James Lambert

President Eisenhower once cautioned Americans that, "pessimism never won any battle, whether it was in peace or whether it was in war," and the phrase has been widely repeated since then. But it was actually Rear Admiral Albert S. Baker who said it best, more than half a century earlier: “Pessimism never won a battle; pessimism never made a hero; pessimism is death.” We are living in the most technologically advance age humanity has ever known, with more opportunity for everything than our ancestors dreamed possible, and yet we often seem to be slipping into pessimism; pretending we are being realistic. In reality, we need optimism to survive, more than anything.

This overview of copyright history focuses on how the public domain and fair use are under attack by corporate interests and how artists and everyday people are fighting back.

There is a lot of talk these days about "fake news" but we have yet to begin a conversation about the older problem of "fake history." Most people reject conspiracy theories in general but not in principle. They tend to accept the "fact" the President Kennedy was assassinated by a sinister cabal and they are prone to fall for any story that fits their predetermined biases. How can be better learn to separate fact from fiction, so that we might truly learn from history?