Waterloo - finally facing my waterloo

(ABBA-"Waterloo" Eurovision Contest. 1974)

Aren't conservatives supposed to be the party of law & order? Then why do John McMaverickypants and the Republican Party keep breaking the law:

Jackson Browne sued Sen. John McCain on Thursday for unauthorized use of one of his songs in a television commercial.

Browne, one of rock music's most famous activists for liberal causes, is "incensed" that the presumptive Republican nominee for president has been using Browne's signature 1977 song "Running on Empty," said Lawrence Y. Iser, the singer-songwriter's attorney.

Browne filed a copy- right infringement lawsuit against McCain and the Republican National Committee in U.S. District Court in L.A., seeking damages and a permanent injunction prohibiting the use of the forlorn arena anthem or any other Browne composition.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the ad was not a McCain campaign product but was put together by the Ohio Republican Party. Browne's attorney said that he is "informed and believes" that McCain approved the ad.

Whatever. Is the campaign full of young entitled jerks who grew up during the file-sharing years, who like so many today believe that all art is free? Sorry, kids, someone creates it, you pay rights to use it, until copyright runs out.

Ever the hypocrite:

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) finally released a statement laying out his positions on technology policy. Under a header describing himself as a champion of “fair and open world trade,” McCain promises to “protect the creative industries from piracy“:

John McCain Will Protect The Creative Industries From Piracy. The entertainment industry is both a vital sector of the domestic economy and among the largest U.S. exporters. While the Internet has provided tremendous opportunity for the creators of copyrighted works, including music and movies, to distribute their works around the world at low cost, it has also given rise to a global epidemic of piracy. John McCain supports efforts to crack down on piracy, both on the Internet and off.

As Richard Koman at ZDNet points out, McCain’s stated desire to protect “the creators of copyrighted works” is at odds with the fact that multiple artists have accused his campaign of copyright infringement.

Browne's not the only one to point out McCain's casual view of property rights:

– Earlier this week, the McCain campaign re-cut a web ad after comedian Mike Myers’ publicist complained about the use of footage of Myers and fellow Saturday Night Live alum Dana Carvey’s Wayne’s World characters.

– Last month, the McCain campaign had to pull and re-cut a web ad after Frankie Valli’s record label, the Warner Music Group asserted its copyright claims over the use of the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.”

– Earlier this year, the copyright owners for the “Rocky” theme song “telephoned the McCain campaign to politely complain it was being used without permission.”

Ironically, McCain has joked on the campaign trail that he has refrained from using music by his beloved ABBA because of “licensing and other concerns.” “If you’re not careful you can alienate some Swedes,” said McCain.

Bastard.