you are clearly not an artist. production, no matter the media, takes time. and lots of it to be good. a good movie isnt filmed in an afternoon. a good painting or sculpture has a handful of iterations, each costing money in time and materials. with good art you are also paying for practice. your favorite band did not wake up one day and produce a hit album. they spent years practicing and writing songs.

my favorite explanation for why things cost they way they do comes from the carpenter who fixed the sqeaky floor that the homeowner couldnt, no matter how hard he tried:

cost of nail: $.10
knowing where to place the nail: $59.90

total due: $60.00

production takes time and money. the internet is not the only medium for art. if it really is one in the first place.

i cant stand how ignorant people are when they try to justify getting something for nothing. you probably expect to get paid for flipping burgers, show some respect and pay someone who creates a work of art you enjoy, no matter how 'easy' and 'free' it is to reproduce.

finally, the relevant clause for your review:
"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; "

no offense, but who pays for software that doesnt work and requires continuous support? is it that poorly written/hard to figure out?

i was going to make a snide comment, but you gave me a wonderful idea for an art installation. thank you. (still think you are an idiot)

yeah, who does sony pictures think they are? spending millions to produce a film and expecting people to pay to see it, so they can then make another film people might enjoy... bastards!

i have a feeling they could care less if you made some dopey little film in your mom's basement and then distributed it yourself.

sorry dude, you are already under investigation...

wait, i thought he raised taxes on the poor and reduced them on the wealthy. so is it that 40% of the highest earners no longer pay taxes? actually, the bottom 40% of earners do have a stake in government spending. it is called all of their 'free stuff' besides, isnt it a sign of a developed nation to help those less fortunate? what better way than to eliminate income taxes? now, if only we can make it so that 40% doesnt have to pay social security and medicare.

personally, i think it is a sick country that (before deduction, credits etc) skims 25.3% off the income of the lowest earners and 40.3% off of the average households income. look up payroll taxes(both employee and employer contribution), tax brackets and household income.

i think income tax should be taken out of my beer purchases rather than wages.

couldnt this go horribly wrong?

i know a guy who used to be a sniper and he said that he had to be extremely careful with communications devices for fear he could give up his position in the field. essentially the enemy could conceivably monitor for communications and determine general locations.

granted local police and the military are different. yet, couldnt a troublemaker get a hold of this information and use it to their advantage?

whatever man. imho, those people out there who cant replace their own muffler belt and use dpkg to force the installation of the latest windows build are worthless.

i did the same 6 years ago and have only replaced one. that one came over from a floor lamp in my apartment. the other apartment cfls (and new) are still going.

what is really annoying here is that there are people in the legal system who think they don't have to follow the rules. chilling.

no, no, speed holes are the new rage.

from what i understand the government is buying up troubled assets (TARP) from banks and whatnot to get them off the banks books. in return the government gets equity warrants which allows the government to purchase non-voting shares (which probably may or may not be preferred) in the bank from which it bought the troubled assets.

this really all goes back to how our finance system works. normally a bank has 'x' dollars to lend out. once they lend out the 'x' they package up those loans and sell them to someone else. now the bank has more money to loan out. problem is, no one wanted to by debt anymore since many people have been defaulting on those loans.

here is a basic place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Assets_Relief_Program