Random Sutras

Help Stop SOPA (and PIPA).

“Censorship is advertising paid by the government.” 

Federico Fellini, 1920-1993, Italian film director

 

The theft of intellectual property is a serious issue.  Stopping piracy is nontrivial.  SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) are not the answer.  Aside from the names of these two Acts, they have nothing to do to actually stop online piracy and intellectual property theft.

Last year there was a proposed Act in the Senate that addressed the same issue in the same manner, COCIA (Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act).  Like SOPA and PIPA, COCIA proposed blocking allegedly infringing sites by changing the DNS (Domain Name System) directory.  All without due process.  This is the same type of censorship used by China, Egypt, and other countries.  How can the United States be a world leader, championing freedom and democracy, and pass Acts such as SOPA and PIPA?

The spin doctors have done a good job marketing SOPA and PIPA, but don’t be fooled.  If SOPA and/or PIPA pass you will be directly effected.  For example; let’s say you take a video of your kid blowing out the candles on their birthday cake.  In the background there is a song playing by The Beatles.  You then post this video on YouTube, Facebook, or some other sharing site for your family and friends to view.  Since there is a Beatles song playing in the background, this is considered an unauthorized performance.  According to SOPA, if this video is streamed more than 10 times in a 180-day period, you are guilty of piracy and your video will be blocked.  The hosting site could also be blocked.  Impossible?  It happens more than you would think now on YouTube, using the DMCA (The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998) Take Down process. 

You only need to look at the companies sponsoring and the companies opposing to see who SOPA and PIPA will benefit and who it will hurt.  Ultimately, it will hurt you and all the citizens of the United States.

On EFF’s (Electronic Frontier Foundation) website is an open letter to the House of Representatives written by 110 law professors from 31 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico opposing SOPA.  It’s very interesting reading. 

Today popular websites such as Reddit, Wikipedia, OpenCongress, MoveOn, Craigslist, and others are going dark to protest SOPA and PIPA.  Please join them in speaking out against censorship and for the support of due process.  We need to end piracy, but not by ending our civil rights.

“Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.”

George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, author, playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature 1925

 

 

A Night At The Caucus

caucus |ˈkôkəs|

noun ( pl. -cuses )

1 a meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy.

• the members of such a body.

2 a group of people with shared concerns within a political party or larger organization.

• a meeting of such a group.

 

For us Iowans, it all started last spring.  First the mailers, then the visits, and last but most annoying the phone calls.  Calls from candidates, campaigns, and pollsters all through the holidays.  Romney and Perry even called to wish everyone a happy holiday.  Annoying.

Last night, for Iowa, it all came to a temporary end with the presidential caucus.  I'm new to Iowa.  We moved here nine years ago from California.  This is only my second caucus.  And I got to say, I really like it.  A presidential caucus gets you involved with the process of electing the President.  

I'm from Oregon and lived 15 years in California.  Both states have primary elections. You go to a polling place, cast a ballot for your candidate of choice, and leave.  With a caucus you meet with the rest of your voting precinct, each presidential candidate or representative has three minutes to speak, paper ballots are passed out, you vote, votes are hand counted with several witnesses, results are announced, you go home.  Intelligent debate between neighbors happens, the issues are discussed, opinions are expressed in a civilized manner.  Some precincts don't adjourn the caucus until they have chosen one candidate for that precinct.  When you leave the caucus you know you were involved in choosing the President far beyond simply casting a ballot at a polling place.

Iowans have endured over nine months of political bombardment.  So when I read comments and stories that the Iowa presidential caucus doesn't mean anything, "nil, zero, zilch", it annoys me just as much as the political phones calls.  

The Iowa caucus does mean something, not just to Iowans and the candidates, but to the entire nation.  For the rest of the states, we just narrowed the republican presidential candidates from eight to five.  I'm guessing that Roemer, Huntsman, and Bachmann are not going to continue the Presidential race much past the Iowa caucus.  You’re welcome.

In addition, the Iowa caucus just emphasized that the 2012 presidential election is going to be close.  Romney only received eight votes more than Santorum.  And Paul was a close third.  The one lesson we should have learned as a nation from the 2000 election is EVERY VOTE COUNTS!  This was punctuated last night at the Iowa presidential caucus. 

So even if you feel the Iowa caucus means nothing, nil, zero, zilch, let it at least be a reminder to everyone in the nation to get out and vote.  To get involved.  To research the candidates positions and past.  To understand the issues.  To choose a candidate you feel is the best person to lead this country, rather than voting for someone you think can beat the "other guy".  

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” -Thomas Paine