Oregon Senator Moves to Save the Internet!

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) may go down in history as the man who saved the Internet.

Ron Wyden with Salem-News.com writer Sean King in 2005; Sean's generation may ultimately owe a debt to Wyden for his efforts to preserve online access via the Internet.

(HARRISVILLE, N.H.) - According to an article published by “The Raw Story” and written by Stephen C. Webster, “A bill that critics say would have given the government power to censor the Internet will not pass this year thanks to the Oregon Democrat, who announced his opposition during a recent committee hearing”.

The article further states that “Individual Senators can place holds on pending legislation, in this case meaning proponents of the bill will be forced to reintroduce the measure and will not be able to proceed until the next Congress convenes. Even then, its passage is not certain.”

The bill is known as “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” or COICA.

A group of academics, led by Temple University law professor David Post, has signed a petition opposing COICA. "The Act, if enacted into law, would fundamentally alter U.S. policy towards Internet speech, and would set a dangerous precedent with potentially serious consequences for free expression and global Internet freedom," Post wrote in the petition letter.

The name given to the bill implies that the intent of the bill is to protect copyright; however, the powers granted to the government by this bill are considerable overkill and much too broad. One might compare it to hunting field mice with a .50 caliber Barrett or carpet-bombing when a laser guided missile strike should have been used.

The article states that “Opponents of the bill insist that many sites which contain allegedly infringing materials also traffic in legitimate data that's constitutionally protected. There's also a fear that whatever action the US takes, other countries will seek to emulate, and some to a much more zealous degree”.

One activist group (DemandProgress) notes that the powers granted to the government by this bill could potentially be used for political purposes. The thought that the government could control what we hear or think in any way just does not sit well with me . . . whether that control is for political purposes or otherwise!

In my opinion, every person in the United States owes a debt of gratitude to Senator Wyden for protecting our rights. The right to free speech as granted to us by the First Amendment is just one of many that politicians have sought to bend, tweak, and/or eliminate to achieve their own ends. Not a Congress or an administration goes by without some effort to change or rewrite our Constitution in some way. I believe that this time, it is an effort to silence those who would speak their minds when they perceive governmental abuses of power and the corruption that permeates our systems to the very skeletal structure that supports them.

No one is perfect and it is probably impossible for anyone to ever achieve perfection. Yet, there are those, like Senator Wyden, who strive to do so. It is as my old Grandfather used to say: “If you shoot for the rooftops you are likely to end-up hitting the wall but, if you shoot for the stars, you are much more likely to end-up hitting the rooftops”. It feels good to be able to take pride in one of our Senators . . . a man who shoots for the rooftops, even if ends-up being for only a short time . . . but, that is just my opinion!

You can write to Bob Collingsworth at this email address: colli2@webryders.net