The New York Times:
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday struck down on First Amendment grounds a California law that banned the sale of violent video games to children. The 7-to-2 decision was the latest in a series of rulings protecting free speech, joining ones on funeral protests, videos showing cruelty to animals and political speech by corporations.
Musician Tom Petty has complained to the Michelle Bachmann campaign about his song “American Girl” being used at her presidential run kick off. He is in the process of getting a cease and desist order. He had a similar issue with the Bush campaign over the song “I Won’t Back Down.”
At what point does an artist stop having control over where his or her music is played? I am not sure Petty has a leg to stand on if the campaign owns the recording. Could he come along and tell a club they cannot play the same recording as dance music? What about some kid with a boom box? What if Bachmann tells Tom Petty to stick it?
If a person is in the business of selling recordings of their music, then they have to expect it to be played.
Tom Petty is living up to his name. This is about as Petty as it gets.
The Richmond Times Dispatch has posted the new laws that will go in effect July 1.
ABC
Drinking and driving: Teens who drink and drive will face harsher penalties, including loss of their license for a year and either a $500 minimum fine or 50 hours of community service. Currently, the punishment is loss of license for six months and a maximum fine of $500.
On Friday, some Virginia restaurants will have the option of going BYOW — bring your own wine.
It’s just one of nearly 900 bills — out of 2,968 proposed — that passed during this year’s winter General Assembly session. Most of the new laws take effect July 1.
The wide array of new laws ranges from an expansion of the availability of protection orders to new measurement standards for selling shelled oysters. Here are some of the highlights.
Booze towns: Residents of towns with a population of more than 1,000 will now be able to vote on whether their county should allow the sale of mixed drinks. Previously, town residents could not vote in such county referendums. The law is meant to address situations where a “dry” town is located in a “wet” county, or vice-versa.
Bring your own wine: A new law will allow restaurants to permit patrons to bring their own wine. The catch? The restaurants will be allowed to charge a “corkage” fee for the privilege.
Underage drinking: Anyone who purchases alcoholic beverages for or otherwise helps someone who they know or have reason to believe is younger than 21 obtain or consume alcohol is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Current law does not address consumption or “reason to believe” that the person is underage.
