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The Supreme Court's currently considering a case that would effectively lift the more stringent decency standards to which network TV programming is currently held. Networks say that it's not fair that cable gets to go out till 2 am and go on dates and stuff when they're stuck memorizing Bible verses at home and practicing penmanship. The FCC claims that The Children Will Be Damaged if they're allowed to hear swears or look at butts on CBS. More damaged than they are by witnessing network TV depiction of murders or jokes about violence against women? Apparently! More »
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Dozens of inmates have started a letter writing campaign against a new policy that would ban pornographic materials from inside Connecticut prison walls, and some have even threatened legal action. More »
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The UK's communications minister wants ISPs to automatically block porn unless your household opts into it. For The Children. There are so many ways this is a terrible idea. More »
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The author of The Pedophile's Guide To Love And Pleasure has been arrested on obscenity charges. But it's not clear if there's a strong legal case against him. More »
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Andrew Shirvell was banned from the University of Michigan campus for his homophobic verbal attacks on student body president Chris Armstrong. But now the school's ACLU chapter says the ban was unconstitutional. More »
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Amazon's headache isn't over: MSNBC has identified nude photos and videos of children for sale on the site. The company hasn't yet discussed pulling The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure, and its author is being monitored by police. More »
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As of now, after an apparent jump in sales, Amazon is no longer selling a guide to pedophilia. And while this may not end child abuse, this is not "book-banning." If it's permanent, Amazon has made the right call. More »
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Amazon's Kindle store is selling a book called The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure. And judging from past examples and what Amazon has said so far, consumer complaints may not change that. More »
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A New York City council committee held a hearing where reps from the anti-street harassment group Hollaback! testified about the harmful effects of catcalling, whistling, and other lewd advances. Hollaback's interested in "no harassment" zones by schools. Could it work? More »
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Should groups mocking fat people be taken down just as racist and homophobic groups (usually) are? One activist is pushing Facebook to remove such groups, but the company isn't wholly convinced. More »
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Fred Phelps and his followers in the Westboro Baptist Church are a bunch of thoughtless, homophobic freaks whose actions shame all Americans. The Supreme Court will decide this summer whether or not that behavior is protected by the First Amendment. More »
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Baltimore's evangelical pregnancy centers are now required to post signs if they do not provide birth control or abortions. So-called "crisis centers" are unhappy with the new law and argue that it infringes on free speech, StuartTV reports. [HuffingtonPost] More »
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A Massachusetts appeals court has ruled to uphold a law that provides a 35-foot safety buffer zone around the entrance to abortion clinics. The law, described as "content-neutral," was found not to infringe on free speech. [FeministDailyNews, BostonGlobe] More »
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More than a decade ago, it came to the attention of our government and others that there are sick fucks in the world who wank to depictions of animal torture, so Congress made it illegal. More »
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A second-grader in NY was suspended after she wore a shirt with the slogan: "N the 'N' Word" and "It's time!" because the principal felt the shirt was "overly inflammatory." • Apparently there is a disease out there called "uncombable hair syndrome" which is basically the human version of Barbie hair. • Loss of chub in cheeks makes people look older. Look for cheek injections in the December issue of Elle this year! • A lesbian woman has sued a Miami hospital after they refused to let her see her dying partner and a worker told her that she was in an "anti-gay city and state." • Liz Tuccillo, a writer from Sex and the City and co-author of He's Just Not That Into You is still single, thinks finding a boyfriend is miraculous, and refuses to date online. • Candace Parker of the LA Sparks is the second woman to dunk in a WNBA game, which is apparently a pretty big deal. (More Leftovers after the jump) More »
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The words of a First Daughter — or rightful First Daughter — sure are a tricky thing to parse! But we can't help but be fascinated by contradictions in the public, and "public" statements from the ladyspawns of the winners, and "winners" of the 2000 election. While Kristin Gore just vociferously dismissed notions of her "recovering politician" dad joining the presidential race to New York Times and Jenna was overheard saying she'd be happy to watch her dad continue undermining democracy "for life", new books out from both blondes tell shockingly different stories! As we briefly noted yesterday, Jenna's Ana's Story, the novelized account of an AIDS-infected orphaned single mom, boasts an extensive sex education appendix that sort of craps all over such tenets of her father's political platform as "abstinence education." And now comes word that Sammy's House, Kristin's new work of chick lit, is also not without its subtext! More »
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