[TriLUG] Greensboro News&Record on Hollywood Howard Coble

[H. Wade Minter]

The Greensboro News & Record ran a column last week on Rep. Howard 
Coble, co-sponsor of the P2P Hacking bill.  A very good one, it suggests 
that people across the internet, not just in Coble's district, write to 
him and explain why the P2P Hacking bill is a bad idea.

So it might be a good idea to fire off a quick email to Coble and 
Berman, politely explaining to them why Congress shouldn't authorize a 
Hollywood vigilante mob.

http://www.news-record.com/news/columnists/staff/cone04.htm

"Already Coble's office has received a trickle of complaints from 
constituents who feel the bill gives too much power to the entertainment 
industry. "We have heard from people who say that this gives companies 
access to their PCs. People resent that and don't want it," says 
McDonald.

What if that trickle turned into a flood, not just from the North 
Carolina Piedmont but from all around the country? It would be a 
watershed moment in the Internet's rise as a force in American 
democracy. (And the Web is all that democracy has going for it just now 
in terms of putting the heat under Coble and Berman, who are both 
running unopposed by major-party candidates this year.)

Doing this campaign right will be a test for the Internet community, 
which tends to flame first and ask questions later. Anyone who sends 
e-mail to Coble (howard.coble at mail.house.gov), Berman 
(howard.berman at mail.house.gov) or other members of the committee should 
be respectful and aim to educate, not harangue. Just explain why the 
powers granted under this bill are creepy and invasive and unfair to the 
average person, and request that Congress seek a better way to fix the 
problem of copyright protection."