Sunday, October 17, 2010
Worst person in New Orleans
Under US copyright law, the justification appears in Article I, Section 8 Clause 8 of the Constitution, known as the Copyright Clause. It empowers the United States Congress "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation the purpose of copyright is twofold:
"To encourage a dynamic creative culture, while returning value to creators so that they can lead a dignified economic existence, and to provide widespread, affordable access to content for the public."
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Last year, New Orleanians rose up with one voice and beat back the mighty National Football League when it tried to assert ownership of their beloved Saints' signature slogan.
Turns out, maybe "Who Dat" belonged to a couple of guys in San Antonio all along.
Brothers Steve and Sal Monistere make no claim that they're owed royalties anytime someone chants the phrase, but they do say that when it's exploited for commercial purposes, they should get a cut.
The guys who started out as startup musicians, recording a "Who Dat?" song in 1983, say they were smart enough to immediately trademark the Saints-fan battle cry
...
"We never claimed to have invented the words; we only trademarked it," said Monistere, who divides his time between his native New Orleans and San Antonio.
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Remember when Keith Olbermann used his "worst person" segment to single out assholes and greedheads instead of people he disagreed with politically? Occasionally, the old style "worst person" designation applies to people in the local news.
Friday, October 08, 2010
I had no idea
Watching "Informed Sources" tonight, I found out that George Will is a blogger (I'm no longer interested in taking gratuitous shots at the media, but they were laying it on pretty thick tonight).
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Wanted: liberals who know how to throw a 1-2 combination.
On MSNBC tonight, both Keith and Rachel have reported on the Chamber of Commerce allegedly using money from foreign corporations to run partisan campaign ads. Don't get me wrong, it's an important story, but the Chamber's leaders aren't just whores. They're also hypocrites:
"Make no mistake: When the aftermath of congressional inaction becomes clear, Americans will not tolerate those who stood by and let the calamity happen," wrote Bruce Josten, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vice president in September 2008, who at the time pressed lawmakers before their vote on a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street.
A few months later, Congress faced a similar reckoning — whether to pass an $814 billion economic stimulus package consisting of about one-third tax breaks and two-thirds additional government spending. Again, Josten wrote to lawmakers: "The global economy is in uncharted and dangerous waters and inaction from Washington is not an option."
Fast forward to the present. The chamber is now spending millions of dollars on ads trying to elect candidates whose campaigns are based on opposing the very bank rescue and stimulus law it once supported.