On April 1, California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s campaign for U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer released the YouTube, “After the Hope of November is Gone,” a parody video based on Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” The video criticized President Obama and mocked celebs like Henley who have been made “crazy” with desire over the President.
It took just six days for Henley to file a copyright claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and YouTube immediately took the video down.
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Refusing to be intimidated, DeVore fired back with a DMCA counter-notification and on April 14th created another YouTube parody aimed at Boxer’s support for cap-and-trade. “All She Wants to do is Tax” is based Henley’s “All She Wants to do is Dance” and immediately began racking up 10,000 views a day.
Though he doesn’t hold the rights to “Dance,” Henley filed a federal suit against DeVore and encouraged the true copyright holder to file a copyright infringement complaint with YouTube. Within a few days YouTube took DeVore’s second video down. Then DeVore caught Henley off guard and fought back with a counter-suit claiming Henley was infringing on his First Amendment right to political parody.
Back and forth legal machinations kept DeVore’s “After the Hope of November is Gone” off the Net until DeVore filed a counter-notification with YouTube to restore the parody video on the grounds Henley had no rights to “All She Wants to do is Dance,” and therefore no right to file any kind of complaint.
Wednesday, August 5th, ten days after the counter-notification window expired for the actual copyright holder to sue DeVore in federal court, YouTube had no choice but to unblock DeVore’s parody. With the energy tax disguised as cap-and-trade sitting in a Senate committee that Barbara Boxer chairs, the timing couldn’t be better.
Choice excerpts from “All She Wants to do is Tax“:
Well, the government rigged the market
in the carbon trading scam
And all she wants to do is tax, tax
To keep the boys a sellin’
All the credits they could ma’am
And all she wants to do is tax
But that don’t keep the boys
From makin’ a buck or two
And all she wants to do is tax, tax
They still can sell the public
On the good that they can do
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is tax
And break our backs
DeVore referring to Boxer as “Ma’am” came a full two months before her now infamous dressing down of General Walsh for calling her “Ma’am” instead of “Senator” during his testimony before her committee.
“All She Wants to do is Tax” is but one part of a broader DeVore campaign effort to stop cap-and-trade that has already generated over 10,000 faxes into the U.S. Senate: www.taxfax.us.
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