Home Page
Be an activist. Build community. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Freedom of Speech
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects several essential rights, against congressional infringements: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and the right of assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
More at Electronic Privacy Information Center
The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.
Adlai E. Stevenson 1900-1965, American Lawyer, Politician
Adlai E. Stevenson 1900-1965, American Lawyer, Politician
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead 1901-1978, anthropologist
Date: June 8, 2009
Contact: Jen Howard, Free Press, (202) 265-1490 x22
WASHINGTON -- Today, Free Press filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission as part of the agency's "national broadband plan" to bring high-speed Internet to all Americans.
"The FCC's broadband plan must chart a new direction for technology policy in this country," said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of the comments. "Success will depend on policies that promote robust broadband competition, guarantee strong Net Neutrality protections, and produce concrete data about the broadband market. The agency must set a high bar for broadband -- our digital future cannot rest on today's slow, expensive standards."
Free Press offered the following recommendations:
- Conduct a thorough review of the current state of the broadband market and the impact of past policies. Over the last decade, the FCC has not evaluated the broadband market to assess the real impact of its decisions on consumers. The FCC should produce an honest assessment of broadband deployment, develop a data-driven standard to identify local areas where providers are abusing their market power, and evaluate the impact of all past policies.
- Encourage broadband adoption through policies that increase competition. The FCC must move beyond availability. One of the main underlying barriers to broadband adoption is value -- the speeds are too slow and the prices are too high. The national broadband plan should focus on the policies that spur the deployment of high-capacity networks and drive down consumer costs.
- Treat broadband as infrastructure. President Barack Obama recently said that America's digital infrastructure is "the backbone that underpins a prosperous economy and a strong military and an open and efficient government." The FCC should prioritize policies that promote next-generation networks, ensuring that commercial market failures do not result in weakening the nation's economic foundation.
- Protect the open Internet through strong Net Neutrality rules. The economic and social value of broadband is derived from the content and services it delivers. The FCC should expand and codify the "Internet Policy Statement" into permanent Net Neutrality rules. The FCC should also reverse the decision to classify broadband Internet access service as a pure information service, which would allow the agency to reinstate open access rules where appropriate.
Read Free Press' broadband comments: http://www.freepress.net/files/FP_National_broadband_plan.pdf
Remember ETC 12, the first public access channel in Minnesota? Channel 12 is back. Our librarian, The Unknown DJ, and Hutch have brought the channel back to the ETC website. Click on the link, sit back and watch the programs of CHANNEL 12.
Check back we will keep adding those shows you loved from the Channel 12 archives.
Check back we will keep adding those shows you loved from the Channel 12 archives.
A Voice From ETC's Past
To whomever Vidiot, Plumbicon, or Fridley Communications Workshop Alumni this may reach-
My name is David St. John. From ages 10 to 12 (1979-81), I lived for ETC 12. Through some good fortune, my friend Mike and I found ourselves a great creative outlet in a basement TV studio called Everyone's Television Channel.
People like Mark Scott, John King, Mike Bednarchuk, and Terry Lovaas were on-site...Will Loew-Blosser stands out as the one who would show us how to use cameras, character generators...let us experiment for hours with props, matte key effects, or take a porta-pak for days...
His encouragement (and tolerance) helped us with some shows that were aired often, primarily something called The Frank and St. John Show...something I haven't seen since our family moved to Las Vegas in 1982. It was about 20 minutes of my pal Mike and myself doing silly skits (Traveler's Check ad parody, Short People music video, Six Million Dollar Man parody) in Studio B.
It even earned us a "Willy Award", bestowed to us by the same adults that helped facilitate our show in the first place. Very cool.
We also had a call-in show we did live a few times on Saturday mornings called Everyone's Vote...
We were on the ETC 12 float in the parade...Plumbicons, Hellbound Train, Innertube (Nugent interview by Brian, my cousins boyfriend), Air Guitar Contest, Under 16, Telethon, Willy Awards, I was in studio for much of it.
I sure hope this reaches someone who remembers this stuff so I can thank them personally. A huge bonus would be to connect with the keeper of this large underground tape library (Unknown DJ?) because I would ABSOLUTELY TREASURE any material from that era of ETC 12...the experience taught me a lot and stuck with me forever (I now perform, write and produce large-scale stage shows in Las Vegas).
AMEN to FREEDOM OF SPEECH! Thank you!
Sincerely,
David St. John
To whomever Vidiot, Plumbicon, or Fridley Communications Workshop Alumni this may reach-
My name is David St. John. From ages 10 to 12 (1979-81), I lived for ETC 12. Through some good fortune, my friend Mike and I found ourselves a great creative outlet in a basement TV studio called Everyone's Television Channel.
People like Mark Scott, John King, Mike Bednarchuk, and Terry Lovaas were on-site...Will Loew-Blosser stands out as the one who would show us how to use cameras, character generators...let us experiment for hours with props, matte key effects, or take a porta-pak for days...
His encouragement (and tolerance) helped us with some shows that were aired often, primarily something called The Frank and St. John Show...something I haven't seen since our family moved to Las Vegas in 1982. It was about 20 minutes of my pal Mike and myself doing silly skits (Traveler's Check ad parody, Short People music video, Six Million Dollar Man parody) in Studio B.
It even earned us a "Willy Award", bestowed to us by the same adults that helped facilitate our show in the first place. Very cool.
We also had a call-in show we did live a few times on Saturday mornings called Everyone's Vote...
We were on the ETC 12 float in the parade...Plumbicons, Hellbound Train, Innertube (Nugent interview by Brian, my cousins boyfriend), Air Guitar Contest, Under 16, Telethon, Willy Awards, I was in studio for much of it.
I sure hope this reaches someone who remembers this stuff so I can thank them personally. A huge bonus would be to connect with the keeper of this large underground tape library (Unknown DJ?) because I would ABSOLUTELY TREASURE any material from that era of ETC 12...the experience taught me a lot and stuck with me forever (I now perform, write and produce large-scale stage shows in Las Vegas).
AMEN to FREEDOM OF SPEECH! Thank you!
Sincerely,
David St. John
The Communications Workshop - past, present and future …
You have been lucky enough to stumble across the Communications Workshop web site. We know ourselves as ETC 33, Everyone's Television Channel. Back in 1975 through 2001 we operated public access in the city of Fridley, Minnesota. Fridley, a sleepy bedroom community of Minneapolis, the home of Medtronics and the first public access center in Minnesota. But you can find out more about our history by clicking ABOUT ETC 33.
We have had some weird things happen in our thirty plus years in public access arena. But, this is the welcome part. So, welcome. Welcome to ETC 33, our new home in cyber space. We still live by our original beliefs: freedom of speech, educating, presenting ideas and having fun. Poke around the site find out what we have to offer. After over twenty-five years of operating an access facility and a national award along the way, we are reinventing our public access roots. This site is our baby and it is kicking and screaming its way through the twenty-first century.
Don’t be shy, start surfing! And, be an activist!
You have been lucky enough to stumble across the Communications Workshop web site. We know ourselves as ETC 33, Everyone's Television Channel. Back in 1975 through 2001 we operated public access in the city of Fridley, Minnesota. Fridley, a sleepy bedroom community of Minneapolis, the home of Medtronics and the first public access center in Minnesota. But you can find out more about our history by clicking ABOUT ETC 33.
We have had some weird things happen in our thirty plus years in public access arena. But, this is the welcome part. So, welcome. Welcome to ETC 33, our new home in cyber space. We still live by our original beliefs: freedom of speech, educating, presenting ideas and having fun. Poke around the site find out what we have to offer. After over twenty-five years of operating an access facility and a national award along the way, we are reinventing our public access roots. This site is our baby and it is kicking and screaming its way through the twenty-first century.
Don’t be shy, start surfing! And, be an activist!
SAVE THE INTERNET
Comcast has given us a glimpse of a world without Net Neutrality, and it's a chilling sight.
An investigation by the Associated Press caught the cable giant secretly inspecting online communications and crippling users' ability to share information with one another.
Check out the ETC NEWS page.
Take Action: Save The Internet
*****************************
Stop Big Media
Corporate media giants are silencing diverse voices, abandoning quality journalism and eliminating local content (we've got evidence). Our democracy needs better media - but the FCC wants to expand the power of America's largest media companies. -- Get the facts!
freepress.net
Comcast has given us a glimpse of a world without Net Neutrality, and it's a chilling sight.
An investigation by the Associated Press caught the cable giant secretly inspecting online communications and crippling users' ability to share information with one another.
Check out the ETC NEWS page.
Take Action: Save The Internet
*****************************
Stop Big Media
Corporate media giants are silencing diverse voices, abandoning quality journalism and eliminating local content (we've got evidence). Our democracy needs better media - but the FCC wants to expand the power of America's largest media companies. -- Get the facts!
freepress.net
Freedom of speech is protected in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and is guaranteed to all Americans. Be an activist. Protect your right to Freedom of Speech.
