Stop Iceland from Banning Internet "Violent Pornography"

As recently reported on FetLife, the government of Iceland is considering a ban on online "violent pornography," in the name of protecting children from its putative harm, of course. You can read the UK Guardian article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/16/iceland-online-pornography.

And here's what I've written the Prime Minister of Iceland at postur@for.stjr.is:

Dear Minister:

I am greatly concerned by the news that you are considering a law to ban Internet "violent pornography" in the name of protecting children.

In the first place, contrary to your statements, there is no consensus among researchers about this alleged harm. Consider, for instance, this statement by US scholars: http://www.ncac.org/media/related/20011205~USA~Letter_to_AAP_Concerning_Media_Violence_Statements.cfm.

In the second place, this is unquestionably an issue of free expression. Efforts to "protect" children with computer algorithms have had notoriously imprecise results -- including, for instance, the censoring of any and all gay-positive material -- so the only way to implement such a law would be to use human screeners, guaranteeing that those screeners' biases would come into play. Even terms like "violent" or "hateful" are construed in very different ways by different people. What one woman may call misogynistic, another finds arousing.

Thirdly, this goes beyond the desire of lone individuals to view erotica on their computers. Many people network online on the basis of shared erotic interests, such as BDSM (bondage and discipline/dominance and submission/sadomasochism). I belong to one such network based in the US. I am appalled at the thought that Icelanders with similar interests would become unable to find one another if this proposed law went into effect.

With a view to protecting their civil rights, I am determined that if this legislation is adopted, I will not buy any products from Iceland.

Tell Radio Stations to Take Rush Limbaugh Off the Air

I got this message yesterday from Michael Morrill of Keystone Progress. When I signed, I added the comment that slut-shaming is actually unacceptable in any context:

It was bad enough that Republicans in Congress wouldn't let Georgetown student Sandra Fluke speak about contraceptives at an all-male hearing...
But then Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" and "prostitute" for wanting to get reproductive healthcare for all women.  Here's just a part of what Limbaugh said:
LIMBAUGH: What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke [sic], who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.
She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.
It's time for Limbaugh to be taken off the air.  Click here to send a message to all of the PA radio stations carrying Limbaugh.  You can alsohear the audio of Limbaugh making his disgusting comments on the site.
Pleae take action and send this email widely.
Enough of Limbaugh and the Right's attacks on women!
https://secure3.convio.net/pn/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2063

Candye Kane Seeking Help with Cancer Costs

The blueswoman (and former porn star) sent this news to her fans. I'm chipping in:

 

Hello Everyone ---

 

As you may know, I have been diagnosed with a recurrence of the pancreatic carcinoid neuroendocrine cancer I had in 2008. www.carcinoid.org   I will be giving myself injections of Sandostatin three times a day subcutaneously for eleven days, at the end of February, graduating to one injection a month after the initial trial.  Sandostatin is used to stop the progression of this disease and the subsequent surgery will be used to remove the tumor (s) and unblock the duct that has been causing me so much pain. There are no guarantees that they will be able to alleviate all of my pain permanently, or that they will be able to remove all of the cancer but this is the best chance I have to rid myself of this cancer again and get back to a better quality of life. If they are successful, I could be in remission for many years. Of course, this is our hope.

 

Because so much money has already been spent on flights and deposits for this upcoming European tour, I have chosen to postpone my surgery until the last week of April, first week of May. I will likely have surgery at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles on April 27th.  My doctors agreed that it is okay for me to wait for the surgery to be performed until this time.

 

It is my hope that by the last week of June, I will be ready to resume my busy touring schedule. It may be sooner than that, but I am planning on making the Simi Valley blues festival my first official appearance back.

 

I am sorry for this interruption in our schedule. I know how many of you depend on me to be the workhorse I am. I plan on letting this disrupt my life as little as possible. I have a good chance of recovering from this surgery quickly, the same way I recovered very quickly from the whipple procedure in 2008. My doctors at Cedars Sinai think I am a good candidate for this surgery, also called a whipple revision and that I will be able to work again a month later, just as I did, the last time. If you'll recall, I had surgery April 18, 2008 and was on tour with United by Music by June 18th.

 

Of course, this is a scary time for me and my family and closest friends. Michael Kinsman, Janiva Magness, Joey Scruggs, Barbara Hammerman and many others have already offered their assistance with benefits for me. I will definitely need financial help to survive both during the last two weeks of february whilst I endure these injections and also during the month of May and possibly the first part of June, when I am home healing and convalescing. Any help that any of you can give me to get the word out about needing assistance would help greatly. My paypal account is candyekanetour@aol.com

 

My insurance has a $2500 deductible when I am hospitalized and I am still not sure whether the injections will be completely covered. They are  between $1500 to $5000 each injection. We are proceeding as if they are covered, unless we hear otherwise but I think it wise to plan ahead in case they are not covered.

 

Anyway, I am scared, sad and grieve for the changes that this will make to my body. I am lucky that I have some extra body weight still, that I can afford to lose during this time. 

 

Please keep me in your meditations and prayers and encourage others to do the same. I will need as much of your positive energy during this time as I did before. Maybe even more so this time, because I still remember clearly the intense pain of 150 stitches and the aftermath of my recovery period. It was the most intense challenge of my life. I am up for this next challenge and I know I will emerge triumphant. I am blessed to be a role model to so many, proving that anyone can overcome adversity with sheer guts and determination. I hope to continue to be able to do my job and spread love and hope through music around the world, for many more years to come.

 

If you can't come to a live show, please consider joining the National Blues Foundation at www.blues.org Kids under 18 can join for FREE and you can join for just $25! The Blues Foundation is committed to helping promote blues music and giving aid to blues musicians all over the world with their various programs. While you are there, you can cast a vote for me! I am nominated for BB King Entertainer of the Year and Best Contemporary Blues Female. You have until March 1st to join and vote. I am honored to be nominated amongst some of the best of my hardworking sister and brother musicians.

 

On a personal note, in spite of this latest family crisis, my sons Tommy and Evan are doing very well. Evan is playing in several local San Diego bands and working hard teaching music at the Boys and Girls Club in Carlsbad. Tommy has graduated from UC Berkeley and is now living in Oaxaca, Mexico, teaching English and Music to students at the Liberty Language School. Both of my boys are healthy and thriving and I couldnt be more proud of them.

 

Thank you again for all of your wonderful emails and words of encouragement during this difficult time in my life. I can win this battle with cancer. I have done it once and I will do it again! I have cancer. Cancer DOES NOT HAVE ME. Sending boatloads of love, strength, and white light to you in your own struggles!

 

Big Love and Gratitude,

 

Candye

Tell Ira Glass: Ignorance is not bliss!

The episode of This American Life broadcast today included a segment he told us was "not suitable for children." I've responded to this profoundedly wrongheaded "warning" with the following message:

How on Earth can you say that your story from Westword (about the man who wanted to kill the rapist from his childhood) is unsuitable for children?

Do you honestly believe it's better that children not be aware of how they might be victimized if they're not careful? How is that going to protect them? It will, to the contrary, leave them that much more vulnerable.

Were you concerned that the material might be too disturbing for children? That admittedly is a possibility worthy of consideration — although children are often able to handle (and already aware of) more than adults give them credit for. But if that was your concern, you should have said so plainly and not left it open to the other interpretation, which reinforces an appallingly irrational and misguided, if still too common, attitude.

Ignorance is not bliss. It is danger!

You can hear the program at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/425/slow-to-react. You can write Glass at web@thislife.org.

Give It Away for Nina

Nina Hartley is facing an urgent financial situation: she needs funds to pay for her recovery after upcoming surgery. The appeal follows.

http://www.giveforward.com/giveitawayfornina

Help Our Friend Nina

If you’re reading this you’re likely already a friend, or fan, of Nina’s. Thanks for taking the time to be here. She’s always made an effort to connect on the personal level with all she meets, and it’s from that personal level that I write this. If you’ve ever had a moment’s fun with any of her work there’s something real, concrete and life saving you can do for her and it won’t take much.

She is seeking funds to cover her recovery from surgery, tentatively scheduled for late January/early February 2011. Recovery will take 2-4 weeks, depending on how it goes.

As some of you already know she has fibroid tumors in her uterus. They’re genetic and are not cancer, nor will they turn into cancer, so that’s a blessing right there. However they are unsightly and are starting to cause other, negative side effects. After dealing with them for nearly twenty years the time has come for a permanent solution. She thought that nearing menopause would cause them to shrink but they show no signs of doing so. So, surgery is the next step. She’s lucky enough to have medical insurance to cover the cost of the operation. What she needs is money to cover her expenses during recovery. In twenty-six years she’s never needed help more. As an example of how easy it could be, if each of her Twitter followers donated just five dollars that
would cover everything.

Some may ask, “What about Ernest?” Her darling husband is facing his own medical crises, as well as a cut back at work. He won’t be able to help her financially, though he’d very much like to do so. He’ll be there to take care of her when she comes home from the hospital. Anything we raise here will be a big help to both of them at this difficult time.

She’s never asked for help before, and it’s hard for her to do so now, which is why I’m doing this, but this counts as an emergency. She’s been hit by the recession as badly as the next person and her reserves won’t cover what she’ll need. Her family is not in a position to help, though they would if they could. That leaves, in the words of Tennessee Williams, “the kindness of strangers.” “Strangers” being you. Of course, Nina doesn’t think of her fans as strangers, only friends she’s not yet met in person, so I like to think I’m asking her friends for help.

After all she has given me, taught me, been there for me, it is my pleasure to give back to her. If she has ever taught you anything, been there for you when nobody else understood, or just made you happy with her sweet, wonderful demeanor, please donate at least five bucks. You can help her continue to give from the depth of her being to make you happy.

Please, let’s all show her how much we love her…

Lesley

Tell a Principal to Set the Right Example

Dan Savage has brought another example of puritanical persecution to our attention with the case of a high school coach who was fired for sending "adult-oriented pictures" to his girlfriend, a college student.

The principal, Donna Richardson, defends her action with talk of teaching students to become "good characters," but evidently needs some instruction in this department herself. In a case like this it seems appropriate to emphasize the pedagogical issues, so I've sent the following message to her email address (richardsod@duvalschools.org):

Dear Ms. Richardson:

I am very disappointed by your dismissal of Jason Robinson. By taking this action, you have set a very bad example to the students under your supervision. You have modeled:

1) Endorsing and rewarding the violation of someone's privacy;
2) Punishing other people's consensual activity; and
3) Worst of all, by implication, attempting to coerce other people's consensual activity through threats to their livelihoods.

By doing these things, you have sent all the wrong messages to students about responsible behavior as members of a democratic society. It is urgent that you rehire Mr. Robinson, which would have the added merit of modeling the ability to admit when you have made a mistake.

To refresh your own appreciation of these principles, you might do well to re-read the Declaration of Independence. For a more in-depth treatment of them, you could also read John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.

Sincerely,
Eric Hamell
Philadelphia, PA

You can read more details of the case in Savage's column here:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=4180588

ScrewSmart -- Sex Education from Soup to Nuts

There's a new group in Philadelphia called ScrewSmart, which aims to present sex-positive, queer-positive sex education to the public. Last Friday I attended what must have been one of their very first events, a workshop titled Porn You Can Salute. It opened with an erotic "exquisite corpse" exercise which was followed by a description and screening of several sorts of alternative to mainstream porn.

You can learn more about them from their website at http://www.screwsmartly.com. They've developed printed materials on such topics as Porn You Can Salute Resource List, Movie Suggestions by Category, and Talking to a Partner About Porn.