We cannot in any way shape or form. Let these three fucking incredibly greedy sleaze bags do this! Just one more thing to fight against! I’m ready and good to go and fight!
If there is a way, legal or not, to give this to Musk, Trump and Lutnick will do so. And the people who need the service will find themselves paying more for less than if other alternatives were available.
I agree 100% that the BEAD red tape was too onerous and ultimately self-defeating. But one thing you didn't mention is why that happened: That's the way Congress wrote the law, and the Commerce officials had to work with it as best they could. One reason Congress did that was to guard against waste, fraud and abuse: There was a prior multibillion-dollar rural internet initiative from the Clinton days (remember "The Information Superhighway?") and Washington just shoveled money out the door to any fly-by-night company that claimed it could wire an area. The only result was that taxpayers enriched a lot of service providers who never built what they said they would or never really had the capability to do it at the scale they claimed. So BEAD was supposed to replace that debacle with a serious and data-based approach that would (1) really find out where the greatest needs are, and (2) make sure that the ISPs getting federal dollars would actually complete the job. But here's a good question: Why aren't the ISPs all over the country sounding the alarm and pouring their lobbying and PR dollars into screaming about this looming heist that will essentially cut them all out of the program? It would clearly be in their self-interest to do so. Instead, silence. I think it's another case of corporate capitulation and fear of Trump-Musk.
Thank you for reminding us why red tape is needed. nobody likes red tape. we want a simple straightforward path to getting something we want done. but nobody likes red tape less than the predators red tape is designed to protect us from. unfortunately, because humans are not perfect, a lot of red tape is not designed or administered as intelligently as it might be...or as we think it should be if only we were in charge.
maybe. but some things..particuarly government-necessary things..are complex enough and fraught enough with pitfalls, that time and feedback from experience are necessary to get them right..or right enough. Musk's geniuses don't need no stinking 14 step process. How is that working out for us?
I hope my comment will not be the pure political hate-spew I see so far But here is what I think I see about all this...besides the Musk/Trump graft.
I cannot afford 80 dollars per month for internet access, high speed or not. That's 5% of my income. I am pretty sure there are people who can afford it even less.
Meanwhile the internet...including government sites... are often hard or impossiblefor me to access. Mostly due, I think, to programmers who have no capacity to anticipate the problems us less computer savvy folk have figuing out what it is they intend, writing routines that ask unanswerable questions and then leaving the customer stranded in a dead end or endless loop.
I believe my wi-fi provider price gouges becauseit has a monopoly in my area, but Walman's figure ot 80 dollars per month may be the actual cost of the service. so perhaps I am misjudging them. Nevertheless, if that is the real cost, it may not be possible for a lot of people to afford it, howver much "the government" provides access, and I am not sure they [I]really really need it..except for the demand by thegovernment that we do business with them on-line.
I can get a lot done with a number 2 pencil and a fifty cent stamp, and real humans reading the letter....except of course that there are no real humans at the other end of the line.
Meanwhile, I note that the high speed internet allows our Leaders to send real time military plans to the enemy at the touch of a button.
And yes, I realize that there is another side to this story, for which I have no answer.
probably not possible, but also probably a bad idea, though no doubt one the current rulers would like..turn us into unreisting lettuce. geed is not good, especially since the word means psycopathic levels of desire for "things" at whatever cost to others.
but normal "work for gain" even "competition" [not up to the pschopathic levels favored by the curent rulers or even normal republicans...or even the progressives who, when you scratch them turn out to be just a greedy as the republicans]...normal greed--desire for more things--is probably the fuel that provides for the "checks and balances" by which we limit each other's greed.
none of this should be taken as my agreeing with the "greed is good" philosophy of the "haves" for the last three hundred years or so. but it is the practice of clever liars to begin with someting "everyone knows" and twist it into a lie that leads the mark into self destructive behavior.
Shame on our society for having massive millions of illiterate voters Incapable of critical thinking and easily misled and propagandisidez into backing this fascist movement.
maybe "shame on our society" whatever that means. but I believe I have met people who do not read..not saying they cannot read...who are smarter than I am. I don't think most people [including me] are very smart at all except about what they love and do. you might think a President, or his team, would be smart about being President or "team." and I think a lot of them used to be. But we have a President, team, Congress, and Supreme Court who are not smart about anything but telling lies that people will believe.
For what it is worth, most of the people at the Wannasee Conference (the final solution of the jewish problem) had PhD's.
I have found critical thinking to be extremely rare, For most people critical thinking amounts to criticizing things they don't like. ...have been told they do not like.
We cannot in any way shape or form. Let these three fucking incredibly greedy sleaze bags do this! Just one more thing to fight against! I’m ready and good to go and fight!
If there is a way, legal or not, to give this to Musk, Trump and Lutnick will do so. And the people who need the service will find themselves paying more for less than if other alternatives were available.
I also think a good slice of Trump voters could use maybe LESS internet and not more. You know who I mean.
When you say fiber connections are we talking about last mile runs? How many miles of fiber? Above or underground? Trying to understand.
I immediately think of Elise Stefanik’s maybe open district in far upstate New York as a place to make a stink about this.
I agree 100% that the BEAD red tape was too onerous and ultimately self-defeating. But one thing you didn't mention is why that happened: That's the way Congress wrote the law, and the Commerce officials had to work with it as best they could. One reason Congress did that was to guard against waste, fraud and abuse: There was a prior multibillion-dollar rural internet initiative from the Clinton days (remember "The Information Superhighway?") and Washington just shoveled money out the door to any fly-by-night company that claimed it could wire an area. The only result was that taxpayers enriched a lot of service providers who never built what they said they would or never really had the capability to do it at the scale they claimed. So BEAD was supposed to replace that debacle with a serious and data-based approach that would (1) really find out where the greatest needs are, and (2) make sure that the ISPs getting federal dollars would actually complete the job. But here's a good question: Why aren't the ISPs all over the country sounding the alarm and pouring their lobbying and PR dollars into screaming about this looming heist that will essentially cut them all out of the program? It would clearly be in their self-interest to do so. Instead, silence. I think it's another case of corporate capitulation and fear of Trump-Musk.
Gina [second try at disappeared comment]
Thank you for reminding us why red tape is needed. nobody likes red tape. we want a simple straightforward path to getting something we want done. but nobody likes red tape less than the predators red tape is designed to protect us from. unfortunately, because humans are not perfect, a lot of red tape is not designed or administered as intelligently as it might be...or as we think it should be if only we were in charge.
I'm tire of supporting “Pathetic free-loading by Musk.” The Musk free-loading. It's PETHETIC
Any plan that requires a 14 step process is set up for failure from the start. This is a sad state of affairs that never should have happened.
jeff
maybe. but some things..particuarly government-necessary things..are complex enough and fraught enough with pitfalls, that time and feedback from experience are necessary to get them right..or right enough. Musk's geniuses don't need no stinking 14 step process. How is that working out for us?
I hope my comment will not be the pure political hate-spew I see so far But here is what I think I see about all this...besides the Musk/Trump graft.
I cannot afford 80 dollars per month for internet access, high speed or not. That's 5% of my income. I am pretty sure there are people who can afford it even less.
Meanwhile the internet...including government sites... are often hard or impossiblefor me to access. Mostly due, I think, to programmers who have no capacity to anticipate the problems us less computer savvy folk have figuing out what it is they intend, writing routines that ask unanswerable questions and then leaving the customer stranded in a dead end or endless loop.
I believe my wi-fi provider price gouges becauseit has a monopoly in my area, but Walman's figure ot 80 dollars per month may be the actual cost of the service. so perhaps I am misjudging them. Nevertheless, if that is the real cost, it may not be possible for a lot of people to afford it, howver much "the government" provides access, and I am not sure they [I]really really need it..except for the demand by thegovernment that we do business with them on-line.
I can get a lot done with a number 2 pencil and a fifty cent stamp, and real humans reading the letter....except of course that there are no real humans at the other end of the line.
Meanwhile, I note that the high speed internet allows our Leaders to send real time military plans to the enemy at the touch of a button.
And yes, I realize that there is another side to this story, for which I have no answer.
You can bet the incredibly greedy sleeze bag Trump🪳 will surely get a massive piece of the pie. How do we erase the greedy gene from our DNA?
probably not possible, but also probably a bad idea, though no doubt one the current rulers would like..turn us into unreisting lettuce. geed is not good, especially since the word means psycopathic levels of desire for "things" at whatever cost to others.
but normal "work for gain" even "competition" [not up to the pschopathic levels favored by the curent rulers or even normal republicans...or even the progressives who, when you scratch them turn out to be just a greedy as the republicans]...normal greed--desire for more things--is probably the fuel that provides for the "checks and balances" by which we limit each other's greed.
none of this should be taken as my agreeing with the "greed is good" philosophy of the "haves" for the last three hundred years or so. but it is the practice of clever liars to begin with someting "everyone knows" and twist it into a lie that leads the mark into self destructive behavior.
Shame on our society for having massive millions of illiterate voters Incapable of critical thinking and easily misled and propagandisidez into backing this fascist movement.
Ben
maybe "shame on our society" whatever that means. but I believe I have met people who do not read..not saying they cannot read...who are smarter than I am. I don't think most people [including me] are very smart at all except about what they love and do. you might think a President, or his team, would be smart about being President or "team." and I think a lot of them used to be. But we have a President, team, Congress, and Supreme Court who are not smart about anything but telling lies that people will believe.
For what it is worth, most of the people at the Wannasee Conference (the final solution of the jewish problem) had PhD's.
I have found critical thinking to be extremely rare, For most people critical thinking amounts to criticizing things they don't like. ...have been told they do not like.
Wannsee. 7 of 15.