Activism

Save the Internet

Here's an e-mail from MoveOn.org on the important issue of protecting Net Neutrality. It says in part:

Recently, the New York legislature closed their 2007 session without passing a bill that has been called "the gold standard" in Internet freedom legislation. This ground-breaking bill would have protected Net Neutrality, connected more upstate communities to high-speed Internet, and lowered prices for consumers through competition. Big phone and cable companies opposed the bill.

Now, all eyes are on Governor Eliot Spitzer. He will determine which bills are top priority during a special legislative session in July.1


Can you call Governor Spitzer today? Tell him that strong Internet freedom legislation must be a top priority in the special legislative session, and ask him to publicly endorse the "Omnibus Telecom Reform Act" right away.

Governor Eliot Spitzer, 518-474-8390
Please help us track our progress by reporting your call here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2732&id=10709-6969961-ygP_Z6&t=2

We need to let Spitzer know we have his back if he shows leadership on this issue. Over 75,000 New Yorkers have signed a petition supporting Net Neutrality—the rule that stops Internet providers like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from deciding which websites work properly on your computer based on which websites pay them the most.2

The bill is also supported by leading consumers groups, technology groups, rural advocates, and the New York Communications Workers of America.3 And the bill's sponsor points out that by taking on special interests, this bill is "actually good for real people."4


Can you call Governor Spitzer today? Tell him that strong Internet freedom legislation must be a top priority in the next legislative session, and ask him to publicly endorse the "Omnibus Telecom Reform Act" right away.

Governor Eliot Spitzer, 518-474-8390
Please help us track our progress by reporting your call here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2732&id=10709-6969961-ygP_Z6&t=3

Thanks for all you do.
–Adam Green, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Bronx Borough President Carrion @ The 2007 Puerto Rican Day Parade

Bronx Borough President Carrion @ The 2007 Puerto Rican Day Parade
Originally uploaded by DeLares (Eliud Martinez).

Photo by DeLares (Eliud Martinez)

Featured Book

PARADES AND POWER:
THE BORICUAN ODYSSEY

This new book traces the sources of Puerto Rican striving and setbacks in New York and elsewhere. > By Bienvenido Ruiz

City Limits WEEKLY #594
July 2, 2007

Boricua Power: A Political History of Puerto Ricans in the United States; By José Ramón Sánchez; NYU Press; $24.

On a sunny Sunday last month, thousands embraced the 50th National Puerto Rican Day Parade as a celebration of their heritage and a moment of pride and visibility. It was the prime occasion for politicians, celebrities, corporations and assorted public figures to display – and claim the rewards of – their “solidarity” with this community. Besides its high profile and sheer numbers, this event is a yearly New York City milestone for bringing attention to the myriad conflicts between Puerto Ricans and the city’s powerful.

Again this year, the media recorded an aftermath of controversy: how many Fifth Avenue buildings were barricaded from the crowd; how many people were arrested, and for what; whether the police wrongfully targeted young people for wearing this or that (supposedly gang-related) t-shirt; how people watching a parade could be accused of “unlawful assembly"; and whether there were “wilding” incidents to report, as in past years.

The unfortunate conflicts following this exceptional moment of visibility reflect, in a way, the history of Puerto Ricans in the U.S.

For more, go to www.citylimits.org.