Busted

Dear Humanist, Perhaps you are not aware that you have reprintedcopyrighted material, one of my columns, withoutpermission. Please remove my column from your blog andrefrain from copying my work anywhere in any form.Copyright law has a "fair use" clause that tells youwhat you may and may not use without violating someoneelse's copyright. Copyrights are property right andusing material without permission is stealing. Justthought you'd like to know. You have a perfect rightto make any comments you want about me or my columnsas long as they are not legally defamatory, and fairuse will tell you how much you can quote directly. (Iused to be a lawyer in Helena. So please.) It took me a while to find your name on your blog. Ido note, though, that people who want to post commentsmay not post them anonymously. Interesting. I understand from your comments that you're very angrywith me and other religious folk. I'm sorry forwhatever caused that to happen, since many of us havea lot to offer. Actually I thought, based on myhumanist friends, that most humanist virtues andvalues overlap nicely with gospel virtues and values.I have quite a few humanist readers, by the way, whofeel very differently about my column from the way youdo. Can we not agree on compassion, honesty, patience,kindness and such? I didn't say, actually, that I "saved" Bobbi in anyway. I think if you would read the column carefully,you'd be aware of that. Bobbi was in a hospital whereshe was getting excellent medical care. Lots of uswere praying for her, and for me it was an amazingexperience, one that has stayed with me very vividly.Yes, I believe prayer can and does help many people inmany ways. I don't claim to know how. You know, if you don't like my column, you have theoption of not reading it. I'm sorry that I apparentlygot under your skin. And, obviously, you can say whatyou like -- publicly within the limits of applicablelaw. I assume, given that you're a veteran who caresso much about her country that she was willing to goto war, you believe in upholding the law andConstitution upon which our freedoms are based. I only ask that you refrain from violating mycopyrights and also from misrepresenting me. Themisrepresentation is a cheap shot. Thank you. I wish you all the best. Joan Uda