On red-hot online piracy debate, Obama walks a thin line

107 Comments

“The White House waded into the red-hot online piracy debate with a statement Saturday that won’t satisfy either side,” Jennifer Martinez and Mike Zapler report for Politico.

“In a blog post penned by three administration officials, the White House said it opposes any bill that would make it easier for government to censor the Web or make the Internet less secure, but it stopped short of saying whether that includes two bills that have sent the tech industry into a panic,” Martinez and Zapler report. “If that sounds like a careful effort to walk a thin line, it is: Some of the president’s biggest supporters in Hollywood and Silicon Valley and beyond are sharply divided over the bills, and the White House needs a way to keep both sides happy.”

“The Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and Protect IP Act in the Senate are an attempt by business interests led by Hollywood to crack down on people pirating movies and music and stop the sale of knockoff goods,” Martinez and Zapler report. “But Web companies and Internet freedom activists have cried foul, saying the bills would put restrictions on the Web in a way that could destroy the fundamental openness of the Internet and prevent the next generation of Facebooks or eBays from getting off the ground.”

Martinez and Zapler report, “The administration did not take a definitive position on SOPA or PIPA on Saturday. But it was clear that the White House — while calling pirated movies and knockoff pharmaceuticals on the Web ‘a real problem’ in need of a legislative solution — isn’t enamored of either bill.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]

107 Comments

  1. I’m sure whatever the Obama administration said, many readers here will think it’s gospel. Regardless of what his failures are, it’s unbelievable how many still defend him (or blame Bush to change the subject).

    I’m willing to admit that ‘W’ wasn’t our finest hour, why can’t liberals admit ‘O’ isn’t a success either.

    Reply

        1. IMHO you are a brainwashed tool. Like any other 9 presidential administrations I can remember witnessing, there are disagreeable aspects to Mr. Obamam’s administration.
          The childish parroting uf utterly empty right wing lies(err talking points) is pretty much worthy of the mentality of a parrot.

        2. IMHO you are a brainwashed tool. Like any other 9 presidential administrations I can remember witnessing, there are endless disgusting aspects to Mr. Obamam’s administration.
          The childish parroting uf utterly empty left wing lies(err talking points) is pretty much worthy of the mentality of a parrot.

        5.  
           
          Like most folks in this country, I have a job. I
          work, they pay me.
          I pay my taxes & the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. 

          In order to get that paycheck, in my case, I am required to pass a random urine test (with which I have no problem). 

          What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test. 

          So, here is my question: Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? 

          Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet.

          I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their BUTT—-doing drugs while I work.

          Can you imagine how much money each state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? 

          I guess we could call the program
          “URINE OR YOU’RE OUT”! 

          Something has to change in this country – AND SOON!

          P.S. Just a thought, all politicians
          should have to pass a urine test too…
          Lord knows they couldn’t pass an IQ test!

        7. One of the best lines I’ve heard lately was from a retired shop foreman at the old Republic Steel plant in Cleveland OH ….

          When a young black kid was being laid off. The black kid said to the shop foreman: “You’re firing me because I’m black!” The foreman thought a moment and replied “No, we hired you because you’re black.”… “We’re firing you because you are useless!”

          Sounds like a very good slogan for the 2012 election!

        11. Oh yeah, that must be it other Steve. This couldn’t actually be going on could it. You bet your life it goes on and worse. She is the reality of the welfare state and why everything will collapse if this keeps up. Wake up liberal, brain washed, drones.

        12. So how are you going to stop it without sticking it to people who need a little help to get back on their feet? Enough complaining! Where are the solutions – real solutions for real and complex problems?

          I see a lot of people like you at work. They go to meetings and feel all important when they point out some minor discrepancy or typo, like they just saved the world. But they never contribute to solving the actual problems. And, no, simply electing a Republican President is not going to fix anything.

        13. Lowering taxes, getting rid of massive entitlements, creating the conditions for the economy to thrive and make jobs available will make everyone better off Queen. NOT hand outs for everyone to abuse.

        15. I think that’s the case in NY State as well. Catholic Charities brings all kinds of garbage from other states here. And pumps them into counties that pay well. These imports have ruined our small town. We have crime like we never had before, and our taxes keep going higher to support all these degenerate loafers with 6 kids. And Catholic Charities runs ads, bragging they will help you if you’re an immigrant to get citizenship. Basically so they can take advantage of the system. Meanwhile our small business is taxed to death trying to make an honest living. This country is just out of control, and I don’t know if anyone can save it. Neither political party protects for the true middle class and small business owner. One party protects the Welfareites and the other protects the Fat Cats. Neither will compromise to do what’s best for the middle majority who are quickly going broke, with no jobs and high taxes.

        20. Sherlock MTherFCker, who the hell cares who the interviewer is? You are a commie and only likes your info to come from the state controlled government Lame Stream media sources that are completely full of shit and propaganda for Maobama and friends. The ONLY place you can get the truth is “alternative” sources these days. So shove your little detective work where the sun don’t shine. Wait you’d probably enjoy that. Go to hell instead. The bottom line is you commies are knowingly trying to put the majority on welfare and government assistance to collapse the system and the US. Screw you.

        21. I didn’t realise survivalist bunkers came equipped with broadband. It’s how “they” keep tabs on you.

          Did you wander here from davidicke.com, or are you just a sad know-nothing little turd taking a five minute break from your Battlefield 3 obsession?

        22. Dave H, another perennial commie poster……. Go crawl back under your socialist rock and stop bothering people. You can’t handle the fact that your belief system is a massive failure. Liberalism is the faith of losers.

        23. Oh Jackson, you sad poor child. When you grow up you’ll look back at this time and realise that utter faith in capitalism is the thing that failed the world’s economy. Money is useless on its own, which is why those that love it above all else are such sad tossers like yourself.

          Mind you, thinking about it, you’ll be living in the gutter by then. God bless America eh?

        24. Poor, little brained, clueless Dave H from England. He has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. You need to read up on Milton Friedman and read a great book by Frederic Bastiat, The Law. Capitalism is responsible for you being on your Apple G3 Powermac and accessing this page. It’s responsible for bringing everyone on the planet’s well being from the stone ages to the digital age. Liberalism, Communism, Marxism, etc. are responsible for misery, death, and destruction everywhere they have been tried and they are not sustainable. You know it Dave H. But you’re too much of a drone to ever admit it. You are a card carrying commie. You love high gas (petrol) costs, and all kinds of government fees to control the masses. Your kind are a sad, pathetic, group. Stay the hell out of my wallet, away from my rights, and the individual freedom for all.

        29. Why worry about it, mccfr? The video is a plant to get you discussing the rightwingnut agenda starting from their warped view of reality. I have no doubt that quite a few people are gaming the welfare system, so let’s fix it as much as possible. But the RWNs would just as soon spend all of that money on National Defense, because you can never be safe enough, even if that means heading towards bankruptcy.

          Let’s try to stop feeding the RWNs. Better yet, let’s find out who F10T12 and the other main offenders are, then go after them directly.

        30. If MDN would accept the suggestion that many have made and accept posts only from registered identities, then that would go a long way towards fixing the problem. The next step would be to aggressively police the site for a few months to rapidly delete political posts and block the offenders. But MDN won’t do that, which makes me think that MDN is guilty of the same crime with which it accuses Enderle and his ilk – hit whoring.

        31. King Censorship at his best. You lose the argument every time so you want the argument banned. Good one. Well done. No wonder you use the word King in your name.

        32. I have never “lost” an argument to you, anonymous cretin. You are a pathetic figment of a coward.

          What I would like is to have some intelligent and reasonable discussions about Macs and other Apple products on this forum. So I have suggested a curated approach that would redirect people like you to a different, more appropriate forum.

          I will not respond to anonymous cowards anymore. Either meet me as a registered identity, or waste your time typing something that I will not read.

        33. You shouldn’t click on the political ones then King Communist. You obviously have had your clock cleaned by all the conservative posters on the site and hate that the realty of your socialist-communist wet dream is hell. Just go back to being miserable while we conservatives work hard, invest, invent, make money, own private property, and are happy. You keep feeling like crap and blaming successful, hard working folks as the reason why every welfare abuser is out there. Keep dreaming Smelly.

    2. I’m willing to admit that ‘W’ wasn’t our finest hour

      Too bad people didn’t say that while he was screwing over the country.

      why can’t liberals admit ‘O’ isn’t a success either.

      I think you need to actually talk to some liberals. Among them, Obama is considered a meagre president at best. He’s the better of two bad choices. I consider him to be a sellout who wafts in the political winds. I hate politicians.

      2012 election problem: All the Republican candidates have severe problems with the conservatives, let alone the general public. I don’t want any of them in the White House. And I don’t want Obama in the White House. And I don’t want to move to Europe.

      What I want are sane leaders running for public office, not the stooges, attention whores, dickheads and psychopaths we have now. The USA continues to be in a CRISIS of LEADERSHIP, no matter what party you prefer, if any.

      Reply

      1. AGREE!! Politicians are all for themselves. No politician put up for election for President takes a stand in the LOGICAL MIDDLE. Both pander to the extremists of both parties, leaving us with a no win choice every 4 years. Makes me sick. Both parties have good points and bad points but no candidate seems to want to run using those sane ideas. Too afraid that if they don’t please the extreme Liberals or the extreme Religious Right they won’t get elected. Common sense gets thrown out the window. Sad but true.

        Reply

      2. lol Pirate, it took 11 years, two elections, and a term-limited departure for a few compassionate conservatives to admit that. The vast majority just pretend that W never existed. They jump back to Reagan and pray for amnesia to sweep the electorate.

        “Not our finest hour”… Pirate, that is truly funny. Essentially a unilateral declaration of war on Iraq, torture, Guantanamo, economic crash of epic proportions, etc. That is a big understatement. W sucked. Bad. Epically. Even Texans don’t talk about W anymore. Perry rode to the governorship on W’s coattails and Ricky the Secessionist doesn’t even give W a shoutout.

        And now the kicker from Pirate – “just admit that Obama “isn’t a success” either” – as if the two are somehow equal in badness, like Boris and Natasha. Following the GOP playbook, I have over four years to go before I even have to consider answering that question. If for no other reason than sheer spite at having to endure W and Cheney for eight years, I am going to take every minute of it.

        Reply

      3. Derek wrote a great post. Just because most Dems despised Bush (a trait now shared by many GOPers), we do not necessarily hold Obama in high regard. He has done fairly well in some areas, not so well in others. He has certainly faced unreasonable opposition and tactics from the GOP in Congress, and waited far too long before asserting his authority over obstructionism. But that doesn’t mean that I back him no matter what. He isn’t SJ, after all!

        However, since no one is running against Obama and the current crop of GOP candidates is lame and determined on hammering each other into oblivion, Obama is likely going to be President for another four years. One of the only credible risks to his reelection is the economy. If it continues to gradually improved and consumer sentiment rises, then the GOP is SOL in 2012.

        Would I vote for a viable alternative to Obama. Certainly. I will generally choose the better option, if given that choice. But neither the GOP nor the Dems are offering better right now.

        Reply

        2. …and your ludicrously misguided and self-deluded “conservatism.” A true measure of your maturity is the whining tone and juvenile language used to denigrate even moderate and reasonable discussion.

          I’ve been lazy and returned to MDN against my better judgement. This will be the last time I post – it’s so not worth it.

          If I want to read pathetic rantings from scared and deluded right wingers, I’ll troll Free Republic. At least they have a nice big echo chamber in which to bleat.

        3. …and your ludicrously misguided and self-deluded “liberalism.” A true measure of your maturity is the whining tone and juvenile language used to denigrate even moderate and reasonable discussion.

          I love MDN. This is one of the best websites on the internet.

          The pathetic rantings from scared and deluded left wingers, is a sad, sorry thing to observe. May they all rot in hell.

        4. I would love to meet you on the battlefield, Kendall. You post strongly, but I have no doubt that you would fight poorly. You are even too cowardly to *register* your identity. You hide in anonymity. And your intellect is seriously impaired. In other words, you are irrelevant. Pucker up and kiss it, Ayn Rand.

        6. King Smell is losing it. That “hope and faith” just didn’t turn out to be what you thought it would did it? Well we’ll take care of that this November when we vote all of you commies out. Will be fun.

        8. Can’t vote here, but I might’ve voted for him given the family tree. Maybe he didn’t have much in his deck at first but Osama lit his fire all right, and we have responded with overwhelming force since then. I’ll hand it to him rightly but who takes over the nanny’s proper mess but Obama. He’s the maid, don’t crush a man for doin’ cleanup is what I say. And he did clean up by killing Osama. Don’t say he didn’t do that. Anything happens, happens on Number One’s watch.

        9. He didn’t do that. Bush set the whole thing up and Seal Team 6 took him out. Maobama happened to be lucky enough to voted in for one term only to be voted out this November or impeached before then hopefully.

          Bush was not the definition of a true conservative but he’s a billion percent better than the mess that’s occupying the White House now. Remember the real problems when all hell broke loose was when the Demorats took over Congress in 2006. Barney’s Frank, Dodd, Maobama created the housing mess by forcing bad loans to be made and crash the system. Wall Street and Banks didn’t have any choice. The good banks were forced to take TARP too. Read John Stossel’s article linked above and many other sources on the net as well. The liberal-comms like to pretend this didn’t happen but it did and it is.

        10. @Willard, NONE of the current front-line GOP candidates are “true conservatives.” There is no such beast.

          Huntsman bowed out and said he endorsed Romney not because he was best chance for America, but best for defeating Obama. That right there is a telling and sad commentary on US politics–the GOP doesn’t care about America, they care about defeating the boogeyman “liberal” in the White House.

        11. Mossman, That’s because he is the boogey man in the White House. The US can’t survive 4 more years of Democratic policy. Any of the Republicans are better than Maobama. We will vote in droves for whoever is the nominee to defeat the commie in chief. You must have an extremely short memory because the exact same thing went on with the Democrats in 2008. This is part of the process. And Rick Santorum is a true conservative.

    4. Obama has his best interest in the country for all of us not just the rich. Don’t say Obama is to blame without looking at the one’s who are actually hurting the U.S.

      I think piracy is a problem but the solution isn’t to ruin the internet.

      Reply

        1. *Anything* taken to excess is bad, capitalism included. Take a look at history to see just how badly corporations can treat people and the environment on their way towards making money. Their job is not to “…bring the living conditions for the majority up massively.” Their job is to make profits. And I have seen a company make tens of millions in profits at the expense of a dioxin ecological disaster that cost billions. Capitalism is far better suited to the typical person than socialism or communism because it appeals to their own self interest. The problem is, some people are too self-centered and greedy and subject to corruption. So unfettered capitalism does not work all that well, either.

          The RWN people pimping for the GOP on this site are likely well off financially and bitterly afraid that someone is going to take their money away and throw them down with the masses who have little to lose. There is a better way, and it involves moderation in all things. The Greeks of a few thousand years ago had it right.

        2. Everyone who believes in the Constitution of the US is very upset at the lawlessness that is going on right now and will show up in droves to fix this mess at the voting booths this November. 2010’s elections will look like child’s play compared to the landslide coming this November. Read it and weep liberals. Giving individuals the right to prosper and be successful is what the US is all about. Not being a nanny state and making everyone a slave to the Guberment. Liberalslimeism is all about making everything worse for everyone. Capitalism and US Constitution is what has brought the standard of living up beyond belief for the masses. The quality of life for everyone is so much better now than it was 20 years ago and back. You liberals live in a dream world. You think you’re masterminds but in reality you are simpletons. The adults will be making the important decisions again after the elections. Thank God!

    5. What does that have to do with the issue? Whenever you see new laws being introduced for a problem that already has laws, you should be suspicious. Before ‘terrorism’ was introduced, could you bomb a building or shoot someone with impunity? Of course not.

      Copyright law is already there to protect copyright. If it isn’t being supported or implemented properly, that is the fault of the system. IP owners should be able to pursue infringers easily. There is no need for new laws to give big business the ability to have even more control of our internet than they already do, just because they system is not providing adequate protection under existing law. It is not the law that is inadequate, it is those who are administering it. Giving them even more power is their solution. Can’t anyone see what’s wrong with that?

      Reply

    6. … bragging about Obama amongst “Liberals” and “Progressives”. He’s a politician, a Moderate, and only rates as “the lesser of Two Evils”. That said, Bush was a criminal and McCain an even bigger twaddler than Obama. As for those who berate Obama for “being a Liberal”, they are being spoon-fed their fear-mongering by the ultra-right liars at Fox. You know, the guys who can’t get a license to broadcast in Canada because they want to tell lies during their news casts.
      You guys just keep spewing your tripe and Obama will have four more years. Each of your candidates are fatally flawed, having committed crimes, or said things their mothers would wash their mouths out with soap for, or given away the bank for a large contribution. Romney, the least flawed in their number, is apparently not vile enough to earn your love. So, you will hate – then dispose of – your one hope of a candidate.
      This might be humorous, were it not so pitiful.
      Have any of you fact-checked your asinine charges? HAH!

      Reply

      1. You have it backwards as usual. You obviously are not from the US by the way you type. You are fatally flawed and most likely live in a socialist nightmare in a failed country. We in the US don’t think like you. So shove your advice where the sun don’t shine.

        Reply

  2. No no, it will be like the Defense bill where they now can detain American citizens without due process. He will pen (ie shake his finger) his displease at it but still sign it.

    Ball-less president. Can’t believe we settle for these clowns in DC. It’s sad.

    Reply

    1. Got that right. I’m sure that even as we speak, the teleprompter-in-chief is poring over spreadsheets comparing votes to dollars for and against wrecking the internet.

      -jcr

      Reply

    1. That sounds neat and all, however the proposed legislation would give way too much power to content owners to sensor sites and wage war online against anyone who they feel is ‘stealing’ without the accused having a day in court.

      its ridiculous and supporting the current legislation is spitting in the face of an open and free internet.

      Reply

    2. No one has missed the point. That’s why SOPA is such causing such an uproar.

      SOPA skirts due process, which seems to be Congress’s main purpose this past decade (read: NDAA), by removing ‘innocent until proven guilty.’

      Reply

  5. This is so crazy! Every time Obama’s name is mentioned, the discussion turns extremely political. It seems that the most educated amongst these discussions are those from outside the United States.
    Most don’t have a clue. You all think that a President can save us, or a political party can save us. Both are headed in the same direction, just pandering to different political interests on the way down the hole.

    Reply

    1. This is so crazy! Every time Bush’s name is mentioned, the discussion turns extremely political. It seems that the most educated amongst these discussions are those from outside the United States.
      Most don’t have a clue. You all think that a President can save us, or a political party can save us. Both are headed in the same direction, just pandering to different political interests on the way down the hole.

      Reply

    2. You speak the truth. So does Froggy, who parroted your words. As I see it, the United States has become increasingly polarized in politics and news because one extreme begets the other in defensive response. The Dems blamed everything on Bush, the GOP blames everything on Obama, and each side utilizes political tactics designed to discredit the other while neither spends much time doing their best for the country.

      We do have to cut spending. We spend too much. We do have to raise taxes (e;g;., end some of the tax cuts) overall. There is no way that the U.S. can grow its way out of the debt crisis before it crushes us. We do not raise enough tax revenue to balance the budget and we cannot currently cut enough spending to balance the budget without raising taxes. That is especially true when the war hawks are protecting the Defense budget as sacrosanct. Well over $600B a year on the military is just way too damn much.

      I believe that the true majority in America is fairly moderate, with various unique mixtures of conservatism and liberalism (if I have to use those terms, which have been twisted into meaninglessness). But the extremists like F10T12 and others light the fires with crazy rhetoric and incite defensive extremism on the opposite end of the spectrum. The media picks this up because it contains drama somewhat like that of popular “reality” TV shows, and the political extremist news farce gets almost all of the attention. It takes satirists to make some people understand how foolish it all it. I am ashamed of it.

      Reply

      1. Notice how Queen Smell just mentions a conservative poster and loyal Patriot as a negative rhetoric person. Completely destroying Queen Smell’s whole argument. F10T12 is a great American. Queen Smell is a horrible commie.

        Reply

      2. Hey Queen Smell,

        What happened, I thought you were going to leave this site because MDN won’t censor it to your liking. Why’d you come back. We all had our hopes up that you left for good.

        Reply

      1. no they don’t. people should not purchase anything that is as screwed up as what this law wants to supposedly stop from being stolen but in reality take over the internet and shut it down and censor it to keep the masses under their absolute control. You liberal-commies love that type of thinking. This bill has to be stopped.

        Reply

  7. I’m a pro photographer. Business is dwindling for all photographers. People steal my photographs and reuse them on their commercial Web sites all the time. Small business owners are among the worst offenders, but a surprising number of professional publishers and Web designers who know better do it too. They all claim they “didn’t know” the images were copyrighted and usually, I pretend like they aren’t lying.

    What? Photographs create themselves?

    I triple my normal licensing rates for unauthorized, commercial uses of registered, copyrighted works — a standard, industry practice. Infringers get very mad, but most usually pay without much of a fight.

    It’s epidemic, and I get tired of having to confront thieves — and of being viewed as the bad guy. It’s stressful.

    Most photographers run small businesses with expensive overhead. Digital imaging has democratized photography and publishing, but amateur snapshots aren’t always effective. Professional photographers can’t pay the bills or even stay in business unless we get paid for every photograph, and people need to start assuming that most every current photograph (i.e. produced in the last 75 years or so) is owned by someone. SOPA is needed, but a better business model and central, rights clearance and purchasing tools that allow individual creative artists and publishers to sell and buy directly is really the long term answer.

    Until that happens and a mass market sales system is created, creative artists like photographers can’t easily lower their prices — or stop protecting their copyrights.

    Reply

    1. You have some excellent point about piracy. It is tough to get paid and when people claim ignorance, they are most definitely lying. However, SOPA is a bill that cuts off our nose to spite our face. Yes, something need to be done about piracy, but SOPA is a sledgehammer that very well may not protect you interests any more than they are now.

      As with things like the NDAA, “we must protect our country…” by not protecting out country; undermining 200+ years of the US Constitution. SOPA is a similar strife. Its intentions are valid but its execution is sour.

      Reply

  8. The answer is simple: remove the economic motivation for piracy. Run a country with enough good jobs for everyone to be able to buy whatever they want. Not a few good jobs for 1% to be able to have everything they can imagine and 50% lucky enough to afford medical care and 10% unable to find a job at all. National living wage legislation is required. Any household with one adult working 40 hours a week should be at 300% of the poverty line, no need for two to work just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. That’s America, isn’t it?

    Reply

    1. You are a true commie. 1%, give me a break. You’re not talking about America you’re talking about Greece and Europe. It doesn’t work idiot. Capitalism is the answer and taking our country back from LIberals and RINOs.

      Reply

      1. Or he could be talking about Sweden, Germany or Norway, also in Europe and each currently far more economically successful than the USA even with their socially compassionate policies.

        Perhaps the USA has just had its day. I wouldn’t be surprised. The quality of today’s “True American”s isn’t up to much. Your post proves that, as I’m sure any reply you write to this one will too.

        Reply

        1. Funny I know many very successful Swedes that moved to the US to get away from the out of control liberalism. But you Dave H, being a dyed in the wool socialist from the UK, would not have the slightest clue what is to be free and American and therefore support the non stop attack on our US Constitution, private property, and rights. Screw you.

        2. If you hadn’t had your braincell outsourced to India whilst cheering for Team Capitalism you’d see just what a fool you are. Have fun living on the streets.

  9. The reason things get outsourced to other countries, you fool, is because commie union people like you and liberals in government have destroyed the American work force. They are brain washed in union run public schools from the time they can crawl not to be a true American and to be like the California Poster Girl. So India, China, etc. turn into to great places to assemble things. The liberals though want this to happen to ruin the US. It’s very easy to find lot of information on this. But you’re part of it Dave H. Unions and liberals need to be run out of every part of US life to get things back on track again. We will start in November at the voting booths.

    Reply

  10. If the Obama Administration is concerned with knockoffs, go to any retailer of cell phones and confiscate the collection of Fandroid devices on open display.

    Then come back and talk about the big picture.

    Reply

  11. Here are five actions which I believe would eventually improve the state of the Union. Some people may appreciate these suggestions…

    a) Work towards a pay-as-you-go Federal system. This will not and cannot happen overnight, but we need to begin working ardently towards that objective.

    b) Stop trying to solve all social ills through legislation. There are always unintended consequences of legislation, and some of those social ills (drugs, for instance) will fail to respond to any amount of legislation or money.

    c) Stop trying to legislate all aspects of morality, since the laws inevitably become entwined with a single, more limited, view of morality as the laws become more and more detailed and voluminous. A society has to work some things out for itself without a solution being imposed from above.

    d) Strive to end hypocrisy at all levels of government, from the public to the three branches of the federal government. For instance, it is unreasonable to favor both tax cuts and increased government services. Nothing is free, and growth cannot continue unbounded. Similarly, the recent push to pick and choose in terms of the Constitution and its Amendments is the preface to a great fall. The whole intent of the Constitution is to *prevent* the “majority” from unreasonably abridging the rights of the individual. That is not a foundation that should be cast aside in the name of emotion or expediency.

    e) Stop electing people who want to become politicians. Too many of those people suffer from a desire for power and wealth that overwhelms any intention of service to country or citizen. Those people, in turn, seem to corrupt most of the rest of the well-intentioned, leaving the small remainder powerless to effect positive change.

    Reply

  12. MDN, I have written you several times on this topic. I will try one more time because I love Apple products and I *used* to enjoy discussing and speculating on new Apple product s on the MDN forum. But the political crap on MDN has been getting way out of hand, and the vast majority of the offenders are *anonymous.* I strongly suspect that a few individuals are responsible for most of the ridiculous and often offensive political rants under a variety of names. I am wasting my valuable time on MDN. A number of long-time supporters share my disgust, and many of them have already disappeared. Once again, I recommend that you allow only registered identities to post on MDN. That alone will cut out some of the crap, although people like First 2010 Then 2012 will likely continue their political crusades. But a bit of aggressive curation for a month or two (a “tipping point” approach) will take the fun out of it for those remaining idiots and let the rest of us get back to the important topic – Apple products. If you don’t take this suggestion, then your site will wither and die. Because after we leave, the politicos will no longer have anyone to bait with their tripe. Then they will leave, as well, and you will be looking for a new job that will probably require a lot more effort.

    Reply

    1. I’d be frothing if I had your hormones, mel. I hope you can slide off and realize that this frimpin’ site is, well what it is. And what it is, is you and a mink farm of others pounding down the tommyrot, which is needed to preserve any intelligence in this sorry excuse for a world.

      Reply

    2. I’d like to say something. I won’t call it advice, because I’ve learned: a proffered arm can turn unexpectedly into a bloody stump. It’s just a philosophical musing. Philosophy is safe; it doesn’t attract the murderous attention of Pavlovian droolers or Manchurian assassins.

      Stick around. Just don’t waste energy engaging the programmed attack drones.

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      1. Great input and advice from 2ndmate, janeshepard, and Spade. It is so difficult, sometimes, to read the idiocy and convince myself to say nothing. Stewart hit the nail on the head with his Rally to Restore Sanity, because this country has nearly lost its marbles.

        This country can only take so much idiocy. The people who complain about entitlements tend to be the people who are the most entitled and, somehow, believe that it happened completely through merit and hard work – that it is totally deserved and that anyone who has not reached the same economic status is somehow lacking in intelligence, motivation, moral fiber, etc. It is a sad state of affairs.

        I have resolved to cease responding to anonymous political master baiters. I should extend that commitment to the registered ones, as well.

        G’day, mate!

        Reply

        1. Man does king smell have it backwards as usual. You liberal commies want to pick the winners and losers. Sorry but you do get ahead by working hard, taking initiative, individual responsibility, and brains. The standard of living goes way up for everyone. Only the ass kissers get ahead in the liberal world. And it’s much worse than that as shown above.

    3. @kingmel – I’m with you 100%. I used to be a regular commenter here, now I visit and comment only sporadically. MDN clearly favors pageview clicks over anything resembling sane commment moderation, so I’m afraid the status quo here is very unlikely to change.

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    5. Kingmel, I have sent personal emails to the MDN “team,” if you can call it that, on this very subject. I received back some very rude reply’s even though I was perfectly polite. The issues is that MDN is the one who starts these threads in the first place with disingenuous titles and selective cutting and pasting. They seem to start these political fire storms on purpose. And often. While I enjoy the discussion about actual technology and Apple products as well as some of MDN takes on articles, this political bantering really gets under my skin and had me change where I get most of my Mac news. I do however pop over here to look and see if anything is new. But it’s typically more of the same political trolling with some Mac news mixed in. You can tell what this site is really about based on the Top 5 commented list.

      That said, this site is still personally owned and operated. The proprietor(s) of MDN have every right to post whatever they want regardless of how their user base feels. Best we can do as readers is take our eyes elsewhere if it bothers us. There are plenty of Mac News sites out there. And really all MDN does is link to other stuff anyway. Besides their limited takes and the user comments, MDN really produces no new information for its readers.

      Reply

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