Is this for Real?

So, I'm reading Ctrl-Alt-Delete, which is a webcomic -- for you who don't know. And, I think, hey, I'll take a minute and read Tim's latest post (actually, it is the second one down on the page). He posts the transcript of Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) reasoning for voting against Net Netraulity.

Here's a part of it:

"There's one company now you can sign up and you can get a movie delivered to your house daily by delivery service. Okay. And currently it comes to your house, it gets put in the mail box when you get home and you change your order but you pay for that, right.

But this service isn't going to go through the interent and what you do is you just go to a place on the internet and you order your movie and guess what you can order ten of them delivered to you and the delivery charge is free.

Ten of them streaming across that internet and what happens to your own personal internet?"

So, I'm left wondering, is this for real? Is there really a Senator who is so dumb that he doesn't understand ANYTHING about the Internet? I'm not expecting an elected official to understand things like bandwidth, but he should know that the Internet is both free and commercial (read the whole post to understand).

Tim, the author of the post on Ctrl-Alt-Delete, lists the site from where he received the Senator's words, so I should too. It is http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/?entry_id=1512499. This would be a good time for the good folks of Alaska to start thinking about voting for a different Senator. We can only hope that they decide to do so. If I lived in Alaska, I certainly wouldn't want this man representing me in Washington.

I did a little research on the dear Senator and it turns out that he has held this seat since 1968 and he is 83 years old. The man will be in office forty years come his next election cycle in 2008! I could hope for retirement, but I'm sure that won't be happening! My late grandmother understood more about the Internet than this guy and she was older than him!

This is the same guy who threatened to resign if the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" wasn't funded, along with another bridge in Alaska. BTW, the town to where this 250 million dollar bridge was to be built has 50 residents. (Hey, maybe, if I lived in Alaska I would vote for this guy, at least he makes sure that the pork comes home to rest!) He actually said, "I don't kid people. If the Senate decides ... to take money from our state, I will resign from this body."

Interesting. Last I knew, the government approved the bridge, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

Here are some facts about Federal Spending in Alaska you should think about:

"Federal government spending has figured prominently in Alaska’s history and is still a major force today. The federal fiscal
year (FFY) runs from October 1 through September 30, and in FFY 2003 (the most recent data available) the federal
government spent $7.9 billion in Alaska.
(1)
Part of that spending came from the activities of the various federal agencies,
part was in the form of grants to state and municipal governments, and still another part came in payments to individuals.
In FFY 2003, Alaska taxpayers received $1.89 in federal outlays for every $1 paid in federal taxes." -- taken from: http://www.tax.state.ak.us/sourcesbook/2005/spr2005/federal.pdf

Hey, Alaska! I want my money back!

God Bless