The Ironic Blow…

Porn Industry folks who’ve fought regulations designed to protect minors from porn online were hit with shocking news:

The Internet was supposed to be a tremendous boon for the pornography industry, creating a global market of images and videos accessible from the privacy of a home computer. For a time it worked, with wider distribution and social acceptance driving a steady increase in sales.

But now the established pornography business is in decline — and the Internet is being held responsible.

The online availability of free or low-cost photos and videos has begun to take a fierce toll on sales of X-rated DVDs. Inexpensive digital technology has paved the way for aspiring amateur pornographers, who are flooding the market, while everyone in the industry is giving away more material to lure paying customers.

And unlike consumers looking for music and other media, viewers of pornography do not seem to mind giving up brand-name producers and performers for anonymous ones, or a well-lighted movie set for a ratty couch at an amateur videographer’s house.

Hat Tip: Instapundit

And now the paying porn industry is being killed. I’ve got mixed feelings on this. On one hand, it’s eminently just given the adult industry’s involvement in not only the debasement of women, etc. but also the frequent mix of porn, spyware, and electronic fraud.

On the other hand, this seems to suggest that people are becoming worth less to their fellow man, even in how much they pay for porn.

Take this letter from Roger Wood, which begins:

We don’t really care about prostitution, prostitutes or their “alleged” handlers.

A situation that leads directly to the exploitation and abuse of women and their debasement is something we “no longer care about”? Indeed, perhaps many don’t, but I don’t consider this a positive development for our society.

Persecution Posts

Some posts to read and pray about from Persecution Blog:

200 Million Christians Persecuted by Al Qaeda

Another Christian Sentenced to Death

Radical Hindu Becomes Pastor, Suffers Persecution:

INDIA – On May 6, 2007, former Hindu extremist, Pastor Pabitra Kata, was attacked and severely beaten by more than 35 Hindu radicals, while returning from a convert’s home.

According to The Voice of the Martyrs’ contacts in India, Pastor Pabitra, received Christ in 1999 and immediately began preaching the gospel. Under his ministry more than 15 people have received Christ and several others have been baptized. The attack happened after extremists repeatedly warned he would “face dire consequences” for being a Christian.

“He was beaten with thick sticks, kicked on his jaw and face and dragged on the road. He was screaming because of the pain and praying out loud, asking God to forgive the attackers. He was bleeding profusely from his jaw and ear, and was unable to see. In spite of his painful cries, the attackers continued striking him until the police arrived and stopped the beating,” VOM contacts said. Following the attack, it was discovered the extremists had planned to murder Pastor Pabitra then make a false report claiming he had died in an automobile accident.

Pray, for those faithful who suffer in other countries for Christianity today stands the mots persecuted of all the World’s religions.

The Hate for the Boy Scouts

Pam Spaulding’s post celebrating an adverse decision against the boy scouts tells you everything you need to know about the cultural left. How is it that we’ve come to the point as a society that the Boy Scouts are politically incorrect. 20 years ago, it would have been absurd.

Give a Blogger Wings

Rick Moran of Rightwing Nuthouse is holding his very last blog fundraiser.

Rick has been one of those bloggers I’ve admired over the years and I intend to provide a small token of my support. I miss his Carnival of the Clueless, he was simply one of the best.

This is his last fundraiser in his attempt to see if he can make a living writing. It’s my dream as well. I’m pursuing it while at the same time trying to hold down a day job. Still, I admire the courage. If this ends up being the end soon. Thank you, Rick for everything!

The Amnesty That Won’t Work

Some folks are willing to back amnesty if it will actually solve some of the problems associated with illegal immigration. The Congressional Budget Office is coming out with devestating findings that show the act as close to useless as you can imagine.(Hat Tip: Captain’s Quarters) Grassroots GOP activists in the States are raising money by opposing the amnesty and bloggers beg the Congressional leadership to kill the bill.

Also on the Truth and Hope Report, I talk about our new streamlined format. Rather than covering a dozen of topics, I’m going to focus on the most important.

Another issue I discuss is the William Jefferson Scandal and how you can’t feel too sorry for the people of his district as they knew he was corrupt when they re-elected him.

Finally, we take a look at the damage done at the UN and a great column from Nat Hentoff.

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Dan Popkey’s Sleezeball Tactics

The attempts by Dan Popkey the Idaho Statesman to dig up dirt on the personal life of Senator Larry Craig are repugnant and illustrate why many people refuse to become involved in politics.

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Related:

Pride Depot:

Popkey Says He’s Plowing Away

Hat Tip: The Mountain Goat Report

Daily Response: It’s Been a Long Time

I started this blog doing a daily response, but gave up after 5 or 6 months of responding to Statesman letters to the editor. I’m going to go ahead and try it out to day and see what happens. From today’s Statesmen, a complaint about the Community College from Duane Martin:

What happened to the $200 million we were already overtaxed that was earmarked for schools? Isn’t the community college a school? Why didn’t they just use some of that money and then replace it later with the money made by the college?

I assume he’s referring to the Sales Tax increase that was tied to property tax reductions. That’s the difference between money for public schools and post-secondary education.

And why are the supporters of this thing allowed to send out unsolicited absentee ballots to potential supporters? Isn’t that illegal, or at least an abuse of the absentee ballot system? If they were going to abuse the system like that, they should have been forced to send absentee ballots to everyone, not just potential supporters.

Illegal, no. An abuse of the system. Maybe. Let’s be clear, I didn’t just receive one absentee ballot request (not an actual ballot. Thanks to the Bubblehead for the correction in the comments.), I’d to have gotten like four. I feared this whole thing would lead to a backlash. Still, they played by the rules we have in place. If you don’t like them, call your legislator. This doesn’t have much to do with the merits of the college though.

So now property owners get to pay for a community college most will never use while non-property owners, again, will not have to pay for anything.

A couple things. First, having gone to Community College in Kalispell, I’ll attest that many if not most students were either homeowners or their kids, and a fully developed college will offer classes for the whole community. As for non-property owners not paying anything, they’ll not pay anything directly, but they’ll see it in their rent. Remember rental property does not come with a home owner’s exemption and landlords all pass the taxes on to their tenants, so yes everyone will pay, some will just see it more directly.

Big corporations backed the building of the college, so why didn’t they privately fund it?

Great portions of it are being privately funded, as well as the state chipping in $5 million. The taxpayers of Ada and Canyon County are only playing a small portion.

The whole process has just been flat out wrong and unfair to the property owners of Ada and Canyon counties, and I really hope someone out there takes legal action to block this thing considering how the system was abused.

You can sue, but you’ve got no case. The people vote. Accept it, don’t be a sorehead.

Thomas John Caldwell writes:

The passing of HR 1592 on Tuesday, May 8, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and disabled people could be protected as well. The 1999 Hate Crimes Act slowed down the percent of crimes being committed, but it didn’t protect everybody. Society must accept the idea that we’re all individuals and our likes and dislikes vary. We live in a country founded on the basis of equality and freedom, but the government’s willingness to except different people under their rule is never-ceasing.

So society must accept we’re all individuals by passing a law that punishes crimes against different groups of people differently. Say what?

John Wynn writes:

It was disappointing to see that the Idaho Statesman won a lawsuit to be the only newspaper in Boise that can print legal notices in the future. In doing so, the court effectively eliminated competition in the marketplace for the publishing of legal notices.

Really, I think the Statesman’s the primary thing that’s read in this valley other than the Bible (where we can’t print legal notices.) If there’s any solace, those days are numbered with new technologies on the horizon the decline of newspapers in general.