Geeky Baldisms

Well, at presstime, another woman has accused Michael Irvin of rape.

Irvin has the following incidents on his record:

• March 1996: cocaine possession at a hotel party celebrating his 30th birthday. Irvin showing up to court in a full-length mink coat. He pled no contest to the charges and was sentenced to community service, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and put on 4-years probation. My favorite part of the whole disgusting mess: Irvin asking an arresting cop "Do you know who I am?"


• 1998: Irvin allegedly inflicted a two-inch cut in the neck of Dallas guard Everett McIver. McIver did not press charges, and rumors swirled that Irvin brokered a six-figure settlement with McIver to drop the matter. Accounts of this incident after the alleged settlement became difficult to find or research in the local Dallas press.
  


• 2000: Irvin was arrested on drug possession charges.In this case, Irvin was in a Dallas apartment with an unrelated woman. Police entered the apartment forcibly and found drugs. Irvin and the female were placed under arrest, though charges against Irvin were later dropped.

Are those who bypass the RIAA-affiliated record companies cold-hearted thieves? Well, obviously, the RIAA would like you to think so. And they're willing to sue as many grandmothers or eight-year-old little girls as it takes to convince you of that.

I'm setting a precedent for this piece: The RIAA needs to go away. If you don't agree, you might as well stop and find something else to read.

With that said, I really don't think that everyone who downloads music in whatever fashion that bypasses the record companies refuses to consider the idea of giving credit where credit is due. I believe that if artists made it easy for fans to donate to them, the money would roll in, probably more than would ever be received from their record companies.

This is a business arrangement I'm talking about here, not a charity movement. The Rolling Stones are rich beyond imagination, that doesn't mean that fans of, say, 5x12 wouldn't be willing to toss a few bucks or Euros their way because of the enjoyment that the venerable work continues to provide.

The problem is that there is no way to do that, short of mailing a check made out to Mick Jagger to what you hope is his home address. Their record company would never allow it. And the RIAA, of which their record company is an affiliate, would never, ever, EVER allow it.

Fans, it's time to change the business model.

In 2008, I made a modest amount of money working for my employer. Well above the average mean income for my area, as befits my IT skills, but still quite modest when compared with other white-collar jobs.

I make some money on the side via my websites, and it's reported to the IRS.

In addition, my wife makes some money in her endeavors, again, reported.

I'm in the process of paying off a $4,000 tax debt.

That's why I get hacked off when I read about the state of Washington, and its collectively planting its figurative lips all over Microsoft's collective Ballmer, excuse me, posterior.

Read the depressing details here, if you dare.

Basically, M$ is getting unconditional amnesty from the financially strapped state of Washington for past tax evasion. We're talking OVER A BILLION DOLLARS.

Corporate crooks have long existed in American business. Meet the most prominent one today.