Grifters,tramps and thieves.

[Matthew X]

Confidence Men - Why the myth of Republican competence persists, despite 
all the evidence to the contrary
'Getting people to follow you by force of personality, persuasion, and will 
is the essence of leadership. In fact, some of the qualities that make the 
president so great at scamming the policy process proved to be his greatest 
strengths in the first phases of the war. Bush was supremely confident and 
appropriately indifferent to complexities that might have distracted a more 
thoughtful, but less resolute, individual. But mostly, what the Bushies 
call "leadership" is just a confidence game. And over time, that kind of 
leadership will get its butt kicked by reality every time'
( Joshua Micah Marshall via Washington Monthly )
AND
Hollywood's Private War For Social Control
'If you control the means to disseminate content, you can subsequently 
control the public. If you can't afford - or are not willing - to play by 
the "established" means of control, you are typically left to fend for 
yourself in local venues and audiences. Thanks to the Information Age, this 
is not the case anymore. This harsh reality terrifies the entertainment 
industry that will stop at nothing - no matter how ill-conceived - to keep 
its reign despite a failing business model and changing economic and 
customer environment. The copyright debate isn't only about profit, it's 
also about who controls information, and ultimately, people and
society' ( Richard Forno via Infowarrior )
See also this letter (PDF) from 19 congress critters to John Ashcroft from 
last month
http://www.hullocentral.demon.co.uk/site/anfin.htm

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