So, Wikipedia is down for the day. That’s kind of scary, isn’t it? Even if it is only for 24 hours.
Makes me want to run down to the store and buy a set of encyclopedias. Of course, encyclopedias are like automobiles. As soon as you cross over the curb, they’re not worth as much as you paid for them.
It also makes me think about government control. For all the officials bemoaning of short funds and national debt, there seems to be no shortage or end-in-sight to the government’s ability to set-up new agencies and lockdowns on information. (You don’t think they can monitor these new rules without spending a zillion dollars, do you?)
Are we approaching a time when what we KNOW is only what ‘they’ want us to KNOW??? Is the Internet the last vestige of secret knowledge for those who can ferret it out? Are they putting a public relations spin on what they’re doing? Is a copyright more important that 4th Amendment?
The government has its nose in too many things. Don’t you agree? Instead of the government stepping on us, we should be stepping on them. Of course, this is the historical path of all governments. Eliminating more and more freedoms, until the whole system is torn down.
Am I making too much out of a little thing??? Maybe. But it looks like a bad omen to me. And what’s up with the lack of coverage on the news? It almost like the word has gone out: Don’t mention it and maybe no one will notice. Excuse me, but in my world, Wikipedia is more important than O.J.
Writing often calls for research. All you writers out there should be paying attention.
It all seems very weird to me. I keep thinking, “This kind of thing can’t happen in the U.S.” And I could make so many analogies to these bills to show how backwards they are, but I’m not going to start because then I’ll never stop.
What gets me the most, is that we already have laws to address these things. In MORE effective ways. In reasonable ways. What’s wrong with those laws? Why are we spending money making new ones?
Comment by Kay Camden — January 19, 2012 @ 9:26 am
Why indeed? All government controls begin with a public relations spin on ‘Good Intentions’ that are suppose to protect a few.
The Internet belongs to the world. It is perhaps the last chance to bring the human race to a point of understanding. Any government that stands in the way of knowledge is hiding something; be it called a republic, a democracy or a dictatorship.
Comment by cmmarcum — January 19, 2012 @ 10:07 am
So far the government hasn’t inserted any pop-ups or ads on my screen. It’s business interests who are invading our privacy. And it’s the large corporations who want to control what’s on the internet and are having their lackeys in congress enact anti-piracy legislation
Comment by bumbas — January 22, 2012 @ 12:59 am
You are absolutely correct. Big business controls everything else. Now they’re after the internet.
Best battle strategy: Don’t buy Name Brands. Shop at Mom and Pop stores. Reuse and repair. Get out of debt. Go back to cash. Don’t allow them to privatize anything. Power to the people, yeah! Oops, sorry. I got excited.
Comment by cmmarcum — January 22, 2012 @ 8:38 am