So Al sent out a nice email, saying why he thought it was good Harry Reid tabled PIPA, but at the same time why he essentially supports it. So, being frozen in for the first time this winter, I took a few minutes and wrote a reply...
Senator Franken --
As someone who rejoiced when you were elected, I was deeply disappointed when you supported PIPA and SOPA, but I hoped it was because you did not understand the technological implications of corrupting (I do not believe this is too strong a word) the integrity of the DNS system on which the internet relies. And, as the recent arrests in the MegaUpload case illustrate, PIPA and SOPA are really not necessary if the appropriate law enforcement efforts are made. To use an analogy that I think is quite appropriate, PIPA and SOPA are like invading Iraq when what you really want to do is, one by one, take out the leaders of Al Qaeda.
Over and over again, the entertainment conglomerates have sought to maintain monopoly rents over distribution of their product. And, over and over again, technology defeats this. What the entertainment industry needs to do is embrace technology and provide the public with the "wow factor", whether that be in the technology area such as IMAX 3D or in, to put it bluntly, better films, TV shows, and certainly better music. The radio oligopolies have essentially destroyed the music industry as an industry by systematically monopolizing and homogenizing distribution, so that the only way new musicians can get heard is on YouTube, SoundCloud and other "disruptive" social media.
Sincerely,
[Wintermute]