PIPA and SOPA box
Friday January 20th 2012, 1:05 am
Filed under: Friends,Politics

According to InfoWorld, John Boehner has been paid nearly $1.5 million by supporters of SOPA. His mouth is where his money is.

If you want to see an interesting chart of where your congressperson stands, go to Propublica’s page here. But note that half of Congress isn’t telling yet as I write.

Where are your representatives on this? Do they have any technical expertise or, if they’re uncertain, are they willing to learn from people who do? Do the merits of a cause matter to them?

Rupert Murdoch presented himself as an arbiter of moral authority on the subject of SOPA/PIPA, bashing opponents of this poorly written, poorly thought out legislation.

Follow the money, because he certainly always does.

Okay, let’s go back to InfoWorld. They have a story about seven people running two companies that allegedly raked in $175 million via pirated movies, books, software, etc, the very thing the supporters of SOPA and PIPA are talking about. The alleged perps are in various countries oversees.

And with the help of the court in Virginia and the help of those countries, four have been arrested and the sites have been shut down. All done under current law here and abroad. The system as it now is worked. Are there still problems in some countries and on other sites? Yes of course–my own book has been pirated and there are dishonest people stealing it and I know that. Life is imperfect.

But throwing out the due process clause of the Constitution–it’s just unfathomable. Utterly unfathomable.

Progress has been made but it’s not over by a long shot. Please keep writing/calling/emailing your representatives to defeat SOPA and PIPA. Your Internet and mine depends on it.

p.s. On a happier note, I got to see and hold Jasmin and Andrew’s newborn daughter Genevieve tonight. Dimples and thick dark hair and the cutest face you could hope for. She’s absolutely perfect.


9 Comments so far
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you are so right!!

and glad to hear you got your baby “fix” !

Comment by Bev 01.20.12 @ 8:36 am

I got the usual form letter: thank you for contacting blah blah blah, from my Representative. At least, my Senator sent a letter that seemed like he knew a little bit about the subject. Neither is making a commitment but I asked both to vote no. This ia a real assault on our freedoms which are already being compromised on every hand.

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 01.20.12 @ 9:05 am

I followed your link, and am appalled that both our senators are for PIPA. I thought they knew better. I intend to let them know.

I see Anna Eshoo voted NO on SOPA.

Comment by Don Meyer 01.20.12 @ 9:57 am

I was struck by the same thing – that our current laws seem to be doing the job as well as laws usually do (which is to say, as you said, life isn’t perfect). So what’s with this new thing? Older daughter sat down at the table last night and asked, “What’s with the SOPA thing?!” A good talk ensued…

Comment by Jocelyn 01.20.12 @ 10:00 am

If it ain’t broke… ??

Comment by Channon 01.20.12 @ 10:20 am

It’s interesting to me how sneaky things can be passed in bills that sound logical and noble. Who wouldn’t want to ‘stop online piracy’ or ‘protect intellectual property’ after all? It’s only when you get into the details and become aware of what would really happen if they were passed that you start to realize that the name of the bill doesn’t fit with reality.

I think it’s inspiring that the general public has been engaged, taking notice of legislation and discussing it. We could use more civil engagement!

Comment by Molly 01.20.12 @ 10:43 am

Thanks for the post. Senators and representatives here are undecided. I’m not.

Comment by RobinM 01.20.12 @ 11:02 am

Why are you pointing your fingers at the Republicans? Your fingers should be pointed AT the Democrats as well. Dodd, for starters.

Comment by Lola LB 01.20.12 @ 6:43 pm

Actually, I am pointing fingers at the Democrats, let me make that more specific: my Senators are Feinstein, listed as one of the sponsors, and Boxer. Both parties have members with a lot to answer for.

Comment by AlisonH 01.20.12 @ 7:08 pm



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