Results tagged “freespeech”

• A local Evangelist filed a suit against the city today for violating his right to free speech at several gay-pride events.
• A building partially collapsed at 16th and Walnut this morning.
• A Hidden City exhibit is being moved from its original location in the Inquirer building due to staff complaints about its content.

This is a strange story with many different implications, not the least of which is simple. It’s a situation in which nobody seems to be right. We’ll do our best to wade through this murky situation.

Has anyone else felt a little dirty watching the Olympics the last couple weeks? I mean, Michael Phelps's Phelpsian (as opposed to Phelpsian) performance was nothing short of stellar, Usain Bolt is the kind of cocky freak of nature athlete that you can't like but can't stop watching, and you literally can't beat Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Trainer. But there's been a big cloud over these Olympics—the kind that hasn't really been there since, oh, I don't know, the 1936 Berlin games. (Notwithstanding the Munich tragedy. That was a whole other kettle of fish.)

By now you may have read about the arrest of 20-year-old street singer Anthony Riley on charges of disorderly conduct. He is, apparently, one of several criminals (read: victims) recently caught by police in an attempt to quell the evil uprising of mimes, musicians and street-based merry-makers terrorizing our city's wealthier residents.

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's?

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

After an unusually mild winter, Phillyist has found that this second day of spring is, well, not very springtimey. But here's some -ist love to keep you warm!

Over the last few days, Phillyist has breathed a sigh of relief that we no longer have the embarrassment of Terrell Owens hanging over our heads. No more impromptu, shirtless press conferences in his driveway, no more fist fights with his teammates, no more anything. Alas, the likes of Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader have conspired against us -- both have called on the Eagles to turn the other cheek and let Owens back into the fold...or at least release him.

Aside from learning to filter, er, questionable odors using a dryer sheet, a rubber band, and a paper towel tube, part of the college experience is learning to think. In an ideal world, your standard-issue college student will be exposed to a zillion and one different viewpoints and learn to think critically and go through the whole 'who am I?' thing.

Unless you live under a rock and/or have never clicked on a real-live-nude-girl website, thumbed through an issue of Playboy, or sashayed through your local sex shop, you've probably heard of Wednesday's passage of a new porn law by the Department of Justice. The legislation, known as Section 2257, could shut down a majority of the porn that you peruse. By invoking a noble purpose, the government has effectively found a way to circumvent that pesky concept of "free speech" and replace it with old-fashioned good intentions. Yet as a panhandler in front of 30th Street Station whispered to me the other day, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Requests for quarters aside, I'm starting to think he was right. With the ostensible goal of thwarting off teenage would-be starlets, the law requires that every depiction of real-life sexual activity in photographic or video form must be accompanied by a statement that indicates where age records are kept, and where to contact the record keeper. In addition, said record keeper must be available at a physical address 20 hours a week, lest Uncle Sam comes knocking at your door. The penalty for non-compliance? Up to 5 years in prison, and up to a $5000 dollar fine. As a result, thousands of sex workers – and no doubt countless Philadelphia vendors - may lose their livelihood as porn purveyors as they scramble to meet up with the Draconian regulations. And in a medium as tenuous as the Internet, it's hard to believe that the physical statistics of full name, stage name, age, location, and contact info can be filled-in with any promise of regularity. South Street may never look the same again.