At the risk of igniting a firestorm of political chatter by simply placing the word “Senator” in one of these entries, I’d like to pass along a link to what I think is an interesting quasi-political initiative.
iPac, a political action committee, is soliciting the public for the funds necessary to purchase 5G iPods for key U.S. senators. No, this effort isn’t being made because the lobbying community has taken a lower profile and is now distributing less swag to our needy elected representatives, but rather to help provide a clue to those who make laws governing the use of technology. The idea is that if said representatives actually used and enjoyed the benefits of the technology that’s a part of the daily lives of their constituents, they might offer questions sterner than “Now, this ‘Internet’ thing you’re talking about, sir. What exactly is that?” when the MPAA and RIAA troop before their committee to demand the right to break into your home and liberate your TiVo and DVD-R media.
The idea was inspired by the actions of Alaska Senator, Ted Stevens’ daughter. Perhaps figuring that a little music would help calm the feisty octogenarian, she gave him a 5G iPod. His experience with the iPod prompted him to ask an RIAA representative if the media industry’s proposed broadcast flag would allow him to record content from the radio and put it on his iPod.
One can only guess at the mileage added to the seat of said representative’s trousers as he shifted uncomfortably before replying that the proposed legislation would make this and similar actions impossible.
Rip, mix, burn, enlighten. Who knew?