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On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission issued an official notice of Free Press' complaint that Verizon's blocking of tethering apps violated the terms of the company's C-Block spectrum license. The FCC's action requires a written response from Verizon to the merits of the complaint.
Prior to yesterday's action, communications with the FCC on the merits of Free Press' complaint were prohibited. After procedural objections were raised by public interest organizations and law professors, the FCC has now opened the file to permit Free Press, Verizon, and others to speak with the FCC. However, as the complaint is treated as "exempt," parties are not required to file ex parte notices after they've met with the Commission. Additionally, because the FCC has not yet assigned a proceeding number to the complaint, written comments cannot be made part of a public Commission record.
Free Press commends the FCC for opening the tethering complaint for discussion, encourages all interested stakeholders to weigh in with the agency, and pledges to disclose notices of its presentations to the FCC on the merits of the complaint. Should the FCC subsequently assign a docket number to this proceeding to establish a written public record, Free Press will voluntarily file notices of ex parte communications.
Free Press Political Adviser Joel Kelsey made the following statement:
"We're pleased the FCC has agreed that the public interest is best served when multiple stakeholders have an opportunity to express their view before the agency. The Commission's action marks the start of a longer public review of Verizon Wireless and Google's practice of limiting and restricting consumers' use of legal applications. Many individuals and organizations are impacted by these practices, and we hope they will all make their voices heard.
"Although it is not required, Free Press will commit to filing public notices after each meeting we have with the Commission regarding our complaint, and we challenge Verizon Wireless to the same level of transparency. We hope that the Commission assigns a docket number to this proceeding in order to allow our notices and other written filings to be collected together and made publicly accessible."
Go here for more about Free Press' complaint: https://www.freepress.net/press-release/2011/6/6/complaint-shows-verizon%E2%80%99s-failure-comply-terms-spectrum-licenses
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
(202) 265-1490'He hated Black people,' the sheriff said
A racist white man killed three black people in a racially motivated attack then killed himself in Jacksonville, Florida.
The man, identified by local media as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, entered a Dollar General store and opened fire with an AR-15 assault rifle.
Sheriff T K Waters said three blacks - two men and a woman - were killed by the gunman, who wore body armor and left manifestos of his “disgusting ideology of hate.” The gunman had swastikas drawn on his AR-15-style rifle
“This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff Waters said.
"He targeted a certain group of people and that's Black people. That's what he said he wanted to kill. And that's very clear," Sheriff Waters said. The manifestos made it clear: “He wanted to kill n******,” the sheriff said.
The attack happened less than a mile from the historically black Edwards Waters University.
The shooter first went to the university campus, where he was asked to identify himself by a security officer, the university said in a statement. When he refused, he was asked to leave.
"The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident," the statement added.
Ryan Palmeter lived with his parents in nearby Oakleaf and was a registered Republican, according to Florida voting records.
Mass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S., with more than 469 so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
'Our legacy of resistance & building never ends'
Tens of thousands of Americans converged on Washington Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a turning point in the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement at which Martin Luther King Jr gave his galvanizing "I have a dream" speech.
Organizers say today's march was not a commemoration but a continuation of the demands made in 1963.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s only grandchild Yolanda Renee King, 15, told the gathering that if she could speak to her grandfather today, she would say, "I am sorry we still have to be here to rededicate ourselves to finishing your work."
"Sixty years ago, Dr. King urged us to struggle against the triple evils of racism, poverty, and bigotry," she said. "Today, racism is still with us. Poverty is still with us. And now gun violence has come for our places of worship, our schools, and our shopping centers."
"When people say my generation is cynical, we say cynicism is a luxury we cannot afford," she said. "I believe that my generation will be defined by action, not apathy."
“We have made progress, over the last 60 years, since Dr. King led the March on Washington,” said Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. “Have we reached the mountaintop? Not by a longshot.”
'Why Democrats must ignore the corporate wing of the party and instead put forward a bold agenda'
US Sen. Bernie Sanders returned to New Hampshire Saturday to deliver a speech entitled “The Agenda America Needs” at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
“I have always believed that good public policy is good politics,” Sanders said in a statement before the speech. “The American people are increasingly disgusted at the growing levels of income and wealth inequality in our country and the rampant corporate greed we are seeing.”
“We invited him, but he’s coming here for a reason,” New Hampshire Institute of Politics executive director Neil Levesque told the Concord Monitor. “I think it opens the door for a lot of other sorts of thoughts about whether or not Biden’s going to be the nominee, whether or not Biden is going to be running in next year’s presidential election.”
I’m LIVE in N.H. to give a major address on why Democrats must ignore the corporate wing of the party and instead put forward a bold agenda.
(The audio improves after the first few minutes}