Freedom

This is a matter of freedom to speak, freedom to congregate, freedom to learn about ourselves and to share that knowledge. That’s what this country stands for and it’s essential that those of us who believe in these tenets take a stance against those seeking to oppress them.

Mike Verdugo, the police officer who was terminated for his role in a gay porn film, will retain his certification as a law enforcement officer an earlier unlawful at the Hollywood, Florida Police Department.

Proposition 8 was overturned last week, and today, chief judge Vaughan Walker lifted his temporary stay on wedding ceremonies, meaning gay couples so inclined will be able to wed here in California after Wednesday, August 18.

Mike Verdugo is a police officer in Broward County, Florida — or was until the Hollywood, Florida Police Department fired him over a role he played in a porn flick.

The Telegraph reports a number of erotic novels have disappeared from the top UK sellers list of iBooks. Think about that next time you buy one of their products, iSheep. If you think hype and “slick design” is worth your freedom, you don’t deserve that freedom.

Earlier this month, the site CougarLife.com, which connects older women with younger men, got a bit of a nasty shock from Google. The search engine giant, which was receiving $100,000 a month from CougarLife to manage its advertising and place it on content pages, told CougarLife that its ads, which had been appearing since October, would no longer be accepted. The reason? Cougar sites are not “family safe.”

Remember American Wife, the book by Curtis Sittenfeld, about an American first lady who is wife to a conservative warhawk and who stands beside him despite how much she disagrees with him on issues? Probably not because, well, who reads anymore? Anyway, it was said to be loosely based on Laura Bush. In the book,…continue reading.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that Apple banned Pulitzer-winning satirist Mark Fiore from its app store for ridiculing public figures (um, he’s a satirist, like, hello). Apple CEO Steve Jobs has since called the ban a mistake, but he’s not done ruining the fun for everyone. Last week, TechCrunch published an…continue reading.

When it comes to sex ed, some Wisconsin teachers are officially screwed. The state requires them to teach about contraception, but Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth has proclaimed that if any of them do, he’ll press charges. Leslie Madsen-Brooks covers the issue at BlogHer: “Southworth believes classroom discussion of how to properly use contraceptives…continue reading.

Last weekend, Georgetown students rose in revolt against the campus’ anti-choice policies during tours by prospective students. These anti-choice policies force students to go off campus for condoms and birth control. The Washington Post reported on the incident: As groups of prospective students and their parents toured Georgetown University Saturday afternoon, three current students put…continue reading.