PATRIOT Act used to enforce copyright law?

[Greedy Oil Puritan]

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/articles/auto/07282004b.php

Sadly, many traitor-fascists in the Democratic Party supported such laws as the DMCA and the Patriot Act.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Welcome Greedy Oil Puritan. I'm not surprised. The "PATRIOT" Act was

distributed in the middle of the night, was 800+ pages, and the vote on it was scheduled nearly as soon as Congress convened the next morning. Representative, Senators, and their staff didn't hold up the vote until they could review all the chapters. It just sounded "good", and they probably thought, hey, we can tweak and fix it later.

[w13rd0]

2. Traitor-fascists?

I might disagree with Hollings and Liebermans view of intellectual property, but I'm not going to call them traitor-fascists as a result. Besides, far more Democrats stood up against those same things. The GOP had what, 3, opposing, from both Houses?

[Greedy Oil Puritan]

4. No Senators voted against the DMCA...

And the only member of the House whom I know voted against it is Bernie Sanders.

I guess I was too hard on most Democrats, but I'd have to abstain or vote 3rd Party in the case of Hollings.

Anybody who believes that it's appropriate for corporations to use microchips to spy on us Gestop-style while we use computers does not belong in the US Senate, but rather, back 70 years ago in Hitler's Reichstag.

The fact that Hollings has such such contempt for individual liberty and privacy suggests to me that he has not entirely abandonned the grave sins of his youth.

[foo_bar]

8. it's an election year

[Voltaire99]

9. Seems like a fair term

"Traitor" in the sense of betraying the spirit of copyright law, which traditionally was intended only as a short term mechanism for protecting IP but ultimately provided for delivering that IP to everyone for the widest possible social benefit.

"Fascist" in the sense of putting the interests of the corporate-political establishment before those of the people.

Traitor-fascist: when you take a moment to think about the term, it has a nice ring to it.

[Boomer]

3. Ah, yes, all those terrorist sci-fi geeks

It's becoming rather obvious that the Patriot Act is being used to control American citizens, especially when they threaten business interests.

[Nimrod]

5. Orwellian nightmares

The second I heard about the Patriot Act I got one of those full-body shivers. It struck me immediately as a false front for martial law. It was never intended to fight terrorism, it was intended to control anyone who opposes the current regime starting with Americans.

Time for some paranoid conspiracy theory:

I truly believe that if this administration is allowed to retain power, there will be a state of martial law declared within two years. The word "revolution" will undoubtedly be spoken, and anyone who uses it even in jest can expect to be locked up. Anyone who's ever publicly spoken out against Bu$h had better prepare themselves for a replay of the McCarthy era with the word "terrorist" substituted for "communist". It's highly likely the Department of Homeland Security will get their own official police force, although rumors that they'll wear red and black armbands are probably exaggerated.

Seriously. I look at the acts of the current administration with their blatant bigotry and criminal activity and have to wonder if they're purposefully trying to work the country up to a state of rage and anger that can result in martial law. They have shit on everyone they can, expended every effort to make the poor poorer, are attempting to get bigotry written into the constitution, and with the Patriot act in place they could easily label one act of desperate violence as "domestic terrorism" and lock down the country.

I'm scared shitless, not to put too fine a point on it.

[classof56]

6. Welcome to DU

The part of me that has always had faith in my country wants desperately to think you are wrong in your scenario. However, if Bushco does lie, cheat and steal his way into another term, I too believe that things will unfold pretty much as you have described. This is the message we need to get out to people, along with all the thousand other reasons I can think of that this man and his cronies are going to destroy the country I've had such faith in. I can understand why Kerry and Edwards would hesitate to present these possibilities--they'd immediately be tagged as the "politics of fear" candidates. But the rest of us can talk it up. And no, you don't put too fine a point to it--we should all be as scared as you!

Bush Must Go!!!

[John_H]

7. Yes, and if they hadn't voted for the PA in the climate after 9-11

many of those traitor/fascists would have been replaced by non-traitor/fascits who would have loyally voted with their fellow rethugs on every other issue.

The DMCA is seriously flawed to be sure but not for the reasons most people on DU bitch about it--which is because they're no longer free to use Kazaa Lite steal the products of the talent and hard work of artists and software programmers.

I love it when I read people who have no compunction about stealing griping about the morals of politicians responding to political reality.