Obama Taps a 5th Lawyer From the RIAA 587
risingfish writes "Looks like Obama did what many organizations have asked him not to do. In a disappointing move, he has tapped a fifth RIAA lawyer to a top spot in the Justice Department."
When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. - Edmund Burke
So who here is with the press? (Score:4, Interesting)
It would be nice to see this question directly asked to Obama in a press conference.
Re:So what? (Score:2, Interesting)
So you want the Justice Department filled with people who's moral base changes depending on who signs their paychecks? The RIAA has been proven to use underhanded and illegal methods to try and come up with "arguments to prove that people owed them money". So if you get on the bad side of the DOJ it's okay for them to use illegal and immoral methods to prosecute you? You want a bunch of Eliot Spitzer's over at the DOJ? In my mind this is very scary.
Re:Cut off the money supply (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd rather send my music allowance (one dollar) directly to the singers. That's more than they normally get (~5 cents per album). The annoying thing about the record companies is they expect us to hear a song like "Paralyzer" and immediately run out to buy the Nine Fingers CD. Me, I'd rather wait until that one-hit wonder is released to a Greatest Hits CD than spend $12 for one measly song.
Yeah I know I could buy the song on Itunes, but that site only exists because of the pressure exerted by torrents. The protests from the fans *forced* companies to offer songs for downloads - they didn't do it by choice.
How is this not a good thing? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Lawyers represent their clients (Score:2, Interesting)
Obama now claims that HR 6304 does not permit investigation [salon.com] into illegalities by the Executive after all, as he's pushing a strengthened version of Bush's executive immunity theory.
Re:Withdrawing nomination != Forced to Resign (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a right-wing loon if I think criminals shouldn't hold cabinet positions? The company Hillary was running was found to have broken the law. Everyone else went to jail. A judge ordered her to turn over court documents, she refused, and everyone let the matter slip because why should she be held accountable to the law?
And Obama isn't holding people to higher standards. He has been appointing people with known corruption issues, and then in many cases standing behind them.
Obama made a campaign promise not to appoint any "Washington politicians or lobbyists" to cabinet positions. He appointed Daschle, who not only didn't pay taxes, but is a Washington lobbyist, who lied about being a Washington lobbyist. Obama said that he supported the appointment either way.
Re:Lawyers represent their clients (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, that's common sense. Now let's hope this example is a sign of things to come:
Re:You do want to start a flame war. (Score:4, Interesting)
It isn't a conspiracy theory but a matter of public record.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_Bill_Clinton [wikipedia.org]
You should check the names of the list (almost 200 strong).
Many were members of mafia families who donated directly to Bill Clinton, also a matter of direct public record which you can fact-check within 30 seconds.
Next time, instead of living in fantasy land, try Google.
Re:Cut off the money supply (Score:5, Interesting)
Obama The Liar..... (Score:4, Interesting)
Wow..... Obama, the precious little thing of the Democratic Party, has changed masks and broken SEVERAL firm campaign promises in the first 3 months of being in office.
He has broken his promises and shown the country the hard on he has for Big Brother that he managed to hide the whole election.
Where's the change?! It's still the same corrupt, two-faced, lying, promise-breaking, Orwellian bullshit that we had to put up with during the Bush years.
Obama: What a fucking joke.
Taps? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Nice spin, loon. (Score:3, Interesting)
The blog (which I haven't updated since my computer died) does not run merely conservative points. My wife is a Republican and I disagree with her all the time. Most of my friends are registered Democrats are I disagree with them a lot of the time.
The primary reason is because neither party really upholds the beliefs they are supposedly based on.
I am a liberal because I subscribe to political beliefs of individual civil rights and freedoms. I get upset when Democrats in office don't uphold those rights they promised to protect. So by your definition, that makes me a right-wing loon because I don't blindly support lying politicians.
I love your logic.
If I failed to list over 200,000 in income, I would go to jail. Daschle did not list income or pay taxes on it. When his salary (excluding benefits such as the car) alone is 2 million dollars from his lobbying firm (which he lied about, claiming he isn't a lobbyist), he can afford an accountant to make sure he is doing his taxes correctly.
Daschle (like many Republicans I assume as well, since it seems more systematic of wealthy bastards rather than following party lines) has the money to pay taxes, but opts not to, while those of us with far less money struggle to pay our bills in a difficult economy.
We should hold our leaders to high standards, expecting them to set good examples, and maybe even (heaven forbid) follow the law.
And perhaps you aren't familiar, but not declaring income is a criminal offense.
Re:Lawyers represent their clients (Score:3, Interesting)
Lets look and find out!
http://www.jenner.com/people/bio.asp?id=222 [jenner.com]
Re:Lawyers represent their clients (Score:1, Interesting)
Defense lawyers are immune from criticism for exactly the reasons you stated.
Prosecutors are the scum of the earth and deserve to be associated with their client in every way. These guys aren't prosecutors, they are civil suit plaintiffs. Attack dogs. Far worse than prosecutors.
There's more than one kind of lawyer, and these are the worst kind.
Re:Cut off the money supply (Score:2, Interesting)
I emailed a band about that once. They told me to do so was a violation of their contract. I'd love to be able to send 20 bucks to the artist but unfortunately (at least for them), it would be illegal. Too bad.
Re:Lawyers represent their clients (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmm... maybe Obama is actually pro-P2P, and he's hiring all of the RIAA's lawyers away from them, so they'll fail in court?
Well they're already failing in court.
But you may have a point there. The 6 RIAA lawyers who are now in the DOJ are legally recused from working on any matters involving the RIAA, EMI, Vivendi Universal, SONY BMG, or Warner Bros Records or any of their affiliates. So by appointing them to DOJ, perhaps he's taken the DOJ -- which has recently acted like a fawning toady of the RIAA -- out of the game. The 2 briefs the Obama DOJ has filed in RIAA cases, in SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum [blogspot.com] and SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Cloud [blogspot.com] read like they were drafted by the proverbial monkeys let loose in a room of typewriters. When the judges actually read the cases the briefs cited, and the authorities they deliberated failed to cite, they will be appalled that our nation's legal department could be so irresponsible.
Re:Cut off the money supply (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Cut off the money supply (Score:5, Interesting)
For every band who gets "rich" due to the record labels there are dozens who are poorer than when they started with the label.
It's a cliche at this point but http://www.negativland.com/albini.html [negativland.com]