Slashdot Mirror
Utah Governor Signs Net-Porn Bill
All Names Have Been writes "House bill 260 has been signed into law by Utah's governor. It creates a list of websites that are not 'safe for children' and forces ISPs to block these sites for those who request it.
In addition, content providers who host or create content in Utah for profit must now rate their websites or face 3rd degree felony charges.
A similar law in Pennsylvania was struck down last year." (See this earlier story, too.)
I am personally against this form of censorship (but for some reason I was attacked ceaselessly in the last story on this bill), but it's a logical leap to say that they're outlawing anything.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
The controversial bill (PDF)will require ISPs to block access to websites deemed "harmful to minors" on request. This blacklist will be drawn up by the state's Attorney General.
on request.
ON REQUEST.
This is not going to block every user from playboy.com. It will give people access to a list of websited to filter ON REQUEST.
"requires a service provider to prevent certain access to Internet material harmful to minors, if requested by the consumer;" If requested by the consumer. If you want to surf porn, you still can. What's the problem here? It's just like having people choose whether or not they want to have those kinds of things filtered.
Not only that, but the ISP doesn't even have to do the filtering on their end, nor come up with their own list. The list will be provided by the state AG, and the ISP's obligation can be satisfied by providing free client side software. ISP's with more than 7,500 customers cannot charge for the software, but they can raise prices for all customers to offset their costs.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian
So to those who have more familiarity with the region I have two questions.
I'm a "Mormon", or more accurately, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1) Did this legislation come about as a result of the elders in the church?
Absolutely not. The Church stays strictly out of politics, except where a serious moral issue is involved, and then only the moral at issue is taught, but the vote and the law is up to the members individually.
And 2) Is this basically an accurate summation of Mormon politics?
No. Even among the members of the Church, it is a matter that often brings up discussion (sometimes heated) as to whether or not laws to restrict rights to behave immorally should be made. But this is not Church mandate or policy. It's up to the members.
If so, that seems scary to me. I wouldn't want a society where there is so much homogenity, even if everyone were basically like me.
On the contrary, the Church is only homogenous in that we share certain core beliefs. I'm often amazed at how much variety fits within the Church. I disagree with political and ethical views with many good, active members of the Church that I know. The Church encourages us to seek out answers for ourselves.
In conclusion, be sure to research "the Mormons" using legitimate sources. That means: if you want to know what we "Mormons" believe in, ask a good, practicing Mormon.
I live in Utah. While it is true the church sometimes makes its position on various issues known, I do not recall them saying anything about this bill at all. I respect your opinions about Utah, as you managed to disagree without being insulting. You mention how you wouldn't want this much homogenity. I think that diversity means that you can find various different things in different places, including having some places that are very diverse at a local level, and other places that are homogenous. In this line of thinking strict diversity *everywhere* is not diverse at all.
"Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee." --Bender
Actually, it's not just dildos, but novelty items.
Cities with Bans on Pornography Being Shipped to them
Jacksonville, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Indianapolis, Indiana
Cincinnati, Ohio
Memphis, Tennessee
Austin, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Houston, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Waco, Texas
States with Some kind of law
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia (Novelty Restriction Only)
Kansas (Novelty Restriction Only)
Mississippi
Utah
Texas (Statewide Novelty Restriction)
Zip Codes:
Texas:
76035 thru 76199
Louisiana (Lincoln Parish):
71001
71227
71234
71235
71241
71245
71270
71272
71273
71275
If there are corrections to this list, or whatnot, please respond below.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
The problem is when any group is a vast majority of the population, They start to do funny things. Especially when the defining charactoristic is something that you cannot apply scientific rigor to. This is the problem with 'Utah Mormons" - yes, they do tend to act differently than Mormons outside of Utah/Idaho.
This is why Democracy is a lousy form of government. It's only real asset, is that it takes longer to corrupt than most other forms of government.
And yes, IAA Mormon. Utah is not 'backward' (or advanced..) It just suffers from too much group-think. That it is Mormon group-think is less important.
Laws are horrible moral guides, moral guides make even worse laws.
Absolutely not. The Church stays strictly out of politics, except where a serious moral issue is involved, and then only the moral at issue is taught, but the vote and the law is up to the members individually.
Explain Ezra Taft Benson's affilation with the Birch sociecty then; not to mention his political appointments. How about the bank that Joseph Smith founded to print money? Who was the governer of Navoo? What about the law of consecration and Brigham Young's confescation of all wealth (or the Nation of Deseret, for that matter)?
But this is not Church mandate or policy. It's up to the members.Including a majority of the Utah state government, of course. What of a church that routinely gets such perks as the land swap for the "reflecting pool" in downtown Salt Lake (complete with a censoship zone); or how about the temple ceremony, in which members swear to uphold their leaders on penalty of death? Here are some quotes by the church's prophets, seers and revelators on the subject.
On the contrary, the Church is only homogenous in that we share certain core beliefs.
Wow, that list doesn't even scratch the surface of what I was taught while growing up in the church:
- All religions apart from Mormonism are an "abomination" in the sight of God
- People of "dark skin" were less valiant in the pre-existence, so God cursed them in this life
- American Indians are really errant Jews, who lost the gospel when they rebeled against God
- There are three levels of heaven, and you can only get to the highest level by practicing polygamy; then you will be a God and have your own planet
- John the Beloved and the Three Nephites are eternal beings that roam the planet, even today, doing the work of God (and the prieshood needed to be restored through Joseph Smith... why exactly?)
- Joseph Smith could translate a common Egyptian Funeral Book, to find that it contained extensive writings by father Abraham
- Homosexuality is a disase that you must suffer for (I wonder when the 1978-esque "oops, my bad, blacks can have the priesthood now" gay revelation will come). Masturbation is almost as bad.
And on, and on, and on. Some good books include Krakauer's "Banner under Heaven", Lason's "By his own Hand, on Papyrus", and Palmer's "Insider's View of Mormon Origins".To be fair, the church has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, and it continues to evolve into a more mainstream puritanical protestant sect (I bet Joseph Smith is rolling in his grave). Most of the members are people of high quality; heck, all my extended family are still members. They are generally great people to know, associate with and love. Despite that, I just get ruffled when the church portrayed as something that it really isn't; I did enough of that on my 2-year mission with the ultra-simplistic 6 discussions.
If you are interested in apologetic responses to any of the above, feel free to visit the FAIR website.
The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.
I'm also LDS, or Mormon.
For example, when the gay marriage proposition was up for vote in California, the Mormon church organized a massive door-to-door campaign to try to deny the gays their right to marry.
Your parent poster said "except where a serious moral issue is involved", which this is.
Being a Democrat in the Mormon church all but seals your prospects of holding influential positions in the organization.
James E. Faust is the 2nd Councelor in the First Presidency, which translates roughly into "3rd in command". He is Democratic.
Apparently you've never sat in an Elder's Quorum meeting when they pass around a petition to stop a race track from being constructed in your town
I have never once been in an Elder's Quorum meeting where they passed around anything like that.
As they say, you learn more about a man from his enemies than his friends.
Unfortunately, enemies often are convinced of the truth of half truths, so they are not good sources of information.
http://pornolizer.org/
Do you believe that Joseph Smith had magic spectacles with which he translated the Book of Mormon?
I assume you're referring to the Urim and Thummim? These were not spectacles, but more like oddly shaped rocks and I don't know how he used them but I don't think he put them over his eyes. Or maybe he did, I don't see why that matters.
Why do Mormons wear long underwear with Masonic symbols on it?
The garments are symbolic of a few things, and particularly they are a symbol of our devotion and obedience. As for the Masonic symbols, what about them? Our rituals are supposed to be much like those of the ancient church. I don't know that much about the Masons, but I gather that they're supposed to have preserved such things, and therefore that there would be overlap seems perfectly reasonable.
Do you believe that Native Americans rather than originating from crossing over from Siberia to Alaska are a lost tribe of the Israelites?
Sort of. As far as I know, there isn't too much difinitive information about this in the church. We definitely believe that Isrealites came over to North America at about 600BC, and it seems to be a popular Mormon belief that current Native Americans are descended from these, but that is not entirely clear. It is possible that there was interbreeding, or that the Isrealites died off entirely.
Do you believe that blacks are the descendants of Cain; an associate of Lucifer as stated by your church?
I guess so, but we most definitely DO believe that one is responsible for one's own sins, not the sins of one's father. Today, there are blacks all over the world who are upstanding members of our church (blacks were given the right to the priesthood in 1978).
Also, even if God set apart black people as Cain's seed and marked them with black skin and said they were not worthy of the priesthood until fairly recently, that does not mean that church members were ever given any excuse to hate black people.
Do you believe you will rule your own planet when you die?
Sort of, yeah, though it's a lot more complicated than that. We actually believe that the most faithful of us will go to the highest level of Heaven after the Millennium (1000 years of Christ ruling this Earth), after which we will continue to grow and learn and then eventually become Gods of our own planets/universes just like the God of this planet/universe.
Thinkin' Lincoln - a web comic of presidential proportions