The Internet stands against tyranny.
I laughed out loud as reports indicated that Anonymous took down DoJ, RIAA,MPAA and Universal Music. Anonymous reported on Twitter: "“Tango Down! JUSTICE.gov – U.S. Government Website DOWN!”.
Awesome stuff. The battle lines are drawn.
Don't misunderstand me dear reader: piracy is not honorable. Stealing is immoral.
Isn't it just a little coincidental that the FBI swooped down in helicopters, seizing millions in property and shuttering numerous websites soon after SOPA and PIPA were tabled? Like the government was saying, "you know, we have the authority, the POWER, to shut these sites down whether it is signed law or not."
Don't think for a minute that it was all about stopping a rogue outfit distributing Hollywood content with abandon. No, as The Daily Reckoning reported:
...the trendline with Megaupload was clearly toward using the space to launch new artists with new content: not piracy but creativity. As Wired.uk wrote, this crackdown came shortly after Megaupload announced music producer Swizz Beatz — married to Alicia Keys — as their CEO. They had rallied a whole host of musicians including Will.i.am, P Diddy, Kanye West and Jamie Foxx to endorse the cloud locker service. Megaupload was building a legitimate system for artists to make money and fans to get content.
What’s this all about? It is some powerful corporate lobbyists trying to prevent the emergence of an alternative system of art and music delivery, one powered by people rather than merely the well- connected.
The U.S. government is corrupt and sick with the lobbyist cancer. More from The Daily Reckoning:
This is the battle for whether the digital age is permitted to exist in an atmosphere of free speech, free association, free enterprise, and real property rights, or whether it will be controlled by government in conjunction with aging media moguls from monopolistic corporate oligarchies. The lines are clearly drawn, and it is taking place in real time.
I cannot imagine a life not being free. I refuse to believe that even the wanna-be Marxists running around this country really hope to achieve a collectivism that would infringe on their rights. But this is where we are. I can only imagine how many hypocritical Socialists who have supported ever expansive government the last 10 years were actually on the front lines of stopping SOPA and PIPA.
The government is at war against its citizens. Power and control. Piracy controls are just a tip of the their spear. You'll eventually have to decide if you prefer to be among the collectivists collecting scraps from their government master's table or if you want to be free and choose liberty.
You sounds bitter against socialists whom you seem to blame for the condition this nation is in.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but it not them.
In my opinion the Grand Old Party or the GOP is currently planning to destroy this nation or at the very least take us back 100 years culturally and socially.
Democrats are not much better as they have taken the stances that used to be traditionally Republican in belief.
Progressive has become a bad word in the minds of Americans when the majority of them do not even know what the word means.
Granted, I am not defending the actions of many of the socialists in this nation, but they have had plenty of help in what has happened and there is plenty of blame to spread around too all the turds that have during the past thirty years and presently inhabit Washington.
Two things this nation must do to become the economic powerhouse we used to be:
1. Double the minimum wage at least and push toward a $20 an hour minimum wage for everyone.
2. Adopt a "if you sell it here, you make it here if at all possible" economic policy.
These two polices, along with the redrafting of free trade to reflect fair trade practices will restore our economy to a point before it was destroyed by slave labor wages in authoritarian countries that do not share our values, beliefs, or vision.
I see a 2-tier trade structure where first world countries trade among one another and second / third world countries trade with one another with an exchange of technologies as necessary to maintain a technological level playing field around the world.
With this type of semi-open trade isolationism, countries with unfair labor and business trade practices will be forced to develop locally rather than depend on well developed inflated economies to support their export growth at the cost of both the exporters and importers quality of life for anyone other than the elite.
If you are against limited government and first principles of the Constitution then I am against you. I would gladly go back 100 years before the Progressive movements of Teddy, FDR, Woodrow Wilson, LBJ and Obama. I have no respect for Marxists, Socialist, communists or any version of leftist ideology. I recognize the cancer that is Progressivism in this country from both sides of the political spectrum and have stated as much. If you think my indignation is solely raged against Socialists then you haven't been paying attention.
ReplyDeleteYour solutions to regain our "economic powerhouse" sounds like union talking points. I couldn't disagree more.
Free music and videos. Really? That's where we're going to draw the line. It's pathetic when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteSure, it's good to see that people finally realize that there are attacks on their freedom, but they're more worried about shitty music and lame movies than any of the other attacks that have preceded it.
I know that the bill will hurt more than just people downloading free stuff. I've got that part and there is no confusion. Still, I can't help but think that the power of the outrage stems from people wanting free shit. They don't know the difference between freedom and free shit.
@mark - nah man. It's bigger than that. It's about gov't control. Sure some folks are pissed 'cause they can't download the latest free movie. But the language of the bill was too broad. They can solve piracy in about a week if they wanted to. But the old guard wants to hold on to the old ways and not join the digital age. I'd hate to think what the Internet would be like if the lobbyists, and governments, were in control.
ReplyDeleteAlso, think about those people that used the service to upload their large home movies or other files. You can't store a 30 minute movie on the You Tubes. but you can upload the movie to MegaUpload so grandma can download it. It did have it's uses and now because the government and lobbyists were pissed they didn't get their power and control they ruined a lot of people's legitimate uses. Power and laws have unintended consequences.
@DisgruntledSelfEmployed - Yep, I agree. The takers are over taking the makers. Just like the government masters like it. Socialism doesn't last long but they will squeeze every little bit out of the productive until the system collapses.
ReplyDeleteIf only more people had your sense of individualism. The collectivists are going to attempt to drag you down through regulations and bureaucracy that may make it almost impossible for you to create opportunities for yourself. People like you will eventually say "I'm done" and find opportunity in other countries.
Splork, I think you missed my point. I took the time to understand SOPA. I realize that it's more than just people not getting free stuff and that it's an attempt to control. I'll try to state it another way.
ReplyDeleteIf the bill allowed for people to still download free stuff, but everything else connected to it was in place, the majority would not have a problem with it. The ONLY reason that this particular freedom has any defense at all is because of so many that are only worried about their free stuff.
These same folks had NO problem with the TSA, Obamacare, The Patriot Act, etc. It's all about the free stuff.
Maybe this is what we needed to wake them up, but I bet the overwhelming majority will still cling to their free stuff as their compass.
"I would gladly go back 100 years before the Progressive movements of Teddy, FDR, Woodrow Wilson, LBJ and Obama."
ReplyDeleteWhy? I hear a lot of this from Tea Partiers. You're talking about gladly going back to a period of time where among other things slavery was legal, workers had no rights, and women and non-property owners didn't have the right to vote. Life was good if you were a white property-owner.
@Jeff - Slavery ended in 1865. Women were able to begin voting in 1920. Owning property as a means to vote ended in the early 1800's. Labor rights were a result of the Progressive Era from 1890 to 1920.
ReplyDeleteAgain, if I could roll back the Progressive policies of Woodrow Wilson, FDR, LBJ and Obama, none of whom had anything to do with the period you reference, I would be happy to do so.
@Mark - You're right. Lots of people care about their free stuff. Indeed many couldn't care less about their privacy being raped. Whether they are pissed about losing their free stuff or understand the broader issue, they are at least coming to the same conclusion, albeit in opposing directions, that government is too intrusive. I'll take it.
ReplyDeleteIf anybody still thinks that our government is doing the best it can for the good of our country and its citizens, go to the Spirit Airlines site and read this: http://www.spirit.com/Default.aspx
ReplyDeleteAnd, as far as fear of reprisal is concerned, have you seen this tactic covered by the media? Have any other airlines spoken out against it?
@JohnM - wow that is a bold stand they are taking. Good for them. Good for us.
ReplyDeletere: media - forget them. None of them - ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and MSNBC, CNN or FoxNews are holding our government accountable. They are mostly in the tank for the respective parties. I will say thank goodness for Andrew Napolitano on FoxBusiness. He's fair and out only to protect freedom and iberty.