Maryland Congressmen Who Voted Against Net Neutrality

Isn't it high time that individual Congressmen are accountable for their actions? The short list below is taken from "Net Neutrality: Who Voted for What?". The following Congressmen voted against Net Neutrality:

• Roscoe Bartlett, 6th District of Maryland.
• Elijah Cummings, 7th District of Maryland.
• Wayne Gilchrest, 1st District of Maryland.
• Dutch Ruppersberger, 2nd Disrict of Maryland.
• Albert Wynn, 4th District of Maryland.

May these members of the U.S. House of Representatives listed above live in eternal infamy on the World Wide Web. I hope this post serves as a lesson, that one shouldn't assume that one can hide behind the anonimity of voting along party lines. As evidence of the efficacy of such a post, do try googling the congressman's name in conjunction with the words "neutrality" (click here to see this effect).

For some backgrounder of this issue, read Tim Berners-Lee blog post "Neutrality of the Net" which I quote:

The Internet is increasingly becoming the dominant medium binding us. The neutral communications medium is essential to our society. It is the basis of a fair competitive market economy. It is the basis of democracy, by which a community should decide what to do. It is the basis of science, by which humankind should decide what is true.

In addition read this on the mark analysis of the motivations of telecommunication companies, which I quote:

If QOS really did something useful, like providing end user value, then the economics would have forced it into widespread use by now. Let’s face it, the only ROI for QoS is extortion! In fact this pathetic attempt at controlling the Internet while extorting the end user or content providers is really hard to do, complex, expensive, and has ramifications on innovation and the future health of the Internet.

Now ask yourself this, what did these congressmen have in mind when they voted against net neutrality? I'm certainly sure it wasn't aligned with the wishes and needs of their constituents.

Bloggers have benefited tremendously because of Net Neutrality, it is therefore appropriate that we give back a smidgin of effort to preserve it. That is, with enough of posts like this, we can wield significant influence towards protecting and preserving freedom.