The Supreme Court recently decided not to rule on a case regarding obscenity laws and the trafficking of obscene materials. They decided that Miller v. California should stand. This means that each individual community gets to decide for themselves what is “obscene.”

This has two important ramifications. The first is that of course, everyone’s definition of what counts as obscene is different. A judge in one county might feel differently than a judge the next county over. In a country this diverse, it is impossible to set standards so not having a national law makes sense except…

The internet. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear this case means that what someone publishes on a website in New York where the material is not obscene can be viewed by someone in Alabama where the material is obscene. The person who posted the material is liable. This has potentially huge consequences for porn, photography, literature and other forms of art that may be posted online. Those who post have no way of knowing who is viewing their material and what the laws might be in their area.
To read more about this, go here.

Mr. Domino’s Pizza man, Mr. Thomas S. Monaghan, is building a new town in Florida called Ave Maria. In this “planned community”, abortions will be illegal, cable channels will not have x-rated shows, contraceptives will not be available at the pharmacy, and you won’t be able to buy a single condom, anywhere.

Why should we care? First of all, wielding government authority over what people can watch and how they can have sex based on religious beliefs is clearly unconstitutional. Second, these provisions could go so far as to be in the leases that future tenents sign. I know I wouldn’t want to have to sign something like that over on paper as I bought a house.

I know we could just say that people can drive to the next town to get their Crown condoms or their Stuntgirl DVDs, but I feel that if we wanted to create a town where vibrating Duckies could be bought next to regular bathtime Duckies, the ‘powers-that-be’ would never allow it.

The ACLU says that it will challenge this town if it can. I will keep you posted. - dallas

Zagat’s recently released its 2006 shopping guide and gave out awards for Most Popular, Top Quality, and Best Customer Service.

And the winner is….. Babeland! Our New York stores won Best Customer Service for all of New York City. We feel that this award reflects the hard work that we put into every customer interaction. It’s not just about the toys or the lube, it’s about making sex fun and giving people information they can take back to their bedrooms that can change their lives.

It looks like customer service is the thing this city is most in need of right now. A Reuters article on the Zagat awards says: “Poor service seems to be the biggest on-going problem facing the industry. Thirty-seven percent of all respondents specifically cite ‘lack of knowledge’ as the biggest service problem.”

Babeland must be on to something. Whether it’s our interactions with customers in our stores or on our websites, we’re happy to spead the joy of sex education and empowerment wherever we are.

For more of Babeland’s fabulous customer service, check out our terrific How-To section or stop in to one of our stores to experience the magic (or the Magic Wand) first hand.