Reader.listen.watch

With elections just around the corner the campaign silly season has begun, and we're seeing the introduction of all manner of half-baked, self-serving legislation. In one of the worst cases of legislation abuse I have ever seen, a group of Congressmen (can anyone guess who?) have co-authored a copyright bill that would severly limit the right of fair use. But they each added a disclaimer saying they don't really mean it.

This is disgraceful behavior. Some days I think I've awakened in the middle of the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil.

Copyright bill may severely limit your rights. ZDNet Jul 12 2002 8:02AM ET
[...]In an unusual twist, Coble and Berman stressed in their letter to colleagues that their authorship of the draft bill does not necessarily "constitute an endorsement of its contents." Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the full Judiciary committee, also helped in the creation and included the same unusual disclaimer.
Spokeswoman Gene Smith said Thursday that Berman opposes the bill and drafted it only at the request of House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.[...]

[Moreover - IP and patents news]

See also: The Devil Made Me Do It: Adolescent Attraction to Satanism [ | The Devil Made Me Do It: Adolescent Attraction to Satanism | The devil made me do it! | The Devil Made Me Do It: Juvenile Crime | The Devil Made Me Do It - Hot Site Award | The devil made me do it | The devil made me do it | The Devil Made Me Do It | Edmunds St. John: Newsletters | THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT! Stars Zoltan, Monica Ricci, Mimi Honey,