SHE WON'T GO!
Alright, team. This one’s real easy.
Congress is considering two bills — SOPA & PIPA — which supposedly “stop internet piracy.” Trouble is, they won’t (and as it turns out, the author of SOPA, Rep. Smith of Texas, is actually an online pirate!). All they’ll do is censor the web. You know, like China.
Many of the top innovative tech companies (Google, Mozilla, etc) have banded together to tell our leaders that the bills “pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job-creation.” A bunch of well-to-do VC guys say, the bills “would stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness.” Wikipedia (and several other sites) are taking the entire day off in protest.
You can find out more about the issue here or here or here and then, you’ll want to get on the horn and give your Representatives a shout.
ProPublica has compiled a list of how much each Rep and Senator has taken from the interested parties, as well as a list of where Reps and Senators currently stand. Right now, there are 80 supporters and 31 opponents… it’s an odd collection of folks with Harry Reid in favor with John McCain and Marco Rubio, while Nancy Pelosi and Rand Paul are opposed. (And the White House has promised to veto).
Rand Paul appears to be the only member of Kentucky’s delegation to take a stance one way or another. Which means you need to put a bug in the ear of your congressperson:
- Google is amassing what promises to be a monstrous petition. You can sign it.
- Wikipedia has gone dark for the day… but they are helpfully directing you to contact your Congressperson and Senators, so give them a buzz.
- And StopCensorship.org has all manner of activities for you take part in — petitions, emails, more.
Chandler, Yarmuth, Whitfield, Davis, Rogers, Guthrie and Mitch are all apparently on the fence. It’s your job to get them off it.
Here’s a video explanation:
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
KentuckyElection.org
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