PIPA's Own Sponsors Backing Off Bill; Ask Senate To Hold Off On Voting [Updated!]
from the wow dept
It looks like the internet uprising really is having an impact. Senator Ben Cardin -- a co-sponsor of PIPA -- has put out a press release saying that he won't vote for the bill as written today, after hearing from many constituents. Oddly, he says he will remain a co-sponsor of the bill, but wants to amend the bill to take into account the concerns he's hearing.Similarly, six other Senators, including two co-sponsors -- Senators Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley (the two co-sponsors) along with John Cornyn, Jeff Sessions, Mike Lee and Tom Coburn -- have asked Harry Reid not to bring the cloture vote he's promised to bring on the 24th. In other words, as many of us have been asking: don't rush this. This is huge news. With Senators -- including three co-sponsors -- coming out so forcefully to Harry Reid that this bill needs more time, Reid is much more likely to delay the cloture vote, and to leave PIPA aside for other business for the time being. Either way, the letter (embedded below) makes it clear that more debate on the issues in the bill were promised and never held. And, they note, that they're hearing more and more and more about the problems in the bill, and believe they should be discussed openly, before anyone is voting on cloture or on the bill itself.
All of this, by the way, is because tons of you (tons!) have stepped up and reached out to your Reps. and Senators and let them know that these bills are unacceptable. Let's see if Harry Reid, Patrick Leahy and Lamar Smith finally admit that they, too, can hear you.
Update: Harry Reid apparently cannot hear you. He has come out with a statement saying that the cloture vote will continue on January 24th, despite the concerns of so many Senators (even co-sponsors of the bill) because it's "too important to delay." No. He's wrong. What's too important to delay is a real careful look at the impact of such a bill.
Update 2: More and more Senators appear to be distancing themselves from the bill. The latest is Senator Pat Toomey who makes it clear he does not like any bill that involves the government being able to order blocks of links to certain websites -- something he calls "pretty disturbing."
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Filed Under: ben cardin, chuck grassley, delay, harry reid, jeff sessions, john cornyn, mike lee, orrin hatch, pipa, protect ip, tom coburn
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internet club: rules
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Election Year
It's just an attempt at a Sith Mind Screw so we'll forget aal about the fact that Congress drug it's feet about important issues while only backing down now because they went and pissed the internet off.
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the long game
Is it possible that they just want to postpone the vote until after the election, so that they can vote for it with impunity?
The correct countermove is to modify our message: we don't just want the bill not passed, we want it defeated before the election. We should make postponement beyond the election just as toxic as the bill itself, and no neutrality allowed.
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Re: the long game
Are we not better off getting our representatives really on the record against this travesty before the election? Lets get these people to show who they respect more us or the lobbyists.
Demand a vote, a NO vote now.
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Creating an Event in Portland, Maine this post aginst PIPA
I am Jordan the Vocalist for Big Meat Hammer and one of Maine's oldest Punk Rockers.I will post this here and on the new thread on PIPA Sponsors above this News Story.Since I am against both PIPA & SOPA I will do this same Post on two different Stories.I will not take up any more of techdirt's time on my grand plan.
I have a mission !!! I am wondering who might want to take part in a Protest against Censorship in Portland.I am thinking of an event maybe called "Burn You Big Content Day".Each person would at least bring one book,CD, or Movie put out by either MPAA,RIAA, or one of the Big Publishing Companies.We would have our Protest Signs and at one point we will all bring our "Content" to throw into a pile.We would then either take an AXE to it or BURN IT.I would bring out my expensive Camera gear to shoot a Video of this Event and we could upload that Video to the Internet.If you live here in Maine and would be willing to Donate a short period of your time for this then reply here.If enough will sign on then I should set a Date well before Jan.24TH as that is the day I am pretty sure they will be Voting on.It should be done in the next maybe 5 days ? So how many of you will sign on ? Today is Jan.13TH and you can either email me or go on my Facebook to sign up.If enough people sign up then we are going thru with this.
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I don't think it has anything to do with Comcast. Comcast has been a known DNSSEC supporter for years.
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As far as congress is concerned, they would view stuff like this:
If some tech experts say that this will interfere with DNSSEC, they just are against it on principal and if the bill is passed they will just fix any problems like they always do. On the other hand, if a company shuts down a revenue stream for DNSSEC, then there is no way to not break it while messing with it.
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I doubt a single IP type has ever asked the question, How are internet standards done. w3 standards take years to finish. They go through every expert, through legal, and through every scenario.
This isn't a Microsoft patch we are talking about, this is ALL communications on the planet.
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Are you a member of congress because you did that really well?
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I added the "" around heard because as with kids the upper management is told but they don't hear till its in their face.
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Where be thy proof, swabbie?
Besides that, why wouldn't an outpouring of anti-SOPA sentiment have anything to do with abrupt about-facing? Do you really think that bills like this just get a free pass because someone lobbies hard for them? If so, it just goes to show us your Royalist Colors.
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Why?
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Re: Why?
HTML text of the letter from Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, John Cornyn, Mike Lee, Tom Coburn.
Also from that site:
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leahy
Bills become toxic, at what point does a senator?
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Re: leahy
IMHO, more useful to call his offices, both in Burlington and DC, to present your message that removing DNS blocking does not mollify your (our) opposition to this legislation (1st amendment concerns, 4th amendment concerns, private right of action concerns, etc).
In fact, Burlington was a great call, really friendly and asked specific questions in response to my message for Senator Leahy. He's on edge about this thing now, after all how many Hollywood studios are based here in VT, and another call is worth it's weight in gold! Go.
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Re: leahy
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It is a step
Both Bills need to be removed. Both the House and the Senate need to focus on counterfeiting in a bill with narrow and precise language.
But then again that would make ICE do their jobs and stop bad goods at customs instead of sitting behind a desk surfing the net trying to find the next 84,000 sites they can destroy trying to mess with things they don't know.
They then want to mess with infringment issues find but it needs to be done with no room for confusion and must done with proper DUE PROCESS in place.
As long as there is any provisions that allow Legal sites (aka rapidshare and others) to be taken down because some or even most may/can/will miss use it will never be ok for me.
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re
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this is getting depressing
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It's Railroading, Not Legislating
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Two peas in a pod
Both these pinheads aren't listening.
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Yes, I'm screaming.
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Rehash
So no matter what happens with PIPA and SOPA they will simply be back within 12 months with another rewrite. They will run with the ball now when a delay only makes things worse.
One day I would like to see a bill that would reform copyright but then we don't have the money to buy one.
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Ya know...
However, pushing for a cloture vote in the harsh light of all this "negative press" may be just what we need to kill PIPA. They need 61 votes for cloture, then it's a cooling period for a few days then a straight up or down vote. Then it goes to the house, or gets reconciled with SOPA... if they manage to pass that turd. Then it goes to the President, who, while not issuing a veto threat, has said that the DNS blocking provisions are crap.
It could likely fail to get cloture. Even if the cloture vote succeeds, the bill could fail to pass. I say go for it. Better to force the up or down vote now, before an election, while the nerd rage is fresh and furious, rather than waiting for the distraction of the November election or the lame duck session afterwards.
Maybe I'm too optimistic about this crap and have too much faith in Reid not really being an idiot and instead sly like a fox. Even if he is, it's still just all procedural BS and political gamesmanship in the Senate.
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Did you know?
They have had a busy week moderating members, deleting accounts, and avoiding the SOPA like it was something communicable.
I would not give any high fives just yet on this Bill not passing. Congress has a bad habit of passing laws behind the public's back when they least expect it. Be diligent everyone.
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A new Bill too replace SOPA
The OPEN Act secures two fundamental principles. First, Americans have a right to benefit from what they've created. And second, Americans have a right to an open internet. Our duty is to protect these rights. That's why congressional Republicans and Democrats came together to write the OPEN Act. But it's only a start. We need your help: sign up, comment and collaborate to build a better bill.
http://keepthewebopen.com/
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