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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Obama opposes SOPA; Schumer: censor internet

  At least that's the rumor for now.
  From ArsTechnica, we learn that the heat has been turned up tremendously, which has encouraged second thoughts:
Washington insiders hold disproportionate sway on Capitol Hill. But members of Congress are ultimately chosen by American voters. When enough of them express a strong view on an issue, members of Congress do pay attention. 
Update: The Obama administration has come out in opposition to SOPA in its current form. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has also promised that SOPA will not proceed to a vote until "consensus" has developed.
  We'll see. It might have just have gotten too hot for now.
  Schumer, OTOH, supports it in its most inflammatory form. Amanda Peyton called Schumer's office and this is what she got:
He must have known why I was calling. 
Asked the same question again. This time the reply I got this time was different: “Senator Schumer is in favor of censoring the internet.” 
….whhhhhhat? Up until now, most of the statements from congresspeople have done that neat thing politicians do where they say words but don’t actually answer the question. They do the “censorship” dance very well – never say it out loud, but vote for the bill nonetheless. From what I can tell “anti-piracy” and “pro-censorship” are actually the same thing here, though politicians usually argue the former so as not to seem anti-first-amendment. No one has been brazen enough to drop the C-word without hesitation. But this dude apparently had no problem with it. I said again: “So you’re saying Senator Schumer is in favor of censoring the internet?”
  Vigilance. It's not over til it's over.
  And these people want as much power as they can get and they're not afraid to be seen grabbing for it.

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