Marie Osmond Shocked By Teen Daughters' Desire For Sex

70's pop sensation Marie Osmond has embarked on a crusade to clean up the Internet after discovering her teenaged daughters' racy posts on MySpace.com.

Adopted daughter Jessica, aka F-Off, recently revealed to the world that she is bisexual and that she craves sex "as many times as possible" every day. Her younger sister, Rachael, described herself as a "slut" and a "whore" before giving a detailed account of her fantasy of having sex with pop legend David Bowie.

"I am saddened by some of the choices that two of our children have made," said Osmond, a devout Mormon.

"If my being a celebrity figure is good for anything, let it be as a voice of warning to other parents that no matter how protective we think we may have been with our children in the past, we need to become more knowlegable and even more vigilant now in order to protect them."

Horny teenagers? No way. Marie, my heart goes out to you.

Homegrown Sponsors amateur Video Contest

The folks at Homegrown Video are putting up a $1000 cash prize for the best homemade porn at next week's Exxotica Miami. The trade show runs from Friday, June 9th to Sunday, June 11th.

"The Homegrown Select Prize will be awarded to the video we feel is the most representative of the spirit of Homegrown Video-which is all about having fun and not necessarily about who has the best lighting," said Homegrown president Farrell Timlake.

Homegrown Video has been described as porn for the people and by the people, and has been producing "grassroots porn" since 1982.

Porn Stars Causing Trouble For MySpace

Already under intense public scrutiny, the folks at MySpace.com are in trouble again. According to the website Hollywood Wiretap, MySpace advertisers were less than pleased to discover that their ads were being featured on a few porn mega-star's personal pages.

When Weight Watchers found out their name was showing up on Jenna Jameson's MySpace page they pulled all their advertising from the site. T-Mobile is considering doing the same after their banner ads popped up on Tera Patrick's page. Both pages feature links to the girls' homepages which are chock-full of hardcore porn pics and videos.

The majority of MySpace users are under the age of eighteen and some of Jameson's "friends" are as young as fourteen. At this time, MySpace doesn't have an adequate age-sensitive filtering system.

Truth be told MySpace is kind of lame, Jenna and Tera are already filthy rich, and Weight Watchers should examine the ethics of marketing their self-image wrecking product to vulnerable teenagers.

The real interest of this story is the potential free speech and ethical issues that may be addressed as this unfolds. Will MySpace cave and demonstrate that the First Amendment doesn't apply when it comes to holding on to advertising dollars? And just as important, is it ok for porn stars to promote themselves in a market place that everyone knows is dominated by underage users?

If you have any thoughts on this, please, let me hear them. Thanks for reading and have a super day.

Cannes Film Directors Take The Porn Out Of Sex

I read an interesting article from Reuters yesterday. Apparently a few artsie film directors are challenging the value of mainstream porn by using graphic (antiseptic?) sexual images in their cinematic efforts. Let's just let them speak for themselves.

"There are kids who have seen pornography from a very early age, before they are gonna ever have sex," says Larry Clark, director of a compilation of explicit sex stories called 'Destricted'. "(Many people) are looking at pornography and they are thinking that this is the way to have sex."

John Cameron Mitchell believes pornography is the manifestation of repressed sexuality in our society. His film, 'Shortbus', depicts untrained actors fucking and masturbating in front of the camera in order to demystify the sex act. One scene features three gay men getting it on while singing 'The Star Spangled Banner'.

"I really believe our country needs to take a look at that stuff," Mitchell said. "You crush something, it pops up somewhere else, it comes back to haunt you."

Danish director Anders Morgenthaler uses the medium of animation to express his dark view of pornography. 'Princess' is the story of a priest who vows to destroy his dead porn star sister's movie collection while raising her disturbed 5 year old daughter.

"I decided to make a film about porn influence in society because I saw porn seeking its way into everything, into clothes or toys," Morgenthaler told Reuters. "There is a 'porn way' of selling things because it sells very well. I got very angry at the role of porn."

Valid points to be sure.

We do not choose our passions, we can only choose how we act on the things that move us deeply. I don't believe that pornography is necessarily a negative influence. In fact, a lot of pornography, in the form of books, films, poetry and photographs, can enrich and give depth to the human sexual experience. That's the whole point of PornTribe.

Still, there's no question that this country's fascination with porn and sex has all the qualities of obsession. But doesn't obsession have something valuable to teach us about ourselves?

In his book, The Soul of Sex, Thomas Moore illustrates this point beautifully.

"We display outrageously and obsessively that which we do not fully possess or have deeply at our disposal. If we are displaying sex with unseemly exaggeration and preoccupation, then we have not found the heart of sex and made it a fully integrated part of individual and social life."

I believe that pornography can be a part of that process of integration. If we look at porn as a tool, or even as just a wonderful plaything, we might be able to better understand ourselves as sexual beings. I wonder if the Cannes directors used their talents to excite and inspire the whole human sexual imagination, rather than attempt to sterilize it, we wouldn't be much better off.

Free your sex, free yourself.

Playboy Spearheads Parental Control Campaign

Playboy Enterprises Inc. has announced its intention to begin a nation wide campaign educating American parents on how to shield their children from adult programming. The campaign includes a resource web site, www.takeparentalcontrol.org, and cable TV spots beginning in the next few months.

"What's important to us is that people understand that we are supporting our programming, but also supporting a person's right to choose not to see our programming," said Playboy Entertainment Group president Jim Griffiths.

The web site offers parents information on how to control content on TV's, cable set-up boxes, internet connections, cell phones and satellite radio programs, as well as how to better utilize current rating systems.

"You have to give them credit because they recognize that their programming isn't meant for people of all ages, and so, to their credit, they are stepping up and engaging in this type of campaign," an anonymous cable-industry lobbyist told Multichannel News. "They're assuming a lot of responsibility on their behalf."

Playboy Chairman and CEO, Christie Hefner, is calling upon Comcast Corp., Time Warner Inc., Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment and Viacom Inc to partner with them in their efforts.

Wisconsin Opting For 'No-Sex' Sex Ed

Madison, Wis. A bill that received Senate approval last year passed through the Wisconsin state House earlier this month. Senate Bill 286 mandates that schools that provide sex education must promote abstinence as the best (we know they really mean only) option for preventing unwanted teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

The bill is currently awaiting approval from Democratic Governor Jim Doyle.

"I think it's very , very important that young people hear that message and hear it loud and clear: if you want to be healthy and you want to be 100 percent healthy, the only way is abstinence," Republican Sen. Mary Lazich told the Wisconsin Badger Herald newspaper.

That's a dangerously naive position for a United States Senator to take.

According to the Centers For Disease Control, 70% of boys and 60% of girls have had sexual intercourse by age 16. What Ms. Lazich fails to realize is that even though the Bush Administration has already spent millions of dollars on abstinence "education" programs, teenagers are always going to have sex.

In fact, one controversial study has even suggested that the "abstinence only" message may even contribute to higher levels of sexual activity among teenagers. Although those results were inconclusive, the Texas study revealed no indication that abstinence education prevented kids from acting on their sexual curiosity.

There's no question that teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs are real issues that need to be addressed. Abstinence might even be a really good idea for young people to consider. Still, the fact remains that for sexually active teens there is only one safe choice: Always, always, always use a condom.

So, like it or not Sen. Lazich and company, teenagers fuck. And if we don't keep open a real life dialog about sex with our kids, then they might just end up becoming sex obsessed sex maniacs who spend the better part of their lives thinking and writing about sex.

Senate Passes Decency Bill

The Senate passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 last Thursday. The bill will raise fines for broadcasting indecent material from $32,500 to $325,000. The ten-fold increase was applauded by Republican Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan), who introduced the bill last January.

"I am glad the Senate took action and increased fines for broadcasters who show indecent material," Brownback said in a press release. "Radio and television waves are public property, and the companies who profit from using the public airwaves should face meaningful fines for broadcasting indecent material."

"I urge the House to take action on increasing fines so we can send a bill to the White House," Brownback continued. "It's time that broadcast indecency fines represent a real economic penalty and not just a slap on the wrist."

The new bill only raises fines for indecency infractions. It does not address the definitions of indencency or give the Federal Communications Commission new powers to revoke licenses.

Thousands Rally Against Porn In Indonesia

Thousands of conservative Muslims rallied to demand the passage of a strict anti-pornography bill in Indonesia's capital of Jakarta on Sunday. Protesters waived signs with slogans such as "Ban Pornography and the Sex Industry" and "Down With Liberalism and Secularism".

The bill, originally drafted in 1999, would ban kissing in public, erotic poetry, dancing, drawing writing, photos and film. In essence, it would make all forms of sexual expression a crime.

Organized in part by the ultra-conservative Islamic Defenders Front, the rallies are an indicator that the moderate Muslim country's hard-line fringe is growing.

Still, opposition to the bill is widespread with members of minority religions, liberal Muslims and artists expressing concern that it will wipe out many of the country's secular traditions. Critics also claim that the bill is a thinly veiled attempt to impose Shariah, fundamentalist Islamic law, on a culture that comprises over 400 ethnic groups with many diverse traditions.

Now just imagine for a moment that this kind of thing was going on in your neighborhood, community, country, wherever. (Oh, silly me, I forgot to look outside my door this morning). Wouldn't it piss you off to have to worry that a few fucked up conservative nut jobs were threatening to put you in jail for kissing your sweetie in the produce department? Or wearing a mini-skirt? Or buying a dildo? Or renting a porn?

Well that's just what's happening all around the world, from Jakarta to Colorado Springs to South Carolina. It makes me wonder which human impulse is stronger: the desire for freedom or the need to be enslaved. I'm hoping it's the former.

If you hope so too then do something about it. Tell someone about what's going on with our brothers and sisters in Indonesia then give them a big sloppy kiss. Who knows, maybe they'll kiss back.

Supreme Court Snubs Extreme Associates

The Supreme Court has refused to review a US Third Circuit Court's decision to reinstate obscenity charges against Extreme Associates owners Rob Black and Lizzy Borden. The couple's attorneys filed a writ of certiorari last month in hopes of challenging the constitutionality of the charges of interstate trafficking of obscenity they are currently facing.

Although the Court's decision came as no surprise, most people close to the case believe a criminal trial is still a long ways off.

"There are some unresolved pretrial issues including the issue that's percolating in the COPA (Child Online Protection Act) case about community standards," said Extreme co-council Jennifer M. Kinsley. "That's something that still needs to be taken care of before any sort of trial proceeding would occur, because we need to understand what standard we are talking about."

The COPA case involves the sticky issue of dealing with 'community standards' when placed in the context of the World Wide Web. In other words, is the community in question to be determined as the one where the online site originated or the one where the prude who was so offended by the site's content first viewed the material.

"I would imagine, if this case goes as I think it will go, we're not looking at a having a trial until maybe early next year," said Kinsely. "And depending on what happens with COPA, possibly not until after that."

Despite rumors that Rob and Lizzie are nearly tapped out financially from constant legal battles, the couple has vowed to see this one through. And despite mixed feelings about the duo's productions, this case has important ramifications for not only the adult entertainment industry, but for freedom of expression in general.

The Future, Today: Porn Downloads For Your TV

Exciting news for the porn industry. Yesterday, Vivid Entertainment, in conjunction with the online movie site Cinema Now, announced that they will begin selling burnable versions of their movies that can be played on any screen.

"Leave it to the porn industry once again to take the lead on this stuff," said Michael Greeson, founder of the consumer electronics think tank the Diffusion Group. "The rest of Hollywood stands back and lets the pornography industry work out all the bugs."

Right now, when you burn a DVD on your computer you can't watch it on your DVD player. The reason is something called CSS or 'content scrambling system'. Cinema Now and Vivid have bagged CSS and are instead using a 'one-time burn' proprietary software. Click, buy, burn, watch. It's pretty cool when you think about it.

Now, Vivid Entertainment already makes enough money, so this is definitely not meant to be a free plug for them. They've all but cornered the market on couples porn, and I just read that they can afford to sink hundreds of thousands of dollars into a production and still turn a profit. So, fuck them.

What's really great about all this is what it means for small time, aspiring pornographers (you and yours truly) who want to reach as wide an audience as possible with a user-friendly product. Now we have the means to make our little 50 or 60 minute features and sell the finished product (special features, cover art and all) directly to the consumer. Eco-friendly production, marketing and distribution all from your living room. Wow.

It's not that the DIY potential wasn't there before, it's just going to be that much easier now. This is technology allowing us to, as Robert Rodriguez puts it, create at the speed of thought.

Playboy Foundation Recognizes Champions of Free Speech

The Playboy Foundation named the winners of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards 2006 last Thursday. The annual awards are given to those in the fields of journalism, entertainment, law, book publishing and education who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to protecting our right to free speech.

"A principle guarantee of freedom is the First Amendment," Mr. Hefner said in his speech at the awards ceremony. "Now more than ever, it is important that we honor the men and women who are on the front line protecting that freedom."

This years awards winners include:

• Paisley Dodds who wrote about the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military detention centers. He sued the U.S. government under the Freedom of Information Act, releasing thousands of documents regarding prisoner abuse.
• Patricia Waterhouse, PhD. and head of Ohio Citizens for Science who organized a coalition to resist religious organizers pushing to teach creationism in schools.
• Geoffrey R. Stone, author of "Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism."
• Shelby Knox, subject of the documentary film "The Education of Shelby Knox". Ms. Knox challenged abstinence only sex education and medical misinformation at her Lubbox, TX high school.
• Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt, directors and producers of "The Education of Shelby Knox".
• Rhett Jackson, former president of the American Booksellers Association for his lifetime commitment to fighting for the First Amendment and social Justice.

The Playboy Foundation, established in 1965, has awarded over 15 million dollars in grants to organizations concerned with First Amendment freedoms, civil liberties and social justice.

Judge Rules U.S. Aids Policy Violates Free Speech

A United States District Judge has ruled that the government's international AIDS funding policy violates the First Amendment. District Judge Victor Marrero stated in his preliminary injunction that the Supreme Court "has repeatedly found that speech, or an agreement not to speak, cannot be compelled or coerced as a condition of participation in a government program."

The current policy, legislated by Congress in 2003, denies federal funds to organizations who refuse to sign an anti-prostitution loyalty oath. The document assures the government that the organization has a policy that denounces sex work and other high risk behaviors.

According to the government, the policy was created to prevent prostitution and protect women from being exploited. But upon closer examination, the moral motivations become clear. The rules also require government agencies to give equal funding consideration to groups that have a "religious or moral objection" to AIDS treatment methods such as condoms or needle exchange programs. Smells like 'bush' to me.

The Alliance for Open Society International Inc., the Open Society Institute and Pathfinder International all signed the loyalty oath last September, then turned around and filed a lawsuit challenging the law. The organizations spend tens of millions of dollars a year for international AIDS prevention programs.

Rebeka Diller, the groups' attorney, summarized their legal strategy in an interview with Voice of America.

"We argued that it (the policy) violated the First Amendment for two reasons. One was that it extended so far as to restrict what organizations could do with their private funds. And second, it forced organizations to adopt the government's point of view on a contested social issue in order to be eligible to receive government funding."

Diller called the decision "a tremendous victory for public health" and that it "will enable these organizations to serve very vulnerable women."

ICANN Rejects Creation Of Online 'Red-Light' District

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, voted against the creation of a .xxx top-level domain name yesterday. The decision ends a six year-old debate over the ramifications of creating a specific TDL name for Internet porn sites.

The domain name was originally proposed by a Jupiter, Fla. company, ICM Registry Inc. to help the online porn industry clean up its act. Opposition to .xxx has come from both sides of the fence. Free speech and adult industry advocates have feared a strangle hold on free expression, while anti-porn activists claim the domain name would give online porn sites yet another avenue to navigate their way onto your computer.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry advocacy group, has proposed an alternative '.kids' TDL which would allow concerned parents to identify child-friendly web content. On the flip side, legislation has been proposed by Democratic Senators Max Baucus and Mark Pryor that would make .xxx registration mandatory, and would provide stiff federal penalties for non-compliance.

ICANN is an international, non-profit organization responsible for IP address allocation and TDL name system management.

Oh My Goodness, Boobies: USC Professor Defends Nude Web Photos

USC Women's Studies professor Diana York Blaine has outraged a few students by posting semi-nude photos of herself on her personal web page. The 45-year old feminist professor claims that the students simply dislike her and are only calling attention to the photos in an attempt to discredit her.

"The couple of conservative USC students who have dedicated themselves to attacking me clearly grew frustrated at my refusal to react to them, so they upped the ante and contacted the media about my nudie pics. One station bit, and voila, we have a scandal," Dr. Blaine wrote on her web site.

One station that bit was KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. Their report earlier this week was hardly damning. In fact, it bolstered Blaine's position by reporting that university policy guarantees that "the content of individual web pages is primarily a matter of free speech and academic freedom that must be protected in a university environment."

"No doubt this will have the opposite reaction that the tattlers hoped, causing many people to move further away from what looks to them like what it is, an attempt by conservative idealogues to shut down free speech by using sex as the shaming mechanism," Blaine said.

Dr. Blaine's web site, The Adventures of Dr. Diana, is by no means a porn site. There are only three photos that are causing all the ruckus. The rest of the content discusses personal and academic issues: an inside peek into the life and thoughts of a feminist theorist.

"(The photos) in and of themselves, they are not scandalous, for they have been there for months and nobody cared," Blaine said. "All of my friends and family know of them, colleagues and yes some students have as well. These kids were hoping to capitalize on our fundamental sense that we should be ashamed of something as banal as our own bodies."

City Officials Censor Brooklyn College Art Students

An art exhibit containing works by 18 Brooklyn College graduate students was closed down last Thursday by New York City officials. Brooklyn Parks Commissioner, Julias Speigel, ordered the show closed the day after it opened on the grounds that the exhibit contained works that were deemed inappropriate for families. The exhibit was scheduled to run through May 25th.

"Nobody communicated to the students that any of the art was going to be removed this morning," said exhibit artist Zoe Cohen. "We don't consent to any of this."

Officials claim that the college violated a verbal agreement that stated that art shown at the WWII Memorial Hall, located near the Brooklyn Bridge, would be appropriate for families. Some of the art that was deemed offensive included a sculpture of a human hand holding a penis, a watercolor of a man's torso which included a narrative of a gay sex encounter and a piece that incorporated a live rat.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has had a long record of supporting public art, is backing Speigel's decision to remove the exhibit.

"Nobody's suggesting that anybody shouldn't be allowed to exhibit art," Mr. Bloomberg told the New York Times. "The issue here is that this is not a museum. This is a war memorial. There has been an understanding ever since art was put here that the art would be appropriate for families and respectful of and appropriate for a war memorial and this time it was not."

Norman Siegel, an attorney now working for the students, is adamant that the student's free speech rights have been violated.

"I think what's happening here illustrates a serious misunderstanding of the First Amendment of the Constitution," Siegel said. "The government cannot excise certain artistic visions simply because a public official dislikes them or finds them inappropriate. It's censorship plain and simple."

Siegel plans to file suit later this week in federal court. In the meantime, the students are maintaining a blog with updates on the situation. Check it out at www.plancensored.blogspot.com.

Chris Redd Takes A Day Off

Got to spend the next 13 or so hours at my straight world job. I'll be back tomorrow with more news and insightful commentary.

For now here's a couple of tidbits (some of them more than a mouthful) to satisfy your hunger:

• Check out www.carolqueen.com for some thought provoking reading.
• Ynot.com is one of my on-line news sources. Happy belated B-day, Darklady!
• www.videobox.com has over 900 downloadable adult videos for $10 a month.
• And, as always, Violet Blue at www.tinynibbles.com is entertaining and informative.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

Porn In The Mainstream

A new reality show in the works at Fox Cable will give real-life porn stars the opportunity to show off their acting skills. 'My Bare Lady' will train four starlets in the art of classical acting and set them loose on a British theater stage. I imagine there will be an array of snobby judges poking fun at the girls, but hey, sounds like fun.

In the running for a slot on the show is porno super-star and gubernatorial candidate, Mary Carey. Check out her interview with Keith Olberman right here.

Wicked Pictures has teamed up with Virgin Megastores in a nation-wide video ad campaign scheduled to run through May 18. The ads, being shown both in-store and outdoors at all 17 megastore locations, will plug current Wicked releases including 'Watching Samantha', 'Curse Eternal', 'Country Style', and 'Rendezvous'.

"It's a great opportunity to advertise at the Virgin locations, and we're very happy to be the first adult company to do so," said Wicked president Steve Orenstein.

Genesis Magazine's 'Porn's Hot 100' hits newstands May 18. Screen goddess and porn mogul, Jenna Jameson nabbed the #1 spot, bumping last year's Tera Patrick.

"It's awesome to be recognized as number one in Genesis' 'Porn's Hot 100' especially because the magazine has been so supportive of so many of the girls in the industry," Jameson said.

In addition to joining the list of NY Times bestselling authors, Jenna has been voted into the AVN Hall of Fame and was voted #33 in FHM's '100 Sexiest Women In The World 2006'. Yesterday, she appeared on the widely syndicated 'Tyra Banks Show'.

South Carolina Considers Sex Toy Ban

Republican Rep. Ralph Davenport is proposing a bill that would make it a felony to possess or sell sex toys in South Carolina. According to the Columbia, S.C. newspaper, The State, the law would empower police to close sex shops and confiscate offensive merchandise. Violators of the proposed law could face a $10,000 fine and a 'stiff' five years in prison.

Pat Irons, owner of the Sugar N' Spice sex shop, believes the proposed law is a thinly veiled attempt to close down adult bookstores in the state altogether.

"Even pastors shop in here," Irons said in her defense. "They send couples in here they counsel for marriage problems."

Don't laugh. Although a similar law was rejected by Alabama courts in 1998, other southern states enforce these kinds of barbaric statutes. In Mississippi, "a person [found committing] the offense of distributing unlawful sexual devices when he knowingly sells, advertises, publishes, or exhibits to any person any three dimensional device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs or offers to do so or possesses such devices with the intent to do so," can be fined up to $500 and sentenced to six months in jail.

Whew. Ain't the law a mouthful?

The really interesting thing about this whole situation is that the proposed bill is based upon the Supreme Court ruling on the 1973 Miller v. California case. In that case, the Court found that obscenity is determined by "contemporary community standards" and qualified by whether or not it possesses any "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value." As a result, we now have dedicated public servants pushing legislation that makes facsimiles of human genitals obscene and the normal, healthy act of sexual stimulation a crime.

This is why we all need to stay on top of this kind of stuff. Remember, our day to day freedoms are not guaranteed, we've got to defend them diligently.

In my research, Mr. Davenport had not made himself available for any comment to the media regarding this issue. If you'd like to ask him a question about his proposed bill, you can e-mail him at GRD@schouse.org. In the meantime say hello to the folks at Good Vibrations in San Francisco or buy an expensive strap-on for your favorite fuck-buddy at www.somethingsexyboutique.com.

Google Inc. Named in Child Porn Suit

A Nassau, NY legislator has filed civil charges against Google Inc. for promoting child pornography. Nassau County legislator, Jeffrey Toback claims the search engine giant receives income from links to child porn sites.

"This case is about a multi-billion dollar company that promotes and profits from child pornography," said the complaint filed with the State Supreme Court in Mineola.

Google maintains that they take proactive steps to prevent access to illegal sites.

"When we find or are made aware of child pornography, we remove it from our products, including our search engine," Google spokesman Steve Langdon told the Associated Press. "We also report it to the appropriate law enforcement officials and fully cooperate with the law enforcement community to combat child pornography."

More to come as this case unfolds.

Senate Majority Leader Hotlines Indecency Bill

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is seeking to fast-track a broadcast indecency bill for a Senate vote this week. The new bill, approved by a House vote in January, would increase fines for indecency violations by TV and radio stations to $500,000 for each offense. Under current laws, companies face maximum fines of $32,000.

At least one US senator has the power to postpone the vote. The Parent's Television Council and the Christian Coalition of America, both supporters of the federal legislation, are accusing Senate Commerce Committee Chairman, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) of blocking the bill.

"The Senate needs to pass this bill today," said PTC president L. Brent Bozell. "We're calling on Senator Stevens to be the leader who makes this happen by the end of the congressional year. By using his authority, he can go from zero to hero in a matter of minutes."

Stevens has expressed concern that imposing indecency standards on the Cable TV and Radio industry will cave under Supreme Court scrutiny. Instead, he has spearheaded an effort that encourages the industry to address the issues of indecency on its own. Such self-regulation is already being explored by the industry such as major cable companies providing family tiers devoid of indecent content and the promotion of channel-blocking equipment.

Many media companies are opposed to the bill because it excludes cable and pay TV providers.

Under current Federal Communications Commission guidelines, "Material is indecent if, in context, it depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."

F.A.M.E. Awards Announces 2006 Finalists

The 2006 Fans of Adult Media and Entertainment, or FAME, awards have announced this years finalists. The winners will be announced at Erotica LA, on June 24 at the L.A. Convention Center. The event will be hosted by comedian Rev. Bob Levy, Adam and Eve contract star Carmen Luvana and adult performer Tommy Gunn.

The awards event gives fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite performers, directors and movies. This years finalists include Favorite Feature: The New Devil In Miss Jones, Vivid; Favorite Director: Andrew Blake; Dirtiest Girl: Ariana Jollee; and, my personal favorite, Favorite Butt: Belladonna.

If you'd like to vote (Go ahead, try it. It'll be like practice for the mid-term elections) go to www.thefameawards.com.

Porn Industry Sets Business Practices Standards

For decades, members of the adult entertainment industry have been vilified and scapegoated, cast in the putrid light of society's festering underbelly as boogeymen and perverts. Pornographers are perceived as lecherous old men who prey on innocent runaway girls, the vulnerable daughters of Kansas corn farmers or neglected urban street urchins, then force them into moral depravity all to make a sleazy buck.

Times have changed. Take a quick look across the American landscape and you'll find porn stars running for public office, sex-positive artists and activists, politicized porn producers and all manner of intelligent and erudite champions of sleaze.

Enter Alec Helmey, Xbiz publisher and creator of the new XXX industry organization, Best Practices In Adult Video, a group dedicated to improving the image of the adult industry and improving current business practices.

"The priciples of BPAV are the topics that we regularly think about as members of the adult entertainment industry operating in an increasingly uncertain environment," Helmey said. "BPAV's mission is simple: To encourage proactive responsibility and to spread a positive message."

The organization will provide a voluntary seal which is available to members of the adult entertainment industry who support these principles:

• Discloser of Acts Stipulation: asks producers to notify performers in advance what kind of sex acts they will be asked to perform.
• Encourage producers to keep performers away from physical harm.
• Encourage the respect of performers on and off the set.
• Support efforts to make performers more responsible to protect themselves from sexually trasmitted diseases.
• Require producers to be diligent in ensuring all performers are of legal age.

The seal can be displayed on any website, box cover, print material or video.

Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Publications, was one of the first to publicly praise the organization and offer his endorsement of BPAV principles.

"Considering the amount of scrutiny the adult industry receives from the government and the media, it behooves video producers and content providers to run their businesses ethically," Fishbein said. "At AVN, we always felt that protecting the working conditions of the performers was of paramount importance, but difficult to monitor. So the creation of BPAV is a good thing that I hope will encourage people to ensure better working conditions for performers. Because many of the performers are young, the industry needs to set an example and send the message that working in the adult business can be a positive experience."

Lecherous boogeymen, indeed.

That's all the news for now. Thanks for reading and happy jackin'.

Mary Carey Runs For Governor, Again

Fuck it. I'm moving back to California just for the elections.

Adult film star, Mary Carey, is making her 2nd bid for Governor of California this year. She will kick off her campaign with the release of "Mary Carey for Governor" from Legend Video on May 15th. The video features Carey taking her first on-screen load in the mouth from actor Nick Manning and a hot all blonde girl/girl scene with Lexie Marie.

"My scene with Nick Manning is only the eighth or ninth boy/girl scene I've done in three years," Carey told Adult Video News. "I haven't taken penises very much on camera so it's a very unique experience."

Carey received national attention when she earned over 10,000 votes in the California Recall Election in 2003. She placed tenth in a field of 135 candidates,running on a tongue-in-cheek platform of porn and politics. Along with making same-sex marriages legal, Carey called for the creation of a "Porn For Pistols" program and advocated making lap dances tax deductible.

This time around, Carey is running as a Republican candidate with an expanded platform which includes making alcohol legal in all nude strip clubs.

"I also want to stress how much money the adult industry brings into the state of California," Carey said. "Without the adult industry, there would be a lot more poverty, and the state would be losing billions of dollars."

Don't laugh. We all know who resides in the California governor's mansion today. And don't forget, in 1987 porn star Cicciolina made a successful bid for Italian Parliament. Stranger things ahve happened, so don't be surprised when Carey sweeps the election.