A lot of you may have noticed I don’t normally talk about anything political here. Or religion. And I try to avoid the whole Mac v PC debate although I’m sure my preference leaks out from time to time. The reason is I’m not a big fan of losing friends over an opinion, which is what tends to happen when people argue patiently about something they know to the depths of their soul is right. Like, for instance, the evil that is Microsoft…but I digress. Seriously, I’m just not informed enough usually to make an intelligent argument on matters of politics and religion. Mac, yes, politics and religion, no.
Today, however, I feel the need to state an opinion about a bill in front of congress: SOPA and PIPA. I don’t pretend to have all the details. But here’s someone who does (Debra Kristi). Here’s another (Chuck Wendig). And here is a really good dissection (Mashable) of it. Go ahead, take a few minutes and inform yourself. Do a Google search. Notice that big black box? Click it. It’s important. Have you ever used Wikipedia? Go ahead, go try to use it. Actually read what they are telling you. If you like surfing the net without someone censoring what you can and can’t see. If you like supporting new artists (hello Angry Candy! Did you enjoy their cover of Adele? Say goodbye, under SOPA as it’s written you’d never have heard of them. Everything from the video they made to the site they posted it on would be deemed criminal). If you think there is a better way to protect copyright…then please let someone know how you feel. Click through and sign the petitions. Send an email to your Congress person. Add your voice.
For fun, plus a bit of info, check this out: http://theoatmeal.com/sopa
Add your name to the petition: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
Tomorrow I’ll be back to my 50/50 update. Go forth, and learn!