Where it's due

Norm Coleman is not a guy I’d go out of my way to praise. I don’t like him. He’s only in the Senate because one of the last honest people in politics died during the campaign, and because the right-wing phony outrage machine was instantly cranked up to 11 by the supposedly inappropriate quality of the grief and determination shown by those left behind. The way the Republican party spun the Wellstone service was despicable and unforgivable.

That said, I’m glad that Senator Coleman is doing this:

A Senate panel will hold hearings on the recording industry’s crackdown against online music swappers, the chairman said Thursday.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) made the announcement in a letter to the Recording Industry Association of America. He had received information he had requested from the group about the campaign, which Coleman has called excessive.

I doubt much will come of it, but it’s a little public pushback on the side of balance and sanity in copyright law. That’s a good thing. If I were a Minnesotan, I’d be a little less pissed off about my Congressional representation today. Good show, Norm.

Filed under: copyright