“POWER OF THE PURSE” PLOT AGAINST JUDGES
WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans United for Separation of Church and State has provided the L.A. Times with an audio recording of evangelical leaders discussing tactics for reining in so-called “activist judges.” Times reporter Peter Wallsten says the taped discussion provides a glimpse of the road map the evangelicals are drafting as they work with congressional Republicans to achieve a judiciary that sides with them on abortion, same-sex marriage and other elements of their agenda.
        “There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and there’s more than one way to take a black robe off the bench,” said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, his comments caught on tape. Perkins described attending a meeting with congressional leaders where the strategy of stripping funding from certain courts was “prominently” discussed. “What they’re thinking of is not only the fact of just making these courts go away and re-creating them the next day but also defunding them,” Perkins said.
        Instead of undertaking the long process of trying to impeach judges, said Perkins, Congress could use its appropriations authority to “just take away the bench, all of his staff, and he’s just sitting out there with nothing to do.”
        Also caught on tape is Focus On The Family founder James Dobson.
        “Very few people know this, that the Congress can simply disenfranchise a court,” Dobson said. “They don’t have to fire anybody or impeach them or go through that battle. All they have to do is say the 9th Circuit [U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals] doesn’t exist anymore, and it’s gone.”
        Meanwhile, back in Congress, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay lashed out at Republican appointed Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy for being a “judicial activist.”
        “We’ve got Justice Kennedy writing decisions based upon international law, not the Constitution of the United States? That’s just outrageous,” DeLay said. “And not only that, but he said in session that he does his own research on the Internet? That is just incredibly outrageous.”
       Open criticism of individual Supreme Court Justices has been rare for members of congress, but conservative ire over so-called activist judges apparently knows no bounds.
From Peter Wallsten, The L.A. Times, 4/22/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-strategy22apr22,0,4502787.story?coll=la-home-nation
And from The Associated Press, 4/20/05
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/20/delay.judges.ap/index.html
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COMING SOON TO A DVD NEAR YOU: SANITIZED MOVIES
WASHINGTON, DC -- By voice vote, the House has approved The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act. The legislation now goes to the President for signature. It contains numerous provisions, but among the most controversial is one that exempts companies from claims of copyright infringement for using technology that edits without permanently altering an original movie.
        Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), the main sponsor of the bill, had wanted to legitimize the “sanitizing” technology in use by ClearPlay, a Utah company that creates movie-specific filters that can be plugged into a specially equipped DVD player. The filters let viewers edit three types of violence, five levels of sex and six types of profanity, said Bill Aho, ClearPlay’s chief executive.
        The bill does not address the editing form of censorship used by CleanFlicks Media and other companies that distribute edited versions of movies. Hollywood companies had sued both ClearPlay and CleanFlicks for copyright infringement. The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act will make the former moot but leave the latter embroiled in litigation.
        In addition to the ClearPlay provisions, the act also strengthens anti-piracy laws, establishing prison terms for selling pirated materials. It makes it a federal offense to create bootleg films by using recorders in theaters and gives theaters the right to detain suspects for questioning until police arrive.
From Chuck Lindell, Cox News Service, 4/21/05
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600127718,00.html
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MARY CAREY CAUGHT IN BUST
       LAKEWOOD, WA -- Adult star Mary Carey and five others, including another dancer, two managers and a limo driver, were arrested here during a raid on Club Paradise. Eleven others were given citations. The charges involved violations of a local adult cabaret ordinance. Some of the dancers were accused of violating the ordinance by getting too close to customers. Others, including Carey, were said to have [gasp!] touched themselves in a sexual manner. There were no accusations of prostitution or sex act performances.
       The arrests and citations were apparently part of an effort by town officials to close down Club Paradise. The club opened about April 1st and in just the few weeks before this bust police had issued a dozen citations and made one arrest.
       Police Lt. Bret Farrar said the cases had been referred for prosecution.
       “We’re recommending that they revoke their license,” he said. “We’re trying to send a clear message that we’re trying to clean up Lakewood.”
Stilettos, an exotic dance club at the same site, was closed last year for alleged code violations.
       Club Paradise owner Ray Henson said he met with police to discuss regulations before he opened and accused officers of unfairly targeting him for past problems.        “I’m the cleanest club there is,” he said. “I tried to be as cooperative as possible. Every time I’ve had a big crowd, they come in.”
From The Associated Press, 4/19/05
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/
20050419-0622-pornstararrested.html
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JUSTICE? IN SIMI VALLEY?
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- After a legal battle that has been going on since 1993, Judge William Rea of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has finally ordered the city to pay about $100,000 in damages and attorney fees to Philip Young. The whole thing started when Young was issued a zoning clearance to remodel a building to open an exotic dance club. Public opposition caused the city to rescind Young’s permit based on “parking concerns.”
        Later, the City Council adopted a zoning ordinance that included a provision that adult entertainment clubs could not be located next to churches or schools. A school board member then opened a Bible study center near the site. The existence of the study center was then used as a reason not to approve the club.
        The 1993 ordinance regulating nude entertainment clubs was “unconstitutional because it made it unreasonably difficult for an adult use applicant to complete the permit process,” said Judge Rea.
        Young is now considering the possibility of opening the city’s first nude adult entertainment club, said his attorney, Roger Jon Diamond.
From Angie Valencia-Martinez, Simi Valley Daily News, 4/21/05
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~28822~2827441,00.html
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GRANT WILL HELP STUDY EFFECT OF PATRIOT ACT
       WASHINGTON, DC -- The Ford Foundation has made a $380,000 grant to the American Library Association to support research into law enforcement requests for information under the U.S. Patriot Act and to help create a cadre of attorneys across the country committed to the defense of intellectual freedom in libraries. The results of the research part of the grant will be compiled in the form of a report that should prove useful to policymakers, academics, journalists, and legislators who wish to understand the impact of the PATRIOT Act on libraries.
       Kudos to the Ford Foundation. This grant couldn’t have happened to nicer guys. The ALA has never wavered in support of the First Amendment and in the battle against censorship.
     Like many free speech champions, the ALA has been under considerable pressure due to the current climate in Washington. Recently, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not know of any written laws that protect the privacy of library records, and agreed with statements made by Senator Sessions (R-AL) that the privacy of an individual’s library records should not be given special protection under the law.
    “Library records are, in fact, protected by written laws,” says the ALA. “In 48 states, laws declare that a person’s library records are private and confidential; the remaining two states, Kentucky and Hawaii, have attorneys’ general opinions recognizing the confidentiality of library records. States created library confidentiality laws to protect the First Amendment right to read and inquire without government interference, a freedom Americans hold dear.”
From Managing Information, 4/21/05
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=3753
And from an ALA Press Release, 4/7/05
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=
/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=91431
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AN ANSWER TO P2P SOFTWARE -- MORE SOFTWARE
       FINLAND -- A new method of protecting music, game or movie content from illegal file-swapping networks has been developed by Viralg, a software company here. The software mimics the digital signature of the content and then adds junk data into the download stream, corrupting the file. The peer-to-peer client can’t distinguish between the junk and good data.
       “The illegal downloader will end up downloading useless garbage instead of real music, movie or game content,” the company said. “Our technology is also capable of destroying already-shared functional files from peer-to-peer networks.”
From John Borland, News.com, 4/19/05
http://news.com.com/Finns+tout+new+anti-P2P+tool/
2100-1027_3-5676756.html?tag=nefd.top
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GROUP PLANS GUIDELINES FOR SELF-CENSORSHIP
       LAS VEGAS, NV -- A task force organized by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is in the process of preparing guidelines of best practices for member stations on how to avoid violating decency standards. The idea is to head off government regulation by showing that the broadcast industry can police itself.
       “We certainly would like to be self-regulated rather than government-regulated.” said Gary Chapman, president of LIN TV.
       The group also plans a consumer awareness education project, focusing on ratings and available technology to block undesired shows.
From Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters, 4/19/05
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/
20050419-1401-grenonmedia-decency.html
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LATE BREAKING NEWS
The draconian Missouri anti-porn bill, SB 32, has been heard before the Committee on Local Government. A large contingent of opponents showed up to testify.
See Mark Kernes story at AVN.com.
http://www.avn.com/index.php?
Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action=View_Article&Content_ID=223914
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OTHER NEWS ITEMS OF THE WEEK
California Assemblyman Yee’s bill to restrict sale of violent video games to minors passes in Judiciary Committee.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=599&ncid=762&e=9&u=
/nm/20050419/media_nm/media_videogames_california_dc

Manatee County, Florida, bans alcohol in adult clubs. Attorney Luke Lirot may seek injunction.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20050420/NEWS/504200500/1006/SPORTS

Venice Beach, California, once a famous clothes-optional Mecca, in a tizzy over nude female torso sculpture.
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-graham16apr16,0,5355034.story

Update on Maryville, Tennessee, Sunshyne Video story (See “Video Store Focus of Regulations,” X-Press, 2/25/05) Store granted permit but still faces hearing on original citation for operating without one.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/204690

Akron, Ohio, ordinance seeks to get around First Amendment on public access cable by requiring that only local residents have access.
http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=3231518

UpComing Events

APR 18-19 – Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days, Sacramento, CA, 800-476-7813

MAY 1 – Adult Con 8, Los Angeles Convention Center, www.adultcon.com

MAY 19-21 --  Erotic Expo., Hotel Pennsylvania, N.Y., NY www.Eroticexpony.com

JUNE 6-10 -- Lifestyles 2005, Las Vegas, NV, www.lifestyles-conventions.com

JUNE 10-12 -- Erotica L.A., www.adultconx.com


JUNE 12-15 -- Cybernet Expo, Shelter Point Hotel, San Diego, CA, www.cybernetexpo.com

JULY 11-13 – ANME, Mandalay Bay, Vas Vegas, NV

JULY 18-20 – AVN Adult Novelty Expo, Pasadena, CA. www.adultnoveltyexpo.com

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

AUG 5-6 – Internext, Hollywood, FL., www.Internext-expo.com