TechCrunch first reported this, so I decided to check for myself. Yahoo! appears to be preventing ThePirateBay.org from being listed as a result in its searches. I’ve check through eight pages of results for “pirate bay,” and the site is not listed. A more direct search for piratebay.org also does not turn up the site. Google, Ask, and MSN still have the site listed as the top search result.

For those unaware, The Pirate Bay is a controversial BitTorrent site that has earned the wrath of the MPAA and RIAA. Both have lobbied to have the site shut down, but have been unsuccessful thus far as the company is located in Sweden. A list of legal threats against the company is available on their website.

Is this censorship? Is this the beginning of Yahoo! filtering other sites large organizations oppose? What happens if the government asks Yahoo! to filter results it does not care for? I know personally I will not use their search until their actions are explained and ThePirateBay.org returns to their top search position.

As a current Madison resident, today is voting day.  I maneuvered through a traffic jam and slippery streets to reach the Gates of Heaven; my poling place around 9:30 a.m.

As I entered to cast my vote, a woman who was leaving said “Vote Obama!”

“You can’t do that in here’” informed an official.

The other woman did not seem to care.  As I was undecided, and I feel strongly about campainging at the polls, her actions may have cost her candidate a vote.

Law prohibits campaigning within a certain distance of polling places.  This is to keep voters from feeling intimidated.  When I worked on campaigns, it was made very clear this line should never be crossed.

Some people are very vocal about the candidates they support.  Others prefer to keep their vote private.  My top two candidates  are out of the election, and my third choice has yet to enter.  Still, I would never have the gall to profess “Vote Richardson” while leaving a voting area, even if he was still in the race.  It is one thing to support a candidate, and quite another to be obnoxious in a polling place.

For the record, Richardson was still on the ballot in Wisconsin, and thanks to one woman’s actions might have received a vote.

For those in my home state of Wisconsin, it is election day.  Make sure to get out and vote, and vote with your heart.  The presidential contest for both republicans and democrats will be close.  I could see either candidate for each party winning the state.  If you care about America, make your way to the polls before 8 p.m. this evening.