Fight PIPA, SOPA's Senate cousin, with this Senate scorecard

PIPA is the Senate version of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. It's only slightly less Internet-killingly-insane, but it hasn't gotten as much attention, mostly because the House's SOPA is just so over-the-top awful. Nevertheless, it needs your attention.

Maxwell sez, "We're gaining allies every day, but if we want Protect-IP to die in the Senate, we need to step it up. SopaOpera.org has a list of people who are for, against, and undecided on PIPA. If your representative is undecided, contact them immediately! All of them are potential allies. Tell them about the damage PIPA could do to free speech, and to the American economy. Even the ones in favor of PIPA are worth contacting. If they think that enough people will vote against them in the next election, they might just change their minds. Lay on the pressure! We have until the 24th, when PIPA is up for cloture vote. Let's make every day count!"

About the PROTECT-IP Bill (Thanks, Maxwell!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: law • pipa • politics • sopa • submitterator

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http://twitter.com/tomscrace Thomas Scrace

What exactly does it mean to be the ‘Senate version’ of SOPA?

Sorry, I’m not an American so this is probably a really stupid question.

Is it possible for both these bills to become law? Don’t they both have to pass through both houses of congress?

What is the point of having two ‘versions’? Does every bill have a Senate and a House version?
- http://profiles.google.com/mccleary11 Dan McCleary
  
  Not a stupid question at all. Not every bill has two versions, but since bills can originate in either chamber (other than spending bills which must come from the House), there will often be a House and Senate version. If two different versions of a bill make it that far in the process, there are conference committees with members of both chambers who will reconcile the bill. The final version with the same wording must be passed in each chamber before going to the President for signature.
  - http://twitter.com/tomscrace Thomas Scrace
    
    I see. Thank you.
    
    Here in the UK a bill can originate in either chamber (Lords or Commons) but usually you just have one version. It seems a bit strange to have two simultaneous bills that are both trying to achieve the same thing.
    
    Is there some advantage to this?
    - AnthonyC
      
      Even if they start out the same, members in both chambers make changes and add amendments during the debate process.
      
      If the two chambers pass different versions, they then have to work out the differences and send one to the president.
    - http://profiles.google.com/mccleary11 Dan McCleary
      
      There is a quote attributed to old Democrat Tip O’Neill that explains the relationship between the two chambers and why they sometime have different bills addressing the same issue: ”House Republicans are not the enemy, they’re the opposition. The Senate is the enemy.”
      - http://twitter.com/tomscrace Thomas Scrace
        
        Yeah, if only that were still the case!
http://twitter.com/mundoalreves Mundo al Revés

Your politics are expert finding ridiculous spanish names for their censoring laws…

As I said some days ago: SOPA = SOUP

Now PIPA = PIPE
Guest

Contact your senators. NO TO PIPA!
jowlsey

I’d like to know how Saxby Chambliss ended up with a negative $5,000 donation from the entertainment industry.
IronEdithKidd

According to Sen. Levin’s page, the cloture vote on PIPA (S 968) is scheduled for 1/23, not 1/24 as indicated on the link.

In the mean time, contact your senators to let them know your position on this bill. Especially if your senator is up for re-election.
Guest

Senator Al Franken, marked down here as a “yes” vote, is currently soliciting contributions from all over the U.S. for his re-election campaign. While it’s not normally possible to contact Senators if you don’t live in their districts, you can contact Franken via his campaign website.

http://www.alfranken.com/page/s/contact

Feel free to give Senator Franken, who should know better, a piece of your mind about why you will not be sending him any money.
http://twitter.com/popnwave VJ Mike

Glad to see Rand Paul voting no on this crap.
Theo Grace

I have been wondering about this, I have seen very little mention of PIPA anywhere (compared to SOPA). I find this odd, although SOPA seems worse at some level I don’t really believe it will ever get the 60% aprroval to pass (is that correct? as a brit I am not entirely sure) whereas the lack of public outcry over PIPA… well it’s just that if I were trying to get through a piece of legislation harming internet freedoms (given the history of internet users uniting over such things) I would probably try to push through some ridiculous legislation to distract them (the internet dies a little every time the users get distracted, look at what laws get passed in disasters etc. see New Zealand). Anyway just a thought.