+Rep thread for those who have contacted their Senators and House Reps against SOPA/PIPA

[IndianaPolitico]

Just shot off an email to my congressman.

 

[Sematary]

Sometime just after midnight when I hit the wiki site and used their handy dandy tool

 

[blamx8]

2 birds with one stone.

We are voters within your district. We are writing to express our concern with PIPA (SOPA). The idea of federal government controlling the flow of free information on the internet in any way is a troubling thought. Historically, governments that trend towards the control of information have left a tyrannical stain on humanity. There are plenty of laws that prohibit copyright infringement and punish against it. Please do what voters in your district want and expect, by avoiding government control of information and keeping our federal government constrained to the limited sphere that ensures freedom. Please oppose any passage of PIPA (and SOPA if it ever passes the house).
Additionally, we are very concerned at the passage of NDAA because of the possibility it presents for the executive branch to supersede the judicial authority.
Due process is a vital protection against despotism. Although President Obama promises he will not use it, there is no guaranty that an oppressive executive will not determine to pursue a personal agenda by using it in the future. Freedom should never be subject to the whims of a single entity. We strongly request that you diligently seek the reversal of this horrible usurpation of power.
We will be watching your actions on these issues and will be vocal amongst our voting friends concerning your stands on them.
Please carefully seek to protect our Constitutional freedoms in all your future votes.
Thank you,

 

[Paulitical Correctness]

Just called Alan Nunnelee's office.

 

[Xelaetaks]

Contacted my local senators.

 

[Tod]

done, called Portman, Brown, & Latta

edit: Portman's voice mailbox was full.

 

[Mckarnin]

Done, both senators and my congressman. Also signed a couple petitions.

 

[jbuttell]

I wish it mattered, but here in California, my senators and congressmen do nothing but burn the constitution.

 

[ryanmkeisling]

Im no fan of SOPA/PIPA but if it were signed, it would be another check in our column.

But people need to be reminded that even if it is shelved for now, make no mistake about it, that it will be singed into law AFTER the election UNLESS Dr. Pail is the POTUS.

This is true. Although these bills are at the forefront right now they have already been up for a vote before and have been lurking in both houses for like 6 months. I believe Senator Leahey was one of the first to introduce. This is not going to go away anytime soon, and we will have to continue to put pressure on our reps, I have written 10 letters since I first heard about these bills and as I told my reps. I will be tireless in my attempts as a citizen to see these squashed. This is only the start of this fight.

 

[AhuwaleKaNaneHuna]

Slickdeals.net had a link to this one as well: http://www.sopastrike.com/strike/

Filled this one out and shared the link on my fb.

Thanks for adding it.

 

[Paulitics 2011]

Called all of them. The 1 guy (of 3) who supports it was on break for recess. Figures...

 

[Paulitics 2011]

I wish it mattered, but here in California, my senators and congressmen do nothing but burn the constitution.

California is the home of Silicon Valley. Mention to them how many jobs it will kill. And then explain how it won't stop piracy, therefore will not make up for that by saving Hollywood jobs.

 

[Paulitical Correctness]

Nunnelee's FB response:

Americans are rightly passionate about internet freedom and protection of private property. We need to be vigilant in preserving a vibrant online economy and I am a supporter of a free and open internet. We must also give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to protect American private property. It would be an outrage if a thief could come into your house, steal all of your belongings... and then sell them on the internet with no legal way to stop it. That is happening every day on the internet as American products, technology, and intellectual property are being stolen by foreign websites and then sold on the black market. If a government cannot protect its citizens’ property from being systematically stolen from them by foreign groups, the government is not much good.

I am pleased Chairman Smith has decided to drop the most contentious provision of SOPA that would have required ISPs to block infringing websites through a process known as Domain Name System filtering. This is a big step in the right direction and will help foster a consensus piece of legislation that all sides can agree on.

 

[GraniteHills]

Nunnelee's FB response:

Write Nunnelee back and tell him the photos at www.nunneleeforcongress.com -- uncredited as they are -- should get his site blacked out, and see how he likes that.

 

[surf]

via the magic of the interwebs i composed (cut and pasted) this for my "congress people."

Conressman Reichert,

Subject: SOPA internet censorship

On behalf of numerous constituents in my precinct located within walking distance of Microsoft, we support the first amendment. We are horrified that members of Congress would seriously consider SOPA and PIPA. The unconstitutionality of such prior restraint is long settled and was reaffirmed by the Pentagon Papers case. If you intend to keep your oath of office to protect the Constitution, then you must vote against this legislation.

As you may know, learning in the 21st century is highly dependent on the Internet. Please oppose SOPA so our children can grow up with access to the free Internet.

Sincerely,
me
PCO

being an elected PCO never seems to carry much weight here.... my congressman never ever sends a response. Cantwell does respond and it is just about always is the usual canned response, but Murray - who's site was down a few moments ago - does not respond either. perhaps they tweet of facebook or some crap i still refuse to acknowledge, but a simple response to an issue such as pipa/sopa or ndaa, or a request to cosponsor an audit the fed bill doesn't seem to be asking that much...

 

[Omphfullas Zamboni]

Done. If you contact your representatives by phone, is your phone number placed on any mailing lists?

 

[giovannile07]

How'd you guys exactly message them, did you guys state SOPA was bad and that you hope your representative would vote against it and state your reasons?

 

[palm]

If only this were true, contacting soon

 

[Pisces]

I just emailed my two Texas senators and my congressman Kevin Brady. Cornyn came out today against PIPA, although in a weaselly kind of way. He's saying that it needs to be withdrawn until there can be more discussion of the controversial parts of it. I thanked him for this but also asked him not to later come out in support of a watered-down PIPA that would still censor the Internet and further weaken our rights to due process. I let him know that I was already considering voting for his opponent, whether in a primary or the general election, due to his vote in favor of NDAA.

I don't hold out much hope for Kay Bailey Hutchinson since she is retiring. I'm not sure where Kevin Brady stands on this. If I don't get an email back from him, I may call his office tomorrow.

 

[Omphfullas Zamboni]

How'd you guys exactly message them, did you guys state SOPA was bad and that you hope your representative would vote against it and state your reasons?

I just went with the simple: "My name is…I am a constituent of [representative]. Today, I am calling to request that [representative] vote NO on [legislation] because it imposes tighter controls on the Internet."

I figure the technical reasons do not matter; the office staff probably just tabulates the, "yes" requests and the, "no" requests, applies a multiplier based on the population of the represented area, and forwards the info to the elected official.