Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

So what’d you do that for?

In one day, so many sites went black, and students everywhere lost their minds because they couldn't use Wikipedia.

Many senators and representatives, including Orrin Hatch and Nancy Pelosi, publicly withdrew their support of SOPA and PIPA, and I heard at one point, though I can't find a link to confirm it, that so many people were calling their senators and congressional representative that the phone circuits overloaded.

Co sponsors backed out and removed their sponsorship of the bill, and according to one tweet, 29 legislators announced opposition.

Authors, musicians, actors and producers worked together to coordinate an effort to make sure that despite pots of money from the corporations who stood to benefit, the individual constituents would voice their opinions. ETA: Sarah MacLean's open letter to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand is particularly awesome.

I hoovered some cough medicine and called my senators, and made it most of the way through a conversation without honking. OK! Success!

PIPA goes to the floor for vote next week, and I'll be keeping watch for what happens. If you blacked out your site, called your senator or congressional rep, or, even if you disagreed with me and debated with me about it, thank you.

I'm personally amazed and thankful that when there is motivation and cause, we can get loud and make things happen.

And if that doesn't make your day, here's slightly related news that might. Amit Gupta was diagnosed with leukemia in September. Because he is south Asian, his chances of finding a bone marrow match were very, very slim, as south Asians are under-represented in the bone marrow registry.

Through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and a crap ton of outreach online, Amit found a match.

The internet is amazing, and I'm glad we're here together.