 Remember Folks, Lawyers Think Differently
Public Disclosure: I come from a family of lawyers and judges. My Ex is an attorney. (And despite our differences a good one.) I have worked in and around the family law office when I was young. I've spent more time at the dinner table listening to the legal discussions and court cases that flowed like water than I care to remember. It had a profound affect on me because I used to be able to quote the law from memory. Despite the family bent on trial work, my real love was and still is Copyright and Trademark Law. This personal learning exercise has lasted nearly a lifetime, and at certain points in my life I've sat in and participated in many major Intellectual Property classes and seminars where I've been able to hold my own in mock trials and debates. Basically because I know the animal known as the Lawyer because I was raised by them. ;-)
Hate to break the news but lawyers do think differently. And a person like Larry Lessig is more likely to be a bit more uppity in his writings, because he's a Law School Professor. It's part of the trappings. Take a real look at his website. Larry's being "handled" by a pack of law students and other lawyers, as well as a PR firm (I suspect,) who are putting Larry out there "on point" for the cause. His website is being treated as professionally production completely under his team's control. The website and his blog is not, nor can it ever be a group of random thoughts, because Larry is a LAWYER trying a major league case, in front of the Supreme's-- one slip of a word and Larry gets hung out to dry. (People tend to forget the Supreme's and their Clerks have internet access too.)
I suspect that if you were to get Larry out of his lawyer mode, you would find he's a pretty good guy. He's out there trying to fight the good fight from his point of view and training. I also suspect the mountain of work and the hours involved and teaching schedule are also taking its toll on him as well.
While some of you may disagree or misunderstand Larry's point of view at times, the reality check is without the work of Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain and a group of other lawyers who are fighting the Eldred v. Ashcroft Case everyone who ever creates something unique would end up being screwed in this arena by both the goverment and big business, because the Law currently makes it impossible.
Remember for the longest time Silicon Valley and the entire technology business did their best to remove themselves from the Washington DC scene-- in the end it's come to bite everyone squarely in the butt. So show a little respect occasionally. Okay?
As Doc says: "The implementation stage of Cluetrain indeed. Gives me chills. I love it."
Doc's right. We are implementing change. It is coming from many directions. This change will rearrange the landscape for generations to come and won't be done overnight. However if we don't change things-- creativity and innovation will only be tools for the well connected and big business who can afford the price of an admission ticket to the members of Congress.
3:16:12 PM 
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