Comcast goes nuclear

From Demand Progress:

Comcast has gone nuclear. Their friends in Congress are threatening to shut down the federal government unless Net Neutrality is stopped.

They've attached a provision blocking Net Neutrality to a must-pass spending bill that funds the federal government.1

Their strategy is simple: Faced with a possible government shutdown, Net Neutrality supporters will feel enormous pressure to give in.

But next week is our first big chance to stop this attack. Congress is voting on whether to remove the anti-Net Neutrality provision from the must-pass spending bill. It won't be easy, but if we win, Comcast is dead in the water.

Using the threat of a government shut down is Comcast's most desperate attempt to stop Net Neutrality yet.

We've already generated a massive public outcry, and with your help we can keep flooding Congress with phone calls and make sure that voters know which representatives vote against the free and open Internet.

This is the very first vote in Congress since the FCC's historic rule went into effect. The stakes are huge. And we're counting on you to stand with us.

Will you chip in $5 to help fund the grassroots organizing we need to win?

Yes, I'll donate $5 to help defend Net Neutrality.

Thanks for standing with us.

Sara, Daniel, Kurt, Mark, David, and the rest of the Demand Progress team.

1.Source

Tell your Congressperson to support Net Neutrality.

Deliever the knockout blow that will knockout SOPA

Imagine sitting down at your computer one morning to catch up on the latest at CampaignForLiberty.org and instead having this pop up on your screen:(see above)

After doing a little digging, you find out that Campaign for Liberty's web domain was seized by the government because a Federal Reserve official claimed content we had posted violated copyright - with no more than the accusation serving as cause and C4L receiving no chance to defend itself against the charge.

Hoping this is a temporary mistake - a fluke move by a bored bureaucrat that will soon be corrected - you head to another favorite site to get the latest on the freedom movement...

...only to have the same image assault your eyes.

And it doesn't stop there.

Time and again that morning you encounter the same notice - seeing it over and over as you try to access any alternative to the establishment echo chamber that claims to be "news."

In only the time it takes to stroke a few keys, the federal government has muzzled its opposition.

And they did it while you were sleeping.

Ray, this isn't an exaggeration or desperate fear mongering.

This is exactly what statists are working to make happen at this very minute.

But together, you and I can turn this Big Government-lover's dream into a nightmare for the political class.

We've done it before.

In just a moment, I'll show you how you can fight back.

But first let me provide a little background on the threat you and I are facing.

Last year, thanks to the quick action of C4L members and millions of other Americans, the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) was thrown out the window right when it seemed to be fast-tracked to pass.

Proposed under the cloak of "protecting copyright," SOPA would have allowed the federal government to shut down websites for minor copyright violations or even a private allegation of a violation.

Without due process, entire websites could have been shuttered for inadvertent violations, malicious attacks, or a made-up claim.

To illustrate SOPA's potentially devastating impact, CampaignForLiberty.org and many other websites, including Wikipedia, "went dark" for 24 hours.

Activists rose up with such a backlash that legislators couldn't trample each other fast enough in a mad scramble to backpedal from the bill.

Many believed SOPA gone for good.

As it turns out, it was just on the ropes.

Now you and I must deliver the knockout blow.

In recent weeks, stories have surfaced reporting that pro-SOPA forces are gearing up to resurrect the legislation with a vengeance.

Some in Hollywood even believe President Obama's reelection gives him a mandate to pass bills like SOPA, and you better believe attacks on our freedoms from highly connected lobbyists will be well-funded.

So today, I'm asking you to take 30 seconds to exercise your right to free speech on the Internet by signing our "Hands Off the Internet" fax form to your representative and senators.

Our "Hands Off the Internet" statement clearly puts politicians on notice that if they thought the first backlash over SOPA was intense, they haven't seen anything yet.

The establishment uses pro-SOPA rhetoric to distract from the real agenda - shoving government's foot further in the door to rein in the area where our movement is growing the fastest.

The Internet is a refuge for liberty-minded Americans looking to get educated about the issues, equipped with the knowledge to be effective activists, and connected with other concerned citizens.

The web fuels pro-liberty efforts all across the globe.

And the elites can't stand it.

There's still time to act before SOPA's supporters gain momentum, so please sign our "Hands Off the Internet" fax form to your representative and senators right away.

Don't let the hypothetical situation from the beginning of this email turn into your cold, hard reality one future morning.

Take action today.

In Liberty,

Matt Hawes
Vice President of Programs

P.S. After its crushing defeat in 2012, many believed SOPA gone for good.

But recent reports indicate it is just on the ropes - waiting for us to deliver the knockout blow.

Help preserve Americans' freedoms online and safeguard the liberty message by signing our "Hands Off the Internet" fax form to your representative and senators today.

Sign fax form here

If the idea of the government censoring the news and deciding what you can watch and what you can't appeals to you then you are in the wrong part of the web. On the other hand,if all those things sound repugnant to you then please fill out this fax form and let those we elect know we will not tolerate them stepping on our liberties. The civil liberties you save may be your own,sign that fax form today.

Judgement in America

If you've ever seen Judgement At Nuremberg you know it is a excellent movie. If you haven't check TCM to see when its on next. I've seen it many times but this time I was able to seriously sit down and see the movie from beginning to end. It is set in post WW2 Germany in the city of Nuremberg to host the trial of nazi judges. Judges that rubber stamped whenever Hitler and the nazis wanted. Until after a time the trials conducted by the nazis served no other purpose but to punish those that did not believe with those in power to just shut up. It worked in the days of the inquisitions and crusades just as it served modern day dictators. The administration of justice(some have called it "the allies revenge")was conducted by the various allied partners: US,USSR,France and Great Britain. There were no allied attorneys to represent the nazi defendants,most refrained because helping the accused may be disadvantageous down the road so the defense was mainly conducted by German attorneys. What goes on in the movie is the various personalities and psychologies in play. The former jurists on trial range from Ernst Janning:at one time a pro-democracy judge who helped frame the constitution for the Weimar Republic who later went on to serve the nazis,wrestles with his decision on what he's done and does the best he can to rationalize it. He went along to get along. At the other extreme is Emil Hahn:a dedicated nazi judge that had no problem following the orders of the nazis because he was a nazi too. The only thing Hahn was sorry about is that Germany lost the war. The other two former judges were just rubber stamping the demands of the nazis with a little sadism thrown in. The psychologies of prosecuting attorney Tad Lawson: An American soldier who helped liberate the extermination camps on one side and Hans Rolfe on the other trying to salvage what remaining shred of dignity Germany still had left and reminded the world that they helped enable Hitler so they can blame themselves as well. Presiding over this case is American jurist Dan Haywood as the chief jurist. He is presiding over this case with two other American jurists. In the movie there is the American ideology clashing with the German ideology,between prosecutor and defense,respectively. Freedom for the individual,which is something we try to carry out and guard versus the good of society which is what the nazis cherished. The movie is fraught with rationalizations. From the doctors and nurses who performed sterilization (castrations) on those deemed intellectually inferior,while stating they think it is a barbaric practice that sickens them. Their protests are mostly rhetoric. They rationalize this by saying someone else with stand up to the nazis. Someone else will tell them this is unacceptable and they will reform their ways. Just wait until that someone else tells them off. They'll be sorry. Besides it's for the good of society. "It's for the good of society so let it happen" was allowed by the laypeople,professionals,government civil servants to the courts and chancellory. "It's for the good of society so let it happen" so no one dared to step up,to say "enough,no more". All through the fatherland you can hear the rhetoric "someone else will stop them". In the movie Haywood says that ever since he's been in Germany it is one rationalization or another by the native population. Fast forward to today. Civil Liberties being trampled upon while while being ignored by the media,an entity that is supposed to keep an eye on the government for the good of the people. However they don't. The old media has become a joke. They have the same topics over and over for the next 5-7 hours while you can spend the same amount of time on the net and never run across the same thing twice. There are statists eager and waiting to take away your freedoms just to enrich themselves. Those that screwed up radio and tv now want to screw up the net. The last bastion of freedom is the internet. the government tells us it's okay "to go along to get along". From throughout society we are told to obey. To go along to get along. If there are any problems someone else will fix it so don't worry about it. You have American Idol that promotes something the powers that be want you to be dazzled with. Fluff has replaced news: celebrity A fucking celebrity B is now more worthy than North and South Korea duking it out which also involves Russia and China at this point (just a scenario). We're being fed sugarcoated lies in the form of propaganda that falsely passes for "news". This can be done with the right person in office. In this case Barrack Obama (it could have be any left leaning black man) as the president. A black man could get further with this agenda than a white man could. If Obama were white Solyndra alone would have impeached him. The reason this is done by a black man is that America is in a hurry to absolve itself from its racist past and will do pretty much anything to accomplish that goal. It's a wet dream for the statists,a no-lose scenario--or is it? We can fight back. The net has leveled the playing field. Do we safeguard our freedoms and demand the lost ones restored or do we go along to get along? "Go along to get along" works real well in one place: the slaughterhouse. What do we do: fight back and take and preserve what is ours as a country or do we go along to get along? Which is it? We know where one road leads to and it's not good. Let's choose the other one.

Updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

This Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering an update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to ensure our email and online data finally receive the same privacy protections from government access as postal mail and phone calls.

However, Sen. Grassley of Iowa is pushing a terrible amendment to allow government agencies to read our email without a warrant. This would make our privacy situation WORSE, not better. Grassley’s amendment would give government agencies like the SEC and IRS even more access to our emails and private data.

To oppose Grassley's amendment click here and sign the petition.

These are the Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee:

ALABAMA: Jeff Sessions - (202) 224-4124
ARIZONA: Jon Kyl - (202) 224-4521
CALIFORNIA: Dianne Feinstein - (202) 224-3841
CONNECTICUT: Richard Blumenthal - (202) 224-2823
DELAWARE: Christopher A. Coons - (202) 224-5042
ILLINOIS: Dick Durbin - (202) 224-2152
IOWA: Chuck Grassley - (202) 224-3744
MINNESOTA: Amy Klobuchar - (202) 224-3244
MINNESOTA: Al Franken - (202) 224-5641
NEW YORK: Chuck Schumer - (202) 224-6542
OKLAHOMA: Tom Coburn - (202) 224-5754
RHODE ISLAND: Sheldon Whitehouse - (202) 224-2921
SOUTH CAROLINA: Lindsey Graham - (202) 224-5972
TEXAS: John Cornyn - (202) 224-2934
UTAH: Michael S. Lee - (202) 224-5444
UTAH: Orrin Hatch - (202) 224-5251
WISCONSIN: Herb Kohl - (202) 224-5653

If your Senator is not on the above list you can call or email Senator Chuck Grassley and tell him why you're not a big fan of his amendment. If you Senator is on the list call or email your Senator right away. Time is running out.

UPDATE: I heard a few Senators are teetering on this,Senator Dianne Feinstein is one of them whether you live in California or not you can reach her at the phone number above or you can email her here. We need everyone of these Senators on board with this. Any Senator wavering can be disastrous that is why we need a "yes" vote on this bill to safeguard the internet.