Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Top hotel cable supplier called to task for porn involvement
Focus on the Family ^ | July 3, 2007 | Josh Montez

Posted on 07/03/2007 8:22:42 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan

LodgeNet, the top vendor of hardcore pornographic movie channels for hotel rooms, is the target of a campaign aimed at cleaning up summer lodging for traveling families.

You’ll find no mention of porn movie options on LodgeNet’s website, but Phil Burress with Citizens for Community Values has uncovered that more than 60% of LodgeNet’s profits come from illegal, pornographic movies it sells through pay-per-view channels.

“Our question is why is LodgeNet permitted to deal in hard core sexually explicit, clearly prosecutable material according to Miller vs. California when the US Supreme Court set down the guidelines for what is prosecutable?”

LodgeNet is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. John Paulton with Focus on the Family Action says that’s a hard reality for some to grasp.

“Sioux Falls is a conservative, Midwestern town of about a 150,000 people and most people are surprised that a leading pornographer would be located in this city.”

On August ninth, family advocates will meet with former prosecutors of hard core pornography and call on the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute LodgeNet. Daniel Weiss with Focus on the Family Action says there’s a lot riding on the outcome.

“If they brought this material to trial to determine if it was obscene or not and their jury, their community standards prevailed, you would see communities across the country clean up overnight.”

Family groups have been trying to clean up LodgeNet since the 1990’s.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: hotel; marriott; porn; pornography; romney
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-66 next last
Questions about Romney's ties to Marriott porn sales http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/188311.aspx

Freep thread on Romney connection: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1859880/posts?q=1&;page=1#1

1 posted on 07/03/2007 8:22:45 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
i thought the hotels only did the softcore version (simulated sex, no direct showing of genitals). Is this not true?

I checked into a hotel once, turned on the tv, and there was a softcore film showing. To say the least, I was rather suprised. I'm guessing the person before had recently checked out, and had time left on his purchase. Wouldn't have been a good thing for a 10 year old to see though.

2 posted on 07/03/2007 8:32:51 AM PDT by jdub
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

Just dont pay for it. Its that simple. Its not going to leap out of the television at you.


3 posted on 07/03/2007 8:33:21 AM PDT by OmegaMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

I don’t get this.

When I check into a hotel with my family, one of the first things that I do is call up the Hotel TV menu and click the option marked “Block Adult Titles.”

This eliminates the chance of one of the kids hitting a button and seeing something that I believe they shouldn’t see.

End of the problem.


4 posted on 07/03/2007 8:34:45 AM PDT by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OmegaMan
Its not going to leap out of the television at you.

See post #2.

5 posted on 07/03/2007 8:36:07 AM PDT by madprof98 ("moritur et ridet" - salvianus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib

You mean that * gasp *, the market has already solved this problem?


6 posted on 07/03/2007 8:36:28 AM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Still Championship U)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

tempest in a thimbil for “outrage” mongers.

You have a lockout system for those with minors.

You can ONLY watch if you actually pay for it.

AND this comes up every election cycle to try and energize the prominance of some politician or talking hairstyle.


7 posted on 07/03/2007 8:39:32 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib

Limited thinking, obviously.

Hotel industry alone is estimated to distribute half a billion dollars worth of pornographic material, much of it potentially prosecutable as obscenity.

It’s proven to be addictive, to break up marriages, and be a motivating factor in sex crimes against women and children.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights calls it “a form of violence against women.”

But you think it’s all O.K. just because you hit the “block” button...and then send your wife and kids down to share the pool and public restrooms with all the guys who don’t?


8 posted on 07/03/2007 8:42:09 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: madprof98

If that happened to me, I’d be on the phone to the front desk in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t let it go until the problem was corrected AND they reduced my rate for the entire stay as an apology.


9 posted on 07/03/2007 8:42:32 AM PDT by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

Then perhaps you should expand your thinking to include making these decisions for yourself instead of having some government agency handle it for you?


10 posted on 07/03/2007 8:44:11 AM PDT by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
But you think it’s all O.K. just because you hit the “block” button...and then send your wife and kids down to share the pool and public restrooms with all the guys who don’t?

Since they go to work, school, and the grocery store with those same guys every day of their lives, somehow I think they will survive. ;)

11 posted on 07/03/2007 8:46:12 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("Wise men don't need to debate; men who need to debate are not wise." -- Tao Te Ching)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: dfwgator

hmmm, ugly women upset their husbands might have their memories jogged into recalling the proper shape of the female form?


13 posted on 07/03/2007 8:49:47 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: OmegaMan
Its not going to leap out of the television at you.

On a recent trip to LA I was staying at a major chain hotel at LAX. I turned on the TV and flipped the channel, on came a woman on woman porno movie. It remained on for about three minutes, then switched to the regular channel.

I turned the TV off and then back on again. Same thing, three minutes of porno, then the regular channel.

This outrage continued, unabated. 17 times I turned the TV on and off and each time I got porno!!

It finally stopped when the next movie was 'Bob and Henry's Excellent SF Adventure'. That was when I realized if I did not turn the TV back on, it would not happen again.

;)

14 posted on 07/03/2007 8:50:14 AM PDT by Michael.SF. ("The military Mission has long since been accomplished" -- Harry Reid, April 23, 2007)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Jeeves

Some people would be better off building a personal fortress and never having to face those who might have seen a naked woman at some point in their life. They’d have to be wary of the mailman, though; he might have glanced inside an issue of Playboy at some point.


15 posted on 07/03/2007 8:50:48 AM PDT by LanPB01
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

I really wished we could return to the days of Puritanism with all of its trappings.....

Really. A lite flavor of Islamic Law wouldn’t be so bad would it?


16 posted on 07/03/2007 8:51:40 AM PDT by misterrob ("I've never heard of anyone going on the disabled list with pulled fat." RIP Rod Beck)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
60% of LodgeNet’s profits come from illegal, pornographic movies it sells through pay-per-view channels.

Illegal?

17 posted on 07/03/2007 8:52:16 AM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys: Can't drive, can't fly, can't ski, can't skipper a boat; but they know what's best for us)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib

I guess motel 6 new policy is to leave a little more than the light on for ya!


18 posted on 07/03/2007 8:52:19 AM PDT by Paulus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

To: FormerLib

Not good enough.

“Fundamentalism: the terrible, pervasive fear that someone, somewhere, is having fun.”
H. L. Mencken


20 posted on 07/03/2007 8:54:31 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Duncan Hunter 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: longtermmemmory

:-)


21 posted on 07/03/2007 8:54:55 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Duncan Hunter 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: VfB Stuttgart

Ronald Reagan, one of those “old school” conservatives, appointed the President’s Commission on Pornography, which came to be known as the Meese Commission.

Video of former Attorney General Ed Meese on the subject:

http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/423_Meese_preview.htm

Using the control bar at bottom, fast forward to 3:18 of the interview.

Sorry for the timeline whiplash, which will obviously be a shock for some posting on this subject. This was back when being a “conservative” — at least as defined by the “old school” Reagan Adminstration — meant being against the distribution of pornography.

And whatever decisions an individual may make about purchasing porn, the issue of the original post is the propriety of white-collar porn peddlers in the hotel industry selling half a billion dollars a year of the stuff.

It’s the sale of obscene pornography that’s prosecutable under federal and some state laws, not the individual purchase.


22 posted on 07/03/2007 8:55:39 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
Phil Burress with Citizens for Community Values has uncovered that more than 60% of LodgeNet’s profits come from illegal, pornographic movies it sells through pay-per-view channels.

Illegal?

I'd expect this kind of drive-by conclusion to come from the mainstream media.

23 posted on 07/03/2007 8:56:07 AM PDT by highball ("I never should have switched from scotch to martinis." -- the last words of Humphrey Bogart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Michael.SF.

Are you the same guy who had his wallet robbed at the same location by a pack of nymphos - on five successive days? :-)


24 posted on 07/03/2007 8:58:09 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Duncan Hunter 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
Sorry for the timeline whiplash, which will obviously be a shock for some posting on this subject. This was back when being a “conservative” — at least as defined by the “old school” Reagan Adminstration — meant being against the distribution of pornography.

And whatever decisions an individual may make about purchasing porn, the issue of the original post is the propriety of white-collar porn peddlers in the hotel industry selling half a billion dollars a year of the stuff.

Yeah, that darn free market's really a bummer, isn't it?

So much more pleasant when we let the government make the choices for us.

25 posted on 07/03/2007 8:59:41 AM PDT by highball ("I never should have switched from scotch to martinis." -- the last words of Humphrey Bogart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

“The United Nations Commission on Human Rights...”

uh-oh, citing the UN....Idi Amin still head that department...?


26 posted on 07/03/2007 9:00:17 AM PDT by dakine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

That may all well be, but the fact is, if there was not a demand for it, no one would produce it. The truth is, pornography is an unbelievably profitable industry, and for alot of people, it has meant their path to the American dream.

In general, people who can make it in more “legitamate” industries aren’t going to be involved in making porn. I have an M.B.A, so, for me, if I lost everything today, and had to start over, I’d be just find. But, most people in this country do not have advanced degrees. Take a close look at who is actually in the porn industry, for many of these people, it is their only route to the American dream, and a market clearly exists for it. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. I personally find it in poor taste, so I don’t partake. I don’t go and try and force my taste on others.

And if you are going to quote the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the UNCHR also regularly criticizes the United States because we believe in punishing crime. Every year, we are lectured about the death penalty, or the condition of our prisons, etc. And remember, we got kicked off the commission at one point, while they had some of the worst human rights violators on it. They are unreliable.

You know, America needs to go back to the way it was 100 years ago, before the central government decided it was their business to regulate the personal behavior of others. People wondered why we fought so hard to secede 140 years ago. This is part of the reason why.


27 posted on 07/03/2007 9:01:20 AM PDT by AzaleaCity5691
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
It’s proven to be addictive, to break up marriages, and be a motivating factor in sex crimes against women and children.

Help us Ed Meese! The sky is falling! We're all dooooomed!!

Yes...hitting the "block" button makes it all OK. Thinking back to the 1980s - the last time porn was a big issue - something tells me your aversion to the free market and consensual adult activities isn't limited to pictures of naked people. Just a hunch.

28 posted on 07/03/2007 9:01:37 AM PDT by Freedom_no_exceptions (No actual, intended, or imminent victim = no crime. No exceptions.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: AzaleaCity5691

“You know, America needs to go back to the way it was 100 years ago...”

What was the status of the porn industry 100 years ago, Azalea? Absent or concurrent with whatever govt did at the time, did society consider porn just another harmless commodity that should be sold to meet the demands of the market?


30 posted on 07/03/2007 9:04:36 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: VfB Stuttgart

“If you respect the right of individuals to view it, then you have to respect the right of the suppliers to produce and sell it.”

Your opinion is duly noted, Stuttgart.

I also note that it’s completely at odds with federal law and SCOTUS case law, which makes distribution of obscenity a federal offense but not individual purchases.


31 posted on 07/03/2007 9:08:01 AM PDT by AFA-Michigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: AFA-Michigan

Erotica certainly existed 100 years ago, but not in the way we think of it as. I do know this though, 100 years ago, almost every city of any consequence in this country had a red light district, which was defined as the quarter of town where certain types of vice, primarily sexual in nature, were permitted.

Our red-light district was a few blocks north of our main commercial corridor at that time, and though, like every red light district, it died out because of WWI, all that happened is that the industry was deconcentrated. In the red light districts of those days, prostitution was visibly advertised. It was a regulated commercial action, though not in the Nevada way.

Also, 100 years ago, there was no such thing as an illegal drug, all of our drug laws are the product of the after effects of Reconstruction tyranny.

And I never said porn was harmless, but what I am saying is, it’s not the job of the government to protect us from ourselves. That’s the kind of argument people use when they advocate gun control.


33 posted on 07/03/2007 9:13:50 AM PDT by AzaleaCity5691
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
...Phil Burress with Citizens for Community Values has uncovered that more than 60% of LodgeNet’s profits come from illegal, pornographic movies it sells through pay-per-view channels.

I bet ole Phil enjoyed his research.

34 posted on 07/03/2007 9:16:23 AM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy (To make a conservative angry, lie to them. To make a liberal angry, tell them the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OmegaMan

I believe that it IS going to leap out of the television whether you or your family watch it or not. The downgrading of our culture affects everybody. Easy to access porn is another part of the “broken window” effect in a society. Believe it or not...it has tentacles.


35 posted on 07/03/2007 9:17:34 AM PDT by Drawsing (The fool shows his annoyance at once. The prudent man overlooks an insult. (Proverbs 12:16))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
It’s proven to be addictive, to break up marriages, and be a motivating factor in sex crimes against women and children.

That describes alcohol too. Want to ban that?

Oh yeah, never mind we tried that.
36 posted on 07/03/2007 9:19:38 AM PDT by Kozak (Anti Shahada: " There is no God named Allah, and Muhammed is his False Prophet")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

Here’s a tip for travelling families. Tell the front desk to block those channels.


37 posted on 07/03/2007 9:20:21 AM PDT by herMANroberts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: N. Theknow
Illegal?

It's written by Focus On The Family. THEIR bias is showing... :)

38 posted on 07/03/2007 9:22:54 AM PDT by gunservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Freedom_no_exceptions
something tells me your aversion to the free market and consensual adult activities isn't limited to pictures of naked people. Just a hunch.

Something tells me that you and others on this thread find difficulty being with real live women and have to find a substitute. Just a hunch.

39 posted on 07/03/2007 9:23:02 AM PDT by Hacksaw (Appalachian by the grace of God! Montani Semper Liberi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

Comment #40 Removed by Moderator

To: FormerLib

too many people want government to solve their problems.

I believe that way they don’t have to act as adults.


41 posted on 07/03/2007 9:26:16 AM PDT by Loud Mime (An undefeated enemy will always be an enemy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Larry Lucido
I’ve always heard that quoted in regard to a “Puritan.”

It makes me wonder if it’s been modified, “Fundamentalist” is the ultimate bogeyman to the modern Left (who use "Evangelical" synonymously). The MSM even applies in a completely nonsensical manner as an adjective meaning “radical”, as in “Fundamentalist Muslim” or “Fundamentalist Hindu.”

42 posted on 07/03/2007 9:29:18 AM PDT by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib

You might be right. I got it from a quick google search and it didn’t sound the same way I’d heard it before.


43 posted on 07/03/2007 9:38:18 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Duncan Hunter 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

Can we just stop this garbage? I’m NOT supporting Romney, but in the event he does get the nomination, do we really want to be promoting these filthy, holier-than-thou hit-pieces?


44 posted on 07/03/2007 9:40:39 AM PDT by lesser_satan (FRED THOMPSON '08)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib; Squantos

Well, look what a more comprehensive search turned up from a resident FR expert (and you were apparently correct):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/675796/posts


45 posted on 07/03/2007 9:43:03 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Duncan Hunter 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: FormerLib
The MSM even applies in a completely nonsensical manner as an adjective meaning “radical”, as in “Fundamentalist Muslim” or “Fundamentalist Hindu.”

That's a legitimate use of the word, per Merriam-Webster, although in that useage it should not be capitalized.

Main Entry: fun·da·men·tal·ism
Pronunciation: -t&-"li-z&m
Function: noun
1 a often capitalized : a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching b : the beliefs of this movement c : adherence to such beliefs
2 : a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles <Islamic fundamentalism> <political fundamentalism>

46 posted on 07/03/2007 9:43:11 AM PDT by highball ("I never should have switched from scotch to martinis." -- the last words of Humphrey Bogart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan

Ah, great, a nanny-stater in our midsts. Blechhhhh.


47 posted on 07/03/2007 9:48:05 AM PDT by Clam Digger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
which makes distribution of obscenity a federal offense

"Obscenity" and "pornography" are not the same thing. Obscenity is not afforded First Amendment protection.

48 posted on 07/03/2007 9:48:25 AM PDT by Hemingway's Ghost (Spirit of '75)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: Larry Lucido

That was me, at the Home Depot. They were all blondes, too. Natural blondses, no less. Got me for over a grand.


49 posted on 07/03/2007 9:49:17 AM PDT by Clam Digger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: AFA-Michigan
What was the status of the porn industry 100 years ago, Azalea?

Many people like yourself destroyed printing presses when they first became available because they were used to create porn. That was real bright, eh?

So, when's your next book burning?

50 posted on 07/03/2007 9:51:30 AM PDT by Clam Digger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-66 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson