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Texas Rep Wants To Jail File Traders
kUnGf00m45t3r writes "There is an article on Wired about how Texas Rep. John Carter wants to jail some college students to scare people away from illegal file sharing. He says, "What these kids don't realize is that every time they pull up music and movies and make a copy, they are committing a felony under the United States code," Carter said in an interview. "If you were to prosecute someone and give them three years, I think this would act as a deterrent." Right..."
Does this bill also contain credit for all the CD's I've legally purchased? I mean, say I have 100 legally purchased songs on CD, and I've pirated 99 songs on mp3, this still represents a net sale of 1 song by the record industry.
Using RIAA screwy logic, does this mean that I haven't actually cost them anything?
Too bad we can't jail congressmen for stupid remarks. Then again, maybe it's for the best. The prisons are overcrowded enough as it is, and the last thing these people need are more free meals.
It's only funny until someone gets hurt. Then, it's hilarious.
College students are easily swayed by this sort of thing, and imprisoning a few for longer than most rapists get will surely straighten them out. I mean, once they showed that they put you in jail for smoking marijuana, pretty much every college student in the U.S. stopped smoking pot. This will be just like that, right?
do not read this line twice.
The more you steal the less you are punished."
Yeah, but only if you're a CEO.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Wait lets not forget those middle schoolers. I know they download music too. But how to jail kids under 16. Disney Jails of course. With a special school in jail teaching all about the evils of downloaded music. I call it Disney Jail. Smaller cells for smaller minds. Jailers/teachers dressed in big eared mouse costumes. Special areas for kindergarden and preschool. Punish them while they're young. Better yet pre-crime... jail them before they do... cause you know they will.
But if we jail people with files, won't they just cut through the bars and escape?
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Oh yeah jailtime that sure stopped my generation
from smoking pot, taking LSD, and hitchhiking to
Woodstock....LOL
Also by jailing the politicians we'd be giving
those in prison some real criminal mentors
with educations.....wow
Is he from Mars or something?
Why not just execute offenders? Then people wouldn't commit any crimes. And you would weed out just the bad people and leave only the good for a perfect society.
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It would deter me from ever voting for him again!
I can't wait for this to become reality! Soon they'll jail everyone who pirates music, and lump them in with all those software traders too. Good thing we taught poor students a lesson about trying to get free versions of $500 pieces of software. Those cassette recording punks are rotting in there somewhere too! Good thing that evil Satanic practice was stopped before everyone starting doing it!
Even if they start randomly jailing 0.1% of all offenders you have to make room for tens of thousands of "criminals" in your already overcrowded jails, and the net result is that 99.9% of people will get away with it, scot-free.
I think they SHOULD enforce it, and make the record companies pay for the prosecution and the new jails that will be needed to house millions of young adults. Sure, schools will be pretty empty for a while and they might cause long-term economic damage, but at least kids will no longer be sharing files and can get back to smoking weed and drinking & driving!
Go Texas! Can't trade files but you can pistol-whip that black piece of shit who offered to wash the windows of your truck.
I was thinking the same thing as I read this. If a politician is to be thought worthy of being listened to, the least he could do is speak civilly and not down about the ones he's complaining about.
Who wants to bet he has KaZaA at home right now while he's at work downloading the new Kenny G album? Hah.
> ...or use them as human shields on iraq, etc.
No use as a human shield, you don't want a shield that draws fire!
However, I don't think this goes far enough. I have a more Texan solution for the rep. to adopt.
Kill them all.
Yes, it's well known that most crimes are committed by young men aged 16-30. Kill the lot of them. It'll stop most of the hacking, most of the file sharing, get rid of most of the drug addicts. It will get rid of most of the cheap foreign labor so senior US programmers will have jobs again. It will reduce US carbon dioxide output significantly so Bush can take credit for reducing global warming. It will reduce underage pregnancies. It will remove most of the opposition to the religious Right. It will greatly reduce drunk driving.
OK, the downside is that CD sales will fall catastrophically. But in these difficult times, we must all make sacrifices. Even the RIAA. And we could have a stonking great memorial in DC, to all the young men who gave their lives in the war against (file-sharing) terror.
Next off: Why they should bring in the death penalty for double parking.
Stupid? Not as stupid as "let's give a few people a major criminal record for a minor offence to discourage the others." Texas and Saudi: the similarities run deep.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
Why? Did the quotation marks get Unionized? what's their going rate? Will I have to pay into Retirement fund for employing them? What would be the proper benefit package for Quotation marks?
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
I have most certainly NOT done anything illegal!!!
;-)
Do you have her phone number? I want to see if she'd like some underage sex as well ;->
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Then, and only then, will we be able to go to "Green" alert.
Yeah, right.
the verb "jail" means "temporarily detain until we execute them" or "hold them dang sonsabitches til we's can kills 'em. Yee haw!"
Tom,
The International Court doesn't recognize the rights afforded to us all by God and protected by the US Constitution. According to the UN, any "right" that interferes with the UN's charter is invalid. What's entirely legal in one country (free speech, for instance) could be considered a criminal act by the UN, and a citizen may be tried by foreign nationals.
See the difference? In America, God gives us rights as human beings. In the UN, the UN "gives" you rights so long as it's not contrary to the UN's "goals" (read: "inconvenient to whoever's in charge of the UN at that particular moment.")
I'm proud that the UN International Court has been told to go stuff themselves. Soverign nations should never freely relinquish their self-determination.
I propose we use one of *his* children as one of those "examples" and see how long he sticks to his tune....
The world won't end in darkness, it'll end in family fun, with Coca-cola clouds behind a Big Mac sun.
</SARCASM> (for all you mods out there)
That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
People who trade files, rip MP3s, or make "mix" tapes are terrorists out to destroy the American way of life pure and simple. These crimes should be enough to classify one as a terrorist under the USA PATRIOT act. Hell the police should just shoot you if they suspect you of file trading.
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