Nancy Pelsosi finds nice way to tell House to not be so bloody stupid

The desperate attempts by US politicians to seem young and hip by beating their breasts in grief at the death of a bloke who was at his peak a quarter of a century ago have stalled.

Nancy Pelosi has told the house it's probably not a good idea to have a resolution on How Brilliant Michael Jackson was:

"A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views to — that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference where she discussed various legislative matters.

Blimey, Pelosi must have really hated Captain Eo. She could also have used the argument that there are better things for US lawmakers to be doing now than burning through cash and time doing a showboating equivalent of writing "I heart MJ" on the nation's pencil cases.

Universities: embrace DRM, or lose funds

Here's an interesting insight into the priorities of modern America. Because, clearly, protecting sales of The Eagles album is more important than poor kids getting a decent education, a bill in front of the House of Representatives threatens to cut off all federal funding for students at schools which don't use technological methods to block filesharing and offer a DRM-heavy alternative. That's right - young people's education is being made dependent upon universities doing a deal with Napster or a similar company.