Hitler, John Boehner And Pirates

"Name Prince Harry's last three Halloween costumes."

Some Johnny Carson humor (for those of you over the age of 35).

If you use the internet, you need to be aware of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act.  It's currently being debated in the House of Representatives.  It passed the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, and is expected to pass the House with strong support within the next couple of months.

SOPA will essentially bring online censorship to a level seen currently in China or Iran.  That isn't an exaggeration.  The day to day online experience as you know it will cease to exist.

Let me give you an example.  Here is a video of my daughter dancing our living room last night:



In the background of the video, 'Across the Universe' was playing.  It was originally recorded by The Beatles, but in this case, was being sung by Rufus Wainwright.

If SOPA passes, Sony Music, the label that owns the rights to The Beatles catalogue, could approach YouTube calling for the removal of the video.  All it would take would be an email.  YouTube would be forced to remove it.  Also, by embedding the video on this post, they could, if they desired, send an email to Go Daddy, the company hosting my website, claiming copyright infringement.  Under the articles of SOPA, Go Daddy would be forced to shut down my website.  Completely wipe it from existence.

Not because of a court order from a judge.  Not due to a notice from the F.B.I. or any local law enforcement.  But from a single email message from someone claiming they hold a copyright on material I am displaying on my website.  They do not need to show any proof of ownership.  I do not have the opportunity to remove the material in question.  'The Twitch Online' simply ceases to exist.  Years of work for nothing.  No record that it was even there to begin with.

How does this effect you?

Think about it.  The sites you visit every day - YouTube, Facebook, Google and Wikipedia, just to name a few.  All of them will either disappear or change in such a way that they will become practically unrecognizable.

And, in the end, is this new legislation really going to stop anyone from downloading a shitty CD in order to avoid paying $13.99 for it at Target.  If people have the motivation to pirate (lack of selection/price), they're going to find a way to do so.

Another casualty of SOPA will be the internet meme.  One of my personal favorites is the "Hitler finds out about _____".  If SOPA is enacted, that too will be gone.  The clip is taken from the 2004 German film 'Downfall'.  The video, while extremely funny, is surprisingly accurate and educational.



So, what can you do about this.  Get involved.  Contact your Congressman.  You can go to americancensorship.org right now to be directed to the offices of your local representative.  At the site, you can also sign a petition being sent to the state department, and send an email to Congress asking that SOPA not pass.  So far, more than 780,000 people have done so.

If this bill would have passed a decade ago, think about how different your life would have been.  If this bill passes in 2012, think about how different the internet will be for your children.  The internet was never intended to be policed to such a degree.  If the U.S. government can tell us what we can and can't say, watch or listen to online, what's next?

Was George Orwell just off by 30 years? 

Graph Of The Day: Congress Is Less Popular Than...

More people are pleased with the idea of the United States going communist than Congress' current approval rating.  Simply pathetic.

Republicans Want To Bring Back Slavery

They don't, but if you saw this headline in tomorrow's newspaper, would it really surprise you?

**OK, I'm going to be honest.  I am so angry right now, I don't even know where to start.  I'm going to be very critical of a certain group of people here, but I'm being 100% honest with the way that I feel.  If you're offended, I'm sorry, but you don't have to continue reading my blog if you don't like it.**

Republicans are pissing me the fuck off.  Who else can they fuck with....really??  They have it their mission in the last year to do anything they can to take as many rights, privileges, and benefits away from gay Americans.
Republican Senators and Congressmen are vowing to push through a bill in this session repealing the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (follow me).  States that have approved gay marriage, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, are fighting tooth and nail not to have it repealed by GOP state legislatures.  California is fighting in the courts to get gay marriage back after it was approved and then repealed by Republican voters.  Wyoming passed a bill today refusing to recognize gay marriages performed in OTHER STATES!!  And other states are merely cutting domestic partner benefits arbitrarily for the sake of "budget cuts", while not making any cuts to the benefits of married partners.

As February approached, rumors started to circulate as to how drastic Republicans would want to cut the budget on things like the arts, women's services, and health care.  It was much worse than anyone could have imagined.

The GOP has declared an all out war against Planned Parenthood.  Today, the House voted to strip the entire $327 million in annual Title X federal funding that it receives.   By law, none of the federal money they receive can go to fund abortions.  They have a private donor fund for that already.  Congressmen know that.  It's been that way since the mid-90s.  The $327 million they receive go to education, birth control, STD testing, HIV tests, cancer screenings, and gynecological exams, amongst other things.  I have used Planned Parenthood on numerous occasions for free STD and HIV testing about 10 years ago when I lived in Denver.  They were an excellent resource for contraceptives when I didn't even have enough money in my pocket to buy a pack of condoms.  They were always kind, accommodating, and never judged me.  My wife used their services when she was younger, was uninsured, and needed Depo shots. She received them at no charge from Planned Parenthood. They are an excellent resource for both men and women.  Abortions account for only 3% of the total procedures done at their clinics.  The things they do save more lives than the babies that die in their locations.  If they lose almost a third of a billion dollars in funding, over 800 locations nationwide risk being closed.  That means the possibility or more unwanted or unplanned babies, the spread of various STDs or HIV unknowingly being spread in those communities, and lower income women not being able to get gynecological care at little or no cost in their neighborhood.

Oh, and to make things worse, Republicans in the state of South Dakota, (which I'm going to just refer to as Dumbfuckistan from now on) introduced a bill making the defending of a fetus "justifiable homicide".  This opens the doors to being able to legally kill abortion providers.  House Bill 1171 states that murder is legal if defending your unborn child, or the unborn child or your spouse, partner, parent, or child.  So, even if the mother is going into the clinic with the intent of having the abortion, that woman's husband, boyfriend, son, daughter, father, or mother could, in theory, kill the abortion provider justifiably.  And, get this, the Dumbfuckistan state House has also introduced a bill requiring mandatory gun ownership for everyone 21 years of age and older.  It's not expected to pass, obviously, but could you get any dumber.

OK.....next point.  Today the fuckers voted to repeal Obama's health care reform.  They claimed it was because the budget, but we all know they hated the thing back when Hillary Clinton tried to get everyone on board with it back in the 90s.  They call it "Socialist" and "Marxist", but I call it "necessary".  Even with insurance, I can't even afford my medical bills.  They're over $500 a month sometimes, minimum.  My parents filed bankruptcy twice because of hospital bills.  One stay in the hospital can literally break a family for years. It's how the poor stay poor.  Just when they start to get on their feet again, there's another emergency, and they're back on their knees.  You're required to have insurance on your car.  You're required to have insurance on your house.  Heck, I have to have insurance on the things I have in my storage unit.  Isn't my health more important than a few totes full of hoodies and office supplies in my storage unit?  I think so.  Not only did House Republicans vote to repeal health care reform, but they also voted to refuse to pay any federal employees that were working on the health care reform project.  So, thousands of people...out of work.

Congress also voted to strip roughly 25%, or $20.6 million, from the National Endowment for the Arts.  It's the biggest cut the NEA has received in 16 years.  Don't forget, there's also talk that they want to remove funding for NPR and the Corporation for Public Brodcasting (PBS).  Hopefully, your kids are old enough to already have enjoyed Sesame Street.  Mine isn't.

At the same time, Republicans voted to keep in funding for abstinence only programs.  These are programs that have been proven not to work.  They paint false realities and unrealistic futures.  When students have sex, and they eventually do, they are unprepared and know nothing regarding STDs, HIV, or safe sex.  This is an example, although a little strange, of the content of some of the abstinence only curriculum being taught today.  This is your tax dollars at work:



Congressmen also reversed $1.5 billion in funding cuts that Obama made to combat efforts in Iraq.  Evidentially, the GOP thinks we're still in combat operations there.  Let's not forget that Tea Party Republicans are fighting to eliminate the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency.  Not make budget cuts, but eliminate the entire department from the government.

After all of this bullshit, what have Democrats done?  We've made phone calls.  We have organized online.  We have rallied using social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  We have blogged our frustrations.  We have called our Senators, asking them to vote against the budget cuts that the Congressmen have just made.  We have been civil.

Then we have the incident yesterday at Rep. Betty McCollum's (D-Minn.) office.  Last week, she submitted an amendment to the budget to cut $7 million from the Pentagon budget by discontinuing the Army's sponsorship of the #39 car in NASCAR.  A couple of days later, she received the following fax in her office:

Um..yeah...they called our President the N-word....and they're dragging him behind a pick up truck with a noose.  A death threat to a Congresswoman over a $7 million sponsorship deal.  This isn't something that would cripple NASCAR mind you.  If that car lost the Army sponsor, he would pick up a new one.  Instead of being the "Army" car, he would be the "Oreo" car, or the "Applebee's" car.  It wouldn't make a damn bit of difference.  Fucking rednecks.  I swear, it's like "Fuck women.  Fuck the gays.  Fuck the Mexicans and the Blacks.  I don't want my tax dollars goin' to that gay art stuff, but you better not touch my fuckin' NASCAR.  What are you?  A communist?"

What is wrong with this fucking country?  Who's next?  Who haven't we fucked over as a nation?  Hispanics, check.  LGBT community, check.  Women, check.  The poor, check.  Minorities, check.  Children, check.  The Environment, check.  Who's left....oh.

Rich, old, white, straight, married males.  Wow.  Sounds a lot like....Republican members of Congress.  Coincidence?