Firstly, welcome back! The blackout/redirect plug-in worked like it should! And now that the event is done, it’s removed from my plug-ins, ’cause that’s good tidying.

I will say that, all in all, yesterday was fabulous. I saw so many people who are normally quiescent and quiet take time to spread the word and contact their members of government. That is fantastic, and I only wish it were the status quo. Because, as many people don’t think about:

What I Wish Wikipedia and Others Were Saying About SOPA/PIPA
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2012/01/what-i-wish-wikipedia-and-othe.php

Yesterday was a minor victory in an even bigger war. The fact that people aren’t paying attention by default leaves a lot of room for crazy crap to be passed behind our backs. I know, I know – the law-making process is convoluted, and us? We’re not all law experts with oodles of free time on our hands, ready and able to pick through all the crazy jibber jabber that makes up legislation. We should be able to trust in our elected officials to work on our behalf; that’s why yesterday was filled with a flurry of emails and calls to Senators and Congresspeople. That is, where people could find the contacts; I have heard many reports of people not being able to find a way to contact their representatives! So while I won’t blithely say that we should have our reps on speed dial and know all their goings on, we should endeavour to be well read and associate with others who fit that criterion as well. We won’t catch all the crazy, but it’s easy to spot and stop it if people work together to be informed.

The other bit I’m offering up today is a friend of a friend’s post on Facebook. I’ll let it speak for itself:

Stephanie Clarkson: I am going to tell you something…
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieMClarkson/posts/10150727552534148

Really, what more can I add to that? I’m not sure anyone could out and out disagree that the seller coordinating to match what the purchaser wants is win/win for all. I don’t know anyone that pirates for the sake of pirating, mind – they want a preview, or they can’t get what they want on the free market. People want to be within the law – help them, and make some money out of it too. It might not be enough for a fleet of gold-plated ponies, but better something than nothing.

So then, where does that leave us? It leaves us where we need to still be on the case of our legislators; they are supposed to work for us. We must vote them out of they don’t (or die trying, in my case *sigh*). We must continue to help the entertainment industry understand that there is a middle route, and that they should consider staying upon it. As Miss Clarkson so beautifully states – legal availability means people will be happy to buy it in most cases. It’s so obvious, and I can only surmise that it’s not followed because of pressure to make more better profits. So really – keep educating yourselves, and keep speaking out. It’s really not that hard, and (neener neener), everybody else is doing it! ;D

<3