Govt. May BAN Your Website

Dont you just love the US of A, most paranoid country on the planet.

So is this the 1% trying to gain control of the internet?

(I know politics is a no-no on the forum but it had to be said)

when you see wikileaks and other social networks helping people come together and act against the govt....they are getting scared.

In my opinion the elite do not care about much, but they do care about people waking up and these wall streeter occupiers. They do not want people "waking up" before they instill th next financial crisis 2.0.

What a sad world in which we live. Welcome to the world where the 1% do actually rule the roost. Discusting? well, i will let you be the judge of that.

What ever happend to our rights and freedom of speech.

These guys do the wrong things, time and time again, and they punish us more. Just goes to show what we are dealing with here.

Tis all part of the elites new rule on us. Wow, fun!!!

Everyone from WF who lives in the US should take action on this. Congress has no idea what it's talking about when it comes to anything tech-related, which this most certainly is. Both bills are terribly put together; they're vague, open for abuse, and worse yet, they won't fix any of the problems they're designed to fix. There are still going to be easy workarounds for 'pirates' (the worst criminal on the Internet, nevermind child porn, spyware and scams), and at the very least the bills WILL hamper the development of social networks and social media, which are clearly the next step in online business.

The problem with these media-companies is that they're impatient and they're stuck in the 1990s. Just when netflix, hulu et al are revolutionizing the media delivery business and finally working in tune with the Internet instead of against it, big companies come in and much everything up with their greedy little paws.

America doesn't seem like much of a democracy when the real secret to passing legislation is in having $90M in your back pocket to bribe...Oops! I mean, donate to...politicians. Campaign money should not be the key to getting law passed, but more and more that's what it seems like.

Sigh.

Problem is the US Gubment is scared because they have no control over the internet. I Believe Jay Rockerfella called it a serious theat to national security. Lol.

I thought we had a no politics rule?

Someone recently sent this to me. I think it pretty well explains our situation in the US.

Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel... He was a journalist for 49 years. He recently retired and this was HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the TAX LIST at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat.

Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the
nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final
analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact
each one of us every day. It's a short but good read. WORTH THE TIME.
Worth remembering!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

545 vs. 300,000,000 People by Charlie Reese


Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. Only the President can propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the
plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let
them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it... is up to you. This might be funny if it weren't so true. Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?


Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!

GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!!

Fixed that for you

Wow... Rich fat cats trying to keep control of the economy, even after they have shown they cannot handle the responsibility.

I'm sure we all now what happened tried to tax us without representing us in colonial times? You might think I'm crazy for saying for saying this, but I'm afraid that if things keep up the way they are, history could repeat...

Let me offer some details on this, since nobody seems to know squat.

There is some BS in the law about piracy and illegal activity which is basically garbage. It's the "we will only do it to these sites" argument so they can set the precedent of "government controlled filtering of the internet is okay in the United States." This much is true; the justification is garbage and will expand to God only knows what in the future. Once it is okay to make these lists, the reasons we make them can and will grow unpredictably.

But the important new rules are that Federal courts can issue a court order requiring all ISPs to block access to specific domains and/or IPs... and the Attorney General of the United States may also issue an arbitrary request for all ISPs to block access to specific domains and/or IPs.

So if you are concerned about YOUR SITE, let's be perfectly clear: no site gets blocked without the direct involvement of the Federal court system. This is roughly as likely as being investigated by the FTC. Does it happen? Yes. Is it sometimes uncalled for and unjust? Yes. Will it happen to you? Almost certainly not.

Now, if you're concerned about the integrity of the internet and your ability to access other people's sites, the reality of the situation is that nobody will give a crap what the Attorney General requests. So this is just going to be one list of sites you can't access because of a Federally-issued court order.

Seriously? You go to THAT many sites which are likely to get onto the radar of the Federal justice system and justify a court order against them? Maybe you should examine your browsing habits.

This law is a non-issue. It is an effort by the major IP companies to fight online movie, music, and software piracy by international cartels which service individual US pirates. Places like Pirate Bay and Demonoid, who can dodge a court order much faster than the US Federal courts can approve one.

It's just the latest desperate attempt by old media companies to hold onto the old rules of intellectual property. They're going to fail, and fail miserably, but they have to try everything they can think of first.

I think in the age of 24 hour news things get blown over board to get ratings, clicks, etc. This whole the gov't is taking over the internet is a bit much. With that said I don't think the gov't needs anymore power then they have. I'm sure the pirates will find a way around this. A good criminal is always 2 steps ahead of the law.

Video with more info: Protect IP Act Breaks the Internet on Vimeo

When laws are immoral, the only path to morality is to be a criminal.

I really don't know what the hoopla surrounding this law is all about. It essentially wants to stop copyright violations, and that, I support.

Don't worry, you can always move to another country where your rights are protected.

The land of the free... SMH

These people have a financial crisis they can't fix, and they got to waste their time working on crap they have no business in. If it ain't broke, it don't need fixing, and the internet works pretty well. Not perfect, but then what is perfect? We can handle the problems that crop up with the tools we already have. Congress will work until they totally screw it up, and then try to pass another law to fix it. They need to just keep their bloody nose out of it.

MaN i AM lucky, here in Australia our leaders are too lazy to do anything and are more occupied at the moment with who is the ugliest in parliment, and if you saw their faces, boy its gunna be one tough battle. LMAO!!!

But I think there is just two worlds, our real world, and their world (the elites) who love to reach in a manipulate our world to their favour.

Conclusion : They win, and we don't. But we never seem to anyway. What a world we live in huh?

The C/D notices by Sony and other record companies in regards to Youtube videos are IMO utterly ridiculous.

I once had a nice classic video on there from a long forgotten band, so the label contacted me to take the video down due to copyright violation.

I argued with that guy back and forth tried to explain to him how IDIOTIC it is since a stupid youtube video is hardly a 1:1 digital copy of a video/song (unlike a torrent of a movie or a DVD rip etc...) and that i am basically *promoting* them instead of "taking business away" by posting an old, already forgotten video/song on youtube.

Those people fail at marketing, IMO. I am convinced that there is a financial benefit for them for [me] driving traffic to a video clip instead of an actual loss due to fans watching such a clip. If anything, it would make people get out and buy an album instead.

TV is censored, because of the advertisers. If something on TV contradicts with the advertiser's message, journalists can get into trouble, even if it's the truth.

Internet is something uncontrollable. They may censor some websites, but not the entire Internet.

I don't live in the US, so I can't write to my local Congressman. However, I will tell my subscribers who are US-based to get involved.

My advice on this...

Don't email your Gov. Rep... Instead write a letter and send it in the mail.

I read somehere recently that...
1 short letter = 10 long ones = 50 phone calls = 1,000 emails.

Yes, one SHORT letter is worth 1,000 emails! And a short letter is better than a long one -- because these people get a LOT of mail and just don't have the time to read about your family history.

So don't write a big rant. Write a short note telling your Gov. Rep. that you STRONGLY disagree with this legislation. Then stick a stamp on it and mail it off.

Do it now. It will only take a few minutes.

Michael

You notice that every time there is a crisis that the US gov uses it as an excuse to take away more civil rights and the more they take away the easier it gets to take away the next freedom/right.

Get out while you can! If you are not careful they will lock down the boarders and never let anyone out again! (unless they are broke, then off ya go) Lol

It's funny that I logged in and saw this post. I've been watching MSNBC and I've seen a pro-SOPA commercial twice in the past hour.

The company that is putting out the commercial is creativeamerica.org. The commercial makes it seem like the United States will go down in flames if SOPA isn't passed. They said online piracy is stealing 100's of thousands of American jobs.

Still, I really hate censorship...I'm going to have to look into SOPA.

I am a firm believer that this will never happen. I know, I know, call me crazy. But In my opinion it just never will.

I'd rather be a nut then a blind sheep

who wrote the tax poem? I don't think Charley Reese gets credit for that.

Source of charley reese article
545 people are responsible for the mess, but they unite in a common con - OrlandoSentinel.com

That's kind of a generalized, harsh statement sir. Maybe they are just folks who believe in protecting their rights...

I don't think the public would tolerate any censorship of free speech to render the Internet significantly different from what it is now

It's a pity that a government that is scared, cant use their policies/rules on themselves,
and other money mongers, and seek to SERVE the people, Not tax/legislate the pants off
us and then complain about certain "groups" causing issues.
The government cannot "govern" but they can and do take and force people to obey,
The government here also cause their own issues.