From the flist: 



Spread the word, even you're not a US citizen, it is important for everyone!! It easy to do and it can change everything. More info by clicking on the banner.
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Read this analysis from boing-boing.net

Get on the phone and call your representative. Express your disapproval. Tell him or her exactly how you feel, and that you don't support this. Tell your friends to call their representatives, their Congressperson, and complain. Mention that you are a registered voter that takes your civic responsibility seriously and that you will use that vote to express your feelings about this.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_60/Internet-Companies-Boost-Hill-Lobbying-210345-1.html?pos=olobh

“We support the bill’s stated goals — providing additional enforcement tools to combat foreign ‘rogue’ websites that are dedicated to copyright infringement or counterfeiting,” the Internet companies wrote in Tuesday’s letter. “Unfortunately, the bills as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action and technology mandates that would require monitoring of websites.”  The chamber-led coalition in support of the bill includes Walmart, Eli Lilly & Co. and Netflix.

Google and other opponents of the legislation argue that restricting the Internet in the U.S. sets a bad international precedent and that the language defines infringing too broadly.

gandolforf's brother, Eric Lee Bark, pictured above, was last seen in Maquoketa, IA, on November 4, 2011. He gave no word to his family as to where he was going.

Eric was born December 19, 1987. He is 6'2" and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair, and there is a 6" scar on the outside of his left arm, near his elbow. The last time he was seen, he was wearing a dark blue hoodie and blue jeans. His car is also missing; it's a green Jimmy with rust marks.

If you see him, please contact gandolforf at gandolforf@gmail.com, on Twitter at gandolforf, on Tumblr at http://gandolforf.tumblr.com/, or let me know. I will let A. know about anything as soon as I hear. You can also contact the Maquoketa Police Department at (563) 652-2468.

There is a Facebook post here; please pass it on if you can.

This post is public. Feel free to pass it on, in part or full, if you so choose.

This comes from an article by rachelmanija entitled, Say Yes to Gay YA.
(click the link for the full article)

Our novel Stranger has five viewpoint characters; one, Yuki Nakamura, is
gay and has a boyfriend. Yuki's romance, like the heterosexual ones in
the novel, involves nothing more explicit than kissing.

An agent from a major agency, one which represents a bestselling YA novel in the same genre as ours, called us.

The agent offered to sign us on the condition that we make the gay
character straight, or else remove his viewpoint and all references to
his sexual orientation.

This isn't about that specific agent; we'd gotten other rewrite requests before this one. Previous agents had also offered to take a second look if we did rewrites… including cutting the viewpoint of Yuki, the gay character.

It's time to stand up and demand change. Spread the word everywhere if you are just as angry and outraged by this.