Tikkabik

... is a fucking idiot. God, this just makes me spitting mad.

First of all, I'd like to know what sort of half-assed science fiction scheme this jackass has been pitched that will "destroy" computers if pirated content is downloaded to them. Are we going to target the fucking things with Star Wars satellite lasers and blast them? Are we going to send Agent Smith through the phone lines to Jiu-Jitsu Johnny's Dell XPS into smithereens if he downloads a ripped copy of Christina Aguilera's latest single?

It's the latest appalling example of a lawmaker who really has no fucking idea how technology works in the real world or, for that matter, how it's being used. It sounds like Hatch has been reading Internet spam-memes about protecting your computer from viruses that perform n-stage regression tests on your hard drive that magically cause it to implode, or other fanciful buckets of crap.

You know, let's just say for a moment that Hatch's crackpot scheme is somehow brought from the fantasy world to the real one (the one where people in Congress DON'T live, in other words), is deployed, and computers around the world start blowing up when pirated stuff gets copied to them. Sure, a billion and a half pac-rim residents are going to insist on nuking the state of Utah in retaliation, but who's REALLY going to get hurt?

The folks who would end up suffering would be the people who casually pirate stuff, either because they're ignorant of the law, stupid, or just don't care. Kids and young adults who don't fully understand the consequences of their actions. If their computers were destroyed, who'd end up paying to replace them? Who else -- their parents.

I love the comment from the RIAA spokesman who said that Hatch was making "a metaphorical point." Right. Here's another metaphor to work with: Orrin Hatch is an asshat.