Elementary School stages, when in use, are frantically photographed/videoed by at least a dozen parents so the results can be dragged out at holidays and when subject child brings home a potential spouse.  

So, it always amazes me that each school I've been to has a more craptastic sound and lighting system than the last.

My daughter's school does not break that pattern.  (If any upper-management from a large oil company just HAPPENS to be reading this right now, PLEASE make a note for your next donation cycle!)

As a visual artist, I have always known about the decades old copyright system in place for artists; in a nutshell, as soon as you write the copyright symbol on the work, it's good enough for the courts. You were always able to register your work or submit it for copyright, and this works well for many professional photographers and illustrators.

Well, all of that could change if legislation sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman of CA gets through the House. The issue in question is how to address fair use guidelines for works where the original author can not be identified. Unfortunately, this could lead to coerced registration with private registries (costing potentially thousands of dollars) in order to protect your rights.

I've read some extreme rhetoric from both sides of the issue, but it speaks volumes that many free-lance photographers have been active in opposing the legislation. It seems to me that the current laws work well and the only use this new legislation has is to enrich registry companies and make it easier for people to use your art without permission. The major problem is that the window of opportunity for making your voice heard on the law is shrinking fast!

Check out the details after the jump:

In last night's ABC Debacle of Brotherly Love, Obama was asked by an unemployed PA viewer why he refused to wear a flag pin:

NASH MCCABE, VOTER: Senator Obama, I have a question, and I want to know if you believe in the American flag. I am not questioning your patriotism, but all our servicemen, policemen and EMS wear the flag. I want to know why you don't.

More below...

As the Clinton's bash Obama for his Rezko connection, it is odd to find this photo at
FOX NEWS.com showing the Clintons in a chummy pose with the 'slum landlord' himself.
This may be old news to you, but I haven't seen it here, so here it is. Sorry for the FOX quoting, but AP is also given report attribution.
The Clinton camp renounces any connection with Rezko.

Watching the press coverage over the past 24 hours on this dust-up over the Obama photo, I see two common themes emerging from most of the coverage, and both of them are to the benefit of Senator Obama.

Follow below for some insights...

Update: To clarify, I'm not asking people to devote their lives to responding to this picture. It honestly takes less than three minutes to call the Senate office. I did it at work between calls. It needn't detract from your Obama activism, either. Finally, please recommend this diary or leave comments about your experience calling the office!

First time diary -- please me gentle on me ;)

I'm a New Yorker, big Obama fan. After the debate last week, and Hillary's moment at the end, I got a new groundswell of affection for her. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt about her nasty campaigning and blame everything gross on Mark Penn, especially the Xerox line. I was optimistic that she would cut ties with him after the election and emerge as a new person.

I gave Hillary credit.

Even after I saw the Obama Manchurian Candidate photo on Drudge this morning, I shrugged it off. "Who cares," I thought, "it won't make a difference." But then I saw Maggie Williams's breathtakingly rude response about it.

I decided I could never vote for Hillary again, not even for the Senate.

To my memory, this is the only time I have ever bothered making the "bias" accusation about a news organization.

No Snub!

This dog "Grek" has more sense and is...

___

Bless The Beasts And Children Part 2 is a story thats needs to be told. Photos included. This story is being told to show the world why its...

Please take this warning before viewing ~ A couple of the photos may be to graphic for some people. But they are needed to tell the real story of "Bless The Beasts And Children".

Peace!

http://newsdredge.blogspot.com/...

Is this an already-known photoshop job, or a lookalike? It seems that if this were true it'd be more widely known already...

Source: pdfoto.com

This diary is the result of another collaborative effort by Patriot Daily, Got a Grip, nonnie9999, mikk0, On The Bus, pico, melvin, jlynne, and srkp23. It is the first in a series on copyright in the digital age. We have good news and bad news. The bad news is that kos was essentially right to ban posting wholesale copyrighted pictures. The good news is that a cumulative package of types of photos that are safer under the fair use doctrine, a safe harbor guideline and photos available from the public domain should enable diarists to continue posting photos in their diaries without limiting our creative expressions.

Well, probably not.  But George looks like his knickers are in a twist over the ISG's Report.  See for yourself.

Josh Marshall has something to say about this photo, and about news photos in general. Probably, so do you.  There's more, and that's where you come in.  Click it and make it so.

Holy Joe gets good advice from a friend


Let's compare quotes.
Lieberman on Clinton/Lewinsky affair Sept. 3, 1998 (excerpt):

"The last three weeks have been dominated by a cacophony of media and political voices calling for impeachment or resignation or censure, while a lesser chorus implores us to move on and get this matter behind us.

Appealing as that latter option may be to many people who are understandably weary of this crisis, the transgressions the president has admitted to are too consequential for us to walk away and leave the impression for our children today and for our posterity tomorrow that what he acknowledges he did within the White House is acceptable behavior for our nation's leader. On the contrary, as I have said, it is wrong and unacceptable and should be followed by some measure of public rebuke and accountability."

Lieberman on Foley affair:
 "Right now I'd say this thing is spinning out of control, it's become another partisan frenzy in Washington, that's the wrong way to go at it."

You can find the photo of Foley with a young adult male page at the 2004 convention, along with links mentioned in this diary, at my blog:  http://petrelisfiles.com/ .

I came across this on the net, provenance unknown:

It screams T-shirt to me.
But before I think about going all Cafe Press on this, I need a caption.
Maybe something on the back too.
So, what are your suggestions?
Anyone know who did this in the first place?  
If THEY are selling merchandise, I'd buy that.

(From the diaries -- kos)

The sordid story of the George Allen's activist racism has grown this week to include an article in The Nation featuring a 1996 photograph of Allen posing with the leadership of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). 

The ADL and the SPLC both have extensive posts warning the public that the CCC is a white supremacist hate group.  But in today's world, it is much more revealing to find instances where loud and proud White Supremacists actually mention and praise the same CCC standing like nervous prom dates posing in the photo with Governor George Allen.  So, I decided to try some basic Google searches to see what I could find.

The results took me back to my old friends at Stormfront and to some new friends at KKK.com.

Joe Lieberman: An Army of One

When I set out to composite an image of Joe and a soldier, I realized that putting him in a US Army uniform was unfair to our courageous military.  

Joe Lieberman as a royalist in the service of King George seemed more fitting.  

Here's a thumbnail of the image in case I use up my image shack bandwidth limit.  Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image:

War in Beirut is the "Birth pangs of a new Middle-East"

- Condaleeza Rice, arriving in Beirut - July 24, 2006





You may see the CNN Lebanese protest video HERE, as well.