"A New Kind of Politics" notwithstanding, I do believe that I just read one of the most surreal statements yet to fly out of Mccain's mouth. While skimming Google News, I came across some articles about Mccain's stance on energy policy. Obviously, whatever credibility that once lay with him has been thrown right out the window during this campaign. I was certainly not surprised to read about his bashing of Obama over "favoring" the ethanol industry while promising ever bigger handouts to Mssrs. Oil and Coal; if there's one thing that's least surprising to me any more, it's John Mccain's ability to pivot 180 degrees on any given issue. However, one quote stood out as easily as one of wackiest...

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:

It was reported recently that State Senator Andrew Rice, currently running against odious republican Jim Inhofe, has raised more than $1 million dollars thus far in the campaign. This is, obviously, good news for Oklahomans and Americans, as Sen. Rice is the kind of progressive candidate that we should all hope for on the ballot.

The problem is that it was also reported today that Inhofe has out-raised Andrew by more than 2-1, with a whopping $2.2 million in cash on hand. Inhofe has long been in the pocket of various special interests and industry lobbyists and it appears he is calling in some favors. It has always been said that Sen. Rice would have an uphill fund-raising climb against Sen. Inhofe. This merely underscores that point.

I know that the national primary season has taken its toll on both our emotions and our pocketbooks. However I believe that the dKos community has it in them to help out a true progressive Oklahoman in his time of need. For some reason, Andrew wasn't included in Kos' Blue Majority pitch, but I know that he is nonetheless behind Andrew 100%. So, I've decided to help out Andrew in whatever small way I can: