A front-page story in today’s Sunday Republican describes the last months of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, whose leading role in Western Massachusetts organized crime ended when he was gunned down in November 2003. Strip clubs feature prominently in the article… During the spring of 2002, Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno inflamed local mafia wiseguys and club […]
Steve and Cokie Roberts Report on Marriage: A Good Idea that Refuses to Die
Steve and Cokie Roberts have been married for 41 years. They have two children, six grandchildren, four books published, a joint syndicated newspaper column, and countless bylines and media appearances. Bethesda Magazine profiles them and four other couples in “Love stories”, July/August 2007… Steve, who’s been the Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs at […]
US Appeals Court Upholds Daytona Zoning and Public Nudity Ordinances; No Grandfathering for Lollipop’s Gentlemen’s Club; Rebutting Daniel Linz
To celebrate July 4, it is our pleasure to present this ruling fresh from the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Here we see our Constitution being applied intelligently and with compassion for people who live and work around adult enterprises. Attorney Scott D. Bergthold helped the city of Daytona, Florida win a […]
Viewing Booths and HIV: An Open Letter to Thomas Lesser of Northampton, Attorney for Capital Video
On June 20, we delivered a version of the following letter to Thomas Lesser and his associates at Lesser, Newman, Souweine & Nasser, a law firm in Northampton. Mr. Lesser represents Capital Video, which is trying to hang on to its viewing booth entertainment license in Springfield. We have not yet received any response, so […]
Strip Clubs Are the Next Hot Thing on Wall Street, Fund Manager Tells Barron’s
Strip clubs are a buy, says Peter Siris, managing partner of Guerilla Capital Management. Once you eliminate the mafia connection, there’s no problem. Never mind these clubs are like wrecking balls to marriages and communities, or the conditions the dancers work under, or the realities of sex trafficking. Siris pitches his case this week to […]
NoPornNorthampton’s One-Year Anniversary
Today is the one-year anniversary of the launch of NoPornNorthampton. It all began with “Gazette Reports Porn Shop to Open at 135 King Street”, posted on 6/30/06. Capital Video had intended to open a 6,000+ square foot porn shop with 20 enclosed viewing booths. Today, after dedicated efforts from many citizens and public officials, new […]
DC Porn Store Attracts Prostitution, Vagrants
In a situation similar to Apremont Triangle in Springfield, a porn shop with viewing booths has become a locus of prostitution and vagrancy in a Washington, DC neighborhood. The Hill reported in March: On Feb. 19, The Washington Post ran three stories lamenting the unrealized promises of revitalization made by proponents of the publicly financed […]
The Gloryhole FAQ (explicit language)
The website Cruising for Sex publishes The Gloryhole FAQ [explicit] by ‘Lilfuzzyg’. A glory hole is usually a small hole, at least fist-sized, placed in a fairly thin sheet of plywood or metal partition. The hole is placed about hip high for the average guy and is large enough to place a man’s penis through […]
Rwanda: What Sexual Violence Is (explicit language)
Larry Flynt would have you believe sexual violence is a big joke. Kink.com presents it as ripping good fun. Our opponents maintain that porn is mere “entertainment”, “art” and we should lighten up. Let’s pull back to examine what sexual violence actually means to those who experience it. Linda Mbabazi writes this month from Kigali […]
Fantasizing About an Action Trains the Brain Almost the Same as Doing It
Porn defenders commonly characterize it as ‘harmless fantasy’. Few viewers, they say, will act it out in the real world. Unfortunately, research on learning suggests this assumption is risky. Visualizing an action is close in training power to actually performing the action. Learning from porn is also reinforced by the pleasure of orgasm. This article […]