Most of us have read the book 1984 by George Orwell. It depicts a life in a totalitarian world where “Big Brother” censors everyones behavior… even their thoughts. Well, any webmaster in the business today understand the impact of 18 U.S.C. § 2257. The basic premise of the argument in favor of article 2257 is to stop under age pornography. “This has nothing to do with protecting children,” Lawrence G. Walters, a Florida lawyer who represents several porn sites, said of the new regulations. “They’re trying to shut down the adult-entertainment industry with over regulation.” (Wall Street Journal article February 13, 2006 – Web Sites Fight Proof-of-Age Rules for Porn Performers) Also from the same article Jeffrey J. Douglas, chairman of the Free Speech Coalition and a criminal-defense lawyer, says the regulations accomplish “absolutely nothing.” Existing laws barring distribution of child pornography already are “sufficient incentive,” he says, to keep adult-oriented businesses from publishing images of minors.

George W. Bush and his ultra right wing conservative benefactors, to whom he’s indebted to for his presidency, are using the same type of tactic that Karl Rove used to drive up support for their invasion of Iraq. Take an obviously despicable situation and twist it enough to cover a second agenda. This bill was originally directed at stopping the production of under age adult material. No one will argue against that. BUT, that effort can be sufficiently addressed with all prior laws on the books that demand the record keeping from the primary producers of the content. Requiring everyone else down the line to carry and supply these records becomes prohibitive, unreasonable and in some cases impossible. Not to mention completely useless.

I don’t think very many people would argue that age verification record keeping isn’t necessary. The problem comes in when EVERYONE who presents explicit photographs and/or videos must have these records on hand. There are an infinite number of reasons why this is an insurmountable task, and George W. Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (hired gun) and friends know this all too well. Their battle cry is to protect children, and we all want to do so. But with the new interpretation of the regulations, they’re throwing the baby out with the bath water. Of course THAT is their intention. To shut down the adult industry and they’re using the protection of children argue their point and gain leverage.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m no fan of George W. Bush and his cronies. In my opinion our president is figure head who is simply doing the bidding of those who wanted someone they could control and put him in office. I’m sure he’s a great guy to hang around with, a wonderful father and loving husband but as a leader he’s a joke. He’s a complete embarrassment almost every time he opens his mouth. The only person I liked and had any respect for in his cabinet was Colin Powell. I guess he couldn’t take it either and left. I personally can’t wait to hear what he thinks of this administration. AND you know we’ll eventually hear from him. After Bush is out of office, yes, but we will here from Powell again.

To me, this all seems a lot like prohibition. It was a time when the powers that be thought it was sinful to drink and tried to abolish it by making it illegal. Well, we all know what happened there. I believe we’ll see this issue swing a bit more to the right for a short time. There’s a lot of hype, rumors and fear abounding right now, and all that works for them. It causes the masses to panic an make rash decision. But sooner or later things will swing back to the left and we’ll meet in the middle somewhere. That’s life. We just need to stand strong as a nation and not let the government get too many foot holds in our private lives. After all this is the land of the free.

For now I will keep a clear and calm head. Stay in close contact with my attorney, read whatever I can on the issue to stay abreast of the latest and cleanup my sites a little. I guess I’m fortunate to a degree in that I focus on feet in my sites. I was told by a friend that there are many others out there for the government to worry about than me and some pics of someone kissing a foot. Funny yes, but there is some truth to it. But just to be sure I’ll run it by my attorney, as should you.

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