Rep. Lamar Smith Decides Lying About, Insulting And Dismissing Opposition To SOPA Is A Winning Strategy
from the we-shall-see dept
It appears that SOPA sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith has decided that his best strategy continues to be to ignore any and all criticism of SOPA and pretend that none of it "is legitimate." That's kinda funny since we've shown, in great detail, where many of the problems in the bill are (see here, here and here for example -- all of which cite specific language from the bill). And yet, according to Smith:"The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality," Smith said in a statement to Roll Call. "Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts."We've done exactly what he's claimed we haven't -- as have numerous other parties, including famed Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe, who also cited specific language in the bill. Ditto with former DHS Assistant Secretary, Stewart Baker, who also cited language from the bill about how SOPA will cause significant security problems for the internet.
It makes you wonder: just who does Lamar Smith think he's fooling?
Does he really think that if he just keeps on repeating these blatant lies someone, somewhere, will believe them?
From there, he goes from the ridiculous to the absurd by claiming that the widespread outcry over SOPA is just a "vocal minority," rather than any legitimate movement against the bill:
"It’s a vocal minority, he said. "Because they’re strident doesn’t mean they’re either legitimate or large in number. One, they need to read the language. Show me the language. There’s nothing they can point to that does what they say it does do. I think their fears are unfounded."Hundreds of thousands of letters sent? Nearly 90,000 calls in a single day? This is not a "vocal minority." This is a large and growing segment of the population who is very, very concerned. And, they have shown him the language, contrary to his blatantly false claims. Dismissing the concerns of pretty much the entire tech sector and their users (not to mention the folks over at Reddit...) doesn't seem wise. It seems like someone who doesn't understand the internet, not just in trying to regulate it, but in how the internet can be used to rally support against those who seek to damage it.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: facts, lamar smith, legitimate concerns, opposition, sopa
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Theoretically...
A "vocal minority", as it were.
Of course, if you factor out those people who never go online, and those people who do not understand how the internet works, then one may find that same vocal group likely represents a high percentage of those people who use and understand the internet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
How about we look at people who know what this bill is about and have commented on it? Those opposing the bill will still be a large majority, but at least we're counting those who support the bill.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
Let just conservatively say that for each person that goes through the trouble of communicating with congress, there are 100 people that hold the same opinion but did not communicate. So if you extrapolate that out, the 1 million letters actually "represent" the opinion of 100 million people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Theoretically...
Which is still an amusingly small percentage of the US population.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Theoretically...
Now let's run some numbers (from the US Census Bureau, 2010):
US population: 308,745,538
Age 18 and over: 76%
US population 18+: 234,646,608
One hundred million people = 42.6% of the adult population
Small percentage indeed...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Theoretically...
If it's less than 50% it qualifies as the two former while the people who aren't counted in are the majority. Right?
See, that makes purrrfect sense!
The only problem with that is if you or I decide to factor in the notion that that representative 30% as far more likely to vote than the "silent majority" of 70%. Given the dismal turnout in elections held in all western democracies these days that would be more for Lamar Smith to lose his job, not to mention a few others.
Not only is he lying, he's in denial about this.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Theoretically...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But...but...but of course he's right...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: But...but...but of course he's right...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: But...but...but of course he's right...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: But...but...but of course he's right...
He did exaggerate to toot his own horn and sound important. He created legislation to assist those creating the internet. That sentence does make it sound like he is trying to take ownership of the internet's creation.
But yes he did get railroaded with bad coverage that no one ever bothered to correct. Tinfoil ensues.
Moral of the story, don't try to take credit for shit you didn't do. Or more credit than you deserve for shit you had a small role in
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: But...but...but of course he's right...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
And he's from Texas. That's where all the copyright insanity goes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
FRAK YOU LAMAR SMITH !!!
I am not a Pirate or a Thief.I am a US Citizen born and bred and you will not stop our free speech.Thing is you do not even care about this fact you just care about money from Hollywood.
And your Industry support is slowly crumbling.No one in their right mind would ever want to allow any kind of Censorship in our free Country.Shut off the NET and you corrupted politicians will rue the day you do this to us US Citizens.
SOPA/PIPA = WAR !!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: gorehound
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: gorehound
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Perhaps we could crowdsource blowjobs for politicians? Then we just have to worry about getting the money out.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Actually, what's the lowest level of government employee eligible for said blowjobs? That's the position I'm running/applying for. I don't even want the damned money.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
betrayal by career politicians
They ignore the truth hoping that the same thugs who bought the elections for McCain, Pelosi and Reid will buy re-elections for them and this is why they chose to ignore we the people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
betrayal by career politicians
They ignore the truth hoping that the same thugs who bought the elections for McCain, Pelosi and Reid will buy re-elections for them and this is why they chose to ignore we the people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
betrayal by career politicians
They ignore the truth hoping that the same thugs who bought the elections for McCain, Pelosi and Reid will buy re-elections for them and this is why they chose to ignore we the people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
betrayal by career politicians
They ignore the truth hoping that the same thugs who bought the elections for McCain, Pelosi and Reid will buy re-elections for them and this is why they chose to ignore we the people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Shut it down then
But don't DARE buy ANYTHING from corporations. Instead go to local placed where music is playing, ensure they are not on major labels, ensure the establishments are not paying royalties to SOCAN/ASCAP/et. al. Just avoid anything corporate.
Write letters (the US Post Office will thank you given they are broke) to senators and members of congress and parliament. Thank them for freeing you from information overload by their own stupidity and acceptance of bribes from corporations.
Drop your cable television/satellite subscription. Watch the movies you already have, don't buy more unless from indie folks.
Don't purchase a single newspaper (RMurdoch will be happy you dropped the 'Net but pissed you're not reading his horeshit "news").
Talk to your neighbours and learn about them. Go to parks. Spend time with your family.
Write more to your political "representatives" explaining how if things don't change and real proof and real transparency are not a reality (budgets, receipts, etc...) then they are out the door.
Given the financial "crisis" the greedy corps will face, they won't have much left for bribing politicians.
Develop our own, completely open, Internet after corps have plummeted.
Maybe then society will be better off. Clearly too many people are asleep at the wheel, taking away the web and TV and news might help them to learn to think for themselves.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Shut it down then
There are several sites that handle still-sealed dvds/blurays at really low prices, like $4.99 for a $29.99 (retail) disc.
It'll be stuff that's been out 6 months or longer, but what's your hurry? ;-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Shut it down then
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Shut it down then
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Shut it down then
Ass Creed
Ass Creed 2
Ass Creed Brotherhood (3)
Ass Creed Rev (4)
If you are going to mock people at least have your facts straight.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Warrantless wiretapping?
Fraudulent DCMA takedown notices?
Bogus domain seizures?
It'll neverrrrrr happen.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The vocal minority is the copyright industry
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lies
Of course he does. Remember he belongs to a group whose members make *careers* of lying to people in order to get elected, get rich and keep their jobs. There is a skill to this that you are simply underestimating. Never, never underestimate a smiling sociopath.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Support for internet blocking: 16%
(H/T Slashdot)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Support for internet blocking: 16%
Heh. Good thing we ran that story two months ago, huh?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111115/00240216771/new-study-shows-majority-americans-aga inst-sopa-believe-extreme-copyright-enforcement-is-unreasonable.shtml
:)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Support for internet blocking: 16%
By my calculations, the feedback loop will soon cause a chain reaction that will destroy the Earth in less than a year (around December 21 this year, give or take)!
Clearly we need laws like SOPA to pass, to be able to take down rogue sites that continue to feed this loop.
This isn't just for the children any more. What we are doing here is preventing the apocalypse!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Support for internet blocking: 16%
Well I was probably busy that day.
So, November 15th. Hmmm... I'll have to check the invoices. Maybe I had some real work to do then.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Support for internet blocking: 16%
Going to the PDF itself, rather than relying on the summary at the activepolitic.com site:
Copyright Infringement and Enforcement in the US, Nov 2011:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In short, Yes, he does.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In other words, he's a member of Congress.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
This explains all the look alikes...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
In my classes (in Texas), the only people I've seen that aren't against SOPA are the ones who haven't heard of it at all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It makes you wonder: just who does Lamar Smith think he's fooling?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Do you want poor Lamar Smith to die from stress by waking up and realizing the numerous horrors and acts of evil he's inflicted upon the world just doing day to day business in congress that inevitably ruins so many people's lives because of the size and power of the US government?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Yes!
Oh, Lord!
YES!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You mean delusions like Friday lunches with Wills and Kate in London discussing copyright and technology while simultaneously sitting in the House of Representatives?
Not saying he has those but anything is possible when you're delusional! ;-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Translation - I don't know anything about how this stuff works, but I'm sure those that do must be wrong.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I've heard a story like this before...
"the principle & which is quite true in itself is that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily,"
Dr. Joseph Goebbels
This thought is often simplified down to "The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I've heard a story like this before...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Can we do something to get this PIG out of office?
Please?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
let the dreamers DREAM, just put them in a padded room
Copyrights were created to HELP/protect the individual...NOT THE CORPS.
This is PURE protectionism. but the corps arnt in this country anymore. only the HEAD of the beast is here. most of the company is NOT in the USA.
what are we protecting? not much.
All the claims that are SAID, tend to be INTERNATIONAL Statistics, not national. so why are they trying to Affect our nation.
If you look into the past, you find that TONS of corps STOLE their ideas. What would of happened if the Wright Brothers had the ONLY copy for airplanes? the way copyrights and regulations are NOW, they could contest anything that left the ground with wings.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: let the dreamers DREAM, just put them in a padded room
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Proving Godwins Law
Adolf Hitler, promulgated the idea of the big lie ... about the use of a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously."
I wonder if Smith is operating under the assumption that the big lie still works? The problem is, he might be right.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Who are you going to believe?
"Who are you going to believe, your lying eyes, or me?"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
He can't back down and he is heading towards an increasingly uphill battle. His only hope is to maintain a brave face and push forward with the bill. He has been bought and paid for. The MPAA and RIAA paid for the champagne room and so he has to dance. Even if the music sucks, he has to dance.
So, dance, Mr. Smith, dance.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
the wrong people get the message
Well yeah, he does believe that. Sadly, he's right. The people who believe him and do not challenge him are the media. They believe him and in turn they are the ones controlling the information that gets to the public at large. As long as he can keep them fooled (and apparently that's not hard) he has the public fooled.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
He has said "Pix or it didn't happen!" and then had himself declared legally blind.
That or the tiny pile of cash they gave him, and the promise of future rewards is enough for someone from TX.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
-bytes). This is what he thinks "The RIAA tells me the internet is bad and that the only thing people on the internet do is download stuff illegally, so the WHOLE thing must be shut down!"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
^ Truth.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
confuzzled
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fooling
How many in Congress see Smith as an expert on this bill, and will take him on his word that the criticism is unfounded? How many will seek out or even ask for a second opinion?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Only Answer
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The Only Answer
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Burn
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
POST/TWEET/BLOG about the harm of SOPA, let your friends and family know, create awareness, that's the only way.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Techically incompetent.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
well...
it's been working for politicians for years, why would they think otherwise now?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Statist politician
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cock-a-Roaches!
Voting people like this Hedley Lamar out isn't going to help, he'll be replace by another old white guy with the same gerbil sized brain, in the pockets of the same corporations.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If we were minority I doubt the senators would have denounced PIPA...
I guess he thinks we are all stupid, but the truth is on the contrary.. and yeah not only Americans fight this world war web! I am not an American as many others! We want our internet freedom and if he thinks that he will take it from us, he is seriously wrong..
Anonymous, bring SOPA down!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lamar Smith
[ link to this | view in chronology ]