We’ve all been screaming at the top of our lungs to stop Congress, in particular the House Judiciary Committee. We thought that we got a reprieve, but Rep. Lamar Smith is hell bent on killing the Internet because he’s being told that this is the best way to stop piracy. It’s coming back for the kill on December 21st – and we need to keep pushing back.
If you listened to the HJC marathon session on December 15th, then you were probably also disheartened as the entire world watched the majority in this committee blow through and reject amendments that would have protected the Internet, even when expert opinion was being thrown at them. All they could say was, “Where were all of these people when we were asking about answers to piracy for years? Why are they just now showing up?” Of course, that just means that they haven’t been paying attention to the international cryout that stood alongside the experts who’ve been warning of disaster for many, many years. Even if they admit that they don’t understand all this “Internet stuff” that nerds are throwing at them, they claim to know what’s best for us. And “We have to stop these pirates from stealing from us!!!” means that the opponents approve of theft. Ah, if only the world were really so black and white. Only a politician could use this ironic language as they happily accept the money that special interests are lavishing on them.
Unfortunately, they only know what’s best for MONEY. Our human rights and freedom are all being shackled by stupid dollar signs. Watch Leah Kauffman‘s video “Firewall (Don’t Let Our Government Ruin the Internet)”, forwarded by Demand Progress, and then pass it around to everyone. Heck, send it to Congress. Oh, but be careful, because they’ll probably sick ICE on you with a takedown notice. Never has a time in our history called for a V for Vendetta moment as this decade has. STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS! All together, we can’t be ignored. This is make or break for democracy. SOPA is the Great American Firewall.
- Americancensorship.org
- Avaaz.org – Save The Internet (international petition)
- FightForTheFuture.org
- Stopcensorship.org (Sen. Ron Wyden with Demand Progress)
- KeepTheWebOpen.com (watch the live HJC proceedings – if you can handle the pain)
As an American, I simultaneously apologize to the world for our ignorance and cringe at what we’ve become. Some days, the idiocy and apathy are really hard to absorb.
Here’s another good description by Cynical Brit about what SOPA will do and ICE is already doing:
Some of the latest coverage (this is only a little bit of some powerful commentaries out there):
- SOPA Signals End of Freedom of Information Age We Won’t Know We Had Until It’s Gone – International Business Times
- How SOPA 2.0 Sneaks In A Really Dangerous Ability To Kill Any Website – Techdirt
- The Nightmarish SOPA Hearings – Washington Post
- Wrapping Up A Week of Action Against SOPA – EFF (lots of good links to other opponents’ actions)
- Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How Internet Works – Motherboard
- First There’s SOPA In Your Face, And Then… – my own horrified thoughts at the Urban Times
