Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Friday, September 28, 2012
For the World to See
I still remember being proud to be a big brother to a little brother. I was excited to know that he was all mine to have fun with and teach because in my mind, he was. My parents were just the ones who provided him to me. For 15 years, I lived with him almost every day. I watched him grow. Then he came to college in the same town as me. And I continued to watch him grow. Then I moved away and I moved back again and I'm astonished at his growth. He has found a passion and developed it. He has learned to speak his mind. I still remember when he ran away. Haha. I don't know where he thought he was getting on that bike but he tried. He didn't know why I pledged but he was right there when I took off my probate mask. He always knows where I am on the court and his pass always gets to me even when he's not looking. We are our father's sons. And I know that, whether he receives an Oscar or a role in a toilet paper commercial, I will always be proud of him because he's all mine to have fun with. Love you man. Happy 21st!
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Shine
Right now we are the in thing
Decades ago we were the n-things
Racism is alive and it is never ending
We try not to say n'ger
So we say n'gga
As if she were a bank, we make deposits in her
But too often we don't stay around to see them grow
And, as if it were from a faucet, we just let our seeds flow
But not down a drain. Into her garden
Where a black flower grows. Sadly we have robbed them
Of the sun that Adam's sons provide
We are more than fathers. We are the guides
And we cannot hide behind the guise
Of being immature
We claim to be men, but I ask, are we sure?
See, a man stands on his own two, but still is humble
He tries first to resolve with words, but if he must, like Ali, will rumble in the jungle
I rumble with my tongue. You
Might be thinking sexually but I am thinking intellectually
And if you rumble with me verbally, I will not think you less than me
But I digress. Back to being a good man
Don't play with your cards. Change your hand
We are the strongest God ever made
We are the sons of the sons of the sons of the sons of the slave
Who are the sons of the sons of the sons of survivors
Of the middle passage, which was narrower than it was wider
See, many got on those boats, but a large number died
We are the products of those who survived
And I must say, we have all that it takes
Except the money, but that disposition can be escaped
Our kids need us to set their kids up for success
We have to teach them character, economics, and how to dress
Not how to be deadbeat dads or women who give up on men too soon
Be the sun that Adam's sons provide and all day every day. Shine like it's noon
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Decades ago we were the n-things
Racism is alive and it is never ending
We try not to say n'ger
So we say n'gga
As if she were a bank, we make deposits in her
But too often we don't stay around to see them grow
And, as if it were from a faucet, we just let our seeds flow
But not down a drain. Into her garden
Where a black flower grows. Sadly we have robbed them
Of the sun that Adam's sons provide
We are more than fathers. We are the guides
And we cannot hide behind the guise
Of being immature
We claim to be men, but I ask, are we sure?
See, a man stands on his own two, but still is humble
He tries first to resolve with words, but if he must, like Ali, will rumble in the jungle
I rumble with my tongue. You
Might be thinking sexually but I am thinking intellectually
And if you rumble with me verbally, I will not think you less than me
But I digress. Back to being a good man
Don't play with your cards. Change your hand
We are the strongest God ever made
We are the sons of the sons of the sons of the sons of the slave
Who are the sons of the sons of the sons of survivors
Of the middle passage, which was narrower than it was wider
See, many got on those boats, but a large number died
We are the products of those who survived
And I must say, we have all that it takes
Except the money, but that disposition can be escaped
Our kids need us to set their kids up for success
We have to teach them character, economics, and how to dress
Not how to be deadbeat dads or women who give up on men too soon
Be the sun that Adam's sons provide and all day every day. Shine like it's noon
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Perspective is Key - 09-11-2021
It is great to see that someone else sees things the way I do. Why can't we, as Americans, look at ourselves from our "enemy's" point of view.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Beware of Yourself
This is one of the best things I have read in a while. Be conscious in all that you do. I plan to commit it to memory this. It wouldn't hurt anyone else to do the same. 
Monday, May 21, 2012
Trayvon Martin's Thug Wear Got Him Shot
Geraldo Rivera decided to go on Bill O'Reily's show and say "“I think what’s far more significant is what Trayvon Martin looked like on that night, Bill. Aside from the fact that he’s dressed in that thug wear — look at the size of him, he’s not a little kid."
So, as now for my rebuttal to such an ignorant comment.
What if I go into a bank, which is likely run by people who look like the same (few) white people who, on a corporate level, blindly rob the working man everyday , and I decide to take these innocent white people hostage until I get every dollar of mine that someone else is misusing? Is that right? Or what if I walk up to a Latino who is out w/ his buddies at Walmart on a Sunday afternoon and ask him how much he would charge to mow my lawn? The jeans and tee shirt that he is wearing at that moment don't tell me that he is actually a Vice-President at Wells Fargo and could afford to pay me to mow his lawn. Or, what if I saw a Middle Eastern woman in Harris Teeter without her face covered and asked "Does your husband know you're out like this?" when she is actually a Christian who has not practiced the Islamic faith a day in her life?
Those were all racist statements but statements that many Americans would make if we were to think on a basic level. If I offended you, it was not intentional. But this Simple-Simon, sorry excuse for a journalist is doing what 5 year old children are instructed not to do; he is judging a book by its cover and using that to justify the alleged murder of Trayvon Martin (I say "alleged" because 1 - I was not there; 2 - this is America and Zimmerman is still innocent until proven guilty).
Mr. Rivera, if you are reading this, I beseech you, don't forget that you are a minority as well. If you were not of such high status, your son, who is also a young minority, could have been Trayvon Martin. Your son could have been leaving the gym in a hoody and could have been shot. Don't be that minority who is making excuses for the murder of others at the hands of yet another minority. Call it what it is - prejudice and discrimination.
By the way, I know plenty of white kids who wear hoodies too. But if they're "dressed in that thug wear," you can still see the white on their hands from any angle. Do you think we'd be having this discussion about thug wear if Trayvon Martin's hands were white? I highly doubt we'd be having any discussion about the matter at all until it happened to someone else.
For the story that lead me to write this post, www.newsone.com/2016416/geraldo-rivera-trayvon-martin/
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
So, as now for my rebuttal to such an ignorant comment.
What if I go into a bank, which is likely run by people who look like the same (few) white people who, on a corporate level, blindly rob the working man everyday , and I decide to take these innocent white people hostage until I get every dollar of mine that someone else is misusing? Is that right? Or what if I walk up to a Latino who is out w/ his buddies at Walmart on a Sunday afternoon and ask him how much he would charge to mow my lawn? The jeans and tee shirt that he is wearing at that moment don't tell me that he is actually a Vice-President at Wells Fargo and could afford to pay me to mow his lawn. Or, what if I saw a Middle Eastern woman in Harris Teeter without her face covered and asked "Does your husband know you're out like this?" when she is actually a Christian who has not practiced the Islamic faith a day in her life?
Those were all racist statements but statements that many Americans would make if we were to think on a basic level. If I offended you, it was not intentional. But this Simple-Simon, sorry excuse for a journalist is doing what 5 year old children are instructed not to do; he is judging a book by its cover and using that to justify the alleged murder of Trayvon Martin (I say "alleged" because 1 - I was not there; 2 - this is America and Zimmerman is still innocent until proven guilty).
Mr. Rivera, if you are reading this, I beseech you, don't forget that you are a minority as well. If you were not of such high status, your son, who is also a young minority, could have been Trayvon Martin. Your son could have been leaving the gym in a hoody and could have been shot. Don't be that minority who is making excuses for the murder of others at the hands of yet another minority. Call it what it is - prejudice and discrimination.
By the way, I know plenty of white kids who wear hoodies too. But if they're "dressed in that thug wear," you can still see the white on their hands from any angle. Do you think we'd be having this discussion about thug wear if Trayvon Martin's hands were white? I highly doubt we'd be having any discussion about the matter at all until it happened to someone else.
For the story that lead me to write this post, www.newsone.com/2016416/geraldo-rivera-trayvon-martin/
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Limits on Free Speech
Ok, maybe people think I shouldn't say this. Look at the rest of my posts and you'll see I am not the most politically correct blogger and I really don't care whether you agree or not. Anyway, it's just my opinion.
Tonight, I was at the Drake show and, to make a long story short, he gave all the white folks there a pass for the night in telling them they could use the word "nigga" while at the show. I have a huge problem with this because I don't even use the term in mixed company out of respect for whites since, in my mind, they should not use the word. So I need the same respect. The word shouldn't be used in mixed company. I can deal with Latinos using it b/c it is culturally acceptable in many places. I don't know anywhere that it is truly acceptable for white folks to toss the word around. Maybe Canada. But, Drake, you're not in Canada anymore.
Tonight, I was at the Drake show and, to make a long story short, he gave all the white folks there a pass for the night in telling them they could use the word "nigga" while at the show. I have a huge problem with this because I don't even use the term in mixed company out of respect for whites since, in my mind, they should not use the word. So I need the same respect. The word shouldn't be used in mixed company. I can deal with Latinos using it b/c it is culturally acceptable in many places. I don't know anywhere that it is truly acceptable for white folks to toss the word around. Maybe Canada. But, Drake, you're not in Canada anymore.
Monday, May 14, 2012
#OccupyStudentDebt
It's looking like Congress is going to raise the interest rates on our loans.
Flood your timeline and their mentions. Tell each of them, regardless of party, not to raise your loan debt. Tell them you cannot afford to pay any more than you already are. Their job is to get relected. They have to listen to us.
US House of Representatives (NC's Representatives)
@gkbutterfield
@RepReneeEllmers
@RepWalterJones
@RepDavidEPrice
@virginiafoxx
@howardcoble
@RepMikeMcIntyre
@RepLarryKissell
@SueMyrick
@PatrickMcHenry
Heath Shuler (of NC District 11) has no Twitter account at this time
@MelWattNC12
@RepBradMiller
US Senate (NC's Senators)
@RichardBurr
@SenatorHagan
Not from NC? Not connected to Twitter? Check out the complete list of social media sites for elected officials from across the nation at http://www.govsm.com/w/Main_Page
Hold your officials accountable or pay for it.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Flood your timeline and their mentions. Tell each of them, regardless of party, not to raise your loan debt. Tell them you cannot afford to pay any more than you already are. Their job is to get relected. They have to listen to us.
US House of Representatives (NC's Representatives)
@gkbutterfield
@RepReneeEllmers
@RepWalterJones
@RepDavidEPrice
@virginiafoxx
@howardcoble
@RepMikeMcIntyre
@RepLarryKissell
@SueMyrick
@PatrickMcHenry
Heath Shuler (of NC District 11) has no Twitter account at this time
@MelWattNC12
@RepBradMiller
US Senate (NC's Senators)
@RichardBurr
@SenatorHagan
Not from NC? Not connected to Twitter? Check out the complete list of social media sites for elected officials from across the nation at http://www.govsm.com/w/Main_Page
Hold your officials accountable or pay for it.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Friday, May 4, 2012
N.Y. N-----s or B.K. B-----s?
This was printed in the New York Post. Phil Mushnick (an old white man) decided that, in order to get his point across, he would write this. I don't hate white people but I hate the system that allows things like this to be printed in the news. I'm not saying he shouldn't have freedom of speech but no major news outlet should print that because they should be fearful of the perception that they support the use of this language. This guy might not be racist. He might have a black friend he can call on to say "Yeah, Phil is a great guy!" But the issue is, he was inconsiderate in writing this and the New York Post was equally inconsiderate first in posting it and second in not reprimanding him for having the audacity to even submit an article with such offensive language that HE selected. May I reiterate that this was not him quoting Jay-Z directly. Phil Mushnick decided to write this.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The One of The Tenth
I never wanted to be famous, just great
That's why most of what I say holds weight
And if you don't understand it, that's cool
But I am not one to argue with fools
So I just let it ride and keep writing for writing's sake
I keep writing because so much is at stake
I can't just stand by and watch our society fail
I was made for more. Canyou not tell?
I am Du Bois' Talented Tenth
I don't do it to pay rent
I do it to make sure my kids have it better
I intentionally select every word's letter
There's there and their and they're
And me not knowing the difference wouldn't be fair
To those who had to risk lashings to learn
So I will learn and in turn I'll earn
Until I am in a casket or an urn
You people are stuck watching modern day "As The World Turns"
Basketball Wives and Housewives and Porn Wives
When you need to be worrying about bettering your lives
But I'll get off my soap box. Really I'm done.
Just know that, out of that Tenth, you could be the one.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
That's why most of what I say holds weight
And if you don't understand it, that's cool
But I am not one to argue with fools
So I just let it ride and keep writing for writing's sake
I keep writing because so much is at stake
I can't just stand by and watch our society fail
I was made for more. Canyou not tell?
I am Du Bois' Talented Tenth
I don't do it to pay rent
I do it to make sure my kids have it better
I intentionally select every word's letter
There's there and their and they're
And me not knowing the difference wouldn't be fair
To those who had to risk lashings to learn
So I will learn and in turn I'll earn
Until I am in a casket or an urn
You people are stuck watching modern day "As The World Turns"
Basketball Wives and Housewives and Porn Wives
When you need to be worrying about bettering your lives
But I'll get off my soap box. Really I'm done.
Just know that, out of that Tenth, you could be the one.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Three Deadly I's
Appreciation that is "implied" often picks up the adjectives "insignificant" and eventually "invisible."
Your significant other often shows appreciation/affection in a certain way because, subconsciously, (s)he would like to see those two things given in a similar way.
This doesn't mean you have to (or even should) change your entire game plan. Most of the time, show affection as comes natural to you. But from time to time, if (s)he leaves you little notes on the counter, do the same. Or cooks for you. Or tweets some sappy nonsense first. Or gets you a gift just because it's Friday.
It is on both parties to keep the love blossoming. When is the last time you have seem an "implied," "invisible," or "insignificant" rose that you could also classify as "fresh?" In all actuality those roses are not invisible. They do exist. Very often they do so in the confines of a landfill.
Don't let your love end up there. Don't let your appreciation fall victim to implication, insignificance, and invisibility.
My first football coach said it best: "Doing the little things will take care of the big things."
Your significant other often shows appreciation/affection in a certain way because, subconsciously, (s)he would like to see those two things given in a similar way.
This doesn't mean you have to (or even should) change your entire game plan. Most of the time, show affection as comes natural to you. But from time to time, if (s)he leaves you little notes on the counter, do the same. Or cooks for you. Or tweets some sappy nonsense first. Or gets you a gift just because it's Friday.
It is on both parties to keep the love blossoming. When is the last time you have seem an "implied," "invisible," or "insignificant" rose that you could also classify as "fresh?" In all actuality those roses are not invisible. They do exist. Very often they do so in the confines of a landfill.
Don't let your love end up there. Don't let your appreciation fall victim to implication, insignificance, and invisibility.
My first football coach said it best: "Doing the little things will take care of the big things."
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Theocratic Voting 2012
The more I read the Word, the more I realize that this nation is far from trusting in God (as our money says we do). If we really trusted in Him, He would be consulted in every decision we made, from what to buy at the grocery store to what corporate mergers to pursue to what laws to vote for or against. Mind you, I do not believe that the nation should be run as as theocracy. Everyone here is not a Christian and we cannot legally place Chrisitan values on perons just because "the Bible tells me so." But this is a nation in which the majority of the voters are Christian so what I do believe is that our decisions should reflect that. The persons who profess to be Christians should take their futures and their children's futures seriously enough to talk to God before we go to the polls. Stop voting straight ticket Republican or Democrat. Go through each law and each candidate, do some research and pray on it. It might seem tideous but what do we waste our free time doing? Watching television and shopping. That's why we're in the position we are now, politically and financially. We are uninformed and uninterested. If the president isn't doing a slow jam on Jimmy Kimmel or it doesn't afftect people's civil rights or our dollar, we, as a whole, don't seem to pay it any mind. Why are we thinking with such immediacy? Right now, we're in good shape. We can make due with what we have. The thing is, we have to start thinking smarter about how today's decisions affect tomorrow. That thought process comes with wisdom. Wisdom comes with prayer and/or time. The problem is, our generation and the one before us is so stuck on ourselves that we don't really care about the long-term effects of today's decisions. We say we do but "long-term" in our minds is 20 years. And, the way things are going, the world might not be here in 20 years. But it might. And then what? Then we're $28,000,000,000,000.87 in debt, most of which is owed to China, and we're really in economic slavery. God doesn't want that for us. So let's go to Him about what decisions to make. I'm sure He would speak clearly to us if we did and the majority of the votes would come out on the side of righteousness.
Do you want to be a slave?
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Do you want to be a slave?
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Strange is Subjective
People are so self centered. We think our ways are right. The only thing about my existence that should be absolutely right anywhere is my faith in Christ. Any cultural norms are subjective. Just as we think other cultures are different, take a step outside of yourself and think about how strange things like clapping must look. We allow our hands to hit one another to show that we enjoy something. Or handshakes. Why do we feel compelled to shake hands when we meet another person? I know why but would someone who has never encountered anyone from the Western world? People, strange is subjective. The only thing that is indisputable is Christ.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, April 20, 2012
No Competition
Today I realized something... People make life a competition. Guess what?!? It's not. The goal is to make it to the next day. If you don't, nine times out of ten, it's because God decided you weren't going to see tomorrow (that other one time accounts for murder and suicides). Sure, some people are doing better than other people but no one ever "wins" or "loses" until it's all over. And by that time, we're in the ground so who really cares?
I was listening to this song by Frank Ocean and he was telling his girlfriend to let the top down on the convertible sports car she was driving so that she can make other females mad. Or we argue about whose phone is cooler. People are dying because we won't fight unjust laws and we have time to argue about Androids getting Instagram? People, come on! I am really getting frustrated writing this and thinking about how idiotic America has become. Are we really that petty? I don't have the time to think about making someone else worry about what I'm doing. Honestly, unless you are (or will be) signing my checks, your opinion of me is probably worth about one third of a cent. If you spend a fraction your time worrying what other people are doing when it has no impact on your own future or happiness, you might want to reevaluate your purpose in life.
And I understand that never thinking about anyone else who has no impact on your life is pretty much impossible but don't sit around and feed into their fantasy while your reality is not moving forward at all. And if you are doing well, why would you want to make someone else feel bad about their existence? You are really lame if that is your motivation for getting up in the morning.
And if I am going to compete with you, it is on an intellectual level. But I won't even do that with most people these days because they don't have the capacity or the vocabulary to keep up with me (you have to have one of the two).
The rapper Fabolous said it best: There is no competition.
Sent from my iPhone
I was listening to this song by Frank Ocean and he was telling his girlfriend to let the top down on the convertible sports car she was driving so that she can make other females mad. Or we argue about whose phone is cooler. People are dying because we won't fight unjust laws and we have time to argue about Androids getting Instagram? People, come on! I am really getting frustrated writing this and thinking about how idiotic America has become. Are we really that petty? I don't have the time to think about making someone else worry about what I'm doing. Honestly, unless you are (or will be) signing my checks, your opinion of me is probably worth about one third of a cent. If you spend a fraction your time worrying what other people are doing when it has no impact on your own future or happiness, you might want to reevaluate your purpose in life.
And I understand that never thinking about anyone else who has no impact on your life is pretty much impossible but don't sit around and feed into their fantasy while your reality is not moving forward at all. And if you are doing well, why would you want to make someone else feel bad about their existence? You are really lame if that is your motivation for getting up in the morning.
And if I am going to compete with you, it is on an intellectual level. But I won't even do that with most people these days because they don't have the capacity or the vocabulary to keep up with me (you have to have one of the two).
The rapper Fabolous said it best: There is no competition.
Sent from my iPhone
National Weed Day
Ok, so this is not going to be popular. But I was told by my fifth grade teacher "What is right isn't always popular and what is popular isn't always right." We all do unethical things. We all broadcast things that we shouldn't. It's human nature (especially in this generation) to want to go against the system.
Thing is, there are still real laws out here people. Tweeting or posting Facebook statuses about/alluding to how much marijuana you smoke is the same as someone who steals candy from the corner store every day doing the same. The crime isn't murder or anything but it is a crime whether you agree with it or not. And if you believe so much in your right to smoke marijuana, write your elected officials. But waiting around until it is made legal is pretty much validating the stereotype that potheads are lazy.
But I did not write this post for every pothead in the nation. I really am writing this to the leaders. More specifically, as Du Bois coined the group, I am writing to The Talented Tenth. And, looking at it even more microscopically, I am talking to those of us who are in college and are members of fraternities or sororities. People listen to what we say. Freshmen, who are impressionable, look up to us. These are tomorrow's leaders... if they don't have a record for possessing illegal drugs. As a senior, you might know how to evade the system so that you can break the law and if you do it in the privacy of your own home and aren't putting anyone else at risk, that is your business. But why are we compelled to broadcast our illegal pastimes to everyone else? And all these young people are thinking is "Deryle the Alpha does it and he has three presidencies under his belt and is on this committee and that committee and he is the manager in the student center and he has a great girlfriend and is at all the political events on campus." So if a freshman sees an apparent role model doing all of those positive things on campus and simultaneously tweeting/openly discussing doing illegal things, he might just decide to try to be just like this quasi-successful individual.
I'm not knocking you alls weed habits because I honestly don't know enough to say that it is worse than tobacco or alcohol. What I do have a problem with, as I said before, is it being broadcast. And you might say "I'm not Kappa Alpha Psi/Delta Sigma Theta/etc./etc. I'm just me." Well then denounce your letters because until you do, your actions represent what we stand for. These are not just fraternal organizations, they are businesses. You cannot be fired but your membership can be revoked if you're not doing your job.
Don't agree. That's cool. Comments are appreciated. It's still all love. One of the brothers I am closest with smoked until recently and I never has anything but love for him. All I am saying is think about the fact that you are an Omega/S-G-Rho/Sigma telling people it is ok to break the law.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thing is, there are still real laws out here people. Tweeting or posting Facebook statuses about/alluding to how much marijuana you smoke is the same as someone who steals candy from the corner store every day doing the same. The crime isn't murder or anything but it is a crime whether you agree with it or not. And if you believe so much in your right to smoke marijuana, write your elected officials. But waiting around until it is made legal is pretty much validating the stereotype that potheads are lazy.
But I did not write this post for every pothead in the nation. I really am writing this to the leaders. More specifically, as Du Bois coined the group, I am writing to The Talented Tenth. And, looking at it even more microscopically, I am talking to those of us who are in college and are members of fraternities or sororities. People listen to what we say. Freshmen, who are impressionable, look up to us. These are tomorrow's leaders... if they don't have a record for possessing illegal drugs. As a senior, you might know how to evade the system so that you can break the law and if you do it in the privacy of your own home and aren't putting anyone else at risk, that is your business. But why are we compelled to broadcast our illegal pastimes to everyone else? And all these young people are thinking is "Deryle the Alpha does it and he has three presidencies under his belt and is on this committee and that committee and he is the manager in the student center and he has a great girlfriend and is at all the political events on campus." So if a freshman sees an apparent role model doing all of those positive things on campus and simultaneously tweeting/openly discussing doing illegal things, he might just decide to try to be just like this quasi-successful individual.
I'm not knocking you alls weed habits because I honestly don't know enough to say that it is worse than tobacco or alcohol. What I do have a problem with, as I said before, is it being broadcast. And you might say "I'm not Kappa Alpha Psi/Delta Sigma Theta/etc./etc. I'm just me." Well then denounce your letters because until you do, your actions represent what we stand for. These are not just fraternal organizations, they are businesses. You cannot be fired but your membership can be revoked if you're not doing your job.
Don't agree. That's cool. Comments are appreciated. It's still all love. One of the brothers I am closest with smoked until recently and I never has anything but love for him. All I am saying is think about the fact that you are an Omega/S-G-Rho/Sigma telling people it is ok to break the law.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Monday, April 16, 2012
Discipline Produces Character
So often, we think of being disciplined as something that will produce great results in our lives, thus making being disciplined a selfish character trait. It is so much bigger than that. In all actuality, having discipline develops integrity. It develops a sense of necessary greatness even when you know no one else is looking. From getting up by a certain time to going to church on a Sunday you don't feel like going to making your bed with the utmost precision, having discipline is about doing everything to the best of your God-given ability.
Every word I use is intentional, but I want to draw attention to two of my last three words: "God-given." Every positive thing that we do at less than 100% is showing God the utmost disrespect. There are plenty of people who cannot make their beds in the morning or who do not have anyone to love or who are unable to make informed decisions on whom to vote for. But we take these abilities for granted and so we do the bare minimum with them. Do you know that there are people who died so that all of us, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, could vote? But now we just walk into a booth, pick the person who has the coolest name, and walk out. People lost their lives for this and we won't lose a few minutes a day to read the news paper. Come on folks. Have enough discipline to appreciate the blessings we're given. As used to them as we are, there are still people in the world who don't have the same privileges.
And remember that, even when you think no one else can see you Someone else can. No one else will see your bed being made, but God will. No one else will see the fact that you didn't give that old lady the $20 she dropped, but God will. No one will care that you didn't exercise and eat right to stay in good shape but hasn't God already done enough for us in keeping us healthy that he shouldn't have to pick up our slack because we didn't want to take care of ourselves?
Have some integrity. Develop some character. Be disciplined and do everything to the best of your ability. It will carry over from one aspect of your life to another and, before you know it, your entire life will be organized and much more manageable. Your finances will be organized so you won't always be scraping for money at the end of the month. Your relationship will be more purposeful so you won't be making up for slacking on love the past two weeks. Your work week will be more evenly spaced because, instead of leaving the office right at 5:00:01 PM, you stayed that extra ten or fifteen minutes on Monday and Thursday so that you could get everything on your list for the day done. Develop these habits at as soon as possible, because the longer you wait to become disciplined, the more difficult it will be.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Every word I use is intentional, but I want to draw attention to two of my last three words: "God-given." Every positive thing that we do at less than 100% is showing God the utmost disrespect. There are plenty of people who cannot make their beds in the morning or who do not have anyone to love or who are unable to make informed decisions on whom to vote for. But we take these abilities for granted and so we do the bare minimum with them. Do you know that there are people who died so that all of us, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, could vote? But now we just walk into a booth, pick the person who has the coolest name, and walk out. People lost their lives for this and we won't lose a few minutes a day to read the news paper. Come on folks. Have enough discipline to appreciate the blessings we're given. As used to them as we are, there are still people in the world who don't have the same privileges.
And remember that, even when you think no one else can see you Someone else can. No one else will see your bed being made, but God will. No one else will see the fact that you didn't give that old lady the $20 she dropped, but God will. No one will care that you didn't exercise and eat right to stay in good shape but hasn't God already done enough for us in keeping us healthy that he shouldn't have to pick up our slack because we didn't want to take care of ourselves?
Have some integrity. Develop some character. Be disciplined and do everything to the best of your ability. It will carry over from one aspect of your life to another and, before you know it, your entire life will be organized and much more manageable. Your finances will be organized so you won't always be scraping for money at the end of the month. Your relationship will be more purposeful so you won't be making up for slacking on love the past two weeks. Your work week will be more evenly spaced because, instead of leaving the office right at 5:00:01 PM, you stayed that extra ten or fifteen minutes on Monday and Thursday so that you could get everything on your list for the day done. Develop these habits at as soon as possible, because the longer you wait to become disciplined, the more difficult it will be.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
"Think Like a Man" Movie Review
Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the film "Think Like a Man." I will not lie to you, my girl and I went to see it together but it is one of the few relationship movies that I will not place in the "chick flick" category. I would recommend to my fraternity brothers and other male friends. I haven't read the book but I will say that every couple, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, needs to see the movie. Whether you have major relationship problems or not, it is a great laugh with some great lessons intricately woven in. The acting was great. It was set in LA (a personal plus because I may be thinking about moving there in the future). It was based on a best selling book that I was mad at Steve Harvey for writing but, after seeing the film, I can appreciate it being written. All in all, Desirèe and I had a great time.
And ladies, even if you're single, go with your homegirls for a good time. Guys, if you're off work one day with nothing to do, check it out as a matinee. I bet you'll learn some stuff and you'll laugh too.
I'm no movie critic but I am a thinker and a writer and this movie just makes sense. Invest some time in a few good laughs. You deserve it.
Sent from my iPhone
And ladies, even if you're single, go with your homegirls for a good time. Guys, if you're off work one day with nothing to do, check it out as a matinee. I bet you'll learn some stuff and you'll laugh too.
I'm no movie critic but I am a thinker and a writer and this movie just makes sense. Invest some time in a few good laughs. You deserve it.
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Health vs. Auto Insurance
So, I am sad to say that I don't know enough about President Obama's proposed healthcare plan to fully agree or disagree with him. So this entire post will be speaking from a basic understanding of the issue. What I don't understand is how people have a problem with the government forcing us to have health insurance but not automobile insurance. Come on people. Do we really value our unnecessary adages more than out well being? I am not a genius but I do know that without a pulse you cannot drive a car.
And if the healthcare plan is found to be unconstitutional, how is forcing car owners to have it not? Ask questions people!!!! Think!!!
I could go on and on about how our values are misplaced but it is Easter Sunday and I really don't want to get upset at how materialistic society is so I will just say this - please think about what we do spend our money on and what we need to spend it on.
Happy Resurrection Day.
And if the healthcare plan is found to be unconstitutional, how is forcing car owners to have it not? Ask questions people!!!! Think!!!
I could go on and on about how our values are misplaced but it is Easter Sunday and I really don't want to get upset at how materialistic society is so I will just say this - please think about what we do spend our money on and what we need to spend it on.
Happy Resurrection Day.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Obama is a "Government n***a"
Some politicians shoot themselves in the foot. GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum just shot himself in the head. True, this video is spliced at the end to make a point (propaganda), but there is no question about the original statement that was made. We really need to be questioning the values of the people who want to represent this nation as our president. Not mayor or governor or senator but the leader of the whole country.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Deryle Daniels' Days Off
So I had a couple days away from the office and they were spent with my girlfriend Desireè Bell. We had sushi and drinks, saw the Bobcats play, went to see a couple movies, did some shopping, and made dinner while watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off. I am blessed to have her.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Letter To Letter Wears (A Poem)
Do you internalize the lit that you learn or do you just forget?
I won't curse so I'll just say I'm tired of this bull that we spit
We act for the flashing lights at a probate
But then at service projects we don't show face?
You grit up at night. Why can't you get up today?
The community needs us. Look at how they shot Tray
The test of the man is taken on a never ending sheet
And we write with our life's breath. Our never ending ink
Invictus is not just a movie. We truly are captains
Not in charge of what happens but in charge of our actions
And my dean taught me we are in charge of our attitudes
We speak without passion but instead with such platitudes
You don't have to be loud. We all know silent intensity
I know I love my frat and all it has meant to me
Don't let it fall. Over a century
Of positive work has been done and eventually
We will bring out people to a more level field
But maybe internalize your lit instead of #SoIKnowItsReal
Think Greeks. Think! We are the talented tenth
Excelling in intellect and balanced in strength
Don't sit your bucket down, no offense to Booker T.
Pick it up. Move forward. Compose a symphony
Of melodic peace and provocative change
We are today's founders, so why don't we act the same
Sent from my iPhone
I won't curse so I'll just say I'm tired of this bull that we spit
We act for the flashing lights at a probate
But then at service projects we don't show face?
You grit up at night. Why can't you get up today?
The community needs us. Look at how they shot Tray
The test of the man is taken on a never ending sheet
And we write with our life's breath. Our never ending ink
Invictus is not just a movie. We truly are captains
Not in charge of what happens but in charge of our actions
And my dean taught me we are in charge of our attitudes
We speak without passion but instead with such platitudes
You don't have to be loud. We all know silent intensity
I know I love my frat and all it has meant to me
Don't let it fall. Over a century
Of positive work has been done and eventually
We will bring out people to a more level field
But maybe internalize your lit instead of #SoIKnowItsReal
Think Greeks. Think! We are the talented tenth
Excelling in intellect and balanced in strength
Don't sit your bucket down, no offense to Booker T.
Pick it up. Move forward. Compose a symphony
Of melodic peace and provocative change
We are today's founders, so why don't we act the same
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Trayvon Martin
Trayvon was murdered. We cannot bring him back. Based on the Florida law, we really cannot do anything to his George unless the powers that be decide that there are credible witnesses.
What we can do is make sure that this doesn't happen again. This is an election year. That means that, for once, we have a voice that politicians must actually listen to as opposed to pretending to listen to. We cannot change the laws ourselves. It takes us bugging the hell out of our representatives. It takes us calling and saying "My name is Deryle Daniels, Jr. I am a voter and I demand that you fight for the repeal of (given law that is like the Stand Your Ground Law)." It takes us not getting tired of calling after 3 weeks or getting distracted by reality TV. It takes us actually being dedicated to a cause.
For those of you who do not know, every law has a hidden agenda. This law was fought for by the National Rifle Association (NRA), historically one of the United States' most conservative (and often said to be most racist) organizations. This situation is so much bigger than Trayvon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman*. This law gives murderers a literal "Get Out of Jail Free" card and places them back into communities, giving them the opportunity to continue living as a parisite. Drug dealers, gang members, and people of the like often get freed because of laws like this and go right back to impoverished communities, continuing to drain them of the resources they have. And if they murder again, they can once again say, "I did it because I felt threatened," and life will continue to go on. It perpetuates the self-extermination of the lower class and is quasi-systematic genocide. Some people might think I am being an extremist but, as I said, I am a firm believer that, when the NRA decided to get behind this law, they knew that it would be used as justification in two instances most often - 1) gang/drug-related killings and 2) whites who said they felt threatened by the presence of a minority. Guess what? They were right. And the NRA has enough money to purchase lobbyists that can get 21 bills like that passed across the nation.
The beauty of it being an election year is that, as I said above, we actually have a voice that outweighs the money of major interest groups. See, these politicians' jobs are politics. Without us voting them back into office, their political careers end. So we have to let them know that we will not vote them into another term if they decide to leave laws like the Stand Your Ground Law on the books. These laws allow people to get away with murder, sometimes done in cold blood. Our judicial system needs to question anytime a person dies at the hand of another to see if this was preventable or not.
People, reach out to your politicians. Make a change. People say have a heart but I believe that we all have one. Let's let that heart guide us to take action.
E-mail me at dadanielsjr@gmail.com if you need to know who your area's elected officials are. I'll get back to you within 24 hours with their contact information.
Do not let this 17-year old die in vain.
*See the post "White-Hispanic on Black Crime" in my column Mind Over Media at http://www.iamnotthemedia.blogspot.com/ posting later this evening.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
What we can do is make sure that this doesn't happen again. This is an election year. That means that, for once, we have a voice that politicians must actually listen to as opposed to pretending to listen to. We cannot change the laws ourselves. It takes us bugging the hell out of our representatives. It takes us calling and saying "My name is Deryle Daniels, Jr. I am a voter and I demand that you fight for the repeal of (given law that is like the Stand Your Ground Law)." It takes us not getting tired of calling after 3 weeks or getting distracted by reality TV. It takes us actually being dedicated to a cause.
For those of you who do not know, every law has a hidden agenda. This law was fought for by the National Rifle Association (NRA), historically one of the United States' most conservative (and often said to be most racist) organizations. This situation is so much bigger than Trayvon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman*. This law gives murderers a literal "Get Out of Jail Free" card and places them back into communities, giving them the opportunity to continue living as a parisite. Drug dealers, gang members, and people of the like often get freed because of laws like this and go right back to impoverished communities, continuing to drain them of the resources they have. And if they murder again, they can once again say, "I did it because I felt threatened," and life will continue to go on. It perpetuates the self-extermination of the lower class and is quasi-systematic genocide. Some people might think I am being an extremist but, as I said, I am a firm believer that, when the NRA decided to get behind this law, they knew that it would be used as justification in two instances most often - 1) gang/drug-related killings and 2) whites who said they felt threatened by the presence of a minority. Guess what? They were right. And the NRA has enough money to purchase lobbyists that can get 21 bills like that passed across the nation.
The beauty of it being an election year is that, as I said above, we actually have a voice that outweighs the money of major interest groups. See, these politicians' jobs are politics. Without us voting them back into office, their political careers end. So we have to let them know that we will not vote them into another term if they decide to leave laws like the Stand Your Ground Law on the books. These laws allow people to get away with murder, sometimes done in cold blood. Our judicial system needs to question anytime a person dies at the hand of another to see if this was preventable or not.
People, reach out to your politicians. Make a change. People say have a heart but I believe that we all have one. Let's let that heart guide us to take action.
E-mail me at dadanielsjr@gmail.com if you need to know who your area's elected officials are. I'll get back to you within 24 hours with their contact information.
Do not let this 17-year old die in vain.
*See the post "White-Hispanic on Black Crime" in my column Mind Over Media at http://www.iamnotthemedia.blogspot.com/ posting later this evening.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Monday, March 19, 2012
On This Day in History
On this day in history, I decided to step out on faith. I am going to embark on a path of which I cannot see the end but I can see God's hand in the plan. I am nervous but I am not doing this blindly. Rather I am letting Him see for me and I am following. I am not making a rash decision but I am making a decision. Tomorrow I can decide not to follow through. But I will follow through. I am rich already even before He has put the dollars in my pocket. And more importantly than being wealthy, I am rich in wisdom. Now is my dad's time. And my great grandparents' time. And my grandfather's time. And my cousin Cody's time. A dollar and a dream...
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rome Is Burning
Our continual dependence on technology and entertainment compromises our intelligence.
On a large scale, we have lost our ability to communicate, think critically, and do basic things on our own. We are lazy and want everything done for us. We want quality quickly, which is an oxymoron. Anything that is to be appreciated must be sought after. No one just appreciates because he/she is told to appreciate. Taking the time to learn a new word because you looked it up in the dictionary is apart of the struggle, as opposed to just saying "bombastic" into the microphone of your iPhone. Getting lost on a trip instead of just listening to your global positioning system adds hours of conversation to our lives, increasing our interpersonal skills and developing our relationships. Using your imagination when watching sitcoms as opposed to feeding into the nonsensical lives of reality television characters gives our imaginations something to do and let's us know that the fairy tale lifestyle is not real.
I have a major problem with the new way things are done because it has to come falling down. I want to have a good grasp on what is really real when it does. Just so I can say I expected it. This stuff is fake people. Know that. The cars and the iPads and iPhones... all of it is fake. It was purchased on credit by a debtor nation, which also makes us lazier, and eventually, someone is going to reposes it. They might not directly take it out of our hands, but we, as a nation, are in fiscal, social, spiritual, and moral debt. It has to be paid by one generation. The baby boomers probably won't be around to see it come crashing down. That leaves my generation, one full of people who lack the intelligence, drive, and imagination to get out of such a situation. THINK PEOPLE!!! I IMPLORE YOU!!!
Why am I wasting my key strokes? My faith is in God b/c this generation is a sorry excuse of human beings. We only care about ourselves.
Rome is burning.
Get out while you can.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
On a large scale, we have lost our ability to communicate, think critically, and do basic things on our own. We are lazy and want everything done for us. We want quality quickly, which is an oxymoron. Anything that is to be appreciated must be sought after. No one just appreciates because he/she is told to appreciate. Taking the time to learn a new word because you looked it up in the dictionary is apart of the struggle, as opposed to just saying "bombastic" into the microphone of your iPhone. Getting lost on a trip instead of just listening to your global positioning system adds hours of conversation to our lives, increasing our interpersonal skills and developing our relationships. Using your imagination when watching sitcoms as opposed to feeding into the nonsensical lives of reality television characters gives our imaginations something to do and let's us know that the fairy tale lifestyle is not real.
I have a major problem with the new way things are done because it has to come falling down. I want to have a good grasp on what is really real when it does. Just so I can say I expected it. This stuff is fake people. Know that. The cars and the iPads and iPhones... all of it is fake. It was purchased on credit by a debtor nation, which also makes us lazier, and eventually, someone is going to reposes it. They might not directly take it out of our hands, but we, as a nation, are in fiscal, social, spiritual, and moral debt. It has to be paid by one generation. The baby boomers probably won't be around to see it come crashing down. That leaves my generation, one full of people who lack the intelligence, drive, and imagination to get out of such a situation. THINK PEOPLE!!! I IMPLORE YOU!!!
Why am I wasting my key strokes? My faith is in God b/c this generation is a sorry excuse of human beings. We only care about ourselves.
Rome is burning.
Get out while you can.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Kony 2012 Campaign: After the Hype
So, it's been a week since Joseph Kony was made a celebrity by our generation. And it's been 6 days since we lost focus on the situation. I expected that. But what I want to address is the money being put toward the issue (and all other issues that we invest our dollars in). From what I've read, only about 30% of our dollars go to these actual Invisible Children, which is more than reportedly goes to the American Cancer Society. So my question is, how can we get a larger amount given? I just can't believe that, if we give them enough money to purchase a $100,000 home, they can only buy two $15,000 cars. I am skeptical of this but that is another post for another day.
Are we so simple that we need to see Kony tees to remember that these children are dying and getting rapes and mutilated? Maybe if we opted out of the tees, they'd get more funds. Maybe we need to question all of our fundraising tactics. The other day I found out that perks are given to persons who donate x-amount to charities. And I'm not just talking tax breaks. I mean the charities reward these people with trips and things. I guess it gives people a reason to bid more but what if all of that money was given to the cause? The donation and the cost of the perk? Is it really donating if you do it because of the reward? I am just trying to make you all see my logic.
I want as few people as possible touching my donations. If I could, I would put them directly in the hands of an Invisible Child. But since I can't I will do my part to raise awareness about the cause.
Oh yeah, one more thing... You didn't work for most of what you have. It's bought on credit. Thus, you are working for it. And if you can't afford it, you probably don't need it. These kids need help though. Something to think about before you purchase your iPad 3.
And I still believe he needs to be stopped. But more important than that is the people who need out help. Make sure the reason doesn't get lost in the frenzy.
Speaking of frenzy (I know I keep going), you all should check out my column on http://IAMnottheMEdia.blogspot.com. It's called "Feeding Frenzy," and is my first time writing as a guest columnist.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Are we so simple that we need to see Kony tees to remember that these children are dying and getting rapes and mutilated? Maybe if we opted out of the tees, they'd get more funds. Maybe we need to question all of our fundraising tactics. The other day I found out that perks are given to persons who donate x-amount to charities. And I'm not just talking tax breaks. I mean the charities reward these people with trips and things. I guess it gives people a reason to bid more but what if all of that money was given to the cause? The donation and the cost of the perk? Is it really donating if you do it because of the reward? I am just trying to make you all see my logic.
I want as few people as possible touching my donations. If I could, I would put them directly in the hands of an Invisible Child. But since I can't I will do my part to raise awareness about the cause.
Oh yeah, one more thing... You didn't work for most of what you have. It's bought on credit. Thus, you are working for it. And if you can't afford it, you probably don't need it. These kids need help though. Something to think about before you purchase your iPad 3.
And I still believe he needs to be stopped. But more important than that is the people who need out help. Make sure the reason doesn't get lost in the frenzy.
Speaking of frenzy (I know I keep going), you all should check out my column on http://IAMnottheMEdia.blogspot.com. It's called "Feeding Frenzy," and is my first time writing as a guest columnist.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Sunday, March 11, 2012
New Yorkers, Stop Paying Your Taxes
http://nyti.ms/yNUooz
How can we trust the media when we cannot even trust the government?
I just read an article in the NYT about how officers, who take an oath to serve and protect, have a system of red tape set up to keep citizens from reporting crimes such as being beaten, having their cars stolen, and having their property stolen. At my job, we call this "work avoidance." The difference is, in my position, work avoidance is frowned upon and can lead to separation from the company. The NYPD seems to reward it's decorated officers by keeping them in high ranking positions and even promoting them based on these sanctioned fabricated statistics.
In this title, I tell people not to pay their taxes and I don't mean that literally... yet. But if your government is not holding up its end of the deal, why should we? And not serving the people when that is a major component of your job description is definitely not holding up your end. That's like paying rent in a house that has no roof. Get involved. Ask questions. Don't vote for people just because they passed out free tee shirts. Let's hold our officials accountable or let's hold our dollars in our pockets. This country was started in a revolutionary war by people who were being unfairly taxes and please believe it can end like that too.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
How can we trust the media when we cannot even trust the government?
I just read an article in the NYT about how officers, who take an oath to serve and protect, have a system of red tape set up to keep citizens from reporting crimes such as being beaten, having their cars stolen, and having their property stolen. At my job, we call this "work avoidance." The difference is, in my position, work avoidance is frowned upon and can lead to separation from the company. The NYPD seems to reward it's decorated officers by keeping them in high ranking positions and even promoting them based on these sanctioned fabricated statistics.
In this title, I tell people not to pay their taxes and I don't mean that literally... yet. But if your government is not holding up its end of the deal, why should we? And not serving the people when that is a major component of your job description is definitely not holding up your end. That's like paying rent in a house that has no roof. Get involved. Ask questions. Don't vote for people just because they passed out free tee shirts. Let's hold our officials accountable or let's hold our dollars in our pockets. This country was started in a revolutionary war by people who were being unfairly taxes and please believe it can end like that too.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
How Many of us Have Them?
How many of us have true friends who we know will always be there for us? Be it my blood brother and sister, my line brothers, my other brothers, or my sisters I am grateful for them. The memories are worth any amount of money because, when God takes them from you or you from them, that is all you have.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Very Impatient People
Ok, this post is going to be short.
What makes us important enough to be in VIP? Seriously? Because we can buy a ticket. Importance and some semblance of wealth (artificial as it may be) are not the same things. I spent $20 more than someone who was in the general population just so I could eat some finger foods. And I ended up spending most of my time outside of VIP because most of the people in that section were looking like they had more fun than those in VIP... There is no real point to this post except to make people think. Finger foods don't come with importance.
Then we have to decide what kind of importance we're talking about. Obviously, in this post, I am talking about the superficial but that is what our society values these days. So last weekend, I let that value system take control and I felt important... Hopefully that $20 I lost out on won't come back to bite me.
Btw, the photograph is one of me having fun outside of VIP.
What makes us important enough to be in VIP? Seriously? Because we can buy a ticket. Importance and some semblance of wealth (artificial as it may be) are not the same things. I spent $20 more than someone who was in the general population just so I could eat some finger foods. And I ended up spending most of my time outside of VIP because most of the people in that section were looking like they had more fun than those in VIP... There is no real point to this post except to make people think. Finger foods don't come with importance.
Then we have to decide what kind of importance we're talking about. Obviously, in this post, I am talking about the superficial but that is what our society values these days. So last weekend, I let that value system take control and I felt important... Hopefully that $20 I lost out on won't come back to bite me.
Btw, the photograph is one of me having fun outside of VIP.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Put J. Kony on TIME
Our generation has been given another charge - to make Joseph Kony the world's most famous person. This man is having numerous people killed, raped and abducted to be turned into brainwashed soldiers. Many of these people are children. I would go in depth but the video speaks volumes. Please watch. If you don't have 27 minutes to spare, check it out when you do. Let's change lives by saving them. One person does matter. And it's an election year so the politicians have to please us in order to get their party into the White House. Let's use that fact as our bargaining chip.
At the time I wrote that first paragraph, I did not think about the children, as many of you have not. So let's not forget the reason we need to #StopKony... it's so that we can provide a better life for the people of Africa's many nations that he has affected. This point can not be one of compromise. There is no point in stopping a bad person if we are not going to add some good to their lives. Otherwise, his second in command will just step up. So let's do more than just stop Kony. Let's start planning for the future of those whose lives he has impacted negatively. The #Kony2012 movement, though well intentioned, is still a movement that relies on the media which means you can never just take it at face value. Anytime you want to jump on a bandwagon b/c someone appealed to your ethos, quickly ask the question "Why do I need to be involved?" and continue to ask that question until you reach the goal. And when your answer no longer makes sense, you need to pull out. We are doing this for the kids. If not, you're doing it to be cool. And that's fine because your dollars will still help these kids but know why you want to #StopKony. Don't do it because the media told you to. Do it because you believe one of these kids not being kidnapped will change the world.
www.kony2012.com
Sent from my iPhone
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Friday, March 2, 2012
The Guru
Ok, so I am one of the best dressed people I know with one of the most versatile wardrobes. So I really have a hard time seeing how some people cannot dress. Personally, if I see someone who is where I want to be, I will try to develop myself by picking up some of their traits. My ADP George Acheampong arguably has the most potential for success out of everyone I met in college. George is very well dressed. Therefore, even before I got initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha, I was taking notes from him. To a lot of younger guys, I am George. Some of them took advantage of knowing me and used me as a resource. That's not to say I am the magazine GQ but I am GQ the man. So it would behoove you to contact me if you have any questions. If I don't know, I know someone who does (likely either George or Vince who is my younger brother but whose knowledge of proper dress and grooming is growing exponentially).
And you can maintain your individuality but do it with some sense. The hardbody sag is dead. Really son? Your jeans are sitting right above your knees. I can get fresh too and go to anybody's hood and walk out without looking like I don't belong. And I do that. I just dress for the situation I'm in or I have the potential to be in. If there is a chance I can meet someone who can help my personal development, my appearance will reflect that. It's no different than wearing winter clothes in the winter and summer clothes in the summer.
Seriously though, don't hesitate to ask me any questions. The photo in this post was taken at an upscale movie theater that serves drinks and desserts while you watch. I dressed for the situation.
Oh, one more thing - if you have to choose between overdressing and underdressing, overdress.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
And you can maintain your individuality but do it with some sense. The hardbody sag is dead. Really son? Your jeans are sitting right above your knees. I can get fresh too and go to anybody's hood and walk out without looking like I don't belong. And I do that. I just dress for the situation I'm in or I have the potential to be in. If there is a chance I can meet someone who can help my personal development, my appearance will reflect that. It's no different than wearing winter clothes in the winter and summer clothes in the summer.
Seriously though, don't hesitate to ask me any questions. The photo in this post was taken at an upscale movie theater that serves drinks and desserts while you watch. I dressed for the situation.
Oh, one more thing - if you have to choose between overdressing and underdressing, overdress.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Selfishness Begets Stupidity
So, I felt like writing today. I was on the phone the other day with a friend of mine. Older guy in his 60s. He and I were talking about the fact that we will never get out of this $15,000,000,000,000.00 of debt we are in as a nation (I had to spell it out so you would be able to really see the impact... but if seeing words helps, that is FIFTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS). Ok, now, I have a very simple solution to this but it goes against everything capitalism stands for - LET'S ALL SHARE!!! For 5 years, why not be taxed at a higher rate, try out this socialism thing, and pay off our debt. I say it all the time, but you cannot build a house in a hole. That goes for anything in life, but especially right now. You cannot build a positive while in a negative without first reaching zero. We're putting money into a hole right now and continually digging that hole deeper and deeper. High school students getting new phones every 6 months. Soccer moms buying new cars every other year. Kids wanting $250 sneakers that serve no practical purpose other than to keep fecal matter off your feet. And a lot of this bought on credit. If it isn't bought on credit, it's taking cash away from something that is purchased on credit.
And then all of these senseless government sponsored programs! How are we spending $10,000 on every pound we lift out of space but we can't afford to get out of financial bondage? Come on people. Frugality and taxation!!!
In short, I propose a bill that forces frugality on our nation because right now we look like a nation of idiots. And I don't like being associated with idiots so someone needs to make a change. But we are too selfish to subject ourselves to aggressive taxations. So we keep digging this iHole because all iCan think of is mySelf.
Taxes would fix all this.
Food for thought.
And your input does matter. If everyone pitched in, we'd be in a better position.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
And then all of these senseless government sponsored programs! How are we spending $10,000 on every pound we lift out of space but we can't afford to get out of financial bondage? Come on people. Frugality and taxation!!!
In short, I propose a bill that forces frugality on our nation because right now we look like a nation of idiots. And I don't like being associated with idiots so someone needs to make a change. But we are too selfish to subject ourselves to aggressive taxations. So we keep digging this iHole because all iCan think of is mySelf.
Taxes would fix all this.
Food for thought.
And your input does matter. If everyone pitched in, we'd be in a better position.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
One Box
You said you want a gift
Me, I wanted a myth
A good girl who I could spend forever with
And I know I got her
But if you are not her
Let me know now and I will love you harder
You warm me up like a heavy jacket. You're my starter
Put my team on my bench. You're not even a starter
You're my assistant coach. Now I'm out of the game
And part of me is like, #JColeVoice, "Man, don't be so _____ lame"
But you are you and we are us
God sent you to me and in He I trust
I mean in Him I trust
I'm fine with taking time so let's not rush
As a matter of fact
Let's take a forward step back
To when we played in the sand and looked at rocks
Will you be mine? If you noticed, there's only one box
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Me, I wanted a myth
A good girl who I could spend forever with
And I know I got her
But if you are not her
Let me know now and I will love you harder
You warm me up like a heavy jacket. You're my starter
Put my team on my bench. You're not even a starter
You're my assistant coach. Now I'm out of the game
And part of me is like, #JColeVoice, "Man, don't be so _____ lame"
But you are you and we are us
God sent you to me and in He I trust
I mean in Him I trust
I'm fine with taking time so let's not rush
As a matter of fact
Let's take a forward step back
To when we played in the sand and looked at rocks
Will you be mine? If you noticed, there's only one box
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Thursday, February 9, 2012
My Letter To UNCG -- Repost & Comment
Let me preface this post by saying I love my alma mater. I also love my brothers. When my brothers do something I don't agree with, I tell them and I make sure they hear me. So now that my alma mater has done the same, I will respond accordingly.Would the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Housing & Residence Life have a series of events during Homosexual History Month titled "Don't Drop The Soap: Jailhouse Rapes in the Homosexual Community," "Is AIDS a Homo Disease?" "Elton John on Straight People in Southeast China" "Oh, I Know He Didn't *Snap Three Times*," or "The Real House Husbands of Brokeback Mountain?" No. And yes, I went there. I thought of the most questionable titles that were based upon stereotypes because it looks like that's what HRL did this time around. I'm sure that students helped come up with these titles. I even see some people I know well serving as facilitators for the programs. And I'm in no way mad at them. But, at a university where you have an African-American Studies program, which I am a proud graduate of, why would there be no consultation regarding a program of this magnitude for Black History Month? Use your resources HRL.
Titling programs "Black Eye" and focusing on the domestic violence issue in the black community is unfair in my opinion because domestic violence is an issue in every community in the world, so why focus in on it during black history month? And, even if we are focusing on the fact that it exists in the black community, aren't we supposed to be focusing on the historic aspects of black culture during this month? When I think of Black History, I think of very little that has occurred in my lifetime. True, history is being made but contemporary issues are not a basis for a program in a month focused on the history of a people. The program on Booker T. Washington's take on white people in Europe is neither here nor there. It just is. He's a historical figure writing about a historic time, so I will let this one slide. What I can and will not let slide is "Addicted to Creamy Crack." Are you kidding me? Even as a black man, when I didn't know that perms were referred to as "creamy crack," I was worried about what the heck black women were talking about being addicted to. So imagine what white people think when they hear the words "addicted" and "crack" associated with "Black History Month." Were I a white person, I think I would feel too uncomfortable with the program's title to even show up and find out that it has nothing to do with black people being addicted to narcotics. Next, you have "Hide Ya Kids, Hide Ya Wife?" I understand the point they're trying to make. Great point. It's about being articulate and enunciating as a young African-American. But, never the less, you need a colon saying that is what it's about. Because I saw this and, at first glance, assumed it had something to do with that quasicelebrity (and I reluctantly give him that much of a title) Antwan Dotson. Thankfully I read further. A lot of people wouldn't. The only title I'm truly pleased with is "Everybody Move To The Back of the Bus," and that is because we all know that no one can make you move to any section of the bus these days. Out of 5, I give the programs hosted this week a 1.5 and that's without even coming. Which means I probably wouldn't come were I a student.
As I said at the beginning, UNCG wouldn't host HHM with titles like that. So why do it for BHM?
Alumni, pick up your pens. Pay for a stamp. Write a letter. Or blog about it and save a tree. But say something if you disagree. (Oh snap! I just rhymed!)
Food for thought.
Go Spartans.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Go Spartans.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Friday, February 3, 2012
Inferiority Complex
Race is not the problem
It's an economic screen
There's an economic scheme
There are economic teams
See, black or white, wealth is the goal
There are blacks and whites both selling their souls
For diamonds, green paper, silver, and gold
But often, that's not the story that's told
We are told that the white man tried to keep us down
They are told that black folks try to rob the town
Blind via welfare
So who the hell cares
About how much we have in common
Not race but I know which room I'm in
Not race but room... Peep the knowledge
Thanks to my majors I learned a lot in college
But anyway, back to the "Room Over Race" theory
Let's see if I can explain "Room Over Race" clearly
Blacks or whites, many came here to serve
Not "slavery." "Indentured" was the word
But at that point, there were more poor than rich
And what if, one day, the poor called it quits?
Well, let's divide and conquer
Provide and sponsor
One color with some status
Maybe that will end the madness
See, there were servants rebelling
And, where that was going, there's no telling
So let's say "Not rich vs. poor. Black vs. white"
And with that went the real fight
Only to be masked for hundreds of years
Only to be masked by blood sweat and tears
We're fighting race when we should be fighting poverty
The whole time not blacks but the wealthies are really robbing me
Hmmmm... never thought about that
Never thought about who really won't cut us some slack
"Us" being the people who work hard everyday
Black, white, green, yellow, we are all the same
We are all in the pursuit of happiness
But too many blacks, whites, greens, yellows, aren't happy yet
Sure there are a few whites and fewer blacks who are happiest
But we're too focused on the simple things we have in common
Not the fact that while most of us are eating Ramen
Or maybe you say Ramen
Either way, the filet mignon eaters are payin'
Us much less than we are worth
And what do we do? Continue to go to a separate church
Frequent separate bars. Live in separate communities
Simple Simon M-Fs... the base word is UNITY
But really all we're doing is dividing ourselves
United we stand? Well we're dying ourselves
Not killing but dying because we won't interact
We fight together but when we come home from Iraq
Everything is B-A-U. Business as usual
White people don't you get it? Rich people are using you
Black peole don't you get it? Rich people are using you
"Oh my gosh! This school of thought is unusual "
Yes it is. But think: doesn't it make sense?
Real quick, step outside of the present tense
If you had power in the past, would you give it up?
Or would you give someone 1 step from 0 so you could still be 10 above?
Come on people. Think! It's not that hard
Republican? Democrat? No. It's soothed and scarred
We are so focused on hating the other race
That we don't see what stares us dead in our face
Even those of us who fight against racial inequality
Don't think "It's economics that serves as a primary wall to me"
And then think "Well maybe it's the same for the poor cracker down the street."
And maybe he shouldn't think "I'm frugal. Niggers are cheap."
Maybe we're all the same and we need to fight the money
And if you think I'm joking, I guess you find tax brackets funny
I'm going on and on trying to drill it in your heads
And I'll probably be saying the same thing until I'm dead
Because we're all so dumb that we can't get past an exterior
While we see race, to them money makes us inferior.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
It's an economic screen
There's an economic scheme
There are economic teams
See, black or white, wealth is the goal
There are blacks and whites both selling their souls
For diamonds, green paper, silver, and gold
But often, that's not the story that's told
We are told that the white man tried to keep us down
They are told that black folks try to rob the town
Blind via welfare
So who the hell cares
About how much we have in common
Not race but I know which room I'm in
Not race but room... Peep the knowledge
Thanks to my majors I learned a lot in college
But anyway, back to the "Room Over Race" theory
Let's see if I can explain "Room Over Race" clearly
Blacks or whites, many came here to serve
Not "slavery." "Indentured" was the word
But at that point, there were more poor than rich
And what if, one day, the poor called it quits?
Well, let's divide and conquer
Provide and sponsor
One color with some status
Maybe that will end the madness
See, there were servants rebelling
And, where that was going, there's no telling
So let's say "Not rich vs. poor. Black vs. white"
And with that went the real fight
Only to be masked for hundreds of years
Only to be masked by blood sweat and tears
We're fighting race when we should be fighting poverty
The whole time not blacks but the wealthies are really robbing me
Hmmmm... never thought about that
Never thought about who really won't cut us some slack
"Us" being the people who work hard everyday
Black, white, green, yellow, we are all the same
We are all in the pursuit of happiness
But too many blacks, whites, greens, yellows, aren't happy yet
Sure there are a few whites and fewer blacks who are happiest
But we're too focused on the simple things we have in common
Not the fact that while most of us are eating Ramen
Or maybe you say Ramen
Either way, the filet mignon eaters are payin'
Us much less than we are worth
And what do we do? Continue to go to a separate church
Frequent separate bars. Live in separate communities
Simple Simon M-Fs... the base word is UNITY
But really all we're doing is dividing ourselves
United we stand? Well we're dying ourselves
Not killing but dying because we won't interact
We fight together but when we come home from Iraq
Everything is B-A-U. Business as usual
White people don't you get it? Rich people are using you
Black peole don't you get it? Rich people are using you
"Oh my gosh! This school of thought is unusual "
Yes it is. But think: doesn't it make sense?
Real quick, step outside of the present tense
If you had power in the past, would you give it up?
Or would you give someone 1 step from 0 so you could still be 10 above?
Come on people. Think! It's not that hard
Republican? Democrat? No. It's soothed and scarred
We are so focused on hating the other race
That we don't see what stares us dead in our face
Even those of us who fight against racial inequality
Don't think "It's economics that serves as a primary wall to me"
And then think "Well maybe it's the same for the poor cracker down the street."
And maybe he shouldn't think "I'm frugal. Niggers are cheap."
Maybe we're all the same and we need to fight the money
And if you think I'm joking, I guess you find tax brackets funny
I'm going on and on trying to drill it in your heads
And I'll probably be saying the same thing until I'm dead
Because we're all so dumb that we can't get past an exterior
While we see race, to them money makes us inferior.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
iConnect
It's funny how connected we always are. I text. I call. I e-mail. I'm on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Voxer, and iMessage. I have 3 blogs which I update regularly and a YouTube channel. All of these things can be done from my iPhone. And the thing is, I'm not over connected by the standards of our generation. If anything, what makes me "weird" is that I still use snail mail. It is interesting that we have no problem being so connected to one another, but I guess it makes it easier for us to keep up with people without getting so personal.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Monday, January 23, 2012
Kill Your (Insert tech object here)
Who needs real people? We have Siri, text messaging, e-mail, and, when all else fails, I suppose we could call another person. I just hope he doesn't pick up the phone.
Technology is deadly. It hinders our ability to effectively interact with others. Many people believe otherwise but, answer me this: What will we do when the computers shut down?
Food for thought...
Technology is deadly. It hinders our ability to effectively interact with others. Many people believe otherwise but, answer me this: What will we do when the computers shut down?
Food for thought...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
a FIRE n'ICE day
Today Des and I had fun together. From brunch at her place to going to the mall and getting tricked into a Tiffany & Co. stop to going to see Red Tails to hitting Panera Bread Co. for dinner and to work on our projects, today was nice. I appreciate her taking the time out to make me smile.
Popeye
I'm not a pastor nor am I a saint
But I didn't come here to tell you everything I ain't
I mean everything I'm not
See, everything I've got
Has me thanking Him for my mother to my socks
Don't get it wrong... We're not all of God a child
For instance, why would you say there's no church in the wild?
We are the church, the body not the building
And to say otherwise is to be making a killing
Because to deny His body is to hate your brother
And to hate your brother is to kill another
You say I'm streching but it's in His Word
First John, third chapter, read through every verse
See, it talks about how loving Christ correlates with loving your neighbor
So, if you don't, how can you love your Savior?
Or vice versa, how can you your brother but not the Son of God?
He saved you from damnation. Not loving him is more than odd
Love isn't all we need. We need the love of Christ
We need to love Him all in all, a love solid as the ice
And don't just talk about it, be about it
So many souls get rerouted
Because they hear us talk about Christ but cannot see our love
Sin forever we will but it takes no thought to hug
Live in love and we'll shine His light. In hate, we will dim it
Actions speak volumes. Let your actions be your spinach.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Why SOPA Is Dangerous by Chris Heald
This blog post was written by Chris Heald and can be found at http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/. ©2005-2012 Mashable, Inc. I just wanted to try to add anothter quarter to the education of the half-educated. If you want to see all the cool pics and formatting of the article, click on the link above.
Why SOPA Is Dangerous
I’m sure you’ve heard by now that SOPA is bad and would ruin the Internet, but have you actually read the bill? If not, it’s worth reading, for two reasons. First, if you are going to oppose a bill, you should know exactly what you’re opposing, not just the vague principle behind it. Second, it’ll provide you with a valuable insight: that these bills are written in an attempt to obscure the truth.
First off, I’m going to qualify that I’m not a lawyer. However, I am a programmer, and that’s made me pretty good at unraveling spaghetti code. If ever a bill was spaghetti, this is it. If a programmer on my team wrote code as convoluted as this bill, I would fire him on the spot. That being said, there may be provisions I’m wrong about; if there are, please do correct me. My intent is to communicate the truth of this bill as cleanly as possible.
Here is the full text of the bill, as of Jan. 15, 2012. Open a copy, because I’ll be referring to it. It helps to click the “Printer Friendly” link to access a single-page view of the bill.
The Scalpel
Section 102(a)(2) permits the attorney general to take action against foreign sites (i.e., sites that do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction) if “the owner or operator of such Internet site is facilitating the commission of [copyright infringement].”
We’ll expand on this further down, but the really scary thing here is that there isn’t any qualification that the site be solely for the purpose of theft, only that it facilitate it. Since copyright violation is ridiculously easy, any site with a comment box or picture upload form is potentially infringing. Furthermore, DMCA Safe Harbor provisions are no defense. You, as a site operator, become liable for copyright infringement committed by your users, even if you comply with DMCA takedown requests.
This isn’t quite as bad as the rest of the bill because the power lies with the attorney general, rather than the copyright holder. But it’s not good, either. The language is so broad that it could be wielded against most any foreign site the AG chooses to target.
If the AG chooses to take action against a site (either against the operator, if they are subject to U.S. jurisdiction, or against the site itself if no one under U.S. jurisdiction can be found), then a subsequent court order would require the following:
Internet service providers will be required to block your access to the site (section 102(c)(2)(A)(i)) within five days.
Search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) will be forced to remove all references to the offending sites from their indexes (section 102(c)(2)(B)).
Ad providers (Google AdSense, Federated Media, etc.) will be required to stop providing ad service to the site.
Payment providers (PayPal, Visa, etc.) will be required to terminate service to the site.
Effectively, this bill gives the attorney general the power to fully censor foreign sites that the government does not have jurisdiction to take down directly. The most immediate example is WikiLeaks — under such an order, your ISP would be forced to block your access to Wikileaks. Once the technical means to do this are in place, then it becomes very easy for this power to be extended.
Implementing censorship protocols and giving the keys to the government is a scary, scary thing, and SOPA should be opposed simply based on this provision alone. But that’s not all.
The Sledgehammer
The really unsettling part of the bill is section 103. It is titled “MARKET-BASED SYSTEM TO PROTECT U.S. CUSTOMERS AND PREVENT U.S. FUNDING OF SITES DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY.” On a first reading, it doesn’t sound that frightening. Read through section A1.
DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY- An ‘Internet site is dedicated to theft of U.S. property’ if–
it is an Internet site, or a portion thereof, that is a U.S.-directed site and is used by users within the United States; and
either
the U.S.-directed site is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of, has only limited purpose or use other than, or is marketed by its operator or another acting in concert with that operator for use in, offering goods or services in a manner that engages in, enables, or facilitates–
a violation of section 501 of title 17, United States Code;
a violation of section 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
the sale, distribution, or promotion of goods, services, or materials bearing a counterfeit mark, as that term is defined in section 34(d) of the Lanham Act or section 2320 of title 18, United States Code; or
the operator of the U.S.-directed site–
is taking, or has taken, deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability of the use of the U.S.-directed site to carry out acts that constitute a violation of section 501 or 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
operates the U.S.-directed site with the object of promoting, or has promoted, its use to carry out acts that constitute a violation of section 501 or 1201 of title 17, United States Code, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement.
QUALIFYING PLAINTIFF- The term `qualifying plaintiff’ means, with respect to a particular Internet site or portion thereof, a holder of an intellectual property right harmed by the activities described in paragraph (1) occurring on that Internet site or portion thereof.
Wow, now there’s a chunk of legalese that’ll make your eyes gloss over. Let’s cut straight to the nasty bits.
An `Internet site is dedicated to theft of U.S. property’ if [a portion of the site is US-directed] and is used by users within the United States and is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables or facilitates [copyright violation or circumvention of copyright protection measures].
Still doesn’t sound that bad, but consider this: Any site that allows users to post content is “primarily designed for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables copyright violation.” The site doesn’t have to be clearly designed for the purpose of copyright violation; it only has to provide functionality that can be used to enable copyright violation.
This means that YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, Gmail, Dropbox and millions of other sites would be “Internet sites…dedicated to theft of U.S. property,” under SOPA’s definition. Simply providing a feature that would make it possible for someone to commit copyright infringement or circumvention (see: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) is enough to get your entire site branded as an infringing site.
Furthermore, you may be painted as infringing if you, the site owner, “take deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability of the use of…the site to carry out acts [of copyright infringement or circumvention].” This means if you deliberately decide that it’s not cost-effective to screen every piece of content and determine whether or not it is copyright-free before it is posted to your site (whether there is infringing content on your site or not), then you are labeled as an “Internet site…dedicated to theft of U.S. property.” Simply the act of not actively screening every piece of content makes you a criminal under SOPA.
So, We’re All Infringing, Now What?
Section 103(b) is really hairy, but we’ll attempt to parse through it. I’m not going to copy the whole text here, for the sake of brevity, though I do encourage you to read and understand it. Instead, we’ll discuss the most salient parts.
Payment providers (section (b)(1)) and ad networks ((b)(2)) are required, upon receiving a claim against a site by a copyright holder (section (4)(A)(i)), to cut off all services to the accused site within five days, unless they receive a counter-notification from the operator of the accused site. Note that there is no requirement that the accused be notified of said accusation, and thus, they would have no opportunity to provide a counter-notice. In practice, you’d probably find out about it when you notice that the money stops coming in, maybe a week or two later.
The only way to provide a counter-notice is to agree to submit to U.S. jurisdiction (section (5)(A)(ii)) if you are a foreigner (yikes), and to state under penalty of perjury that your product does not fit the definition of an “Internet site…dedicated to theft of U.S. property.” As we discussed above, it’s nearly impossible to not fit that definition. If you have a comment box, and you state that you aren’t guilty under that definition, you just committed perjury. Enjoy prison. Furthermore:
Any provider of a notification or counter notification who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section…that such site does not meet the criteria of an Internet site dedicated to the theft of U.S. property shall be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the person injured by such misrepresentation as a result of the misrepresentation.
So, if you provide that counter-notification that you aren’t an infringing site, but if you can possibly be painted to fit the definition of an infringing site (and again, you will be), you are now liable for all of the attacking party’s attorney fees. By replying, you give them carte blanche to sue you with no cost to themselves.
Now, if you provide a counter-notice, or an ad network or payment provider fails to cut off service within five days, then the accusing party may then serve you (the site owner) with a lawsuit. If they can’t get a hold of you, they may serve an in rem lawsuit against your site. If they win the lawsuit (and they will, if nobody is there to challenge them), then the court will award them ownership of your site (likely, the domain). This is the point where your accuser is required to notify you that they are taking action against you. This is how the situation could play out.
Plantiff accuses your site of infringement and serves notice to PayPal and Google, et al. PayPal and Google must shut off your payment services and ad services in 5 days. You are never notified.
If a service provider fails to shut off service, then the plantiff may may now take you to court for infringement.
Once you become aware that you’ve been accused of infringement, you either a) let your services get cut off by taking no action, or b) serve a counter-notice, which places you under US jurisdiction (if you’re not in the US) and sets you up for a perjury charge.
If you respond with a counter-notice, then Plantiff may now take you to court for infringement.
Plantiff accuses your site of infringement, and you don’t respond. Plantiff files an in rem lawsuit, and seizes control of your domain.
The Bulldozer
Section 201(b)(1) expands criminal copyright infringement to include:
…At least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500.
Now, the way that the value of a work can be computed in court is the very crude (value of the work times number of views).
…Total retail value may be shown by evidence of the total retail price that persons receiving the reproductions, distributions, or public performances constituting the offense would have paid to receive such reproductions, distributions, or public performances lawfully.
This means, for example, if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”
This would make you a felon, and if a copyright holder were to bring a suit against you, would give you a criminal record that would make it virtually impossible to gain future employment, and may subject you to up to three years in prison for singing a song. You don’t have to receive any money. You don’t have to gain anything from your video. Simply receiving 2,500 views on a song you sung, which happens to have copyright held by someone else, makes you a felon.
Section 201(c) of SOPA includes a new rule of construction: a person with “a good faith reasonable basis in law to believe that the person’s conduct is lawful shall not be considered to have acted willfully for purposes of the amendments made by this section.” By implication, a person who believed her conduct was protected (e.g., fair use) might be found to have acted “willfully,” if her belief about the law is held to be unreasonable.
SOPA expands “willful infringement” to include those who don’t understand the law, not just those who understand it and choose to ignore it.
To Sum Up
SOPA:
Gives the government the right to unilaterally censor foreign websites.
Gives copyright holders the right to issue economic takedowns and bring lawsuits against website owners and operators, if those websites have features that make it possible to post infringing content.
Makes it a felony offense to post a copyrighted song or video.
This bill turns us all into criminals. If it passes, then you either stop using the Internet, or you simply hope that you never end up in the crosshairs, because if you’re targeted, you will be destroyed by this bill. You don’t have to be a big, mean, nasty criminal — common Internet usage is effectively criminalized under this law. This bill will kill American innovation and development of the Internet, as it will become too risky to do anything of value. It is toxic and dangerous, and should not, under any circumstances, be supported.
I hope that this helps you to more clearly understand why SOPA is bad. Rhetoric is efficient, but you should know what you’re opposing and why you’re opposing it. It’s difficult to read and understand, but if you care about the Internet, free speech and personal freedom at all, you owe it to yourself to understand and oppose SOPA.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PashaIgnatov
May 12: PIPA introduced
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
">
SOPA And PIPA: A Timeline Of How We Got Here
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
May 12: PIPA introduced
1
Five months later, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith (R-TX) named the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. The bill was very similar to PIPA.
Photo courtesy Ryanjreilly of Flickr.
Oct. 26: SOPA Introduced
2
Twelve tech giants, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, delivered a letter of protest to the sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA legislation, calling the bill dangerous to American innovation and cybersecurity, but also acknowledged that digital piracy is a real problem.
Nov. 15: Tech Giants Weigh In
3
Tumblr, Mozilla and Reddit censored their content in one the first wide-scale protests of SOPA. The sites claimed the bill strengthens the U.S. Justice Department’s power to go after websites that host disputed copyright material and could make sites such as YouTube and Tumblr that host such user-generated content liable for copyright violations. Tumblr would only remove the black bars over posts if users agreed to call their representatives and protest SOPA. Reddit and Mozilla also put black bars over their logos in protest.
Nov. 16: Tumblr, Mozilla, Others Post Anti-SOPA Messages
4
The House holds public hearings to discuss SOPA that were broadcast on C-SPAN and streamed online. Both pro- and anti-SOPA groups rallied that day with public messages regarding the bill. This message from the MPAA ran in the Washington Post. After a two-day debate, discussions were then delayed until Dec. 21, then delayed again until after holiday recess.
Dec. 15: House Meets
5
Reddit declared Dec. 29 “Dump GoDaddy Day” after the domain hosting service declared they supported the legislation. Although GoDaddy quickly reversed its position, it says it lost more than 20,000 accounts because of the boycott.
Dec. 29: GoDaddy Dump Day
6
Reddit announced they would go black on Jan. 18, as a day to protest against SOPA/PIPA. Although they were the first to the call to action, they were quickly joined by other web companies, most notably Wikipedia, who vowed to go dark for the whole day.
Images courtesy of Imgur’s SOPA resources
Jan. 10: Reddit Announces Blackout
7
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who wrote the SOPA bill, announced he would remove the controversial section of the bill that would give copyright holders and the federal government the right to remove infringing websites from the DNS (Domain Name System). DNS works as a sort of “phone book” for the Internet. When a user types a URL into a browser, DNS helps the users’ computer find and speak with the correct server hosting the content the user wants to access. If a website is taken off the DNS system, it becomes more difficult for the average Internet user to arrive at that site, but savvy Internet users might still be able to access blocked sites.
Jan. 13: DNS Blocking Dropped
8
In a blog post responding to a petition posted on the White House’s website, the Obama Administration clearly laid out what it would – and would not – support in any new legislation designed to combat online piracy.
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response,” said the note, “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
Jan. 14: White House Responds
9
The architect of SOPA, Rep. Lamar Smith, scheduled a markup session next month in which the bill might be altered. In a markup session, a bill is opened to members of the House Judicial Committee for debate, amendments and other changes. The House will not be taking a final vote on SOPA.
Jan. 17: Lamar Smith Announces More Rewrites
10
Websites pledged to go dark in protest.
Jan 18: A Day of Protest
11View As One Page »
View As Slideshow »
May 12: PIPA introduced
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
Oct. 26: SOPA Introduced
Five months later, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith (R-TX) named the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. The bill was very similar to PIPA.
Photo courtesy Ryanjreilly of Flickr.
Nov. 15: Tech Giants Weigh In
Twelve tech giants, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, delivered a letter of protest to the sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA legislation, calling the bill dangerous to American innovation and cybersecurity, but also acknowledged that digital piracy is a real problem.
Nov. 16: Tumblr, Mozilla, Others Post Anti-SOPA Messages
Tumblr, Mozilla and Reddit censored their content in one the first wide-scale protests of SOPA. The sites claimed the bill strengthens the U.S. Justice Department’s power to go after websites that host disputed copyright material and could make sites such as YouTube and Tumblr that host such user-generated content liable for copyright violations. Tumblr would only remove the black bars over posts if users agreed to call their representatives and protest SOPA. Reddit and Mozilla also put black bars over their logos in protest.
Dec. 15: House Meets
The House holds public hearings to discuss SOPA that were broadcast on C-SPAN and streamed online. Both pro- and anti-SOPA groups rallied that day with public messages regarding the bill. This message from the MPAA ran in the Washington Post. After a two-day debate, discussions were then delayed until Dec. 21, then delayed again until after holiday recess.
Dec. 29: GoDaddy Dump Day
Reddit declared Dec. 29 “Dump GoDaddy Day” after the domain hosting service declared they supported the legislation. Although GoDaddy quickly reversed its position, it says it lost more than 20,000 accounts because of the boycott.
Jan. 10: Reddit Announces Blackout
Reddit announced they would go black on Jan. 18, as a day to protest against SOPA/PIPA. Although they were the first to the call to action, they were quickly joined by other web companies, most notably Wikipedia, who vowed to go dark for the whole day.
Images courtesy of Imgur’s SOPA resources
Jan. 13: DNS Blocking Dropped
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who wrote the SOPA bill, announced he would remove the controversial section of the bill that would give copyright holders and the federal government the right to remove infringing websites from the DNS (Domain Name System). DNS works as a sort of “phone book” for the Internet. When a user types a URL into a browser, DNS helps the users’ computer find and speak with the correct server hosting the content the user wants to access. If a website is taken off the DNS system, it becomes more difficult for the average Internet user to arrive at that site, but savvy Internet users might still be able to access blocked sites.
Jan. 14: White House Responds
In a blog post responding to a petition posted on the White House’s website, the Obama Administration clearly laid out what it would – and would not – support in any new legislation designed to combat online piracy.
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response,” said the note, “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
Jan. 17: Lamar Smith Announces More Rewrites
The architect of SOPA, Rep. Lamar Smith, scheduled a markup session next month in which the bill might be altered. In a markup session, a bill is opened to members of the House Judicial Committee for debate, amendments and other changes. The House will not be taking a final vote on SOPA.
Jan 18: A Day of Protest
Websites pledged to go dark in protest.
Here is the full text of the bill, as of Jan. 15, 2012. Open a copy, because I’ll be referring to it. It helps to click the “Printer Friendly” link to access a single-page view of the bill.
The Scalpel
Section 102(a)(2) permits the attorney general to take action against foreign sites (i.e., sites that do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction) if “the owner or operator of such Internet site is facilitating the commission of [copyright infringement].”
We’ll expand on this further down, but the really scary thing here is that there isn’t any qualification that the site be solely for the purpose of theft, only that it facilitate it. Since copyright violation is ridiculously easy, any site with a comment box or picture upload form is potentially infringing. Furthermore, DMCA Safe Harbor provisions are no defense. You, as a site operator, become liable for copyright infringement committed by your users, even if you comply with DMCA takedown requests.
This isn’t quite as bad as the rest of the bill because the power lies with the attorney general, rather than the copyright holder. But it’s not good, either. The language is so broad that it could be wielded against most any foreign site the AG chooses to target.
If the AG chooses to take action against a site (either against the operator, if they are subject to U.S. jurisdiction, or against the site itself if no one under U.S. jurisdiction can be found), then a subsequent court order would require the following:
Internet service providers will be required to block your access to the site (section 102(c)(2)(A)(i)) within five days.
Search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) will be forced to remove all references to the offending sites from their indexes (section 102(c)(2)(B)).
Ad providers (Google AdSense, Federated Media, etc.) will be required to stop providing ad service to the site.
Payment providers (PayPal, Visa, etc.) will be required to terminate service to the site.
Effectively, this bill gives the attorney general the power to fully censor foreign sites that the government does not have jurisdiction to take down directly. The most immediate example is WikiLeaks — under such an order, your ISP would be forced to block your access to Wikileaks. Once the technical means to do this are in place, then it becomes very easy for this power to be extended.
Implementing censorship protocols and giving the keys to the government is a scary, scary thing, and SOPA should be opposed simply based on this provision alone. But that’s not all.
The Sledgehammer
The really unsettling part of the bill is section 103. It is titled “MARKET-BASED SYSTEM TO PROTECT U.S. CUSTOMERS AND PREVENT U.S. FUNDING OF SITES DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY.” On a first reading, it doesn’t sound that frightening. Read through section A1.
DEDICATED TO THEFT OF U.S. PROPERTY- An ‘Internet site is dedicated to theft of U.S. property’ if–
it is an Internet site, or a portion thereof, that is a U.S.-directed site and is used by users within the United States; and
either
the U.S.-directed site is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of, has only limited purpose or use other than, or is marketed by its operator or another acting in concert with that operator for use in, offering goods or services in a manner that engages in, enables, or facilitates–
a violation of section 501 of title 17, United States Code;
a violation of section 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
the sale, distribution, or promotion of goods, services, or materials bearing a counterfeit mark, as that term is defined in section 34(d) of the Lanham Act or section 2320 of title 18, United States Code; or
the operator of the U.S.-directed site–
is taking, or has taken, deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability of the use of the U.S.-directed site to carry out acts that constitute a violation of section 501 or 1201 of title 17, United States Code; or
operates the U.S.-directed site with the object of promoting, or has promoted, its use to carry out acts that constitute a violation of section 501 or 1201 of title 17, United States Code, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement.
QUALIFYING PLAINTIFF- The term `qualifying plaintiff’ means, with respect to a particular Internet site or portion thereof, a holder of an intellectual property right harmed by the activities described in paragraph (1) occurring on that Internet site or portion thereof.
Wow, now there’s a chunk of legalese that’ll make your eyes gloss over. Let’s cut straight to the nasty bits.
An `Internet site is dedicated to theft of U.S. property’ if [a portion of the site is US-directed] and is used by users within the United States and is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables or facilitates [copyright violation or circumvention of copyright protection measures].
Still doesn’t sound that bad, but consider this: Any site that allows users to post content is “primarily designed for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables copyright violation.” The site doesn’t have to be clearly designed for the purpose of copyright violation; it only has to provide functionality that can be used to enable copyright violation.
This means that YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, Gmail, Dropbox and millions of other sites would be “Internet sites…dedicated to theft of U.S. property,” under SOPA’s definition. Simply providing a feature that would make it possible for someone to commit copyright infringement or circumvention (see: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) is enough to get your entire site branded as an infringing site.
Furthermore, you may be painted as infringing if you, the site owner, “take deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability of the use of…the site to carry out acts [of copyright infringement or circumvention].” This means if you deliberately decide that it’s not cost-effective to screen every piece of content and determine whether or not it is copyright-free before it is posted to your site (whether there is infringing content on your site or not), then you are labeled as an “Internet site…dedicated to theft of U.S. property.” Simply the act of not actively screening every piece of content makes you a criminal under SOPA.
So, We’re All Infringing, Now What?
Section 103(b) is really hairy, but we’ll attempt to parse through it. I’m not going to copy the whole text here, for the sake of brevity, though I do encourage you to read and understand it. Instead, we’ll discuss the most salient parts.
Payment providers (section (b)(1)) and ad networks ((b)(2)) are required, upon receiving a claim against a site by a copyright holder (section (4)(A)(i)), to cut off all services to the accused site within five days, unless they receive a counter-notification from the operator of the accused site. Note that there is no requirement that the accused be notified of said accusation, and thus, they would have no opportunity to provide a counter-notice. In practice, you’d probably find out about it when you notice that the money stops coming in, maybe a week or two later.
The only way to provide a counter-notice is to agree to submit to U.S. jurisdiction (section (5)(A)(ii)) if you are a foreigner (yikes), and to state under penalty of perjury that your product does not fit the definition of an “Internet site…dedicated to theft of U.S. property.” As we discussed above, it’s nearly impossible to not fit that definition. If you have a comment box, and you state that you aren’t guilty under that definition, you just committed perjury. Enjoy prison. Furthermore:
Any provider of a notification or counter notification who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section…that such site does not meet the criteria of an Internet site dedicated to the theft of U.S. property shall be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the person injured by such misrepresentation as a result of the misrepresentation.
So, if you provide that counter-notification that you aren’t an infringing site, but if you can possibly be painted to fit the definition of an infringing site (and again, you will be), you are now liable for all of the attacking party’s attorney fees. By replying, you give them carte blanche to sue you with no cost to themselves.
Now, if you provide a counter-notice, or an ad network or payment provider fails to cut off service within five days, then the accusing party may then serve you (the site owner) with a lawsuit. If they can’t get a hold of you, they may serve an in rem lawsuit against your site. If they win the lawsuit (and they will, if nobody is there to challenge them), then the court will award them ownership of your site (likely, the domain). This is the point where your accuser is required to notify you that they are taking action against you. This is how the situation could play out.
Plantiff accuses your site of infringement and serves notice to PayPal and Google, et al. PayPal and Google must shut off your payment services and ad services in 5 days. You are never notified.
If a service provider fails to shut off service, then the plantiff may may now take you to court for infringement.
Once you become aware that you’ve been accused of infringement, you either a) let your services get cut off by taking no action, or b) serve a counter-notice, which places you under US jurisdiction (if you’re not in the US) and sets you up for a perjury charge.
If you respond with a counter-notice, then Plantiff may now take you to court for infringement.
Plantiff accuses your site of infringement, and you don’t respond. Plantiff files an in rem lawsuit, and seizes control of your domain.
The Bulldozer
Section 201(b)(1) expands criminal copyright infringement to include:
…At least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500.
Now, the way that the value of a work can be computed in court is the very crude (value of the work times number of views).
…Total retail value may be shown by evidence of the total retail price that persons receiving the reproductions, distributions, or public performances constituting the offense would have paid to receive such reproductions, distributions, or public performances lawfully.
This means, for example, if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”
This would make you a felon, and if a copyright holder were to bring a suit against you, would give you a criminal record that would make it virtually impossible to gain future employment, and may subject you to up to three years in prison for singing a song. You don’t have to receive any money. You don’t have to gain anything from your video. Simply receiving 2,500 views on a song you sung, which happens to have copyright held by someone else, makes you a felon.
Section 201(c) of SOPA includes a new rule of construction: a person with “a good faith reasonable basis in law to believe that the person’s conduct is lawful shall not be considered to have acted willfully for purposes of the amendments made by this section.” By implication, a person who believed her conduct was protected (e.g., fair use) might be found to have acted “willfully,” if her belief about the law is held to be unreasonable.
SOPA expands “willful infringement” to include those who don’t understand the law, not just those who understand it and choose to ignore it.
To Sum Up
SOPA:
Gives the government the right to unilaterally censor foreign websites.
Gives copyright holders the right to issue economic takedowns and bring lawsuits against website owners and operators, if those websites have features that make it possible to post infringing content.
Makes it a felony offense to post a copyrighted song or video.
This bill turns us all into criminals. If it passes, then you either stop using the Internet, or you simply hope that you never end up in the crosshairs, because if you’re targeted, you will be destroyed by this bill. You don’t have to be a big, mean, nasty criminal — common Internet usage is effectively criminalized under this law. This bill will kill American innovation and development of the Internet, as it will become too risky to do anything of value. It is toxic and dangerous, and should not, under any circumstances, be supported.
I hope that this helps you to more clearly understand why SOPA is bad. Rhetoric is efficient, but you should know what you’re opposing and why you’re opposing it. It’s difficult to read and understand, but if you care about the Internet, free speech and personal freedom at all, you owe it to yourself to understand and oppose SOPA.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PashaIgnatov
May 12: PIPA introduced
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
">
SOPA And PIPA: A Timeline Of How We Got Here
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
May 12: PIPA introduced
1
Five months later, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith (R-TX) named the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. The bill was very similar to PIPA.
Photo courtesy Ryanjreilly of Flickr.
Oct. 26: SOPA Introduced
2
Twelve tech giants, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, delivered a letter of protest to the sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA legislation, calling the bill dangerous to American innovation and cybersecurity, but also acknowledged that digital piracy is a real problem.
Nov. 15: Tech Giants Weigh In
3
Tumblr, Mozilla and Reddit censored their content in one the first wide-scale protests of SOPA. The sites claimed the bill strengthens the U.S. Justice Department’s power to go after websites that host disputed copyright material and could make sites such as YouTube and Tumblr that host such user-generated content liable for copyright violations. Tumblr would only remove the black bars over posts if users agreed to call their representatives and protest SOPA. Reddit and Mozilla also put black bars over their logos in protest.
Nov. 16: Tumblr, Mozilla, Others Post Anti-SOPA Messages
4
The House holds public hearings to discuss SOPA that were broadcast on C-SPAN and streamed online. Both pro- and anti-SOPA groups rallied that day with public messages regarding the bill. This message from the MPAA ran in the Washington Post. After a two-day debate, discussions were then delayed until Dec. 21, then delayed again until after holiday recess.
Dec. 15: House Meets
5
Reddit declared Dec. 29 “Dump GoDaddy Day” after the domain hosting service declared they supported the legislation. Although GoDaddy quickly reversed its position, it says it lost more than 20,000 accounts because of the boycott.
Dec. 29: GoDaddy Dump Day
6
Reddit announced they would go black on Jan. 18, as a day to protest against SOPA/PIPA. Although they were the first to the call to action, they were quickly joined by other web companies, most notably Wikipedia, who vowed to go dark for the whole day.
Images courtesy of Imgur’s SOPA resources
Jan. 10: Reddit Announces Blackout
7
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who wrote the SOPA bill, announced he would remove the controversial section of the bill that would give copyright holders and the federal government the right to remove infringing websites from the DNS (Domain Name System). DNS works as a sort of “phone book” for the Internet. When a user types a URL into a browser, DNS helps the users’ computer find and speak with the correct server hosting the content the user wants to access. If a website is taken off the DNS system, it becomes more difficult for the average Internet user to arrive at that site, but savvy Internet users might still be able to access blocked sites.
Jan. 13: DNS Blocking Dropped
8
In a blog post responding to a petition posted on the White House’s website, the Obama Administration clearly laid out what it would – and would not – support in any new legislation designed to combat online piracy.
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response,” said the note, “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
Jan. 14: White House Responds
9
The architect of SOPA, Rep. Lamar Smith, scheduled a markup session next month in which the bill might be altered. In a markup session, a bill is opened to members of the House Judicial Committee for debate, amendments and other changes. The House will not be taking a final vote on SOPA.
Jan. 17: Lamar Smith Announces More Rewrites
10
Websites pledged to go dark in protest.
Jan 18: A Day of Protest
11View As One Page »
View As Slideshow »
May 12: PIPA introduced
The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), better known as PIPA was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The act’s goals were described by its sponsors as protecting intellectual property and punishing foreign sites who post copyrighted material. If a site was discovered doing so, the U.S. attorney general could order U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, payment systems and advertising networks to suspend doing business with the website.
Photo courtesy Mikedish on Flickr
Oct. 26: SOPA Introduced
Five months later, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith (R-TX) named the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. The bill was very similar to PIPA.
Photo courtesy Ryanjreilly of Flickr.
Nov. 15: Tech Giants Weigh In
Twelve tech giants, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, delivered a letter of protest to the sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA legislation, calling the bill dangerous to American innovation and cybersecurity, but also acknowledged that digital piracy is a real problem.
Nov. 16: Tumblr, Mozilla, Others Post Anti-SOPA Messages
Tumblr, Mozilla and Reddit censored their content in one the first wide-scale protests of SOPA. The sites claimed the bill strengthens the U.S. Justice Department’s power to go after websites that host disputed copyright material and could make sites such as YouTube and Tumblr that host such user-generated content liable for copyright violations. Tumblr would only remove the black bars over posts if users agreed to call their representatives and protest SOPA. Reddit and Mozilla also put black bars over their logos in protest.
Dec. 15: House Meets
The House holds public hearings to discuss SOPA that were broadcast on C-SPAN and streamed online. Both pro- and anti-SOPA groups rallied that day with public messages regarding the bill. This message from the MPAA ran in the Washington Post. After a two-day debate, discussions were then delayed until Dec. 21, then delayed again until after holiday recess.
Dec. 29: GoDaddy Dump Day
Reddit declared Dec. 29 “Dump GoDaddy Day” after the domain hosting service declared they supported the legislation. Although GoDaddy quickly reversed its position, it says it lost more than 20,000 accounts because of the boycott.
Jan. 10: Reddit Announces Blackout
Reddit announced they would go black on Jan. 18, as a day to protest against SOPA/PIPA. Although they were the first to the call to action, they were quickly joined by other web companies, most notably Wikipedia, who vowed to go dark for the whole day.
Images courtesy of Imgur’s SOPA resources
Jan. 13: DNS Blocking Dropped
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who wrote the SOPA bill, announced he would remove the controversial section of the bill that would give copyright holders and the federal government the right to remove infringing websites from the DNS (Domain Name System). DNS works as a sort of “phone book” for the Internet. When a user types a URL into a browser, DNS helps the users’ computer find and speak with the correct server hosting the content the user wants to access. If a website is taken off the DNS system, it becomes more difficult for the average Internet user to arrive at that site, but savvy Internet users might still be able to access blocked sites.
Jan. 14: White House Responds
In a blog post responding to a petition posted on the White House’s website, the Obama Administration clearly laid out what it would – and would not – support in any new legislation designed to combat online piracy.
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response,” said the note, “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
Jan. 17: Lamar Smith Announces More Rewrites
The architect of SOPA, Rep. Lamar Smith, scheduled a markup session next month in which the bill might be altered. In a markup session, a bill is opened to members of the House Judicial Committee for debate, amendments and other changes. The House will not be taking a final vote on SOPA.
Jan 18: A Day of Protest
Websites pledged to go dark in protest.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
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