Reading Andrew Sullivan alternate between horror at John McCain naming of Sarah Palin as his VP, and anxiety over the possible Proposition 8, I am reminded of my first exchange with Sullivan, when I forwarded him my essay, “It’s Not About Procreation”, which became grist for his post “Theocons vs. Breeders”. He ended his post with this:

“I’m glad more and more heterosexuals are waking up to the theocon agenda.”

I took some exception to the “waking up” part. From where I’m sitting, it’s Sullivan who slept through the alarm. Below is the essay I wrote in response on Nov 21, 2006. Nearly two years later, with Paul Little convicted and John Stagliano charged,  and Sullivan married, revisiting the post seems timely. Read it after the cut:
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I’m sure everyone is as weary of politics as we are here at Comstock Films. But the fight’s not over. Yesterday, when I made our contribution to NoOnProp8.com I said, “I hope this isn’t too little too late.”

“No” said the woman taking down our information, “every penny counts!”

So, now that you’ve bought a DVD to stop Proposition 8, it’s time to head on over to CrashPadSeries.com, and buy a subscription, with all of today’s sales going to NoOnProp8.com.

The Crash Pad series is the brainchild of Shine Louis Houston. If you’ve seen our film MATT AND KHYM, you might remember seeing her name in the credits. I first worked with Shine in October of 2004 when I was out West doing preproduction for MATT AND KHYM and BILL AND DESIREE, and immediately knew she was someone who “got it.” My instincts were confirmed about a year later with the release of her first film, THE CRASH PAD.

Simply put, THE CRASH PAD is the only erotic film that Peggy and I have watched in the last several years that we haven’t turned off inside the first 15 minutes. In fact, we watched CRASH PAD front to back; and when it was over we were both charmed and turned on. Watching THE CRASH PAD made us feel good about ourselves, good about sex, and good about the work we do. It’s a smart, sexy, and sweet film, and it’s no surprise it’s played to enthusiastic audiences at film festivals worldwide.

So go. Now. Go. Support the fight against Prop 8. GO!

The good guys:

B.J. from California has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
V.R. from California has given $84 to stop Proposition 8
L.T. from Australia has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
M.S. from New York has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
M.H. from Georgia has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
R.W. from California has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
A.B. from Washington has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
M.S. from California has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
A.S from North Carolina has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
D.W. from Wisconsin has given $112 to stop Proposition 8
M.S. from Oregon has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
H.H. from California has given $28 top stop Proposition 8
M.D. from Washington has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
M.R. from California has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
A.D. from North Carolina has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
J.F. from Michigan has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
N.M. from New York has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
M.R. from New York has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
J.A. from New York has given $56 to stop Proposition 8
D.S. from Florida has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
K.R from Pennsylvania has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
S.M. from Michigan has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
C.S. from California has given $84 to stop Proposition 8
L.N. from California has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
J.G. from Illiniois has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
A.G. from Washington has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
A.C. from California has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
G.L from California has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
J.M. from Massecusetts has given $28 to stop Proposition 8
A.M. from California gave $56 to stop Proposition 8
S.J. from California gave $84 to stop Proposition 8
R.D. from California gave $28 to stop Proposition 8
E.J. from Washington gave $56 to stop Proposition 8
J.C. from California gave $140 to stop Proposition 8
D.B. from California gave $28 to stop Proposition 8
J.A. from California gave $28 to stop Proposition 8 (J.A. was 12 minutes late, but we’re counting him!)

It’s 6AM and I haven’t had my coffee yet, but that looks like $1596! Not exactly Apple’s $100K, but then we’re a slightly smaller organization.

They were wonderful news tid bits, then they weren’t, now they are again?

Google “disappears” sex blogs?
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/google-disappears-se.html

Media overestimates porn industry’s girth, say indie producers
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/media-overestimates-.html

I suppose I should take a screen shot or something. Or maybe not. Who knows.

On the eve of his nuptials, I sent conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan this bit of hard-won bit of wisdom:

“You’re nervous? Of course you are. You’re submitting your autonomy to the State in exchange for legal recognition of and protection of your relationship. You’re entering a contract to regard your beloved as family, a contract that (some day in your future) will supersede love and affection. You don’t really know what marriage is about until the day you have a fight that so bad the only reason you stay together is because you’re married.

“The storm will pass. You’ll both still be there, still married, and glad you are, and you’ll say “Oh, that’s what the big deal about this piece of paper is all about.”

“To regard your beloved as family.”  Think on that for a moment. Think about all the shit that’s gone down between you and your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, your children. Shit you’d never inflict on a friend; shit a friendship would never survive.

Most familial relationships are not voluntary. You don’t choose your parents. You may choose to have children, but you don’t choose who they are; they just are. You don’t choose your brothers or sister, or aunts and uncles and cousin.

But marriage is different, it’s a choice. Marriage is the legal and social mechanism by which we choose to turn our beloved from being an acquaintance into being our family, with all the privileges and responsibilities that entails. It is as profound an act of conscience as any person ever makes. And it is a fundamental liberty that must be protect for all people.

The Marriage-Bed-On-Fire Sale of the Year starts now. For the next 27 hours 100% of all sales go to NoOnProp8.com. So what are you waiting for? Go! Buy something!

UPDATE 8/28 9:21PM EDT

We are at $784 with just under 8 hours to go. We’d really like to be able to make a $1000 donation to NoOnProp8.com later tonight. Make a purchase now and help us get there!

I have had some thoughts about Loving v. Virginia, and why, as an issue of civil rights, the right to marry whom we chose is much closer to religious liberty than racial equality. The short version is that an accident of birth is not the same thing as an act of conscience, and the true mark of a tyrannical regime is one that persecutes its citizens on the basis of acts of conscience; in what they think, how they worship, and in whom they love.

I will save the long version for a later date. For now, here’s a list of the very kind people who are helping us get the word out about tomorrow’s fundraiser:

Ell’s Wilful Damage
The Goose and the Gander
Dramaphile
Red Rahl
AAGBlog
SlashPervert
Viviane’s Sex Carnival
Figleaf’s Real Adult Sex
Jen and Monkey at TheyBelongToUs
Fleshbot
Good Vibrations Online Magazine
Violet Blue’s TinyNibbles.com

If you are reading this and you have blog, or Facebook, or MySpace, or just a CC list for clever e-mail that you like to pass along, please help us get the word out about tomorrow’s fundraiser. The freedoms at stake in the California election are foundational. The freedom for each of us to follow our conscience without fear of government retribution lies at the very heart of what has made this country a beacon of liberty through out the world. If the government can tell us who we can and cannot marry, what’s to stop them from telling us what God we may or may not worship, or what we can and cannot say?

Tuesday, October 28. 100% of all sales to to NoOnProp8.com. Spread the word!

UPDATE 8/28 9:21PM EDT

We are at $784. We’d really like to be able to make a $1000 donation to NoOnProp8.com later tonight. Make a purchase now and help us get there!

Okay, this going to work pretty much exactly like the Hurricane Katrina Red Cross Fundraiser we did back on September 14, 2005.

This time it’s going to be from Tuesday, Oct. 28, 12AM Eastern to Oct. 29 3AM Eastern. 27 hours, 100% of the purchase price on our erotic documentary DVDs (excluding S&H) going to the No On Proposition 8 Campaign.

So get your blog on. Get your Twitter and your Facebook and your MySpace on. Text a friend, e-mail a loved one. Tell them that if they buy any Comstock Films DVD on October 28, 100% of the purchase price will go helping stop Ballot Measure 8 in California.

After Hurricane Katrina with your help, this little mom and pop operation raised over $4,000 for the Red Cross. How much we raise to stop Prop 8 is up to all of you. There’s not much time.

So what are you waiting for? Go! Now! Go!

UPDATE 8/28 9:21PM EDT

We are at $784. We’d really like to be able to make a $1000 donation to NoOnProp8.com later tonight. Make a purchase now and help us get there!

No better way to say it than how Peggy said it on her blog this morning:

We’ve decided to open up the Comstock Films Affiliate Program to a wider range of participants. If you have a blog and you’d like to pick up a little income while supporting the work we do here at Comstock Films, the Affiliate Program might be right for you!

We offer a flat 20% commission on sales referred from your Affiliate link. Choose from a variety of art, or design your own. Sign up now!

Peggy is always the first person to see a cut of whatever it is I’m working on. For almost 15 years she has been the voice I trust above all others to tell me when I’ve gone off the rails, and when I’m on the right track; so leaving a DVD with her and going out long enough for her to have a good look is always a moment of high anxiety. Yesterday, relief:

Watching Bill and Desiree make love, I found myself thinking: Oh, so this is the natural evolution of the self. Comfort, groundedness, authority—if you allow yourself to grow, and stay open. It’s inspiring, and I’m so damned proud of Tony for bringing this film into the world.

The rest of what Peggy has to say is on her blog.

Of course it wasn’t all sunshine and praise. There were a few rough patches, thing I thought *might* work, but didn’t. Fixing them will be easy. The film is, from a creative standpoint, finished.

Now to polishing: sound, color, titles. I feel proud too!

Last Spring, when I asked Alison Croggon where she and her friends where when my films were being banned from film festivals through out Australia, she told me “there were bigger issues at stake in the Bill Henson case.”

Bigger issues indeed!

‘Net filters “required” for all Australians, no opt-out

Australians may not be able to opt out of the government’s Internet filtering initiative like they were originally led to believe. Details have begun to come out about Australia’s Cyber-Safety Plan, which aims to block “illegal” content from being accessed within the country, as well as pornographic material inappropriate for children. Right now, the system is in the testing stages, but network engineers are now saying that there’s no way to opt out entirely from content filtering.