Supreme Court blocks Internet porn law

June 29, 2004 D. H. McKee

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A divided U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to let the government enforce the latest version of a criminal law requiring commercial Web sites to shield minors from sexually explicit material.
In a 5-4 ruling, the court upheld a lower court’s injunction against the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, which would make it a crime punishable by six months in jail and a $50,000 fine to post material for commercial purposes that is harmful to minors because of its sexual content and lacks serious cultural or social value. Providers could win acquittal by showing that they took steps to prevent minors’ access by requiring a credit card or adult identification.
Citing free-speech concerns, the court majority said the evidence so far suggests that allowing parents to use Internet filters to screen out sexually explicit material would be more effective in achieving the goal of the law without resorting to criminal prosecution. That means opponents of the law, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, have shown that it is probably unconstitutional and are entitled to a continued injunction against enforcement, the court said.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/29/PORN29.TMP

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.