I will admit to not knowing the details of the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) bills or the protest that rose up against them. I suspect that, overall, I oppose the bills because I know that no matter how well-intentioned they are, the unintentional consequences will be catastrophic and normal internet users like you and me will end up paying more for less service. That's the way government tinkering works.

Nevertheless, I find quite a few ironies at play in all of this. This pits liberals against liberals, which is always fun. Those favoring legislation are Big Entertainment. They do not want big bucks siphoned off by copyright infringement and piracy. They certainly have a case; after all, celebrities have to be able to afford their opulent lifestyles. How else can they show up in limos and toss a few tidbits of support at their hypoccupier minions?

Those opposing the legislation include Big Technology, no strangers to liberal ideology. Among other things, the legislation shifts the burden of law enforcement onto them, which will increase costs and suppress innovation. Nonetheless, they offer no concrete support at all to the problem of the online theft occurring through illegal downloads.

Also counted among the opposition to the legislation are the individual users, of course. Regardless of their stated reasons, I suspect many of them do not want to see their source of "free" downloads impaired. Having to pay for the work and service and innovation provided by others just doesn't mesh with their liberal myths of fair play (ie, socialism).

Another little idiosyncrasy in all of this is how libs can reverse their logic so easily, which demonstrates that they have no logic to begin with. One of the tactics used by liberals in their war against the second amendment is to point to the number of law enforcement agencies that favor certain restrictions on citizen access to firearms. In this little fracas, the National Sheriffs' Association and International Union of Police Associations favor the SOPA and PIPA bills, yet liberals are arrayed against them. It is OK to use their support for one type of restriction but ignore it for another? By the way, other supporters included the AFL-CIO, National Songwriters Association, and the National Center for Victims of Crime. Like I mused, liberals quarreling with liberals.

The biggest irony in all this is that the protestors who a little earlier were playing hypoccupier are now expressing support for one of the fundamental tenets of the TEA Party movement: calling for limited government. I don't even think they are aware of this. Amusing. The left, that has been creating a steamroller government for decades and have been catcalling the TEA Party position of limited government, now protests government intrusion. Amusing.

Too bad they fail so dismally to learn any lessons from all this.