Don't Download This Song

This, for lack of any better terminology, is fucking absurd. Why should it be the responsibility of college and university students to prop up the failing business models of multi-billion dollar corporations? And why should doing the sensible thing and not doing so be punishable by the revocation of all federal financial aid to all students of non-compliant schools, including those who don't own computers? Not only does it go against the principle of innocent until proven guilty, but it also forces undue financial stress on people who are supposed to be the great minds and workers of the future.

New federal legislation says universities must agree to provide not just deterrents but also "alternatives" to peer-to-peer piracy, such as paying monthly subscription fees to the music industry for their students, on penalty of losing all financial aid for their students.

The U.S. House of Representatives bill, which was introduced late Friday by top Democratic politicians, could give the movie and music industries a new revenue stream by pressuring schools into signing up for monthly subscription services such as Ruckus and Napster. Ruckus is advertising-supported, and Napster charges a monthly fee per student.

The full article is
here,
and I hope that after reading it all sane Americans will write or call whoever they can to ensure that this type of stupidity is not only blocked this time, but never crops up again.