Orrin Hatch is still in charge of writing copywright legislation in the Senate. I can't even hope for a Democratic takeover of the Senate to fix this problem, because Subcommandante Leahy is the ranking Dem on the sub-committee. Fan-freaking-tastic.
The lame duck Senate might try to sneak through a really nasty Copyright bill before this session expires. (Really, before the excerable Orrin Hatch's chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary committee expires.) This bill would do wonderful things like make it illegal to tape a movie from broadcast TV, and edit out the commercials for later viewing. Lovely. Since I'm in California, writing my senators (Boxer and Feinstein), has roughly zero chance of influencing their views or votes, but what the hey.
I am writing to you today to urge you to vote "no" on HR.2391, the CREATE Act, if it comes to a vote in the Senate. This bill further unbalances an already badly skewed copyright regime.
In addition, I urge you to adjust your position on such intellectual property matters. As a constituent, I note that you allowed the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, a similarly flawed piece of legislation to pass without registering an objection. That bill has created barriers to innovation in the the technology industry, but has created only small inconveniences in the everyday life of consumers. HR.2391, and upcoming regulatory changes such as the "Broadcast Flag" will have a far greater impact on everyday life. It is not likely that such legislation will go unnoticed as it has in the past when Tivos and VCRs start to lose functionality that upsets the MPAA or the RIAA.
Dave Moore
To see why these letters have no shot, check out the excellent opensecrets.org website. In particular: Boxer, top contributers (Time-Warner, Viacom, Sony, Disney, and Vivendi) and top catagories. Feinstein, top contributers (Disney, Time-Warner, and Vivendi) and top catagories.
These numbers are for Boxer's 2004 race, and Feinstein's 2000 race. It's extremely frustrating to me that I can't find candidates to vote for in this area that aren't completely in the pocket of the movie and music industry.
I've been very impressed with the debates thus far, although I'm pretty sure that I'll be disgusted again after the Town Hall on the 8th. (The moderater of the VP debate asked silly, rambling questions, I'm supposed to believe Joe Random is going to do better?) The tone has been fairly even and civilized, which is a refreshing change after the last 12 vitriol filled months. It would be nice if that sort of dialogue could be sustained over an entire campaign season, rather than clogging the airwaves with slime-by-proxy.
Special mention should go to the way both VP candidates refused to spew nonsense when the moderator wanted to use the gay marriage issue to create sparks. I got the impression very clearly that Cheney thinks that the party is in the wrong in this case (which doesn't get him off the hook for standing behind the position, even though he has little choice), and Edwards managed to state the Democratic position without making a huge issue of the VP's personal stake in the issue.