FC: More on National Review, anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Jan 08 2002 - 11:40:11 PST

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: ZeoSync offers improbable claim of compression breakthrough"

    Previous message:
    
    "National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut"
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-02998.html
    
    *********
    
    Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 18:37:52 -0600 (CST)
    From: Zippy <sjdyerat_private>
    To: BruceTaylorat_private
    cc: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020107182513.00ab8c20at_private>
    
    Well, I did it. With visions of Robert Mueller looking over my shoulder
    and the sweat forming on my brow, I typed in the horrifying domain name:
    kidsex.com.
    
    Seems they sell sex toys (you know, rubber and plastic items used for. .
    .whatever). I suspect this is the standard with domain names like that:
    They've long since been bought in bulk by purveyors of adult goods
    seeking to capture any stray surfers they can.
    
    On the upside, last I checked, uglygirls.com is still available.
    
    I'm not particularly interested in a fruitless debate right now, but I
    have a pressing concern: Does Nordlinger still wear his hair in that
    weird, truncated do? ;-)
    
    *********
    
    Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2002 03:12:27 -0500
    From: Nick Bretagna <onemugat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    CC: BruceTaylorat_private, jnordlingerat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    
    >Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 14:32:17 -0500
    >From: "Bruce Taylor" <BruceTaylorat_private>
    >Subject: National Review article with kudos for us and our allies.
    >
    >Below is an excerpt from the full National Review online column by Jay
    >Nordlinger, NR's Managing Editor.  The link to the full column
    >is:  http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/impromptus010702.shtml
    >
    >( I think Jan LaRue of FRC made us look good, among the warriors for
    >decency through law.  Thanks, Jan! )
    >
    ><snip>
    >
    >It's not true, y'all. Not true at all. Get aroused, if you dare.
    >Note this interesting letter from a reader:
    >"A couple of years ago, I wrote a book on networking. In the chapter on
    >domain-name service, I wanted to give an example of an Internet domain name
    >that was objectionable but not yet used. It was very hard to find one:
    >boyrape.com, kidsex.com (registered to one Lee Myun Jong), boysex.com
    >(registered to a company in Switzerland), and so on are all real domains
    >that are open for business. When we're finished with the terrorists, I hope
    >we have a few daisy cutters left for these bastards."
    ><snip>
    
    OK, I got curious, so I went to them:
    
    www.boyrape.com -- No response. "403 Forbidden" error, including obvious 
    variants like ".../home.htm" and ".../index.htm". Presumably a dead site.
    www.boysex.com -- a standard, gay porn site having nothing to do with 
    "boys", except that they are presumably 18-25, according to the first page.
    www.kidsex.com -- a nom-de-URL for the "Sextoy Warehouse", which has 
    nothing to do with children at all, near as I can see. Just a place to buy 
    dildos and other sex toys.
    
    
    I didn't delve deep (actually, I only looked at the front page of the 
    latter two), but it's clear that they don't have much to do with the 
    *activities* they suggest, which Mr. Nordlinger's rant clearly implies.
    
    
    Mr. Nordlinger obviously never bothers to check his * facts*, or, more 
    likely, doesn't *care* about them, since the names clearly *suggest* to the 
    reader that they exist and are somehow related to the morally questionable 
    activity they appear to support -- yet in reality have nothing to do with 
    them except that in two cases they relate to sexually explicit, but largely 
    legal (at least outside of certain parts of the Bible Belt) activities.
    
    This, of course, puts Nordlinger in with Ralph Nader, who doesn't care 
    about facts, either, so long as his idiot speech looks good to his 
    supporters, who care equally little about reality..
    
    It also  puts him slightly behind Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh, however, 
    who both tend to manipulate the facts somewhat but usually don't leave the 
    general vicinity of the truth with them.
    
    I don't recommend you use *any* of the above as a source of anything except 
    amusement, mind you.
    
    
    As far as his rant goes, is this really surprising? Lots of porn sites use 
    URL hooks like this to attract business which has little or nothing to do 
    with the site being targeted by the "user", including obvious misspellings 
    of common URLs, like "MackDonalds.com" or the like (I dunno what that one 
    might be, mind you). They point you to sex-related sites -- gee, how 
    astonishing. Who *cares*? Only fools with *nothing* better to do with their 
    time than rant about crap that means nothing.
    
    _________________________________________________
    
    Did 911 teach *nothing* to you morons?
    _________________________________________________
    Hint: Get a LIFE.
    
    In any event, it says something about how much we should bother to listen 
    to to opinions of fools like Nordlinger, who can't comprehend how 
    censorship generally is an ever-expanding process, once initiated, like 
    most government functions, it's never done until everything is censored but 
    Mickey Mouse.
    
    *********
    
    Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 15:52:54 -0800
    From: lizard <lizardat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    CC: politechat_private, jnordlingerat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    
    Thus demonstrating that the American right is as morally bankrupt as the 
    American left. As a young, ideologically naive reptile, I saw the American 
    right as champions of individualism against the soul-destroying 
    collectivism of the left. Over the years, either the right has drifted, or 
    I've become more aware, because it is now evident that the right is as 
    collectivst and conformist as the left, despising all forms of individualism.
    
    As Mencken said, it is time to hoist the black flag and start slitting throats.
    
    Attn assorted Echelon types intercepting this:He (and I) was/are speaking 
    metaphorically.
    
    *********
    
    Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 18:42:05 -0500
    From: "James Maule" <mauleat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    
    Uh, what about the gambling garbage and the "make 1000000 dollars a day 
    from home" and "lose weight fast" stuff, which seems to be proliferating at 
    10 times the rate of porn email? Can we tax those too? Or are those used to 
    fund the other stuff?
    
    *********
    
    From: Alan <alanat_private>
    To: declanat_private, politechat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 14:26:59 -0800
    Cc: jnordlingerat_private
    
    If we are going to tax "things I don't like", lets start with the churches.
    They do *far* more damage than porn has ever done.
    
    *********
    
    From: mjinksat_private
    Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 19:59:27 -0600
    To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: National Review lauds anti-porn activists, 1,000% tax on smut
    
    I love the closing bit about "health care for the children."  Just like we
    were going to use legalized gambling to fund education.  I wonder how many
    on the "honor roll" have taken stands against anything that smacks of
    socialized medicine but would happily use such an agenda to sanction
    moral controls on the content of free speech.
    
    Also notice the suggested connection between spam email -- for which
    I've never met a defender -- and web sites, which (need I say this) one
    must deliberately visit in order to be infested with their foul Satanic
    nasty evil bad ickiness.
    
    If it weren't for the fact that so many people subscribe to it, I'd
    question your judgment in forwarding this tripe.
    
    Sigh.
    
    Sorry for the rant.  Looks like another grouchy Monday for Reverend Mikey.
    
    -m
    
    *********
    
    
    
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
    You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
    Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
    To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
    This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 08 2002 - 13:00:08 PST