Week in Review 01/01: Giuliani, Net Neutrality, & the Death Penalty

Rudy Giuliani states that "we had no domestic attacks under Bush"

On Good Morning America, Rudy Giuliani decided to pitch in his two cents regarding the Christmas Day incident. On the show, Giuliani declared that "we had no domestic attacks under Bush" and "one under Obama." I don't know if this was a piece of history revision or simple forgetfulness. It's hard for me to believe that, out of anyone, Giuliani would forget the exact time and circumstances of September 11th, so I feel comfortable in assuming that this is a GOP strategy. This isn't the first time we've heard this talking point. In fact, Dana Perino (former White House Press Secretary and ironically appointed to Broadcasting Board of Governors by Obama) stated, word for word, that we had no terrorist attacks under Bush on Fox News in November.



Argument by Repetition is a dangerous fallacy, and one well known by politicians in every party. If major political figures continue to publicly state that America was never attacked under the Bush Administration, people will believe it, and history will be socially revised. The GOP is going up against the toughest competitor out there: facts. The largest terrorist attack in America's history occurred under the Bush Administration, and there were signs that they dismissed. Following 9/11, Anthrax killed 5 people and threatened thousands, including Senators. And after that, we had the shoe-bomber, who was as unsuccessful as this last plot. If we're going to criticize, we must use the same standards. It is way too early to start bending factual history to fit the bill, and it is far too disrespectful to disregard the lives lost under Bush, here at home and abroad.

Comcast and the FCC continue to fight over Net Neutrality

Courts are now in the process of deciding whether or not the FCC has the authority to force major internet providers such as Comcast to treat all internet content equally. This started when Comcast decided to significantly cripple or full-out block high traffic BitTorrent downloads. This goes completely against the entire concept of the internet. For the most part, the internet is the closest thing we have seen to a true Democracy in the real world. No matter what the content may be, or even what the source of the content is, it has a place on the internet. Technically, a small blog like this has just as much of an audience potential as a large website like CNN.com does. If Net Neutrality becomes a thing of the past, large companies like Comcast would be able to control bandwidth flow to benefit themselves and their partners. Comcast argues that they would offer "premium" services for higher prices, which would cut the free flow of information to people who could not afford it. The beauty of the internet is that with a phone line, you have access to the same information and education as everyone else. The internet is a classless system that works for everyone except multi-billion dollar companies, and while there's really nothing wrong with seeking more revenue through advertising and more services, the internet must remain classless.

Less and less executions happening in the US

On a good note, the number of executions happening in the US is diminishing. Kansas is close to being the third state in the United States to ban the death penalty. This is a huge step forward for America. Whatever argument you may have for or against the Death Penalty, it comes down to the fact that the government has the right to kill any of its citizens. No one has the right to take someone's life away, let alone a government. Crime is a complicated social problem, and it can't be solved by simply killing those who commit it. To quote one of my favorite authors, Douglas Coupland, "I believe that what separates humanity from everything else in this world [...] is that humanity alone has the capacity at any given moment to commit all possible sins." Crime needs to be solved socially, not clinically, not fatally.

Next Week on Human Politics

The last decade launched three Revolutions, and for better or worse, they will determine our future. That's next time, on Human Politics.