Netwood

If you'v ever watched HBO's "Deadwood," you know it's the story of a mining camp in indian territory in the 1870s. Gold has been discovered, so no one really cares that the land is by treaty supposed to belong the the native Americans of the area. The tiny camp of Deadwood becomes a town where absolutely no law applies -- until it simply becomes too rich and the government steps in and annexes the camp as part of South Dakota. But not before there's a fair amount of violence and chaos.

Well, now that the Internet has become a gold camp of its own, being significantly responsible for some of the largest gains in productivity in history, as well as transforming the way people live, work and play, the government is once again stepping in. This time it's not necessarily to bring order, but to concentrate control of the Net into the hands of a few very powerful players.

Here's an article that is part of this interesting story -- that I have only just begun to become aware of. Congress (in between their attacks on gay and lesbian people) have managed to find the time to debate the possibiity of giving the major telecommunications companies control over the Internet, changing it from the loose, free, packed with liberty and opportunity environment that it is today, into a more centrally-controlled, less free, shadow of itself. In the 19th century South Dakota, an argument could be made that Deadwood needed some control and oversight to bring order to the town and make it safe for all who wanted to seek their fortune. Today's net grab is not about safety or the public good, but the concentration of power.

Interested in learning more? Enter "net neutrality" on Google News.