http://www.kevindoran.com
California Here I Come
John Kerry has begun courting the traditional Democratic power base of Hollywood in anticipation of his California primary and general election runs by pandering to those in the entertainment product community who believe that technology and legislation can be used to subvert market forces.

In his first campaign comments on copyright and media consolidation, he favors the former over the latter, though with convoluted - at times transparently evasive - language which betrays an under-considered, still-evolving position.

Practical politics demands telling big contributor bases what they want to hear on the fundraising trail, but the Senator's early embrace of DRM and legislative solutions underscores a troubling tendency of Democrats to side with Hollywood against the clearly articulated expectations of the tens of millions of voters who believe they are entitled to access their culture - and the products they purchase - on their own terms.

By contrast, Republicans - particularly those who have other axes to grind with Hollywood and the media - have demonstrated a growing awareness of this public sentiment and its potential political power by arguing that market forces (i.e. consumers) should be given greater respect as efforts to interfere with them are ulitimately doomed anyway. It is primarily Republicans in Congress who are calling for greater scrutiny of the RIAA's tactics under the DMCA and a better understanding of emergent technology and its limits.

This division of philosophy which effectively puts each party in defense of archetypal constituencies which have traditionally allied with the other - the little guy and big business - has the potential to further redefine the basic post-New Deal political framework that has been under steady erosion since the Civil Rights movement and economic evolution begun in the Sixties flipped the South and drove non-union Labor to the right.

In short, as the public debate over copyright and media consolidation heats up along with the campaign this year, Democrats may find themselves deeply pressured to reconsider their defense of Hollywood if they expect to remain competitive in races and districts where these issues are fundamental to voters' lifestyles.

And with an electorate that is evenly divided along party lines and in an election where the Democrats may finally decide to pursue a national strategy that doesn't depend on the South, these issues and the votes they carry - perhaps as many as 60 million - may well prove the difference between winning and losing for either party.

Hollywood Reporter:
Dialogue with presidential candidate John Kerry
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/business/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2077032

Fuck Kerry, I'm gonna vote CodeWarrior/Ziemann

His folk were RUDE to us and often were deleting the threads our folk were posting over at his site. WE were being as polite and nice as could be... HIS campaign was already bought out by the RIAA and Hollywood.

I say FUCK EM

It might even be a GOOD thing if some PURE evil corporate rich spoiled asshole like bush gets another term...

Sheep have very THICK skins...

The bad guys have to really PROD them before they figure out they have been screwed.

I'm voting the CodeWarrior/Ziemann ticket

sure, maybe my choice won't win this election... but after 4 more of bush, (or 4 from kerry) I think the public will wake up.

Shmoo

LOL>>TOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally laughed my ass off at that picture....thank you thank you thank you....it's rainy and gloomy here...
you brightened my day....
and Shmoo is right!

I didn't realize that Kerry's initials were JFK. That freaks me out!

Thanks, Schmoo. I thought just maybe I was crappy at persuading people. It just irritates me how one of my friends will metaphorically stick his fingers in his ear and start singing.

btw...I saw an interview on CNN the other day with Ms. Heinz Kerry, and it was hilarious because CNN was running subtitles at the bottom of the screen saying again, what she was just saying...one of the blurbs was that
"She speaks five languages fluently".

She was understandable, perfectly, but she had a weird accent, it was almost like the Mid-Western accent Peter Sellers did on "Being There" (which he said was a refined version of an imitation of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy)...but with a hint of German or Austrian....she sounded like a member of the European Directorate, not an American, but of course, allegedly she is worth 500-600 million, so she can sound any way she wants

Excellent article. Where did it come from?

Lachette...I didn't realize it til you said it...freaky...
John Forbes Kerry...Massachusetts
rich, military record, ...hmmm
John Fitzgerald Kennedy....

interesting...I wonder if Kennedy was Skull and Bones....

Lachatte...check it..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3003306.stm

"Senator John F Kerry is aiming to be the second Senator from Massachusetts with the initials JFK to reach the White House.

And like John Fitzgerald Kennedy he is running more on his personality than on his policies.


"Part of the American melting pot"
He is generally liberal on domestic issues and more conservative over foreign policy but he is not entirely predicable on either - like JFK the first, whom he knew through his blue-blood connections when he was going out with Jacqueline Kennedy's half sister.

John Kerry's main strength is that he is seen by Democrats as a credible challenger to President Bush.

He lacks the charisma of the other JFK, but part of his attraction comes from his, at times, grave senatorial demeanour. At other times he can suffer from the senatorial sin of waffle.

Vietnam veteran

His record as a Vietnam veteran who turned against the war has also stood him in good stead against a president who joined the Texas Air National Guard which did not see active service in Vietnam.

In a campaign in which national security issues are important, his military record is seen as relevant.

He can present himself as someone who has done his duty, who knows war at first hand and yet who also knows the limitations of war.

He was captain of a gunboat in the Mekong Delta, personally killing a Viet Cong fighter in one action. He was wounded three times, though not seriously.

The contrast with George Bush is there without having to be spelled out."

LOL! Good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I saw that Kerry picture or I would have spat it out all over the place!

Kennedy was on a boat, PT 109 (Profiles in Courage) and now Kerry was on a gunboat in the Mekong Delta...
and Kerry went out with Jackie Kennedy's half-sister...hmm...the Heinz tomato paste thickens.....

well I can compair kerry with teh evil andrew jackson, one of the former presidents of the united states, in which they are both power hungry ass holes who should have been assasinated befor they got alittle bit of what they wanted. both are pure evil.....

Kerry doesn't give a damn about you and me, if he did he would be with Norm Coleman and be challenging the RIAA and the crap that they are doing to us.

4 more years of bush are a whole lot better than 4 years of Kerry

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called Bush an "asshole"
Sunday...
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0301-04.htm
"Chavez Calls Bush 'Asshole' as Foes Fight Troops "

I just think we MUST break out of picking between two evils...

Kerry is a waffling joke. He is seriously in bed with Hollywood, no doubt about it. The people on his site are rude, though one of the moderators there have helped me out quite a bit with thread-management and the like but the people posting are rude, abusive, condescending and the mail from the pro-Hollywood shits have really pissed me off (not to mention RIAA plants and baiters).

Screw Kerry. I'm done with his site and am leaving there before I totally lose it.

Holy shit, gothic! They sent you letters?! What did they say?

Below is just a sample of the assholic corporate elitist mindset that dominates that forum. This is from one of the boards, I get worse PM's and e-mails.

"-->bellcurve: Kids, copyrights must be enforced. You’d never have records (or books or any intellectual material) if the authors and publishers had no rights to protect their intellectual efforts.

The so called anti-corporate views expressed so consistently here make me believe you’re all students, government workers or private sector employees so far down the food chain that you have no concept why people make the investments that bring you everything you take for granted.

No copyrights (or patents) in your ideal world? OK, then be prepared to do without any kind of technology or any product dependent on technology, any books of worth, movies, plays, and just about anything else that raises us above tree dwellers.

Copyright and patent law are among the fundamentals of modern society."

I just wanna say this. If you arent registered to vote, .....you may want to know that the Jury Duty selection process selects FIRST from those registered to vote, and THEN from people's driving licenses.

For example, my father is 60...he used 1 excuse to get out of jury duty. He never got called again. He is NOT registered to vote.

My mom and I are registered to vote, I was called 1 year after turning 18 which I got out of but subsequently served when i was able to. My mom refuses to serve and keeps presenting excuses and KEEPS getting called.

I believe you SHOULD vote and SHOULD be on a jury, but remember registering to vote goes hand and hand with jury selection.

That bellcurve is absolutely clueless and obviously can't think for himself/herself. I have in my possession thousands upon thousands of products that have been put out there for free by the authors. Books, music, movies, etc. That retard doesn't know a damn thing about this if they think that the only things out there are the things you have to buy. Mainstream fuck!

Basically, the letters are all "You're a thief," "Want everything for free," "Turning you in to the RIAA," "Get the FUCK off of our site" bullshit. I just block them but it's damned frustrating and discouraging. Their attitude is infectious too, like herpes.

I couldn't call any of the letters up from Verizon, they don't have a undelete bin in my mail service. I'm sure I'll get more though and I'll be sure to post them for posterity.

Here's one of the more respectful letters from a Kerry's supporter:

"Look, no offense, but indie musicians I know have likened the free for all file sharing you're talking about to outsourcing of their ability to earn a living for their labors. There's very little you can claim as nuanced when it comes down to the fact that file sharing does indeed afford many fans the ability to get entire albums free of charge at virtually the equivalent quality sound as the cd or vinyl album, and therefore have the product without compensation for the music or the work involved getting the product put out for sale. It is ripping off artists, and ensuring that they are less likely to be able to afford to record any future work.You are paid for your labors, the indie artists whose music you claim a passion for deserve to be paid for theirs. You can't equivocate on these subjects when it's clear that even indie musicians are supporting the RIAA's taking action as they cannot afford to do so on their own."

Gothic-Angel,

I didn't get the happy letters but I was very shocked at exactly how many sheeple do exist in this world.

I didn't get anything from anyone. But that's probably because I CAN'T FUCKING POST ON THE SITE!

I'm outing them everywhere I possibly can...

hey leflaw, can Gothic-angel sue whoever sending those threats?

nyer.. not registering to vote because of fear of jury duty.. now, seriously, how does that sound. You are willing to give up your voice in this society, not once, but twice.. so someone who wishes to squelch your vote and your responsibility will speak for you.. real smart. We have to combat this cynical thinking.. what if your dad came up for trial and they could not find anyone for the jury? so they just throw his arse in jail.. stop and .

BOYCOTT. EDUCATE. REGISTER. VOTE.

ARE YOU REGISTERED AND READY?

.. and face it, folks, there are a lot of dumbhead politicos out there.. thank goodness that the posters on this site exhibit thought and foresight, no matter what the opinion..

I reported a few of the letters to the moderator there Saturday and was told the offenders would "probably" be banned. The thing is, they aren't PM's or names I've seen in posts, just e-mails with that Kerry Forums thing on the bottom.

nyer82, I've been a licensed driver since I was 16 and a registered voter since 18 and have never even been summoned for jury duty. That is an honor I would love to have but alas to this date I have been overlooked. Guess it's just a toss of the dice.

BTW.... In Indiana, we have legislation up that will allow them to call people from phone listings as well.

Oh, yeah, I just remembered too that most of them were from hotmail addresses.

So you get called for jury duty. Show up wearing a "Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out" t-shirt. And carry a Rush Limbaugh book with you.

I just read a story at ABCNEWS about Kerry and Edwards. They say that Edwards is going to drop out of the race.

The democratic party leaders want to end the nomination fight.
I didn't even get to vote here in PA.

Gothic-Angel, I registered and posted a few comments on the Kerry site. It's so "rah-rah" - "Get out there and support our man!"
The e-mails that you received are so ignorant. Don't they understand that we are talking about copyright reform? They are the ones who are so young and uninformed to believe that everything has ALWAYS been totally protected by copyright laws. My children will never see music enter the public domain if these corporate protection laws are not changed.

Gothic-angel And you think this is just a DEMOCRAT thing? Come on THINK!! you're joking right?

I don't deny or refute what you said but you make it sound like the dem have a copyright (pun intended) on being rude and what not. PULEEZE!!

Pose as a democrat and go to a republican site and tell me you aren't treaded just as bad. I went to and read an article which then had a "talk about this topic in our forum" link so out of curiousity I went there just to read some of what was being said.

OH MY GOD!! talk about a pack of ravaging dogs if you differed from thier point of view (whether you stated you were liberial dem or whatever) you were automaticly labeled as such some person EVEN stated they were indipendant and had NEVER voted for a DEM yet since his view was against thiers he DEFINATLY WAS a dem in disgise blah blah etc etc. Anyway the point it BOTH sides have rude staff an/or supporters.

Seems on this issue I've seen as many of both parties in favor of copyrights and the like. Does the name HATCH ring a bell? (REPULICAN) also the RIAA and MPAA give to BOTH PARTIES yes one more than the other depending on the situation but they play both sides in this issue. This isn't a black and white issue.

PLEASE try and be objective its not too much to ask I'd say. But then again since my opinion differs I must be one of them UN-PATRIOTIC dems or worse right?

Gothic-Angel isn't saying it's a Democrat thing... they're saying that it's a Kerry thing. He's just like Bush, and we all know this because of events that unfolded a little while back...

I'm a registered Democrat, so I am interested in the candidates in the ongoing primaries. I went to the Kerry site among others. I have no reason to visit Republican forums. By the way, what does patriotism have to do with ignorance of the facts?

And what happened to that tomato? It added color and levity...

If you're interested in the candidates, you should read my article. Hold on, and I'll get a link.

I read it. I remember it well. I even complimented you on it!

I have a bad memory... sorry.

It was during that research that I checked out the House and Senate.

I don't like Bush or Kerry they both stink of Big intrest hollywood or the other, I would have voted for Dean or Edward now both of my choices are gone now it doesn't matter who you now vote for they both will let other countrys dictate what we can or cannot do using our laws and politicians.

Well Gothic, I haven't been able to post since this weekend. Everytime I go to the site, the setup is extremely skewed and I can't access the forums.

What exactly happened to you undeath, when you couldn't post anymore?

Suikiogiaz, it sounds more like what happened to CodeWarrior. He was banned and, I guess, not even notified. Chris (undeath) is just being censored and monitored. I've yet to be banned but I'm not going to post on a forum that treats people the way they've treated us and risk exposing my computer to attack by those f**ks.

Yeah, no notification here either. Understandable. I was expecting the people to be more opened minded, but obviously I was wrong in that assumption.

No matter what I try to post, they refuse to let it pass. In my best hippie mentality: "It's like Big Brother, man!"

Gothic, with me, I had posted that editorial I did here, but had heard that they did not allow links to be used, so I did not post the link from the interview with The Hollywood Reporter...I got an email from an admin saying they were deleting the editorial, and if I provided the source, I could repost. I sent them the full URL and quoted the interview and re-sent them the article in email, and when I tried to access the site, they had banned/blocked me from the board.

Just because this presidential candidate has the initials "JFK", dated the half sister of Jackie Kennedy, is from Massachusetts, was on a gunboat during a war, and is rich, doesn't mean that Camelot will reappear if he gets in the White House. Seems his forum effectively silences dissent and free speech, and this bodes poorly for any presidency starring him in my opinion.

I would like to say i have gained some sort of rapport with the moderator there, but when I asked for assistance she honestly expressed she wanted to offer, the first pieces of info she sent were widely known ANTI p2p bills.
Weather they care has yet to be seen, but they are definitely in need of perspective and education. real education.. not the RIAA's "education".

Thanks for clearing that up, CodeWarrior. I kind of forgot what all happened with that. I killed more brain cells than I intended to in college.

I highly doubt there would be anything close to Camelot with him in the White House. Am I the only one who's noticed that he looks like Damien's father in The Omen?

whoa Gothic I knew he resembled someone I just couldn't put my finger on it. creepy if I may say he does resemle Damien's father in the omen.

While I sympathize with folks who have been blasted on the Kerry boards, and elsewhere, please keep some perspective in mind. This stuff ain't obvious.

When I first read Richard Stallman's views on copyright, I thought he was insane. It seemed logical that copyright was necessary to keep the software industry viable, and thus to keep computer science going. At the time, his views seemed extreme and ideological.

That changed -- not his views, but mine. Just today I downloaded the newest audacity, mozilla, vlc, and blackbox for windows. Hell, I'm typing this on vim. Having all these tools makes my life easier, and props up the software industry as a whole. These tools enable further work. They allow things to happen that couldn't happen if everything were proprietary.

A rising tide lifts all boats. It's good that the Rolling Stones were allowed to rip off blues artists. It's good that the Beatles were allowed to rip off early surf and rock records. It's good that Joplin was allowed to rip off black folk music, that Jelly Roll was allowed to rip off Joplin, that King Oliver was allowed to rip off Jelly Roll, that Armstrong was allowed to rip off Oliver, that Bix was allowed to rip off Armstrong, that Ellington was allowed to rip off Bix. Jimmie Rodgers to Buddy Holly to Elvis Costello. Speckled Red to Jerry Lee Lewis to Biz Markee. Billy Murray to Johnny Rotten. Free software lifts up proprietary and free software alike. A good public domain lifts up public and commercial art alike. It lifts up the culture, and the culture is what matters.

But this ain't obvious! It seems insane at first, especially to an american. We're just taught that nothing matters unless it has direct monetary worth.


The upshot is that all these guys will realize this eventually. From the right to the left, they're resisting this now, because it's part of american culture to resist this. Genuine public-minded altruism seems like communism at first, and if it doesn't seem a little creepy at first, you're not being properly critical.

But they'll realize the benefits eventually. Being right has the advantage of winning out in the long run, but has the disadvantage of looking stupid in the short run.

So be patient. I'll bet no one posting on this board was open-minded enough to see the folly of modern copyright immediately. So can you judge these folks for criticizing the inevitable? It doesn't seem obvious from our perspective, although it will seem so from history's.

Help them out! Explain things patiently. It's not their fault they don't see the truth of this. It's yours for not getting them there.

I have been quite proud of the regulars at the Kerry site from the Boycott. We have conducted ourselves civilly (up until now, I just tore some obvious RIAA guy a new one) and respectfully, not only of our opponents but of the moderators as well. We even thanked the moderators in a post for allowing the forum to continue and expand.

great job Gothic!

I've always said we have the most articulate and best people here of any board on the net!