The flood gates of buying influence in our Government opened following the Citizens United case. That Supreme Court ruling (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) granted corporations UNLIMITED political spending power.
This means that the ability of regular voters who want to be heard can and is being suppressed by the UNLIMITED funds that a corporation can use. It gives special interests more power in Washington while virtually eradicating the voice of Americans. For context; Citizen’s United changed the way SOME campaigns are funded. The KOCH brothers can buy more influence with their billions. They setup Corporate Political Action Groups, bypassing individual contribution limits, and funnel an UNLIMITED amount of money to their select candidates. North Carolina has been shaken by the recent Conspiracy and bribery charges filed against NCGOP Chair Robin Hayes and billionaire donor Greg Lindberg. This has shed more light on political contributions that do only one thing: buy politicians and undermine our government. The effect from these revelations has also entangled Representative Richard Hudson, District 8 Representative. Greg Lindberg contributed to Hudson and Hudson’s Freedom PAC. According to Open Secrets. So far, we know that Richard Hudson’s Freedom PAC, registered in Georgia, not North Carolina where he represents the 8th congressional district, accepted $33,900 from Greg Lindberg. What does Hudson do not that he has been exposed? He takes some of that money and donates it to charities benefiting soldiers at Fort Bragg and the rest of the money to the North Carolina Republican Party. Hudson response. “didn’t do anything wrong, but just want to avoid the appearance of any impropriety.” What? Hudson received the contributions in Jan 2018 and only after the indictments that came to light a year later, he decides to give $15,000 to local charities and the rest to the Republican Party. This is the deflection game of money in our body politic to buy influence. Who does Richard Hudson really represent? According to the opensecrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics, Hudson received a whopping $1,450,229 contributions from Political Action Committees. Folks, we live in Two America’s. The Extreme Rich and everybody else who is the #workingclass. The only way, we are going to hold our political leaders accountable and shed light on any possibly of influence is to elect those who pledge NOT to accept Corporate PAC Money. It is really that simple! Please consider a contribution to my campaign so we can work on this and many issues facing our District. secure.actblue.com/donate/huffmanfornc Did you know telecom regulations from the 1930's allow heavy-handed duo-Monopoly Telco's like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast & Spectrum control where you go the Internet?
I was an ISP business fighting those burdens to bring Internet Access to rural areas. Those anti-competitive tactics blocked my small business from expanding and competing in a monopoly controlled environment. Despite consolidation of Telco's into BIGGER Telco's and the promise to lower prices and offer more services. Rural communities don't have access to Broadband. No broadband internet, means no new Business. No new Job Creation and it means our rural communities will never have reliable Internet Access. Local Rural Municipalities decided if Monopoly Telco's won't offer, they should fill the void. Yet, Municipal Broadband is roadblocked or outlawed in 20 states. Including North Carolina. You can read how the NCGOP controlled #NCGA created a range of laws blocking Municipal Networks at the lobbying by these very Monopolies. https://broadbandnow.com/re…/municipal-broadband-roadblocks/ The FCC under the control of the GOP, lead by Chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed by President Trump reversed Net Neutrality Rules in December 2017. This was a major victory for internet providers like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon. While they celebrated, your, my internet access costs went up. The ink wasn't even dry on the paperwork. The Save The Internet Act of 2019 will restore a level playing field, stop the GATEKEEPERS who want to control where you go and how fast you go on the net. #savethenet It's time to fix this and The Democrats have put forth the plan to fix it. It will take the political will of our Government to stand up to Monopolies and the lobbyist who swarm our Government officials blocking the public voice and rural areas of NC's access to affordable Internet Access. When I am elected to Congress, I will work to bring Rural Access to our communities in NC. Please consider a contribution to my campaign so we can work on this and many issues facing our District. secure.actblue.com/donate/huffmanfornc I talked to a local strawberry farmer in #NC08 about the unseasonable 78 degrees today and the effect of extreme weather changes on their upcoming March/April crops. Just a few years ago the average temp was a high of 47 degrees. A 30-degree increase towards hotter temps. We must address this issue now. We can no longer ignore the changes brought on by Climate Change and fossil fuel use. This is a National Crisis. By 2030, if our Congress & President would truly recognize Climate Change as a National Crisis, a National Security Crisis issue. An issue on every border of our nation, we could move to 80% clean, renewable energy for all purposes in 10 years. A decade. By 2050 scientific research suggests America, in fact the world, could be 100% free from carbon-based fuel. If we don’t do anything, we jeopardize the lives of billions of people and we’ll see strawberry farmers go out of business, unable to grow crops from hotter days to come. I truly believe that the only thing in our way, the only thing that stops us from achieving our renewable energy goals, is the political system rigged by Politicians who are funded by Corporate PACS and it’s going to take the WILL of new leaders. Leaders who will challenge the status quo and fight for what’s right. According to EIA.GOV, District 8 has 27 solar fields. NC generated 4,400 megawatts from Solar ranking our great state second to California. Clean energy creates jobs at rate of 4x more that fossil fuels. 5x as many as natural gas. Clean Solar Energy will produce jobs and it has a positive effect, we have cleaner water. Oil, Coal, Nuclear & Natural Gas use water during the production and use of these energies. Just 1, 500-Megawatt coal-fired plant will produce tons of sludge and coal ash. Solar Power uses 0 water and is a friend to the environment. Again, we just need the WILL and determination of new leaders in Washington. We can fix this, we can create jobs, reduce carbon emissions drastically and help a local strawberry farmer provide their local community a delicious North Carolina Strawberry. Please consider a contribution to my campaign so we can work on this and many issues facing our District. secure.actblue.com/donate/huffmanfornc If it's Thursday....
America must limit its use of fossil fuels. It seems almost nonsensical that we would be talking about this in 2018 because we have everything we need to reduce our carbon footprint by more than 80% within the next 10 to 15 years. By 2050, scientific research suggests America, in fact the world, could be 100% free from carbon-based fuel consumption. Recently, I read an article that hit all too close to home. It wasn’t so much the scientific data as it was the world in which my generation will leave our children and grandchildren. It is not that we should transform the energy infrastructure to 100% clean renewable energy, it is the understanding that our lack of doing so jeopardizes the lives of billions of people—even those yet to be born. Sadly, we have all the technology we need to make this happen. The costs are reasonable enough that we could power the entire planet on renewable energy for all purposes. We need to create a stable environment—we do not have a choice any longer. But, not only would renewable energy create the stable environment we need, it would reduce greenhouse emissions significantly and provide price stabilization at the same time creating good paying jobs in our communities. I truly believe that the only thing in our way, the only thing that stops us from achieving renewable energy goals, is our political and social issues. Looking at Washington, DC and understanding how encapsulated policymakers are by being wrapped in a bubble, it is hard to see any political willpower to do anything except undo the progress made by the last administration. Some countries such as France have embraced nuclear energy. It has proven to be a viable energy source. We have uranium resources to make the fuel rods to power the nuclear plants. Plus, it is clean energy with zero carbon. There are some drawbacks however. You need fossil fuels to run the equipment, the heavy machinery, to construct the nuclear power plant. Secondly, at what point do we run out of adequate containment facilities to store the nuclear waste? All we have to do is look at what is happened in some of our local communities with regard to Duke Energy and the storage of contaminated waste. In a recent study, the majority of the voting population does not want more nuclear power plants. But, even if nuclear power was popular—to get one nuclear plant online would take 19 years based on current regulations, standards, and permits. From a feasibility standpoint nuclear power is not readily obtainable. It would take 15,000 plants to power the world. Perhaps, solar energy in conjunction with wind turbine is a feasible alternative and possible solution. We can move to a carbon free environment and every home in the United States could have 4 to 6 solar panels installed without having to navigate huge land areas to build solar farms. But again, we need social and political willpower to make it happen. California has met with some success by passing laws that require new home construction to include affordable solar technology. Needless to say, the world is going to be in serious trouble if we don’t start now. Since the Carter administration, we have kicked the can so far down the road that we have run out of road. In North Carolina, we have seen the General Assembly ignore scientific data relevant to our intracoastal waterways forcing coastal communities to deal with rising sea levels without adequate funding. Sea levels are becoming more acidic because of global warming. Literally, rising temperatures are killing our oceans and sea life. Donald Trump enacted a 30% tariff on solar panel imports at the worst possible time. The effect canceled several projects and it continues the use of fossil fuels when we can least afford it. We need to stop electing anti-science politicians who jeopardize the future, and the health and welfare of our children and grandchildren. Time will run out for all us if we don't act now. Please consider a contribution to my campaign so we can work on this and many issues facing our District. secure.actblue.com/donate/huffmanfornc Rep. Hudson(R) could not be ‘more’ wrong on his recent Vote in support of H.R. 2666. The FCC should regulate rates charged for Broadband Internet service. If this makes it to the President’s desk, President Obama should veto it.
Rep. Hudson’s claims the Internet is not a Utility. It is. We use it to access email, websites, and online commerce. We use it after we’ve popped popcorn to stream a favorite movie. Unfortunately, Rep Hudson's vote is for the Telecom Monopoly not consumers and his constituents, who would be forced to pay higher rates if this bill went into law. The Internet was made possible today mostly from the initial support and research of tax-payer funded research, through DARPA and today exists as a globally distributed network. Sounds like a utility system to me, because Tax Payers paid for it. In 1996 - Consumers used to have access to over 200 telephone companies just in NC. The Telecom act of 1996 was supposed to ensure American Consumers would have choices. One by one, lobbyists for the Telecoms have pushed State & Federal Representatives to undermine the 1996 Telecom Act and to issue laws that remove regulation, which paved the way for consolidation. Now 20 years later. We only have a few companies who offer Broadband internet access via telephone, cable or satellite. If you're a Mobile Phone user, you choices are even worse. On average, the cost of Business class broadband is $200 a month. Residential is $50-80. If you read the Terms of Service of your provider, broadband is listed as Best Effort service. What does that mean? Well if you're a business and you purchase a 50mb x 5mb service, you might not always enjoy that 50mb download capacity. One day it could be slower than your upload. That’s Best Effort. The 1996 Telecom Act was supposed to encourage the phone companies to improve their network, increase Internet speeds to the home and improve reliability. Based on the last 20 years of de-regulation, yes de-regulation. Consumers are paying higher rates for slow internet. Why doesn't every home have fiber yet? De-regulation at the state and federal level killed that idea. Fiber Optic was developed in 1966 and was quickly adopted to replace copper for telecom communications. Telecom's have held on to copper vs upgrading their network 20 years ago. There was no reason to upgrade a 100 year old copper network. Remember, not ALL de-regulation is good. In fact to de-regulate you have to regulate. Just look at what a Monopoly does when there’s are no competition. When consumers have less choice, rates are higher. That's a fact. Rep. Hudson sites a study reporting 43,560 jobs could be lost over a five year period. However, 1 in 5 jobs in NC are a result of Broadband Internet - in 2015 that represented 18% of new jobs. Makes one wonder how many jobs were lost by not upgrading to Fiber Optic to the homes when the 1996 Telecom Act went into place. It's sad that Rep Hudson has not listened to his constituents who pay for the Broadband service, including me, that have expressed their concern regarding access to the Internet. When a Representative fails to listen to their constituents and fails to educate themselves on an issue, they are clearly representing the ones who benefit by this law. The Big Monopoly Telephone Companies. They were cheering when he voted YES for this bill. I posted this on Rep Hudson's Facebook page. It was quickly deleted and I was blocked from posting. It's clear he doesn't listen to constituents. He listened to the Corporate PAC's who donate to him. |
AuthorScott Huffman Archives
November 2021
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