Smoke Rings and Coffee Stains

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Big Copyright, the RIAA, Oh, And We Still Need To Save The Internet

Does it seem to you that lately there is just a ton of stuff to keep track of in Congress? Occasionally it seems a little overwhelming.

So, a run-down of some things that caught my eye this week, and a re-cap of issues still up for battle seems in order.

First up, a new wrinkle in music legislation is creeping through the House, and it is a bad one. How do you like the idea of buying your CD and being taxed, after purchase, for each additional "listen", and taxed again for playing on different equipment (iPod, PC, etc) or for making a duplicate CD for your car so the original wouldn't get damaged? You don't? Then call your congressman. Preserve Fair Use!

Second, and of utmost importance, is the continuing fight for Network Neutrality. Our activism got an important bill passed in the House last week, and now the COPE bill is rearing its ugly head again to defeat Network Neutrality. We need to call the House again (and feel free to call all not only your own representative, but others as well) and stop the COPE bill. Also, the Senate has this issue slated for vote in the near future and needs to hear from us as well. This is a hot button topic!

To counteract the stream of negativism surrounding the issues in congress, here is a unique idea for the upcoming Presidential race - Unity08. I'm not sure this will end up having merit (and being Libertarian would rather see a strong Libertarian ticket finally disperse the two-party stronghold). That said, it's nice to see someone being proactive in acknowledging the issue that neither party is strong on it own anymore (not mention that neither really represents the people anymore).

Congress putting gay marriage on the floor is taking twenty steps back and completely undoing the half step forward we have taken in recent years toward acceptance of homosexuality. BuzzFlash proposes we tackle adultery instead, as it is a real threat to heterosexual marriage in a way gay marriage could never be. Pensito even offers this handy list of the top ten purported Republican Adulterers. The Rude Pundit weighs in on the issue, with some heavy duty linkage in his arsenal.

Of course, who could forget the potential for voting machines to cause election year chaos yet again? I'm thankful I live in a town so small we handwrite votes on these massive cardstock ballots, as if we were taking giant SATs. Our votes here are few, but they are unable to be stolen by a political lackey via voting machine.

Harry Reid offers a nice snapshot of the issues facing us today, and how congress has chosen to focus on marriage rather than tackle them.

Things to watch (and watch out for) on the technology front: tracking teens, tracking grandma, tracking illegal aliens.

And last, but not least, because you have to stop writing the long, long list at some point...

Religion and politics: one woman's personal experience with the way mixing religion and politics has made certain issues in this country far worse than they should be.


Now Listening To: THE CLASH: The Essential CLASH

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Posted by Leslie :: 5:20 PM :: 1 Comments:

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