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Free Speech X-Press
Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Industry

Vol. VI, No. 21, April 9, 2004 -- A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition
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Free Speech X-press is researched and edited by Kat Sunlove and Layne Winklebleck.
Copyright 2004 Free Speech Coalition. Permission to reprint granted to FSC members; please give credit.
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VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FSC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com
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SAVE THE DATE! NIGHT OF THE STARS - JULY 24
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FEDS TARGET STANDARD ADULT FARE
WASHINGTON, DC -- Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Sullivan reports that Justice Department officials consider nothing off limits for the pending wave of obscenity prosecutions, even soft-core cable programs such as HBO's Real Sex or the adult movies widely offered in guestrooms of major hotel chains.

When the DOJ pursued obscenity cases vigorously in the 1970s and '80s, they prosecuted not necessarily the worst offenders in terms of extreme material, but those they viewed as most responsible for adult entertainment's proliferation.

Drew Oosterbaan, chief of the DOJ division in charge of obscenity prosecutions, said the department is employing much the same strategy this time, targeting not only some of the most egregious hard-core adult material but also more conventional material, in an effort "to be as effective as possible."
From Laura Sullivan, The Baltimore Sun, 4/6/04
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.obscenity06apr06,
0,3004361.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

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FEC RULES COULD DEVASTATE ADVOCACY GROUPS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has received a record 97,000 comments related to proposed new rules for charities, advocacy groups and political organizations.

The issue is hugely partisan. Republican groups have expressed outrage over the soft money being raised by groups such as America Coming Together (ACT), which plans to raise $95 million to defeat President Bush. The Republican groups claim this partisan activity, even if legal under present FEC rules, does not reflect the intent of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA).

See petition at: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/nprm/political_comm_status/exparte_commissioners.pdf

Democrats argue that the BCRA was intended to prohibit federal elected officials and political parties from raising and controlling soft money -- activities that have a corrosive influence on federal policymakers. However, they say the BCRA was not directed at political organizations or public advocacy groups.

See Democratic arguments at: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040407/dcw061_1.html

In the meantime, groups such as People for the American Way and MoveOn are alarmed. Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, said that some of the proposed rules could devastate the ability of nonprofit advocacy groups to operate.
From The Hill.com, 4/7/04
http://www.thehill.com/news/040704/briefs.aspx

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VEHICLE DVD LAW CONSIDERED
NASHVILLE, TN -- The state House is considering a bill passed by the Senate last year which would ban viewing obscene or patently offensive materials in cars.

Critics of the proposed bill say it has First Amendment problems because it does not clearly define "obscene" or "patently offensive." Although obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, patently offensive material, including pornography, is, said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.

"Theoretically, someone could say The Passion of The Christ is patently offensive," said Tony Thompson, lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America.

In response to these complaints, Senator Mark Norris, sponsor of the Senate bill said he has agreed to an amendment that would limit the bill's scope to obscene materials only. He said he believes pornography fits the state's definition of obscenity. Norris said viewing obscene DVDs in cars effectively turns a vehicle into a "rolling projection booth" for pornography.
From Holly Edwards, The Tennessean, 4/4/04
http://tennessean.com/government/archives/04/04/49428484.shtml

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DVD PLAYER TO HAVE CENSORSHIP TECHNOLOGY
BENTONVILLE, AR -- Wal-Mart and Kmart are planning to sell a new RCA brand DVD player that includes a technology that can automatically skip sexual content, graphically violent scenes and language deemed offensive. The system uses a set of programmed commands tailored to about 500 individual movies released on DVD. Using a filtering program developed by ClearPlay Inc., the DVD player can be instructed when to mute dialog or skip segments that show 14 levels of violence, sex, nudity and profanity. The user can pick which filters to activate.

ClearPlay is one of several companies battling a lawsuit filed by major movie studios and directors. The suit claims that filtering technology such as ClearPlays produces an unauthorized and illegal version of their artistic work.
From Benny Evangelista, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/7/04
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/
2004/04/07/BUGLL61GFQ1.DTL&type=business

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COUNTRY EXOTIC DANCE CLUB TAKES ACTION
McCOOK COUNTY, SD -- A county ordinance banning public nudity and regulating exotic dancing was to have gone into effect here recently, but now will be submitted to voters in the June primary election. This is the result of a petition with 295 signatures submitted to the County Auditor by Bob Rieger, owner of Racehorses Gentlemens Club.

Previously, such ordinances were automatically referred to voters. However, a new state law makes elections no longer mandatory for obscenity and adult-business ordinances.

Immediately after the new law went into effect, county commissioners approved the ordinance on public nudity and dancing, having been been thwarted in previous attempts to close the Racehorses club.

Rieger vowed then that he would challenge the ordinance and the state law.
Commissioner Ralph Dybdahl said he wasnt surprised by the large number of petition signatures.

"This way, the whole county will have a chance to vote on it," he said. "Evidently, that's the way people want to handle it."
From Melanie Brandert, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 4/8/04
http://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle2.shtml

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COMMUNITY TELEVISION RULES PASS COUNCIL
ANN ARBOR, MI -- After nearly three years of study, the city council here has approved new rules that define obscenity on the city's Community Television Network (CTN). The rules outline a process for mandatory disclosure of materials containing "extreme violence, nudity and/or sexual material." However, the rules do not allow prior review by CTN staff of programs. Only a viewers complaint can trigger a review by a CTN panel.

Furthermore, the person lodging the complaint would have to answer eight potentially embarrassing questions. One of the questions is: "Does the program contain images of masturbation? If yes, give a description and an estimate of duration."

The eight questions were developed by the city attorney's office. CTN officials have said obscenity is seldom a concern.
FomTom Gantert, Ann Arbor news, 4/7/04
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-8/108134901570100.xml

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CITY SCRAMBLES TO BLOCK HUSTLER STORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Commissioners here have voted to revise the definition of an adult video store -- and quickly -- before Larry Flynt can open a Hustler store in Victoria Park. The city can apply the zoning rules now, before the storeowners obtain an occupational license, said city attorney Harry Stewart.

According to the city's current ordinance, adult businesses within 500 feet of a residential area can operate as long as their pornographic material does not exceed 51 percent of their sales. Stewart said that reducing the threshold of sales from 51 percent to "substantial" would make it easier to label a business an adult sex video store, which is restricted from being close to a church, park and residential property.

Meanwhile, fretful Victoria Park residents met to discuss the matter. The meeting was closed to the media.
From Daniella Aird & Brittany Wallman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/8/04
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pchustler
08apr08,0,3726697.story?coll=sfla-news-palm

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TOWN HIT WITH LEGAL FEES
REVERE, MA -- In 2002 a Suffolk county judge here ruled that that a zoning ordinance prohibiting the Moonlight Reader adult video store violated the owners' free speech rights. Now, the judge has ordered the city to pay attorneys' fees and court costs incurred by the store, to the tune of more than $915,000.

In a blistering 13-page ruling, Judge Ernest B. Murphy rejected the city's arguments that lawyers for the video store were trying to gouge the government. He blamed the city for designing a "patently illegal" ordinance to torpedo the business and said that "Revere's obstructionist conduct" had prolonged the court battle.

Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino, who last month described the city's finances as precarious, vowed yesterday to continue the fight by appealing the award as excessive.

However, Ted Drabkowski, co-owner of T & D Video Inc., which operates Moonlight Reader, points out that the interest rate on the legal fees is 12 percent a year. He said the city should simply pay up. "The meters running," Drabkowski said.
From Jonathan Saltzman, The Boston Globe, 2/18/04
URL not available

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PASTOR'S HUNGER STRIKE AGAINST DANCE CLUB
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Pastor Roger Huang is on a hunger strike, having vowed to eat nothing more until the city closes Chez Paree, an exotic dance club located next to his Rescue Mission in the Tenderloin district.

The club is owned by Terrance Alan, who heads the city's Entertainment Commission. The site has housed adult entertainment venues for more than 50 years, Alan says. The Rescue Mission opened at that location in 1997.

Huang says that as far as he is concerned, the strip club is a new business because it recently changed from gay to heterosexual.

Supervisor Chris Daly, who represents the district that includes the Tenderloin, says the city's hands are tied when it comes to closing the dance club and that it is working on some other measures requested by Huang.
From Suzanne Herel, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/7/04
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/07/BAGSH61BQN18.DTL

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UpComing Events

APR 26-27, 2004 Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days, Sacramento, CA, 866-FSC-9373

MAY 12 -16, 2004 -- Lifestyles, Princess Hotel, Alcapulco, www.Lifestyles.org

JUN 9-12 -- Cybernet Expo, San Diego, CA www.cybernetexpo.com

JUN 18-20, 2004 -- Erotica L.A., Los Angeles, CA http://www.erotica-la.com/

JUL 7 11, 2004 -- Lifestyles West, Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas, http://lifestyles-convention.com/

JUL 24, 2004 -- Night of the Stars Sheraton Universal Hotel Los Angeles, CA - 866-FSC-9373

JUL 25, 2004 -- FSCs Bob Tremont Memorial Golf Tournament, Sylmar, CA, 818-348-9373

AUG 13-15, 2004 -- Internext -- Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida www.Internext-expo.com

Subscriptions to Free Speech X-Press are FREE to FSC members. Contact us at Sunlove@direcway.com or 800-476-7813.