ORRIN HATCH must be smoking some of whatever Bill O’Reilly had, because now he’s making an idiot of himself:

“I’m interested,” Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone’s computer “may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights.”

The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, “then destroy their computer.”

In the spirit of the Framers, I’m tempted to endorse a more traditional remedy: twice warning a politician about threatening people’s rights and property, and then running him out of town on a rail.

That’s one, Orrin.

And if I were the DNC, I’d already have started shooting the attack ad: Orrin Hatch and the Republicans want to wreck your computer so that Big Business can get rich!

UPDATE: Ryan Macri emails: “…what’s next? Can copyright holders legally break into your home and destroy your music collection and stereo system if you shoplift CDs?”

Don’t give ’em ideas.