In response to internet backlash Harry Reid indefinitely postpones vote on PIPA.

This from Think Progress:

“In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act.  

“There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved. Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs. We must take action to stop these illegal practices. We live in a country where people rightfully expect to be fairly compensated for a day’s work, whether that person is a miner in the high desert of Nevada, an independent band in New York City, or a union worker on the back lots of a California movie studio. 

“I admire the work that Chairman Leahy has put into this bill. I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’ intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet. We made good progress through the discussions we’ve held in recent days, and I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks.”

Yeah good luck with that.

The blackout day in protest of SOPA and PIPA was an unprecedented success as illustrated by the graphic below.

If you have trouble seeing graphic click here.

As one individual tweeted, "Why would the government risk pissing off every hacker in the country at the same time?"

That is actually kind of what happened as the shadowy group known as Anonymous took things a little farther by hosting a sort of "Hack-a-palooza" aimed at government agencies.

Now I am not usually a big fan of hackers, but you do have to admit that they are taking that overused slogan "We the people" and putting some teeth into it.

I would suggest that the government move very carefully after this, the internet is the new frontier and there are a lot of very talented and creative people who will protect it at all cost.

Myself included.

P.S. Just to clear up any confusion, I am not suggesting that I would be doing any hacking. I am lacking the computer skills to do so, and I am not of a mind do so if I had those skills. My activism is directed more toward encouraging people to write letters or working to kick out of office politicians who attack out free speech.

In the unheralded accomplishments department, President Obama saved the internet. You're welcome.

"Nah you don't have to thank me. You know I've got your back."

Courtesy of the Washington Monthly:

At issue are two related bills: the Senate’s Protect IP Act and the even more offensive Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, both of which are generated intense opposition from tech giants and First Amendment advocates. The first sign that the bills’ prospects were dwindling came Friday, when SOPA sponsors agreed to drop a key provision that would have required service providers to block access to international sites accused of piracy. 

The legislation ran into an even more significant problem yesterday when the White House announced its opposition to the bills. Though the administration’s chief technology officials officials acknowledged the problem of online privacy, the White House statement presented a fairly detailed critique of the measures and concluded, “We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” It added that any proposed legislation “must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet.” 

Until now, the Obama administration had not taken a position on the issue. The response was published yesterday as part of the online “We The People” petition initiative launched by the White House last year. 

Though the administration did not issue a formal veto threat, the White House’s opposition signaled the end of these bills, at least in their current form. 

A few hours later, Congress shelved SOPA, putting off action on the bill indefinitely.

So there you go.

For those of us who use the internet quite frequently, or have an opinion blog that borrows from the writings of journalists to make a point, this has been a rather frightening time.

Not me of course, I had total trust in the President to stop this thing before it got out of hand.

I mean it's not like I was lying awake at night rocking to and fro in my bed weeping or anything. Because that would be, you know, unmanly.

Anyhow now SOPA is dead in the water. And PIPA (The Senate version) actually died a little earlier after six of the GOP co-sponsors begged Harry Reid NOT to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

So what that means for us is that we still get to talk about politics, religion, and Sarah Palin to our heart's content, without fear of being sued or shut down.

And as Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."