Happy Friday from Arizona's Fighting 5th Congressman Andy Biggs...He's Filling You in about "The Swamp"

Looks like Andy has expanded the right and left borders of his weekly 'Newsletter'.

The Week in Review

Happy Friday!

This week, I spent my time back in Washington, D.C. I’m fired up to continue fighting on your behalf and to keep you informed about what’s going on in the Swamp.

Read below to learn about the important happenings of the week:

Save the Date: Salute to Veterans

On Monday, November 8, 2021, I will host Salute to Veterans, a night of entertainment and respectful ceremony in honor of those who fought to defend our country. It is open to all members of our Armed Forces, past and present, their families, and community members who would like to express appreciation for the sacrifices made. The event will also include information booths where staff members can assist constituents who are having difficulties with federal agencies. I hope you will join us! Click below for further details and to RSVP:

 

Join my Telephone Town Hall

On Wednesday, October 27, 2021, I will host my monthly telephone town hall and answer questions from my constituents. It is an honor to be your Representative for Arizona’s Fighting Fifth District, and I will always fight to ensure your voice is heard in the halls of Congress. Follow my social media pages for updates and check out the details below:

 

Opposing Biden’s Proposed Open Border Regulation

On Tuesday, I submitted a public comment, along with Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and 65 of our GOP colleagues, on the Biden Administration’s proposed rule that would illegally upend the process by which the U.S. government handles asylum claims. This rule, if finalized, would lead to the dispersion of potentially hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the interior of the country, limit the ability of immigration courts to hear asylum claims, serve as a massive pull factor for future illegal immigration, and fulfill a Biden campaign promise of open borders. We must fight back against the Biden administration’s efforts to erase our nation’s borders. Click below to read my full statement:

 

Holding AG Merrick Garland Accountable

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing began with Democrat Judiciary Members blocking video testimony of parents protesting at school board meetings. There is a growing movement of parents standing up to the Far Left’s indoctrination of our youth, and the Democrats are refusing to acknowledge it.  It begs the question, what are the Democrats afraid of? Concerned parents? You can watch the full video here. 

I used my time to question Attorney General Garland about his hypocritical and politically driven actions within the Department of Justice. Garland has turned a blind eye to real issues going on in America, including the Department of Justice not prosecuting illegal aliens for illegally entering the United States despite the fact that 1.3 million aliens crossed our border illegally since President Biden took office in January. Instead, he is using his power to attack concerned parents at school board meetings, labeling their actions “domestic terrorism”. Check out the full hearing here and my questioning below:

Interview with Mornings with Maria

On Thursday, I joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business to discuss Biden’s border crisis. Recent reports show that at least 125,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border since President Biden took office in January. Most of these children are abandoned by their families and handed off to the cartels to be smuggled across the border. This is not an act of mercy, this is an act of child abuse. These children are being put in harm's way on a dangerous trek to the U.S. border because President Biden has incentivized illegal crossings. Watch me discuss this in full by clicking below:

 

House Freedom Caucus Panel 

As Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, I led a panel discussion about President Biden’s vaccine mandates and economic failures on Wednesday. From his first day in office, President Biden and Democrats in Congress have been working overtime to violate the rights of the American people, while recklessly spending us further into debt. I was joined by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Congressman Alex Mooney (R-WV), and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) who all shared their constituents' concerns regarding the vaccine mandates and the oncoming economic crisis. Check out the full panel discussion below: 

 

Reinstate the Remain in Mexico Program

This week, Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and I began collecting signatures on a discharge petition to force the House of Representatives to consider H.R. 1259, the REMAIN in Mexico Act of 2021.  The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), otherwise known as the Remain in Mexico Program, in accordance with former DHS Secretary Nielsen’s January 2019 memorandum.  MPP was established by President Trump to secure our border and discourage illegal immigration. Despite being ordered by a federal court to “enforce and implement MPP in good faith,” DHS has yet to restart MPP and has indicated that it is still working to terminate the program. The Biden administration has proven to be untrustworthy and deceptive as it continues promulgating lies that our border is ‘safe and secure’. We do not trust that it will actually restart MPP and we are working to ensure this successful program is reinstated. Click below to see the petition.

 

     Freedom from Mandates Act Awarded                          Bill of the Month

This week,  FreedomWorks - a conservative and libertarian advocacy group that advocates for principles of smaller government, lower taxes, free markets, personal liberty and the rule of law - selected my Freedom from Mandates Act as its Bill of the Month. The Freedom from Mandates Act has been cosponsored by 21 of my colleagues and, if passed, would block President Biden’s tyrannical vaccine mandates. It is my duty to continue working to block President Biden’s COVID-19 mandates and to send a loud, clear message to the Biden Administration that these restrictions will not be tolerated. It is an egregious assault on our liberties and freedoms. The American people must be allowed to make their own healthcare decisions. Check out my bill below:

The Border Crisis Rages On

This week, we received reports that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 1.7 million illegal aliens at our border this fiscal year.  This is the highest level ever recorded. As our border continues to be exploited, the Democrats are pushing even harder to include amnesty for more than eight million illegal aliens in their massive spending bill. Furthermore, the Democrats voted to include illegal aliens who are gang members, have gun charges, are sex offenders, and have multiple DUI offenses into their amnesty haul. Why? Because the Left needs future voters, and they’re willing to sacrifice the safety of the American people for it. Check out my thoughts below on it:

 

Check Out my Latest Floor Speeches:

Floor Speech:

Floor Speech w/ Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX)

 

 

 

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VOCALIZATIONS: Who Put The Bomp? and “Who took the ram from the rama-lama-ding-dong?”

Le Tigre Sues Barry Mann To Stop Copyright Threats Over Song, Lights Barry Mann On Fire As Well

Copyright

from the oooooh-get-him dept

Thu, Oct 21st 2021 7:57pm — Timothy Geigner

"It takes a special kind of hubris to appropriate music and lyrics not just from another artist, but another cultural genre of artists, and then threaten someone else for "stealing" what you've "stolen". Meet Barry Mann. If that name doesn't sound terribly familiar to you, fear not, as he is known for the 1961 hit song Who Put The Bomp? and other songs from decades ago. And if that song title doesn't sound familiar, you've almost certainly heard the song. To jog your memory, it includes such made up words as "ramalama ding dong". See, those are called vocables: made up syllables used to effectuate rhythmic form rather than meaning. You can listen to the song below to get an idea of what I'm m talking about.

"The Mann", which is what I'll be calling him from here on out, is still kicking at 82 and apparently is learning a new hobby: threatening other artists with copyright claims. He and/or his legal representatives apparently sent a cease and desist notice to Le Tigre, a feminist punk band, over a song called Decepticon. See, Decepticon takes a couple of lyrics found in The Mann's song and repurposes them to become a feminist anthem. For that and one additional reason that we'll get into later, Le Tigre filed suit for declaratory relief of The Mann's copyright infringement claim. Here is Decepticon so you can go hear for yourself just how copyright-infringe-y this all isn't.

Between the suit and the song itself, you should notice a number of things. First off, you may be thinking to yourself that this song sounds decidedly retro for punk music. That's because the song came out

 

 

Between the suit and the song itself, you should notice a number of things. First off, you may be thinking to yourself that this song sounds decidedly retro for punk music. That's because the song came out twenty years ago and has long been Le Tigre's most famous song. Why a lawsuit is only being filed now is an open question. In addition, the use of the lyrics is minimal and the song itself is nothing remotely like The Mann's song.

Additionally, even if Defendants had a legitimate claim to ownership of the small portion of Bomp lyrics at issue, they nonetheless have no copyright infringement claim against Le Tigre or its licensees because Le Tigre’s transformative use of those lyrics in Deceptacon is an emblematic case of fair use under Section 107 of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 107.

Transformative use? Let's get into that. You may also have noticed that the lyrics are actually slightly different. For instance, the lyric to start the song is no longer "who put the bomp", it's "who took the bomp".

Deceptacon’s reference to and inversion of the Bomp lyrics at issue delivers a stinging indictment and parody of Bomp, which is clear from a comparison of the songs’ lyrics and sharply contrasting musical styles, as critics have noted over the decades. Bomp, written from a man’s perspective, begins with the statement: “I’d like to thank the guy who wrote the song that made my baby fall in love with me.” Bomp’s singer asks, “Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?” and “Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?” Deceptacon, by contrast, is a feminist anthem that begins with the proposition that music “is sucking my heart out of my mind” and continues to ask, “Who took the bomp from the bomp-a-lomp-a-lomp?” and “Who took the ram from the rama-lama-ding-dong?” Thus, Le Tigre’s use of the lyrics that appear in Bomp instills those lyrics with a new meaning that is directly at odds with and a clear criticism of the message in Bomp, which is precisely the sort of fair use that Section 107 of the Copyright Act is designed to protect.

But parody and criticism of what? Well, there certainly is the feminist angle to it, yes, and Le Tigre is well known for creating that sort of stinging lyrics within its songs. But not just the feminist critique. Remember the change from "put" to "took"? Well...

The Bomp lyrics putatively at issue are mainly comprised of song titles and non-lexical vocables (nonsense syllables used in music). But Mr. Mann did not create these vocables or song titles; rather, it appears that Mr. Mann and his cowriter copied them from Black doo-wop groups active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Specifically, it appears that Mr. Mann took “bomp-bah-bomp-bah-bomp” from The Marcels’ distinctive version of “Blue Moon,” which sold over a million copies, and “rama lama ding dong” from the Edsels’ then-popular “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” In short, the Bomp lyrics at issue are not original to Mr. Mann, and Defendants have no legitimate copyright claim in them.

And that is how this all comes full circle, in a way. The Mann threatened a punk feminist group over a song it created with lyrics designed to specifically criticize how he appropriated those lyrics from black doo-wop groups in the 60s. Like I said, that takes a nearly impressive amount of hubris.

As far as copyright cases go, this should be an easy one for the courts."

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