my JK thought for the day

[MBS]

So now Sen. Dodd will become a lobbyist for the motion picture industry.(Lest my point be misunderstood, I actually don't hate Sen. Dodd. Whatever one might think about his often-cozy-relationships with financial firms, etc, etc, he's done many, many good things for the Senate, and I have no doubt that his presence in the Senate is missed. .But, like I said, that's not my point).

This is my point. My disappointment with Sen. Dodd's career move reminded me why I so value Sen. Kerry.
Can you imagine Sen. Kerry making a post-senate career move of this kind? Absolutely out of the question!
Sure, it could be that Sen. Dodd has real financial pressures that Sen. Kerry is unlikely to have, etc, etc.
But still. I can't imagine Sen. Kerry becoming a lobbyist of any sort for any reason, including dire financial circumstance.

Integrity.
That's my senator.
Bravo, Senator Kerry.

:applause::applause::applause:

[karynnj]

1. ditto - except he is not my Senator - just my favorite one

I so agree. He was our generation's statesman, even before he was 27 years old - and it is our lose that our culture does not value that consistent, serious, statesmanship as much as being "political".

[ladym55]

2. Very true

Sen. Kerry is pure class. I want to hear what HE has to say ... not the usual gang of beltway idiots they parade out to comment on every issue.

I consider him my adopted Senator, since we have a house on the Cape. I can't vote for him, but heck, I can sure support him.

And in the complete and total disaster that is my official state of residence (Ohio, home of union-busting Johnny Boy Kasich), I take heart that we do have my second favorite senator, the REAL Senator (Sherrod) Brown.

[Inuca]

3. 100% ageee

Dodd's choice is disappointing, because I did/do like him. As to the "financial pressures", it depends how you define the term, doesn't it? I am sure he could have easily found alternatives that would have allowed him to pay the mortgage (no pun intended) and have some money left to put food on the table and even send his young daughters to Ivy League schools eventually.

[ProSense]

4. Agree 100 percent. On a related note,

Matt Stoller pisses me off

Posted the article in GDP.

[beachmom]

5. Yes, this goes with the Inequality article at Mother Jones.

Basically, it showed charts of inequality. One was the richest members of Congress which of course JK is on (even though I don't think he would be on there if they didn't lump THK's wealth with his -- not sure about that though), and then had a big red alarming graph showing that ALL of those rich members voted to extend the Bush tax cuts back in December. Well, a peruse at roll call shows that the measure passed 86 - 19, with the 19 being a hodgepodge of conservatives, moderates, and a few liberals. It didn't just extend tax cuts for the rich -- it did so for the middle class as well and was the deal Obama made with the Republicans. Now some could say it was a bad deal, and Obama should have done a better job negotiating it, but Mother Jones and Matt Stoller are telling me that THAT vote shows JK cares about the rich only because he is rich? Please. It's a joke. It's the typical shorthand attacks liberals make against John Kerry. Bill Moyers was famous for doing that as well. They do this big setup and then show ONE DEFINING VOTE that means everything. Nevermind a Senator's entire record. It's infuriating, and is why I read a side variety of sources to keep perspective.

[beachmom]

6. Not only that but I despise the lobbying arms of the entertainment business.

They hate the internet, sue their own consumers, and demand the government be more authoritarian when it comes to copyright infringement concerns on the internet. Yeah, I get it. File sharing is wrong, it hurts their business, but it's the excuse they use to cover up the fact that they overcharge at the theater, latch on to the latest fad like 3D and movies made from comic books, and make way too many bad movies that cater to teenage boys. Meanwhile, while Chris Dodd and the wealthy entertainment industry find ways to get out of trouble, this is what happens to infringers, who while being wrong, are treated like the worst criminals (5 years in prison? Seriously?):

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/illegal-tv-streamers-heres-how-the-feds-will-hunt-you-down.ars

I guarantee you that the above action was made by the government on behalf of the MPAA.

But I won't excerpt the article, because, there is even more sinister parties at play clamping down on "copyright infringement":

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/03/will-righthaven-copyright-lawsuits-change-excerpting-online062.html

And yes, the victims are right in our back yard:

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/democratic-underground-responds-righthaven

To be clear, it's not a right wing outfit. They sue everyone.

So, now that I have that all off my chest, I agree with you, MBS, that JK would never become a lobbyist. I think he would set up a foundation, think tank, or something or other. Policy or charity or probably both plus commission type work done with total due diligence. And he wouldn't stop until his last dying breath.

[TayTay]

7. I have problems with this as well

I think the entertainment industry is re-inventing itself right now because of the pressures of the Internet and the challenges that poses. Artists do deserve to be paid. However, the industry right now is not really set up to favor the artists anyway and never really has been. (A few, a very few, musicians, actors, etc make a huge amount of money. Most do not.)

Copyright law is a mess. We have Congress extending copyright out to ridiculous lengths of time. I know that Walt Disney has multi-billion dollar branding issues at stake, but 75 plus years for copyright is ridiculous. The Founders of this Nation would be appalled at that and the endless buying of copyright that restricts free thought and the free borrowing of ideas that underpin a truly open society.

[beachmom]

8. And it's actually an issue where Democrats may well be worse than Republicans.

At the very least, it is depressingly bipartisan. The thing is I feel like the web is changing both for the better and for the worse. Better in that the experience is better (I can't say enough good things about Instapaper, for example), while for the worst for the "little guy" blogger who is under threat every day. (And let's not get into how much I detest these new "Facebook comments", like I want my real name sprinkled all over the 'net) As a follow up to the above post on the unauthorized video, here's Techdirt:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110303/16584013356/ice-arrests-operator-seized-domain-charges-him-with-criminal-copyright-infringement.shtml

He is wondering why this is a criminal claim instead of a civil claim. It is weird that the government is taking charge, when it's really about protecting someone's business. He also points out that if any blogger has put up a You Tube video (and I hate to break it to my fellow Kerrycrats, but any video made of the 2004 campaign where a song is used with it, that is copyright infringement unless you have permission from the artist and record label) and you sold some ads on your blog, then you are in the same category as this kid (who lives with his parents) who was surveyed by DHS (they literally were staking out his house) and then arrested. Now he may be worse in that it seems that was the point of his site, but again: 5 years in prison, when instead he should be paying a fine and compensating those who own the content. He should have been given cease and desist letters, and if he did not respond, he should have been served papers for a lawsuit. But the bloody FEDS?

It's all very hard to talk about because if you point out how the entertainment industry has overreached, people immediately think you're a pirate who doesn't want to pay for content. Of course, that is the opposite of my viewpoint. I have a big problem with freeloaders who think artists don't need to be paid, especially indie artists who really need the money, but I also think the file sharing issue should be dealt with appropriately, with the emphasis of offering alternatives to the "DarkNet".