Classical Values :: You shut down my supply and I keel you!

April 21, 2008

You shut down my supply and I keel you!

"Bloggers are the dealers in the world of internet addiction."

So said Ann Althouse, in a post about what to do when "The Internet" is down.

I have to admit, the South Park episode she links touches on one of my primal fears -- imagine if They were to actually shut down The Internet!

All I can say is that They better not, or We will declare war.

The problem with that is how do you declare war when The Internet -- the very medium from which such a declaration would emanate -- is not working?

The whole thing is a scary thought, and what makes it scary is that it doesn't matter whether it is true, any more than it matters to a small child whether there really are monsters in a dark room at night.

Nor does it matter whether bloggers are the dealers, or readers are users. Because we are all at least users. Whether we're in fact "addicts" is an issue for the shrinks, and a secondary consideration. Cut the supply (or the power to the supply), and we will be reduced to Stone Age primitivism. I'd have to go back to writing letters to the editor. Maybe sending faxes on occasion, if from time to time They are kind enough to turn on the electricity.

Nothing would be more degrading than having to go back to such groveling.

Fortunately, the experts have told me that it can't happen here.

But what if?

What if, say, the EPA decided to regulate Internet power consumption? Or suppose that power rationing -- already contemplated in Kansas -- kicked in as a result of failure to build more power plants? (Anyone who thinks the AGW crowd would support building more power plants should think again.) And while Solar powered Wifi sounds fine, if the broadband servers are down for lack of electricity what good is a solar router?

It's not the Internet which worries me; it's the power to the Internet. So long as we have the latter, the former is pretty resilient.

posted by Eric on 04.21.08 at 09:48 AM

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Allegheny subsidiary Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co., also known as TrAILCo, wants to build the 500-kilovolt, 240-mile power line between Washington County, Pa., and Loudoun County, Va. In West Virginia, the line would pass through Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, Grant, Hardy and Hampshire counties.

PJM Interconnection, the organization responsible for the transmission grid for a 13-state area, has said the grid's stability and the reliable flow of electricity within the region could not be guaranteed without the power line.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/04/16/ap4896325.html

dre · April 21, 2008 10:10 AM

Well, if "the grid's stability and the reliable flow of electricity within the region could not be guaranteed without the power line," then that's an excellent reason for our bureaucratic overlords to oppose it -- by any means necessary!

Eric Scheie · April 21, 2008 10:36 AM

Frankly, this sounds a little paranoid. The internet is not only a conduit of ideas, but also commerce. If the internet were shut down, the economic consequences would be devastating, and not just for internet retailers like Amazon, but for nearly every big company in the U.S. They are now now dependent on the internet.

chocolatier · April 21, 2008 12:56 PM

I sent the following e-mail to Dan Johnson, a Kansas State Representative:

"Dear Sir,

"I read with interest your comments here:

"http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/Efficiency042008

"I want to point out that in my reading of power generation issues in Kansas, that Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby in October rejected the plant on the grounds that greenhouse-gas emissions from the plant would be a threat to public health.

"Living in Oregon, I've seen the effects of the environmental campaign firsthand. So, I wanted to point out one pitfall to avoid.

"Carbon cap and trade is a scam based upon the writings of a Yale graduate, Michael Totten, an English teacher (who graduated with Honors.) The first cap and trade scheme that I can locate was the aforestation scheme agreed to by the City of Klamath Falls in order to build a power plant in that city. This cap and trade--or carbon sequestration--scheme is more fully described here:

"http://pdf.wri.org/ftcarbonbro.pdf

"You can see the scholarly fleshing out of this scam in the writing of OSU employee James Cathcart in this publication:

"http://www.oregonforests.org/media/pdf/CarbonRptFinal.pdf

"All these links are available here:

"http://oregonguythinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/father-of-carbon-credits.html

"The political solution is often the one of "what is doable" rather than "what is right". I send this to you to caution you that the "doable" solution will lead to further regulation. As evidence, I offer you proposed carbon regulations from the State of Oregon:

"http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/climate/rulemaking.htm

"Once you begin a quid quo pro, green for energy, you've embarked on a shake-down by the environmental Left that--as far as I can see here, in Oregon--will never end. If it is true that the road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions, this road is not only intended to do good, but will be Gold Plated.

"Good luck with retaining your economic rights. I wish you the best with Governor Sebelius and Mr. Rod Bremby."

The unsettling truth of Cap & Trade is that it is the fancy idea of dilettantes. This is a whole level of snobbery that needs exposure.

OregonGuy · April 21, 2008 01:36 PM

We'll do what we did before: open a book or two.

But to not be flippant old-fashioned phone service would be king again. Only they wouldn't have the capacity since so many calls run over the internet. In other words, it would be the end of the world. Then along comes the ruling apes. A few centuries later: Charleton Heston appears in a space ship.

Sean Hackbarth · April 21, 2008 07:07 PM