
Al Gore Comes Out Against SOPA/PIPA - dmuino
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120105/18151717292/al-gore-comes-out-against-sopapipa.shtml
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tux1968
Stage two of this whole SOPA initiative is telegraphed quietly within the Al
Gore speech:

"As in all things, some compromise must be possible."

I've believed for quite some time that SOPA itself was never really seriously
thought to be passable by anyone. Rather just an extreme first salvo to make
the next set of oppressive measures seem like a reasonable compromise in
comparison.

~~~
cal5k
Ah, herein lies the genius of experienced lobbyists. It's straight from the
regulatory capture playbook - in Canada, for example, telecoms know they need
to approach the CRTC (which regulates telecommunications) with an extreme list
of demands so that they can negotiate down to their desired items while making
it seem like a compromise has been reached.

I think the only right way to do it is in reverse... start with a list of
idealized demands from a citizen/consumer point of view, then let industry
push back on the really egregious items until an actual compromise has been
reached.

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jiggy2011
When I first saw the Al Gore headline I immediately thought of South Park and
ManBearPig, but that made me think something like southpark (i.e a comedy
that's not afraid to get a bit political) might be an excellent way to raise
awareness of exactly this issue.

Shame the law will probably have passed by the time they make a new season.

~~~
gkoberger
It seems likely the people creating South Park (and not just Trey and Matt)
would be pro-SOPA. After all, most people in the entertainment sector see it
as a threat. (Yes, we may argue that South Park is popular because of the
Internet.. but it's entirely likely they'd see it a different way.)

~~~
holman
A quick Googling didn't turn up anything, but I'd be shocked if Matt and Trey
supported SOPA. Comedy Central, maybe, but not them.

Allegedly from the South Park Studios FAQ:
(<http://www.idealog.us/2006/10/matt_and_trey_w.html>):

> Matt and Trey do not mind when fans download their episodes off the
> Internet; they feel that it’s good when people watch the show no matter how
> they do it.

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joshuahedlund
I'm glad the subhead of the article made the joke we were all thinking as soon
as we read the title on HN so none of us has to make it.

Too bad it sounds like there's no actual proof that he's talking about
SOPA/PIPA, although it would be pretty hard to argue otherwise. If true would
Gore be the most notable politician to come out against these acts? (As much
as some of us might wish otherwise, it's not all that notable for Ron Paul to
come out against it.)

~~~
danso
No, of the current politicians, Nancy Pelosi is the most notable to come out
against it:

<http://sopaopera.org/P000197/> (entire list at <http://sopaopera.org>)

I'd also argue that Sen. Rand Paul is more prominent than Ron Paul because
he's a Senator...at least in terms of real influence. He's 1 out of 100 votes;
a filibuster of the Senate variant of SOPA needs 40 votes.

~~~
nextparadigms
Senator Ron Wyden has already promised a filibuster for PIPA.

~~~
chc
The point is that without 40 more people on his side, they can just shut down
Wyden's filibuster as soon as it starts.

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lukejduncan
"This video has been removed by the user"

~~~
pyre
Better than "This site have been remove by a single user"

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darasen
Trevor Strong of the Arrogant Worms thanked me for downloading their music. Of
course downloading the music made me a big enough fan of theirs to drive 300
miles to see them in concert as well as buying several CDs there. I also
introduced many people to their music.

Point being I think many artist are open(ish) about sharing music (for
example). It does seem things like SOPA come from far larger groups like the
RIAA.

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jjoe
He's to be commended for making SOPA's "unintended" consequences easy to
understand for the masses. He essentially came up with the best argument as to
why SOPA should not be passed (i.e. internet censorship in Tunis and Egypt at
the height of the Arab Spring).

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MagicClam
The video is no longer working.

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amichail
Shouldn't creative people support SOPA?

Is SOPA really a war between creative people and analytical people?

~~~
InclinedPlane
SOPA represents a complete destruction of protections for free speech and due
process on the internet. An allegation of wrong-doing is sufficient to trigger
the government enforced complete shut-down of a website.

Why should anyone support that regardless of what sort of pretext is used to
justify such an abuse of power? Should we round up all single adult males over
the age of 40 out of a fear of pedophilia in order to "protect the children"?

~~~
waqf
(devil's advocate) Your analogy is bad because "rounding up" is something one
Does Not Do Without Due Process, whereas deleting an intertube site is not.
(America managed for 200 years without any intertubes at all, you know, so it
can't be all that important.)

~~~
crgt
Perhaps take a look at the NDAA? Due process was just signed away.
[http://boingboing.net/2012/01/03/missing-portion-of-obama-
ho...](http://boingboing.net/2012/01/03/missing-portion-of-obama-hope.html)

~~~
crikli
The lack of outrage over this is...saddening.

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igorgue
I mean, he invented the internet what else do you expect? :-)

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igorgue
There's really no sense of humor here, guys! Downvote me here too! :-)

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fennecfoxen
Pro tip: Humor is better-appreciated when it's FUNNY. :)

~~~
sukuriant
That's what she said :(

