John Fund explains the FCC's "net neutrality" as nothing more than a liberal/socialist power grab to control new media.

The net neutrality vision for government regulation of the Internet began with the work of Robert McChesney, a University of Illinois communications professor who founded the liberal lobby Free Press in 2002. Mr. McChesney's agenda? "At the moment, the battle over network neutrality is not to completely eliminate the telephone and cable companies," he told the website SocialistProject in 2009. "But the ultimate goal is to get rid of the media capitalists in the phone and cable companies and to divest them from control."

The whole project is being promoted by a few leftist foundations and a handful of other liberal groups desirous of greater government control of something that they find to be too free and unweildy for their long term goals imposing European social democracy on America.

In other media reform news, It was fascinating to hear Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) say he would like to see both Fox News and MSNBC disappear because of what they have allegedly done to the level of political discourse in this country. That's not exactly-even handed of him. FOX has twice the viewers of MSNBC. No wonder lefties like Rockefeller would like to see both players tossed out of the game for fighting. It would improve the messaging chances of his ideological fellow travellers.

New federal regulations on the Internet will do nothing to help consumers get internet access cheaper, its getting cheaper all the time. There is plenty of competition out there already with no monopolies in sight. This whole net neutrality ruse is nothing but a bait and switch to increase the role of government in controlling free speech and access. These efforts are always dressed up in Orwellian language like the "fairness doctrine" that used to allow the government to dictate political discussion the "public" airwaves. Political discussion in this country has slipped the leash of government handlers and the left can't stand it. They used to control the major networks and radio, now technology has allowed millions of other to get into the act and have their say. Liberals have lost the political debate in a free market so now they want to grant themselves greater control of the market. But too many people are on to them and their plan, which is why it will ultimately fail.