Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is proposing that the computer industry devise a way to destroy computers used to illegally download music. Check it out here.

I'm trying hard to understand Senator Hatch's position. After all, downloading mp3s of music which you have not purchased is theft. No one in good conscience can say that they believe they should get something for nothing. Anti-capitalist arguments against the recording industry aside, the fact remains that people have pirated music and software since the inception of the internet. Napster popularized it to be sure, but alt.binaries.whatever has been a repository for copyrighted material for years.

But, back to Senator Hatch. has this guy really proposed destroying a computer, which may be worth hundreds of dollars, because someone downloaded the equivalent of a $16 cd? Senator Hatch, it seems, has been at the forefront of a lot of anti-technology legislation through the years. Much of it has been in the area of anti-child porn legislation. But this one, however, is just irrational. He didn't suggest that the music industry create their own file-swapping service, one that safeguards copyright. He didn't suggest arresting file swappers. Nope, this guy wants to "destroy" (his word, not mine) the file swapper's computer.

THIS is why the Republican party can't seem to get it together half of the time. We sound great when it comes to economic freedoms (in spite of the Democrat's claim to be the only ones who know how to run an economy) but then guys like this come out trying to "destroy" private property in the name of recording rights. If there is any truth to the accusations of the left that the Republicans are authoritarian, it is shit like this.