Episode 26 of Tales From The Dropbox drops in your lap a short breath after Episode 25’s all-female vocal episode. A return to the traditionally non-traditional format of this podcast where I play a bunch of music from a widely divergent mix of genres highlighted mainly by bands which are reasonably obscure in any number of ways, primarily, because they are not played on radio in America, and sometimes, not played on radio at all.

As for this week’s social issue, a story caught my eye related to the new proposed Condoms in Pornographic Films Initiative (#15-0004) on this November’s ballot as California’s state wide successor to Los Angeles’ Measure B formally known as the Los Angeles Safer Sex In The Adult Film Industry Act. The proposed legislation is an excellent example of where an initiative is written in such a way as to diguise its true intent, in this case to place restrictions on the free speech rights of performers unrelated to the actual use of condoms, inter alia, designed to eliminate porn rather than provide safer working environments for performers. This is precisely the same tactic utilized by opponents of Planned Parenthood whereby local government imposes regulations unrelated to the actual “sin” trying to be eliminated i.e. abortion. In the case of Planned Parenthood, many states imposed strict building code regulations on clinics and as a consequence of their inability to comply with these regulations, effectively eliminated access to abortions because the clinics cannot operate as a business. See Anti-Choice Activist Admits New Laws Are Designed To Close Planned Parenthood Clinics.

Here, Initiative 15-0004 is a meaty piece of legislation imposing severe penalties for violations of the condom law, giving a private right of action to performers whom are injured while performing including the right to bring a class action. Sounds good right? On the surface this looks like a sensible law and most of the uninformed electorate will presumably vote yes on this initiative in November. Not so fast. The proposed law has serious flaws including likely constitutional flaws related to speech. No one reasonably disputes that condom use on porn sets is probably a good (but not really necessary) proposal for STD prevention, but the proposed law is not designed to accomplish that goal. Rather, the proposed law is carefully and deceptively crafted to require among other things that adult performers’ real names are to be disclosed by producers which are also required to provide the supporting documentation of compliance to those requesting the information. The threat of public disclosure threatens the safety of performers who try to maintain private lives apart from their jobs, increasing the potential for stalking. Further, the law will do little to protect the industry workers (whom are already highly concerned with their own safety) as producers will simply move their filming out of state or underground. Tough penalties are meaningless when there is no truly effective way to monitor compliance or enforce the regulations. This is not a public safety issue, it is truly a disguised elimination of “sin” ballot measure dressed up as a public health measure.

This is not a new political tactic to sneak past legislation to accomplish “moral rights” legislation by any stretch of the imagination. The social concern of import for you and me is the startling realization that a largely uninformed electorate will vote on a ballot measure impacting a large number of person’s livelihoods without understanding the consequences of that vote. And this cold fact applies not only to the vote on Initiative 15-0004.  That is, there are a significant number of persons that vote on ballot measures based primarily on the capsule summaries provided with the ballot or for candidates based upon name recognition, without taking the time to actually read the ballot measures and the actual text of the proposed legislation or the qualifications of candidates in advance of their actual voting.

So, in true Tales From The Drop Box fashion, the real question that must be addressed by all of us is: why the $%^ would you vote yes on something that you have not read nor have even reasonably considered the consequences of that yes vote?

Play it safe. If you don’t know anything, please vote no.

Here is what you’ll find in Episode #26:

1. Les Panties – “Velvet” (Cold Science)
2. Eagulls – “Velvet” (Ullages)
3. Man Made – “Nobody’s Dreaming” (TV Broke My Brain)
4. Caveman – “On My Own” (Otero War)
5. Band of Skulls – “Back of Beyond” (By Default)
6. Trashcan Sinatras – “All Night” (Wild Pendulum)
7. Lost Tapes – “Girls” (Let’s Get Lost)
8. Imaginary Hockey League – Banished to the Realm (We’ll Get Better One Day. I Promise)
9. The Kills – “Siberian Nights” (Ash & Ice)
10. Wintersleep – “Freak Out” (The Great Detachment)
11. Young Girls – “What We Do” (Party Blood)
12. Holy White Hands – “Fake It” (Sparke Sparkle)
13. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – “Wither With You” (Talk Tight)
14. The Arch Menaces – “Rock Star) (Wanna Be A)” (Primitive Germs)
15. She Drew The Gun – “Since You Were Not Mine” (Memories of The Future)

You were freakin’ out looking in the mirror, I was sick of love… your pretty face is curling up in anger …remember I did it all for you.

KFR