The last I checked, a lie is an intentional misrepresentation of truth or facts. Doesn't that imply that one have the intellectual capacity to actually intend to misrepresent? That would seem to me to be giving Lamar Smith a lot more credit than he is due.
the members of Congress and, more importantly, their staffers can't get the latest update to Angry Birds for their smartphones and run out of levels to play. When they ask why and find out that developers are not having their apps sold in the US because of patent trolls, thinks may actually change. Most of what is discussed here is in the abstract, but developers pulling apps for fear of trolls is pretty concrete. You can't spend enough on lobbyists to counteract that.
Right now, that thought is utterly terrifying. The rewrite would be driven by special interest groups. We would pay taxes directly to the RIAA and MPAA. We need our house in order first as what we have now is pretty much being ignored when it is inconvenient.
The issue in this particular case in Maryland is not a First Amendment issue. It is a equal protection issue. If a government makes a statute, regulation or policy then it must apply them equally to all. The question isn't whether under is a "professional" journalist, but whether the rules were applied equally to him. The blogger in question is a former county attorney in Maryland who writes a blog. While I don't read it, I have heard of it. From the linked article:
[The blogger,]"Liner wanted to interview Brochin [his State Senator] in Annapolis throughout the session on whatever was news in the General Assembly and post the “uncensored, unfiltered” conversations on his Web site. Liner planned to ask other lawmakers to participate as well."
This is exactly the type of blogger reporting that you are always touting. I think you will agree this is a great idea. Does it rate a press pass?
"In December, Liner called the Department of General Services, which formally issues the press passes, and was told the governor’s press office decides who receives them. Liner said he called the governor’s press office but never received a reply.
He enlisted the help of Brochin’s office and, in January, soon after the session began, he learned from the senator’s aide that his request had been denied. Among the reasons given was that his site had “no original content regarding state government,” according to an e-mail from the aide."
Further, "[i]n addition to his blog posts, he has posted interviews with former governors Marvin Mandel and Harry R. Hughes, as well as Rep. Frank Kratovil during his successful campaign two years ago for the Maryland’s 1st Congressional District." Rep. Kratovil was a hotly contested, important race in Maryland where the incumbent Republican representative had been unseated in the primaries. Obviously, this is important Maryland political discussion.
The published criteria for a press pass are:
"The applicant must be employed by an “independent bona fide” news organization or be a freelancer who “regularly engages in regular news gathering.” Credentials may not be used to engage in “any lobbying, promotion or publicity activity” advocating for a candidate or issue." These rules do two things: exclude lobbyists (explicit) and not-for-pay reporting (implicit). Frankly, I think this is an important issue to deal with, and I believe you would as well. As an attorney, I am thinking about volunteering my time in to help Mr. Liner in this case.
You wouldn't ask that question. There is a bad history there of purchasing computer programs that don't work. A few years back, they got a new payroll program. The only problem is that it could not handle hourly employees. It got so bad, the Board had to hire armed guards to stand at the entrance to payroll. . .
You have written a very eloquent moral defense for payment to authors. Economically it does not stand up. How does one determine what a "good novel" is in this society? Do we have critics who judge the writing, story elements, etc. and tell us whether it is worthy of payment? Obviously not. When it comes down to it, we value a novel, or anything else for that matter, by the price we are willing to pay for it, not for the effort involved in producing it. Someone may have spent ten years writing the Great American Novel, but if no one buys the novel, it has no value.
The problem with this business model is that these days the words can be replicated for free. Therefore the marginal cost is essentially zero. Economics 101 shows that goods are priced at their marginal cost. If you are an author and expect to get paid simply by writing a novel, good luck. Copyright essentially acts to try limit the basic economics by making it illegal for anyone but the rights' holder to produce the novel infinitely. However, this just creates a black market. It doesn't really stop the infinite production. Ignoring this is burying your head in the sand.
Marketing has nothing to do with this part of the equation as with infinite goods, demand is irrelevant. Everyone who wants one can have a copy. So what. Marketing simply exists to spur demand.
The novel itself can be reproduced infinitely. The original manuscript IS a scarce good, but the copies are not. The fact is most people don't want to purchase the original manuscript, and most authors want to sell more than the original manuscript. Trying to make a dichotomy between the original and a copy is irrelevant. And insisting that an item has an intrinsic value is specious. That value only exists in the desire of someone to have the object.
This is not about selling an object or a novel in and of itself. It is about creating a sustainable business model. If an author doesn't want to get his or her hands dirty doing anything but writing, the author better find someone who will or get another job to pay the rent. Playing ostrich or feeling insulted is not conducive to earning an income.
On the post: One Cent Friends: Another Attempt To Quantify Social Media's Value
No One Called This. . .
Channelling "A Knight's Tale" are we?
Bryan
On the post: According To Lamar Smith, Data Or Criticism From Anyone Who Doesn't Like SOPA Isn't Valid
Lying
Bryan
On the post: App Developers Dropping Out Of US Out Of Fears Over Patent Lawsuits
Just Wait Until. . .
Bryan
On the post: Iceland (a.k.a. The Transparentest Place On Earth) Crowdsources Its New Constitution
Re: Very Cool
On the post: Lazy TSA Agents Let Thousands Of Bags Through Unscreened (But They Gotta See Us Naked)
On the post: More Bloggers Suing For Gov't Press Passes
Not Exactly Free Speech
The issue in this particular case in Maryland is not a First Amendment issue. It is a equal protection issue. If a government makes a statute, regulation or policy then it must apply them equally to all. The question isn't whether under is a "professional" journalist, but whether the rules were applied equally to him. The blogger in question is a former county attorney in Maryland who writes a blog. While I don't read it, I have heard of it. From the linked article:
[The blogger,]"Liner wanted to interview Brochin [his State Senator] in Annapolis throughout the session on whatever was news in the General Assembly and post the “uncensored, unfiltered” conversations on his Web site. Liner planned to ask other lawmakers to participate as well."
This is exactly the type of blogger reporting that you are always touting. I think you will agree this is a great idea. Does it rate a press pass?
"In December, Liner called the Department of General Services, which formally issues the press passes, and was told the governor’s press office decides who receives them. Liner said he called the governor’s press office but never received a reply.
He enlisted the help of Brochin’s office and, in January, soon after the session began, he learned from the senator’s aide that his request had been denied. Among the reasons given was that his site had “no original content regarding state government,” according to an e-mail from the aide."
Further, "[i]n addition to his blog posts, he has posted interviews with former governors Marvin Mandel and Harry R. Hughes, as well as Rep. Frank Kratovil during his successful campaign two years ago for the Maryland’s 1st Congressional District." Rep. Kratovil was a hotly contested, important race in Maryland where the incumbent Republican representative had been unseated in the primaries. Obviously, this is important Maryland political discussion.
The published criteria for a press pass are:
"The applicant must be employed by an “independent bona fide” news organization or be a freelancer who “regularly engages in regular news gathering.” Credentials may not be used to engage in “any lobbying, promotion or publicity activity” advocating for a candidate or issue." These rules do two things: exclude lobbyists (explicit) and not-for-pay reporting (implicit). Frankly, I think this is an important issue to deal with, and I believe you would as well. As an attorney, I am thinking about volunteering my time in to help Mr. Liner in this case.
All quotes from the Daily Record article here: http://mddailyrecord.com/2010/03/07/pushing-for-press-access-for-bloggers/
Bryan
On the post: Forget Snow Days, Kids Get Two Days Of No Classes Due to A Computer Glitch
If you knew PG County
On the post: Buy The Novel, Get A Lot More -- Including True Reasons To Buy
Re: Re: Re:
You have written a very eloquent moral defense for payment to authors. Economically it does not stand up. How does one determine what a "good novel" is in this society? Do we have critics who judge the writing, story elements, etc. and tell us whether it is worthy of payment? Obviously not. When it comes down to it, we value a novel, or anything else for that matter, by the price we are willing to pay for it, not for the effort involved in producing it. Someone may have spent ten years writing the Great American Novel, but if no one buys the novel, it has no value.
The problem with this business model is that these days the words can be replicated for free. Therefore the marginal cost is essentially zero. Economics 101 shows that goods are priced at their marginal cost. If you are an author and expect to get paid simply by writing a novel, good luck. Copyright essentially acts to try limit the basic economics by making it illegal for anyone but the rights' holder to produce the novel infinitely. However, this just creates a black market. It doesn't really stop the infinite production. Ignoring this is burying your head in the sand.
Marketing has nothing to do with this part of the equation as with infinite goods, demand is irrelevant. Everyone who wants one can have a copy. So what. Marketing simply exists to spur demand.
The novel itself can be reproduced infinitely. The original manuscript IS a scarce good, but the copies are not. The fact is most people don't want to purchase the original manuscript, and most authors want to sell more than the original manuscript. Trying to make a dichotomy between the original and a copy is irrelevant. And insisting that an item has an intrinsic value is specious. That value only exists in the desire of someone to have the object.
This is not about selling an object or a novel in and of itself. It is about creating a sustainable business model. If an author doesn't want to get his or her hands dirty doing anything but writing, the author better find someone who will or get another job to pay the rent. Playing ostrich or feeling insulted is not conducive to earning an income.
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