Hey Everyone...this is really unnerving (to say the least)

I post the Daily Reading every morning to the Forum on this site (and I always send it to my bellsouth account (the 'new AT&T' - ie unstoppable monopolistic juggernaut) as well as to a small mailing list (7 addresses - including Raine's yay!)...

Well, I thought something was up this morning, when I didn't see that it went through (from bellsouth to bellsouth) so I sent it to my AOL account from bellsouth and vice versa...to see if it will send it....Nada. Corrupt text/code...nope created brand new e-mails...same thing 3x.

I remember reading a couple of months back that AT&T would become a 'filter police' filtering/monitoring packets etc...under the cloak of 'piracy prevention'. Now for those of you who get into torrents, etc....you know that means you.

We already knew these (insert words here) were illegally accumulating data for the Bush crime family (ala San Francisco whistleblower who has made the rounds)...

Well...I look at their 'new guidelines' and apparently they are content filtering now....

Now...if an e-mail advocates for an illegal action, ok I'll bite...but the thought police enter into the equation here, which I am 100% against.
I can understand them filtering for 'profanity', 'inappropriate content' yada yada yada...but this seriously infringes upon freedom of speech. Once again, I'm an adult (at least in age, maybe not in practice 24-7, 365...) and there was none of the above, in fact you can go to the Forum and see exactly what I cut & paste everday....tell me if that violates any 'terms of use' you've ever seen....

Now...how many of those of you remember "NET NEUTRALITY" and the amazing grass roots stir & headlines it garnered during the run up to the 2006 election, it became a hot button issue and for all intensive purposes we 'won' and it became taken for granted. So when you see those petitions...please take those 10 seconds to do them.

I just got off the phone with them (supervisor) who wanted me to forward the message to their server team, ok, I'll play ball for now...but if by the end of this week this isn't resolved (he stated 48 hours - and yes he asked for a summary of the 'content'), then AT&T can kiss this customer good bye.

And HughesNet (satellite DSL) will have a new customer...

Talk about a Police State, hopefully this is an isolated incident, if not....I may take this and run a campaign against them...

Feel free to offer any suggestions or add anything

BTW: Raine...did you receive my daily in your comcast inbox today?
72 comments (Latest Comment: 05/06/2008 02:27:17 by livingonli)

Reporting from NC: Where Velveeta went to hear our next first lady, Ms Michelle Obama, speak at a rally on Friday evening.

Coincidentally, Hillary Clinton spoke just hours earlier and a few miles down the road. Had I wanted to, I could easily fit both into my day - I chose to see "Iron Man" instead. I point this out as somewhat of a "nudge-nudge" poke. On Friday our local TV "News at Noon" broadcast live at the Hillary event and proudly speculated a crowd of 2000! Not bad for a small town. This was later downplayed on the Saturday morning local newscast, as they were forced to report a crowd of around 3500 at the Michelle Obama rally. Instead, our local news turned Ms Clinton's rally into "thousands showed up...." (Reminder: Ms Obama is not running for any office, Ms Clinton is).

Now, in defense of Ms Clinton, her rally was at Noon on a workday, while Ms Obama's was around dinner time. But still. Mark my words: I will call in sick to work on the day our next President, Barack Obama, comes to town (rumored that he is). Gosh I hope no one at work is reading this.

The rally was held outside on a beautiful, clear, crisp day. A day that started out painfully hot, in the 70’s, the wind was blowing nicely and the temperature was dropping to a much more pleasant low 60’s as the sun slowly set. Perfect for Rallies, Bluegrass music or Baseball!
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32 comments (Latest Comment: 05/06/2008 01:52:00 by MMB)

It was hard to miss the news item yesterday, despite the 5 minutes it garnered before slipping away again. The DC Madam "committed suicide" in a shed behind her mother's house. This is the same DC madam that had names and dirt on a lot of powerful DC insiders according to news reports:

The news spin on this is that she said "she'd never go to jail". What they're failing to report is that she also said she'd never commit suicide, and if it appeared she did, it wouldn't be true:
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204 comments (Latest Comment: 05/03/2008 05:08:38 by Will in Chicago)

According to Websters, a martyr is "a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause". About 2000 years ago, Jesus allowed himself to be martyred for the sins of mankind (if you believe the Christian Bible). There are two types of martyrs: Those that allow themselves to be nailed to the cross for the greater good, and those that nail themselves to the cross so they can feel noble and important. There are too many of the latter, and not enough of the former in this world.
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184 comments (Latest Comment: 05/01/2008 02:36:23 by livingonli)

This past weekend I flew to Washington DC with the intention of meeting up with some online friends - folks I'd never actually met before but with whom I already felt a strong connection. On Saturday night I participated in the FourFreedoms Meet Up at the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn (a block and a half off of DC's Metro Blue Line). I shared a room with Starling, an adorable lesbianite who had inadvertently booked a suite with a sofa, coffee table, comfy chairs, two balconies for the smokers, plenty of tabletop space and a working ice machine just down the hall. Among those attending the Four Freedoms Meet-up were Mondo (from Jacksonville), BobR & Raine from Atlanta, ShelaghC, HoneyBearKelly, Livingoli, Wicked Pam (Mala), Starling, Stanley, the blog's official lurker (every blog must have one ) and me (mfaye).
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280 comments (Latest Comment: 04/29/2008 03:27:10 by MMB)