Quote:

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”--Martin Luther King

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Byrne vs. Crist



You have to love it every time a politician gets nailed for copyright infringement for appropriating a song to convey his "message." Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is in trouble with David Byrne for using "Road to Nowhere," without permission, in a negative campaign ad.

These political hacks not only forget history in pursuit of their tired policy decisions, they regularly forget their manners while conveniently ignoring U.S. copyright laws. This reminds me of Reagan and his misappropriation of Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.," which he and/or his handlers evidently believed to be the new national anthem in his 1984 re-election campaign. At the time, it was just another example of how clueless Reagan and the Republicans were.

Devoid of anything like a poetic sensibility, they didn't listen to the lyrics or comprehend Springsteen's ironic message.

There are artists, like Byrne and Springsteen, who simply will not tolerate being used by the power elite for purposes contrary to their own political philosophies. Byrne is using the same attorney who made John McCain pay for misappropriating Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" in 2008.

I applaud Byrne's law suit, and I hope he doesn't sue me for posting this video.



TS

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