

Adam Savage weighs in on SOPA - jmj42
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/mythbusters/articles/mythbuster-adam-savage-sopa-could-destroy-the-internet-as-we-know-it-6620300?src=soc_twtr

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laserDinosaur
Am I wrong for not being worried about SOPA because it's just too stupid to
pass? With all the opinions and attention being thrown around the internet,
what is the real chance this will go through? What is the real possibility?
Maybe it's because I've seen so many "If this law passes it's the end of the
internet" cases over the years which never made it through but I just don't
see something this idiotic making it through.

So I have to ask, what is the actual chance that SOPA will pass?

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llambda
> With all the opinions and attention being thrown around the internet, what
> is the real chance this will go through?

I made a comment about this yesterday and in that comment referenced the "Dear
Internet" blog post: this is the problem, the mindset that making a lot of
noise on the Internet is going to sway Congress is dead wrong. What makes you
think Congress has any idea whatsoever that there are throngs of people on the
Internet who vehemently oppose it? You already know Congress is seemingly
incompetent when it comes to writing legislation about the Internet so what
makes you think they'd be any more knowledgable about opinions on the
Internet? The short answer is: they aren't. You should be worried and you
should seek traditional means (write, call, get in touch with your rep and
senators) of ensuring your opinion on the matter is understood. Our best bet
is to encourage the education of Congress about the Internet so we can get
favorable legislation passed because as it sits, no it's not so insane (in
their eyes) that Congress won't pass it.

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wnight
This relies on the assumption that congress cares what the people think. As
long as the people don't pay large campaign contributions their voices are
thoroughly meaningless to their 'representatives'.

As long as bribery is legal (by jumping through hoops and not calling it
bribery) the big corporate interests, the ones who've already got sweet deals
from government, are unstoppable.

Our democracy is the problem. The idea of voting once every so often for a
representative means that we only get one very vague control into the system
every few years whereas a company bribing politicians gets literally millions
of times more power.

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jmj42
This is exactly the problem. No one thought the DMCA or COPA or CIPA or CDA
would pass either. They all did. They didn't pass because they were good for
the country, they passed because of the considerable lobby weight behind them.

SOPA and PIA are getting the same treatment. While it may be true that we
still have a chance to influence our legislators, it's important to keep in
mind that the lobbies haven't really started to work on members outside of the
congressional committees yet either.

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MaxGabriel
So, uh, the best example of misuse of the DMCA is that a psychic can cover up
1970s footage of him failing to bend spoons?

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rawrly
It's certainly not the best example of misuse of DMCA. But I'm glad to hear
more people comparing SOPA to DMCA so there is some credibility to where
people's fears are stemming from. Congress still hasn't fixed DMCA, and can't
be expected to pass SOPA with enough amendments to correct how it can be
abused against the American people or the globe!

