Indoctrination

The Boy Scouts in the Los Angeles area can now work towards a new merit badge - "Respect Copyrights".

What this has to do with Scouting, I have no idea, but along with dodging pedophile Scoutmasters, the boys can now learn from a curriculum developed by the movie industry to combat "the evils of downloading pirated movies and music".

I am never in favor of breaking the law, but I find it hard to generate much sympathy for an industry that has screwed over so many people with their creative accounting and draconian contracts that deprive artists of everything they've worked for. Just ask Billy Joel or the widow of Jim Croce, who had hit after hit and was basically left penniless, among many many other artists who have had this happen to them. How about Disney, which successfully lobbied Congress to extend the copyrights on their characters right when they were about to expire, an example of an ex post facto law that isn't supposed to be allowed to happen. I guess you really can change the rules in the middle of the game.

Remember, this is the industry that has fought bitterly against every technology advance that has ever happened in the business, from sheet music to the cassette tape to the VCR to today's mp3 and DVR technologies. Don't believe me? Let Jack Valenti, former head of the Motion Picture Association of America tell you himself:

"The VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman alone."

Oh really? Movie industry sales from DVDs alone are projected to reach 77 billion dollars yearly by 2009, despite another asinine format war brewing - HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray, another VHS-Beta style war. (Don't buy too early, you might get left out again.) Doesn't sound like the movie industry is going to go bankrupt anytime soon. Methinks they just want to stifle creativity and convenience in order to stuff a few more dollars into their pockets. As with all of their other fights, they'll eventually lose and then take advantage of the technology to reap even greater profits.

Stop crying wolf, MPAA and RIAA. You'll land on your feet. You always do.