Congressional Anti-Piracy Caucus Formed

questionlp writes "News.com reports that three members from the House of Reps has formed a caucus that aims to stop piracy and make for stronger IP laws. One of the members of the caucus: helped author a note last fall to 74 fellow Democrats assailing the Linux open-source operating system's GNU General Public License as a threat to America's 'innovation and security.'"

This is just like Congress...

[craenor]

200 years after people stop raiding other people at sea, they try to put a stop to piracy. Next they'll be cracking down on cattle rustlers...

oh no!!!

[Lord_Slepnir]

They're going to outlaw piracy! Soon it will be illegal for me to have all of my MP3s and DIVXs!

oh wait.....

Colon?

[Roto-Rooter Man]

One of the members of the caucus: helped author a note last fall to 74 fellow Democrats assailing the Linux open-source operating system's GNU General Public License as a threat to America's 'innovation and security.'

Innovative colon usage. Speaking of which...

In Other News

[Coffee Warlord]

Congressman Wexler has added to his holdings, having purchased a yacht to go along with his mansion.

The official caucus theme song...

[cyt0plas]

- "It's the end of the world as we know it."

Second-level thinking?

[Anonymous Coward]

Since Free Software is immune to piracy, it would put all these piracy fighters out of a job. So they gotta fight it.

America's 'innovation and security.'

[Soulfarmer]

WHAT America's 'innovation and security'???

You mean Micro$oft?

Not to worry..

[403Forbidden]

If The Simpsons have taught us anything it's that Caucases are nothing more than a bunch of poorly inked drawings who congo line around a mountain lodge yelling "caucas caucas caucas!"

Just like congress too.. always resting on their laurals.

Are you crazy?

[BoomerSooner]

What about my up time on Netcraft [netcraft.com]!!!!

This is a secret ploy to get all those 600+ day people to reboot. Well I'm not buying.

I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning

[miu]

...blamed P2P networks for spreading illegal forms of pornography, while another fingered universities as hotbeds of widespread--and felonious--copyright infringement.

Men engaging in perversion with architecture are hardly qualified to complain about internet pornography.

Re:Send your congressman a letter.

[Old Uncle Bill]

Uh, I think they only read letters from constituents that also contain $100,000+ checks in the envelope.

ARRR!

[intermodal]

Shiver me fuckin' timbers, matey...they say they be crackin' down on piracy. Hoist the mains'l! We best make sure they not be preventing Cap'n Torvalds from doin' what he wants with his ship...

Re:Send your congressman a letter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, I think they only read letters from constituents that also contain $100,000+ checks in the envelope.

Sweet, I can do that.

... err it don't matter if it bounces, right?

Universities ...

[jefu]

another fingered universities as hotbeds of widespread--and felonious--copyright infringement.

<hillbilly-congressman-paid-off-by-who-knows-who-v oice>
You know them durn-gum universitees. Teech them commoners bout thinking fur thumselfs and next thing you no they'll start ackshully doin it. And decidin thay kno better than the nice folx in Dizney and Mycrosponj that pay us. Next thing ya no they'll want to vote me out of offis. Time to cut funding for eddication. Put the extra moneee into congresshional pay razes and tacks cuts for the RIAA and MPAA - thats the tikket, afffer all we kin see how there hed executives are all goin browk.
</hillbilly-congressman-paid-off-by-who-knows-who- voice>

Re:Please, voters act!

[istartedi]

These are Florida voters. Shouldn't you be telling them to vote him back in?

Congress

[di0s]

... should have a little sticker on the side that says "Hollywood Inside".

agent smith, er rep smith is a talking puppet

[r3dfiv3]

i think its funny how a rep from wash, whose district includes ms headquarters, comes out in favor of ip laws and against linux. i wonder how much that cost balmer.

Silly congressman

[RightInTheNeck]

"assailing the Linux open-source operating system's GNU General Public License as a threat to America's 'innovation and security.'" Congressman to aid : "find out all information on Linux and this GNU thing so I sound like I know what im talking about out there" Aid to Congressman : "ok I'll call Microsoft and find out what we think"

Adam Smith doesn't agree with Adam Smith

[toupsie]

Adam Smith [econlib.org] (L-ECON) would not be happy with Adam Smith's (D-WA) manipulation of the free market through the passing of artificial governmental regulation.

Re:oh no!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank god!

As a BSD user, I am proud that neither the government nor slashdot (predominately Linux-pro) readers are aware of BSD.

We don't have DRM copy protection per se, and while there has been discussion, no hard set plans, yet.

Just you stay ignorant, thank you.

Psst....hey buddy, did you know that BSD took care of their legal issues in the mid 90s? The equivalent of SCO to Linux but to BSD is over.

Psst...hey man, this stuff has some good !@*#. You can even close the source, given that the BSD license is not even close to the GPL.

Just keep it quiet and hush hush.

Re:No, I am not being snarky

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be a lot better with an S-word at the end, so they could be the FUCRS.

Re:No, I am not being snarky

[Reziac]

FUCRC ??

[tries to pronounce acronym]

Oh dear...

This Means War

[Glacian]

Argh Mateys the first ping of me bow by some land luber trying to shut down me gnutela client, and im rollin me nmap cannons and pickin off the scurrvey bastard.

overseas

[Anonymous Coward]

We'll just have to develop Linux overseas.

int main() {
printf("Hello world!\nGoodbye US fascist corporate police state!\n");
exit(0);
}

Anti-Privacy Coalition?

[billstewart]

Sorry, I know I misread it at first glance, but it really does fit. They want to know everything you're watching and listening to, and it's pay-per-view.

So what?

[Bendebecker]

"The concerns of the thousands of Americans whose livelihoods depend on intellectual property protection are not being fully debated or addressed,"
They are already ignoring the concerns of the millions of americans who livelihoods don't depend on intellectual policy, why care about another few thousand?

Re:So get out and fix it, dangit!

[paiute]

"You'll find me and millions like me are going to put a couple bucks into our republican candidates. That is going to sway them away from big business, and more towards our interests.

You have a future in standup comedy.