Wrapped in the Flag

The Massachusetts Election Division has granted approval to the Massachusetts Pirate Party as a political designation. This gives the go signal for its members to finally take their place in the state. The long-awaited time for voters to register as a “Pirate” has come at last. Way back in 2006, the United States Pirate Party was founded. It has been a long time for it to be officially accepted by some states.

Having been given the official approval, the party can already begin working toward its vision and mission. The party has always openly expressed its ideals and tried to live up to them. They endeavor to “increase government transparency, promote personal privacy, reinforce the spread of knowledge through copyright reform, and abolish patents.”

One of the major reforms that the party strives to maintain is personal privacy. They have criticized the government’s use of the 9/11 occurrence to strengthen its surveillance and control over citizens. They have cited the PATRIOT ACT, wiretapping, surveillance cameras as some of the government’s methods of curtailing privacy of people. They have also pointed out how corporations step up their spying in order to get more labor out of their workforce.

The party is also trying to look at the question of government transparency. The party believes that citizens should have more control of their democratic future. This can be achieved if people have information about what the government does. The government has reduced its obligation to abiding by open meeting laws. They have also amplified closed door deals that support mostly corporations. Furthermore, they enter into deals involving public information being sold to private interests. These are injurious to democracy and privacy.

Massachusetts Pirate Party has issued a statement emphasizing that the government no longer gives people the opportunity to live up to the old ideals. These are understood to be the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Now, corporations have overwhelmed the people with the government escalating their control. To the party, these ideals should be lived once more and be real for all.

At this time the party’s organizer said that the party is in the process of training activists. These are the ones who will work for coordinating and building local chapters. They are actively trying to eradicate the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA). Approval of this bill would allow government to “take down any web domain found to host copyrighted material without permission”. They are also looking for legislation before the Massachusetts General Court that they can support or should dispute. The party’s organizer is hopeful and positive that the party will find its future in Massachusetts.

We have been saying this for a very long time, privacy is not given, it is taken. You have to defend your personal privacy. One way to do that is to use an anonymous Proxy to mask your IP address. For additional ways to defend your Internet Privacy, please visit our site.