Vox Sentences: Creating a public option for the internet

1. Socialized internet

• President Obama is calling for the Federal Communications Commission to overturn state laws that hamper municipal broadband.

  [Vox / Tim Lee]

• "Municipal broadband" just means cities and towns providing high-speed internet access, usually via fiber.

  [Vox / Tim Lee]

• You can think of it as a public option for the internet.

  [Vox / Ezra Klein and Susan Crawford]

• Chattanooga, Tennessee and Lafayette, Louisiana have municipal fiber systems and boast some of the fastest internet connections in the world (at lower cost than many other cities).

  [Vox / Matt Yglesias]

• But the cable industry has succeeded in getting laws passed in 19 states, limiting the practice in various ways.

  [Washington Post / Brian Fung]

• Critics argue that municipal broadband represents unfair government interference in private markets.

  [Technology Liberation Front / Braden Cox]

• FCC chair Tom Wheeler has suggested that he's open to the idea of blocking the state laws.

  [Ars Technica / Jon Brodkin]

• Last summer, the House voted to take away his power to do that. But that has no chance of making it past Obama.

  [The Hill / Cristina Marcos and Kate Tummarello]

2. Misc.

• The case for having the government buy up lots of stocks and distibute the proceeds to everyone as checks, no strings attached.

  [Project Syndicate / Dani Rodrik]

• A 15th century church in Milan uses an optical illusion to look much bigger on the inside than it actually is.

  [Atlas Obscura / Stane]

• Let us now praise Kaitlin Olson, the most underrated comedic actor on TV.

  [Slate / Mark Peters]

• Poor kids in Denmark get 2.6 times as much money from the government as poor kids in America do.

  [Demos / Matt Bruenig]

• The Fed's impending rate hike is like deficit reduction: everyone in DC wants it, even when it would probably hurt the economy.

  [Jared Bernstein]

3. Verbatim

• "Abbi and Ilana on the show allow us, the businesswomen, writers, and creators, to make mistakes and think they are funny, rather than flog ourselves."

  [Ilana Glazer to Vox / Kelsey McKinney]

• "It's not everyone who can write about modern art or Dionysus who has a PhD in mathematics from MIT."

  [Ian Malcolm to New Republic / Jeet Heer]

• "You start with the concept that force-feeding is not a nice thing to do."

  [John Burton to Eater / Wyatt Williams]

• "After all these years under state protection, I almost feel guilty for still being alive."

  [The Guardian / Roberto Saviano]

• "Carry bolt cutters everywhere."

  [Werner Herzog via Jason Kottke]

Explanatory journalism is a public good

At Vox, we believe that everyone deserves access to information that helps them understand and shape the world they live in. That's why we keep our work free. Support our mission and help keep Vox free for all by making a financial contribution to Vox today.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$95/year

$120/year

$250/year

$350/year

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $120/year

Yes, I'll give $120/year

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via