Posted on 04/01/2006 5:37:42 PM PST by Panerai
The industry's VIPs mingle at political galas and Super Bowl parties. Their product is available on cell phones, podcasts, and particularly the Internet _ there it's an attraction like no other, patronized by tens of millions of Americans.
It's pornography. And if you're a consumer, John Harmer thinks you're damaging your brain.
Harmer is part of a cadre of anti-porn activists seeking new tactics to fight an unprecedented deluge of porn which they see as wrecking countless marriages and warping human sexuality. They are urging federal prosecutors to pursue more obscenity cases and raising funds for high-tech brain research that they hope will fuel lawsuits against porn magnates.
"We don't think it's a lost cause," said Harmer, a Utah-based auto executive and former politician who's been fighting porn for 40 years.
"It's the most profitable industry in the world," he said. "But I'm convinced we'll demonstrate in the not-too-distant future the actual physical harm that pornography causes and hold them financially accountable. That could be the straw that breaks their back."
The activists' adversary is a sprawling industry that, by some counts, offers more than 4 million porn sites on the Internet, that in the United States alone is estimated to be worth $12 billion a year. A tracking firm, comScore Media Metrix, says about 40 percent of Internet users in the United States visit adult sites each month.
Porn products are featured at popular sex expositions and retail chains such as Hustler Hollywood. Major hotels provide in-room porn, and adult film stars are now mainstream celebrities. Mary Carey attended a VIP Republican fundraiser in Washington in mid-March; Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star" hit the best-seller lists and she hosted a racy pre-Super Bowl party in Detroit in February.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
"Why don't you check - there is an age restriction on GTA."
The stores sell it to them anyway.
"There's a really good free silent prayer on fhu.com that has helped free alot of people. It might help him. It's non-denominational in case he is turned off from religion."
Thanks. I'm not sure how he feels about religion, but it never hurts to pray.
Lawsuits? So his cause is not moral but financial.
"As I said, I have no interest in anyone's sex life. I was making the point that the pro-porn crowd is saying that porn is harmless, benign, legal, even beneficial, and no one should have any shame about it."
I'm sure these same people would be proud of their daughters if they chose a career in the porn business as well.
John Harmer is hard on pornography! Rock hard!
Surely one of the sillier arguments that exist. I don't want my daughter to grow up to operate a manure spreader either, but that doesn't mean I think manure spreading should be illegal. Luckily for you.
Why would anyone want to argue the point with an admitted rock?
I saw an x-rated movie at the drive-in 20-something years ago. That's the extent of my porn consumption, other than the occasional photo or ad that shows up in my spam folder. I happen to think porn is revolting, so I guess I'd call myself anti-porn, not pro-porn. However, that doesn't mean I want the stuff outlawed. You, like most authoritarians, confuse pro-freedom with pro-[whatever-it-is-you-want-banned].
It's alot more spiritual than religious. They call it "be still and know" so it's not really like the typical saying words prayer. I just called it silent prayer.
I'm sick of porn promoters and their non-arguments which consist of sloganeering, name calling, and other effluvia; and none of them ever, ever address any of the arguments that the other side presents.
Ever.
All I want is for pornography to enjoy the same status it enjoyed for most of the history of our country.
Up until Larry Flynt teamed up with the ACLU to shove it down our throats, willy nilly.
Thanks, ACLU and porn kings!
For some reason people on the pro-porn side don't want to see this.
At least spreading manure is a useful task, as it helps grow food. You can take a shower and wash it off. The filth that accumulates on the heart from being in the porn industry doesn't clean off so easily.
I think the fact that you don't like it is clear to everyone by now.
You had better watch out for what you wish for, because you might just get it, and then have those powers used against you!
If you don't believe it, please name a single government power that hasn't been misused by one ruling party or the other...
Mark
I guess you have a thick skull.
Well, as that "fool," it seems to me that your skull must be even thicker. Where did I compare pornography to guns? I didn't. What I compared is the anti-porn propaganda you posted to the anti-gun propaganda of groups like Sara Brady's. Try reading the posts. In post 133, I said, and I quote, "Boy, change the word "porn" to "handgun," and you've got a Sara Brady advertisement for the banning of handguns... How many children and families could be saved by banning handguns, huh?
In 163, you managed to completely either ignore, or misread what I posted, with Your substition of words isn't applicable. Guns and porn have nothing in common whatsoever other than the fact that they are two classes of objects in the world."
I never compared porn to guns: What I did was state quite plainly that propagandists who hate porn use the same tactics, and even the same wording to whip up emotions, as those who hate guns.
Mark
"Surely one of the sillier arguments that exist. I don't want my daughter to grow up to operate a manure spreader either, but that doesn't mean I think manure spreading should be illegal. Luckily for you."
And it's silly of you to complain about an argument that I was not making.
I was referring to Jeremiah's observation about those who are claiming that porn is harmless entertainment and can even be a good thing.
Jeremiah pointed out that not too many folks are PROUD to admit they are porn hounds. I assume that is because most people instinctively know it is not a good thing.
So...my point was that if people really think it can be a good thing - they wouldn't mind at all if their daughters starred in a movie now would they?
I would think folks would much prefer their daughters to spread manure than to star in a porn movie.
"At least spreading manure is a useful task, as it helps grow food. You can take a shower and wash it off. The filth that accumulates on the heart from being in the porn industry doesn't clean off so easily."
We live in farming country. A neighbor of ours has 3 beautiful daughters who spread manure. He doesn't seem ashamed at all.
He would have a heart attack if they starred in a porn movie.
Okay. I'll say it. I have porn in the house. My wife and both use it and share some of it. When we met we both had porn collections. Some of our sex life is inspired by it. Sometimes it's just matter of being together that inspires sex.
I also write porn. So far it's only been for myself and my wife. But one piece that started of as a short story, surprised the heck out of me, by having character development. So it's now a completed first draft of what's either an erotic novel or a mainstream novel with explicit sex scenes. I'm planing on starting the rewrite process on it tomorrow.
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