-Caveat Lector- Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 11:04:52 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Mack White <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Blame the books! Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Status: -Poster: Mack White <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >-Poster: Darko Macan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >I probably wouldn't notice them apart but these three clippings all came in >the same issue of DarkEcho Newsletter. No mention of comics, yet: > >According to States News Service, reporting on Fri, May 28, STEPHEN KING told >a crowd of 700 that writers need to examine the impact of their work on >society. King was a guest speaker at the Vermont Library Association's annual >meeting in Killington, VT. The author said recent incidents, such as the >shootings at Columbine High School, have moved him to look inward and examine >the effect of his books...including three that have dealt with high school >violence. While not condoning censorship, King says he has asked his >publisher to pull one of his books, written under his Richard Bachman >pseudonym, off the shelves. [Editorial Note: I have yet to track this story >further, but one assumes that the book mentioned as being pulled may be RAGE.] What an ill-informed, naive fool Mr. King is. If only he had known the real reasons behind the Littleton massacre, he would not have abdicated his own First Amendment rights. >Apparently for the first time in American publishing history a publisher has >been held liable for a crime committed by a reader. According to Publishers >Weekly Daily, PALADIN PRESS, publisher of the controversial murder how-to >manual HIT MAN, has agreed to pay a reported $5 million to end a >six-year-old suit in which the house was charged with aiding and abetting >murder. The press will also cease publication of the book. Paladin blamed its >insurance company for declining to risk a jury trial scheduled to begin this >week as settling would be less expensive than the cost of the trial and >subsequent appeals. A statement from the publisher expressed disappointment >with the development and said, in part, "Paladin had no say in the insurance >company's decision and, as we were dependent upon the insurance carrier's >financial support, we of necessity had to go along." Legal experts fear that >Paladin's decision to settle the case will lead to more lawsuits citing books >with similar information. The Associated Press quoted Wendy S. Myers, >presdent of the 13,500-member Society of Professional Journalists which had >filed a court brief in support of Paladin Press, as saying the suit threatens >the right of free speech, but that the timing for the suit is difficult given >the Littleton, CO shootings. To understand the reasons for Littleton, one need only observe its political effects: further erosion of the 1st and 2nd amendments. And, yes, they'll get around to comics--although I don't know why they'd bother, considering how the industry has been ghettoized and marginalized into irrelevancy (probably on purpose). Who reads the damned things anymore? Orders for good comic books now typically measure in the hundreds. It is almost not worth the effort, or expense, to produce them. It is certainly not worth the risk on the part of retailers to sell them, not when they can be busted for "obscenity" as in the Planet Comics case. And now, in light of the above legal decision, publishers can be successfully sued if some maniac gets an idea from reading the book. Of course, DC Comics (owned by media conglomerate Time Warner) won't have to worry; it's only the small, independent publisher that is threatened with extinction. >[From Variety and AP sources:] President Clinton has directed the Federal >Trade Commission and the Justice Dept. to investigate the MARKETING PRACTICES >OF THE FILM, RECORDING AND VIDEOGAME INDUSTRIES. Investigators will have the >power to subpoena internal documents at movie studios, as well as recorded >music and videogame companies. The inquiry is expected to last 12-18 months. >The goal the inquiry is to determine if there is any evidence that the >entertainment industry is marketing violent products, especially those rated >for adult content, to children. Entertainment industry representatives were >angered that the president decided to move forward with the investigation >before the House had a chance to vote on a proposal passed by the Senate that >addresses youth violence. The Senate last month passed a juvenile crime bill >that included sweeping gun restrictions and several proposals aimed at the >entertainment industry. Included in the legislation is a proposal calling for >a joint FTC-Justice Dept. investigation of the entertainment industry's >marketing practices. The gun industry is not included in Clinton's directive >is a sore point for entertainment industry lobbyists. Recording Industry >Assn. of America president and CEO said it seemed unfair for Clinton to chart >this course after claiming two weeks ago that he is not trying to blame any >particular industry for schoolyard violence in the U.S. during the past two >years. Another anonymous entertainment industry lobbyist, expressed >frustration over the timing of Clinton's action. The announcement came just >one week after a group of high-level studio executives met with MPAA >president Jack Valenti to discuss the political climate in Washington. The >lobbyist said it appeared that the White House was more interested in >"scooping Congress" than in learning what constructive steps Hollywood is >interested in making. The ignorant masses believe history is random. They do not know it is planned by the elites, who are of course in a position to determine what gets taught in history classes and broadcast on the evening news. Most people have never even heard of the Hegelian dialectic. They cannot imagine anyone being so mean as to stage an atrocity like Littleton to justify taking away their rights. For that matter, they don't even know the names of the elites who use puppets like Bill Clinton. And most can't even be troubled to take the time to read and find out. They'd rather just read, or (more likely) watch, the violent fantasies the Establishment media (Jack Valenti indeed! there's a character for you--straight from LBJ's Chamber of Horrors!) puts out there to justify further erosion of the First Amendment. What a pathetic, deluded race is humankind. Mack White [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.swankarmy.net/dutch5/comixnow/ DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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