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Yet another reason I won't be voting for my party of choice... If you advocate comprehensive sex education for teens, then expect the Eliot Ness of the Bush administration to breathe down your non-profit neck. That's what's happen to sex ed non-profits that refused to take the abstinence-only route. They get audited -- presumably at Tommy Thompson's initiative -- while faith-based AO programs see little oversight. Even when they're found to have violated federal laws and get hauled into court over it, those faith-based programs don't attract the scrunity of the Department of Health and Human Services. It's not just the double standard I find offensive, but the audit itself. As a strategy, it's the non-profit equivalent of IRS strong arming. Remember how the FBI got Al Capone? Not for organized crimes but for tax evasion. These audits are simply the same kind of pressure, against organizations that are critical but not criminal. And the Bush administration is hoping you won't notice. This isn't the first time this story has come up, BTW. I'm pretty sure Alternet had a story months ago, but the tale continues because the incidence of audits has risen. And it might not end until the Bush administration gets to gloat over the demise of either SEICUS, the Advocates for Youth, or Planned Parenthood. By contrast, God bless Representative Henry Waxman for fighting the good fight, for calling the Bush administration on their shit. You know, some people want to Rumsfeld go. Or Ashcroft. Me, I want to see Tommy Thompson go first. He's as guilty of pressuring and weakening the infrastructure of social choice as Ashcroft. His actions are as much a threat to civil liberties as Ashcroft's. That's why I went to AoY's No New Money for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs web site and sent my representatives email statements. Granted, it's a small gesture against the Tommy Thompson juggernaut of social conservatism, but it's all I've got. That and the voice of this blog. Use your voice, too, OK? I wish I'd seen this two weeks ago... before it was archived. MoSex has run into some level of revenue problems as it nears its first anniversary. This, despite strong attendance and media coverage during its opening month, a monthly roster of interesting speakers, and even a wedding. I know that early on, the attendance numbers exeeded estimates during the first quarter of its existence, so I can only think that attendance has fallen flat since then. Part of the problem lies in its location. According to journalist Steve Kurutz, it's a matter of location (in the Flatiron district next to the Gershwin Hotel and, if I remember correctly, a couple of blocks from Madison Square Park, a safe-enough neighborhood, just not in any kind of museum alley), a small advertising budget (word of mouth, anyone?), and a lack of nonprofit status(remember, it had to be privately funded from dot.com wealth, just to come into existence). That the inaugural exhibit has been extended to run until next spring, when most museum exhibits run between three and six months, is not a good sign. Then there's the added problem of not being taken seriously within the museum world itself. According to executive director and founder Daniel Gluck, other museums are reluctant to lend works to an institution with such a controversial focus. And even though he's planning for a 2,000 year survey of Chinese erotica, presumably(my assumption)drawing its materials from another sex musuem that's had similar institutional difficulties, one can ask if it will be enough? Kurutz points out that "the musuem's revenues are a sticking point. Most museums are nonprofit and cover costs through a mix of ticket sales, memberships, donations and earnings on endowments. The Museum of Sex, however, does not have nonprofit status; donations are not tax deductible, and it relies almost exclusively on ticket sales for its money." Let me suggest that if daytrips to NYC are easy for you, you get there and spend a day at the museum. Or buy some merchandise. Or hit one of its events. Better yet, get a membership. I'm asking for one for Christmas. Do MoSex! One serious diatribe, then some lighter fare... You know that perv news has reached what I call its "anti apex" when the conservative site WorldNetDaily picks it up. Well, before the fundies start celebrating, they might want to think about how the individuals who represent their side came across recently in the media. A reader posted to Pursed Lips that when the woman behind the Ocean City push was interviewed on the radio and asked if Ocean City is that much of a family town then how does she respond to the fact that many Black Rose attendees have families of their own, she sputtered and then hid behind her husband who told the interviewer to stop harassing his wife. Um, you know, if you're going to spearhead a cause, don't you think you should be prepared for a pointed level of discourse? The police chief in Louisiana isn't faring a lot better, what with certain hypocrisies getting media play as well as political contention over rainy day funds. Not only that, but look closely at the forum discussion entitled "Good Job Chief Cognemi." Seems smaller fetish gathering were quietly occurring in Kenner for some time. Before the mayoral campaign got underway. Last, a couple of alt-press opinions on local and national levels. OK, now for the lighter fare. Like Heather Locklear's bra. Tell me please, what is the exact provenance of this item. Really, I want to know. For all you porn history buffs out there: brothel stag films revisited. Me, I'm putting that one on my holiday list. And because I heard from readers who enjoyed the My Secret Life link from several entries ago, here's The Complete Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, with thanks to a highly literary and pervy friend. |
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