~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 17

★~ Today’s Quote: The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~ Benjamin Franklin

★~ Pass Along Information Day:

I do not watch the news and seldom listen to it on the radio. Kind of like my approach to religion. I like to go directly to the source for my information.

Having said this, I do like to be informed and often use Facebook or Twitter as a starting point. Stop laughing. Issues that people care about pop up all the time on Facebook, and when they catch my attention, I go in search of more information. There is no better way to learn about the effects of war than to listen to Facebook moms talk about their kids fighting it or about the kid who did not come home. These are real sources. If you want to know about the economy, the Occupy movement, missing children, follow a trial, or just catch up on the absurd and mundane, it is usually being posted on Facebook or Twitter. Heck, we have seen actual events occur in real time when people involved in the incidents update profiles and post pictures. Today everyone is a reporter.

I knew about the SOPA and PIPA legislation, but frankly, it looked like boring, hard-to-understand legislation. Until last night, when I started to write El Morno and clicked over to Wikipedia and learned they planned a 24-hour blackout to protest the legislation. This certainly perked up ears and sent me clicking link after link.

Now here is the important part, and believe it or not it has nothing to do with whether you and I agree about this legislation: The important part is, once I became informed, I informed others in my social media circle, and within in 20 minutes they had reposted my information and added their information to the conversation. Facebook became awash with SOPA, and we were having a conversation about making a difference. I suspect the same thing is happening all over Twitter.

When my friends share information with me by tagging me (we calling it bluing on Facebook), sending me an e-mail, or sharing something over coffee, I almost always take a second or third look. The goal is not to share information with the aim of proving a point or changing someone’s mind, but to pass along something we feel others would benefit from knowing about. If the information being shared touches the heart of the person it is being shared with, the volume usually goes up. The volume goes way down if the information is shared with a personal agenda or to prove the other person is wrong or, worse, stupid.

Today on El Morno, I’m passing along SOPA information and links with the hope that you will do the same.

★~ Today in History: January 17, 2012:

♥~ It is important that everyone is aware that our internet rights are at risk. On Monday, January 16, 2012, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide; beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 (you can read the statement from the Wikimedia Foundation here).

♥~The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECTIP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate—that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature. Here’s how it’s been described by the three Wikipedia administrators who formally facilitated the community’s discussion. From the public statement, signed by User:NuclearWarfare, User:Risker and User:  Billinghurst:

♥~The following information is from Craigslist:

Supporters of SOPA: RIAA, MPAA, News Corp, TimeWarner, Walmart, Nike, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Sony, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, VISA, Mastercard, Comcast, ABC, Dow Chemical, Monster Cable, Teamsters, Rupert Murdoch, Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI)

Opponents of SOPA: Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, AOL, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, Zynga, EFF, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Ron Paul (R-TX)

♥~ ‘Do You Know’ below provides more information and links.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1706 – Benjamin Franklin statesman: oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution; printer, author, publisher [Richard Saunders]: Poor Richard’s Almanack; scientist, inventor: Franklin stove, bifocals, lightning rods; established University of Pennsylvania; died Apr 17, 1790

♥~ 1899 – Al Capone ‘Scarface’: gangster, head of crime empire during Prohibition; died Jan 25, 1947

♥~ 1922 – Betty White Emmy Award-winning actress: The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1974-1975, 1975-1976], The Golden Girls [1985-1986]; The Betty White Show, Ladies Man; singer

♥~ 1962 – Jim Carrey actor, comedian: The Mask, Ace Ventura series, Dumb & Dumber, Batman Forever, The Cable Guy, The Truman Show, Me, Myself & Irene, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Majestic

★~ Did You Know: Sopa Links

♥~ Infographic: Understanding SOPA
♥~ News Networks Ignore Controversial SOPA Legislation
♥~ CNET: How Sopa affect you!
♥~ Congress needs to hear from YOU regarding SOPA
♥~ Growing Chorus of Opposition to “Stop Online Piracy Act”
♥~ Forbes: SOPA Threatens American Innovation
♥~ Stanford Law Review

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The food of the day is Hot Buttered Rum. I felt we covered this beverage pretty well when we celebrated Hot Toddy Day, but perhaps you would like a reason to sip one while you formulate your opinion and action plan around SOPA. A hot-buttered rum is a type of hot toddy made with butter, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. After the batter is mixed together, dark rum is added to make this tasty and soothing cocktail.

What are your thoughts about the SOPA legislation? Do tell! Or just share about the laundry or your plans for dinner. It doesn’t matter really. On Odd, you are always fascinating! Odd Loves Company.

I am still using Cole’s computer on a limited basis, which is why most of your comments are not being responded to. By the grace of all that is holy, my computer will be back tomorrow or Wednesday, and I will be back in the conversation!