SOPA hearing yesterday: There are not enough /facepalms in the world

[Something Amyss]

One congressman said "If I had a dime for every time someone in the hearing used the phrase "I'm not a nerd" or "I'm no tech expert, but they tell me..." I'd have a large number of dimes and still feel intensely worried about the future of the uncensored Internet."

Was that Congressman Stewart or Colbert? >.>

I'm reminded of the woman who slammed Mass Effect on Fox. when asked if she had actually played the game, she scoffed and said "no" like she was proud to be talking with authority on something she knew nothing about.

It outraged me, but in the end, she was an "expert" on a fake news network that was, in the words of the immortal bard, "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

It borderline TERRIFIES me that people who are actually in charge of legislative changes are ruling on something they do not understand.

It also concerns me that we keep voting in people who are so out of touch with modern technology, given its ubiquity. I'm not saying they're out of touch, but I'm not sure they could pass a resolution declaring the Earth to revolve around the sun.

I love the fact that they've spent the last decade berating "nerds" while legislating this shit.

 

[Something Amyss]

Thank oh THANK YOU FSM, for not making me American!

Thank you for spawning me in the place where porn was first legalized, prostitution is legal, no legal drinking-age exists and most of the noticeable politicians over 50 were once members of the Communist Party and/or hippies.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!

Oh, sorry, that was an error due to lag. We're relocating you in 3...2...1....

 

[teqrevisited]

Great. This means I only have four days to download the entire internet so that it can be reinstated atop Westminster in a small black box.

I wish politicians weren't so stupid. If this doesn't get stopped I would expect government networks to be under heavy fire from hackers the world over. They'd deserve it, too.

 

[Xanthious]

Ya see the thing is this SOPA bill has about as much chance of being passed into law as some random scribblings involving boobs and platypus I scribbled out on a bar napkin a few weeks back. Just like COICA before it and the bill who's name I can't recall before that they are simply throwing shit at a wall knowing full well it has no chance of sticking. Meanwhile they are appeasing the lobbyists by being able to say "Well we tried fellas it just didn't work out thanks for all your bribes errrrr I mean support".

Bottom line yes it's scary. Yes it would be horrible. However, in the end it's really nothing more than lip service.

 

[Irridium]

One congressman said "If I had a dime for every time someone in the hearing used the phrase "I'm not a nerd" or "I'm no tech expert, but they tell me..." I'd have a large number of dimes and still feel intensely worried about the future of the uncensored Internet."

Was that Congressman Stewart or Colbert? >.>

I'm reminded of the woman who slammed Mass Effect on Fox. when asked if she had actually played the game, she scoffed and said "no" like she was proud to be talking with authority on something she knew nothing about.

It outraged me, but in the end, she was an "expert" on a fake news network that was, in the words of the immortal bard, "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

It borderline TERRIFIES me that people who are actually in charge of legislative changes are ruling on something they do not understand.

It also concerns me that we keep voting in people who are so out of touch with modern technology, given its ubiquity. I'm not saying they're out of touch, but I'm not sure they could pass a resolution declaring the Earth to revolve around the sun.

I love the fact that they've spent the last decade berating "nerds" while legislating this shit.

Kind of makes me glad I can now vote. Hell, a lot of people like me can now vote. Of course, getting them to care is the challenge. People born in the 90's are quite apathetic, after all. Hopefully this gives them the kick in the ass they need. So they realize "hey, we can not vote for these douches, and vote for someone who understands this stuff! Lets do that!"

 

[Tommeh Brownleh]

We can't protest this if it passes either. Remember, the NDAA passed. Anybody who protests is going to be met with much more than pepper spray now.

 

[Irridium]

Figured you all would get a kick out of this.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57344507-281/internet-is-for-porn-pops-up-during-house-sopa-debate/

Polis in general has been awesome during all this.

 

[Irridium]

Hang on, even if this does go through, Obama has the chance to vetoe it right? And I'm pretty sure he's a man who actually understands the internet. This whole thing exposesthat the system is completely flawed, but there's still no chance of it going through, right?

That is true. It still ultimately needs to be signed into law by Obama.

Whether he will or won't though, I don't know. He said he wouldn't in the past, but he said he'd do many things in the past that he ended up not doing. So yeah, it ultimately needs his approval, but I don't know if he'll give it or not.

We can only hope he goes full Gandalf on this thing.

 

[pppppppppppppppppp]

But it's only being censored in America, right? So I have nohing to worry about?

Sorry, but you do actually. Americans provide a lot of traffic to major sites, and if a website can't get American viewers or advertise to Americans, many won't be able sustain themselves.

It sucks, I know. :/

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

Well great one step towards them censoring the internet so much that pirating will be the only way to get things done.

 

[Mordereth]

I think its pretty damn funny. You gotta love people who have absolutely no clue about modern technology pretending they do/wanting to influence it anyway.

But hey, its you guys voting these fuckers into place. Considering how much the internet influences the modern world, its beyond me how someone can think its a good idea to put an old fart who cant even use a TV remote properly in charge of it.

They have to be someone backed by enough unions (Democrats) or corporations (Republicans) to get any screen time (because those are the two sources of enough campaign money to get elected to anything above mayor [not even mayor of the state capital at that]).

 

[android88]

Thanks for that

 

[Phlakes]

I would be laughing harder if these people didn't have control over our internet use. Because, like that reporter said, we're tied down on a table and they're ready to perform heart surgery, and all we can do is hope someone tells them how bad an idea it is before they cut things up.

 

[android88]

They have bigger problems now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeEcoi8kEuU&feature=share

Edit: Sorry, tried to embed.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

A new Challenger enters the ring

Fixed that for you.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Christopher Hitchens dies, and decrepit old fogies in control of legislation don't know how what the internet is beyond 'a series of tubes'. Hooray. What a great couple of days. Anyone want to run over my foot, break my bed, and make food less appealing to me, just to round it out?

Well, I'm gonna go stock up on boobs and videos before the internet gets fed through some tiny pipes.

Or not, whatever. But I'm still gonna go enjoy my internets.

 

[Tom Artingstall]

I am intensely disturbed that the US Government has this much power over a worldwide network. Most of the sites I use daily are US-based, which means that hey presto poof, my daily source of information, be it global, local or personal, goes down the drains like so much half-eaten soup.

Hang on, you guys voted a DEMOCRAT into power. Aren't they meant to be "the good guys" in these things? Power to the people, freedom of speech, liberalism, etc etc?

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Figured you all would get a kick out of this.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57344507-281/internet-is-for-porn-pops-up-during-house-sopa-debate/

Polis in general has been awesome during all this.

You know, that made me think. If something can be deemed pornographic, they say it can't be protected. But, if we apply Rule 36, then everything is porn, and nothing can be protected. It'd be easy as hell to prove that something is pornographic, right? We just get a few of 'those guys', you know the ones, and have them go masturbate vigorously and loudly at anything deemed nonpornographic. Surprise! Now it's porn.

Surprise Porn seems like it's going to become something weird. Like, it's a normal video, with the guy, and the lady, and they're having fun, then suddenly BAM!! Picture of a nice forest, or something, while all the excitement is high. And suddenly the viewer is whackin' it to footage of some nice pine trees, and slowly but surely--he gains a fetish. Conditioning, man. Shit's powerful.

That oak outside my window sure is looking hot tonight...

 

[Leoforce]

While this is most possibly the most rage-filling news to date, we should consider that this is only because there are so many angry old men in Congress to use the tired cliche. The moment we have some fresh blood in, there may be hope. Until then, I'm ready to fly to the UK if necessary.