Are You Blacked-Out? SOPA & PIPA Issues Expressed

I have to admit, my recent illness has kept me away from the news lately and I didn't even know anything about a Blackout until I signed onto Google this morning. I'm usually on top of these things, but found myself searching around for all the info. So, for all of you who feel the same way and are stumped at all the Blackouts this Wednesday, here's some info!

About the Blackout: SOPA & PIPA Revealed

SOPA is the "Stop Online Piracy Act" and PIPA is the "Protect IP Address" wherein IP means "Intellectual Property". Both are billed to stop website infringement by foreign websites. However, when reading the fine details, there are other issues that infringe upon our own writes as website owners, bloggers and businesses. The one thing we don't want is for our free internet speech to be threatened. Many of us believe that if this material is passed, it will not only fail to stop website infringement, but also blacklist many foreign websites that should not be blocked. Our websites, blogs, businesses will be policed and it opens the gateway to further restrictions in the future.

For more info about the Blackout, SOPA and PIPA, go to Wikipedia.

My Thoughts
This is one of those times where I feel like a small fish in a big pond, but it seems all fish will be affected by these two bills. This is a time when I believe we should stand together to protect our own rights as writers, journalists and seekers of knowledge. Read and judge for yourself!
I still feel like I need to read more, but whenever I hear anything about revoking our privileges to view certain websites, for information to be prohibited, I can't help but wonder if history could repeat itself.

Any thoughts or comments?