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Politics

by Mike Masnick

Thu, May 8th 2008 9:21pm




Filed Under:
congress, copyright, copyright czar, pro ip, white house


House Passes Pro IP Overwhelmingly

from the well-that's-no-good dept

Last week we questioned why Congress seemed to think that the White House should be playing the role of copyright cop. Yet, apparently, the House of Representatives didn't think it was a question worth asking, as it has passed the PRO IP bill by an overwhelming vote, 410 to 10. It seems like our Congressional Representatives felt that, once they got rid of one bad portion of the bill, that the rest of it must be perfectly fine. This bill has a ton of problems, expanding copyright law and the executive branch's authority in ways that are pretty clearly unnecessary. It is, in effect, a bill to prop up the obsolete business model of one particular industry, so it's rather disappointing that our Representatives have rushed through to approve it with little discussion or debate over whether it's even necessary. Either way, it seems unlikely to get much further, as the Justice Department has already come out against the bill, one would hope that even if the Senate approves a version of the bill, the President would veto it.

In the meantime, though, given just how much damage arbitrary expansions of copyright law have done, you would think that Congress would at least want to spend some time exploring the issues before rushing through new laws. Tragically, it seems that entertainment industry lobbyists still have politicians convinced that stronger copyright is naturally "good."

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  1.  
    identicon
    r fmc, May 8th, 2008 @ 11:06pm

    You can't say you love your country and hate your government. - Bill Clinton

    FUCK THAT

    The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing. -Saint Thomas Aquinas

    MUCH BETTER

    and finally

    Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive. - Henry Steele Commager

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Lit_Teacher, May 8th, 2008 @ 11:14pm

    I wish I could say that this is a surprise

    "...you would think that Congress would at least want to spend some time exploring the issues before rushing through new laws."
    Well, while I may WISH that Congress would spend time exploring issues before rushing through new laws, I've long since given up any hope that it may actually happen.

     

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  3.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 8th, 2008 @ 11:23pm

    realize too that congress has a lower approval rating than the president. 90% disapprove. fire them all (cept ronp and dennisk, i guess)

     

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  4.  
    identicon
    Rekrul, May 8th, 2008 @ 11:39pm

    I really hope this stupid bill doesn't get passed, but I don't have much hope. So far, the content industry has gotten pretty much everything it's wanted, so why should this be any different?

    Hey, we already take people's cars, money and even homes for suspected drug crimes, let's start taking peoples computers, cash and homes for copying movies and music...

     

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  5.  
    identicon
    Bent Over, May 9th, 2008 @ 2:48am

    In there!

    Them commies are just gettin started, their coming for everything. It's a crying shame, that a nation with so much edgeamacation, can be so retarded. just goes to show any dumbass can be a poletic... an VOTE! Stroke's the word And it won't be gentle, if ya know what I mean.

     

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  6.  
    identicon
    Monarch, May 9th, 2008 @ 4:43am

    Write your reps

    I just wrote my rep and told her I will not be voting for her in the coming election for the piss poor job her and her colleagues have been doing. Probably not worth the bits it was written in, but hey it's at least something!

     

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  7.  
    identicon
    eleete, May 9th, 2008 @ 5:12am

    A Government

    Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, For the Corporations. This is gross, why have a discussion about it, the checks cleared !

    e

     

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  8.  
    identicon
    Overcast, May 9th, 2008 @ 5:48am

    Yep - still doesn't mean I have to buy a thing.

    It's sad to see innovation stifled by narrow minded politicians, though.

    Soon enough - they'll be passing laws that prevent us from making comments like this too - just watch.

     

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  9.  
    identicon
    mobiGeek, May 9th, 2008 @ 6:20am

    Re: I wish I could say that this is a surprise

    So with an election coming up soon, what are you doing towards rectifying this situation? [Assuming you are eligible to do something about this]

     

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  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 9th, 2008 @ 6:20am

    Re: A Government

    Ever see a TV show called Jericho? It's about an evil US corporation that attempts (mostly successfully) to take out 23 major US cities with nuclear bombs in order to shatter the existing government, and recreate it how they see fit. In essence, the corporation becomes the government, or tries to anyway. Granted, it's just a fictional dooms-day drama, but it does make you wonder just how far some corporations will go to get what they want.

     

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  11.  
    identicon
    Old Guy, May 9th, 2008 @ 6:25am

    Nov 5th

    Is it a coincidence that Guy Fawlke's Day is the day after elections?

     

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  12.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 9th, 2008 @ 6:47am

    so...

    Who were the ten people against it?

     

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  13.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 9th, 2008 @ 6:59am

    Fuck the 2 party system.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  
    identicon
    Gaas, May 9th, 2008 @ 7:47am

    Damn Bush!

    If the house was just controlled by Democrats, this would never have happened!

     

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  15.  
    identicon
    Dan, May 9th, 2008 @ 7:50am

    I don't have much faith that a presidential veto will happen in spite of the justice department.

    If the office of the president cared about IP issues, Clinton would have vetoed the DMCA. Now a republican president is going to go against big business? I don't think it's going to happen.

    His cronies will tell him it's a good thing and he'll blindly sign it without any thought.

     

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  16.  
    identicon
    Lit_Teacher, May 9th, 2008 @ 7:53am

    Re: Re: I wish I could say that this is a surprise

    The same thing I do every year there is a city, county, state or federal election - voting.

     

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  17.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, May 9th, 2008 @ 8:03am

    And yet...

    as voters, we still do not blame ourselves for putting these hoodlums in office. Yea us!

     

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  18.  
    identicon
    eleete, May 9th, 2008 @ 10:07am

    Re: Damn Bush!

    Unanimous does not mean that all the Democrats WANTED to vote no, but went with supporting the bill... Seems to me neither party brought their brains to work that day. But I think your comment is a bit amiss since both sides were almost 100% for it.

     

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  19.  
    identicon
    eleete, May 9th, 2008 @ 11:23am

    Re: Bush

    Blindly push the nucular button on IP ?

     

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  20.  
    identicon
    eleete, May 9th, 2008 @ 11:33am

    Re: Re: Damn Bush!

    based on this
    Rep. Frederick Boucher [D, VA-9]
    Rep. John Doolittle [R, CA-4]
    Rep. John Duncan [R, TN-2]
    Rep. Jeff Flake [R, AZ-6]
    Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D, OH-10]
    Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D, CA-16]
    Rep. Gwen Moore [D, WI-4]
    Rep. Ronald Paul [R, TX-14]
    Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2]
    Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R, GA-3]
    Rep. Donald Young [R, AK-0]

    More Repulicans Did not vote than Dems, hmmmmmmm.

    e

     

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  21.  
    identicon
    Anonymous, May 9th, 2008 @ 5:00pm

    How many of you actually vote?

    If you really want to make a difference, then do so.
    Remember you can only truly whine, and complain about not getting your way if you actually made an attempt to get it in the first place.
    Do you also Whine, Bitch, and Complain about not getting a raise at work when you never asked for one in the first place, or actually improved your work efficiency?
    No.
    Of course you don't because that would be stupid right?

    Remember only you can prevent forest fires -Smokey the Bear

     

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  22.  
    identicon
    eleete, May 10th, 2008 @ 2:52am

    WONDER HOW THIS STUFF GETS PASSED ??

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6X-xtVask

     

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  23.  
    identicon
    Lucretious, May 10th, 2008 @ 5:38am

    Dan Glickman gushes:

    It is a comprehensive, bipartisan measure that will strengthen our nation's economy and generate more jobs for American workers by bolstering protections for intellectual property,


    "strengthen our nation's economy"? Talk about reaching.....

     

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  24.  
    identicon
    oregonnerd, May 10th, 2008 @ 8:41am

    Re: power and practices

    Odd that with all the anti-drug laws...there's not one against power. Certainly it leads to stranger dreams and more dangerous practices.
    --Glenn

     

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  25.  
    identicon
    oregonnerd, May 10th, 2008 @ 8:42am

    Re: Re: A Government

    ((did))

     

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  26.  
    identicon
    oregonnerd, May 10th, 2008 @ 8:51am

    copyright

    To some extent at least this is asinine. This is only for published works, as far as I can tell, and also makes the assumption that anything not formally published is at best insignificant. The writer who goes along with Emily Dickinson (i.e. "The business of poets is writing poetry"--and then if at all perhaps getting published) would most likely see denial of access to the public as a strike against the writer.
    http://writing.borngraphics.com/voices.pdf

    This isn't to say that publication is against writing. The artistic merits of the referenced ms. aren't the question; access is. It's poetry and free verse to boot so the ordinary reader here probably won't be much interested in it save as an example.
    --Glenn

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  27.  
    identicon
    MLS, May 11th, 2008 @ 10:36am

    IP inaccurate

    Merely as a point of clarification, the name of this bill voted upon by the House (which means it has a long way to go to even be enacted by Congress) is terribly misleading. This is not about "IP" generically. It is specifically about copyrights under federal law and a legally questionable incursion by the federal government into the area of trade secrets, an area that has traditionally been the province of the states as sovereign entities.

     

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  28.  
    identicon
    Mendel Potok, Nov 17th, 2010 @ 11:34am

    *Gulp*

    This is why I always hide my IP, at least then when the government cyber ninjas come looking for me it will take a while.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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