Maybe it was their profile of a certain PAC that woke them up to information policy issues. Maybe it's because they have to suffer every day reading the trade publications that make every new starlet the next big thing. Maybe it's because they can think logically.

Whatever the reason, the LA Times gets it. In an editorial today the LA Times makes the case that Hollywood has gone too far in buying their legislation in Congress and that Members need to wake up to the results of their actions.

THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL technology have been both a blessing and a curse for the entertainment industry, opening new opportunities for selling music and video but also fueling rampant global piracy.

To attack the latter problem, industry lobbyists are pressing Congress to adopt at least five different proposals that would give them more control over their works as they flow through new digital pipelines into living rooms and portable devices.

Every time Hollywood has demanded control of technology the courts and Congress have said no. That is until recently when Congress realized it was easier to take Hollywood's money and screw their constituents. The Hollywood cartels want complete control over every and all digital device that is capable of playing back media in any form. PERFORM would cripple satellite radio and internet radio. SIRA would also cripple internet radio. The Broadcast Flag would cripple HDTV. The Audio Flag would cripple digital radio. And IPPA (DMCA 2.0) would throw every file trader in jail for 10 years.

That's quite the legislative agenda. The 109th Congress has been busy.

Protecting intellectual property is a legitimate goal for Congress — after all, the Constitution called on Congress to give authors and inventors exclusive rights "to promote the progress of science and useful arts." The task has grown more urgent with the emergence of an Internet-fueled global information economy. But what the entertainment industry is seeking in this year's proposals isn't merely protection from piracy; it's after increased leverage to protect its business models.

This is what the fight really is about. The Hollywood cartels are distribution agents that take artistic work, remove most of the artistic intent, and sell it to consumers at inflated prices. That is what they are fighting to protect. The internet has changed media distribution permanently, but the Hollywood cartels are buying themselves legislative carve outs to ensure that they stay in business, that no business that deals with media can possibly survive unless it is sanctioned and controlled. If this was just a fight for technology, we would have already won. But because this is a fight for the Hollywood cartels' livelihood they have pulled out every weapon they have.

The major [movie] studios want to alter digital TV receivers, recorders and home networks to stop shows from being redistributed indiscriminately online — a proposal that has won grudging support from some consumer-electronics and high-tech firms. They also want to redesign computers, set-top boxes and other products to ensure that the limits placed on digital videos are not removed when the data are converted from digital to analog.

They will settle for nothing less than complete control of our digital future. They want to be on the design teams of Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Apple, and every other computer manufacturer to cripple computers and turn them into dumb media devices.

Clearly, the industry-backed proposals would do more than just defend copyrighted works from pirates. They also would impinge on devices that have legitimate uses and steer the development of technology, cutting off some innovation. As they weigh the entertainment industry's pleas, lawmakers shouldn't assume all consumers are bootleggers and every digital device is a hand grenade aimed at Hollywood.

This is perhaps the best summation I've read on the fight for balanced information policy and the fight for our digital future.

The LA Times gets it. Now it's time for Congress to get it too.