Just a month after Geoff Williams reported that the economic stimulus package was stimulating more than just checking accounts, it turns out that the adult entertainment industry isn't able to keep it up. Wired reports that the porn industry is feeling the effects of increased oil prices as well as restricted consumer spending. These factors are further exaggerated by an onslaught of piracy and free amateur content. The economy is affecting everyone in the industry, from the producers to the front line retailers who are experiencing rental drops of up to 15% and DVD sales falling as well.

I think I've exhausted the number of play on words I can include in one article so I'll take a break to examine what limp porn sales mean for the economy (seriously I'm done now). While it can be argued that the industry is simply coming to grips with the same factors that have been affecting the music industry over the past 5 years that answer is simply the low hanging fruit. It's not like free and pirated porn has grown so much over the past year that the industry is tanking just because Joe Schmo is sharing pics of his ex girlfriend. Porn is actually a lagging indicator of the economy, much the way that online advertising is considered a lagging indicator.

As I may have pointed out once or twice, I am a former smoker. As such, I would have to argue that I'm a little more sensitive to cigarettes than most. Whereas the average non-smoker merely has to deal with a little unwanted smoke, I have to deal with unwanted smoke while attempting to quell the demon inside that is telling me to steal the cigarette, suck it down, and go on a nicotine bender. In spite of this, however, I try to be a nice non-smoker. I don't fake cough, I try to avoid getting into preachy discussions about the dangers of the evil weed, and I generally do my best to live and let live. With this in mind, I can't help but feel that anti-smoking laws in Canada may have jumped the shark...

The first thing is the anti-smoking warnings. Since 2000, the Canadian government has mandated that cigarette packages must sport large warnings that take up roughly 50% of the available display space. These warnings, which have to appear in both French and English, feature highly specific information about the means by which cigarettes harm health. Best of all, they come with flashy and disturbing pictures.

Canada's latest tool in its war against nicotine delivery devices is a law requiring that stores cannot openly display cigarettes. By the end of this year, all Canadian cigarette retailers must either keep their cancer sticks in drawers or hide them behind gray wall hangings that cost approximately $1,000 US. The idea is that, if children cannot see cigarettes, then they will not be inclined to begin smoking. On the other hand, speaking as someone who started smoking in his early 20's, I'd have to say that there's a slight flaw in the plan.

Here's an item that should remind you of our country's Puritan routes.

Rep. Paul Broun, a Georgia Republican, has introduced a bill that would ban the sale of soft-core pornographic magazines on military bases.

According to Broun, "Allowing sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes, feeding a base addiction, eroding the family as the primary building block of society, and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad."

The bill would amend a 1997 law that banned more hardcore magazines,

I hate to be that guy but, given the state our of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is banning the sale of pornography on bases really the most pressing issue related to the military. Maybe we should, oh, I don't know, focus on making sure that our troops have adequate body armor?

Soldiers have enjoyed looking at pictures of nude or scantily clad women for a long time. According to IMBD, "During World War II, Miss West's name was applied to various pieces of military equipment and was thus listed in Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition. The Royal Air Force named its inflatable life jackets "Mae Wests," and United States Army soldiers referred to twin-turreted combat tanks also as "Mae Wests."

I say let the people have their porn!