Senator Lincoln To Propose A Tax On Internet Pornography

[KingFlorez]

http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=3631193&ClientType=Printable

Washington (AP)
AR Senator Lincoln To Propose A Tax On Internet Pornography

July 23, 2005 -- Posted at 10:17 am CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Arkansas US Senator Blanche Lincoln is planning to propose a new 25 percent federal tax on Internet pornography and new requirements for adult Web sites to help prevent children from looking at them.

Her bill, expected to be introduced next week, would impose the excise tax on transactions with for-profit adult Web sites, which typically sell monthly subscriptions to Internet users to look at pornographic photographs or videos.

[AzDar]

1. Jesus H. Christ on on a motorcycle with Mother Mary riding shotgun....

The entire world is coming down around our ears,and THIS is what
our "leaders" come up with??? WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. Thank Hillary.

She seems to have initiated this latest round of idiocy.

[mongo]

4. Exactly

You would think they would have bigger fish to fry than video games and internet porn.

[Zhade]

31. A convenient way to open up taxation of the internet?

Not sure I like where this is headed...

[mongo]

2. I'm all for better measures to keep minors away from internet porn

but the 25% tax is unconstitutional. It is a tax on a form of entertainment, based on the content of the speech.

There is a ton of Supreme Court precedent on this one.

[mike_c]

7. not only that, but it's thinly veiled "taxation as punishment...."

VERY thinly veiled. It's taxation designed to stiffle an industry. I can't imagine that would survive a court challenge. But then again, I couldn't have imagined that GWB would ever find himself in the WH....

[BR_Parkway]

5. They all want to out family values the next one - thank goodness

there's so much FREE porn available, they probably won't get enough in taxes to cover the cost of the program.

[smoogatz]

6. Well, considering that the porn industry nets something like $80 billion

a year, slapping a sin tax on their asses isn't a terrible idea. We tax liquor and tobacco half to death, after all--why not porn? Most likely, though, the First Amendment issue already noted will kill this thing off, and they'll go back to trying to over-regulate internet cigar sales and political speech.

[napi21]

10. I happen to think the same as you do. The US has always been

in love with sin taxes, most notably tobacco and alcohol until now. I really can't get too excited that they want to tax the internet porn industry. You can't say it falls into the necessity catagory, and almost all entertainment is taxed already.

If you want to get excited about taxes, why not jump on the ones on your utility bills, or local sales taxes that are out of control? They hurt EVERYBODY!

[ConfuZed]

8. Don't these bi....bright women have something better to do like...

focusing on the DSM memo,the CIA leak,the war in iraq and picking apart the new supreme court nominee?

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. So it's not okay for these women

to do this? Is it because it's a dumb idea or because they are women?

[ConfuZed]

11. I'm talking about Hillary & Lincoln

I'm not speaking of all women sorry I didnt make that clear in my first post

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Well I see nothing wrong with a tax on porn

or gambling or any other 'sin' taxes for that matter. I also understand what Hillary is trying to accomplish.

I do agree we should be more concerned about the war and health care, etc, but I find no reason to criticize either of these women's efforts.

[ConfuZed]

17. Well I do and just because YOU don't like something

you have no right to try to take that away from someone else. Personally I hate any type of censorship that hinders expression and ideas regardless of who is proposing it, anyone who wants to force their moralistic hog wash loses my vote automaticly but let me ask you how far are you willing to cower to censorship and at what point are you going to draw the line?

Obviously we agree and disagree but I won't tax you or hold useless hearings over what you say.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. I have NEVER advocated censorship

I merely said here that I have no problem with sin taxes.

And I do feel that we as a society have an obligation to protect kids from inappropriate content. But rally against that all you want, and sooner or later, we WILL have censorship. Keep in mind just which party has more power in our country today.

If you want these kinds of games available for adults, then you need to limit their access by kids. Obviously, the current regulations in place are not working.

[SidDithers]

36. I thought it was parents that had the obligation...

to protect their kids from inappropriate content. If kids are accessing material or games that are intended and available only to adults, then parents somewhere are falling down on the job by allowing their kids that access.

Sid

[mongo]

18. What other types of speech will you tax?

A movie is a movie. You can't tax a movie based on it's content.

Otherwise, what else would you like to see taxed? How about a tax on religious speech? I'm sure that religious speech by theocratic bigots does more harm to this country than porn ever will.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. So you are okay with

all porn? Do you have kids? Do you let them read Hustler?

[mongo]

22. As I said before

I am all for stronger measures to keep internet porn away from kids.

My problem is with a tax based on the content of speech.

And my daughter is 20 and will be working in the store next week. If she reads any magazines in the store next week, I would hope it would be Hustler. Between the Asshole of the month column and the investigative articles that get printed in every issue, it's better than most.

This month's is about drug companies, and Michal Moore's new film about the HMO industry.

Hustler prints articles no one else will touch. They are the only magazine I've ever seen an article on Depleted Uranium being used on our armored vehicles and what it will mean to the soldiers in Iraq 10 or 20 years down the road.

As far as porn goes, I am against all obscenity laws. I am only against the distribution of videos which are a record of a crime. I.E., child porn, the filming of actual rape, bestiality.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. So what kinds of stronger measures

do you suggest for keeping kids away from internet porn?

[mongo]

24. The only real viable option

is for parents to monitor their kids activity on the internet.

I could see requiring a CC to access explicit sites. Although nothing is ever going to be 100% fool proof - and the chilling effect it would have on adults who are not willing to enter their CC online may outweigh the advantages.

I would never require anything for simple nudity.

There are also products out there like this http://www.birthdateverifier.com/
but I really know nothing about them and will refrain from comment.

I could also support the movement of explicit sites to the XXX domain, but there has to be parity in cost (XXX domains cost more), and a clear and reasonable line defining what has to go into the cyber red-light district.

For example, text about sexual topics, sexuality information directed towards teens, educational information, etc - should not be required to relocate.

I know there are many here that disagree with being shuttled to a cyber red-light district - but I have to ID anyone I possibly suspect to be a minor before they enter my back room, I don't see the internet as much different.

I've presented some options. Honestly each have their own drawbacks. The internet is our wild west of today, and I'm not sure how much I'd like to see it tamed - although I do understand the concerns of all involved. And I don't see why as a brick and mortar retailer I am held to a standard with criminal implications - while hardcore internet sites are not.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Great ideas!

My whole point is that we have to do SOMETHING. The fundies already think they have a voice in D.C. and we all know what they will advocate once they get excited about this.

[mongo]

27. The problem is always where you draw that line

and the fundies will always draw the line further than what a reasonable person would.

If hard-core sites were required to move to .XXX, they would expect any information about birth control to be put there too.

Being on the bleeding edge of free speech, this is a really conflicting issue for me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. I understand

But I advocate for kids. What's best for them is not always what is most appealing to adults - especially the ones who don't have kids.

[mongo]

30. The other side of that coin

is that you can't reduce society to what is acceptable for an 8yo.

There's a bunch of Supreme Court precedent on that too.

But I do have to say that it's really nice to discuss this calmly. :toast:

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. I understand

but I do think we as a society have an obligation to protect our kids. Does that mean we should ban entertainment designed for adults? No way.

Parents need to accept that when they have children, they can't enjoy some of the adult pleasures they have become accustomed to - until the kids go to bed :)

My purpose in these threads is to help educate parents and gamers without children. They all need to realize that these games, in spite of the sales restrictions and stickers, are indeed being enjoyed by kids. I honestly believe that a lot of parents just cave in and buy the games their kids ask for - inspite of the sticker on them. Maybe a few have read these threads and realize what a mistake they are making.

Thanks for the :toast: :)

[vogonjiltz]

38. The parent who fail to stop

thier kids from viewing innappropriate material shouldn't be able to ruin it for everyone else. Also, it is unconstitutional to tax free speech.

[onenote]

12. not constitutional

You can't impose discriminatory taxes on speech based on its content. Even this Supreme Court would toss such a law.

onenote

[AndreaCG]

14. Especially Clarence "Long Dong" Thomas

[greekspeak]

15. An Idea for senate dems finding Family Values this month

Lets pass the following laws:

Women will be immediately clad in pounds of cloth, covering all but the hands and faces. Women will no longer be allowed to cut their hair. They will no longer be allowed jobs, unless it is in a sweat shop. No vote, and certainly no public office. Men will have strict hair length standards, and will wear suits or thick, heavily covering work clothing at all times.

Then, all porn will be banned. Liquor, cigarettes, etc. will be banned. Anything even remotely fun will be banned, except 1) stereopticons of the Holy Land and the Mother Church back east; and 2) specially approved hymns on phonograph records or sheet music for the piano

Work weeks can be fixed at 6 15 hour days a week, with pay of $1.75 a week. Children can work these hours too.

That's right...back to the VICTORIAN PERIOD! That period when people were so anal retentive that it was sexually provactive! We are getting closer every day, kids!

[Warren DeMontague]

34. If they're really interested in "Family Values" they can DEMAND that the

Bush Admin. come clean with the Abu Ghraib material, so we can understand what has been done in our name.

This would be bullshit grandstanding even if there wasn't Category 5 importance stuff breaking out all over right now.

[pinkpops]

16. Let me guess - she can define it cause she knows it when she sees it.

[Reynardine]

19. Lincoln is a Democrat, isn't she?

I have a brother, who is a Repub. I like him too much to call him a Repug. He backed Bush on Iraq and I think he still does. He thinks Reagan was an economic genius. But he has never cared for the Christian right. He doesn't care what people do at home and doesn't think the government should get involved.

After the Schiavo case, he said the GOP was going too far, and he was thinking about voting for some Democrats. But after the medical marijuana decision, he bragged that those who voted to allow it were the conservatives. And when I talked to him a few days ago, he was all bent out of shape about Hillary's GTA rant. I can just imagine what he's thinking going to say the next time we talk.

[Johonny]

25. Who pays for porn

I mean there is so much free stuff on the web. Who are these people spending money to obtain it. They need a better search engine.

[librechik]

29. I think it's a great idea

We could wipe out the deficit in record time.

While we're at it, why don't we legalize pot and put an excise tax on it

[Warren DeMontague]

33. Agreed. But I think whoever proposed this doesn't really understand how

the 'internets' works...

I mean, google something like "big boobs" and see how much free smut comes up.

[mitchtv]

32. I am so sick of this" For the Children bullshit"

Watch what the fuck they're doing and leave the rest of us alone! I have to suffer cause some one's parents are too busy to monitor their kids? WTF

[SidDithers]

37. Well said. nt

Sid

[GraysonDave]

39. Do it for the kids

I agree, mitch. Irresponsible parents shouldn't be the driver behind tax policy. Tax everything the same, let the markets dictate production, and watch your damn kids is what I say.

[wli]

40. repeal all obscenity laws

You can't legislate morality anyway. If there's another reason for banning something (kiddie porn, snuff films, whatever), then use that, not BS claims of "indecency."

Remember what Oscar Wilde was convicted of? "Gross indecency." Nowadays, we annually give out motion picture awards named for him.