A special note to all of our valued customers...
This month, embre and I ask you to reflect on why you support websites like Slave Next Door with your hard earned money. We like to think that its because you like to see graphic, genuine S/M between two people in love. You already know how hard it is to find that which we offer on the World Wide Web. You also know that many websites don’t like to mix subjects of Bondage, S/M and sex. But embre and I have always felt that these are just the kinds of things that color our life together, and that our customers deserve to see it. For our part, we feel that Slave Next Door is much more than just "making a living", it’s a valued and important part of our relationship.
And as you ponder the reasons why you return to us each week, we ask you to consider the future of amateur BDSM websites like ours. As purveyors of erotic perversion, embre and I are obligated to keep up with the latest developments effecting our site. What we have seen during the last four years reflects a disturbing trend that threatens the survival of Slave Next Door and its contemporaries. We think you should know about what we have seen.
You might not feel the results yet, but politicians in Washington have already launched a well planned and well supported war on pornography. Your elected leaders have been swayed by a number of special interests that want to severely restrict porn on the World Wide Web. There are already over 50 new prosecutions for obscenity awaiting trial, and dozens of others have seen convictions and sentencing. New laws will be passed soon that will make doing business at SND more difficult, and more dangerous from both a legal and physical aspect. Amateur webmasters and webgirls are particularly vulnerable, and objections over these laws to Ashcroft and his pals are met with quotes like "What makes you think we care?" To embre and I, this represents the nadir of evil, at a time when valuable resources could be spent on fighting terrorism here and around the world. But we aren’t surprised really. Ashcroft sees us (and you) as abominations in their "perfect America". It is their express and stated mission to drive people like us out of business.
We realize that some of you voted for George Bush in 2000, and are thinking about doing the same in 2004. We know that some of you dislike the current democratic candidate. Some of you are close friends of ours, who support traditional Republican ideals of strong defense, personal responsibility and smaller government. But we also know that many of you feel betrayed by a President who has pulled his party to the extreme right. This is a President who is supported and influenced by a fanatical religious groups who teach fear and sexual repression, and who blur the sacred line between religion and politics. Bush isn’t just a "tool" for use by these groups either...he is one of them through and through...a fundamentalist who believes that he was chosen by God to be President over a "Christian Nation". But to many of you, being a Republican not only means believing in lower taxes and a less intrusive government...it also means fighting for your constitutional right to live life as you see fit. Embre and I believe in this ideal too.
There will be many issues to think about as the November elections draw near. The economy, National Security, and the war in Iraq. But as you ponder these issues, please...do not forget about the importance of free sexual expression, and a world wide web that is unencumbered by conservative morality. Consider the following quote made by George Bush himself in 2003:
"The Internet is remarkable technology...The flow of information is freer and broader. Yet the new freedom presents us with an unprecedented challenge: A technology that brings knowledge also brings obscenity and danger. Until recently, the worst kind of pornography was mainly limited to red-light districts or restricted to adults or confined by geography, isolated by shame."
Bush is not alone when he yearns for the "good old days" when we felt isolated and ashamed of our own sexual needs. Some of his biggest supporters are Morality in Media, The American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and a multitude of others are campaigning heavily for Bush to win this November. Their support for him yields influence in Washington. They put pressure on District Attorney’s in YOUR state from two directions...by encouraging citizens to report what they see as "obscenity", and by pressure from Ashcroft’s office at the Department of Justice. Their hope is that Bush and Ashcroft can finish the war on porn that they began in 2000. If you are a member of Slave Next Door, then you have a lot at stake in this fight.
I have never forgotten what it was like to be a young man with an "unnatural" kind of sexual interest, and how hard it was to find the kind of pictures and stories that I needed at the time. I remember making dangerous trips into inner city smut stores to search for bondage magazines. I’m sure we all recall what it was like to endure 5 minute browsing limits, surly sales clerks, and having to guess what was underneath the plastic sealed magazines. Can you remember taking your purchase home, only to see bored models, loose gags and sloppy bondage? How many times did you feel ripped off by the people that cared only about taking your money? These are the days that "W" and his minions are working to return to...in his own words, a time of isolation and shame.
As November approaches, embre and I brace ourselves for what the future holds. While we enjoy sharing our lives with each of you, I have always made the care and protection of my loved ones first priority. To many of you, this war on porn threatens your enjoyment of it. To us, this war represents a threat to our survival. If I feel that we must censor some of our content to protect ourselves, than that is what we must do. It is our strongest belief that none of us...embre, myself, and all of you who enjoy Slave Next Door...want this to happen. Hopefully, we can continue to provide you all with only the most candid, inside view of a Master's life with his slave.
So please...if you choose to visit the polls this November, know why you make the choice that you do, and be mindful of the consequences.
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