Do the Hustle

Police in Hamilton County raided a Hustler store that sold explicity video tapes, touching off the latest battle in a decades-long war between sheriff Simon Leis and the Flynt family.

If this goes to trial, the old "community standards" standard will be applied, but as one of the Flynts points out, it's not clear exactly what that means in the age of the Internet. Fortunately, we've decided not to go the path of letting the most restrictive community set rules for the entire Internet. But that means we're left with a two tiered system, wherein you can be fined or jailed for selling a physical copy of the same DVD that your customer can download if he's got a decent computer and broadband access. This threatens to turn the digitial divide into a digital crack, with only the affluent guaranteed their God-given right to watch hardcore porn. Where's Ralph Nader on this?