Start of the MPAA Offensive

You gotta love people for bringing their newest article to show that "SEE! THIS COMMUNIST CANDIDATE REALLY WORSHIPS SATAN!!" or that the Liberals want to destroy the United States (uh, they live here, too...) or that the conservatives are capitalist money-draculas looking to suck the bones dry of the nations blue collar workers.

Below is an exchange that tipped off the fact that the Pro-SOPA/PIPA/ACTA crowd might be getting warmed up after the White House disowned the legislation (though 'dead,' we can still look forward to a vampiric or zombie resurrection in the near future). After leaving in a huff and taking all their toys home, it looks like the MAFIAA is deciding to press home field advantage through it's media outlets:

The email below was sent by my father - it's clearly a chain letter based on the specific alterations in formatting "for emphasis" that most people wouldn't bother with. One has to wonder who seeds this kind of stuff...
Anyhow, my edited response/analysis lies below that.

Overly Responsible Journalism

This was an email I typed up a couple months ago but never sent - I had originally intended on throwing this to the Colbert Report, but never got around to it. It's a bit of lighter humor on the subject of journalism.

UPDATE: More Congressional Responses

Coming in thick and fast! ... with all this pedaling, maybe we should hook up a generator to Congress and solve the energy crisis!
First an update from Mikulski where she claims that copyright still "needs to be strengthened" somehow... bunkum.
Sarbanes responded yesterday as well. As is typical with most members of the present government, they somehow feel the need to create a "regulatory framework" for everything to make sure that they can acquire some method of leverage or control.

First World Problems?

They run the whole gamut. Here's a few I cooked up that run from funny to thoughtful to frightening.

Letter from my senator in response

I received a reply today from one of the four congressmen I contacted yesterday. Analysis will follow shortly.

Explaining the Wireless to the Unwired

I had a very productive day without twitter I took a stand against SOPA and made my voice heard. What I didn't expect (and was enheartened to see) were people whom I emailed who weren't connectedto the tech interests of the day.
My own mother (god bless her) took the time to actually research and respond to my email, and engaged me in a dialogue about SOPA/PIPA and copyright. A fun time was had by all.
Except my wife - writing a 2,000 word detailed response takes a LONG time.
Below is a slightly edited transcript of the conversation - only certain personal responses have been omitted. If anyone sees any factual inaccuracies or logical fallacies, please don't hesitate to contact or correct me - it's the only way I'll ever learn! :-D

Let's Get Politically Proactive!

For those of you residing in the state of Maryland, I am publishing the letters I have tailored to our individual Congressmen in opposition to SOPA. While they cover the same points, each is slightly different and tailored to the individual receiving it. They all end with the statement at the bottom. As with anything on this site, please feel free to reuse and remix to suit your needs!

An Open Letter Against SOPA and PIPA

Dear Friends and Family,
Most of you know that I am not one to engage in mass emails. They're unproductive, annoying, and rarely get paid attention to. There is, however, something going on right now that has frightening implications for all of us. If you are reading this on the 18th, please immediately open up a new tab (or tabs) and navigate to wikipedia.org and/or google. For those of you who have received this email later, please use this link: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
Notice anything?
This is not a virus, this is a part of a planned, national demonstration, orchestrated over the past several weeks.
There is legislation being pushed through Congress RIGHT NOW that gives large corporations the power to censor the internet.
I'll let that sink in a bit.

Remixing: It's in our genes.

I found myself inspired by a recent attempt to describe life in three words and this creation myth from Kopimism. The three word description offered was "self-reproduction with variations," or, as I like to say "remixing matter." There. I did it in two. Behold this graphic!

Santorum Marital Algebra

Santorum equated homosexuality to having sex with a dog (or a Dogg?). He later compared polygamy to homosexuality which, as we all know, is really bestiality. But that then implies that monogamy, which is HALF of polygamy, is HALF bestiality as well. Based on Santorum's pro-monogamy message, I think we can safely conclude that he is a closet furry.
Here's a graphic representation of the mathematical equations:

G.O.P.olitical Landscaping

I had a rather difficult time falling asleep on Friday night. After a double dose of melatonin, a cup of tea, and several shots of Smirnoff 100 proof mixed with diet A&W, I still was wide awake. My kind just kept buzzing with the following post.

The Economics of Attention

Earlier this morning, I was discussing the tendency of individuals to talk more when they know less. SMBC also brought this point up by planting the flag on the summit of Mt. Stupid. While it may seem like an obvious observation, why is it that the less you know, the more you talk?

On the Primacy of Culture

I tweeted a thank you to the writer of a Techdirt article the other day by the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party, and Rick Falkvinge was kind enough to respond and offer his encouragement.

Today I expound upon my first post - that culture is the natural right of man. In fact, much of this may be seen as related to the recent "creation myth" put forth by the newest recognized religion in Sweden - that sharing and copying are the foundations of life itself and, as I tweeted: "Remixing: it's in our genes."

Culture is the Natural Right of Man

It is a universally acknowledged principal that the fundamental characteristic of humanity is the ability to create and share knowledge, artistic expression, and culture.
We have only lately begun to understand how information is conveyed among members of the animal world. While individuals, remarkable ones, have been discovered with the ability to engage in artistic expression through encouragement and training, direct transmission of art, culture, and wisdom has so far remained absent despite all our observations of our more feral brethren. Humanity can then be summed as the production and perfection of wisdom, art, and culture.
This Trinity is holier than all else - it is the reason for the survival of humanity as a species, the demonstration of our worth, and the vehicle of our evolution. Without the sharing of knowledge, what value are the observations and musings of an Einstein? Absent common understanding, what use are prophecy and legend? With no soul to possess them, the Leonardo's and Picasso's revert to the dust of their pigments, and Shakespeare remains an echo in the cavern of an empty Globe. Without these, Life has no purpose, Liberty no meaning, and Happiness unattainable no matter the method of Pursuit. It is, therefore, imperative that we preserve our birthright to this sacred temple of the Mind and Soul and protect it's foundation.
The most beautiful and remarkable fact in the nature of these Fathers of our inalienable rights is the freedom they inherently possess. Though the body lies bound, a soul cannot be repressed, a thought remains unshackled, and an idea, immortal. The expressions of the soul and the wisdom of the mind are without bound or limit, and their greatest value only apparent when they are shared. I am never a poorer man for my neighbor feeling the world more deeply about himself. On the contrary, it is only by nourishing the root of our collective humanity that Mankind flourishes. As culture, art, and knowledge are elementally open to all who seek them, we claim these as the Natural Right of Man.