Taking a Stand Against SOPA and PIPA

As a party that holds numerous copyright registrations and is in-process of registering additional material, my opinion should count when it comes to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). However, the response from Senator Bill Nelson (Florida) could easily be summarized as:

It's all good. We know what's best for you and you really don't know a damn thing about it. I'm going to vote where the money is and it is overwhelmingly in support of PIPA. So go bake a cake or do something useful.

A main issue that I have with the SOPA and PIPA legislation is that it gives our government agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) even more power than each already holds. As a copyright holder, I am more than capable of sending out a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notice and have done so in past. I do not need or want the US government to have the ability to block the offending party's domains and initiate prosecution. Thanks, but no thanks – I'll pass.

As a blogger that often posts YouTube music videos I am also on the other side of that street and am well aware that the SOPA and PIPA legislation could serve as a platform to remove and/or block this blog, my other blogs, and my websites and prosecute me.

Any copyright holder of the music in a particular YouTube must only contact Google and request that it be removed or embedding be blocked. Many copyright holders do precisely that. I had a YouTube on my Blueprint Blog a couple of days ago that stated, “This content is not available in your country,” or something close to that when I returned to change it the following day. An example of embedding disabled is the Haddaway YouTube, “What is Love” found HERE. I love that video, but can't post it on this blog as it states, “embedding disabled by request”. So as you see, this is a simple solution for copyright holders.

So what in the hell is the Problem?

Well, the backers of the PIPA and SOPA legislation will slam you with all sorts of twisted reasoning about why we need these bills to pass, but the truth of the matter is that the laws will be abused and used to remove and/or block blogs such as this one. Consider what they managed to do with the PATRIOT Act long ago. As an early victim of the PATRIOT legislation passed in October of 2001, trust me when I tell you that they used it to eliminate the Fourth Amendment protections of many citizens. I was far from alone.

When the backers respond that this thesis of defense is all hype, just remember the PATRIOT Act, which I actually read shortly after it passed, unlike the dazed representatives that voted to pass it. Thanks, but I will pass on my government protecting me from pirates in other countries and anything else for that matter. They taught me long ago that they are the perpetrators, not the protectors.

As a writer with numerous registered copyrights, I am the alleged victim that they claim to help with this legislation and I want you to fight them all the way to the courthouse steps. Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, WordPress, and Boing Boing will be implementing a blackout of all websites at 12 midnight EST (Washington DC time) on 18 January, 2012. That is tonight at midnight and it will be in effect for 24 hours. Contact Google, Twitter, Yahoo!, and Bing and request that each support this blackout also!

Now, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, since I have published my viewpoint, I think I will go bake that fucking cake. Thanks for nothing as usual.

Before I leave here, just in case the legislation does pass at some point, you may want to know about the MAFIAA Fire Redirector: MAFIAA

For more information from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Setting the Record Straight on SOPA: Some Evidence-Based Analysis 

Backpage Under Attack: My Expert Opinion

Yesterday I did a search for the term “backpage” in Google News and found pages of news articles concerning recent arrests that involve ads on Backpage. Today I did the same search and found additional articles of arrests made in the past day. Village Voice Media, the owner of Backpage, is under serious attack by anyone and everyone that hates adult business of any type. Cops are using the website for stings all over the US now - really - search for yourself.

Before continuing here, I would like to go ahead and establish my expert status on the topic. While I am not an expert on sex trafficking, I do consider myself an expert on the so-called “sex trafficking experts” that are demanding Backpage remove its entire “adult” category, which includes the sub-categories: escorts; body rubs; strippers & strip clubs; dom and fetish; TS; male escorts; phone & websites; and adult jobs. I have dealt with one form or another of these experts with an agenda since 1992, and that is longer than any one of the so-called experts have tackled sex trafficking.

The religious groups involved in attacking Backpage are still cheering with delight over their victory at Craigslist. To clarify, it wasn't really a victory as those type of ads are now spread-out through many categories on Craigslist – participants in adult business manage to find the ads. Beyond this, Craigslist only lost in the court of public opinion and not in any actual court. In fact, if anything threatened by so many state attorney generals had actually gone to any court, Craigslist would have won and they all know it, which is why they choose the court of public opinion.

I would also like to establish that I have no horse in this race. I placed ads promoting my books in the “adult jobs” sub-category for close to a year ending over a year ago. So, I have no personal or business need for the “adult” category of Backpage and in fact, quite the opposite as many that purchase my Blueprint books start an escort service and follow instructions in the books and have websites and local listings online. There is no advice in any book to advertise services on Backpage or Craigslist and there never has been. There is an option discussed to place an ad in the sub-category “adult jobs” if one has any trouble finding independent escorts for the business, but then all advice is geared to working only with escorts over 21 years of age and even this option is updated to exclude such an ad anywhere on the Blueprint Blog.

The “adult” category ads on Backpage interfere with escort businesses that operate properly with websites and local listings, so I do not have any reason whatsoever to defend Backpage or the crowd that advertises in the “adult” category. Who really wants all these independent escorts advertising a $100 special? Not me or anyone that bought my books to enter the business. You can conclude that I have no horse in this race. My interest is based solely on the First Amendment rights of the publishers and an unequivocal disgust for the anti-adult business crowd.

The Print Publishing Agenda

When anything and everything adult went online many years ago we all realized that there would be good and bad. The world has progressed beyond print ads and this is true of any category. Is there anyone out there that actually believes that there were no sex traffickers that actually exploited children in operation before adult business went online? There were pimps on the street. There were underage prostitutes that worked for businesses that advertised in mainstream newspapers, independent news publications, and yellow pages. Nothing at all has changed except the delivery of the ad.

Print publications that include “adult” or “entertainment-adult” categories that have not succeeded in the world of online publishing and marketing would love to see the “adult” category of Backpage eliminated. Those inept advertisers not capable of creating and publishing a website or not interested in putting forth time and effort in their businesses to list online locally would probably flock back to print and they'd be back in the money – and make no mistake – it was big money for the print publishers. My print ads in the Reuben H. Donnelley (now Dex One Corporation) yellow pages in Central Florida total was around $50K back in 1996. These days one could accomplish the same by spending less than $1K a year online. Hopefully you understand the point here.

The Sex Trafficking Expert Agenda

These so-called sex trafficking experts disseminate false information to the naïve general population and most fall for it hook, line, and sinker. More often than not, people do not even bother to question the source agenda. You do realize that the DOJ passes out major grant money and funding to all of these so-called non-profit groups, right? They are non-profit” only in the sense that they do not show profits or pay tax on profits, but in reality all participants are collecting serious money in the form of paychecks and research grants. Do include local, state, and federal law enforcement in this agenda.

They have all formed task forces for what has existed forever by giving it a new label – the sex trafficking label. The pimp from the street moved online and now they all need $millions+ to find him – have you ever heard anything that absurd? I could pick out the pimps and underage prostitutes online easily in much less time and for much less money. These people are inept idiots that have managed to give themselves long-term paychecks at the expense of adult business, the US taxpayer, and the First Amendment.

DOJ-Funded Human Trafficking Task Forces – An excerpt:

“To facilitate multidistrict contacts and cooperation in sex trafficking cases, the U.S. Department of Justice has funded 42 jurisdictions and 36 trafficking victim services providers to form human trafficking task forces to identify and rescue victims of trafficking by proactively investigating such cases.”

Or could it be that it is not really a deep concern for a few underage prostitutes and their pimps and more of an anti-adult business agenda? Bingo. These people want to wipe-out all forms of adult business, but escort services and advertising websites used by escorts are the target du jour. They are happy that they'll put 200K+ adult independent escorts out of business with some lame pretense that they must stop a few minor girls from being sex trafficking victims. Bullshit – I have looked closer at many of their crap cases on this blog.

The fact is that they want no advertising venues to accept ads for any adult business or operator of any type. They have been at this for many years in the US, but have finally figured out out to get serious $$$$ for the agenda. Back when the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) went after Sprint Yellow Pages in Orlando there were no big funds available and few rallied to the cause – the MBI was on their own (with grant money from Disney) against the First Amendment rights of publishers and it was an ugly game. Read Yellow Pages Fiasco for more information on that mess.

More recently (2007-08) there was the MBI's lone pursuit of Orlando Weekly and its employees – a local Orlando newspaper: Well, Google the term “orlando weekly and mbi” to see the pages of results as all stories about the MBI in the Orlando Weekly are currently down or have been eliminated (http 500 error) or read First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza's thoughts: The Orlando Weekly Case

Now I am curious as to what is going on with the Weekly. All of the previously published stories about the MBI are unavailable, including The Morality Police, a major story published concerning many cases, including my own case. All stories that exposed the truth about the MBI have disappeared.

The Religious Agenda

This should be obvious to you. In the name of religious zealotry, the sex trafficking card is played often these days, but it isn't anything new for religious groups in the US to pursue the anti-adult agenda with any means available. A short story from Memoirs:

For an entire year I received about forty to eighty calls a month on my main toll-free number wherein the callers requested a free book about Jesus that they had seen advertised on a Christian program on television. I was always nice, and explained that it was a business line and I had no such ad. I advised them to call the program and question them about it. This was no big problem and only added about twenty or thirty dollars to my monthly bill.

After about a year, things suddenly changed: The phone would ring off the hook with calls coming in from all over the country. The callers were responding to an ad for free phone sex that ran on USA Network affiliate stations everywhere. Some stated that they saw the ad in a magazine as well. The callers described an ad with ladies almost entirely nude except for a small piece of lingerie. They all repeated my number to me, and the phone rang constantly with this crap from around eleven in the evening until two or three in the morning.

After about two months of these harassing calls I had the number disconnected. Every time I picked up the phone the billing started, and it was ten cents a minute. It was seriously running up the bill. I never actually saw the ad on television, but an escort that worked for me did and called me and described it to me. This was a toll-free number that I’d had since opening the business, and many repeat clients called it, usually from out-of-town numbers.

When I thought about the situation I realized that the free book about Jesus ad had not served the purpose that someone intended: to get me to turn the number off. Regardless, someone dug into their deep pockets and finally achieved the desired result. I was never able to get a person on the phone at any affiliate station that could direct me to anyone that had the advertiser’s information. This was an intelligent maneuver deliberately used to prevent me from receiving toll-free calls from clients, and it was successful.

The Court of Public Opinion

I can see that someone wanted all of those articles from the Orlando Weekly removed and unavailable online to the general population. They do not want you to know how long this war has been going on here and would prefer that you believed it was an admirable agenda. Someone told me many years ago (1993-94) that Orlando was a testing ground of sorts – I believe it. What used to be an MBI agenda is now being pursued all over the US using any and all tools in the toolbox. Caveat Emptor. The goods they are selling the general population are indeed defective in this situation.

The Squeeze is on Backpage Now

With Craigslist adult services long gone, the anti-adult agenda has turned towards Village Voice Media, the owner of backpage.com. In Seattle, the mayor has pulled the city's ads in the Seattle Weekly, also owned by Village Voice Media. American Airlines also pulled all ads from Village Voice Media publications.

Trevor Neilsen with Huffpost Mediastated: “The goal is also not to stop adults from selling ads. The goal is simply to stop children from being sold for sex.”

Don't be naïve Trevor. They won't stop until all adult categories have been eliminated from all Village Voice publications. I'm sure that you watched it with Craigslist and the personalized attacks on Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, right? What makes you believe that this witch hunt is any different? I will await your answer.

Beyond that, I have watched it and dealt with it since I entered the escort business in Orlando in 1992, with special emphasis on 1996, when Sprint Publishing was threatened with RICO charges over its yellow pages in the Orlando-Disney area and then again with the arrests at the Orlando Weekly back in 2007: The Yellow Pages Fiasco

Using the cause of child sex trafficking is a somewhat new tool in the anti-adult business toolbox. Really in any case that I have heard of that involved Backpage, we are talking about some random sleezebag that advertises a teenager. Let's not pretend this never happened before the world went online.

If Village Voice Media is somehow able to verify ID prior to posting an advertisement in the adult categories, do you believe that it would stop there and the current attackers would welcome the media company with open arms? If you do, I still have that home in the Everglades for sale and the wildlife comes right to the door.

This entire attack is all about the anti-adult agenda and has little or nothing to do with child sex trafficking. Trust me; they'd like to kill all adult businesses in the US and make advertising anywhere impossible. The question is, who will be the next in line after Village Voice Media caves?

The fact that PayPal chose to censor me and killed my ebook sales for books that would be rated PG or R tells me that I will encounter issues elsewhere in the near future. It is indeed an anti-adult agenda. 

Censored by PayPal

I awoke today to read the following email from PayPal:

We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy regarding your sales / offers of an ebook about escort services on blueprintforanescortservice.blogspot.com.

Therefore, your account has been permanently limited.

Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for certain sexually oriented materials or services or for items that could be considered obscene.

It is a trick statement as allof my books are “about escort services” including Memoirs. All are also sold on my website, The Accused Madam. I only had funds from the last three sales in the account so the balance is $30 after PayPal took its fees on the three sales and adding the previous balance of $2.

The censors at PayPal must not want anything sold that isn't for children. Does Disney own PayPal or a piece of the company?

Nothing in any book I have written could possibly be considered “obscene” or “sexually oriented material”. My books are all intended for an adult audience, but if they were rated they would all be PG or at worst R. There is nothing sexual in any book I have written.

Screw the censors at PayPal.

When I login to my PayPal account I see the following notification:

Why is my account access limited?

Your account access has been limited for the following reason(s):

• Jul 10, 2011: When you signed up for your PayPal account, you agreed to our User Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy. Because some of your recent transactions violated this policy, we've had to permanently limit your account.
  
  Please remove any references to PayPal from your website.
  
  You'll be able to withdraw any money in your account 180 days after your last transaction. We'll email you when it's ready to be withdrawn.
  

My email response to aup@paypal.com:

Nothing in any book that I have written could possibly be considered "obscene" or "sexually oriented material". While the intended audience for my books is adult, if anyone were to read and rate any of my books they would each be a PG or at most an R. There is nothing sexual in any book.

What you are doing here is incorrect, but this is the US and I respect your right as a company to not do business with anyone you choose. Welcome to Amerika, the new Disney, where everything is for children and adults do not exist except in relation to children.

Screw PayPal's censorship of me and my books. So you manage to stop me from selling ebooks that are available from Google ebooks and in Amazon's US, UK, and Canada Kindle stores and as paperbacks through any bookstore. Thanks a bunch and screw you.

Vicky Gallas

Blocking Escort Services During Conventions

I have posted on this blog on occasion concerning the blocking of escort business telephone numbers and websites during conventions in Orlando. Telephone lines have been periodically blocked at least as far back as late 1992, because that is when I discovered the problems in Orlando. Eddie Munoz in Las Vegas started filing lawsuits back in 1995, so it has occurred in Vegas since at least that year and actually much earlier. In the early days of my business (1994), I heard from escort business operators in Los Angeles and Anaheim that they were experiencing the same trouble.

Last week I posted an article on my Blueprint Blog discussing the blocking and strategies of discovery and possible solutions. One reader was paying attention. He stated that he has quietly watched as huge conventions came to his city of operation out west for the last month, unsure of the next move. The conventions brought no business. One intelligent escort that contracts with him and a couple of other area services had similar thoughts, but after the last huge convention brought nothing, zero, zilch, she commented: “What is this, a eunuch convention?” I had to laugh – apparently all conventions in Orlando are eunuch conventions.

I am sorry that I cannot reveal which specific city in the Western US we are discussing here, but I am sworn to secrecy. I don't know this guy, but I verified that he is who he says he is before helping with his mission of discovery. Last night he contacted me and the first sentence out of his mouth was: “I bet you have had a lot of people saying that you are just a conspiracy nut, but this is really happening.”

Yes, no joke on both counts, right. I will name the man Joe so I don't have to continue calling him the guy or that man etc.... I can reveal some basic information here, but nothing that could prevent further discovery – apparently there's much discovery to deal with. Joe felt that several other operators in his area were in a state of “ignorant bliss” in that they haven't really noticed this serious problem. I have found that when an escort operator books every idiot that calls in a 60 mile radius, doesn't check any information, books crap motels and bad neighborhoods or college party situations, it isn't noticeable; not really anyway because they're still making decent money. They aren't taking into account that they'd be making triple or quadruple the $s if convention attendees could reach them.

My situation, especially in the later years of business, was that I always verified calls and only booked nice, mild clients in nice houses or better hotels. The few cops that I booked from late 1992 through September 2001, when I closed my business prior to my arrest, did check out. By the time I booked the last 2 out of the 4 over the years, they knew they had to work to book with me, and they did. The second to the last one had a verified return flight to Omaha. The last one was a repeat client - a good repeat local client turned informant.

These days, if I bother to deal with it to cover my research costs, I won't books locals or anyone not with a convention. The fact of the matter is that not one single caller that I have heard from since mid-January (yes – almost 5 months ago) has been here with a convention. Not even one. How believable is that? Especially when considering that the phone rings often from outlying areas (other counties), questionable areas (maybe safe and maybe not), UCF apartments, dumpy motels etc... It would be nice to believe that men had changed and none dial escort services anymore; however, the calls that I do receive prove otherwise. Only men in Orlando on conventions do not dial escort services. Hmmm...

Anyway, let's get back to Joe's discovery.

First Joe, armed with a variety of wireless phones, a laptop, a wireless modem, and a few helpers, drove to the area of this city's main convention center and set out towards hotel #1, a Hilton. Joe used an unknown wireless phone (not one that's in any ad anywhere) to dial his main business line that he had a helper answering in another area. He reached an odd recording that stated: “you must enter your PIN # to reach this number”. I must add that this sounds like one of those fake recording set-ups that I suggested on this blog long ago if a possible informant is dialing you in Responses to Witnesses and Informants.

Joe continued in his quest for answers. He walked a block from the main convention center and the Hilton, but still to no avail as he reached the same weird recording. He dialed his other helpers and had each move to a different area and each had no trouble at all reaching him on his main business line. He walked out another block – so now he was two blocks from the convention center and the Hilton. Same crap. It's clear that this is not tied to the Hilton alone. Joe repeated the same exercise with a Marriott, also close to the convention center, and received the same results. He walked out over 100 meters from each hotel with the same results.

Joe's tests were done at a time when there was a large convention in the area – 20,000. He also tested to see if he could search for and click on his websites. He was able to do both and viewed his websites from hotel lobbies using the wireless modem. He had no way of testing the hotel's ISP – I suggested on the Blueprint Blog that a person needed to check from inside a room using the hotel's ISP, not the free Wifi. Checking the Wifi access is a good idea too, but less important because blocking with the Wifi is simple for any hotel as I discussed in a previous post herein: Hotels using Wifi to Block and Censor.

A friend and I recently actually paid a convention attendee in Orlando to allow us to come-in and use the hotel's ISP for a check, but Joe wasn't comfortable with this. I was unable to view my sites using a wireless modem, the hotel's Wifi, or the hotel's ISP. So, Joe is better off in that the website is viewable with a wireless modem, but then again no one can reach his number anyway.

Given the radius that Joe's business line was unreachable, I must say that my original assessment in the last post on this blog on the topic that there is a satellite involved, is on target. It is not only inside a hotel or related to any specific hotel. It also answered another question for me: There have been many times that I heard from a potential client when he was 10 miles from his hotel and on the way back. I'd instruct that he should call me when he reached his room, but I would never hear from him again.

Joe believes that someone is doing all of this business, not much different than what I discovered back in 1993-95, when “Kendall” and I went out to the Disney Swan and Dolphin playing investigator. This is in the earlier chapters in Memoirs. Joe has some reasoning to believe this, but I am not so sure about that part. I have not explored this aspect of the problem in Orlando recently, but do intend to in the near future. Needless to say, Joe intends to get to the bottom of the entire debacle and find out who is screwing him out of so many good calls. In Joe's city this is a new problem and it wasn't happening a couple of months ago.

Of course I had to warn Joe – the relentless pursuit of me only began after I started gutting the telephone troubles and discussed it loudly with people in high places, including telco security. My arrest came after more loud discussion at the wrong people. Poor “Kendall” was ambushed (also in Memoirs). As far as I am concerned the blockers owe me $millions, and I am still looking to collect.

One thought to ponder: We must wonder what other types of businesses they're blocking. Small transportation companies? Small pizza parlors? I'm sure the practice is not isolated to the escort business.

Image: Digital Globe 2008 © Vasiliy Yakobchuk 2011 © iStockphoto.com

Fight Censorship in the US First

I was reading an article written by Dominic Rushe in the Guardian this evening: US to spend $30m Fighting Censorship

To summarize the issue, the US will be sinking $30 million into a project to fight censorship in “repressive regimes including China and Iran”. With the reactions that US government officials have had to the Wikileaks cable dump and the “Collateral Murder” video, I cannot imagine that the US Department of State could justify an expenditure this size to stop censorship anywhere.

Have these people lost their minds or do they believe that the people they represent have?

Bradley Manning is facing life in prison or death for *uncensoring* what they censored. There is still no way to know how many people involved with Wikileaks will be indicted, but we do know that there is a federal Grand Jury working on the situation.

Beyond the Wikileaks cables we have a complete failure of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as many requests are ignored for years and others hit a brick wall. There have been FOIA requests for specific documents from the Cold War era and they still refuse to declassify the documents. They exceed their own time limitations on declassifying documents about half of the time.

The US military is circulating propaganda worldwide via sock puppets on forums and social networks. AT&T was given a free pass after allowing law enforcement to access accounts and wiretap without warrant. We are a lawless nation, but yet we need to shove our noses into the censorship issues in China and Iran at a cost of $30 million? Hell, we spend good money circulating propaganda relating to Iran's non-existent nuclear weapons program, so is this the next move to ensure that the propaganda reaches people worldwide?

The main problem with government officials in this country is that they clearly believe we all were born yesterday and will buy any line of crap they feed us. Not all of us though... not all of us.

So is it okay for so many to advocate censorship of adult business ads and publishing in the US while screaming about censorship in China and Iran? We are not talking porn here – we are talking about plain ads for adult businesses in many areas of the US. Publishers were pressured (read threatened with racketeering charges) into eliminating any adult business ads in print publications here in Orlando for over a decade and there are still no publications that accept escort business ads here, including yellow pages and all newspapers. If you don't believe me then you haven't read my story and you have no idea what was done to the Orlando Weekly back in late 2007: Operation MBI Shame

Censorship is alive and well right here in Orlando. I have written about the blocking of adult businesses on this blog and in Memoirs. Sure, there is a way around it and I know it, but it isn't something that I could do because of my former case and the fact that we are talking about Orlando, so it doesn't help me. This doesn't mitigate the fact that it does exist and has since at least 1992. No way that at least a few upper-level government officials are not aware of it – no way in hell.

These people have the audacity to spend $30mil in some weird game to fight censorship in China and Iran? Really it is so absurd that I am at a loss for words.

Blocking Escort Services in Orlando: Always Evolving

Since I first discovered that escort business lines in Orlando were being blocked in area resorts, the methods have certainly evolved. Make no mistake – the simple techniques of past are still in operation, though at a more advanced stage; however, other means became necessary as technology (and phones) progressed and improved.

Back in the early days it was all about blocking escort business telephone numbers in hotel PBX systems and also programming at the telco central office in the case of one particular telco. It took me a good year to figure out the how back in 1993-94, but few could manage to wrap their minds around it. I met with statements that it could not be done and was impossible – from telephone company security, believe it or not. Hell, if they were that stupid, no wonder it was easily implemented. Denial, denial, and more denial topped with a jab of “that's crazy”. Yet it was so simple when we look back today.

To simplify how it worked with the old PBX systems:

There were a variety of PBX systems on the market and many had such a “blocking” feature. It was as simple as the tech guy programming the PBX to block a list of telephone numbers from being dialed from a block of rooms, say rooms reserved through a convention services company for a specific convention. Yes, PBX systems had a call blocking feature – still, I was called “crazy” and the fact that this was even technically possible was denied by everyone.

By the time the attendees arrived and checked-into their rooms that list of numbers was blocked and that conventioneer couldn't dial a number on on the list from his room. Other rooms not reserved for the specific large convention at that resort could dial the number without trouble. This caused many to believe there were no blocks at all. In Memoirs I used the example of a convention booked at the Dolphin Hotel and discussed our investigation – the large convention of 900 attendees experienced the blocking; the smaller convention of 100 attendees did not. This is discussed in-depth in the book.

Back in those days there was also blocking at the central office level. I know this for fact as payphones on Disney property were also blocking the escort business numbers. The telephone company at that time was Vista United Telecommunications – the first all-digital telephone company in the world; however, in early 2001 Vista United was acquired by Smart City. This is also discussed in the book. Read more about Smart City advances here: Smart City: A Magic Phone Company


More Advances brought new forms of Blocking

As time progressed so does the technology utilized by the blockers. Website blocking entered the equation and conventioneers searching for escort business websites hit a wall in Orlando area resorts. This later evolved into blocking using WiFi. But the issue with both was that some callers still got through when using a more advanced phone or not using the hotel's WiFi or saving the telephone number on the website before they left home. There is no sense in repeating myself – read more about this in: Hotels Using WiFi to Block and Censor


The Blockers found New Solutions

The practice of blocking escort service telephone numbers has certainly evolved since the early days, and even in the last year. We are dealing with an entirely different animal today. In my opinion there's a Lockheed Martin satellite involved and we have moved to an entirely different scale with added participants. If you live in Orlando you know who Big Brother is around here and I am not going to expound on that statement. Sound crazy?

I have a website that I have used in research for quite some time. Let me offer a sample of results from my ongoing research:

In late January of 2011 – the Golf Merchandise Show brought 45,000 people to International Drive and Disney resorts. This many people will fill-up many resorts in both areas, and then of course there were other smaller conventions going on at the same time. Result:

Not a single caller from any resort on International Drive or Lake Buena Vista / Disney area. Plenty of callers from out-of-the-way places, such as nearby Brevard County, Lake County, Volusia County, Polk County, and Seminole County. A handful of callers from deteriorated motels on the 192 strip in Kissimmee, but none from sizable resorts in Kissimmee or Osceola County.

The results are not believable, so it is a good thing that I have a couple of witnesses and take great notes for my research.

In February and March the same crap continued. We had many conventions in Orlando, including a list with 30,000+ attendees, and not a single phone call from anyone booked in any nice resort in Orange or Osceola counties. The website implements a tracking of sorts and was viewed an average of 600 times daily with at 200+ unique IP visits – that is daily! Some days the website had 1000+ visits. Yet not a single telephone call, even when switching telephone numbers and including a second number. It is as if the entire I-4 corridor through Orlando and Kissimmee has the numbers blocked, and that screams satellite.

I have one other party with an Orlando website to compare notes with. That party has experienced the same problems and still books calls, but the calls are the typical non-convention outside area calls. So is it busy? Sure, if you opened a service in Orlando to book drunk idiots out at UCF, men in groups in dumpy apartments, or people in surrounding counties.

As technology evolves, so do the blockers.

Craigslist Adult Services Eliminated Worldwide

Craigslist now officially has no "erotic services" or "adult services" categories worldwide. The event went almost unnoticed over the holiday weekend, unless of course you're one of those people that placed ads in adult categories outside of the US.

The company stated nothing in the news and one may only assume that it was the result of the US attack on adult ads and the work of anti-trafficking directives and groups. Obviously the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has a long reach, though Craigslist is a US company and that is where the effects are felt.

At this point Backpage still has these categories, but I have doubts that this will continue for long. This isn't the first post that I have made on the topic.

We should be clear here - it isn't sex trafficking that these people are concerned about; it is adult business. They utilize the valid cause of stopping sex trafficking to stop prostitution. To these groups prostitution and sex trafficking are one and the same thing. They must feel that women (or men for that matter) have no minds of their own and no rights with their own bodies.

According to the anti-trafficking groups all prostitutes are victims. Well, indeed we are all victims of our social and financial circumstances, but I do not see any of these groups that have worked so hard to put an end to adult business offering to pay the rent and bills. These idiots will claim that education is the answer. I have known many educated prostitutes in my time so I could confidently assert that this is total bullshit. These days a bachelor degree is of little assistance in gaining employment.

The anti-trafficking groups have used any and every situation that could possibly advance the cause. They'll tell you it's because of the Craigslist killer while assuming that you are too stupid to get the fact that so many more prostitutes were murdered after being picked-up on a street then could even be counted. For one example look at the Green River murders that continued for decades in Washington State. Of course there are many more examples.

What they did succeed at with the anti-prostitution crusade is eliminating an avenue for independent escorts to advertise. Most independents do not have the necessary knowledge to design their own websites and market themselves and the costs of professional design can be prohibitive. These same groups will tell you that all escorts are prostitutes and all services are fronts for prostitution. The truth is of little interest to these people, but then that's how it is with crusades.

For me they have created a new business model that I will call the appointment referral publisher for the moment. Perhaps I'll think of a better, and more distinct, category in the near future.

New Censorship Trends in the US

I am in disbelief over the various new ways that any outlets that distribute and/or publish any adult material are currently under attack. Indeed, it is a new trend in censorship in the United States. It didn't start with the attack on Amazon yesterday and it sure won't end there.

Anderson Cooper is running again on CNN as I type. It is Anderson Cooper and his sidekick Amber Lyons that bashed Craigslist all over the place and succeeded in getting the online publisher to remove the "adult services" and the "adult gigs" categories as I described in Censorship by False Light. Well now the censors are after Backpage.com with the same reasoning of a 14 year-old runaway being pimped on the website. They have titled this attack "Children Sold for Sex on the Internet".

Some lousy bimbo (a woman in Missouri) pimps this 14 year-old runaway and the entire world of adult business in the US is under attack. The reality is that this girl ran away from home and met a bad person – this happens every day everywhere. How does this give Anderson Cooper and Amber Lyons the right or the platform to pursue any online publisher that offers adult businesses ad space?

As with Craigslist, the people at Backpage are being harassed and pursued with a vengeance. The target is really adult business though, and that is obvious. I posted a few days ago about a new form of censorship in Google Maps on my Blueprint Blog. When did the words sexy and stripper become "naughty" words according to Google? I am picturing some ancient prune in the background deciding what is good for all of us, and let's face it – the US depends on Google these days.

Now Anderson Cooper is back to attacking Amazon. Well, my books are distributed by Amazon and my company is the publisher. Granted, the book described by Cooper is abhorrent, but now the show is going after Amazon to remove other books.

They have really gone crazy with this. I have never heard of any pedophile reading a book for instructions so in my opinion this is being blown way out of proportion. It is a flippin' book for crying outloud! There are people posting on forums everywhere demanding a list of books be removed from Amazon or threatening that the company would be boycotted. So now we have the censors controlling what books will be sold where. Why not just burn them all – I'm sure these groups can find something wrong with lots of books, and that includes many classics and the Bible.

What I am really sick of hearing is the crowd that claims to not want to ban any books, but finds reason to ban that particular pedophile book. Well it looks like they've now expanded that but to include other books in the demands of banishment to Amazon, again under threat of boycott.

Do you really believe it will stop with a couple of pedophile books? Not a chance, and the earlier pursuits of the show prove that.

Censorship by False Light

I have to wonder what horse Amber Lyon of CNN has in the race to selectively target and paint Craigslist in a false light. Was the show backed by competitors angry at Craigslist's low price for an ad in the adult services category or free ads in the adult gigs category? I have never placed an ad in adult services, but recall the cost being $5 to $10 when the name changed from erotic services back in May of 2009. This is discussed: In Pursuit of Craigslist.

Surely Amber Lyon is aware that there have always been women exploited in the prostitution business as long as it has been a trade. This sure didn't start or end with Craigslist. As long as women need money and men want sex, prostitution will exist. The great majority of women involved in the prostitution business today are in control of their own destinies – some work with agencies and some work on their own doing their own marketing and booking, but it is a rare occasion that one is coerced or trafficked in any way whatsoever.

Actually, Craigslist enabled true independence. It served to allow a single woman to place her own ad for little money. She no longer had to work with an agency or come-up with a large sum of money just to send herself to a call. It also took many hookers off the streets and highways across the U.S. – I wouldn't imagine that Jim Buckmaster or Craig Newmark would appreciate that reasoning though, but it is the truth. The usual advertiser in the Craigslist adult services category was truly independent.

So two women spoke to CNN's Amber Lyon about their own plight in the world of prostitution and suddenly Craigslist is the target du jour once again. There really are no winners in the demand to censor by removing an entire category and there are plenty of losers – the women that posted their own ads and worked for themselves. Sure there are other places to post ads – no doubt – so will those other publications (print and online) be the next targets of CNN or was this selective and malicious targeting of a company that offered low cost advertising? This targeting was described in Revenge of the Publishers and is not new to me.

It is un-American to ridicule a company into censorship and Amber Lyon wins my censor of the year award.

Craigslist Censorship Disturbing

For the time being it looks like the critics of Craigslist's adult services category have won. If you look on the Craigslist main page for any U.S. city, you'll see a block that states CENSORED where it used to state adult services. Being a longtime resident in the Orlando area, I am used to censorship, but most people in this country think that it's something that transpires in China. Welcome to my world. Read the article in WIRED.

From a legal standpoint the Craigslist critics didn't stand a chance – Jim Buckmaster proved that during the last bout with the state attorney generals that targeted the company. Still, the stories of two women that came forward stating that they were trafficked (marketed) by pimps on Craigslist shamed the company into eliminating the category for now. If the critics have their way, adult business will not exist in the United States.

One online ad publisher down and how many to go? If you're an independent escort or an escort business that survives by posting ads online, it is time to get your ducks in a row. I won't even state what the next target for censorship will be – if you're in the biz, you already know the answer. The good news is that sheriffs around the country, like Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, won't have anywhere to post their sting ads or search for targets.

It won't be too long before the industry goes underground in the U.S. as law enforcement officials around the nation rejoice and celebrate their victory. They don't realize what they've done yet, but then the ignorant parties are often the last to recognize what they've really accomplished in any situation. I'm sure not going to tell them.

For or Against New Porn Domain

The new .xxx top-level domain name for websites that have adult content is now here, or at least will be soon. This topic has been an argument for years and is now a reality.

What's my position?


As with many others I will grab a website or two with the .xxx because if I don't I'll be sitting on the sidelines at some point in the future, and it's always better to be prepared. It is not mandatory for websites to move to this domain yet, with "yet" being the keyword. At this point one can only reserve a specific .xxx domain for $60 and it will be assigned in the near future.

This is not a good thing for adult business. They want to shove any website with adult content into the .xxx ghetto, and mark my words – that is precisely what it will become. It will be the internet equivalent of the red light district on the outskirts of town. Some will find the websites, but most will not when their internet service providers (ISPs) begin to block all .xxx websites. But then that is the general idea, right?

There are already so many tools available to ISPs, parents, hotels, and anyone in-between to block websites by keyword searches, categories, and URLs, so this move will take it a step further and enable blocking of any website considered adult or with adult content. I view it as tossing the adult books in a pile across town, blocking the road to them, and instructing interested parties to search as they wish.

The new ghetto will be blocked by every library, hotel, or business that offers free internet access or WiFi. If you are in adult business you should understand this translates to much of the population never finding your website. Write erotic stories? Better find something else to do. Own an escort service or an entertainment company that books strippers at parties? Good luck reaching your potential client base.

They are indeed killing the internet for anyone that is an adult and thinks that they should be able to view normal adult material or visit an adult website if they so desire. The results will serve to kill-off much of adult business.

So why are websites like CNN, FoxNews etc… presenting this as if it is an achievement for adult businesses? Either the writers are just plain dumb or they assume the readers are. To pre-reserve your .xxx website, visit the ICM Registry and have at it, but first you must sign-up for an account here – I just did.

Hotels Using WiFi to Block and Censor

Anyone that has read my Blueprint books knows that I have a website and a couple of telephone numbers that I have used extensively in research. I've been working on my other book concerning the wireless network blocking that began as PBX blocking so many years ago. For me the line block phenomena began back in 1992 when I opened my businesses in Orlando, though I've heard that it was already transpiring at that point.

This is more about how the blockers are going about it today. I included a chapter in Memoirs of an Accused Madam entitled "The Experiment" and referred to IP blocking as a method of blocking websites at that point in time, but this is about URL filtering and other tools and it is happening at all sizeable resorts in the Orlando area and all resorts in Disney World.

As a guest at one of theses hotels this should really bother you. Your hotel censors the internet for you, but sure doesn't admit to it. I know that my research website contains no porn or nudity type of content; it is a conservative website from any standpoint. Unless you appreciate book burnings this should be appalling to you, but wait till you read what they do with it.

There are numerous methods that hotel management utilizes in the quest to censor your internet, and several are too simple for comfort. McAfee makes URL filtering software called Webwasher URL Filter and brags of 64 categories that can be enabled, depending on your censorship needs. They state: "Undesired content of any kind can be managed within the categories of the filter database."

Another big hit with the hotels theses days is Antamedia HotSpot. As most people are aware, most smart phones on the market have WiFi connectivity. Since most potential clients are searching for information online with a smart phone, a netbook, or a laptop, all of this is great news to the censors at Orlando area resorts. Most likely this is occurring elsewhere also, though I only know for sure about issues in Las Vegas at this point.

Antamedia HotSpot enables the hotel to become the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for guests and others desiring access within a specified range. The software includes a feature that allows for forced customer data collection that can be used for collecting records or for marketing purposes. The software also has features such as website blocking that can redirect all blocked websites to the host's home page. URL tracking is another added feature – the hotel can log URL addresses that customers visit, along with their username, IP, MAC, and date and time when page was visited.

The most useful Antamedia HotSpot censorship tool is the ability to block access to websites that contain specified keywords in URL address, say for example, the term "escort". Of course this can be used with any specified keywords though. They also have a tool that can specify keywords which redirect the customer browser to another URL. They state: "For example, when customer enters competition brand name, browser will be redirected to your website."

Obviously search engines like Google index content with keywords, so all of this is bad news for restaurants, pizza places, transportation companies, taxi drivers, and who knows what else that is competing with hotels for guests' money. One thing about Disney is that they want guests to spend all money on the property, so imagine how this is probably being used to interrupt other local business.

The funny thing about censorship is that it sure doesn't stop at "escort services," and more likely that the "escorts" keyword was only the first of many URL filters. I used to speak with taxi and limousine drivers that were in business for themselves and had similar experiences to my own. Disney resorts only utilize one transportation company: Mears. As long as I can remember they've done their best to keep any other operating companies off property unless dropping off guests. Smaller pizza places have periodically reported similar troubles.

When big business is allowed to censor and block small business an open economy is severely diminished. It has gone far beyond playing Net Nanny. I may just pursue my legal options on this problem. It sure ain't legal!

Blocking Adult Businesses

Make no mistake – telephone line blocks, IP address blocks, and network blocks are still in full force in Orlando and Las Vegas during large conventions when hotels are booked solid with conventioneers. Of course I have little doubt that this is transpiring in other U.S. cities as well, but can't prove it as I'm not there checking it.


If there are 140,000 attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January in Las Vegas and you own escort services, but the phones aren't ringing except for a random call here and there – mainly residences – you know there's a problem.

If all the better hotels and resorts in Lake Buena Vista/Disney are booked solid with convention attendees and you own escort services, but the phones aren't ringing except for a random call here and there – residences and off the beaten path calls – you've got to know that there's a problem.

When the phones ring, but the callers are all in Oviedo, out by UCF, in downtown hotels, in apartments in Kissimmee, or in Lake and Polk counties – and your service is called Orlando Escorts – you know you've got a problem.

Denial doesn't help solve the problem or make it go away. When the convention is over and you start receiving calls from all the great resorts out in family land or the convention resorts on International Drive (like the beautiful brand new Hilton) again, it serves as a vehicle to make you happy when there are no large conventions booked.

Although I still have not chosen a title, my soon to be released book is all about the blocks. They block in the PBX systems, they block IP addresses, and they block via the free WiFi at your hotel and the convention center. My new name for them is the network blockers. You can call me have laptop, will travel if your business is losing money and you just want to know. If you really do not care about the who, what, when, and where, but seek a solution to your problem, the story concludes with a workable one. I'm not quite finished yet – still have some research to do – and the book won't be published until June or July at this point.

If you're interested in censorship of business here in the good ole U.S. of A. and tire of hearing it all attributed to China, when you know it's lies, I think you will appreciate the research that I have conducted in the process of exposing an abhorrent practice in a so-called free country.

Really I'm only posting this to let you know that I'm still alive and on the case. In the next month or so I will title the book and announce it, but for the moment this is my explanation for my disappearance. Back to work I go…

Free Speech Victory

I never saw this announced on any news forum, but on October 20th Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart's suit against Craigslist was tossed out in federal court. You remember the suit – the sheriff publicized it well and then South Carolina AG joined in with his own legal threats. I am only aware of the outcome as it was included in my Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) EFFector List news.


Matt Zimmerman wrote:

On Tuesday, the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois agreed with craigslist, throwing out Dart's complaint in its entirety, confirming that Section 230 immunized craigslist from the allegation that it constituted a "public nuisance." The court made a number of important observations regarding the attempt to saddle craigslist with responsibility for the behavior of its users.

The main points in the decision:

The phrase "adult," even in conjunction with "services," is not unlawful in and of itself nor does it necessarily call for unlawful content. ... The same is true of subcategories. Plaintiff is simply wrong when he insists that these terms are all synonyms for illegal sexual services.


Intermediaries are not culpable for "aiding and abetting" their customers who misuse their service to commit unlawful acts.

Read the court opinion here: Dart v. Craigslist Opinion

Let this be a lesson learned for the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) in Orlando, and for every publisher (print and internet) that the agency managed to threaten into submission. If you have no clue as to what I'm stating, simply click on the "Public Records" link and read every thinly veiled threat the agency made to Craigslist and the final agreement with Orlando area publisher, the Orlando Weekly. Read The Yellow Pages Fiasco to learn more about this agency's longstanding attack on publishers in the Orlando area.

Each publisher should have stood their ground for free speech and stated the same thing to the bully agency that I have since 1994: See you in court!

Now that is a real victory! 

Censored on Craigslist

This is only a quick intermission from the attorney stuff. I'll get back there soon.

Craigslist is set-up to be run by the community, and that community of your peers can easily flag your free classified ad down in no time flat. I have posted ads for my book, Memoirs of an Accused Madam: The War on Adult Business in Orlando, on the Orlando Craigslist on several occasions and each posting was removed so quickly that I never did get to view it live, though my account still showed the post as being live. It is a toss-up as to whether Craigslist never posted it to begin with or the so-called community of my peers flagged it down in lightening speed. It was gone before it was there.

If this is the fault of Craigslist, then shame on them. I have referred to Jim Buckmaster and this online classified website only in the best light in my book and in posts on this blog. I am well aware of what the MBI attempted to do to him. I always felt that Buckmaster was singled-out in the world of online advertising, and undeservingly so. If this is a community flagging problem, well these people are quick as the ad was not visible 30 minutes after it was posted. Unless the community of my peers is a gang of vengeful MBI agents this is not understandable. I envision 20 agents receiving an alert to flag the ad ASAP.

If it is really the community in Orlando doing this flagging, then what type of community is this? Are these flaggers people that despise books and enjoy censoring any writer that they are in disagreement with? For crying out loud – it is a damn book, and a factual book at that. Every page of it is non-fiction. Is this the same crowd that wants to clean-up the libraries, remove any controversial books, and send them to the bonfire?

Scary stuff.

Explicit prostitution ads last much longer than my book ad ever did. What does this reveal about the Orlando community or what is acceptable within the community? I will leave that to your imagination.

All the more reason to read my book.

Telephone Problems Unresolved

In the course of my research this past week I must confirm that the telephone line blocks on escort services in Orlando are still in force, and I do this research often so I've managed to track a pattern. It's the same game as was described in earlier posts with the blocks being in place in particular resorts when there are medium to large conventions.


For this week my award for FCC violations, constitutional violations, and interference are awarded to the following Walt Disney World resorts: the Dolphin; the Swan; the Yacht Club; the Beach Club; and Boardwalk. Of course there is a list of other affected resorts, but these five win my weekly prize.


I'd also like to offer second place to a list of International Drive resorts: the Peabody; the Rosen Shingle Creek; the Rosen Plaza Hotel, the Rosen Center; the Quality Inn Plaza, Renaissance Sea World; Hyatt Place Orlando; and the brand new Hilton Orlando.

Of course there are many additional resorts that should be added to the awards list in both Disney and International Drive areas, but these places really stick out like a sore thumb this past 5 days due to occupancy rates and specific large convention bookings.

What is one common denominator of these blocking hotels?

The telephone company that services all needs from the PBX systems, to in-room internet, to wireless services. Oh, and the very same telephone company services the Orange County Convention Center and all resorts on Disney property. Without further adieu I will introduce Smart City! Now Smart City also has quite a presence in Las Vegas (go figure)! This enterprising company joined with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority to further develop a solid imprint in the industry, but I'll go ahead and assert that they were doing pretty good long before making that move, and that the company goes back to 1984. I must add that Smart City used to be Disney's Vista United Telecommunications, which was a limited liability company created by Disney before the buyout. I had to throw that in for good measure.

What is another common denominator? I'll give you a hint – it's all about theme parks, multi-media, and resorts, and it has a worldwide imprint.

What is an additional common denominator? Hint time: The name appears 3 times in the International Drive resort list, but actually owns four of the named resorts.

Yes, I know that I am quite the sarcastic ______ (you fill in blank), but you would be too if these people had robbed you for the last 17 years and set the dogs of war on you by doing their very best to see you buried in a Florida prison.

And where is John Gray, the Spearmint Rhino super-dude of men's clubs? (see You Tube video at the footer of this blog).

Stay tuned for future awards and additional hints.

Setting up a Business

When I wrote Blueprint for an Escort Service, I did so with a presumption that most people know how to open a business in their specific area – not necessarily an escort service, but the initial steps of opening any business. I offered some instructions in the book, including how to get an occupational license. One used to go to "occupational licenses" to get a license, but many areas in the U.S. have renamed it to something tax related, for example: department of revenue; business tax receipts, county tax collector; tax receipts etc…. I don't know why, except that the new naming scheme instills the thought of paying tax and you are paying a tax when you purchase the license. So what used to be self-explanatory now takes a little thought and exploration, but it's the same thing and usually the same people work there and it is in the same location.


I did outline basic steps of opening a business in any state, usually using a corporation or limited liability company, but it can also be done with a "fictitious name" or "assumed name" by filing the Joe Schmoe doing business as "xyz" name with the state. If you do not already know which state office to fill out the form with, it is usually easily found by Googling "open a business in Florida" (substitute your state). In Florida it is the Florida Department of State - Division of Corporations.

Only professions are licensed by the state. Some examples are: attorney; plumber; real estate appraiser; real estate sales; beautician; massage therapist; and accountant. In this situation the professional must pass a state exam of some type and be qualified to operate in the particular profession. Escorts and entertainers are not qualified by any state that I know of, so no need to dwell on a state license. To operate a business of any type, a license is required, mainly so that the local government can collect money from you. Well, it's the truth, and I'm always real on this blog.

There are some areas in the U.S. that make a person jump through hoops and spend a fortune to obtain a license to operate as an escort service. To be an escort and get the appropriate license is not much less trouble and any escort that works as an independent contractor with you will need her own license. For more information on classifications, read Independent Contractor vs. Employee. So for those geographical areas that promote a religious or moral agenda and force one to jump through the hoops in a lame attempt to circumvent the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, well that is good reason to see what other operators in the area do. It is highly unlikely that you will be the only service in a given area, so research it.

In Orlando and Orange County, Florida, the easiest route is to be an entertainment company that sends out entertainers. The same holds true for Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, believe it or not. You will encounter disdain and contempt when requesting a license for an escort company in most areas, but move beyond this and be a big girl or boy. Take control of the situation. If you know that there are 30 companies in your area and each is called an "entertainment service" then don't buck the trend. Just go with it. If you know that each is an "escort service" just get your damn license. Don't whine about people giving you a hard time – these are local government employees – just instruct as to exactly what you want. That means instruct, not ask demurely. Got that?

The escort business can be rough and plenty of people are going to throw interference in your path. The music business, pro wrestling, transportation, and even house cleaning in a heavily competitive area, are not much different. Free enterprise in the U.S. is competitive and often a fight. If you can't make it through the licensing it is unlikely that you would survive anyway.

Before the week is over I'll discuss other potential categories of businesses that could easily fit the method of operation, as discussed in Blueprint, of an escort service.

Red Light Districts

What do you think that a red light district is? You must answer without looking it up anywhere as otherwise it will be a missed point.

I have been writing about red light districts the last several days for no real reason, except that we do not have such places in the U.S., and I miss home – Europe – where they are prevalent. Walking through Amsterdam's red light district is enlightening for anyone. As a teenager and young adult I visited Amsterdam often and walked through the red light district on occasion. I did the same in several cities in Germany – it is really not that unusual in Europe.

A good friend – Dusty in Memoirs – worked in Amsterdam's district from the summer of 1996 until December of 1997, leaving once in a while to work in a club in Switzerland or in Germany. Dusty and my co-defendant in the criminal case, Rocky, performed in clubs – live sex clubs. They did a choreographed sex show. In Amsterdam they worked in Casa Rosso and Moulin Rouge. See the YouTube video "Casa Rosso" on this blog, and no, there is nothing sexual on the video. We do still live in the U.S. and this blog has no porn. It is just the Adventures in Europe dude, Big D, talking to the doorman of the club, but you will get the idea. Now that is in the red light district.

What is not in a red light district is any adult business in Orlando or Orange County. In Orlando the dancers in men's clubs must wear tape on their nipples, and Orlando has a ban on alcohol consumption in adult establishments. Orange County does not have the alcohol ban; however, dancers are more covered than in any place that I've ever heard of. There is no such thing as full nudity in the city or the county. Yet I saw City of Orlando Assistant Attorney Kyle Shepard on television last night, and he had the audacity to state, "We don't want a red light district inside the city." As if such a phenomenon was even a possibility in the City of Orlando! Trust me Kyle – there will never be a red light district in the city.

The city, by the way, refers to all hookers on Orange Blossom Trail as "escort services" on the city website – a statement that floored me. When did we start calling street hookers escort services? These people really lost me long ago. I've always wondered where they came from. Even Disney has Gay Days every year. Hell, I'm just happy that I'm out of there, and I am sure that the feeling is mutual.

So what was your answer to my question? Well, classically, prostitution is offered in a red light district, although one could also consist of sex shops, sex theaters, and live sex shows. I couldn't call any area a red light district unless prostitution was offered by women in windows, street hookers, or in some other unimaginable manner though. It is a term that dates back to biblical times.

Adult Business Restrictions

Adult ordinances in various areas of the U.S. restrict legal behavior of adults and adult businesses with no real reasoning except an agenda of dictating moral values. They can't shut it all down, so they choose to rule by hiding behind law. I don't care what label is behind these restrictions, it is still a morals and religious agenda dictated by the so-called morally superior and backed by puppet politicians.


Restrictions on adult businesses in Orlando were discussed in When Adult Ordinances Infringe (Part 1) and Adult Ordinances Infringe (Part 2). There is an update on the Orlando adult business restrictions and related news from other areas in the U.S. that prompts me to tackle this topic once again. Of course it is a never-ending battle for any business that falls in the adult category and legislation is often volatile, so what holds today may not tomorrow.

The City of Orlando Adult ordinance was once again in the news just two days ago. Minimal changes are being made so that the ordinance is not attacked in court after recent rulings in other areas. The changes were actually supported by local adult business opponents, including pastors and the Florida Family Policy Council, but only because they fear the questionable ordinance could be ripped apart in court and think of this move as prevention. They made it so that adult businesses can open in the city, but only in a far-away industrial area that no one in their right mind would want to open near. They actually even stated that in the news. Every single comment on an Orlando Sentinel blog attacked them for the anti-adult stance. Makes me wonder who these politicians think they represent. One poster made the point that, "Strip clubs don't bring anymore crime than Churches." Another poster, from Tampa, commented that it was a good thing and would help Tampa Bay. Yet another pointed out that they only read the Sentinel to "catch up on the latest home invasions and murders" anyway. One poster called the MBI the Morality Board Inc. – which fits the MBI Governing Board quite well.

To the Florida Family Policy Council: There was a point in my life when I was married and wanted that white picket fence and the house that goes with it, but that was very long ago. That is wonderful that each of you chose the family values ticket in life and it has worked for you, but I was divorced in 1987, and it never worked for me. Cease your attempts to dictate and legislate morals and religion to the rest of the population that doesn't fit into your presumptuous ideals. You have indeed succeeded in sending the majority of our conventions booked in previous years elsewhere. Not everyone goes to bed by 10 p.m. or looks forward to standing in theme park lines all day. Trust me - they didn't all exit because they were having too much fun in Orlando.

The big news that prompted the change to our Orlando ordinance, or at least played a part in the minor and ridiculous change, was a federal appeals court ruling in the 7th Circuit. Four adult businesses in Indianapolis filed suit over several issues and according to the ruling, the hours these businesses are open cannot be limited. The businesses concerned are sellers of adult books, movies, magazines, and well, toys. They can now set-up private booths for patrons to view materials and can remain open 24/7 if they so desire. Naturally the city intends to take it to the higher court – the U.S. Supreme Court – according to words exchanged when the ruling was received. Good – when they lose in the highest court in the nation it will serve to solidify the ruling.

Orlando's ruling puppet politicians should take this seriously. Dictating escort service hours to the extent that a 10 p.m. closing time is enforced and violators charged with misdemeanors, along with other baseless restrictions in the ordinance, should be gutted. Not much doubt that it will be in the days ahead….

I lived in a censored area for 20 years. Those days are over.