork? Maybe you can find some this time that aren't funded by the special interests writing the policies these so-called think tanks then endorse - with a little palm greasing to help it along?