ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING JAN 6
        Free Speech Coalition’s Annual Membership Meeting will be held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, January 6, at the Adult Entertainment Expo, Sands Convention Center, 201 East Sands Avenue, Room 106, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
        FSC Executive Director Michelle L. Freridge will introduce the 2005 Board of Directors over a continental breakfast and coffee.
        First Amendment Attorney Larry Walters will give a presentation on Title 18, Section 2257, the newly expanded federal labeling law regulations, and answer questions afterwards.
        New and continuing supporters will have the opportunity to pay their dues, make a donation, and sign up to work on a variety of projects in 2005. Please RSVP with Neva Chevalier at (818) 348-9373 or by email at free_speech@sbcglobal.net
__________________________________________________________

COME CELEBRATE FREE SPEECH IN CALIFORNIA
        It’s time to mark your calendar to attend our acclaimed lobbying training program, Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days (CFSLD), next spring in Sacramento, California. The dates are Monday and Tuesday, April 18 and 19, and as always, space is limited.
        The two-day event will include a full day of political action training for participants, as well as our popular cocktail reception for legislators and staff. In addition, this year we are adding a Community Forum to the schedule, where the public will be invited to join adult industry professionals and speakers from the Capitol in a discussion of issues of concern regarding free speech and adult entertainment.
        Deadline for applications is Friday, March 18, 2005.  Call the Legislative Affairs Office at 1-800-476-7813 or e-mail Sunlove@direcway.com for more information and an application form.
        CFSLD continues to be an inspiring and empowering activity for those who attend and is a great staff development opportunity for industry leaders. Don’t miss it in 2005!
__________________________________________________________

FSC GETS BIG ASSIST IN 2257 FIGHT
LOS ANGELES, CA -- The adult industry Anti-Censorship Defense Committee (AC/DC) has pledged up to $75,000 in matching funds to support a legal challenge by FSC to the federal Recordkeeping and Labeling Law 18 USC 2257.
        According to FSC Executive Director Michelle L. Freridge, AC/DC’s contribution will cover more than 37 percent of the $200,000 needed for the legal expenses.
        “The new proposed 2257 regulations raise serious constitutional questions, are contrary to case law, and have cast a chilling effect on Adult video and Internet productions,” said Robert A. DePiano, the attorney representing AC/DC. “Accordingly, AC/DC is pleased to assist in this anti-censorship fight.”
        So far, FSC supporters, including Marina Pacific, New Sensations, Broadcasting Concepts, Wicked Pictures and Caballero Home Video, have donated $25,000 to the FSC fund. With AC/DC’s matching funds, a total of $50,000 has been raised.
From Adult Video News, 12/22/04
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action=
Print_Article&Content_ID=210016
__________________________________________________________

EXOTIC DANCERS ORDERED TO WEAR PERMITS
SAN ANTONIO, TX – A new exotic dance ordinance here bans nude dancing as well as lap dancing and sets up a 3-foot distance requirement between dancers and patrons, regulations which are similar to those in some other cities. And in a twist we haven’t seen before, dancers will be required to carry permits with them while performing. The driver’s license sized permits will cost $50 each. They may be attached to G-strings, or to bracelets around the dancer’s ankles.
        Jim DeeGear, attorney for 12 of San Antonio’s exotic dance clubs, said he would seek to have the rules declared unconstitutional.
        “It’s easy to pick on these people because a lot of people say, ‘well, we don’t much care for the way they earn their living,’” DeeGear said.
        The action by the city council is seen by some as an effort to discourage clubs and curb their numbers.
        “My constituents are tired of seeing these clubs drive down their property values,” said city council member Chip Haas.
From Reuters, 12/20/04
http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/20/news/funny/dancer_permits.reut/index.htm
__________________________________________________________

INTERNET EXECUTIVE FACES CHARGES
NEW DEHLI, INDIA -- Avnish Bajaj, an American citizen and an executive for Baazee.com, a subsidiary of eBay, has been granted bail here but must remain in the country for court hearings. This is a minor victory in a bizarre case that has outraged eBay officials and raised an alarm in the Internet business community.
        Bajaj was arrested by Indian officials, accused of violating a law which forbids the publication of indecent materials, or allowing them to be published. This was after Bajaj had gone to India to aid authorities [big mistake] in capturing the person who listed the sex tape for sale on the Baazee.com site. According to eBay officials, Bajaj and the rest of Baazee.com’s staff immediately took the listing down after it appeared and helped authorities track down the identity of the person who put the clip up for sale on the site.
        In the meantime, according to newspaper reports, both the seller and the 17-year-old who filmed the sex act on his cell phone have been arrested.
From Jim Wagner, Internet News.com, 12/21/04
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3450461
__________________________________________________________

ANOTHER FCC BROADCAST INDECENCY FINE
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $220,000 indecency fine against Entercom Communications, citing four radio broadcasts in April and May of 2002 by Entercom-owned stations in Kansas. The stations aired a “Naked Twister” game with local strippers and graphic interviews with porn stars Ron Jeremy and Dave Cummings. The “Naked Twister” segments dwelled on descriptions of female genitalia and breasts in an explicit and graphic manner, said the FCC. The proposed fine is $27,500  -- the maximum allowed at the time -- for each of the four broadcasts by the two stations.
        The commission also mentioned Entercom’s history of prior indecent broadcasts. In September 2002, the FCC fined the company $12,000 for broadcasting indecent material on a Seattle station.
From Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press, 12/23/04
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/12/23/
radio_station_owner_faces_220000_fine/
__________________________________________________________

ZONING PLAN REJECTED BY RESIDENTS
CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL -- Corporation Counsel Kathleen Field Orr and the zoning board have been frustrated here in efforts to create districts designated for adult entertainment. In order to meet constitutional requirements it was seen as necessary that three specific areas be zoned where exotic dance clubs could locate. Two of the sites already have dance clubs. But when Orr tried to designate a third zone, residents became convinced that the city was courting another club.
        Not so, insisted Orr. Three times during a zoning board of appeals meeting she explained that there is no liquor license available for another dance club. The city has only two liquor licenses designated for use in adult-themed clubs with exotic female dancing, she said. If a third club were to locate to Chicago Heights, its owners would not be able to serve liquor.
        But that was not enough reassurance for the angry crowd at the meeting.
        “You just come up with a spot and say ‘Oh, we’re going to designate this for a third strip club.’ Is that it? Out of the blue?,” said resident Ed Linthicum.
        “This is stupid,” said Orr at one point, appearing agitated.
        Finally the zoning scheme was sent back for review. [Numerous X-Press reports have documented the dilemmas of officials caught between constitutional law and public pressure.]
From Michael Drakulich, The Star, 12/12/04
http://www.starnewspapers.com/star/spnews/news/12-sp3.htm
__________________________________________________________

STATE SPAM LAW RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – Trial Judge Durke Thompson has ruled that Maryland’s spam law restricting unsolicited e-mail is unconstitutional because it unfairly restricts interstate commerce. The state law, which targets fraudulent and deceptive spam, was used by law student Eric Menhart to bring a lawsuit against a New York firm, First Choice Internet. However, noted Judge Thompson, First Choice “did not intentionally direct their e-mails” to Maryland residents. The judge also ruled that Menhart spent most of his time in Washington, D.C., not Maryland, and it would be unfair to require a sender of e-mail to guess where the correspondence would be read.
        This ruling adds to a series of rulings with different results in different states. Judges in California and Washington state have also ruled that their respective state’s antispam laws are unconstitutional because they violate the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, much as Judge Thompson decided. However, appeals courts reversed those rulings, leaving the state laws intact.
        Judge Thompson said this case was more akin to a string of Internet-related lawsuits in New York, Virginia and Vermont that struck down state laws because they ran afoul of the commerce clause. In the Vermont case, a court struck down a law targeting sexually explicit materials because it found the state has “projected its legislation into other states and directly regulated commerce therein.”
From Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com, 12/15/04
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5491683.html?tag=nl
__________________________________________________________

GOVERNOR’S NUDE LAMP BAN BRINGS PROTEST          
MONTPELIER, VT -- Officials at Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art are protesting plans by Vermont Republican Governor James Douglas to banish from his statehouse desk a lamp that replicates “The Greek Slave,” a famed statue by Hiram Powers depicting a chained, naked young woman.
        “Since 1873 the Corcoran Gallery of Art has proudly counted one of Powers’ original Greek Slave sculptures in its own collection and joins the White House and the U.S. Capitol as exhibitors of his work,” said David C. Levy, the Corcoran’s director.
        Sculpted by the Vermont-born Powers in 1843, the statue depicts a Greek girl enslaved by the Turks, and it became a symbol of the state’s abolition movement. Vermont historians and preservationists -- including Liz Jeffords, wife of Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Polly Billings, wife of senior federal judge Franklin Billings -- are petitioning the governor to reverse course.
From Richard Leiby, The Washington Post, 12/19/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10720-2004Dec18.html
__________________________________________________________

UpComing Events

JAN 6 – FSC Annual Membership Meeting, 10:00 AM, Sands Expo, Room 106, Las Vegas, NV

JAN 4-6 – Internext, Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV
  http://www.internext-expo.com/.html

JAN 6-9 -- AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Las Vegas, NV www.homeentertainmentevents.com

MAR 18-20 – Adult Expo USA, L.A., CA http://www.adultexpousa.com/

APR 18-19 – CELEBRATE FREE SPEECH LOBBYING DAYS, Sacramento, CA, 800-476-78

JULY 26-28,  -- VSDA's Home Entertainment 2005, Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas, NV, http://show.vsdahomeentertainment.com