OK, so do the right thing and support the good proposals and criticize the bad. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and go with the folks who think that it is a human right to be able to download any creative work without paying for it in anyway and who claim that everything (including, say, snuff child pornography) should be protected because it is free speech.

Irrelevant.

The recent increase in the fuss that the music and movie industries are making about IP is purely about maximising profit, and nothing else. They don’t care a tinker’s cuss for the struggling artist who really needs protection.

What we do not need is legislation that would allow scenarios like the following to occur: Imagine a creative artist making a collage of various odds and ends, one piece of which they did not obtain permission to use. Imagine if that artist posted their work on flickr. SOPA or PIPA would allow the copyright owner to have the entire flickr site taken off line for hosting one piece of illegally-used material. This is just plain wrong. Sure, we can hope that such disproportionate responses won’t happen, but the point is that this legislation would make it possible and enforceable.

OK, so do the right thing and support the good proposals and criticize the bad. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and go with the folks who think that it is a human right to be able to download any creative work without paying for it in anyway and who claim that everything (including, say, snuff child pornography) should be protected because it is free speech.

I do not and cannot trust this government — or any that may follow — to use this kind of power judiciously.

While that might be true, keep in mind that a government evil enough to abuse such power would be evil enough to do the same damage without the backing of any law at all. In other words, if you have to protect yourself from your own government, you have already lost and all the bloggers in the country won’t make any difference.

Bahahaha. Perfect way to end.

Hey, how about this: “Congress: Drop the SOPA!”
Catchy, eh?
Yeah, I’ll stop too.

Sorry, I’ll stop now.

*shivers, draws a blanket over himself and reaches for a bottle of vodka*

@96 TheBlackCat: Technically they didn’t really invent the language, it was mostly forced on them by the Normans
Now we’re just recursively correcting corrections. I think the thread’s about over