"...followed by a brisk mauling."

Worried about Internet censorship? Want to stop illegal piracy but think forcibly shutting down massive websites (like Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, and YouTube) based on an individual user’s content is a bad idea? Think that it’s a bad idea to give our government complete control over which websites you can visit? Think the way China and Iran censor their citizens’ access to the Internet is at best mis-guided?

Then chances are you’re against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), two bills currently on their way to being passed by the US government. Want to help stop them? Then let your representatives know. Follow the link above and enter your zipcode to get contact information. Call and e-mail them for quick and maximum impact.

Writing or calling your reps but don’t know what to say? There’s plenty of places online to get a pre-written message you can copy/paste or recite when you reach voicemail. In fact, here’s one right now:

” I am writing to you today about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). While stopping Internet piracy and protecting the intellectual and creative property of artists in any medium are both noble goals, these bills are inherently flawed. They create a situation in which companies are responsible for policing the speech of individuals. The ambiguous and overbroad language of the bills will open the door to censorship of free speech by any individual or collective entity. What is perhaps most important, however, is that both bills will effectively allow the government to shut down entire websites. This is the type of censorship we see in countries like China or Iran. I firmly believe that such censorship goes against the fundamental values of the United States, and thus has no place in our country. Stopping piracy is important, but neither of these bills are the way to do it. I urge you to please take a stand against censorship, and vote against both SOPA & PIPA. Thank you.”