This Blog May Be Gone Soon

No, no, gentle reader. I'm not going to stop writing it. You see, people don't want me to be able to link to other things on the internets. They say it infringes on their right to make money. It's ironic, or something, that I can only send you the information at that web page by linking to it, given that linking is what the article is all about. It's ironic, or maybe a simile, that I am like the content of that web page, mentioning and commenting on the status of intellectual property and its bearing on web logs, while I am myself writing in a web log right now. Or write now. Get it?

Progressives bitch a lot about media consolidation. It's a bad thing. But if you want to see where media consolidation is going, look at IP laws on the internet. As more content moves online, the advantage of owning pipes will decline, and media companies have to find another sustained advantage or else their protected business model will lose its protection. The answer is political - get rid of Fair Use and impose what is essentially a tax on Americans for access to our own culture.

Democrats in Congress, with the exception of some fine leaders like Rick Boucher and Zoey Lofgren, are largely clueless or actively malicious in this battle. Until our elected leaders begin to understand that there is value in freedom, that the digital world is not some weird place where freedom of speech is entirely subservient to commercial interests, we will not be a progressive party.

This blog may be gone soon. So read it while you can.