Maryland for Internet Freedom: Meeting with Senator Cardin, 1/20 at 3pm

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Comments

  • illustrationismillustrationism
    How many people are attending...? Seems like at least a few dozen. Maybe up to 50? I'd like to make it.

    Is this information correct?

    Friday, January 20, 2011, 2:40 pm
    Meet in front of Barnes and Noble at Union Station, by Columbus Circle
    Walk to 509 Hart Senate Office Building in DC

    Who is in charge? Is there a prepared statement / talking points?
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    A lot of people have expressed interest, but only you, myself, and bigsassy have confirmed for Friday.

    I'm organizing the Friday meeting. I don't have a prepared statement and finalized talking points yet, but what I thought we might do is make sure the points we bring up are personal. It's important to have the broader facts on hand, that we can pull out if necessary, but personal stories - this website I use every day will be in danger, for example - I think will have a greater impact.


    And yes, that information is correct. :) Looking forward to seeing you!
  • illustrationismillustrationism
    Better to be prepared, I say. If you're organizing it, I'll show up if it's organized. You know? I don't want us to look like another "occupy" movement, where we're unfocused and upset. (no offense, they just weren't thoughtful about plans)
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    I'll be outlining my concerns and the broader issues tonight and will link that here/email it to people who want to come. If people could send me either by DM or email the points they want to make sure are covered, I'd love it and work it in tonight. By the end of tomorrow night, we'll have an outline of who is speaking to what issues and in what order to bring with us on Friday.
  • bigsassybigsassy
    Agreed.  I'll have to collect my thoughts tonight, but my main goal is to tell him how this bill will affect me as a web developer and my projects at the non-profit I'm working at.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @bigsassy Great! If you could shoot me an email tonight when you've finished, I'll incorporate it into my outline. :)
  • StopSOPA-HQStopSOPA-HQ
    @talibusorabat Great job securing that meeting! We created a Facebook event to help get out the word to people who might want to support you: http://www.facebook.com/events/280260662035623. Let us know if you want any of the details/changed updated.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @StopSOPA-HQ Awesome, thanks! I've posted a comment there with more details about how to get in touch with me.
  • kraytexkraytex
    I will be there. Anyone want to bring a sign so we know who to look for?
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @kraytex Great idea! I'll bring a sign along.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    Here's the outline I've drafted for the meeting. I've broken it up into sections - the personal impact on each of us, the broader damage it will cause, misconceptions about the bill, and alternatives to this legislation. Rather than have each of us address all of these points, I believe one or two people who can really speak to that particular point intelligently should handle it. Based on what people have emailed me, I have suggested that certain people cover certain topics, but there are plenty of topics that still need a volunteer speaker. If you're able to come, please let me know if you can speak to any of the topics bolded in purple.

    Let me know if there's anything you think I should add, any facts that are wrong, or if you have an idea for making our presentation more effective.
  • EngineerEngineer
    edited January 2012
    I'm not going to be able to make it because I have to work, but good luck. If possible, can one of you bring up the adverse affects that SOPA and PIPA will have on DNS and web security? Granted that's not the focus of why we're protesting PIPA/SOPA, but they are important points to make. I'll post a few bullet points should you choose to address DNS issues. 

    • Deep Packet Inspection used in filtering would have immense privacy issues.
    • DNS is designed to be redundant, and changes would undermine the integrity of DNS. 
    • DNS providers may be forced to move overseas, creating a loss of jobs, and forcing other companies to consider the same measures. 
    • Will create an underground market for countermeasures.
    • Would compromise internet security by breaking DNSSEC. 
    • Accountability has not been written into the bill; much of what will happen under SOPA  and PIPA will occur out of the public eye and without the possibility of holding anyone accountable. 
    • The bill paints with broad strokes; anyone posting a link to anything that could be remotely copyrighted could be subject to a domain seizure. Someone posting links to copyrighted content on a personal website has the potential to have that website seized (the same goes for Facebook and Twitter, potentially shutting those sites down). 
    • DHS also has a history of mistakes when it comes to enforcement, like the seizure of a free DNS providers domain that accidentally took somewhere around 84,000 websites offline *supposedly* by accident. 
    "As with previous seizures, ICE convinced a District Court judge to sign a seizure warrant, and then contacted the domain registries to point the domains in question to a server that hosts the warning message. However, somewhere in this process a mistake was made and as a result the domain of a large DNS service provider was seized. The domain in question is mooo.com, which belongs to the DNS provider FreeDNS. It is the most popular shared domain at afraid.org and as a result of the authorities’ actions a massive 84,000 subdomains were wrongfully seized as well. All sites were redirected to the ICE/DHS warning graphic. 


  • bigsassybigsassy
    Alas, I won't be able to make it anymore either.  Too many looming deadlines here at work to take most of an afternoon off.  My apologies if I was included in the head count, and good luck!
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    If anyone runs into problems getting to the meeting tomorrow, you can reach me on my cell - 443-839-4647.

    ALSO! For everyone who's planning on coming tomorrow (and if you want to come but haven't spoken with me yet, please do so I can give the Senator's office an accurate headcount), would you be interested in going to Senator Mikulski's office afterwards for a drop-in meeting?

    Of course, this depends in part on how long the meeting with Cardin's office will take. If we don't get out until 5, Mikulski's office will probably be closed.

    With that in mind, would anyone be willing to coordinate a drop-in meeting at Mikulski's office around noon or 1 PM, before the meeting at Cardin's? You can use the outline above as a model. Unfortunately, I can't take off from work until 2, so I can't do it, but it would be fantastic if someone could. Cardin says he won't vote for it for the time being, but Mikulski has yet to state a position.

    Thanks!
  • IWillBeThereIWillBeThere
    edited January 2012
    @Tabilusorabat I will be there as my username suggest and so will a friend, so add two to the headcount.

    I possibly could drop-in to Mikulski's office but I do not have much to say on the issue except that megaupload was indicted and now i'm pissed; i was hoping someone could give me a script to say.  I will definitely be there in front of Barnes and Noble at Union Station and at the Cardin meeting, and if you need I can try to find Mikulski's office and ramble on about weaker security, less piracy, and destroying new online business, but it might be best if someone who knows what they're talking about is with me.

    Edit:  my username is a lie, I won't be able to show... if anyone lives in beltsville and could offer me a ride, then that would be fantastic.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @IWillBeThere Great! We look forward to seeing you both. It's not a script, but you are welcome to use our outline for the meeting with Cardin's office (available here). It has talking points and supporting facts that may be helpful to you.


    I have also modified that outline, which is purely for our benefit, into a PDF document that I will email to Mr. Van Horn after our  meeting. That way Senator Cardin & his staff have a short summary of the issues with PIPA, but they can also click on the links to view our sources. Because it includes people's full names, I am not going to link it here, but I am happy to send an editable copy to anyone who wants to modify it for a meeting with Senator Mikulski or anyone else.



    As for logistics! Mr. Van Horn has reserved a large conference room for us, and he says it's no problem if people arrive late or leave early. So if you want to come but can't get there earlier than 3:15 or have to leave by 3:45, that's fine and we would love to have you. The room is reserved until 4 PM. I think an hour should be plenty of time for us to say what we want to say, but we are a large group (13 people, for the curious), so please be mindful of the time when you speak. 

    My goal is that everyone gets a chance to say something. I hope we'll all share how this legislation affects us personally, and then the people who are comfortable doing so can speak on the broader implications. If you're coming, please take a look at the outline and see if there's anything you would feel comfortable presenting. In particular, I'd love to have someone present: 
    • The fact that we don't actually know the impact of internet piracy on the entertainment industry, and that legislation like this would be completely ineffective at stopping piracy.
    • The OPEN Act as a superior alternative.
    I will (work & Metro willing) arrive early at the Union Station Barnes & Noble. I will be wearing a green jacket & brown hat and will have a sign (read: piece of paper) saying: MARYLANDERS FOR INTERNET FREEDOM. You can call my cell (443-839-4647) if you have any problems getting there or finding me.


    Thanks everybody!
  • kraytexkraytex
    Does anybody know if we're allowed to bring electronic devices, such as my phone and tablet? 
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @kraytex I don't think that should be a problem.
  • bigsassybigsassy
    You'll be checked at the door, but you should be able to bring them in.

    Also, I've been trying to schedule a meeting with Karen Smith Murphy, Chief Legislative Counsel for Senator Mikulski.  We're currently playing phone tag, but she left a voicemail saying she'd like to schedule an appointment sometime today.  I've left her a voicemail and sent an e-mail this morning, so hopefully I'll be hearing back sometime soon.

    Just in case, here's her phone number and what I believe to be her e-mail:

    Karen Smith Murphy
    202-224-4654
    karen_murphy@mikulski.senate.gov
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    @bigsassy Would this be at her DC office or her Baltimore office, do you know?
  • bigsassybigsassy
    I'm assuming the DC office (she's based out of DC in her linkedin profile), but I'll make sure to confirm when/if she gets back to me.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    Cool! If it's in DC, I'll do my best to make it.
  • KeepFreedomAliveKeepFreedomAlive

    I cannot make the meeting, but has anyone already seen this YouTube video mentioning that the organizations supporting SOPA are also the ones that distributed software like BitTorrent, Kazaa, and such.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQaMgxa8MDg&feature=watch_response

  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    Heads up! PIPA has been suspended until a compromise can be reached.

    Good, but not great news, since the same thing happened to SOPA and that's now being voted on again in February, but something to keep in mind.
  • bigsassybigsassy
    FYI, I just called and got her voicemail again.  I'll keep you all posted if I get any response back from her today.
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    Leaving now. Call my cell if you need me!
  • talibusorabattalibusorabat
    Just got back from the meeting. There ended up only being five of us, but we addressed all the concerns that have been voiced in this thread and that people have emailed me. 

    Everyone else will be commenting with their own notes and impressions of the meeting, but overall I think it went well. Senator Cardin's office still wants to work on PIPA as opposed to dumping it entirely, but they made notes on specific issues to keep an eye on, and assuming that the two sides can't come to a compromise over the language of PIPA and it ends up getting shelved entirely, Cardin's office will also consider strengthening the existing DMCA laws. 

    The most important thing right now is just keeping in touch with them, either through Maryland for Internet Freedom, or by teaming up with another lobbying organization such as Public Knowledge. The impression I have is that they do really want to listen (and this isn't just a pacifying tactic), but we need to keep talking. We can't just say our piece once and expect them to keep it in mind.


    Thanks again to everyone who made it today, as well as everyone who couldn't make it but offered their input.
  • bigsassybigsassy
    No, thank you for spearheading this meeting with senator Cardin's office.  I'm incredibly grateful we had someone to really drive this forward to make sure we got our voices heard.  I would imagine everyone would agree with me :)
  • Razor512Razor512
    The war is not yet won, They are now working on the OPEN bill (basically the result of if SOPA and PIPA had a baby)


  • kraytexkraytex
    @Razor512, at least you can help write the bill... http://keepthewebopen.com/


  • PatrickRoanhousePatrickRoanhouse
    If you guys are from the Baltimore area we are having a meetup/tweetup to discuss further options for moving the ball in the whole anti-piracy bills. We met with Senator Cardin today and his staff member Bill Van Horne. feel free with contacting me my email is Patrick.M.Roanhouse At Gmail
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