I urge you to oppose the PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA), Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), or any future proposed anti-piracy legislation that reduces freedom of expression.

Despite their sponsors’ claims, both PIPA and SOPA would force US websites to engage in significant self-censorship. The threat of prohibitively-expensive legal action, suspension of incoming revenue, and removal from search engine results will cause independent website owners without deep pockets to restrict what they say and do online—and their visitors’ user experience—to avoid drawing unwanted attention. PIPA and SOPA additionally put the very existence of sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter—which rely wholly on user-generated content—under attack.

Resisting attacks on freedom of expression and maintaining an open Internet are issues of special and vital concern to African Americans. Black Americans’ effective and powerful history of organizing—and victories in gaining freedoms, rights, and respect—has always been dependent on the ability to use the latest technology to communicate and share information. Today, the Internet provides Black Americans with an ability to have our voices heard that is unmatched in any other media platform.

PIPA and SOPA would rope website administrators into law enforcement to an unprecedented degree, and give corporate entities exceptional power to chill public debate and expression without regard for due process. No amount of legislative tinkering will fix the flawed premise behind PIPA and SOPA: that the Internet should be repurposed from a public good to a surveillance vehicle for corporate benefit.

I ask you to show leadership and commit to opposing any such legislation that subverts freedom of expression to commercial concerns.

Sincerely,

Dear Congressmember:

The deficit issue that we face today was in large part created by the world financial crisis, a crisis caused by Wall Street speculation.  Now it’s time to call upon Wall Street firms to start paying their fair share to help us out of the hole they dug.

A small tax on financial market transactions has the potential to raise significant revenue and simultaneously limit reckless short-term speculation that can threaten financial stability. We are writing to ask you to support such a tax, and to request that it be part of any new budget plan.

Financial transaction taxes have a long track record both in the United States and globally. The United States had a transfer tax from 1914 to 1966.  The UK levies a transaction tax on stock transfers and has done so for many years. The European Union is on the edge of approving a small transaction tax of ten cents per $100 on stock transactions — a tiny tax estimated to raise over $70 billion annually. A similar transaction tax in the United States would raise even more money, as our financial markets are larger.

We join over 1,000 economists who recently signed an open letter advocating a financial speculation tax as “technically feasible” and “morally right.”

It’s time to ask Wall Street to do more.

Sincerely,

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The Screenplay

20 March 2011
Setting:
The end of the world, 23 December 2012
Location:
Last Chance Hotel, Toxic City, Distopia in the Razee Universe
Characters:
Countess Razes/Razmania,
PimpDaddy Longlegs,
Betty Bukowski/Firestarter,
black bloc
Mr. Coyote-Prankster-Trickster-
Themes:
The definition of violence, war, battles, competition,
Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, advocacy and human rights, crisis support,
A play within a play
globalization/environmentalism
the role of biased media in our current society
You have to play the game to know why you play you play the game.
What they don’t know, they don’t want

1. INCITING INCIDENT
Often called the point of attack, the inciting incident is the first premonition of impending trouble, dilemma, or circumstance that will create the main tension of the story. It usually falls at the end of the first sequence. But it can sometimes appear in the first few minutes of a film.
2. LOCK IN
The protagonist is locked into the predicament that is central to the story, which occurs at the end of Act One, This lock in, therefore, propels the protagonist into a new direction in order to accomplish his/her new objective throughout the second act.
3. FIRST CULMINATION
The first culmination generally occurs around the midpoint of the second act and is a pivotal moment in the story but not as critical as the Lock In or Main Culmination. Consider the first culmination as the second highest or second lowest point in Act Two, the second highest hurdle to be faced.
4. MAIN CULMINATION
The final culmination occurs at the end of the second act and brings the main tension to a close while simultaneously helping to create a new tension for Act Three.
5. THIRD ACT TWIST
The twist is an unexpected turn of events in the third act. Without a twist, the third act can seem too linear and predictable. It can also be the last test of the hero.

Try stating your story in one sentence.
It is the end of the world, and superheroes are limping home from a long day at the office.
In this madcap comedy, a merry band of superheroes find love in the afterlife.

Act One:

Scene One:

INT. DEATH CHAMBER IN STATE PRISON

MR. COYOTE IS STRAPPED TO TABLE, FACING AUDIENCE, RESEMBLES CRUCIFICTION.

PRIEST
Do you have any last words, my son? It is never too late to beg for forgiveness.

MR. COYOTE
Just fucking stick the needles into me, and let’s get this over with. I have places to be, and people to see.
I’m not worried about ghosts in general, she said. Just the ones that are related to me.

PRIEST
Do you care to share some last thoughts on the subject of redemption?

MR. COYOTE
Every time that I see someone holding up a sign that says “The end is near,” I get sad in my heart and wish that I could believe them. Well, Father, that time has come. I can actually believe them.

Scene Two:

Scene Three:

Act Two:

Scene One:

Scene Two:

Scene Three:

Act Three:

Scene One:

Scene Two:

Scene Three:

Welcome to the new and improved Razee City.