Betamax, Democracy and Calling Senators

On September 14 I got to be a participant in the democratic process! I signed up with http://www.savebetamax.org to call Senators Hatch, Leahy and Hollings, as well as the two Senators from my home state of Nebraska, Hagel and Nelson. The purpose of the calls was to state my position (and reasons for such) against Hatch's "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004" or S. 2560, commonly known as INDUCE Act.

I have to say it was scary dialing the phone and waiting for someone to answer. Not that I thought a Senator himself would answer, but I didn't know how the staffers would respond (over 5000 folks signed up to call all day). To my surprise and relief, staffers were very cordial and noted my [lengthy] concerns (such as that it's not fair to blame technology for any misuse of such - after all, a car could be used in the commission of a bank robbery - are we going to outlaw cars and sue GM now?) The staffer from Hatch's office, in particular, said she had learned a lot that day. Now, I suppose it's a matter of "hide and watch" - and being prepared to fight this monstrosity if it's brought up again.

If any of you all own any of the following: VCR, CD-burner, DVD-burner, TiVo, iPod or tape recorder, this potential legislation is very pertinent, really. Links to some informative and amusing reading:

http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/005003.php

http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/004563.php