Actually, it’s regulation that creates monopolies. Look at any monopoly which has stood the test of time. You’ll find massive government support keeping it afloat. The same is true for just about any mega corp actually. Even the rise of the Robber Barons were the result of government meddling. If you don’t believe me,…

It happens all the time. I’ve cited the beer industry. Look a the difference in quality in beer after craft beer became deregulated.

Who will?

Collusion is certainly a problem, but not nearly as much of a problem as government induced monopolies. I’ve also linked to examples of people bypassing current ISPs and creating their own. While we might need the net, we do not need existing ISPs.

> You are under the false assumption that a company that has access to this kind of control is beholden to individuals’ spending power.

No, but they care about sales.

> Yeah, we really don’t. Every two to four years we have the option to throw our leaders out if we don’t like what they’re doing.

Nope, but the federal government, as a whole, will use whatever components it can. And they often do. In addition, there’s still the question of why you think you can trust one section and not the other. If you trust the FCC to be beholden to the voter, why not the NSA, et. al.?

> You do realize that the people who might be given authorized data collected by telecommunication companies are not the same people who have anything whatsoever to do with net neutrality.

It has indeed, however you don’t have to pay for it, or go watch it. Instead, you can either say “screw this; I’m going to a movie that I like” or just save your time and money.

> First: I live in Hawaii and could get good sushi if I cared to.

> Eventually, but not until many people are hurt.

> You do realize that most of the companies with the largest hold on political influence are so pervasive, the only way to avoid buying their products is to live in a shack in the middle of nowhere. Ten companies (Kraft, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Mars, Pepsico, Unilever, Kellogg, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble,…

> The trouble is most of the consuming public can’t be bothered to care.

Actually we have far more control over corporations, because simply not involving yourself with them is a vote. Being able to vote with your feet is quite powerful. Corporations are beholden to the laws of supply and demand. Governments are not.

And this is the point that I made the other day, regarding net neutrality. The same government that is pushing CISA et. al. is the one who is going to be overseeing the internet’s “neutrality.” When the FCC reclassified the internet as a Title II utility, it gained unprecedented authority, and it can use that…

I made that comment because of the use of the word “skilled” in quotes, as it indicates that skilled curators are not actually all that skilled.

Actually, if you notice I did say skilled curator, in the opening statement, which suggests that I do not think that all curators are skilled. However, it is a difficult job, and I didn’t really care for the comment that they “probably were the ‘skilled’ curators.” No; a skilled curator would never do such a thing.

Sounds about right. A lot of sodas were originally mildly fermented, or even cask conditioned (where there is an intentional refermentation). There are plenty of ways to halt fermentation, if you don’t want it to continue, but it’s certainly possible that the yeast survived, or it could also be that wild yeast got in.

> A business can’t sell me a pizza and hand me a picture of a pizza.