Congress is on the run over SOPA, the “Stop Online Piracy Act.” This bill, if passed, will let the President shut down Internet sites without warning. It will enable him to block access to foreign sites. The victims must then go into court to prove that they are innocent. There will be no due process of law.
This monstrosity was expected to sail through Congress. The lobbyists who wrote this bill thought no one would notice. They were wrong.
We are now in the middle of a great blitz by Internet firms to show Congress that this proposed law is an assault on free speech. They are mobilizing the opposition.
Obama is smart enough to have seen what was coming. Last week, his administration warned of a veto. This set back the plans of the promoters.
I have discussed this battle on my GaryNorth.com site. Click through to see what is at stake and what you can do to call a halt to it.
GoDaddy came out in favor of SOPA and lost a ton of business. I moved all my GoDaddy accounts to other registrars and told GoDaddy the reason why. I think they have since retracted their pro-SOPA stance but it's too late now.
Our best line of defense is to flood the offices of our congressman and tell them America says NO. This is how America can talk.
Clocks in Heaven
A man died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.
He asked, "What are all those clocks?" St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move."
"Oh," said the man, "whose clock is that?"
"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie."
"Incredible," said the man. "And whose clock is that one?"
St. Peter responded, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life."
"Where's President Obama's clock?" asked the man.
"Obama's clock is in Jesus' office. He's using it as a ceiling fan."
Thanks for taking action, Forebearance!
Our best defense is to repent and declare this a GOD fearing nation once again.
The key beyond stifling free speech is the writers reference to: 'There will be NO due process of law.' Once again they are trying to violate the constitution that guarantees you are INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty…..if this becomes law, being deemed guilty by one person or a bureaucratic staff is all that is required. That is lightyears away from being judged guilty or not guilty by a jury of your PEERS the promise of what this country was founded upon. 180 degree opposite of the state must prove me guilty, becomes I now must prove myself innocent (not guilty) to the state (that judged me guilty in the first place, so good luck with that one) if SOPA is innacted.
Ok people get with it…this should not be ignored, read it, the sneaks in Washington's attempt to push it though is nothing more than a slap in the face to 'we the people'…Californians get with it…Boxer and Finestine (for all they are worth) flood their offices with phone calls and email(for it might be worth)…Yet every now and then those two do listen to the voters(wonder when)?…
Senator Marco Rubio Dropping His Co-Sponsorship Of PIPA
by Mike Masnick
TechDirt (www.techdirt.com)
Courtesy of: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120118/0726231…
(make sure to read the Comments section, too).
It appears that the some in Congress are finally hearing you. Senator Marco Rubio, from Florida, has announced that he is removing his name as a co-sponsor of PIPA and is urging Senator Harry Reid not to go ahead with the plan to bring the bill to the floor.
Earlier this year, this bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and without controversy. Since then, we've heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government's power to impact the Internet. Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.
Therefore, I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.
Publicity stunt? Or democracy in action? I vote for the latter. It's good to see politicians actually listening to constituents rather than lobbyists sometimes…
"It will enable him to block access to foreign sites."
One of the leading perps is a Texan, Lamar Smith. It seems that he is a Republican.
http://lamarsmith.house.gov/Contact/staffinformat…
I just sent "Oppose SOPA/PIPA" emails to my Texas US representative and to one US senator (the one who will retire soon); however, the other senator's website has been extremely difficult to access, apparently due to overwhelming negative response to PIPA:
For a moment, this web page came up:
Sen. Cornyn's website, home page, http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/
Cornyn: "PIPA Deserves a More Thoughtful Process"
AUSTIN — U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today on S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA)… [read more]
I was finally able to submit my email to oppose PIPA, but now can't access the website beyond the home page.
Vigilance is the price of freedom.
You should know that SOPA and PIPA don't need trial to shut sites down, only accusations. Ultimately there may be a trial but by then the damage and intimidation of other site will have been done.
Of COURSE it's a Republicon. *Yeesh*