All morning I have been stewing. I read a Tweet from Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame concerning stopping SOPA. He included a link that sums up some of the most important points of the whole issue: http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA. Much of this particular entry is derived from this Craigslist Online Community page. This blog is a bit of a departure for me. I do not get involved with politics knowing in my heart that, “life goes on no matter who is wrong or right.”
NUTS!
Did you see that? I just quoted
from a Billy Joel song; no, more than that, it was a quote from a copyrighted
Billy Joel song. That’s the type of
thing that will shut Chicken Scratch down but more of that in my letter
to Congressman LoBiondo. Sorry. I’ll try to do better.
After doing some research, reading some articles, and after
years of writing here on the electronic pages of my blog, I thought it
important to say that I oppose H.R. 3621 "Stop Online Piracy Act"
(SOPA) and S. 968 "Protect IP Act" (PIPA). I like the concept of a free internet. I like being able to say what I want without the fear of corporate
or governmental censorship. I know that
‘piracy is a problem’ but accepting these two bills and turning them into the
law of the land in Cyber-America you change fundamental liberties on a
molecular level. It’s akin to being
adrift and thirsty in the middle of the ocean – sure you can drink the saltwater
to quench your thirst but that comes at a high price: your cells will implode
and you will die. That is what happens
to civil liberties on the internet if this passes.
Techdirt has a wonderful article by, Mike Masnick
entitled, “Definitive Post Why SOPA and Protect IP Are Bad, Bad, Ideas”. Please give it a read and let it
digest. Mr. Masnick’s article explains
what is at stake much more succinctly than the scope of this humble blogger
(yours truly): http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111122/04254316872/definitive-post-why-sopa-protect-ip-are-bad-bad-ideas.shtml.
The quotes at the end of the article are priceless;
frightening, but priceless…
"It's theft...Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you're actually stealing the programming." Turner Broadcasting CEO Jaime Kellner in 2002
‘So take THAT you thieves (formally known as
subscribers)! How DARE
you use that DVR!? Philistines! Heathens! PIRATES!’ Yep, these are the people that want to
control you and dictate public policy that will usher in the future of a place
that used to be deemed ‘free’. “Welcome
to the machine.” – Pink Floyd
GACK!
I just quoted a song that is copyrighted. I’m really going to have to get the hang of this new world
order thing.
Here is a great little tool: https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173. I used it this morning to sign the
petition. Not for nuthin’ but I
encourage you to do the same.
Here are some other concerned folks brought to you be the Center
for Democracy & Technology: http://cdt.org/report/growing-chorus-opposition-stop-online-piracy-act.
Here is a site to identify you congressman: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml. I used it to send the following ‘letter’ to
my Congressman, Frank LoBiondo from New Jersey…
Congressman LoBiondo
I am a blogger in the South
Jersey area. I write about
distractions, humor, and trivial entertainments; simple stuff, in all
actuality. One of the things that I
routinely write about is film and I am, therefore, deeply concerned about the
scope and reach of SOPA & PIPA. It
is not hard to envision a time in the future where my blog is deemed and considered
“Censured Material.” Seriously. What happens to my blog / me if I post
something that that the corporations or government does not like? SOPA & PIPA are steep, well lubricated
slopes. Once we as a county start
sliding down it is our very liberty that will die in the sudden stop.
Freedom of speech should not be
dictated to the American people by corporate entities, lobbyists or PACs. I do not know where you stand on H.R. 3621
"Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and S. 968 "Protect IP Act"
(PIPA) but I hope you oppose them as much as I do. If you support SOPA & PIPA I hope you reconsider and make a
stand to not legislate the citizenry’s liberty away to corporations.
I thank you for your time, Sir.
So there you have it, Gentle Reader. It’s funny how the simple stuff seems to
reflect so much more of the heart of man.
Perhaps the simple is not really all that simple after all. There may come a day when the simple act of
surfing the net is a blocked & censored crime – an offence that the
corporations or government can shut you down.
Not for knocking over a liquor store, cow tipping, or for plotting to
become a James Bond villain bent on world domination but for writing about or
posting about copyrighted material.
REALLY?! “James Bond” in a sentence!
I hope that MGM in the future can find it in their heart to forgive such
a lowly blogger as I, your humble servant, Evil Chicken.
Only time will tell.
[NOTE: If you feel the call to action proofread you
letter before you send it. I just found
a stupid, hack mistake that I changed for this blog and that I hope does not
undermine the overall message. What can
I say, I’m a shmoe. I do, however,
believe the intent is intact.]
2 comments:
For awhile now, we have already been censored. If you use Google, you are not seeing the internet! You are in fact living in a walled-garden. (This term means that you think you are on the internet, but you are only seeing what google feeds back to you, which is filtered by what they filter, and headed by who pays to be on the list.) We are already being censored and directed. And the government agencies, some of which you don't even know their names, watches everything you do, and records any website or words that could have any suspicion. This site, and my survival site are being monitored and so is this article. You may say I'm nuts, but then again, you are not aware.
We are comfortable with our illusions. It never ceases to amaze me how anonymous people believe they are on the net. However, the scope of SOPA & PIPA step far beyond the internet as we have come to know it today.
The scary thing for me is that the some (not all) of that people who are making the decision on these two bills do not know how to stop that, "12:00" from flashing on their VCRs ~ and they simply DON'T make VCRs anymore! The world has moved on but the paradigm hasn't. Some of the congress-people who are trying to pass this have staff members or pages use the, "Magic Thinking Box" for them. These congress-people are influenced by lobbyists, PACs or corporate entities - not because it's wrong or right but because, "It's the way we've always done things here on Capitol Hill."
That is how the entire future becomes compromised. For the past 235 years Freedom of Speech has been one of the cornerstones of our Republic. I still believe in that. I'm hoping that congress does too.
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