Say No to SOPA !!!

[Marty Redman]

Imagine a world without your favorite internet sites where you can express your freedom. like this one.  Just think of all the positive movements in the world for freedom against corrupt regimes that have started because of the internet and the free exchange of information and expression of political thought that the internet has delivered to all.

 

If you haven’t heard about it by now already, SOPA (the “Stop Online Piracy Act”) is a concerted effort by various special interests in Old Media to cope with the rapidly changing world of information and its effects on the distribution and monetization of media, but like many major regulatory reforms pushed by special interest lobbyists, while the key players are fighting over something petty, they are unwittingly working to build the infrastructure for future oppression and tyranny.  SOPA is a 70 page statute establishing a detailed legal process by which the Justice Department can initiate blocking of supposed pirate domains by ISPs and search engines, and by which private parties can seek orders requiring payment processors and ad networks to sever ties.

 

Should you be scared? Yes, SOPA represents an unprecedented intrusion into the largely unregulated world of the Internet. It is the free, unregulated, uncensored flow of information on the Internet that has revolutionized the world we’ve lived in, created an explosion of new wealth, prosperity, and economic opportunities, and given oppressed people throughout the world an outlet to criticize their oppressors and organize their opposition efforts. The very future of our freedom is imperiled by any effort of the government to put its corrupt little hands on the Internet. For the world to remain free and prosperous, the Internet must remain free.  No compromises.

 

I’m not suggesting that members of Congress and a group of wild-eyed global puppet masters are sitting around a table smoking stogies and stroking gray cats while cackling about their plan to take control of the Internet. What I am suggesting is that history shows unequivocally that the centralization of power in the hands of a few is a process that seldom reverses course. Every new precedent, every new power that is exercised by an elite few, is seldom ever given back, and typically forms a foothold for the seizure of more power.

 

Study the history of any federal tax, regulation, war, agency, or program (especially the ones that were supposed to be only “temporary”), and then try to deny the historical veracity of these claims. Furthermore, history teaches that not only is radically centralized power seldom devolved and inclined to grow (along an exponential curve), but that it is abused, mismanaged, misused, and wielded in favor of the elite and powerful few who pull its strings, against the interests of the many weak, small, humble, and powerless. 

 

All you need to see just how powerful the Internet can be for emboldening people against oppressive measures by their governments, all you need to see just how important it is that we make Washington leave the Internet alone, is to observe the courage behind some of the Internet’s most successful and world-changing websites, which are banding together to oppose SOPA by “going on strike” and blacking themselves out this Wednesday, January 18th. The Politico reports:

 

Internet companies and activists are hoping to join the Arab Spring and other online democracy movements by taking an estimated 7,000 websites offline Wednesday to send a message to Washington: Don’t pass a pair of anti-piracy bills.

 

The websites that have announced plans to go dark include Wikipedia, Mozilla, Reddit, and WordPress, but some of the most visited websites are conspicuous in their absence.

 

Do your part to spread awareness on Facebook, which will be sitting out tomorrow’s blackout along with Google, despite both companies’ opposition to SOPA.

 

It’s good to see the spirit of patriotic rebellion spreading from the rest of the world to individuals and companies right here in the United States. It’s time to own our future. It’s time to fight for our freedom. It’s time to take a lesson from those spirited, young souls in Egypt and send a loud and clear message to the government:

 

Do not screw with our Internet.

[XLFD]

I saw you throw that up on Facebook, and it's very revealing and so close to the truth.  Here's a recent revelation on Wikileaks that has the State Department admitting little damage occurred from last years leaks by Assange. 

[Sweater Cows!]

or is that a media scam to get the attention away from the ordeal so ppl do not look too closely and will  forget about it.? or backtracking?

[XLFD]

Whichever the case, I don't see the doomsday scenario ever having played out for our intelligence and defense departments as some in the administration forecasted a year ago.  My internal meter has my needle fall to the side of "good" for Assange, and stuck around the middle for Mr. Facebook.

[Marty Redman]

Sorry for dropping this off and then not responding to it until now.  The internet is under attack and will remain under attack forever.  Even though the news is looking good for the defeat of SOPA and PIPA the ones who want to control the internet will find ways to incrementally reduce the freedoms we enjoy on the computer under the guise of "protecting us from evil" whether it be pirates or perverts.  ARRRRRRRRR...