In America, we have some pretty savvy politicians in Congress. At the same time, they can be clueless about their constituents. The Senators and Congressmen who have been on the hill for some time definitely know how the political game is played. It isn't pretty and can be downright cutthroat. Last week, we had an internet uprising that they still don't understand.
Senator Patrick "Dipstick" Leahy sponsored the PIPA legislation and ran it through the Senate committee unopposed. Sen. Harry Reid was planning to zip it through the Senate floor without much discussion. Meanwhile Congressman Lamar "Dopey" Smith had crafted his bill, SOPA, and already had a majority of support in the House and was pushing to put it to a vote. Dipstick and Dopey had been heavily lobbied by the entertainment industries to push this legislation through ASAP!
The EFF (Electronic Freedom Frontier) had poured over the bills and were crying foul and putting up red flags. I'm not sure where I heard about it first but there was language in both bills that would basically change how our sacred internet worked. There were people all over the net screaming this must be stopped! Dopey claimed that anyone opposing his bill "just didn't understand it."
The first victim in this scandal was Godaddy.com who supported the bill originally. Online, there was a boycott organized to move away from using GoDaddy. In just a few days, they lost thousands of customers and changed their stance about the legislation. In forcing a large corporation to withdraw its support, internet users gained more momentum. Other companies like Google took notice of the revolt.
Google decided to get behind the movement rather than oppose it. Wikipedia and Reddit announced Wednesday that they would "blackout" their sites for 12 hours. Google followed suit with a blackout of their logo in support. Many other sites participated in black Wednesday. There was a call for petitions to be signed, calls to Congress and email demonstrations against the two bills. Google's petition alone garnered over 8 million signatures. The people spoke!
Dopey announced that it was "a publicity stunt" and that he didn't understand why anyone wouldn't want copyright holders protected. Dipstick simply blamed all the defectors who pulled their support. They still don't realize that it was a grassroots movement and that it was not lead by Google or any other website. Google et al..simply responded to the sentiment on the net and helped have our voices heard. It was a swift movement of netizens that crushed SOPA/PIPA.
The problem remains..Dipstick is already vowing to confront this "problem" after a brief delay. The RIAA and MPAA are both clearly involved. Chris Dodd, CEO of the MPAA and former Senator claims the protest was "white noise" making it impossible to have further conversation. Obviously the protest fell on deaf ears. It's going to be up to all of us to keep them in line.
Get lobbyists and PAC's out of our politics. The politicians serve their dollar wielding masters instead of their constituents. It's time to have a voice again people! Stop just doing as you're told and start paying attention to the world around you...or I promise, you will not like the results.
1/14/12
UFC 142 Picks and Results
Carvalho vs. Arantes
Taking Carvalho
X LOSER Arantes takes the decision.
Funch vs. Pyle
Mike Pyle takes this one.
√ WINNER Pyle knocked him out at 1:22 first round
Alcantara vs. Omigawa
I have lousy luck when I pick japanese fighters. My pick Alcantara.
√WINNER Alcantara nearly submitted him at the end of Rd. 1. Wins decision.
Gonzaga vs. Oliveira
Gonzaga seems to be a punching bag now. Oliveira by KO.
X LOSER Gonzaga put him down and choked him out easily!
Tavarez vs. Stout
Tavarez has talent but Stout has heart and determination. Stout by decision.
X LOSER Tavares convincingly won round 1, I gave Stout the last two rounds but the judges saw it differently!
Barboza vs. Etim
This will probably be fight of the night in my opinion. Both are crazy good, my pick is Etim.
X LOSER Barboza was winning but not by much. Suddenly he threw a spinning heel kick..landed perfect knocking out Etim instantly. One classic knockout!
Silva vs. Prater
Picking Prater but I haven't seen much of either guy.
√ WINNER Silva finished him off quick but ref Mario Yamasaki awards Prater the victory because Silva hit him a couple of times to the back of the head...bad decision!
Massenzio vs. Palhares
Palhares is a monster at 185. If he is able to get the fight on the ground, he will submit Massenzio.
√ WINNER Palhares pulled him to the ground and submitted him quickly. Beastmode!
Belfort vs. Johnson
Vitor by brutal knockout and ending the career for Johnson. Johnson didn't make weight..again!
√ WINNER Belfort took him down after taking some punishment but finished with a rear naked choke.
Aldo vs. Mendes
Aldo can pick him apart on the feet and has good submissions too. Aldo destroyed Faber and Mendes doesn't offer anything more than Faber. Aldo will wear him down and KO Mendes.
√ WINNER Aldo got him at 4:59 of the first round..knocked the crap out of him with a knee but Mario Yamasaki made a quick decision to stop it in the last second of the first round. I would have liked to have seen if he could recover but probably not. Good fight!
Taking Carvalho
X LOSER Arantes takes the decision.
Funch vs. Pyle
Mike Pyle takes this one.
√ WINNER Pyle knocked him out at 1:22 first round
Alcantara vs. Omigawa
I have lousy luck when I pick japanese fighters. My pick Alcantara.
√WINNER Alcantara nearly submitted him at the end of Rd. 1. Wins decision.
Gonzaga vs. Oliveira
Gonzaga seems to be a punching bag now. Oliveira by KO.
X LOSER Gonzaga put him down and choked him out easily!
Tavarez vs. Stout
Tavarez has talent but Stout has heart and determination. Stout by decision.
X LOSER Tavares convincingly won round 1, I gave Stout the last two rounds but the judges saw it differently!
Barboza vs. Etim
This will probably be fight of the night in my opinion. Both are crazy good, my pick is Etim.
X LOSER Barboza was winning but not by much. Suddenly he threw a spinning heel kick..landed perfect knocking out Etim instantly. One classic knockout!
Silva vs. Prater
Picking Prater but I haven't seen much of either guy.
√ WINNER Silva finished him off quick but ref Mario Yamasaki awards Prater the victory because Silva hit him a couple of times to the back of the head...bad decision!
Massenzio vs. Palhares
Palhares is a monster at 185. If he is able to get the fight on the ground, he will submit Massenzio.
√ WINNER Palhares pulled him to the ground and submitted him quickly. Beastmode!
Belfort vs. Johnson
Vitor by brutal knockout and ending the career for Johnson. Johnson didn't make weight..again!
√ WINNER Belfort took him down after taking some punishment but finished with a rear naked choke.
Aldo vs. Mendes
Aldo can pick him apart on the feet and has good submissions too. Aldo destroyed Faber and Mendes doesn't offer anything more than Faber. Aldo will wear him down and KO Mendes.
√ WINNER Aldo got him at 4:59 of the first round..knocked the crap out of him with a knee but Mario Yamasaki made a quick decision to stop it in the last second of the first round. I would have liked to have seen if he could recover but probably not. Good fight!
1/4/12
Alarming? Yes and No
I've really thought out some of the political strategies being used lately and I'm realizing that being alarmed is exactly what was intended by the powers that be. I've been playing right into their hands and feel stupid for not realizing it until now. If my goal were to solely make the president look bad in an election year, this would be a simple way of doing it!
Start with a piece of legislation that is mandatory like the defense bill (NDAA) which guarantees that veterans and troops will be payed. Any legislation that if vetoed, would make the president appear to be not supportive of the military or soft on terrorism. After the bill has passed the Senate and sent to Congress, amend it with some outrageous language that makes it appear that it is a play for absolute power. Shuffle the bill through with majority power and send it to the president to sign into law while he's away on vacation. Alert the media that the legislation is in the bill and blame the president for trying to create a police state. Be sure to stir up the president's supporters. Hype it up until the president has got to sign it. If he signs it into law, PRESTO you have new leverage in the upcoming election. Sign it or not, the president can't come away looking good.
This is political maneuvering and most people will just read the headlines or watch the news and only hear the part of the story that particular media outlet wants to portray as the bad guy. Ask yourself this...Who actually amended the bill with the language because the president is only presented with bills that are drafted and passed by the House and Senate. It was drafted by the Republican controlled House Armed Services committee. Will the new law be used for evil? I think it will and the fingers will all point toward Obama.
The political gamesmanship is a tricky thing and some are masters at making the public perception wrong. If a single American is detained unjustly due to this crappy legislation, I'm positive that the media will blame Obama. I'm definitely not an Obama supporter, but this is the way they intend to oust him. Later this year, look for all Republicans to be crying foul over this legislation, when they are in fact the ones who drafted it. This is how the game is played.
Start with a piece of legislation that is mandatory like the defense bill (NDAA) which guarantees that veterans and troops will be payed. Any legislation that if vetoed, would make the president appear to be not supportive of the military or soft on terrorism. After the bill has passed the Senate and sent to Congress, amend it with some outrageous language that makes it appear that it is a play for absolute power. Shuffle the bill through with majority power and send it to the president to sign into law while he's away on vacation. Alert the media that the legislation is in the bill and blame the president for trying to create a police state. Be sure to stir up the president's supporters. Hype it up until the president has got to sign it. If he signs it into law, PRESTO you have new leverage in the upcoming election. Sign it or not, the president can't come away looking good.
This is political maneuvering and most people will just read the headlines or watch the news and only hear the part of the story that particular media outlet wants to portray as the bad guy. Ask yourself this...Who actually amended the bill with the language because the president is only presented with bills that are drafted and passed by the House and Senate. It was drafted by the Republican controlled House Armed Services committee. Will the new law be used for evil? I think it will and the fingers will all point toward Obama.
The political gamesmanship is a tricky thing and some are masters at making the public perception wrong. If a single American is detained unjustly due to this crappy legislation, I'm positive that the media will blame Obama. I'm definitely not an Obama supporter, but this is the way they intend to oust him. Later this year, look for all Republicans to be crying foul over this legislation, when they are in fact the ones who drafted it. This is how the game is played.
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