You know what I love … the Internet. You know what I love even more … a free and open Internet. You know who doesn’t love a free and open Internet … big telecommunications companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner and apparently Republicans (save for Olympia Snowe) in the Senate.

These corporations have been spending lots of money to lobby the House and Senate to prevent legislation that would preserve “network neutrality.” Net neutrality is how the internet works now: a network functions only to relay information, not choose which information gets relayed first or at what speed or bandwidth. Telecommunications giants like those listed above want to charge sites for “premium” service.

Think of it like this: sites like cnn.com have a lot of resources so they can pay the big toll to drive on the four lane highway, while smaller sites like, say, your personal blogging site or The Pacer Online Edition can only afford the dinky two way street that’s already crowded with other smaller sites. Doesn’t sound fair, does it.

So why should you care? If you like the internet how it is now, then you should care. If net neutrality does not become law, telecommunications companies will do with the internet as they like and you may find it hard to stream video off of your favorite flash video Web site.

Aside from the ability to stream stupid Web videos, a free and open internet allows individual bloggers the same opportunity to affect an election as a top dollar public relations firm.

So what can you do about it? Check out www.savetheinternet.com. After that, call, write or e-mail your senators: Lamar Alexander and William Frist. Neither of them have taken a stance on the issue yet.