Thanks to SaveTheInternet I've participated in two constituent meetings with my representative and senator voicing support for net neutrality. I was lucky that my reps both support it (Anna Eshoo and Barbara Boxer), but when I look at what has happened in the House and Senate, it's frustrating.I met with several others at Anna Eshoo's California office in March. She was not in town but we met with a field rep. We were assured that she continues to support Net Neutrality (she co-sponsored Ed Markey's bill in 2006), for which we are grateful, but Rep. Markey hasn't even introduced his bill in the House this year because of a lack of support.I met with several others yet again at Barbara Boxer's office in August. She was not at the office, but we met with a field rep again. In the Senate we're in slightly better shape because at least we have a good net neutrality bill introduced in the Commerce Committee (SB 215) by Senators Dorgan and Snowe, and Boxer is one of the nine co-sponsors, for which we are again grateful. But nine co-sponsors is not enough to get this bill out of committee and onto the floor.Lip service is nice, but without action it begins to look a little empty. We were patient with the new majorities in the House and Senate, because it takes a little time to set up for leadership after many years of minority standing, and there are a lot of hot-button issues on the table. But, enough! Net neutrality is a hot-button issue too, and in some ways it's a prerequisite to addressing all of the others effectively.Let's get real: Without a lot more active support from additional constituents including those of other senators and representatives, these bills are going NOWHERE! And that allows AT&T and Comcast and Verizon and Time Warner to do what they've been threatening all along: double-dip fees to send data across the Internet, filter content, and basically destroy the principle of nondiscrimination on our communications network, which is eventually capturing everything from phone calls and personal correspondence to mainstream publications, radio and television broadcasts to blogs and e-lists and social networks and everything in between and beyond. It's all going to be on the Net, over time.Remember, the Internet is going to be the new Fourth Estate, so if we can't count on it to be open and uncensored, we'll have no chance to protect our democracy, because we won't be able to talk to each other about all the important issues of our times. Without that constant dialogue there is no way we can oversee the activities of our government, and there's no way we can keep them accountable to our interests.** This is the time to get in touch with your senators and representatives. **Email them, call their offices, make an appointment in person, whatever you can. Ask your senators to co-sponsor S.B. 215,and ask your representative to support Markey's bill. Ask them to speak up publicly about the issue, and to talk to their colleagues to support these bills as well. Without a groundswell of active communications from the bottom up, the chances are low that anything will happen in the House or the Senate.Next year is election year, and not much goes on then, so if not this year, we'll have to wait until 2009 to get things going. In the meantime, the Republican-dominated FCC will continue to kowtow to the ISP lobby and the public interest will continue to take a back seat.We have a chance to get net neutrality passed this year, if we all rise up the way we did against Ted "Tubes" Stevens last year. But it seems like it'll take the same effort and the same volume of voices to get the attention of our legislators. We need to aim for the same outcry, the same unity of purpose, and the same force of numbers if we expect to get action.This is no time to be complacent! This is the time to ramp it up another notch again. Nothing less will do.