Will The Pope's YouTube Channel Be A Hit?

Will The Pope's YouTube Channel Be A Hit? - World Watch: "It is certainly a case of the old being fused with the new, but will the Pope's partnership with Google be a match made in heaven? "

While I want this to be a success, I'm afraid that the pool of dregs that Youtube seems to attract nowadays will simply make the Vatican's pages a cesspool of profane comments, with a sprinkling of meager well wishes and half-witted responses.

Atheists: A Nativity is a hate speech

Listen to this guy torn apart by William Donahue from the Catholic League:

Craigslist Crackdown

Craigslist Cracks Down on 'Erotic Services' - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

"More than ever, those who would misuse Craigslist to violate the law will find that Craigslist is a very inhospitable place," he concluded.

This is good news for everyone. I've often wondered how much illegal activity was going to Craigslist. I've sold and bought from it and it's a great service, but I can just imagine the shady stuff happening that most people don't know about.  From arranging hookups to outright prostitution, I'm sure it's been done on Craigslist.

Probably the best thing to do to thwart internet crimes related to children and sexuality, is to raise the level of public exposure to those using the services. People are going to flock from a service that throws a spotlight on every potential user. Good stuff.

They'll never stop

When I say "they" here, I'm talking about gay marriage advocates who want to force their own demands over the will of the people.  This November, three states, Florida, Arizona, and California, passed amendments that legally define marriage as a union between a man and woman. These were grassroots campaigns. Every citizen eligible to vote in these states had a choice to say "yes" or "no". The constituents chose to keep the traditional definition of marriage.

Now we're hearing that groups like the ACLU and others are putting legal changes to these changes. It's too late, folks! I know you want to run to your favorite liberal judges, but the people have spoken. Let it be. Drop it. Move on.

Even as the last votes were being counted, the American Civil Liberties
Union and other opponents of Proposition 8 filed a challenge
with the state Supreme Court. They contended that it cannot be
used to undermine one group's access to rights enjoyed by other
citizens. (Read earlier story: "Major pro-family victory in California")
From: One News Now

Another tool to protect your kids

Those of you who run the Mac platform and have youngsters who will soon be, or already are, ready to surf the web on their own (they should be at least 15 years old, imho), will be happy to see the release of NetNanny for the Mac.

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/08/11/net-nanny-for-the-mac-released/

NetNanny is one of the most popular Internet filtering and parental control software, and they've been around forever. It's great to see them release their Mac version.

While I still prefer a network-wide solution, like the D-Link SecureSpot, this one is very good and highly recommended.

California Marriage Amendment and the Mormons

A little good news today, as it has been reported that the California Supreme Court has unanimously thrown out a suit to strike Proposition 8 from California's ballot in November.

At least now the future of marriage in California is up to the citizens, and not the courts!

Also, in related news, Mormon church leaders will ask its California members to join the amendment effort in California. According to AP:

A June 20 letter sent to Mormon congregation bishops and signed by
church president Thomas S. Monson and his two top counselors calls upon
Mormons to donate "means and time" to the ballot measure.

The church will work with a coalition of churches and other
conservative groups that put the California Marriage Protection Act on
the Nov. 4 ballot to assure its passage, the letter states.

"The church's teachings and position on this moral issue are
unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and
the formation of families is central to the Creator's plan for His
children," the four paragraph letter states.

I may have some fundamental issues with the Mormon church, but this is good news that more people are banding together to preserve marriage.

Barnes and Noble to sell pornography? Maybe it already does!

After a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, and reading recent reports on the web, it seems that there is a growing problem with national booksellers Barnes and Noble.

Here is a summary of a recent excerpt from OneMillionMoms:

In
Collierville, Tennessee, recently, an 11 year-old boy named Landon
Howse was walking through the Barnes & Noble bookstore when he
noticed a book lying open on one of the reading area tables. His dad,
Brannon Howse, was right behind him. What Landon saw were graphic
pictures of two men engaged in sex. The book was titled "Ultimate Gay
Sex," and is one of the many sexually explicit books offered in Barnes
& Noble stores.

Mr. Howse
was obviously stunned and upset at what his young son had just been
exposed to just walking through a general bookstore. When Mr. Howse
complained to the store management that this kind of material should
not be on the bookshelves anywhere in the store, especially a store
children frequent, he was met with indifference. When he complained to
law enforcement that Barnes & Noble was in violation of the
Tennessee "harmful to minors" statute he was given the run around.

Now let's be clear. I have a problem with Barnes and Noble providing easy access to ANY adult material, not just adult gay material. Here's the letter that I sent to them:

Dear Chairman Riggio:

I am writing regarding an issue I have with your retail stores. It seems that there are dozens of books that contain graphic and explicit photos that can be accessed by just about anyone, even children and minors. As you know, many of your patrons like to take books off the shelves and browse them at the café or on nearby couches. Unfortunately, these books are often left there and can be picked up by just about anyone. I think your company needs to be more responsible with books of this nature. Either take them off the shelves completely or put them in special restricted areas where children cannot view them.

I would also ask that you be fair and honest in your evaluation of such books. I have seen and heard that books like "Ultimate Gay Sex," with graphic sexual pictures, have been easily found on your shelves. Is Barnes and Noble going into the gay and pornographic market? I hope not!

Please know that your response to my concern will determine if I will continue to patronize Barnes & Noble.

I shop at Barnes and Noble (alot) and I have seen this before. I never realized how bad it was and after a quick trip there now I see there is a real problem. Please take the time to contact them and tell them they need to be more responsible with their adult materials.

I understand that many books have adult material, even the classics, but those with graphic images need to be put off-limits to minors. Even rag shops that sell hard core pornographic magazines know this. Come on Barnes and Noble, make your stories family friendly!

Mr. Stephen Riggio, CEO sriggio@bn.com
Chris Troia, Chief Information Officer ctroia@bn.com
Mary Ellen Keating, Senior V.P. of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs mkeating@bn.com
Jaime Carey, Chief Merchandising Officer jcarey@bn.com
Carolyn Brown, Director of Corporate Communications e-mail: cbrown@bn.com