Monthly Archives: July 2003

From Governor Dean

Posted on July 15, 2003 by admin

Thanks for the many, many comments. We’ve just arrived back to Vermont after six days on the road. I appreciate all the feedback. People asked what can be done about media deregulation. I think we need to re-regulate the media that has clearly abused its authority by censoring information that should be made available to the American people. Someone asked about the Patriot Act-we should repeal those parts that violate our constitution. In the second quarter, our campaign had over 73,000 donors. We have over 60,000 people on Meetup. Every one of them is making a difference. If everyone gets… Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 98 Comments

From Governor Dean

Posted on July 15, 2003 by admin

Thanks for all the comments on the blog last night. I haven�t had a chance to read all of the comments� we flew up from Miami to DC last night. But I will read them. Let me be perfectly honest. In the space of this week on the blog, I will not be able to answer every specific question. I know that people here care deeply about intellectual property. I�m here to listen. As a doctor, I�m trained to base my decisions on facts. This President never adequately laid out the facts for going to war with Iraq�perhaps, as it… Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 217 Comments

Guest Post by Howard Dean

Posted on July 14, 2003 by admin

The post below is from Governor Howard Dean. You can check out the crossposting and commentary at www.blogforamerica.com and read more about Howard Dean at www.deanforamerica.com. Thanks!– Matt, Zephyr and Nicco, Dean Internet Team… Continue reading →

Posted in presidential politics | 32 Comments

It�s been a busy day,

Posted on July 14, 2003 by admin

It�s been a busy day, but it�s great to blog here on Larry Lessig�s blog. I�ll be writing all week, but if there�s a day I can�t make it, Joe Trippi, my campaign manager, will fill in for me. Thank you Professor Lessig for inviting me. The Internet might soon be the last place where open dialogue occurs. One of the most dangerous things that has happened in the past few years is the deregulation of media ownership rules that began in 1996. Michael Powell and the Bush FCC are continuing that assault today (see the June 2nd ruling). The… Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 189 Comments

Hello from Dean for America

Posted on July 14, 2003 by admin

Hello from the Dean for America campaign. Governor Howard Dean will be posting later today, here and at the official campaign blog, Blog for America. It’s our policy that whenever Governor Dean posts anywhere on the Internet, his posts will also be crossposted to our site…. Continue reading →

Posted in presidential politics | 33 Comments

hey, listen to this

Posted on July 12, 2003 by Lessig

So one of the million things I’ve not had time to do while finishing this draft (answering a b’gillion emails is another) was to listen to this. As I described before, Colin Mutchler posted a guitar track to Opsound. Opsound makes its content available to others under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike license. Cora Beth, a 17 year old violinist, took the track and added a violin track. The result is this.

As Brian Flemming commented on the post, “a great way to illustrate the value of CC to someone who perhaps doesn�t quite get it.” Indeed it is. Listen to this, and you’ll can’t help but get it. Continue reading →

Posted in creative commons | 6 Comments

A new guest blogger: Howard Dean

Posted on July 12, 2003 by Lessig

Yesterday, I completed a draft of a new book. Tomorrow, Bettina and I leave for our first vacation in a very long time (and, as we expect, the last vacation the two of us will take alone in a very long time).

So it is time for me to take a break from this space too. But I’ve arranged for a much more interesting guest blogger while I’m gone: former governor, and presidential candidate, Howard Dean.

This is, I believe, the first time a presidential candidate has been a guest blogger. But it is an obvious extension of blogs and the process of becoming President. Campaigns are all about meeting different groups and talking about ideas. Where better than a blog?

I have great respect for Governor Dean, and especially the clarity of his voice. I have even greater respect now that I see the doctor makes house calls. So Governor, welcome to this tiny server at Stanford: You’ll find perfect acoustics provided by MovableType, and an interesting mix of views provided by the readers.

And to everyone else, enjoy the week of something totally different. Dean is on starting Monday. I should be back the week following.

One ground rule: I’ve had a policy of not editing comments of others, regardless of abusiveness. That is not my policy for my guests. You may disagree with the views you read here. But if you are reading them here, then you at least should respect the fact that they are being expressed here. It is important to me that blog-space everywhere become a place where more of this kind of conversation can occur. So trolls, please save your abuse for my return. Continue reading →

Posted in presidential politics | 76 Comments

leaving the copyright lane for the public domain

Posted on July 8, 2003 by Lessig

Kim Scarborough sent this (warning: large mp3) wonderful radio show from the Columbia Workshop in 1937 about characters leaving the “copyright lane” for the “public domain.” It is a brilliantly complex and funny tale that reveals an understanding about the value of the public domain that would be hard to recognize today. Continue reading →

Posted in free culture | 3 Comments

two random questions

Posted on July 8, 2003 by Lessig

Two random questions I’d be grateful for a reply on. Reply to this disposable email address:

(1) Has anyone heard from Andrew Orlowski — via email — in the past six weeks?

(2) There’s an ad running on some network with two guys at a bar talking about drug legalization. It is an anti-legalization ad. I’d be grateful for any help in tracking it down. Continue reading →

Posted in eye | Comments Off on two random questions

LXG — more walt disney creativity

Posted on July 7, 2003 by Lessig

Eric Hughes sent me a great piece about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which will be released this Friday. As he points out, every character in the movie (which the ads call “the most innovative film of the summer,” and “when our future is at stake, they will be our last hope”) is a character in the public domain. As WALT Disney before (and as Disney, Inc has apparently forgotten now), the creators of this movie have used the public domain to produce creative new work. For those who defend the idea of (effectively) perpetual copyright: Do you think there would be more of these works if there were a gaggle of rights holders to clear permissions with?

Here is Eric’s list of characters, with the caveat that this is a work in progress. Send corrections to me.

From Eric:

The movie is based on a wonderful comic by Alan Moore, the best comics author alive. I had read the original a few years ago, but now there’s a film out. So I got curious about where Allan Moore got all the extraordinary gentlemen from. Here’s the list.

Allan Quatermain: A character from H. Rider Haggard stories, the most famous of which is King Solomon’s Mines, 1885. There’s an interesting profile at here. King Solomon’s Mines was written on a bet that he could write something better than Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Thomas Sawyer: Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876. Huckleberry Finn came later. Character added for the movie; he’s evidently the only American.

Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde: R. L. Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886.

Captain Nemo: Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, 1870.

Rodney Skinner. H. G. Wells, The Invisible Man, 1897. I have been unable to confirm whether this was the character’s name in the novel.

Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890.

Mycroft Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle, The Greek Interpreter, 1892. I’m not sure if this is the first appearance or not.

Mina Murray Harker. Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897. Jonathan Harker’s wife.

UPDATE: Seth helpfully provides the following additional links (and some corrections above)

Comic Book Annotations & Bibliographies

Annotations by Jess Nevins Continue reading →

Posted in free culture | Comments Off on LXG — more walt disney creativity