Your Senator Needs an iPod

Last week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation held a hearing on the "Broadcast Flag" and "Audio
Flag," a set of proposals by the MPAA and RIAA that would stifle
innovation by giving content holders a virtual veto over new
technologies and existing user rights.

But Senator Stevens, the 82-year old committee chairman from Alaska,
surprised the
audience by announcing that his daughter had bought him an iPod, and suddenly Stevens had a
much greater understanding of the many ways innovative technology can
create choice for consumers. Content industry representatives at the
hearing found themselves answering much tougher questions than they
typically receive.

That's why we think all Senators ought to join Stevens' esteemed
company as iPod owners. Rather than wait for every Senator's daughter,
we're taking matters into our own hands and buying a video iPod for the
campaigns of Senators who work on legislation affecting technology.
Plus, we're going to pre-load each one with examples of the cultural
richness made possible by sharing and collaboration - public domain
content, Creative Commons content, and audio messages about the
importance of balanced copyright policy. It will be engraved with the
words "listen to the people." And it will arrive at each Senator's
campaign office with a letter of explanation and a list of all the
people who helped pay for it.

Help us supply more Senators with their own iPods for their
campaigns. Each Video iPod costs $324.42, and you can buy a whole iPod
or chip in a portion of the cost. We'll take care of the rest.

Contribute to the iPod fund