The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition the Harper government loves negative advertising; now we know how far it would go to eliminate any obstacle between itself and its object of desire. A Globe editorial says the feds are look to change the Copyright Act so that politicians can use news content in political advertising without asking for permission. TV networks do not like to see their footage in partisan ads, especially the negative type, since viewers might be left with the impression they are complicit with a political party. Earlier this year, a group of broadcasters told the government they would no longer air political ads that use their content without their explicit consent. In the heat of an election campaign, war-room apparatchiks do not want to deal with the niceties of copyright when they are in a hurry to twist an opponent's comment out of context. The proposed exemption is limited only to politicians and their parties. It does not extend to other groups that might have something to say during an election campaign -- unions, for instance. The Harper government wants to give itself free rein to fire off attack ads at will, but it doesn't want to hear back from others.