The Sepreme Court
The Highest Court in the Land is due to come out with a lot of decision today. I’ll high light the decision as they come out.
- Supreme Court struck down the displays for 2 in Kentucky. Voting went the usually way for such things.
WASHINGTON - In a narrowly drawn ruling, the Supreme Court struck down Ten Commandments displays in courthouses Monday, holding that two exhibits in Kentucky crossed the line between separation of church and state because they promoted a religious message.
An interesting quote …
In a stinging dissent, Justice
Antonin Scalia worried publicly about “the dictatorship of a shifting Supreme Court majority.”I couldn’t find his entire quote but the story is still very new. Anyway I think this is his way of “campaigning for Rehnquist’s job, appealing to the conservatives, i particular the conservative President and Senate. It is widely speculated that Rehnquist will step down from the court today.
- Forbes
NEW YORK - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that cable companies are under no legal obligation to share their lines with smaller Internet service providers, dealing a major blow to independent ISPs, extending the power of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and opening up the possibility of extensive deregulation in the telecommunications world.
The Court’s 6-3 ruling in Federal Communications Commission vs. Brand X Internet upheld an earlier FCC decision saying cable operators were exempt from common-carrier regulations that apply to phone companies.
Because their transmissions are classified as “telecommunications services,” phone companies such as SBC Communications (nyse: SBC - news - people ) and Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people ) are required by law to provide access to their lines. That means independent ISPs are able to buy access to those networks at wholesale prices and resell high-speed digital subscriber lines (known as DSL) to their customers. But competing broadband services sold by cable operators have been classified as “information services,” which are not subject to line-sharing regulations, so ISPs cannot resell access
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I held out hope for this but .. - …this is no surprise
June 27 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court bolstered the entertainment industry’s anti-piracy campaign, saying Grokster Ltd. and other Internet file-sharing networks may bear responsibility when users illegally download music and films.
The court unanimously said Grokster and StreamCast Networks Inc. set up their systems with the “unmistakable” goal of encouraging copyright infringement.
*Epiphany !!! This is why Verizon will be offering “naked” DSL and is also quietly pushing is vios (fiber to your home) service.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for consumers and maintains the momentum to advance broadband in the U.S. Classifying cable modem service as an interstate information service, as the FCC did, keeps this innovative service on the right deregulatory path,” said a statement from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the industry’s principal trade association.
It’s also good news for phone companies who want to get their own business deregulated and boot ISPs off their lines. Those companies now know they can approach a friendly FCC for a ruling in their favor, rather than fight to push regulatory changes through Congress, says Legg Mason analyst Blair Levin. “Although I’m sure they’ll go to Congress, too,” he says.
Emphasis mine.
