Hollywood, recording industry beg Obama to help save them from pirates

Faced with the global menace of digital piracy, some of the largest entertainment companies in the world have banded together to beg the Obama administration to help their industries, which they claim are under assault by digital brigands. Among them are AT&T (T), CBS Corporation, Microsoft (MSFT), News Corp. (NWS), NBC Universal, Disney (DIS), NASCAR, the NFL and the NBA.

"Hear us as we speak with one voice about the importance of creators' rights," the entertainment giants wrote in a melodramatic letter to President Obama published yesterday. "We are the essence of America. Since the founding of our country, our work has provided light in the darkness of conflict, humor in the depths of sadness, beauty in the face of ugliness, and reason in the dysfunction of division."