[Upd-discuss] !@!Public Domain & Eminent Domain

[David H. Rothman]

 > What appears to be happening is an organized effort to deprive us the
public of their rights, both in terms of property of the "real estate
variety" and property of the "intellectual property variety."

Michael's on target with the above PD-ED mention. Of interest from 
earlier this year, in the TeleRead blog, might be:

--Eminent domain as a tool against copyright gouges?
http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=2322

--Biggies can bulldoze your home--but Hollywood's copyrights are sacred
http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=3110

Oh, and don't just pick on George Bush. Don't forget the cowardice--and 
even complicity--of the Democrats. Here's one illustration of the 
problem: multimillionaire John Edwards, recipient of at least $900,000 
in PAC contributions just from one producer alone, Steve Bing. Neither 
Edwards nor Bing will explain the gifts. Is this why Edwards won't speak 
out on Bono? I'm a lifelong liberal Dem who voted for Kerry-Edwards, and 
I find it sad that Edwards' famous populism does not extent to copyright 
even though he's a "poverty fighter" in his new incarnation as a UNC 
professor. You can't separate copyright issues from economic issues, 
given the harm that Hollywood does to tech-driven job growth, including 
from the trickle-down effect. Want some specifics? The furniture and 
clothing factories in Hickory, North Carolina, have been shutting down. 
A Web client of mine owns a health club and would love to hire new 
people and expand. And guess who some of his prospective members will 
be? Workers at fiber optics plants--the very kind of industry that will 
thrive on the new technological innovations that Hollywood hates. He's 
even putting his Web address on a sign on a major highway. You can't 
harm the Web anymore without harming America. I haven't even mentioned 
the library-and-K-12 angle. To adapt a Clinton quote about cabinet 
members, "We need a copyright policy that looks like America."

Meanwhile some of Edwards' admirers, especially UNC's Paul Jones, Mr. 
iblibio, of whom I'd expect MUCH more, have refused to speak out in 
public about Edwards' wimpiness on copyright. Why, ibiblio's servers 
even host Project Gutenberg, and Paul Jones comes from Hickory. Michael, 
can you speak to Paul about this? Why can't he at least blog a gentle, 
tactful suggestion that Edwards oppose Bono? It's just part of a 
cumulative process and won't instantly turn Edwards around. But it does 
look bad that even Mr. ibiblio is silent.

Go to http://www.teleread.org/blog/?cat=33 for more on Edwards. I'd love 
to see him redeem himself. You bet I've already tried the gentle 
approach. If even Mr. Populist won't take a stand, what about the other 
pols? I see the grand strategy as Edwards> Kerry> Clinton. We need to 
position Hollywood-bought copyright laws as a mainstream bipartisan 
issue. I think J.D. Lascia's book has helped by showing obnoxious ways 
in which Hollywood stifles tech innovation and free expression. The 
ultimate would-be stifler, of course, is John Edwards' friend Jack 
Valenti, who, like Mary Bono, wants copyright to last forever short of a 
day.

While Michael and I may disagree over some nuances such as use of the 
word "pirate," I totally agree with him that the big issue in public 
life is: fatcats vs. the rest of us. And copyright does play a role in 
the debate, given the regressive income-redistribution that the big 
copyright-holders and friends are effecting within their spheres. Hey, I 
have nothing against people getting rich(er), but not at the expense of 
the rest of us.

David

David Rothman | dr@teleread.org | 703-370-6540
TeleBlog: http://www.teleread.org/blog




Michael Hart wrote:

>
> [...]
>
> What appears to be happening is an organized effort to deprive us the
> public of their rights, both in terms of property of the "real estate
> variety" and property of the "intellectual property variety."
>
> Powers that have been with the public since time immemorial now being
> diverted, inverted, perverted to give the state more power at expense
> of the public.
>
> This gives a whole new meaning to "The Tragedy of the Commons," as it
> moves from commonly held property to personally held property, each in
> the case of property rights that have been handed down from generation
> to generation longer than any of these goverment offices have existed.
>
>
> "At this rate, the more we work, the poorer we get!"
>
>
> Are the George Bushs the new Prince Johns?
>
>
>
> Michael
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>
>
>
>
>



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