an editorial in "the new york times" argued against the copyright extension on february 21, 1998. the article stated "when senator hatch laments that george gershwin's "rhapsody in blue" will soon 'fall into the public domain,' he makes the public domain sound like a dark abyss where songs go, never to be heard again. in fact, when a work enters the public domain it means the public can afford to use it freely, to give it new currency."