Net Neutrality

TNR has come out for net neutrality, and do a good job explaining it:

Under the original rules put in place in 1934, telecommunications companies can't give preferential treatment to one set of outgoing calls over another by, say, offering static-free calling to one company's telemarketers but not another's. The same rules initially applied to the Internet. Telecom companies couldn't charge website proprietors to have their content sent to consumers more expeditiously. But, last August, George W. Bush's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exempted telecoms that provide Internet connections from these restrictions, dealing a blow to both entrepreneurship and political discourse.

On the other side, there's this Flash cartoon to present a different set of views:

The views on this don't break down easily along party lines or idealogical lines. Make up your own mind.

Personally, I'm in favor of net neutrality. While I don't like government regulation of this type of thing, the idea of the telecoms running wild is not great either. I guess it comes down to the fact that I feel like the internet is akin to telephones, but more; that no one should be prioritized or discriminated against, i.e. there shouldn't be 'levels' of service whereby I pay more and am guaranteed better or faster service. I think that the internet provides an unbelievable opening to extend opportunities to everybody, regardless of background, and if you're motivated you can educate yourself on a wide variety of subjects solely based on what is available for free (for instance, if you wanted to you could teach yourself any range of programming languages). To deny this I think would be sad, but I'd like to hear a more convincing voice on the other side of the debate.