L-R: jgsf1987, ?, Brian DeGrego, Charlene Woodcock, Claire Broom, Jonathan Gordon,
Sean Elsbernd, (Senator Feinstein’s deputy state director) Steve Crow, kimoconnor,
Paul Hogarth, Neeta Lind (navajo) and EagleOfFreedom
This is one of the first Daily Kos "feet-on-the-ground" events that have combined the efforts of our Action and Community Building teams. We are planning others for the near future. Daily Kos Action team member Carissa Miller has already reported about our efforts in DC yesterday: Three million petition signatures to overturn Citizens United delivered to Congress. Her detailed event diary shows a photo of a box full of 280,534 signatures from Daily Kos readers along side others from dozens of allied organizations.
For our action in San Francisco yesterday, Daily Kos Action team member, Rachel Colyer, collaborated with a couple of groups outside of Daily Kos to ask for volunteers to visit their senators for in-district meetings asking to protect net neutrality. Rachel set up appointments with various Senate offices and spoke individually with each volunteer on the telephone to prepare them.
Paul Hogarth led the meeting by presenting a letter to Senator Feinstein’s deputy state director, Sean Elsbernd, asking the Senator to submit a letter to the FCC in favor of adopting rules under Title II of the 1934 Telecommunications Act which would regulate the internet as a common carrier, as a utility, just like telephones. Paul informed Elsbernd that Nancy Pelosi had just asked FCC Chair Tom Wheeler to reclassifying broadband as a utility. Joan McCarter reports: Pelosi urges FCC to reclassify broadband, support net neutrality. This appeared to be of great interest to Elsbernd. He asked for a copy of the letter which Paul has since provided.
From a public health consultant, concerned citizens to entrepreneurs we went around the table and told Elsbernd why it was important to each of us to protect net neutrality. He seemed particularly interested in protecting public education's use of the internet. Online learning is critical and will be hampered at a slower speed.
I brought up that many rural areas of the country are trying to set up broadband and that having two speeds of connectivity only sets that important project back. Elsbernd perked up and replied that he and Feinstein have been working on projects in rural areas such as Ukiah to enable broadband there. He asked if we had heard from any advocates in that area. This would particularly resonate with the Senator since she has been an advocate of expanding the internet to rural areas in California. Paul is going to ask elfling to write something to the Senator since she has already written about the difficult process of providing internet over remote areas.
Paul said that Daily Kos has an email list of 1.6 million people. This issue has resonated very deeply with our readers because it strikes to the very heart and existence of our website and why we've been able to flourish.
I then read Markos's statement from earlier that day:
As founder of Daily Kos and co-founder of Vox Media, I've been part of creating nearly 500 jobs, and none of that would be possible without a free and open internet. The time has come for Chairman Wheeler to get out of his little DC bubble and engage with the entrepreneurs that are creating the jobs of tomorrow, and the public that benefits from that freedom.
In conclusion, Elsbernd asked for a list of Senators who had written or signed letters to the FCC because he knows Feinstein will ask for one. He requested an email from an individual constituent who can report about the impact of this from a rural area. He felt he understood the education angle and could articulate it but he wanted to hear from an educator, superintendent, school board member, someone professionally in the education world. Kimoconnor offered that the American Library Association has public statements available. Elsbernd was enthusiastic to have that link sent to him to have as he prepares this meeting for the Senator's consideration.
Elsbernd's email address
Elsbernd said that the biggest sales points for the Senator are going to be education and rural access of the internet. The rural development has been her passion for a long time.
Simplfy asked Elsbernd what arguments he had heard in favor of two tiers of internet service and the answer was that he had heard of none. He also said that this issue is one of the top five issues sent into Feinstein's offices. Elsbernd said Paul's last statement on this will resonate with the Senator and that this is a consumer protection issue. He said that typically wins the day with Senator Feinstein.
Thank you to all the articulate Kossacks who took the time to respond to our invitation, spent time on the phone with our Action team and made their way into the city to meet with Senator Feinstein's staff. I feel it went very well and was time well spent by all.