If you're reading this...you're reading it on a blog that could potentially be effected by PROTECT IP / SOPA. Me, I refuse to be a victim of what I consider to be the internet version of the Patriot Act. Essentially SOPA and PIPA require web sites to monitor it's individual users (myself for example) to insure that they don't link to sites that infringe upon other parties' intellectual property rights and/or host infringing content themselves. If however, one single, solitary infringing link or piece of content is found the powers that be could in turn force (in the worst case scenario), not the individual user offline, but the entire website offline. The powers that be would like you to believe that they are protecting us from the evils of foreign copyright infringers, but both pieces of legislation are so vaguely worded that just about any form of infringement could be construed as a violation...irregardless of it's county of origin.
We're not just talking pirated movies and top ten singles here. Do you like fanart posted on various forums, websites and blogs (to include this one)? Well, guess what...that's a shit-ton of copyrighted material. How about free internet pr0n? Yeah, now you're gettin' the picture.
I've written all of my Congressmen (both in the US House and the Senate) and....well, to be quite honest, I've lost track of how many online petitions I've signed since early this morning.