Free Republic

A Missouri Lawmaker says he wants to keep sexual materials at libraries out of kid’s hands. But a lot of people are pushing against the idea, saying it’s a form of censorship. “The main thing is I want to be able to take my kids to a library and make sure they’re in a safe environment, and that they’re not gonna be exposed to something that is objectionable material,” says State Representative Ben Baker. “Unfortunately, there are some libraries in the state of Missouri that have done this. And that’s a problem.” On January 8th, Baker filed the Parental Oversight...

A Casualty of Love: the daughter of two moms speaks out. (Guest Post) Askme / 2 weeks ago I was raised by my biological mother and her same-sex partner. I have only a few fuzzy memories of my father: a phone call here and there, his deep and unfamiliar voice wishing me a happy birthday, and a dim picture of the way the furniture had been arranged in his house. I have less than a handful of pictures of him. My mom and dad were married for a short time but she left him when I was too young to...

After the disasterous weekend, with the internet abuzz over a new policy to remove sales rankings from books deemed "adult," a new theory is developing that Seattle-based Amazon was the victim of conservative cyber-vandals. It was discovered that Amazon has been removing the sales rank from certain books (which identifies how popular the book is in total sales), effectively removing the book from most of the general searches people would do. If it doesn't show up in the search, most people won't find the book, and won't buy it. Most of the books identified as "adult" and removed from the...

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 11, 2008; 10:09 AM The media are getting mad. Whether it's the latest back-and-forth over attack ads, the silly lipstick flap or the continuing debate over Sarah and sexism, you can just feel the tension level rising several notches. Maybe it's a sense that this is crunch time, that the election is on the line, that the press is being manipulated (not that there's anything new about that). News outlets are increasingly challenging false or questionable claims by the McCain campaign, whether it's the ad accusing Obama of supporting sex-ed for...

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - Federal authorities are seeking information about the effectiveness of entertainment industry efforts to keep adult products out of kids' hands as customers migrate to the Internet and mobile services from brick-and-mortar stores, according to showbiz executives. The data will form part of the Federal Trade Commission's congressionally mandated biennial report on the way the entertainment industry markets adult fare. FTC spokeswoman Jackie Disdul said the commission has yet to set a schedule for the report's release. "The last time they did the report, online content was barely a glimmer in anyone's eye," said one industry executive....

A few days ago my daughter related how she took my ten-year-old Grandson to the Eau Gallie, FL (near Melbourne) public library to check out some books. She turned him loose in the kids' section while she looked for some books for herself. A while later, they each took their stack of books to the counter, checked them out, and went home. My daughter didn't inspect his choices any farther than the covers - big mistake. This is one of the books he chose (cool cover, right?): Gunsmith Cats: Bonnie & Clyde by Kenichi Sonoda Published by Dark Horse Comics"Meet...

<p>The shocking photos of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners that rocked the world were snapped by a former pizza-house manager who grew up exposed to gruesome pictures of dead people, according to a published report.</p> <p>Spc. Sabrina Harman, 26, an MP at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, has been accused by the Army of taking pictures of a nude human pyramid.</p>

<p>It's "Back To School" time again, and here's the first pop quiz. No, it's not for the kids. It's for parents, and they have to answer only one question: Do you know what your children are learning in sex-education classes?</p>

Kids’ Parade’s fate discussed by all sides By Craig Gima cgima@starbulletin.com Participants and organizers of this Saturday's Kids' Parade met yesterday in a city conference room to discuss the details of an event that may not take place. The Hawaii Christian Coalition, which is organizing the parade with city help, has said it will cancel the parade if a federal judge rules today that three gay rights groups must be allowed to march in it. Members of gay rights groups denied permission to march in the parade also attended yesterday's weekly planning meeting of organizers and participants at Honolulu Hale....

<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court was taking another look Wednesday at the fundamental problem of how government can protect the public from the seamy side of the Internet without muzzling free speech.</p> <p>The question this time is whether Congress can require public libraries to install software to filter out pornography as a condition of receiving federal money.</p>