Monthly Archives: June 2025

Idiots on the left and right

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged fake news journalism news SanityProject on by

Sometimes there is so much idiocy in the news that you have to unpack it layer by layer. This is the case with a statement which Florida governor DeSantis made and the way some people have described it.

In an interview, DeSantis said: “We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety. … You drive off and hit one of these people — that’s their fault for impinging on you. You don’t have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and parade you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida.”
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When music became copyrightable 1

This entry was posted in History Music and tagged copyright history music on by

Classical music lovers know that in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, composers shifted from seeking patrons to support them to becoming freelance composers and performers of their own work. This was partially because of cultural changes, but I learned recently that legal factors also played a role. A key decision in British law was Bach v Longman, where judge Lord Mansfield ruled in 1777 that printed music was protected by copyright.
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June 14

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged liberty Massachusetts on by

Things have gotten steadily worse just in the past week. Trump’s goons have assaulted a US Senator. He has illegally deployed the military against American civilians. Today is a day of protest, and it’s quite possible the administration will respond with violence.

Stay calm and stay focused. Things may yet come to an armed uprising, but this isn’t the time.
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