Congress is embroiled in an influence-peddling scandal. Jack Abramhoff is naming names. Depending on who you talk to, indictments are about to be handed out like hall passes. All of this has made lawmakers touchy about their finances, and some have become downright paranoid.

That's why we weren't totally surprised when we heard that seven of the Senators slated to receive IPac iPods may decline our campaign contributions when they arrive. It turns out that Sen. Maria Cantwell does not accept contributions from any political action committees (PACs), which is an evenhanded position that we respect. Some of the other Senators think that taking these particular legal contributions -- made possible by people like you -- would be unseemly. A spokesperson for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison suggested that such a gift would not be in line with the Senate’s ethical standards.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is great news.

We hope that Senators Smith, Hutchison, Boxer, Kerry, Burns, and Ensign are serious about this higher ethical standard. If our iPods are "returned to sender," then surely they'll have to do the same for other PAC contributions! In the last few years, each of these Senators has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars - sometimes millions - from a variety of industry PACs. In the last year alone, Sen. Gordon Smith has accepted $37,000 from PACs representing TV, movie, and music companies (see illustrated comparison below). Sen. Boxer accepted $43,000 from those industries before being reelected in 2004. No more $5 lattes for you, Senator Boxer!

If these Senators won't return the entertainment industry's money, we hope they'll reconsider our iPods. After all, the devices are totally legal campaign contributions, paid for by ordinary Americans. And they speak to a public interest issue that doesn't get much attention: the balance between copyright law and public interest concerns like fair use and technological innovation. Surely the public's dollars deserve the same treatment as the cash distributed by entertainment industry PACs?

We're still sending iPods to these Senators, and we'll pick new recipients if they are returned. But if they are, we hope that Senators Smith, Hutchison, Boxer, Kerry, Burns, and Ensign have the courage to apply their principles to their other funders.

We're very excited to announce that Lawrence Lessig, author of Code and founder of Creative Commons, has agreed to record a special presentation to be included on our Senate-bound iPods. Lessig's writing/speaking/teaching has changed the way that people think about about copyright and technology all around the world, and he gives a mean slideshow [.torrent link]. He'll be doing a special presentation in his iconic style to be included on the dozen iPods we're sending to Washington in the coming weeks (you can help us send more by contributing here). We'll post the presentation as soon as it's in our hot little hands.

Also, in case you missed it, we've posted an FAQ on the campaign. Were you wondering if this campaign is legal? Not sure why we're giving iPods to Senators who can clearly afford to buy their own? We've got answers for you!

And finally, thanks to everyone who has supported this campaign so far. At last count over 130 blogs link to our site and a half-dozen news articles have been written in several countries. This is a grassroots effort, and we couldn't do it without your support. So thanks for spreading the love, and we can't wait to share our other projects with you!