The Hill's property rights showdown (News.com) [LWN.net]

News.com talks with Representative Rick Boucher about his DMCA reform attempt and other topics. "I think that our legislation has a good chance of being approved, at least in the House of Representatives, this year. I think that the major push for passage probably will come during the course of the next Congress. There has been a tremendous change in public perception with respect to the appropriate level of protection for intellectual property over the course of the years since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998."

to post comments

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 1:55 UTC (Wed) by louie (guest, #3285) [Link] (6 responses)

American citizens reading this should consider giving to Rep. Boucher's campaign- you can bet the MPAA and RIAA are giving liberally to his opponent. You can donate online here.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 5:20 UTC (Wed) by gurulabs (guest, #10753) [Link]

Good idea. I donated.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 12:51 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] (1 responses)

I'm sure he'd appreciate contributions; make sure he knows why you are sending money to a representative in a different district.

Bear in mind, though, that very few U.S. House seats are actually decided in competitive elections. Years of creative districting have made most seats safe for one party or the other. Some quick scouting on the web suggests that Boucher's seat is not among the 30 or so (out of 435) which might actually change hands this year. Given that, one might conclude that other recipients might make better use of a pro-freedom donation.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 13:48 UTC (Wed) by louie (guest, #3285) [Link]

Congressional Quarterly's latest research actually lists the seat as a Democratic-leaning but 'competitive' seat. The challenger is a NASCAR exec (in south-west virginia) and will be getting heavy backing from Bush and Cheney, who drew 55% of the vote in the district in 2000. So, yeah, he's an 11-term incumbent, but it is not as safe a seat as one would expect (the area is 'naturally' republican) and the National Republican Congressional Committee has settled on Boucher as someone who they feel could be taken down.

And of course, one does have to identify the cause- this is harder in an online donation than in a physical one, where one can send a note with a check. I'm dropping various of the office's email addresses a line today, and I'll post here if I get a reasonable/useful response from any of them.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 13:30 UTC (Wed) by mmarsh (subscriber, #17029) [Link] (2 responses)

A better idea might be to go to here to see if your representative is a co-sponsor of this legislation, and if not to then ask them why not. Be sure to let them know that you consider this one of the most important issues in the upcoming election.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 13:52 UTC (Wed) by louie (guest, #3285) [Link] (1 responses)

Very good point. Your link is broken, though. I found a similar and very up-to-date (with searching capabilities) here. Turns out my rep is not- I'll be writing today.

Rick Boucher

Posted Jun 23, 2004 14:03 UTC (Wed) by mmarsh (subscriber, #17029) [Link]

Weird. It worked when I first put it in (I tested in the preview), but now it gives me an error, too. Usually I just start here and search for the relevant individual's (co)sponsored legislation. For some reason that starts on the 107th Congress, not the current (108th).

Incidentally, I've found Thomas to be a great way to get a feel for where a Senator or Representative really stands, since sponsored legislation is generally more relevant (and easier to look through) than voting record, though the latter is certainly important, too. Sure, you have to sift through a lot of "Blue-stuff-that-barbers-soak-combs-in Manufacturers' Appreciation Week"-type legislation, but hopefully you don't have to look too far before something more meaningful turns up.