I wrote to my Senator (Orrin Hatch-R., Utah, responsible for the Protect IP Act) about SOPA and its problems and gave them a rather "cool" scathing review about its faults and errors and the public demonstrations that have taken place like GoDaddy and the fact that three major companies had pulled out from the SOPA bill (although their political alliance group is still signed into SOPA--so they can still look good in the public eye and still, really, support the bill) and got the "printing press" release as follows (which has nothing to do with what I wrote, really--I know this bill is coming, but really, an auto-send out letter for pissed constituents?):

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act.

On May 12, 2011, Senator Patrick Leahy and I introduced the PROTECT IP Act. If enacted, S. 968 would provide law enforcement with important tools to stop foreign websites “dedicated to infringing activities.” In other words, the bill targets the most egregious offenders of online theft who profit from counterfeit products and pirated content. These goods can range from new movie and music releases to pharmaceuticals and consumer products. With this legislation, we send a strong message to those selling or distributing pirated content or counterfeit goods online that the United States will strongly protect intellectual property rights.

The bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a civil action against the registrant or owner of a domain name that accesses a foreign infringing Internet site, or the foreign-registered domain name itself. However, DOJ officials must first seek approval from a federal court before taking any action. In determining whether an Internet site is “dedicated to infringing activities,” a federal judge must weigh all of the facts carefully in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – just like what happens today in shutting down an illegal bricks and mortar storefront.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a common assumption with some online users that illegal downloads and purchases online are free and harmless. This is far from true. Fake pharmaceuticals threaten people’s lives. Stolen movies, music, and other products threaten the jobs and livelihoods of many people, and drive up costs for other consumers. Every year, these online thieves are making hundreds of millions of dollars by stealing American intellectual property, and this undermines legitimate commerce.

This also has a direct impact on Utah. As you may know, Utah is considered a very popular state for film and television production activity. Nothing compares to the red rock of Southern Utah or the sweeping grandeur of the Wasatch Mountains. Utah’s workforce is also a draw to filmmakers who come for one of the most highly educated and hardworking workforces in our country. It is estimated that the motion picture and television industries are responsible for thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in wages in Utah. There is no doubt that intellectual property theft has a direct, negative impact on Utah’s economy and its workforce. This same impact can be seen nationwide.

On July 22, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported S. 968 by unanimous consent. While it is unclear when the bill will be considered by the full Senate, the legislation enjoys strong support with 39 bipartisan cosponsors to date. Please know that my Senate colleagues and I are committed to crafting consensus legislation and welcome suggestions on ways to improve the bill. Unfortunately there has been some misinformation circulated about what the PROTECT IP Act aims to accomplish. In an effort to be of assistance, I have enclosed “Fact vs. Fiction” information about the legislation. I hope this information will be helpful to you.

Again, thank you for writing. I welcome your continued input on issues of concern.



Complete BULLSHIT. I hate my politicians, they're fucking half-wits!

Actually, this protest has its roots months ago.

A bunch of happy libertarians wanted to celebrate Jefferson's birthday. So they planned a little midnight dance party, with iPods so no music could be heard, done quietly to minimize the impact, thinking that there wouldn't be any tourists to disturb. No harm was intended, it was just a little celebration.

They were still loud though, and they were asked to leave. Everyone left, loudly protesting but no big whoop, except one woman, who got arrested.

I don't know exactly what transpired next, but she sued and lost, and appealed and lost.

It was the loss on appeal that led Adam Kokesh to post a YouTube invitation to anyone to come to the Memorial at a specific time, during the day. That is what you see at the other video -- what happened with the public demonstration.

As I posted on the first video:
For those interested, here are links to the original flash mob event that precipitated the chain of events that led to this action:

Part I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-IpdeMqlkM&feature=player_embedded

Part II -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujrSAJ1b6Go (the first person you see is the woman who ends up getting arrested at the end of this part)

And here is the original facebook invitation to the first birthday celebration:

"It's a secret birthday/dance party thrown by a group of flashmobbing libertarians. Tell friends about it if they are 1. Awesome. 2. Can keep their mouth shut 3. libertarians

Sweet dance moves wouldn't hurt either.

It works best if we all listen to the same song (nominate on the wall) but since libertarians are "free to choose" come prepared to listen to whatever makes you happy."



>> ^dag:

^Agreed. And remember that this video has to be viewed in context, having watched this video first: http://videosift.com/video/Police-State-Arrested-For-Dan
cing-in-the-Jefferson-Memorial
This second video is a direct response to the first - these are people putting themselves at risk of being arrested - to support the innocent people who were assaulted and arrested for shuffling their feet a bit in the previous video.

>> ^Irishman:
Obama IS a socialist.
That's the first thing McCain has got right in this whole joke of an election.


-2 on this? serially? what is incorrect about his statement. before reading a single comment in this thread that was the exact thought that crossed my mind. provide a definition of socialism and show how obama is not a socialist. if mccain is worth half a grain of salt he'll push obama as the socialist that he is.

what mccain doesn't know, is he is a socialist too.

if socialism isn't a bad thing, then why do you think its a dirty word that obama needs to deny (lie)? why aren't people proudly claiming to be socialist? rhetorical: because nobody in human history has even attempted to defend the basis of socialism! if you don't think this is true, please show me a single passage written by any of the billions of people who ever lived on this planet, or better yet please--please try to defend it yourself. seriously, please, someone in this thread try to defend it so I can publicly demonstrate how you are the most evil person who has ever been born.

it is a tool used by dictators. it is how one person can convince millions of people to willingly submit to oppression. nothing. more.

if you can't defend the basis of socialism (collectivism, democracy), why the f*ck are you advocating it?

yepyep - video doesn't do this case justice.

A public demonstration of even just fundamental concepts associated with the WTC collapse(giving the "collapse theorists" a benefit of a doubt, even) - now THAT would be the most convincing, but only to those people that saw it firsthand.

Some experiments can be done by the average person, some can not - the question is - do we trust our scientific institutions enough to believe their results when they do go public with them?

those are planes from the swiss air force. they hold such public demonstrations for a bunch of jet- and military enthusiasts every year. i thought, i'd post this in comparison to http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=7231 where you can actually see how a flight so close to the mountains looks like from the plane