Wednesday, August 9th, 2000
Ron Levi Interview
I got a call Wednesday from Ron Levi, the Jewish owner of Voice Media and Cybererotica.com. I'd emailed him to get his views on Gore's selection of Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, as his running mate.
Ron: "Doesn't that cut down Gore's chances? After you get past California, people think we have horns.
"That selection is amazing. This is the first I've heard of it. I've been real busy growing my business."
Luke: "There's been lots of interesting discussion on Netpond but you haven't had a chance to read it."
Ron: "I'm trying to make money. Those guys just have way too much time on their hands. The boards used to be a place where you could do business and meet people and get things done and blast new product out. Now everybody's wired for sound and looking to start pissing matches and get a name for themselves. When I have new product, I go to the boards and socialize a bit because that's the proper thing to do before you talk about business. But aside from that, I don't even look at these boards anymore. They've lost their value."
Luke: "I see you have a new music CD out featuring porn stars."
Ron: "Yep, I'm branching out in every direction I can. Music crosses over to adult entertainment... We're even thinking about doing a Cybererotica Life magazine aimed at consumers. I'm looking in all sorts of ways to brand our flagship site Cybererotica.
"I don't believe in billboard advertising, TV advertising... We have such a large subscriber base and we get more traffic than Playboy or Hustler. Why not go into their backyards but with an internet model... There's so much internet money. Whereas Hustler, Playboy and Club are hurting. Hustler magazine was always living off of phone sex ads. Well, that's gone to nothing. And the readership has gone to nothing. But I can grab market share from them from the people who know us from online. A lot of people would rather see a Cyberotica than a Penthouse, Hustler or Club magazine. And I can easily distribute it and do the things that other magazines don't know how to do.
"If you go to Playboy.com, how can they ever make money and have a webmaster program whereby people send them traffic, because they charge $6.95 for a membership. So where's the economy to pay a webmaster? It is a bad model. My exposure online to surfers is far more vast than all those guys put together. I send out emails to 5.2 million people a day in a double-opt in list.
"I've had that sportsfeed.com site up for three years. It caters to gamblers because it gives out the betting line, which ESPN and Sportline don't do that. Unless you buy traffic to come to that site, there's no value there. When they do come, they do click on "Betting Odds." We won an award for the site because it is also done in HDML and is on the AT&T and Motorola networks."
Luke: "How does it make money?"
Ron: "It doesn't."
Luke: "Do you fear the coming elections?"
Ron: "I don't know which way to look. Gore is pro-internet but Tipper is very anti-porn. And historically, the Republicans have been known to go on witch hunts.
"At least in the last three years, the feds go after guys who do the con jobs with mail order and 900 lines, where they misrepresent themselves to the public. There's so much fraud going on on the internet.
"With Rodney King, the 12 jurors saw the frame by frame beating so many times that they became desensitized and ruled in favor of the police. I think that when CNN broadcasts a story that Sony's DVDs are going to be a grand success. Why? Because 80 Vivid titles were on them. I think the public has become desensitized. They hear about porn on the net...
"We keep our stuff behind credit cards. But when I see this stuff on network TV, it is alarming. When I was in the 900 business, anytime we did an interview with somebody, no matter how carefully we watched what we said, they would paraphrase us. You know how they do it with soundbites? They take five words of a sentence because it's what they want... And you'd get destroyed in any interview you did. Now, anytime I see an interview about an adult company, it is always upbeat and positive."
Forest Williams
Forest Williams, who organized the Shag For A Million Dollars gangbang in San Francisco, writes on Netpond: I will Never grow up!..this persona got me rich... got me on 5 radio stations weekly...got me on STERN and will make me bigger than the man himself..Stern that is.....hey you all have to realize U give me the POWER cuz you read what I write and Respond...DUHHHH or havent you figured that out yet....SOOO many people HATE Stern But they still listen...Lots of people hate Me But like you BUTTHEAD you still read and respond...just like a good little programmed monkey!!!! Heres your peanuts..... Forest..Oh yea Im the only one on here with the BALLS to use his real name....
White House West Wing Officials Consumed 'Massive' Amounts Of Hard-Core Pornography Including Homo, Teen & Bestiality
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- An exclusive report in today's edition of WorldNetDaily.com reveals that, "a consultant hired last year to beef up security for the White House's computer network found massive pornographic video files passing through the system's Internet firewall."
"Some of the downloaded files were traced back to West Wing officials as recently as the beginning of last year, during the height of the impeachment crisis, say sources who were involved in replacing the firewall system as part of Y2K security upgrades," reports Paul Sperry, Washington bureau chief for WorldNetDaily.com.
"The real-time video files -- which came from hard-core porn sites featuring homosexual, farm-animal and teen sex acts -- were so large in byte volume that they accounted for most of the traffic coming into the firewall," continues the story. The story may be accessed in its entirety at http://www.wnd.com.
"There were things that said 'teen,'" the White House computer expert said. "There was gay and bestiality stuff too."
Bestiality? "Donkeys, goats, dogs," explained the source, who later accessed some of the raunchier sites. "It's embarrassing."
One of the worst offenders, however, was a senior White House computer-systems manager, who was reprimanded but allowed to stay in the White House after being treated for an "addiction" to porn. Sources say the porn abuser is so sensitive to the possibility of public exposure that he would likely take his own life if his name were disclosed here.
"Upon the discovery of the heavy XXX-rated traffic, White House security specialists undertook a 'forensics' effort to ID the White House network users who were downloading -- and watching -- the videos on government computers and time," writes Sperry.
The story explains how investigators, including White House Security Officer Charles Easley, identified the White House porn consumers. "There were some significant names. I can say, yes, West Wing," one White House source familiar with the investigation told Sperry. "Many of the offenders also officed out of the Old Executive Office Building, including presidential personnel, sources say. One was in national security," reports Sperry.
Slot vs Plot
Matt Marin wrote on RAME: >>How can the mfg still make a profit, you might ask? Let's take an >>example. My video store had two copies of Barely Legal #1 which it >>rented at 100% for the first three months (it still rents but let's be >>conservative). That's $2.00 times 90 days times 2 = $360 of which the >>mfg and distributor received the princely sum of $18 times 2 or $36. >>Would all the renters buy the movie for $3 if that were the only >>choice? Not at the moment because most don't have DVD players but as >>soon as they find that can buy the movie the same day it comes out, >>they'll rectify that problem and then it won't be $36 going back to >>the distributor/mfg but $360, or ten times as much (presuming $1 for >>the store overhead/profit). Taking about mid-point on DAC's numbers of >>2,500 sold under the current system, we have $45,000 versus 180 times >>2,500 = $450,000. Think you could make a modern "classic" for that, >>DAC even after the overhead problems?
>If I read you right, you're saying that the purported 90 rentals of a >typical porn vid in its first 90 days of release would translate into >90 sales of the same title, and that each of the supposed 2,500 units >sold now would therefore be multiplied by 90, for a total of 225,000 >units sold. At $2.00 wholesale, the manufacturer and distributor would >consequently gross $450,000.
Pat Riley: Not really typical. Barely Legal #1 is or was a hot tape. Even today when I checked the video store, both of #1 are out, one of #2 was in, #3 and #4 were out (but I'm not sure how many copies he has; I think only one as Hustler jacked up the price), and I returned #5. Barely Legal #1 came out in about August/September 1999 so it's actually quite an amazing renter. I doubt many videos would do 90 rentals in 90 days but even if you drop the numbers, as you do later in your post, the economics still come out heavily in favor of sales at a cheap price rather than rentals.
Just on the face of it the rental system is hugely inefficient in comparison to the sale model:
- two transaction costs (out and in) for each rental
- high transaction costs especially where there's a tape-picking system
in operation
- lots of wasted store traffic (people not finding what they want)
- low dollar value transactions (even if someone rents 2 tapes at a
time it's only $4 in comparison to the record model or the supermarket.
- proliferation of tiny stores which reduces the possibilities of economies
of scale
>From the customer's perspective there's not only the obvious of having to go to the store twice but also the pressure to go frequently to minimize cost and to see if a wanted tape is in.
In a sale model, people would go less frequently but buy more on each trip allowing those economies of scale to work.
>I'm not necessarily saying that any of this is wrong, but I think a few >key assumptions must be examined:
>1) 90 rentals in 90 days. Spaceman J's reply to your post says that, >although the "Barely Legal" tapes he recently got are rented almost >continually, his rentals are two-day. One could use this to arrive at a >figure of 45 rentals in the first three months, and, by extension, 45 >sales of a $3 DVD. (Whatever the proper number, the "Barely Legal" line >is, as I understand it, one of the industry's top sellers/renters, so >using it as an example of what's typical may not be valid.)
PR: I'm not sure quite how to interpret Spaceman's comments. He seems
to indicate that all of #1 through #4 are out all the time but like
a typical small-town hick he's behind the times
I also don't know what he means by late fees. In my neck of the woods the word "late" expressed in the direction of a renter might be considered pejorative, something like a school-marm admonishing a child. We have $2 per day, no matter how many days you keep it out (after a week or so they'll think you've stolen it). However there is an interesting point on the $2.95 rental price, I presume whether you return it the next day or the following. My suggested $3 sale price was set based on a $2 rental. At a $3 rental the selling price could be jacked up to say $4 and still be attractive to Mr. Average. You'd have to do some test marketing to see how high you could go and maybe it's different depending on the area of the country.
>Of course, as you stated, a tape will continue to rent after its first >90 days, but whether an average title's eventual total will be less >than, equal to or more than 90, I have no idea. For lack of a better >number, I'll continue to use 90. >2) 2,500 units sold. You refer to this as midpoint of "DAC's numbers," >but what he said was "nobody except the blessed very few move anywhere >NEAR 5000 pieces out the door," and "others, such as ones I work for, >move anywhere from 600 - 1500 pieces."
For the sake of argument, let's >continue to use the 2,500 number, along with a more modest one of 1,200 >(which translates to 108,000 units under the all-sales idea), for >comparison purposes. >3) It is implicitly assumed that the duplication costs would be less >than $2.00 per DVD. David Aaron Clark correctly described the costs of >the duplication of a video tape and printing of its box (which excludes >payment for editing, design, music, talent, locations, technical >personnel, manufacturer/distributor overheads and profit) as "anywhere >from $1.75 to $3 per unit."
PR: Since AVN in 1999 complained that some compilations were being sold FOB the mfg for $1.60, I think DAC is way over the mark here. I've had catalog titles offered in units of 5 for $3 each and at retail...AT RETAIL, the price for a compilation can be as low as $4 or 3 (mixed) for $10. Think about buying a blank tape with a printed box, shrink wrapped, say a TDK. Retail cost around $1. Only thing missing is the cost of duplication. And the porn industry is not using brand new TDK's and certainly doesn't buy them at retail. It may be that if you're selling a few hundred and have an artisanal approach to packing the box etc, you will indeed reach his $3 cost but this is not the comparison.
>That's a video tape: DVDs cost more, and will continue to cost more for >a few years. (The printed DVD sleeve costs less to duplicate than a >video box, but the cost of the DVD itself more than makes up for it.)
PR: Where do you get this idea? I'm not saying that you're wrong but I've heard numbers approaching $0.10 in large quantities (actually I've heard exactly ten cents). Of course if this is wrong--way, way wrong--like $3.00 per unit, the whole idea goes down the toilet. As to packaging, I've thought about that too. No reason the porn industry should be the same as mainstream, after all their Caballero boxes aren't. Put the DVD in a printed envelope like software CD's come in and bubble pack it on an 8.5 * 11 hard glossy card. The card provides about the same area as the box for photos and the bubble pack allows it to be thin with maybe 10 taking up the same thickness as one tape today. Also prevents shoplifting.
>Now, if you're turning out 225,000 units (or 108,000), rather than a >mere 2,000, the per unit print and dupe cost will go down, of course. >How much? Again, I don't know, but a figure of $1.50 per unit for a >good quality DVD doesn't seem at all unreasonable, and would certainly >be sufficient to meet the other costs plus profit. It would leave >$112,500 for these things, in the case of our hypothetical 2,500-unit >average title. Even using the more modest figure of 1,200, that still >leaves $54,000, which is enough.
>But wait! The point of this discussion was not just an alternative >sales model for porn, but a way to finance "modern classics." Let's say >three-quarters of the income less print/dupe costs accrues to the >manufacturer. That's $84,375 for sales of 225,000 units, or $40,500 for >108,000 units. Let's further estimate overhead and profit at $15,000. >That leaves $69,375 or $25,500 to pay for talent and technical people. >Will $25,000, or $69,000, be enough to support "only good-looking >women, reasonable acting, good production values, etc?"
Can these sums >pay for women and men who are great-looking, good actors, and willing >to f--- on camera? for directors, writers, cameramen, soundmen, >editors, set designers, make-up artists and musicians that have their >choice of porn or Hollywood? This is the money (not the putative >$450,000 gross) from which someone would have to produce their classic, >at least initially, since $3 is the price that will slay the rental >dragon. Or maybe the DVDs could be produced for only $1.00 apiece, >which would leave $65,000 or $115,000 for classic production. Would >that be enough?
PR: I don't pretend to know. Let Frank hypothesize. I just want to
kill off Spaceman
>But what about the $20 you and others would be willing to pay for a DVD >of such quality?. This may indeed provide the money to hire all these >talented and desirable people. But your earlier reasoning that, "for >this to work, you have to kill off the rental market...," requiring >that "the price has to be competitive with a rental," has a correlate. >Every dollar a modern classic DVD is priced in excess $3 is an >additional incentive for the rental market to rise from the grave. This >would inevitably put downward pressure on the classics' price, if >rentals were to be kept dead.
PR: Actually what I said was "up to $20". The product is not the same as the competitive $3 rental; that's for Ed or Doctor Fellatio. There are no current pornos that could rise to the $20 level other than in the specialty interest tapes such as Basementchild's menstruation videos or the real oldies from Alpha Blue or Something Weird. Rentals for these last two are usually confined to a tiny number of upscale stores in wealthy neighborhoods. (I only know of one place in Manhattan that rents Something Weird for $3.50 a day and given the inconvenience and difficulty of getting there, I'm not convinced it's really cheaper than when SOW have a sale for around $12.)
Rather than jump to the extreme, think a continuum from $3 up to $20 where the mfg and the retailer have an incentive to stock and sell higher priced videos, something that's missing from the rental market at present. If the car rental market functioned the way the video rental market does, Hertz and Avis would be offering Ferraris at the same price as Geo Metros. How long before there will be no Ferraris for rent? Indeed the $20 video could cause the resurgence of the rental market, after all extortionately expensive tape prices were the reason for its existence in the first place, but I would suggest that this would only happen in those cases where the $20 was a overvaluation of the worth of the video. If the rentals generated by the $20 video exceed $20 it's in the interest of the mfg to drop the price until equilibrium is achieved. (yep, I'm ignoring the cost of money etc. I'm not going to do all the work.)
>(This raises the question of why Hollywood hasn't tried this sort of >economic model. If all DVDs were priced at $3, not only would they take >in all of the profits currently realized by rental stores, but it would >also take a lot of the attraction out of pirating--something Hollywood >is known to be obsessed with. Perhaps they couldn't profit from a three >dollar sell price, no matter how many units they sold.)
PR: What makes you think Hollywood isn't thinking along those lines? Blockbuster apparently has a deal now where they don't pay for the tape per se but a fee based on the rental of each tape which I'm sure is calculated to pull back into Hollywood's coffers any surplus profit of the kind we're talking about on Barely Legal. Of course "pulling back" may be the wrong term for some of it since Viacom owns Paramount and Viacom owns Blockbuster. Pocket A to pocket B might be better. Under this system it might be better for Hollywood to continue the rentals. There's also some similar scheme for non-Blockbuster stores but someone actually in the video business will have to pontificate.
The next step will be to squeeze out the inefficiencies of the rental system but unlike the fragmented porno market, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video etc have quite good economies of scale. Even if they could generate identical income on the sale model the costs may well be close to the same. You're right too about the "no matter how many units" question. The reason it could work for porn is because of the large disparity between the cost to the video store and the rental income achieved. The closer those get to equality the less the incentive to go the sales route. Ignoring the rental sharing schemes, Hollywood is able to charge huge prices for its movies because of the built-up consumer demand which forces the video store to buy the movie at $60 even though they know that they'll only make (say) $80.
>4) Even if all the above turns out not to be a problem, who exactly is >going to bankroll this sea change? At $1.50 per DVD, a manufacturer is >going to have to spend $337,500 to produce the physical product for one >title (or $162,000 using the 1,200 unit movement figure). And a great >many titles would have to be produced before the critical mass would >accumulate to support this idea--that is, the stores that sell these >things wouldn't just pop up overnight and be profitable, with all the >economies of scale in place.
PR: It would take years. As to the first part, aw gee, financing inventory, what a revolutionary concept! You mean we can't do this on a credit card? Sarcasm aside this is one of the intensely frustrating things about this industry: they always think small, reduce the costs, don't spend an extra penny unless it's positively guaranteed to make them a fortune tomorrow, never invest for the future.
Most businesses started with similar problems and indeed made losses for a while (and this is like a new business in part) but somehow they managed to find the financing and develop and grow. Whether they get the money from a silent partner like a cable company or an investment bank or internally generate it (presuming they have some left) is really unimportant.
Where do Wicked etc currently get financing? I'm not their CFO. If the model will work, then the financing will be there. Back in the early eighties, all the video high end people were drooling over the Laserdisc players which were mainly produced by Pioneer. I even have one (and a total of one disc). The product was an abject failure due IMO to Pioneer's inability or unwillingness to see beyond selling expensive players to wealthy yuppies. Few rental Laserdiscs were available; the rental stores and their customers were geared up for VHS.
These were the days when you had to line up 20 deep to rent the latest Hollywood release so the obvious thing was for Pioneer to give or sell very cheaply the Laserdisc copy to the rental stores. Joe Average would have seen the Laserdisc there while waiting for his VHS copy of Splash and...well, you think he might spring for a Laserdisc player so he could avoid the waiting?
As to the great many titles and the critical mass, I don't think so.
It's true that it wouldn't be advisable to start with DAC's movies only
or even the total output of someone like Filmco but I think it would
be appropriate to ride the raincoater on this (poetic justice
Let Anabolic announce that their next 30 titles will only be released on DVD (no VHS for at least a year) and that they'll be sold in 10-packs for $20 (or a variable price depending on the area of the country). Watch all the raincoaters run out and buy DVD players. Sure my store, which doesn't currently have any DVD's, will buy a pack and try to rent them (thinking of the super profit this will provide) but they'll soon change when they find that the store up the road is selling them for just a bit more than the rental and the customers are going there.
Anabolic will make a loss for a couple of months but as the sales model takes hold and the renters are replaced by buyers it'll make it all back and then some (a lot). The reason the critical mass won't take long to reach is that the porno video business has such a short life cycle. If you took out all the tapes in my video store that have been there longer than a year, you'd be down to about 10%.
>That means someone would have to be willing to invest millions of >dollars in this, and be able to sustain several years of huge losses. >Since I seem to have misplaced my own spare ten mil, it won't be me. >Large corporations do this sort of thing all the time, of course, but >they haven't shown much interest in porn up to now, for reasons that >don't always have a lot to do with profitability.
>You mentioned Tower; let's suppose Tower executives decided it was a >good idea. They'd have to convince the board and shareholders that they >should invest millions in a risky venture into hardcore pornography, >which would permanently associate the company with what most Americans >still regard as a highly disreputable product.
Or suppose Vivid, Metro >and Wicked decided to team up and try it. Do they have the funds to do >it themselves? If not, could they convince investment banks to provide >the loans? >Circuit City and some well-funded partners tried something a bit >similar called DivX, and collectively lost a mind-boggling amount of >money before pulling the plug last year.
Wasn't this the system of pay-per-view? The complete opposite of what I'm suggesting.
>Also, "legitimate" duplicators and printers won't handle pornographic >product. The small outfits that are currently doing this work would be >ill-equipped to produce such massive volumes. For them to upgrade would >require a hefty investment in new equipment, perhaps hundreds of >thousands of dollars, and they'd have to do this with no guarantee that >this whole scheme would work. >I think this concept is not without merit--on the level of theory. But, >as Patrick Riley asks himself when viewing any porn vid: is it >believable?
PR: Well, I certainly wouldn't believe Patrick Riley, especially if there was real money riding on the theory. Obviously someone in possession of the facts would have to do a detailed analysis but I think a lot of your objections are of the "Let's not do anything different because some bad thing might happen" type which is no way to grow any business.
Heather Barron - The Will Rogers Of Porn
Amused writes: Heather Barron seems to be moving beyond porn, prostituting, and poetry. She has a section in her site dedicated to homespun humor as well. She's a renaissance woman! < Asinine bracketed comments are mine. >
"My plastic surgeon tells me that the girdle I need for tummy recuperation costs $50. I run from the office without it. Who's got $50 bucks after spending 12g's. That's Beverly Hills for ya. I have a 5 year guarantee on my breasts. I am not sure if there is a mileage option though." < Note: Abuse of breasts by Max Hardcore nullifies the manufacturer's guarantee. >
"Guy calls me and says he wants to pay me $400 for a live sex feed he must do today. He says he's to be my coworker and that the girl that works for him regularly has no showed and now he's in a bind. Only one thing. I have to take a personal check. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL." < Luke, you ought to be ashamed of yourself ! >
"Guy schedules an appointment to meet me in a public place and cruises the parking lot wearing a white witch wig (I guess just to check me out). He was an elderly Jewish man and he really didn't look half bad but he was too chicken s--- to get out of the Caddy so I didn't get a chance to checkout his legs. He drove like a woman." < Elderly Jewish man? Chaim? >
"Young guy, 10.5" instrument sent home, $ returned. You can't put a QE2 in the tub of a Motel6 no matter how hard thou may try." < Is it good advertising for an escort to equate her vagina with a bathtub? Just asking. >
"Chinese guys sound more Caucasian on the phone than white boys. And are so polite and great kissers...I need more Korean, Polynesian, Chinese, Japanese and ethically diverse clients overall." < Ethically or Ethnically? What about Blacks, Jews and Black Jews? anti-Semitism? >
"Middle Eastern men are a force to be reconned with. That must be why you most often see middle eastern woman with M.E. men. When you are getting it good, you ain't hitting da road." < Sympathetic to the Palestinian State? More anti-Semitism? Just asking. >
For more of Heather's humorous insight into the psyche of whore-mongers. Click here: Jokes
Heather Barron writes: In response to your comment on my neglect of black men and my poking fun at Jewish hornballs, if LL Cool J showed up at Noah's Bagels in Burbank, I'd rub lox spread on my pussy and make him eat me while Jerry Seinfeld served as commentator doing a live radio simulcast with live performances by Boys2Men and Adam Sandler, a live porntaping entitled "Noah's Arc, Home Boy Hit the Mark". Then I'd straddle production supervisor (priest lookalike) Dave Cummings and show him why naughty little Catholic school girls eat Jewish girls for breakfast. Yumm. There is no ethnic, economic or social stratus that I will not mount but I'm not a big Sarah Jessica Parker fan. We all have our limits.
Mr Marcus.com - Joe Lieberman's Soul Brother
Bro writes on MrMarcus.com: Jenna talking trash today on l-keford.com, saying that Marcus wants her and always is in her ass when he is around her. She wants the black meat, the white trash whore she is, it will show, no class whatsoever. How about a comeback scene on Marcus's low budget interracial casting couch, he can get anyone he wants.
Curious: She was not talking trash. She said Marcus was her friend, but didn't understand the hostility towards her here. No more Jenna bashing please. She's cool. Right Marcus?
Funky: I like um hot, the ones that don't tell me to stop; eat dick, swallow the cum and they know how to pop. I want a getto bitch, a hood rat bitch - one that don't give a f--- and said she took that dick. She should make some money with it - get jiggy with it - squeeze a nigga like she want me in it. Now turn around and back it up - throw it at a nigga till I say ooh thats enough!
Ron Jeremy writes about porn relaxation techniques: When I find myself stressed out from a hard day on the set I like to take a nice warm bubble bath. I leisurely dry myself off and then tenderly dust myself with baby powder. I sit on a nice comfy pillow in the middle of the floor, light a vanilla scented candle and when the inspiration hits me I roll into a ball and suck my own cock. Now that's relaxing! Try it some time. Ethical Monotheism Now!
Aghast: When will the Camp Erotica vagina castings going to be available at the Mondo Mall? I'm having a party next weekend and need a suitable vessel for the bean dip.
Dr.Gori...Head of new product development at the Mondo Research Labs writes on the Vortex at Mondo Family Films: Aghast, Sorry to have taken so long to answer your query, but as you know, we ARE in the middle of an election. Miss Kiki is to be the first Camp Erotica girl whose pudenda will be cast in plaster. We will be offering Miss Kiki Pen and Pencil holders, Chip-N-Dip trays and Condom Dishes for sale on this website. Sounds like the Chip-N-Dip Pussy Tray is just what you need to make your next party a smash success! Look for more Pussy casts from the other Camp Erotica girls, Ariel, Maren and Rikki in the weeks to follow.
Kvelling Over Lieberman
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes on Beliefnet.com: Al Gore could easily have chosen a devout Christian member of Congress as his running mate. The difference here is that Lieberman is a moral, ethical Jew.
There are two things that distinguish Jewish from Christian morality. First, Jewish morality is based primarily around the family. Whereas in classical Christianity, the family is the next best thing to celibacy, in Judaism it is the best thing period. Most Jewish spiritual practices revolve around the family, from the celebration of the Sabbath to the eating of the Passover Seder to the lighting of the Hanukkah menorah. Monasticism and celibacy are in Judaism sinful rather than saintly. Senator Lieberman’s choice is a ringing endorsement of the family unit. The picture that ran in all the major media markets the morning when his nomination was made public was of him walking with his wife and daughter to synagogue on the Sabbath. When I was asked on the Fox News Network whether Senator Lieberman’s observance of the Sabbath would make him a bad campaigner, I argued that the opposite was true. So many politicians cynically use their families as props to get votes. Who has ever heard of a man who puts his family before the votes? Who in the midst of a presidential election puts principles before politics, spending one day home each week eating chicken soup with his kids rather than consuming caviar with lobbyists? Besides, do we really believe that what America is missing most is yet another campaign stump speech on a Saturday afternoon?
The second major difference is that Jewish morality is not high-handed. It is not a religiosity of condemnation, but conciliation, strongly rooted in the reality of human nature. Aside from on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, a worshipper in a synagogue could probably go the whole year without once hearing the rabbi mention the word "sin" in a sermon. When people mess up, we can handle it, without condoning it. Amid the need to always affirm time-honored ethical principles, the Jews are much more prone to use the soft voice of rebuke to inspire contrition, rather than the iron fist of condemnation.
It should be noted that not a single major Jewish religious personality in the United States called for Bill Clinton’s resignation or removal from office over Monica Lewinsky. Rather, they called for his repentance.
Luke: Also on Beliefnet.com, Rod Dreher writes about evangelical support for Lieberman:
"The cultural chasm that cuts through the American landscape is not between black and white, rich and poor, men and women, and Jews and Christians," says Rabbi Lapin, author of "America's Real War" (Multnomah), which argues that Orthodox Jews and conservative Christians are natural allies.
"It's between those who see religion and traditional family as being at the heart of how to restore America, and those who see too much religion and too much traditional family values at the root of America's problems," says Lapin. "There are Jews and Christians on both sides of the issue."
Luke: Ari Goldman writes on Beliefnet.com: The Orthodox embrace is not complete because they’re not quite sure Lieberman is one of their boys. “Let’s face it, with Lieberman we’re dealing with the liberal left of the radical right,” said Professor Samuel Heilman of the City University of New York, the author of several books on Orthodox Jews. Heilman's point was that Lieberman is not your stereotypical Orthodox Jew. He doesn't wear the distinctive dark dress of the more traditional Orthodox and doesn't have a beard or wear a hat at all times. The right and left of Orthodoxy have been fighting for years about what behaviors are appropriate.
Murder?
Brian writes: Luke: What do you hear about the girl Fredy who had a live cam site latinavista.com?? Web company notified us members that she is not going to be on anymore and someone said she was murdered..She is based out of west hollywood???
Simon: Just wanted to update on Fredy @ Latina Vista, was a little worried when someone said she had been murdered. I checked with Zbone who featured Fredy as his dancer of the month for his site www.zbone.com, the best strip club site for the Los Angeles area. He called her last night and she is well and still partying, just tired of the whole web cam thing.
Rendell Redux
Wayne Gordon writes: After Ed Rendell popped off over the weekend about the Republican party being the home of ant-semites, the Democrats still haven't stopped. Democratic pollster Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi told Washington Times reporter John McCaslin on Monday that....
"The people in America who will vote against [Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman] because of his religion were already voting Republican anyway. They are the same people who are not comfortable with gays and minorities and who know that Bush's 'inclusiveness' is only a show."
Interestingly, Rendell is himself a Jew, I don't know about Mizrahi. Mario Cuomo's not a Jew. But he told Bryant Gumbel on CBS' Early Show this week that.... "I think America will not be bigoted against him and the ones who are wouldn't vote for Gore anyway."
But of course he was baited by Gumbel who asked.... "Do you fully expect Republicans, however quietly, however strategically, to try to make it an issue?"
I find all this Republicans are anti-semites talk fascinating given that Pat Buchanan is no longer a Republican, while Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson still are democrats last time I checked. Sharpton has never been shy about his thinly-veiled distate for Jews and Jackson, don't forget, infamously referred to N.Y. as "hymietown" in 1988. Do I even have to mention Louis Farrakhan? When a Nation of Islam black votes in America, how often do you think they pull the lever for the Republican?
And yet the media picks up and repeats the idea of Republican anti-semitism. On Monday's News with Brian Williams on MSNBC anchor Forrest Sawyer demanded of the Bush campaign's Ari Fleischer :"If members of the extreme, let us say, Christian Right or extreme right were to begin making that [Lieberman's faith] an issue you would probably smack it down?"
Jerry Falwell himself has had very high praise for Lieberman. Why the question from Sawyer? Doesn't Sawyer have a brain? Obviously, George Bush is a Christian, is on the right (kinda), lists among his top aides a few Jews: spokesman Ari Fleischer, policy director Joshua Bolten and foreign policy advisers Dov Zakheim, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz.
A former mayor of Indianapolis, Stephen Goldsmith, is Mr. Bush's top domestic policy adviser, while the campaign's counsel is lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg. Jews also hold top spots in the Republican National Committee and its platform committee: the RNC's campaign finance director is a former ambassador to Australia, Mel Sembler; its communications director is Clifford May and its platform committee is headed by Mitch Bainwol. Top fundraisers include Eric Javits, the chairman of an elite group called the Republican Eagles, and Cheryl Halpern of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
And now today we have Lee Alcorn, the head of the Dallas NAACP saying.... ``I'm concerned about, you know, any kind of Jewish candidate, you know, and I'm concerned about the Democratic Party. I'm sick of the Democratic Party taking the African-American vote for granted,'' Alcorn said. ``I think we need to be very suspicious of any kind of partnerships between the Jews at that kind of level because we know that their interest primarily has to do with, you know, money and these kinds of things.''
Wow! Do you suppose Alcorn is a Republican? Moreover, polls in the wake of the Lieberman announcement have been cited showing that 93% of Americans would not have a problem voting for a Jew. Who are among the 7 percent who would? Perhaps it's revealed in a 1997 Pew Research poll that found "24 percent of blacks say they have a mostly or very unfavorable view of Jews."
We should also be reminded of the recent allegation of Hillary Clinton calling a campaign consultant a "f---ing jew bastard" years ago. Of course she and Bill hotly denied it, but three different people who were there heard her say it, and have publicly confirmed the quote.
Ahhh, politics. I'm certain that if there were any easily discernible ant-semitic incidents among GOPers in recent history, they'd have been drudged up by now. But the problems among democratic leaders and constituents with anti-semitic comments are ignored when it comes to the impact Lieberman's religion may have on the election. Why?
As well, I found some of Lieberman's comments in his speech at the formal announcement of his selection fascinating... "Give thanks to God and declare His name and make His acts known to the people. To be glad of spirit, to sing to God and make music to God and most of all to give glory and gratitude to God from whom all blessings truly do flow. Dear Lord, maker of all miracles, I thank you for bringing me to this extraordinary moment in my life..." ...in light of remembering that in the January 6 Republican presidential debate moderator Tim Russert grilled George W. Bush about his "intolerance" in citing, at a previous debate, Jesus as a role model.
Russert: "Governor Bush, in the last debate when you talked about Jesus being the philosopher thinker that you most respected, many people applauded you, others said what role would religion have in the Oval Office with George W. Bush. Fifteen million atheists in this country, five million Jews, five million Muslims, millions more Buddhists and Hindus. Should they feel excluded from George W. Bush because of his allegiance to Jesus?"
Bush answered that it's "my life, it's part of me."
Russert came back: "Would you take an expression like 'What would Jesus do?' into the Oval Office?"
Bush joked: "I would take an expression into the Oval Office of 'Dear God help me.'"
So what gives? Shouldn't Lieberman's deep faith give rise, then, to concerns by millions of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus per Russert? Do you think Russert will ask this when given a chance? With all the religiosity claimed by Bush/Cheney and Clinton/Lieberman (all have mentioned their strong religious faiths) what about all the agnostics and atheists? Shall we prepare to flee the country? LOL
Yesterday, on Fox's Special Report with Brit Hume, the anchor of the same name pointed out: "In his interview with Tom Brokaw, Al Gore was asked about Senator Lieberman's famous statement in September 1998 that President Clinton's conduct in the Lewinsky case had been 'immoral.' 'Did you agree with Joe Lieberman when he said that,' Gore was asked. 'I did and said so at the time,' Gore answered. But a search of records reveals no such thing. Indeed, the first Gore statement critical of Clinton's behavior did not come until June of the following year."