I tried to "Wiki" something today, but see that they are on "strike", so to speak. There was a hot link to their "side" of the argument. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more And it brought up some valid points...just as the other side undoubtedly has their valid points.
Unfortunately, I haven't really paid much attention to their battle as it has not, until today, made any difference. But this now has caught my attention, as it has no doubt caught millions of American's attention today. And as so often is the case now that the grey hairs outnumber the others, I tend to see both sides. Years ago I heard a quote that has stuck with me ever since. And it was the story about an old Virginia coal miner that said that no matter how thin he made his pancakes, they always ended up having two sides.
If you allow yourself to only hear one side of any argument, it is easy to be swayed that direction. But invariably there are two sides. And if you heard the other side of the argument first, that would sway you in that direction as well.
It is kind of like going for a ride in a canoe....The goal to going for a ride in a canoe is to stay as close to the middle as you can. If you lean too far one way, you will wildly flap your arms in order to correct your balance. And all too often, you will tend to go too far the other way after the correction....with the process often then repeating itself. "Been there, done that" on a canoe ride with Dad years ago in northern Minnesota on Halloween evening trying to bow hunt for whitetail deer in a river that always had deer hanging out on either side in the red willows...but that is a story for another time. Suffice it to say, we got our knuckles wet on each side of the canoe while trying to "shoot" a beaver dam and the subsequent wildly flapping arms. With ice forming on the canoe paddles as we went, you get an idea as to how bad that would have been to go for a swim.
The point is this...It wouldn't be necessary to wildly flap your arms in corrective measures if you had not gotten so far to one side to begin with. Staying in the middle the entire time would have resulted in a much more stable ride without the extremes. Alaska is no different than any of the other states. The Anchorage Daily News has a story today about the 2012 legislative session beginning. One of the main topics is of course the ACES tax on oil corporation's profits. But as was the case last year...both sides of the AK Senate seem to have their knuckles deeply in the water on their respective side and are comfortable going for their canoe ride that way.
The same principal applies to many things...The financial market, the housing market, and many of these types of "causes" that the government decides to referee. But there is always a cause and effect dynamic. And all too often, decisions are rushed into before all the facts are reviewed without prejudice.
My industry would no doubt go through substantial gyrations in the event that the feed of our data was elected to be shut off. Where would consumers go if they wanted to get information on a variety of listings? With the amount of clearinghouses for our information increasing exponentially from where we first began 15 years ago with the introduction of REALTOR.com, there are increasing cases of fraud, and identity theft as "opportunists" see a means of scamming the public. Particularly so here in Alaska. The very nature of Alaska real estate is such that it is remote...and the only way that many people have to access information here is online. But if the data becomes restricted as a result of SOPA/PIPA then what? Fly up every time there is a new listing that would work for them? It isn't practical...but may become necessary in the event that congress becomes involved in the matter and passes the legislation.
I don't know where I am at on the matter...and if forced to "vote" on such a measure, don't know if it would be possible only really having heard one side of the argument so far.
And by tomorrow, it will all be back to normal....or will it?
Greg
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