Day of Silence

Today was a Day of Silence on many internet radio stations in protest of the punitive increase in royalty rates passed by the Copyright Royalty Board. Time is running out. The new rates will take effect on 7/15/07, which will effectively silence most of internet radio. Please take a minute to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative to ask them to vote in favor of the Internet Radio Equality Act.

another morning

bike paths to nowhere

Today's Trib has a good article summing up the difficulties in our transition from recreational bike paths that exist in bits and pieces to a regional off-road transportation network.

the downside of ethanol

I wrote recently about how the increased demand for ethanol was affecting the Mexican economy. lt seems that now it's having a more noticeable effect closer to home. If too much corn is diverted for energy use, is the effect on our food supply worth it? Milk prices are heading for record high levels, because corn that was previously allocated for cattle feed is now going towards ethanol. This affects the supply and price of many other food products.

I'm curious to see the potential of perennial grasses as a source of alternative fuel.

A new renewable energy bill just passed the U.S. Senate. I think this is a mixed bag at best. I'm all in favor of raising fuel economy standards. However, giving such an aggressive push to the demand for ethanol is likely to accelerate the economic problems we’re beginning to experience. IMO, developing alternative energy sources from plants that are not major food crops would be healthier for the economy, the air we breathe, and our people. Here's another view on it, one that makes some good points.

Your $0.02?

Blago's expensive commute

The Tribune ran an article today about Governor Blagojevich's expensive commute between Chicago and Springfield. Given the state's current budget crisis, can we really afford this extravagance?

Hey, Rod, could you pay the state back for this expensive taxi fare instead of putting us deeper in the hole?

morning on Van Buren 2

Internet Radio Equality Act

I posted an item recently about this proposed legislation intended to right the wrong done by the Copyright Royalty Board. I wrote to Barack Obama and Dick Durbin (my U.S. Senators) about this and got the following response from Obama.

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Thank you for contacting me regarding the Copyright Royalty Board’s rate increase decision and its effect on small webcasters. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

The royalty rate for webcasters has proven to be a controversial subject, with small webcasters hoping to become viable, competitive alternatives to large commercial radio stations. As you know, many of these small webcasters offer a variety of music unavailable to a wide audience through other sources.

Regulations set by the enactment of the Small Webcasters Settlement Act of 2002, which favored small webcasters, recently expired and the regulations had to be revisited. As you are aware, in March, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board issued its decision, which establishes new rates for commercial and noncommercial webcasters. The Board considered the comments of small commercial and non-commercial webcasters, who sought continuation of a fee based solely according to revenue. Ultimately, the Board rejected this benefit for small webcasters, opting instead for a flat-rate fee and a per song per listener basis. When making this decision, the Board cited the difficulty of distinguishing small and large webcasters, as well as their own lack of statutory authority to carve out royalty rate niches for the emergent business models promoted by small webcasters.

The Internet Radio Equality Act (S. 1353), introduced in the Senate on May 10, 2007, would reverse the decision by the Copyright Royalty Board. This legislation is currently being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. While I am not a member of this committee, I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

Again, thank you for raising this issue with me. Please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

scent memory

The other day I was walking downwind of a woman wearing a strong, sweetly scented perfume. It brought back a pleasant scent memory from when I was a kid: grape Crush. Crush had a big factory near our house, and with the prevailing summer winds being from the southwest, we could usually tell from the air which flavor of pop they were bottling on a particular day. We'd be out on the street. The breeze would blow. Guess it's an orange Crush day.

pedicab to the rescue

This is an appropriate story for Bike to Work week.

driving into the Loop could be taxing

Seems like someone heard me or was thinking along the same lines when I wrote this recent piece about the idea of having a Loop congestion charge to help fund public transit in Chicago. Kudos to Alderman Ed Burke for having the guts to introduce this proposal. Here's the Sun-Times version of the story.

IMO, most of the people responding on the Sun-Times blog sounded rather clueless, not willing to get their heads out of their car-bound butts and smell the proverbial coffee. Wake up, folks! Traffic congestion and air pollution will NOT get any better if people keep driving to work alone.

I've contacted my alderman and urged support of the congestion charge. If you want to contact your alderman and don't have the necessary contact information, here's how to find it. You might also want to ask this question of your alderman. "Do you drive downtown or use public transit or your bike?" If they all took CTA, the system would be in a little better shape. Perhaps the city's commitment to the environment and transportation stops at the doors to City Hall, or at the nearest parking garage.