SEE YOU TOMORROW AT NIGHT OF THE STARS!
What if we gave a party and everybody came?  This year’s Night of the Stars, “A Fantasy Ball,” promises to be just that, a great big party with the “kings and queens of adult entertainment” in attendance.
        Juli Ashton , our Mistress of Ceremonies has been joined by Adam Glasser as Master of Ceremonies for the festivities. Our honorees include some of the biggest names in the industry, as well as rap pioneer Luther “Luke” Campbell, who will receive a Celebrity Freedom Fighter award for his free speech battles.
        Tickets and tables of 10 are still available.  E-mail us TODAY at FSC@freespeechcoalition.com or call 866-FSC-9373 and Neva will be happy to take your reservations. We hope to see you there!
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CELEBRITY BOOTED FROM CASINO FOR COMMENTS
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Singer Linda Ronstadt was shown the door at the Aladdin Casino and Hotel here after she dedicated a performance of “Desperado” to Michael Moore and his documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11. Many booed the dedication, and about a quarter of the 4,500 people in the audience got up and left before the performance had finished, said casino spokeswoman Sara Gorgon. Some guests spilled drinks, tore down posters and demanded their money back, claimed the casino.
        Subsequently, The New York Times ran an editorial condemning the eviction. And as outrage grew over the incident, Michael Moore demanded Ronstadt receive an apology and promised to appear on stage with her singing “America the Beautiful” if she did.
        The Aladdin Hotel stood by its President Bill Timmins’ decision to have Ronstadt removed to her waiting tour bus. Aladdin spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said some thought the crowd was “liquored up,” and one reason Ronstadt was asked to go was “to diffuse the situation.”
        The Las Vegas Sun editorialized that that the Aladdin had “overreacted” and “Las Vegas should be embarrassed at Ronstadt’s treatment here.”
From Reuters, 7/19/04
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=5710258
And From Reuters, 7/21/04
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5481479/
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CITY TRIES NEW ANGLE IN DANCE CLUB BATTLE
SAN BERNARDINO, CA – In June we reported that exotic dance club owner Randy Welty had won $1.4 million in damages against San Bernardino for lost profits because his club, called the Flesh Club, had been closed by the city for four years prior to the city ordinance being ruled too restrictive (see “Dance Club Scores Partial Victory,” X-Press, 6/4/04). However, the jurors in the case refused to award the full $2.6 million the club had sought, agreeing with city lawyers that the business had derived some of its revenue from “illegal activities.” Former club dancers had testified during the trial that they occasionally performed sex acts, saw condoms on the floor and had the club management’s approval for liaisons with patrons in a private “VIP” room.
        Now, the city, citing the jury’s findings, is moving to close down the Flesh Club in a civil action under California’s Red Light Abatement Act and the state’s civil Nuisance Abatement Act. The Red Light Abatement Act says that establishments where prostitution occurs must be closed by court order for a year. The Nuisance Abatement Act allows a person to bring an action to cease a public nuisance.
        Attorney Roger Diamond, who represents Welty, said he will fight the charges vigorously.  “This sounds like the Taliban is running San Bernardino,” Diamond said of the city’s decision to sue.  “This club brings a lot of revenue to the city, and the local hotels and restaurants like the club being there,” he said.
        A trial date has not yet been set.
From Jason W. Armstrong, The Daily Journal, 7/19/04
URL not available
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OVERZEALOUS AGENT CITES CLUB
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Green Door, a club here that provides a sexually open environment for swingers and other consenting adults, has filed suit in federal court against the county Business License Department. It seems the department has twice cited the business for operating an adult theater without a license. Apparently the misdemeanor citations were based on the availability of adult entertainment on the computers the Green Door provides so its patrons may access the Internet.
        “I really don’t think the county understands the implications of (its) actions,” said Allen Lichtenstein, the attorney for the Green Door who also does work for the local ACLU. “This is very far reaching, because it suggests the government has the right to regulate access to the Internet solely on the basis of what possible content a person might conceivably access.”
        The Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that this is probably a clumsy attempt to harass the club’s owner, rather than an effort to set a far reaching precedent. After all, adults can surf the Web at a number of commercial establishments ­ and also at public libraries. Are these places in violation of the law, asks the Review-Journal, if they are located outside the county’s “adult overlay zone?”
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/22/04
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Jul-22-Thu-2004/opinion/24364750.html
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BIG BROTHER IN BOSTON
BOSTON, MA – Like something out of George Orwell’s “1984,” state and federal authorities are placing dozens of surveillance cameras at strategic points around Boston for the Democratic National Convention. The new surveillance equipment is in addition to hundreds of cameras already in use, and will include 75 cameras installed by the federal government to monitor the Central Artery, City Hall Plaza, the FleetCenter and other high priority areas. Although all the cameras will not be part of the same network, law enforcement agencies have agreed to share camera shots. Furthermore, while many of the cameras are being set up in time for the convention, they will stay in use long after the delegates have gone home.
        “We own them now,” Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said. “We’re certainly not going to put them in a closet.”
        Law enforcement officials say the cameras will only be used to deter and detect crime, not to snoop on law-abiding citizens or demonstrators. However, civil libertarians are concerned.
        “This really is a situation where we are being asked to blindly trust the government,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program.  “There is no oversight of this. There are no safeguards.”
From the Union Leader, 7/19/04
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=40997
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GROUPS TESTIFY ON A LA CARTE PRICING
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer advocate groups, including Consumer’s Union, teed off against the cable TV industry here at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. At issue is whether consumers should be able to pick and choose cable channels rather than buy them in mega "tiers" of 70 or 80 channels. The cable industry argues that such a system, known as a la carte pricing, would destroy its economic model. A la carte advocates charge that cable operators are simply trying to keep control over pricing and content. Gene Kimmelman, senior director of advocacy and public policy at the Consumers Union has proposed that Congress compel the cable industry to test a full a la carte system in a local market before trying to implement it nationally. Some lawmakers seemed supportive of that idea.
        Representative Nathan Deal (R-GA), an advocate of a la Carte pricing, passionately defended a la carte. “If you want Nickelodeon, you must buy the sexually explicit programming of MTV and Spike TV,” said Deal. “If that same business philosophy applied everywhere, candy stores would be required to sell marijuana.”
        Congressional action is unlikely prior to an FCC report on a la carte pricing, which is due in November.
From Michael Grebb, Wired News, 7/15/04 
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64220,00.html?tw=wn_10culthead
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VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES RULED PROTECTED SPEECH
SEATTLE, WA -- U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik has struck down a state law designed to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors. The Video Software Dealers Association had argued that the law was too vague to enforce. Judge Lasnik essentially agreed: “Given the fact that rights of free expression are at stake, the Court finds that the Act is unconstitutionally vague,” Judge Lasnik said in a summary judgment.
        Doug Lowenstein, president of the entertainment Software Association called the judgment “a pretty sweeping victory.”
        “Judge Lasnik made it clear that games are expressive and are protected under law,” Lowenstein said.
From Reuters, 7/15/04
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=5686029
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FIRED SHOCK-JOCK RUNS FOR SHERIFF
PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -- Bubba Clem, formerly known as disk jockey Bubba the Love Sponge before being fired from his controversial job in February, is on the ballot here in the race for Sheriff. Clem said he had been a lifelong Republican before changing his party affiliation about two months ago. Now he will be the only Democrat on the ballot in the race for Pinellas County Sheriff. He paid a filing fee of $8,584.86 to get on the ticket.
        “We can’t afford to have somebody like that be in charge of public safety in Pinellas County,” said Chief Deputy Jim Coats, who is vying for the Republican spot on the ballot. “This is a law enforcement agency that employs almost 3,000 people and has an annual budget of about $225 million.”
        Clem’s sexually explicit morning radio show, which aired on stations in West Palm Beach, Clearwater and Port Charlotte, prompted a $755,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year. One segment featured cartoon characters Alvin the Chipmunk, George Jetson and Scooby Doo discussing sexual activities.
From The Associated Press, 7/18/04
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-fbubba18jul18,0,4668337.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
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IT'S THE LAW  -- YOU CAN ZONE IT, BUT NOT BAN IT
AVON, IN -- An amendment to the town's zoning ordinance here will permit sexually oriented businesses to operate but limit them to industrial-zoned areas.
        Avon Town Council member Karl Buetow is unhappy that the council didn't totally ban adult bookstores, strip clubs and nude modeling establishments. By approving the ordinance, council members "have said they are acceptable," said Buetow.
        Council President Eva Yackey disagrees. She said the town was required to follow the law.
        The only types of businesses banned by the new amendment are adult arcades, video-viewing booths, and unlicensed or sexually oriented massage centers.
From The Indianapolis Star, 7/15/03
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/0580145801103.html
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UpComing Events

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

JUL 25 – FSC’s Bob Tremont Memorial Golf Tournament, Sylmar, CA, 818-348-9373

JUL 26-28 – ANME, Sheraton Universal Hotel, Los Angeles, CA - 818-772-0100

AUG 1 - X-CON 2  LOS ANGELES    www.xxx-con.com

AUG 8 - Fit For a King, John C. Holmes’ 60th Birthday -- Hollywood, CA (818) 501-6139

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

AUG 31-SEPT 2 -- Gentlemen’s Club Owners Expo and Exotic Dancer Fan Fair, Mandalay Bay  Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV - www.ExoticDancer.com.
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