Dear Congressmen and Sentators Considering the legislation at hand, I have been compelled to write to you. While I myself do not watch or download pirated media content online and I do recognize the need to protect copyrighted material, the proposals laid forth in SOPA and PIPA go beyond the constitutional limits of the Federal, State and Local governments. Limiting access to the last bastion of true free speech in the United States, in my opinion, is deplorable.  I would suggest that when arguing the point with your colleagues you bring up the following points: 1. Railing against the current Democratic Administration in the White House (i.e. President Obama) for limiting one's constitutional rights while attempting to limit the last bastion of free speech (i.e. the Internet) is tantamount to historical hypocracy.  2. While we understand the right to protect the content of media providers such as the music, television and film industry is necessary to protect the value of our copyright laws and intellectual property rights laws; the fact that 60+ year old industries cannot understand that the market for media content is changing only lays credence to your belief in economic creative destruction. If these companies do not understand the new media market then they should fail like past uncompetitive industries have done. Instead of getting government intervention, of which they constantly remind us is detrimental to the free market model; they should instead modify their business model to reflect the changes in the free marketplace. I would suggest a Facebook model, one in which content is delivered free of cost to the individual while at the same time profitable for the content provider through expanded use of international, national and local advertising. Considering the predicted value of Facebook's IPO, the business model seems to have its supporters in the free market. 3. Preventing someone from searching for pirated media content through online censorship is comparable to preventing Americans from buying writable DVD's because they may or may not copy the DVD they received in the mail from Netflix. Just remember, while your intentions might be just and maybe your colleagues intentions may be just, this gives you the platform to both monitor and censor information and free speech to the American people. I would suggest prosecuting those who commit piracy, not those who may one day in the future possibly commit or benefit from piracy. This gets sticky when dealt with internationally operated servers of which I promise I will get to in my next bullet point. 4. The international ramifications of both SOPA and PIPA will reverberate throughout the planet. Will our government have the ability to shutdown the ability of Americans to view information from around the world through domestic censorship or will we, as we have done in the past, shut down servers in foreign lands. Imagine the complications that the State Department will have to deal with once we start shutting down foreign controlled websites. Now imagine the retribution for shutting down those websites. You see, the problem we are facing right now is not whether piracy can be contained, it is over which country, if any, is owner of the largest information source humanity has even known. And before people start ridiculing me over a lack in the belief of American Exceptionalism, let me remind them that there are a few special countries that have already instituted similar laws within their countries (China, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Burma and so on). Now, as I can give you some personal experience, as I had lived in China for 7 years, you do not want their system. Thus, in summary of point 4, we can still live free without domestic and international privacy invasion or we can limit the information available to us internationally, irritate our friends throughout the world and start to act and look like those who we most despise when it comes to civil rights. In summary, what you do here today, what you do with these votes, may not seem like a pivotal moment in American History but it is. You will be choosing state run censorship over freedom of speech, you will be protecting industries that are fearful to change even when it allows for higher profits and you will be shirking your Constitutional obligations. Please keep the right to freedom of speech alive while not forgetting to prosecute those who commit the illegal actions. Just remember, not everyone is a potential content pirate, only those who commit piracy are content pirates. Do not punish and censor those who have not committed a crime. With Sincere Regards, Your Constituents, The American People