Today, we interrupt this feature to remind people to call their elected officials in Congress to oppose the SOPA and PIPA bills.  We aren’t going to take the site dark today, as some of our on-line colleagues will as a reminder of the power that SOPA and PIPA would give the federal government to shut down websites with no due process.  We think it’s too important to keep exercising our freedom of speech, but still definitely salute those who are reminding us in their silence all to take action against a seriously misguided effort to protect intellectual rights — a worthwhile goal, but not at the expense of putting government in the position of acting as a prior-restraint gatekeeper outside of the normal due process afforded by the courts.

If we don’t take the site dark, I can at least suspend this daily feature for a day to remind people what it might be like if we put the power of SOPA and/or PIPA into the hands of an executive branch inclined to stifle criticism (it’s worth noting that the Obama administration has now expressed some opposition to SOPA, at least).  We’ll be back tomorrow.  In the meantime, either contact your elected representatives or sign the online petition against SOPA/PIPA.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!