The 9th Circuit Misapplies The Spirit of The Law in Favor of Led Zeppelin

The 1960's psychedelic band Spirit and most specifically the late Randy California have been screwed again. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied California's estate royalties to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". His estate claimed "Stairway to Heaven" was derived from The Spirit instrumental "Taurus". According to Variety:


The court overturned the so-called “inverse ratio rule,” a precedent that has governed copyright cases in the 9th Circuit for the last 43 years.


To prove copyright infringement, a plaintiff must show that the alleged infringer had access to the plaintiff’s work, and that the two works are “substantially similar.” The inverse ratio rule — which had not been adopted in other circuits — held that the more access was shown, the less similarity was required to establish infringement. The rule has been a thorn in the side of defendants — including record labels and major artists — for decades.


In overturning the rule, the appeals court noted that the idea of “access” has become diluted in the digital age, as millions of works are readily available on Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify. The court also held that the rule has the effect of establishing a lower burden of proof for infringement of popular works.


However, in this case, the digital age has nothing to do with it. Spirit were not only contemporaries of Led Zeppelin, but Led Zeppelin opened for them in the late 1960's. So Robert Plant and Jimmy Page would have had direct access to the song on a nightly basis. I believe the 9th Circuit misapplied the spirit of the law in favor of Led Zeppelin.


Well, judge for yourself. Have to listen to "Taurus" by Spirit. Wait about 45 seconds and then things will sound really familiar.

Elizabeth Warren's Fate Was Sealed The Moment AOC Endorsed Bernie

For once I agree with something Elizabeth Warren is doing - she is dropping out of the presidential race.


Six months ago, Warren appeared to be the frontrunner. I remember the rally she had at Washington Square Park. I didn't attend, but I saw the build up. It was my birthday and had the day off and made a point of checking out the scene. She had a reasonable chance to become the Democratic nominee. But then people read the fine print. As it turned out she didn't have a plan for everything namely Medicare For All. Then she had multiple plans none of which added up.


But I think the key turning point against Warren was when AOC endorsed Bernie Sanders. I honestly thought AOC would endorse Warren, but Sanders' campaign took off when she endorsed him in mid-October and Warren never regained her footing. Bernie Sanders is many things, but he's not someone who would claim a woman couldn't be elected President. Warren's claim utterly reeked of desperation.


The writing was surely on the wall when Warren couldn't break 10% in the neighboring state of New Hampshire. A third place finish in Massachusetts was the nail in the coffin.


I'm sure Warren will be discussed as a possible VP, but I think Biden would be foolish to pick her. In any case, Biden would be far better served by someone like Stacey Abrams.


As for Warren, she can resume her duties in the Senate. After all it is what the people of Massachusetts want of her.

It Only Cost Half a Billion Dollars For Bloomberg to Endorse Biden

With apologies to American Samoa, Michael Bloomberg's pitiful performance last night made today's withdrawal from the Democratic presidential race a fait d'accompli. The coup de grace was his endorsement of Joe Biden, an endorsement for which he paid a mere half a billion dollars.


Not for a moment did I believe Bloomberg was going to win the Democratic Party nomination when he entered the race back in November. I also had a feeling Bloomberg's debate debut a fortnight agao would be disastrous although I thought it would be Buttigieg and Klobuchar fighting for the spoils rather than Biden.


As I mentioned nearly three months ago, the Bernie Sanders/AOC axis doesn't believe Bloomberg has a right to exist as a billionaire even if he earned his wealth instead of inheriting like President Trump. For them money is the root of all evil. But like it or not, politics costs money and Biden will have no trouble accepting money from Bloomberg (and perhaps even Tom Steyer).


There were other things that hurt Bloomberg. First, there was his indecision. A year ago, he declined to enter the race only to reverse himself eight months later. Second, he didn't get on the ground and campaign. TV commercials are good, but they only go so far. Which brings me to my third point. If you are going to rely on TV commercials you had better come as advertised when it comes to debating your opponents. Unfortunately for Bloomberg, he shit the bed. As much I don't care for Elizabeth Warren, she ate his lunch and came back for dinner.


Bloomberg can still contribute to American public life through philanthropy. He could also help Biden get over the top against Bernie Sanders and then Donald Trump. If he does that then half a billion dollars spent could be a bargain.

Perhaps It Is Best Not to Socialize Over Politics

Since last July I have been attending Democratic debates and caucus/primary results. I think tonight's Super Tuesday watch party at RPM Underground in Midtown will be my last. 

As much as anything else I've gone to these gatherings to meet people. Although I have lived in NYC for nearly a year and a half I have yet to make any new friends. Of the gatherings I have attended the only place I have had any extended conversation was at RPM during the infamous Iowa Caucus last month. 

It was on that basis that I opted to go to RPM tonight. I had contemplated going back to the Black Sheep Pub as I had back in November. Lo and behold, the gathering was cancelled because of the Coronavirus or, more precisely, the fear of it.

I made a point of going to the same room I had been in the last time since it had been so conducive to conversation. There were four women there and they were later joined by a boyfriend from Paris. At first things were alright. I picked my spots and when I did my sense of humor had its moments. Perhaps my best was when the Parisian boyfriend said he was a germaphobe. To which I quipped, "A germaphobe? I thought you were from France." 

Things turned sour when discussing Elizabeth Warren's poor performance in Massachusetts. Two of the women blamed sexism. I cited Warren's character such as her false claims of Native American heritage. This produced a viscerally angry response from the women who had been by this time had been joined by this drunk fellow who had just moved back to the area from Virginia. He somehow turned the subject to Journey when he mentioned he had seen them open for Emerson, Lake & Palmer in Colorado in 1977. One of the women loved Journey. So I asked her what she thought of the lead singer who replaced Steve Perry. "How the fuck should I know?", she bellowed. I should add that she had become rather drunk herself. It was at this point I decided that things would not end well if I prolonged my stay. I didn't want to make a scene. So I waited five minutes and politely excused myself from the proceedings. 

Well, I gave it a good faith effort. Politics is a dead end. I'll just have to find other avenues of socialization like bowling. Speaking of which The Lousy Bowlers Club convenes tomorrow night. Joe Biden might have had a Super Tuesday. Perhaps a Super Wednesday is in store for me.

I Can't Believe Biden is Winning in Massachusetts

For all of Joe Biden's success on Super Tuesday I am most astonished that he is leading in Massachusetts.

With 62% of the results in, Biden is leading Bernie Sanders by nearly 7% of vote (34% to 27.1%) with Elizabeth Warren is in third at 20.5% of the vote. That would Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts.

Now I wasn't expecting Warren to win Massachusetts, but I did expect a very close second to Bernie Sanders. After all, Vermont shares a border with Massachusetts.

But I was not expecting Biden to win Massachusetts let alone place or show. After all we are only three weeks removed from Biden being nowhere near New Hampshire as he finished fifth without a delegate. But a respectable second place finish in Nevada, two solid debate performances (unlike Michael Bloomberg) and a runaway win in South Carolina and now the Democratic Party is coalescing around Biden. Well, most of it is anyway.

If Warren is losing to Biden by double digits in the state she represents in the U.S. Senate then what is her rationale to remain in the race? To pester Bloomberg? After spending $120 million to win American Samoa it looks like he's getting out tomorrow. So she would have no foil there. If she wants to be Biden's VP she won't endear herself by staying in the race. Unless she's trying to be a kingmaker to Sanders, a man with whom she had a shouting match in front of the whole world a month and a half ago. Or is she just in love with the sound of her voice? She sure sounded like it when she spoke in Michigan earlier tonight.

Warren can be as vain as she wants. She is not winning the Democratic Party nomination. If Joe Biden can win over Democrats in Massachusetts then he can win over Democrats everywhere up to and including Milwaukee. Whether he can win over the rest of the nation very much remains to be seen.

Klobuchar Drops Out; Endorses Biden

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the Democratic presidential race earlier today and promptly endorsed former rival Joe Biden.


Klobuchar's exit comes less than 24 hours after that of Pete Buttigieg who also endorsed Biden. They will appear alongside Biden at a rally tonight in Dallas, Texas. The question is whether Biden can keep Klobuchar from throwing her phone at Buttigieg.


Klobuchar was never really a serious contender. Her campaign got off to a rocky start amid reports of her abuse of her legislative staff. Last month, however, she had a strong debate performance four days before the New Hampshire Primary. It was good enough for a third place finish in the Granite State ahead of both Elizabeth Warren and Biden, the man she is now endorsing. Politics is a funny thing. You know your campaign is in trouble when Black Lives Matter forces you to cancel a rally in your home state which they did only yesterday.


I'm sure Klobuchar's internal numbers in Minnesota showed her losing big time to Bernie Sanders. Otherwise why would she drop out now? If Klobuchar was certain of victory in Minnesota she could leave the race with one victory under her belt.


Endorsing Biden now could put her on the VP shortlist if Biden bests Bernie. Although I think Biden will more likely pick an African-American woman like Stacey Abrams or even Kamala Harris than Klobuchar. On the other hand, I can see Bernie giving Klobuchar some consideration as a potential running mate. They demonstrated a relatively amicable relationship on the debate stage even when trading the occasional barb. But methinks Bernie would be more likely to pick someone more out there like Tulsi Gabbard.


Unless a Democratic President picks her as Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of Energy, it is most likely that Klobuchar will spend the remainder of her professional career in the Senate making life miserable for her staffers.

I'll Probably Still Vote For Buttigieg in November

I am disappointed that Pete Buttigieg has chosen to end his presidential bid. It was only a month ago he won the Iowa Caucus & only two weeks ago he finished a close second in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, a third place finish in Nevada eight days ago and a fourth place finish last night in South Carolina without earning a delegate made his early success shortlived. Alas, Buttigieg did not resonate with minority voters some of whom hold deep rooted homophobic views which say a great deal more about them than it does about Buttigieg.

While Buttigieg might not be the Democratic nominee there is a very good chance I will write his name in come November. He was the only Democrat who showed a lick of sense when it came to trying to change the mind of Trump voters, welcoming disaffected Republicans with open arms and turning the Democratic Party back into a big tent.

I simply cannot see myself voting for any other Democrat. Bernie Sanders has done more than any American to legitimize anti-Semitism. Elizabeth Warren is just fundamentally dishonest, Amy Klobuchar is a bully and Joe Biden represents the excesses of the Obama Administration. Michael Bloomberg did have some achievements as Mayor of New York City, but is distancing himself from them. Bloomberg has views on gun control, climate change and the Chinese politburo that are too peculiar for my liking. He is more pro-Israel than most Democrats, but those views are about as welcome in his party as his existence as a billionaire. I don't see Democrats nominating him and I don't see him sticking around if he has fewer than 25 delegates in 48 hours time.

No candidate is entitled to my vote. It must be earned. As much as I hold Donald Trump in contempt I don't see the remaining Democratic field does not inspire my confidence. It's enough to make me want to concentrate my energies at the bowling alley instead of the ballot box.

My disappointment notwithstanding it is heartening to consider that no one outside of South Bend knew who Buttigieg was a year ago. That he's come this far in 2020 is a good thing. The question is how far can Pete Buttigieg go in 2024.