Why do you think smart people can't make stupid decisions now and again?
I doubt he's getting full and accurate data and I doubt he's really had time to spend on the issue that this needs given the other major issues that need to be dealt with.
He's probably only getting one side of the story, as the anti-piracy lobby has the money, power and influence to be able to bend the ear of those high up enough to make a difference. Spend enough time listening to one side of the debate, and you have the VP eventually making dumb comments like the Tiffany's quote.
Richard Stallman probably would probably not clear White House security checks (joke)
You know, there's the off chance that:
1. He is smart.
2. As the President of the United States, he is getting all the data he needs.
3. You're the one who's wrong.
I'm not saying it's necessarily true, but it sounds a little funny to say "yeah he's either stupid or ignorant" about someone who is very likely neither. It's possible he just disagrees with you, despite being smart and knowledgeable.
I merely stated my own personal doubt that inside the echo chamber he was seeing the same things we see and that alone could explain the decision.
I didn't say that was the only possibility. I just mentioned it was the one I thought most likely.
I think it's always important to remember smart people can make stupid decisions based on flawed data. I was reminding the poster I was replying to about this possibility.
I did not actually say that Obama necessarily did this here. Though I do think it likely actually... but it's hard to tell, I don't have lunch with the guy.
As the President of the United States, he would have the power to stop this policy from being put in motion. If he had the intellect, he would realize that this is a bad idea and he would stop it. At this rate, he'll doing as much bad as McCain does to the Internet in my opinion.
It would be worth stopping or slowing, but putting someone in jail? How does that help anything? Destroy someone's life over a download?
Plus, letting the Music/Movie industry keep things as they are is slowing progression. If the government is going to get involved in this they need to also insure that new (i.e. online) competition is allowed in on media distribution. The existing players have a monopoly on it, and a monopoly is something that provably hurts the economy.
The law isn't proposing to destroy lives of casual downloaders. They'll get a fine at most - which is what all legislation I've ever seen does. Jail is inevitably reserved for more organized networks.
> Plus, letting the Music/Movie industry keep things going as they are
Piracy also affects the software industry and independent artists. Like me, like the other guy in this link that had his worked nicked, like our Bingo Card Guy. Piracy doesn't distinguish between good people and bad people. It's about getting things you want without paying for them.
There is no pirate site that refuses to steal from indie artists, ethical companies, or OSS contributors.
New online competition is media distribution is allowed! My company sells it works directly, so do heaps of independent artists. Nobody from other companies or the government can stop us selling work online.
I hope this is just a lip service to quieten the MPAA/RIAA lobbyists. At least to a larger degree it is. Perhaps some changes will be made to the legislation, but nothing as far reaching as "criminalizing p2p development" (whatever it is).
This is more than lip service, Obama filled the DOJ with former RIAA lawyers. And Biden's always been pro-RIAA. It may be cynicism, but Biden's statement is really not surprising.
I doubt he's getting full and accurate data and I doubt he's really had time to spend on the issue that this needs given the other major issues that need to be dealt with.