Those of you who know me know that I’ve not exactly had the best relationship with our local Congressman, Mike Doyle. The reasons why are a story that doesn’t need to be immortalized here, but might involve what folks in DC call a “frank exchange of views”. At any rate, when I’m not a big fan of someone but they do something right, I think it’s only fair to praise them for it, and the Congressman is due for some praise.

You may perhaps be familiar with a local DJ/opening act called Girl Talk. Personally, I don’t care much for his act, but he seems to get lots of people excited, so more power to him. At any rate, he is one of many many artists who sample and remix from other artists to create something new, which means that he and his fellows are much-disliked by the big record labels. Mr. Doyle’s act of coolness was to defend sampling, mixing, and other forms of digital creativity during a Congressional hearing. Given that I’ve tended to criticize the Congressman for not being sufficiently with the 21st century, this is really great. You expect this kind of thing from Silicon Valley, but Mike Doyle is really showing the country that Pittsburgh is on the cutting edge. I, for one, consider this a fine use of those tax dollars I’m about to pay.

Related posts:

1. Mike, manufacturing, and microchips
2. Mike Seate hates to be honored
3. Shameless Self Promotion
4. Congress and Robots
5. A Little More Beauty in Bellevue