October 04, 2005

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wireless Internet Access

Of course, if the framers of the Constitution had owned a crystal ball, they could have foreseen all of the rights that today's left believes are "inalienable." These rights include abortion, gay marriage and...wireless Internet access.

According to the most progressive mayor of the nation's most progressive city, wireless Internet access should pretty much be given away.

"This is inevitable -- Wi-Fi. It is long overdue," [Mayor Gavin] Newsom told a news conference at San Francisco's City Hall. "It is to me a fundamental right to have access universally to information," he said.

Newsom continues by calling it a "civil right issue as much as anything else."

The mayor said he had no exact figures on how much it would cost to build a wireless umbrella to cover the entire city, but cited general estimates that have ranged from $8 million to $16 million for antennas and other gear.

"My intent is to have the taxpayers pay little or nothing," Newsom said of the municipal wireless project.

Ooh, something for nothing. The left is great at that. As of 2003, the median income household income in San Francisco was $57,833. From those figures, I'd guess that many people can afford their own wireless Internet access. Those who can't can use the computers at the library.

The library? Oh right, that big building with books, magazines, newspapers and computers that was considered to be a civil right about 100 years ago, is paid for out of tax dollars, and is open to anyone and everyone. Maybe their information is outdated--or at least, how you get the information from libraries is outdated. (It's much more exciting to show off your laptop or PDA with your free Internet access.)

How long before Newsom thinks that those who don't have a spouse or significant other are missing out on another "civil rights" issue--sex? He can take notes from Denmark, which has a sex program in place for disabled individuals. Deprivation is a terrible thing, you know.