Congressman Wilson,
First I would like to thank you for representing 6 million Americans living abroad in the caucus you formed with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (the above address information is my last US residence.) I have been living and working in Ecuador for 4 months now as a Cartographer and am persuing long term residence. I want to stay active in the laws passed in my country so I come to you to voice my concerns.
I would like to urge you to vote against SOPA. It violates the first and most sacred admentment of our Bill of Rights. Anyone who has ever lived in a developing country will have a radically different opinion of the spread of information. Years ago, when I came here for the first time, I saw the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. In a rural town on the edge of the amazon, a college level Calculus textbook on CD was for sale in an internet cafe for $4. I remember 2 years ago going to Austin Community College and having to fork over sometimes $140 for a college level calculus textbook so I could better my life and study to be an environmental engineer. Being able to download files has benefited mankind in ways we cant possibly imagine. Shops where you walk in and get whatever you want on a CD for $5 have been declared out of control by the vast majority of developing countries. The cat has been out of the bag, there is really no way to stop it, hackers will out smart any law that is passed and in the mean time it will just hurt innocent bystanders, limit free speech and inevitably lead to overeach. I hope those around you are informing you well because that is the honest truth. The United States is erupting today online in ways it never has before, people are begging for less government control of the internet. Please join the chorus of voices against this bill.
Joseph Ely
