Wednesday, April 17, 2002

O'Reilly Network | The Street Finds its Own Use for the Law of Unintended Consequences [Apr. 16, 2002] When the coked-up Hollyweird cabal tried to ban the VCR in the mid-eighties, they thought they were fighting for their existence. They did not imagine that 20 years later they'd be attempting to ban ReplayTV PVRs, terrified that the new devices would kill the pre-recorded tape market, which has become the backbone of their industry, providing revenue long after Police Academy n-1 has left the big screen. This is the single best argument I've read for why digital copy protection mandates are a bad idea. 9:33:39 PM

politechbot.com: Federal court rules ban on "junk faxes" violates First Amendment The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri has just declared unconstitutional the ban on "junk faxes" contained in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. This is bad news. If ever there was a limit to the First Amendment, it stops letting you say what you want when you try to write it on my property or resources. What is the difference between sending a junk fax and spray paint graffiti? They are both unwelcome writing on top of stuff somebody else paid for. I am sure that the judges who decided this will start receiving a lot of junk faxes, and will start to rethink their position... 10:06:12 AM

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