Protests Work! Cornyn & Rubio Drop SOPA, Obama Rejects Keystone

Here's a little good news to cheer up your Wednesday: Today's anti-censorship protest across the Internet hasalreadyforced Republican senators Marco Rubio and John Cornyn to drop their support of the SOPA bill. Already! Rubio and Cornyn weren't just supporters , though -- Rubio co-sponsored the legislation that would allow the U.S. government to shut down almost any website for almost any reason, and Cornyn heads the GOP's Senate campaign group.

The New York Timesreports:  

Internet protests on Wednesday quickly cut into Congressional support for anti-web piracy measures as lawmakers abandoned and rethought their backing for legislation that pitted new media interests against some of the most powerful old-line commercial interests in Washington.

If you haven't filled out the easy form to send a note of protest to your senators and representatives, please do it now. So easy! And it works!

In other "protests sometimes actually work" news, the Obama Administration will officially deny the Keystone XL tar-sands oil pipeline permit today, after months of protests by environmental groups and growing outrage from Obama's own Democrat supporters. This does not mean the pipeline is completely dead, but it's a firm step in the right direction. The Los Angeles Timesreports:  

The Obama administration has decided that it will not issue a permit before Feb. 21 for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to people with knowledge of the decision.

The announcement, which could come as early as Wednesday, comes in response to a 60-day deadline Congress imposed in late December on the decision-making process for the permit as part of a deal to extend a payroll-tax break and unemployment benefits for two months.

Hooray, for now. [ New York Times / Los Angeles Times ]