[Vision2020] Fw: [Spam 3.17] National Grange View from the Hill Newsletter - August 2010

[Paul Rumelhart]

I disagree with their worries on this.  Essentially, the "third way" plan, as I 
understand it, is to regulate broadband access providers as "common carriers", 
like the phone companies are, but only in some respects.  They couldn't, for 
example, deny service to someone on a whim.  They must make their services 
accessible to people with disabilities.  They must protect confidential 
information they receive while providing services, and some other things.  The 
one aspect that the Grange seems worried about is the provision to allow the FCC 
to work on making service available to all regions of the nation.  From what I 
understand, they feel that a private approach would be better rather than having 
the government step in and  work on providing broadband all over the country.  
They are also worried about the jobs that might be lost in the process.  I tend 
to think that a universal broadband push by the FCC would better suit an "open 
internet", since providing coverage to all citizens would be their priority.  I 
personally think that rural citizens would be better off if this became policy.  
Right now, rural access to broadband sucks because it's not as profitable as 
providing access in larger communities because it costs a lot in infrastructure 
to get access to all the rural sites in the nation.  Rural areas will always be 
the last to get access unless a "universal broadband" policy is adopted.  That 
might end up raising the rates for broadband in the more populated areas as well 
to subsidize the extra costs of the rural areas, but this is a small price to 
pay, in my opinion, for a more open internet.

I think it's interesting to note that the major broadband providers are against 
this plan because they think it opens the door to "net neutrality" policies.  I 
can see why they are afraid of that, they are just chomping at the bit to be 
able to make ESPN and Hulu and other content providers bid for priority routing 
on their network, making their services faster at the expense of the little 
guy.  If this "third way" proposal results in net neutrality, I'm all for it.

When the Internet was young, before it became all corporate, it was a haven for 
free information.  People put data on the net (before this "web" thing came 
about) because they wanted people to see it.  It was an "open internet" 
proponents paradise.  Then the corporations found out about it (years after the 
web came to be), and decided they wanted to make use of it to further their 
bottom lines.  I fear that the halcyon days of an open internet are long past 
us, but this might be a step in the right direction to salvage what is left.  If 
we don't get net neutrality, all you'll have is Disney and MSNBC and all the 
other corporate giants.  Sure, the sites with information that people want to 
make available because they believe in giving back to the community will still 
be there, but good luck downloading the content when you have to compete with 
the big names who are paying for faster download speeds.  If you suck at the tit 
of Corporate America for your entertainment, then letting corporations bid for 
priority access might benefit you.  If you don't want to be spoon fed your 
entertainment and value creativity and choice, then net neutrality is what you 
want.  And if the government doesn't want you to see something, then they only 
have to pay off or intimidate a small number of large companies and you'll never 
see it.  And you know how well large corporations value your privacy.

Paul



----- Original Message ----
From: lfalen <lfalen at turbonet.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Mon, August 30, 2010 10:05:01 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: [Spam 3.17] National Grange View from the Hill 
Newsletter - August 2010

See section on Open Internet.
Roger
-----Original message-----

From: "Stephanie Wilkins" SWIlkins at nationalgrange.org
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:22:34 -0700
To: 
Subject: [Spam 3.17] National Grange View from the Hill Newsletter - August 2010



August 2010

*    Nicole Palya Wood Joins National Grange as Legislative Affairs
Director 
*    National Grange Supports Open Internet 
*    Legislative Round-Up 
*    "Nature's Motto is Onward. She Never Looks Back!" 



Nicole Palya Wood Joins National Grange as Legislative Affairs Director

On August 5, 2010, The National Grange welcomed veteran government
relations professional, Nicole Palya Wood as their new Legislative
Affairs Director. Nicole brings to the organization over 13 years of
government affairs experience in both the congressional and state
arenas, and a self-proclaimed passion for the legislative process. "I am
excited about the opportunity to use my skills and experiences in
government relations and grassroots political management to further
build the legislative program of the National Grange," said Wood.

A native of Virginia, Nicole graduated from James Madison University and
caught the bug for legislative affairs while working as a legislative
aide for Senator Frank Ruff in the Virginia State Legislature. She would
later represent the National Rifle Association as a State Legislative
Liaison in the mid-atlantic and southern region as well as serving as
Manager of Government Affairs for TAP Pharmaceuticals.

In D.C., Nicole previously served as the Director of Legislative Affairs
for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, lobbying the House Financial
Services and Senate Banking Committees. She continued her work on rural
housing and community banking issues as the Senior Lobbyist for
America's Community Bankers, a trade association of community banks,
where she also served as a resource on farm credit issues.

"Nicole Palya Wood brings a tremendous amount of experience and
enthusiasm to our legislative programs," said National Grange President
Ed Luttrell. "I am confident that whether working on Capitol Hill to
represent the National Grange, or meeting with our grassroots Grange
activists from around the nation, Nicole will uphold the high standards
of professional government relations work that has been the hallmark of
our legislative program for 143 years," Luttrell concluded.

When not on the Hill, Nicole is working on her Certification as a
Professional Dog Trainer and enjoys spending time with her New
Zealand-born husband Campbell, their Anatolian Shepherd and Rhodesian
Ridgeback. She also enjoys serving as a volunteer for The Campagna
Center mentoring programs, where she has been appointed as a board
member since 2007. Nicole and her husband live in Alexandria, Virginia
just around the corner from George & Martha Washington's Mount Vernon
estate.

National Grange Supports Open Internet

As part of a broad coalition of other public interests and consumer
organizations to support open internet, the National Grange recently
wrote to the House and Senate Commerce Committee asking them to support
the adoption of legislation which would guarantees Internet that is
accessible to all. In their comments, the coalition contends that
current regulatory policies have made it possible for the rapid growth
of broadband technology throughout the past decade. The coalition went
on to say that policies such as the Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) National Broadband Plan are a welcome step towards continuing to
bring affordable broadband access to every corner of the country,
including those in rural and geographically challenging areas.

However, the coalition is concerned that the FCC's recently announced
"third way" proposal-to mandate certain types of access to the
Internet-could unintentionally deter investment in rural areas and
stifle the growth of broadband technology across the country. According
to a recent FCC survey, only 50% of rural citizens use broadband at
home. In order to help the other half of rural residents gain access to
broadband, private sector investment is needed.

The coalition went on to say that if the FCC's "third way" proposal is
left unchecked, the private sector marketplace will begin a period of
reduced innovation and, as a result, inhibit the expansion of broadband
services in our communities. Classifying broadband technology as Title
II Service will further
isolate rural communities, impeding their ability to grow businesses,
connect with employment opportunities, educational institutions, health
care providers, and communicate with our government. 

The coalition fears that limited investment will invariably reduce
efforts to provide improved broadband access to rural America and cease
initiatives aimed at providing high-speed Internet to our most
underserved communities. At a time when Americans in rural areas stand
to benefit tremendously from the economic, educational, and health care
opportunities afforded by broadband access, we are deeply concerned
about proposed changes that could slow down broadband deployment in our
communities.

The coalition is also deeply concerned about the immediate economic
implications of the FCC's proposed regulations on rural areas.
Discouraging investment in broadband infrastructure will hurt job
creation in our communities, which is especially pertinent given the
fragile state of our economy. At a time of economic unrest, we think it
unwise to introduce such unprecedented regulations and cannot support
any policy that could possibly result in additional job loss.

Finally, the organizations asked the House and Senate Commerce
Committees to investigate the potential impact that the FCC's "third
way" proposal could have on rural communities.

Legislative Round-Up

  

Connecticut State Grange

Legislative Success
By Gordon Gibson, CT State Grange Legislative Director 

The Connecticut regular session of the General Assembly is over. Both
bills that the Grange supported were passed by the legislature and are
now on the waiting list for the Governor's signature. 

HB 5419, now Public Act 10-103, will allow farmers to make pickles and
salsa in their home kitchen for later sale at their farm stand and
farmers markets. House Bill 5446, now Public Act 10-92, will exempt
agricultural fairs from the requirements of the Mass Gatherings Law
because fairs work closely enough with their local officials such that
all appropriate local agencies are informed of the dates well in advance
of the dates they are held.

The Connecticut General Assembly moved $5 million from the Community
Investment Act Fund into the General Fund to help balance the budget.
The community investment act funds are divided into four equal amounts
for farmland preservation, open space preservation, historic
preservation and affordable housing. This means $1,500,000 was taken
from the state's farmland preservation program to help balance the
budget. On the bright side, there were no new taxes imposed which would
have been necessary without taking money from many other sources. Also
on the bright side, the General Assembly did not take as much from the
Community Investment Act funds as they took from several other special
purpose funds.

Massachusetts State Grange

Century Farm Book
>From Massachusetts State Grange News

The Massachusetts State Grange Executive Committee voted to co-sponsor
the Massachusetts Century Farm book with the Farm Bureau. This book is
about farms in Massachusetts that have been family run for at least 100
years. The Grange logo will appear in the book and on the signage being
produced for the qualifying farms.

Pennsylvania State Grange


Grange Testifies for Improved Milk Prices
>From Pennsylvania State Grange Advocate 

Matt Espenshade testified on behalf of the Pennsylvania State Grange at
the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board's Over Order Premium (OOP) hearing
in June in support of extending the premium payment for Class I milk at
the $2.65 per hundred weight level. Matt provided compelling testimony
about the plight of dairy farmers forced to contend with depressed milk
prices despite rising production costs. Even with past increases in the
OOP and other cost saving measures on their own farms, dairy farmers are
lucky to break even with the milk production costs. He highlighted the
need for changes in the milk pricing system including changes to the
Federal Milk Marketing Order to revamp the Dairy Product Price Support
and Milk Income Loss Contract programs.

"Nature's Motto is Onward.  She Never Looks Back!"
By Leroy Watson, National Grange Legislative Director 

It was with mixed emotions that I recently submitted my resignation as
Legislative Affairs Director for the National Grange. My wife Cheryl and
I have talked for quite some time about our future career and lifestyle
goals. We have decided that continued residence in the Washington, DC
area is not part of those plans. Therefore, we have made arrangements to
move our family to our new residence near Appleton, WI in August. We
have already purchased a single family home in that community and moved
most of our furniture out to the new house. Our whole family is excited
about this move. We are confident that the community we have chosen to
relocate to will offer us a superior environment for raising our
daughter. We are equally blessed to be moving into a community where
there are already many friends and family members ready to greet us and
help us with the transition. All in all, we are highly confident that
this is the right decision for our family.

May 13, 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of my moving to Washington, DC
to work for the Legislative Department of the National Grange. I have
been honored by the confidence that your National Grange leadership has
placed in my abilities working for the legislative program. I have been
blessed to work with five National Masters, more than 2 dozen Executive
Committee members, approximately 65 fellow National Grange employees and
directors, more than 100 individual state Grange legislative directors,
more than 100 National Grange officers and more than 300 individual
National Grange delegates during my two tenures with the Legislative
Department of the National Grange. I could not have asked for a more
supportive team and productive work environment than I was granted as a
member of for most of the past quarter century. I will cherish the
personal and professional relationships I developed working for the
National Grange for the rest of my life.

My successor, Nicole Payla Wood, is introduced to you in another article
in this newsletter. We have had an extremely productive overlap week
working together to make the transition go smoothly and seamlessly. I am
highly impressed by her professionalism and experience in the field of
government relations. I have reviewed her resume to see where I might
provide additional guidance during the transition, but frankly can not
find any technical skills lacking in her experience. She is at the point
in her career where the next logical step is to take on the
responsibility to manage a government relations program. It is also
obvious to me that the National Grange Legislative Program is the
perfect place for her to assume those responsibilities. I have all
confidence that she is the right person to".. advance the interests,
elevate the character and increase the influence of all Patrons of
Husbandry.." through our legislative program. I hope that every one
participating in our National Grange Legislative Program will give her
the same benefit of their guidance, counsel and advice that I received
so generously over the past 11 years.

National Master Ed Luttrell has asked me to stay on as a part-time
consultant , at least through the end of the year in the new position of
Special Director for Trademark Protection and Brand Management. In this
new role, I will continue the tasks assigned to me nearly two and a half
years ago which is to manage our trademark protection efforts and to
find new ways to enhance the value of our trademark protected logo for
the benefit of our Grange members and local Granges across the nation.
More than 2000 local Granges as well as nearly 100 successful legacy
companies, cooperatives, credit unions, fairs and other commercial
enterprises use the name GRANGE every year to market products and/or
services to the public. Unfortunately, there are also a handful of
businesses that, knowingly and unknowingly, use the name GRANGE to
market their products or services without our proper permission. These
businesses clearly want to use the goodwill and positive public image
that our trademarked name and logo have with the general public to their
private or commercial advantage. Addressing these infringements in a
manner that is fair, consistent, and cost effective is a major priority
of your National Master and Board of Directors. I am honored that I have
been asked to continue to contribute some of my time and talent to
address this challenge.

Ultimately, the National Grange Legislative Program succeeds because of
the extraordinary selfless efforts of the volunteer Grange leaders
across the nation whose primary motivation is captured in the
Legislative Department theme: "Celebrating the Responsibilities of
Citizenship." We have used this theme for most of the past decade to
describe the National Grange Legislative Program as the best opportunity
for politically motivated individuals in our local Grange communities to
engage in civic participation in our society. Credit for any successes
of the National Grange Legislative Program during my tenure belongs
entirely to these individuals.

It has been an honor and privilege to direct the National Grange
Legislative Program.