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You are here: Home / Science & Technology / White House to Chris Dodd and the MPAA- “Eat a Bag of Salted Dicks”

White House to Chris Dodd and the MPAA- “Eat a Bag of Salted Dicks”

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It looks like Chris Dodd, who yesterday was launching threats at the President, may have overstepped his bounds just a tad:

The White House appeared to brush back a suggestion from the Motion Picture Association of America on Friday that the president step in on negotiations over controversial online piracy legislation.

MPAA Chairman and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) suggested Thursday that the White House would be the perfect place to convene a summit between Hollywood and the tech industry, which are at odds over a pair of online piracy bills that were shelved by congressional leadership Friday morning following massive protests earlier in the week.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration has made its position clear on the issue and appeared to dismiss the suggestion in a press briefing on Friday. The White House expressed concern about the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act last week, adding fuel to the growing opposition.

Obama rode into the White House on the backs of a tech savvy operation made up of people, who, unlike Chris Dodd and too many congresscritters to count, actually understand the internet. It’s not surprising that the Obama admin understands why these bills suck and opposed them. That Dodd was just trying to throw his weight around yesterday just makes this all the sweeter.

BTW, via the always excellent Jon Rogers, here is a great rundown of why the bills were so bad, from a tv writer’s perspective.

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    Fed Up In Brooklyn

    I’m a member of the DGA and unfortunately had to fight my own union leadership over these terrible bills.

  3. 3.

    Brachiator

    Obama rode into the White House on the backs of a tech savvy operation made up of people, who, unlike Chris Dodd and too many congresscritters to count, actually understand the internet

    Obama also gets a lot of campaign funds from people in the entertainment industry.

    I’m looking forward to the next round of this ongoing battle.

  5. 5.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator:

    Obama also gets a lot of campaign funds from people in the entertainment industry.

    He more than likely still will. I can’t find the article now, but he has three scheduled fundraisers in LA next week (or thereabouts) with only on cancellation. They ain’t going to the dark side any time soon.

  6. 6.

    Benjamin Franklin

    That Dodd was just trying to throw his weight around yesterday just makes this all the sweet

    Dodd is just another Domino in the ascendant need for Publicly Funded Elections.

    Wo ist der outrage?

  7. 7.

    Bondirotta

    This buzz about Romney not committing to Monday debate is insane. Is he having an actual melt-down – in the clinical sense?

    If he loses by five points in SC he cannot drop out of the Florida debate. Precisely because he lost SC in a debate. He is going to look like a coward if he bails now.

    His handlers made a terrible mistake when they didn’t limit his availability months ago. Now it’s too late – and he is getting more and more fragile and scared in every debate. That manic, giggling cave troll is waiting to maul Mitt again and again – week after week. And Romney was too stupid to see this trap.

  8. 8.

    middlewest

    Any screenwriter who thinks he loses more money to piracy than to Hollywood studio accounting is a child.

    This is why I subscribe to his twitter.

  9. 9.

    dday

    BTW, via the always excellent Jon Rogers, here is a great rundown of why the bills were so bad, from a tv writer’s perspective.

    Marta is actually an editor. Not to mention my neighbor. I’ll tell her you said hello!

  10. 10.

    JC

    Question – why ‘salted’ dicks?

    What do you have against unsalted dicks, Cole? You just enjoy the taste of salted ones better?

    Or do you find the taste of salted dicks worse, so you are adding that as a bit more insult?

    Inquiring minds want to know – do you prefer the taste of salted or unsalted?

    :)

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    That Dodd was just trying to throw his weight around yesterday just makes this all the sweet

    Suddenly, it seems like the MPAA hired a lightweight, not a heavyweight.

    Dodd has burned some bridges. My heart pumps buttermilk for him.

  12. 12.

    jayboat

    @Bondirotta:
    the only answer to this is that his entire team has been wrapped in that ‘inevitability’ bubble and are clueless and totally unprepared about how to run a campaign now that they have been forced out of it.

  13. 13.

    David Koch

    [Chris Dodd is] “the go-to guy to buck the Washington establishment and be a champion for change.”

    Markos Moulitsas, October 18, 2007

    Heh!

    Good Times!

  14. 14.

    Cat Lady

    @Bondirotta:

    Romney has a fatal glass jaw. That’s why I predicted the goopers were going to end up going for Newt, cuz Romney’s too much of an elitist Mormon weenie for the common morans, but the establishment and Newt are going to have to go scorched earth state by state until the convention. It’s on.

  15. 15.

    The Dangerman

    @Bondirotta:

    And Romney was too stupid to see this trap.

    It was supposed to be a coronation (and was, for a while; how many debates were there where he was barely addressed by his competitors)…

    …but I think the only way he could have handled this tax thing worse is if he had lopped off actual body parts in the process.

  16. 16.

    WereBear (itouch)

    I am stunned that after all the fussing, it was a Virtual Demonstration: See this website? It’s going away! that cut through the clutter, and created a storm of lobbying from actual people.

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    @Bondirotta:

    If he loses by five points in SC he cannot drop out of the Florida debate. Precisely because he lost SC in a debate. He is going to look like a coward if he bails now.

    I think you mean “he will *be* a coward if he bails now.”. And you better believe that Newt (and probably Santorum) would spend a good chunk of that debate attacking Romney in absentia.

    The really truly scary thing is that as flawed a candidate Willard is, he’s still probably better than anyone else in the field. Obama v. Clinton this is not.

  19. 19.

    jl

    @Cat Lady: I find the reports puzzling, but don’t have enough interest or time to find out exactly what is up.

    Romney camp sending mixed signals about attending next debate, and NBC talking about canceling (why? because Romney might not show? WTF, that would be as bad ethics as Schieffer’s weekly GOP wingnut cavalcade ‘news’ show).

    I guess I will read about in the news reports when the dust settles. Or see a headline like:

    Romney Campaign: Irresistible Force or Warm Road Kill?

    If things start looking up for GOP primaries, then I will get worried and pay more attention.

  20. 20.

    David Koch

    I think that the other two frontrunners would govern better, and I think that Chris Dodd would govern much better

    Tim F., Balloon Juice, December 30, 2007

    For the record, I, for the life of me, do not really know what Obama’s positions are on anything. My favorite candidate was Chris Dodd.

    John Cole, Balloon Juice, December 18, 2007

    I point these quotes out only to show the progressive-betters who run blogs love to think they’re superior than the rank and file, and they’re not.

  21. 21.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    As I said in the earlier thread, the Newt Super PAC is just pouring money into Eastern NC radio ads, they are on at every available ad break during the Laura show, the Limbaugh show and the Hannity show. They continue through the ad breaks of the local show. They feature Michele Bachman praising Newt from 2008 (I think). I am buying stock in popcorn.

  22. 22.

    Ron

    @WereBear (itouch): Well, sometimes it takes stuff like that to work. On the other side of that, there was a twitter account out there Wed. retweeting frantic/bitching tweets about Wikipedia missing that was just too funny, albeit in a sad way. I have no idea how people could go to Wikipedia, have a twitter account, presumably a facebook account as well, and not know wtf was going on. Anyone who couldn’t figure out what the protest was for should not be using computers.

  23. 23.

    jl

    @David Koch:

    Cole thinks he is superior. I thought he read the comments.

    Which reminds me
    “Eat a Bag of Salted Dicks”
    Now that the subject has come up, is that some kind of ‘Barrens Chatter’ or whatever it is? This crazy house blog is the only place I have ever seen it.

  27. 27.

    JC

    @David Koch:

    Ouch. Well, I guess this is why this place is called Balloon Juice…

    I had an Edwards crush – standing up for the common man! Two Americas!

    So, I can’t judge.

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The thing about SOPA/PIPA is yes, the congresscritters supporting it don’t understand how the Internet works, but you can bet your last simoleon that the guys from the MPAA who drafted this shit know PRECISELY what it will do, and it’s all about slaying this thing that is going to kill them if the market is allowed to do its thing. Corporations hate and fear an actual free market, because they have to compete, that is, do some work to get consumer interest. They don’t want to do that. It’s fucking work, man.

  29. 29.

    Cacti

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    As I said in the earlier thread, the Newt Super PAC is just pouring money into Eastern NC radio ads, they are on at every available ad break during the Laura show, the Limbaugh show and the Hannity show. They continue through the ad breaks of the local show. They feature Michele Bachman praising Newt from 2008 (I think). I am buying stock in popcorn.

    Somebody on the (not affiliated with)Newt Super PAC made a strange ad purchase here in the Phoenix area. They’re running those spots on the local progressive station.

  30. 30.

    Cat Lady

    @jl:

    Cancelling because Romney won’t be there would be a shit storm. Imagine Newt’s fauxrage about being silenced by the liebral media in the tank for Romney, and it would make Newt and Ron Paul look like William Wallace at Stirling Bridge. Wolverines!

  31. 31.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl:

    No, “eat a bag of salted dicks” is NOT Barrens chat.

    “Eat a bag of salted dicks” is waay to mature for Barrens chat.

    Or, rather, it’s not juvenile enough.

  32. 32.

    Mike in NC

    @Bondirotta:

    This buzz about Romney not committing to Monday debate is insane. Is he having an actual melt-down – in the clinical sense?

    Reports this afternoon were claiming Willard is reconciled to a loss in SC and is focusing on the Sunshine State. Except to see video of him visiting nursing homes around Miami handing out $100 bills.

  33. 33.

    Brachiator

    @Yutsano:

    They ain’t going to the dark side any time soon.

    The Megaupload take down may have been the Obama admin throwing the entertainment industry a bone. Trouble is, they have a voracious appetite. Various EU countries are also considering SOPA like remedies.

    It’s easier for the entertainment industry to fight old battles than to devise new ways of dealing with technology. I recently saw an article in the trade press where some in the industry were happy that Netflix was having problems, and looking for ways to undermine streaming services. For example,

    But its relationship with the rest of the entertainment ecosystem is becoming much more complicated. Everyone wants to be in business with them but no one fully trusts its motives. Meanwhile, Hastings has proclaimed that Netflix considers itself more a streaming company than a DVD concern — with an estimated 17,000 (and counting) movie and TV titles available — and electronics manufacturers are rushing to build Netflix buttons into remote controls. Hollywood has learned from the way Apple blindsided the music industry with iTunes and knows how much is at stake.
    __
    Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes is openly hostile, refusing to license premium HBO content to Netflix’s streaming service while questioning the virtue of dealing with a company that might erode the perceived value of content. Phil Kent, CEO of Turner Broadcasting Systems, a Time Warner company, has gone further, warning TV executives who might be thinking about selling Netflix streaming rights to their shows to think twice about the impact those deals might have on traditional syndication pacts.

    These people never learn. They would rather fight over the dollar that they might lose than find a way to earn many more by more creatively embracing technology.

  34. 34.

    jl

    @Ron: Dodd was, or pretended to be, a filibuster hero, when we needed one.

    And I do not understand how a blogger saying what they think to be true (which is exactly what the examples commenter Koch presented are) indicates that they think they are superior.

    Oh well, axe, meet grindstone.

    Well this is all easily fixed.

    Hey, Cole, your mother wears army boots and your cat is FAT FAT FATTTY FAT FAT, you ‘Barrens Chat’ loser.

    There, fixed.

  36. 36.

    Anoniminous

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    There are ways to run a political publicity campaign for, about, 30% of the costs of running the standard political publicity campaign. The first step is not hiring a standard political publicity campaign consultant, which saves a whole bunch right there.

  37. 37.

    drew42

    I just got this email below from Al Franken. Does this mean Obama is to the left (for whatever that means) of Franken on this one?

    Or does this mean that, contrary to just about everything I’ve read online about PIPA/SOPA, there is some piece of “productive” legislation buried in them, somewhere?

    I’m not being sarcastic — I actually feel kind of stupid asking both these questions. I read Marta Evry’s article, and the bills do look like shit. On the other hand, I’ve never disagreed with anything Franken said before. And the partisan politics are all upside down on this. Something is off, and I can’t wrap my head around it.

    Or maybe it really is just corporate Hollywood influence.

    As you may know, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided not to bring the PROTECT IP Act (the Senate’s version of SOPA) up for a vote next week. And since I’ve heard from many of you about this issue, I wanted to take a moment to share why I support copyright protection legislation – as well as why I believe holding off on this bill is the right thing to do.

    As someone who has worked hard to protect net neutrality, I understand as well as anyone the importance of keeping the Internet free from undue corporate influence. There are millions of Americans who rely on a free and open Internet to learn, communicate with friends and family, and do business.

    At the same time, there are millions of Americans whose livelihoods rely on strong protections for intellectual property: middle-class workers – most of them union workers – in all 50 states, thousands of them here in Minnesota, working in a variety of industries from film production to publishing to software development.

    If we don’t protect our intellectual property, international criminals – as well as legitimate businesses like payment processors and ad networks – will continue to profit dishonestly from the work these Americans are doing every day. And that puts these millions of jobs at serious risk.

    That’s reason enough to act. But these criminals are also putting Minnesota families in danger by flooding our nation with counterfeit products – not just bootleg movies and software, but phony medications and knockoff equipment for first responders.

    We cannot simply shrug off the threat of online piracy. We cannot do nothing.

    I have supported the approach Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has taken in crafting legislation to respond to the threat of online piracy – and I appreciate his leadership on this important issue.

    But I’ve also been listening carefully to the debate – and to the many Minnesotans who have told me via email, Facebook, Twitter, and good old fashioned phone calls that they are worried about what this bill would mean for the future of the Internet.

    Frankly, there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there: If this bill really did some of the things people have heard it would do (like shutting down YouTube), I would never have supported it.

    But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take seriously the concerns people have shared. And if holding off on this legislation gives us an opportunity to take a step back and try to bring everybody back to the table, I think it’s the right thing to do. This is a difficult issue, and also an important one. It’s worth getting this right.

    I strongly believe that we need to protect intellectual property – and protect the free and open Internet. I think most people, even those who have expressed concern about this particular bill, agree. And it’s my hope that we can now build a stronger consensus around how to accomplish these two important goals.

    Thanks for reading. And for those of you who have written to me about this issue (even if it was an angry letter), thanks for being honest with me. I’ll always return the favor.

  38. 38.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Brachiator:

    Hollywood has learned from the way Apple blindsided the music industry with iTunes and knows how much is at stake.

    Um, Apple only blindsided these assholes because they’re complacent. There are plenty of people in the industry who are internet saavy…they’re just not assholes in suits in executive suites…who probably have their secretaries print their email out for them to read.

  42. 42.

    Anoniminous

    If the media companies were interested … as in really, really, really interested … they could – off the top o’ me head – stop showing the Drivel-n-Dreck and produce a “product” people want to pay money to watch.

    A silly idea, I concede. But my own.

  45. 45.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator: I used to work for Redbox. The major studios used to dick around with DVD release dates mostly to get more favourable licensing contracts. The response was to show our usage numbers and half the time they’d meet in the middle. They know they don’t make money if they can’t get the product out there. And even with all that Redbox makes money hand over fist.

  46. 46.

    JC

    @burnspbesq: Okay, now I know you are an effin freak. Unfortunately, I’ve been sent that deeply perverted Japanese video! (why are all the craziest porn videos japanese??)

    It was sent to me by a buddy, and I turned that shit off after two seconds.

    Wow – well played, sir, well played.

  47. 47.

    David Koch

    @Ron:

    Lots of people liked Chris Dodd. He did some good stuff.

    BWHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

    “There’s no question that Iraq poses biological and chemical weapons, that’s not in doubt, and that he seeks to acquire additional weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. That’s not in debate. I also agree with President Bush that Saddam Hussein is a threat to peace and must be disarmed.”

    Chris Dodd’s lied filled senate speech announcing he will join Bush and Lieberman efforts to kill 100,000 Iraqis.

  50. 50.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Anoniminous:

    produce a “product” people want to pay money to watch

    They do. The public wants mindless garbage. I mean, look at “Jersey Shore”, which alone pulled Viacom’s nuts out of the frying pan. Three “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies have together grossed over $3 billion. The people have spoken.

  53. 53.

    Cassidy

    @drew42: I think the big thing is the trust factor. Does he law give anyone the explicit power to shut down Youtube? No. But I think American corporations and their version of the “free market” has given us all a healthy dose of cynicism. My first thought when I read “stop online piracy” was to wonder what exaclty they planned on doing; I just know that was not the only intent. Can I prove it? Is it more than a feeling? No. But I will never trust these rat fuckers to not be looking for ways to manipulate every single hazy, vague, ambiguous nuance of any law written to thier own benefit.

  54. 54.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @drew42: My take is that he doesn’t quite understand what the bill does and how it would affect the internet, especially regarding how people and companies would use the rules.

    The big thing about the bill is that it allows someone to make a claim of a copyright violation, and take it to an ISP without having verified it. The bill makes it so that it is in the ISP’s interest to block the site without actually verifying anything. And for companies that are actually trafficking in copyrighted material, it will be easy for them to work around the blocking, as has already been demonstrated.

  56. 56.

    Citizen_X

    [email protected]:

    the only answer to this is that his entire team has been wrapped in that ‘inevitability’ bubble and are clueless and totally unprepared about how to run a campaign now that they have been forced out of it.

    Never seen that before. Cough Hillary Cough

  57. 57.

    FlipYrWhig

    @drew42: I think it’s going to be difficult to thread the needle between the competing interests here, just like it will also be difficult to do anything sensible with immigration policy. “Left” and “right” are going to be all in a mess.

  59. 59.

    Anoniminous

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Not as such.

    Consumption of TV entertainment has risen only marginally – relative to population growth – since 85-86. Film audiences have been dropping a steady 1 to 2% per year over the last 12 years (or so.)

    I don’t know anything about the ‘suit’ side of the TV business but I’m willing to bet you $10,000 one jumbo sized bag of salty dicks the reason “Jersey Shore” saved Viacom is (a) they got lucky and (b) the rest of their output was fer-shit and nobody watched it.

  60. 60.

    gnomedad

    @lamh35:

    Newt Gingrich’s three marriages mean he might make a strong president????? REALLY!!

    This from the Faux News shrink who “diagnosed” Obama’s “narcissism”.

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Anoniminous: Well, sure they got lucky. They got lucky because everybody and his uncle watches that trash. MTV’s highest ratings in years. People love it.

  62. 62.

    Roger Moore

    @jayboat:

    the only answer to this is that his entire team has been wrapped in that ‘inevitability’ bubble and are clueless and totally unprepared about how to run a campaign now that they have been forced out of it.

    WTF? Did he go and hire all of Hillary’s campaign advisers or something?

  64. 64.

    lamh35

    ot, I’m sure most of us have seen Colbert’s epic “performance” on Morning Joe this morning, but if ya didn’t hear is a highlight reel from TPM. It truly was fantastic. Do yourself a favor and watch the whole segment if you can find it. The way Colbert had the whole lot of ’em in stitches and discombobulated and “Dick” Halperin, Mika, Joe et al trying to ask “serious” questions of Colbert was hilarious.

    Stephen Colbert Talks ‘Open Marriages’ On Morning Joe

    “ya know if you say Ron Paul’s real name he will teach you to turn hay to gold…”

    BHAHAHAHAHAH!

  65. 65.

    lamh35

    @lamh35:

    Edited quote: “ya know if you say Ron Paul’s real name he has to tech you how to turn hay to gold…”

    Only Stephen Colbert could make a Rumpilstilskin joke. If you see the whole clip you can see which of the “crew” got da joke. Joe Scar seems particularly tickled.

  66. 66.

    Roger Moore

    @David Koch:

    I point these quotes out only to show the progressive-betters who run blogs love to think they’re superior than the rank and file, and they’re not.

    I think the phrase you’re looking for is “Consistently Wrong Since 2002”.

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    @Anoniminous:

    If the media companies were interested … as in really, really, really interested … they could – off the top o’ me head – stop showing the Drivel-n-Dreck and produce a “product” people want to pay money to watch.

    They do. What people don’t realize is that most of the people who go to movies aren’t in the US, so films are not made for the US audience anymore.

    When you know that less than half of your box office is going to be made in the US market — and in most cases, more like 1/3rd in the US market — why would you make films that primarily appeal to that market?

  68. 68.

    MikeJ

    @drew42:

    Or does this mean that, contrary to just about everything I’ve read online about PIPA/SOPA, there is some piece of “productive” legislation buried in them, somewhere?

    I had nothing against enhanced penalties for counterfeiting (and something else too, I forget what it was, but it was aimed more at people that burn 10,000 dvd to sell on streetcorners than at somebody who missed one ep of Dr Who.)

  69. 69.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Gin & Tonic:

    You know something? I’ve never actually met a fan of that show. Plenty of people who hate it, and who pity the teeming masses of idiots who like it, but never anyone who actually likes it.

  70. 70.

    jl

    @lamh35: OK, the clip of excerpts was fun. I am now going, for the first time in my life, to the Mornin’ Joe web site, whatever the is is, I guess probably some MSNBC tab or frame. Anyway, I will go there to whatever thingee it is, and give Monrnin’ Joe, traffic, to watch this.

    OK, gritting teeth and holding breath.. I go.. cli..

  71. 71.

    Roger Moore

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I’ve never actually met a fan of that show. Plenty of people who hate it, and who pity the teeming masses of idiots who like it, but never anyone who actually likes it.

    I think you mean “never anyone who admits they like it”. I’m sure you’ve met people who find it a guilty pleasure and watch it regularly but bash it publicly because they don’t want anyone to know. It’s kind of like wingnuts and their hatred of teh ghey.

  72. 72.

    jl

    @Roger Moore: I think you are pirating very valuable intellectual property (maybe all that he has, poor penniless old widow) of one John G. Cole. Pretty soon that kind of thing will get this blog shut down, buddy.

  75. 75.

    mclaren

    As usual, Obama is merely saying one thing and doing another.
    Pay attention to what Obama actually does about intellectual property.

    Obama has appointed five RIAA lawyers to prominent positions in his administration — one former RIAA lawyer, Obama made his Solicitor General.

    Obama privately loves bills like SOPA and PIPA and he undoubtedly secretly gave the green light for those bills to be introduced. For all I know, Obama’s own Solicitor General probably even wrote the language of the SOPA and PIPA bills.

    The Obama got taken aback by the firestorm of public criticism and told his RIAA toadies, “Sorry, guys, but it’s an election year, so I gotta backpedal on this stuff. But rest assured we’ll ram through SOPA and PIPA the month after I get re-elected.”

    Typical Obama. Says one thing, does another. The fact that Obama has come out publicly against SOPA is the surest sign that the loves the bill and will work hard to pass it when he gets re-elected.

    Watch.

    See if I’m not right.

    Hear it now, believe it later.

  76. 76.

    Benjamin Franklin

    @mclaren:

    Hear it now, believe it later.

    I also think these latest moves have been totally about re-election. I hope you and I are both wrong,

  77. 77.

    JC

    @mclaren: McClaren,

    Actually, Obama has been more and more the President that we internet liberals want. Not pulling punches anymore – too wit:

    a. today’s rules on contraception
    b. Appointing of Cordray
    c. Today’s backtrack on SOPA. Still counts.
    d. The continued hammering of the 1%. (Faux or not, because it is a good campaign move or not, good to hear it).
    e. The various ways that the administration has NOT given in to the Rethugs recently.

    Not perfect – but pretty good.

  84. 84.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @lamh35:

    The reason given (first reference to this I saw by a commenter at Redstate) is because his having had three wives proves “his studliness”.

    I kid you not. Noot, a… stud? That makes him presidential?!

    Wingers are really weird.

  85. 85.

    Southern Beale

    Dodd is not allowed to fully lobby Congress yet for another year because he just left the Senate. So I wonder if some of his “let’s meet at the White House” thing has something to do with that.

  88. 88.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @mclaren:

    Obama privately loves bills like SOPA and PIPA and he undoubtedly secretly gave the green light for those bills to be introduced. For all I know, Obama’s own Solicitor General probably even wrote the language of the SOPA and PIPA bills.

    And for all we know, you are Newt’s fourth-wife-in-waiting.

    Your concern is noted.

  89. 89.

    gnomedad

    @mclaren:

    Obama privately loves bills like SOPA and PIPA and he undoubtedly secretly gave the green light for those bills to be introduced.

    I hear he’s a secret Mooslim, too.

  90. 90.

    gnomedad

    @mclaren:

    For all I know, Some say Obama’s own Solicitor General probably even wrote the language of the SOPA and PIPA bills.

    FTFY.

  93. 93.

    burnspbesq

    @mclaren:

    Obama privately loves bills like SOPA and PIPA and he undoubtedly secretly gave the green light for those bills to be introduced.

    And you know this because you’re a telepath, and you did a surreptitious deep scan the last time you were at the White House? Okey-dokey.

    For all I know, Obama’s own Solicitor General probably even wrote the language of the SOPA and PIPA bills.

    Well, whatever else you might know, you know jack-shit about how DOJ is organized.

    The fact that Obama has come out publicly against SOPA is the surest sign that the loves the bill and will work hard to pass it when he gets re-elected.

    Back away from the bong, slowly, with both hands where we can see them.

  96. 96.

    Lyrebird

    @lamh35: Oh thank you!

    And if a couple overlapping laugh lines don’t bother you, definitely check out the Cain-Colbert rally (Raw Story link).

    It’s at a university, and the school’s gospel choir is standing arrayed behind the headliners. Watching their expressions was pretty interesting, though most of them keep a sterner profile than Joe and Mika…

  99. 99.

    Sly

    @mclaren: Is prediction in anyway similar to the “Obama secretly hates gay people and doesn’t really support repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell because executive order and Rick Warren and Donnie McClurkin and lithium firetruck purple-nurple rocketship!” stuff from last year that turned out to be so prescient?

  103. 103.

    AxelFoley

    @The Dangerman:

    It was supposed to be a coronation (and was, for a while; how many debates were there where he was barely addressed by his competitors)…
    __
    …but I think the only way he could have handled this tax thing worse is if he had lopped off actual body parts in the process.

    Coronation? This is bad comedy.

    /Megatron Galvatron

  105. 105.

    OzoneR

    @Sly:

    Is prediction in anyway similar to the “Obama secretly hates gay people and doesn’t really support repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell because executive order and Rick Warren and Donnie McClurkin and lithium firetruck purple-nurple rocketship!” stuff from last year that turned out to be so prescient?

    Don’t you realize that by repealing DADT, it proves he hates gays.

    Back in the old days of MyDD, I once had someone tell me Obama was a homophobe cause he won’t issue an executive order ending DADT, but Bill Clinton’s creation of said policy was a stroke of genius.

  106. 106.

    OzoneR

    The Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) is also a bill supported by major industry moguls like News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, but opposed by Internet pioneers such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.Mr. Murdoch earlier this week tweeted his frustration with the Obama administration, “So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery.”

    But the Republicans come out looking like defenders of internet freedom, right Markos?

    Read more: http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/sopa-blackout-prompts-hollywood-elites-to-stop-donating-to-obama/#ixzz1k4VPfuxx

  107. 107.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Yutsano: I’ve learned that 90% of the self-identified females on the Internet are guys. The two options available are to assume that everyone on the Internet is male, or decide that you don’t fucking care and people should be allowed to be whoever the fuck they want to be.

    Just so long as they don’t claim special expertise on anything. Then verification matters. And I still haven’t seen your diploma or anything.

  109. 109.

    Marta Evry

    For the record, I’m the author of the SOPA piece linked above and yes, as DDay pointed out, I’m a film editor,not a writer.

    Glad y’all liked the post – I wrote it in response to IATSE’s (my union) support of SOPA/PIPA. I sent it to hundreds of fellow IA and guild members – the response was overwhelmingly positive. IA’s leadership is totally out of step with its own members on this issue.

  110. 110.

    nancydarling

    @jl: It’s so hard to stay au courant out here in the sticks of NW Arkansas. I try, I try. What is “Barrens chatter”?

  112. 112.

    NCSteve

    I hate to break up the Manichean tone here, but what a sad, sad, pathetic end to Dodd’s fine career of public service. He was my second choice in 2008 precisely because he was a policy guy who was on the right side of most issues (including that great prototypical emoprog shiny bauble FISA bill telecom immunity).

    Then he had a moral stumble, the kind that people who’ve been in politics too long often make. When you’ve had a lot of power for a long time, it’s easy, very, very easy, for the lines between what’s truly due you because of your office and what you can get just because you have power to slowly fade away without your ever noticing. So he went to the nation’s leading mortgage lender for a loan on a second house, got a sweet deal he didn’t ask, for because he was a powerful Senator. The moral failing, of course, was that it he couldn’t have been unaware that being a powerful senator was likely to get him special treatment and it never even occurred to tell them not to give him special treatment, because, after thirty years, noticing special treatment for the powerful is like a fish noticing water.

    And, it turned out, it was exactly the wrong time for him to have received special treatment from Countrywide, what with the coming expiration of his term, and the collapse of Countrywide into scandal and bankruptcy and ruin, and the economic collapse and massive outbreak of public anger at everyone connected. So he left rather than lose, vowing never to become a lobbyist.

    It was a moment when he could have reached for a redemptive second career, taken on a worthy cause that would have erased the stain from the memory of his long and worthy record of public service.

    And, rather than do that, he chose to do the one thing best calculated to prove that every bad thing that was said about him at the end was true. It’s like a person who messily ruined his or her marriage by giving in to temptation seeking “redemption” by shacking up to a trailer with sleaziest unwashed skank or sleazy manwhore in town.

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