Yeah, I'm that guy.

Tales of a 30-something, liberal atheist surrounded by mostly religious conservatives.

Message received. No #SOPA. No #PIPA.

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Les

This week, the American (and international) public stood up and won in the face of big-dollar lobbyists in Washington, D.C. Protests Wednesday against SOPA and PIPA worked … for now.

You've been heard. #PIPA has been pulled so we can find a better solution.

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s tweet announcing that PIPA is a no-go.

The Protect Intellectual Property Act was taken off the Senate floor and just minutes later, the House took the Stop Online Privacy Act off the calendar.

What does this week’s win mean moving forward? Obviously, it’s too early to tell. Continue reading →

#SOPA #PIPA … WTF?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Les

Yesterday, key portions of the Internet went dark. Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites all stood in solid opposition to two bills in Congress. But what was it all about and how big of a problem is online piracy?

Over at Ars Technica, there’s a good read about what this all means with a hard and critical look at what the SOPA/PIPA supporters are yelling about.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-regulation-and-the-economics-of-piracy.ars