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EFF Interviews

Greplaw at Harvard has an interview up with Brad Templeton, Chairman of the EFF.

Good overview of what the EFF is, what they do, and what Brad personally believes in as well as where he came from.

Here’s a great quote:

# If you choose the three – and only three – most important issues for the EFF – what would they be?

Two of the EFF’s core issues — freedom of speech and surveillance — remain even more important today than they ever were. But the growing issue right now is certainly intellectual property and copyright — in particular when such areas of law start affecting freedom of speech, freedom to do research and to build software, freedom to publish and reverse engineer, all of which are happening under the DMCA.

Greplaw also has a rather tongue in cheek interview with Prof. Lawrence Lessig.

Apparently, Prof. Lessig’s personal blog was hosted by Gov. Howard Dean last week. What a great read! Dean mentions his thoughts on the DMCA, copyright and other issues. Dean’s campaign also has a blog up about the campaign.

Good stuff.

Why is it so hard for so many Democrats to believe?

That Howard Dean could get the nomination?

This article at MSNBC sums up centrist Democrats’ fears.

Is it really only his anti-war stance? Many, many people believe that the war in Iraq was unjustified – yes we have removed a menace, but it’s how we went about doing it as well.

As many people learn more about Dean, they’ll find out he’s not that far left. Yes, on the war he absolutely is. His health care proposal is excellent – but liberal. His take on gun control is moderate – and some would even say to the right of most centrist Democrats.

But for Democrats to say their worst fear is his nomination and compare that to McGovern, Mondale and Dukakis, that’s a reach.

Let’s face facts – when was the last time a sitting Senator won a presidential election? What do Kerry, Lieberman, or even Edwards offer that’s unique or not a line handed to them from the DLC? And for Lieberman to go on the Today show and sound off yesterday, if that’s not spin, I don’t know what is. Bob Graham has an interesting opportunity, but is he late to the party?

Dean has been consistent. Much more so than any other Democratic hopeful. Yes, he was Governor of a small state – but at least he has hands on experience governing, which I don’t believe the current crop of Senators necessarily do.

I’ll save my Lieberman rant for a later date.

Quote of the Day – Unemployment

“‘With 30,000 more jobs lost last month on President Bush’s watch, more than three million Americans have been thrown out of work in less than three years,'” said Democratic presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. “‘I think everyone knows that the only person in this country who deserves to be laid off is George W. Bush.'” – Sen. John Kerry, July 2003

On this one, I'm with Colin Powell

Last Thursday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran an article saying Sen. Mark Dayton, with Sen. Coleman, would support the Amendment to ban flag-burning.

I am absolutely outraged that Sen. Dayton, would change his mind on this topic.

So Sen. Mark Dayton has hopped on the flag-burning-amendment bandwagon (Star Tribune, May 30).

Ben Seymour, in a letter to the editor in the Star Tribune, put it best:

Dayton is echoing the rhetoric used to stifle criticism of our government. “There’s something in this country that ought to be above government and all the debates in the parties,” he says.

In a democracy, no idea with broad support is above debate. We should question the motives of these politicians.

It’s pathetic when they return from their dead soldier pilgrimages with “patriotic” epiphanies, which in reality are ill-reasoned, American-ideal-desecrating attempts at popularity boosting, at best.

As you can see here on the ACLU’s page against this amendment, even Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff, agrees with me on this one:

“The First Amendment exists to insure that freedom of speech and expression applies not just to that with which we agree or disagree, but also that which we find outrageous,” he said. “I would not amend that great shield of democracy to hammer a few miscreants. The flag will be flying proudly long after they have slunk away.”

Cuba jails dissidents over flag desecration. Is this what we have sunk to in the name of “patriotism”?

Email, fax, or write your members in Congress here.

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Radio Follow-up

So today was the big vote on relaxing media ownership rules at the FCC. As you can see from this link, the FCC voted party lines, with the Republican majority approving the relaxation of how much any media company can own in a given market. Here’s the highlights from an AP article:

The FCC said a single company can now own TV stations that reach 45 percent of U.S. households instead of 35 percent. The major networks wanted the cap eliminated, while smaller broadcasters said a higher cap would allow the networks to gobble up stations and take away local control of programming.

The FCC largely ended a ban on joint ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city. The provision lifts all “cross-ownership” restrictions in markets with nine or more TV stations. Smaller markets would face some limits and cross-ownership would be banned in markets with three or fewer TV stations.

The agency also eased rules governing local TV ownership so one company can own two television stations in more markets and three stations in the largest cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

The FCC kept a ban on mergers among the four major TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

“The more you dig into this order the worse things get,” said Michael Copps, one of the commission’s Democrats. He said the changes empowers “a new media elite” to control news and entertainment.

Fellow Democrat Jonathan Adelstein said the changes are “likely to damage the media landscape for decades to come.”

The Democrats said the new rules mean a single company can own in one city up to three TV stations, eight radio stations, the cable TV system, cable TV stations and the only daily newspaper.

Slashdot has been covering this for the last week or so, with a great article that covers many links, including a fantastic piece at the Washington Post: More on Media Consolidation/Deregulation; a follow-up piece covering the history of copyright: Media Monopoly: Thomas Edison to Hillary Rosen , and today’s followup with over 700 user comments.

In addition, last Thurdsay Kuro5hin posted a great editorial on the Consolidation of American Radio. It’s a great look of how this started to happen – in the 70’s, and even the role computers and advertising played.

It’s another sad chapter in the history of American copyright. Our forefathers specifically granted rights in our Constitution – but never this broad in scope. Not only did they believe in copyright, but they believed in passing that same information into the public domain – not this version of locking everyone out. Now we are surrounded by the loosening of rules regarding the media, so they can continue to tell us what to think in even more ways. Great. Because I like having a lack of choice in how I’m told to think I get my news.

Thankfully, there is the Internet. I’ll leave you with this:

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Quote of the Day

Naturally the common people don’t want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

–Hermann Goering, at the Nuremberg trials