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Editorial: Independence Day
July 2nd, 2006

Editorial: Once Again...
June 25th, 2006

Editorial: Home Ownership
June 24th, 2006

Editorial: Mosquito Control in Cedar Key
May 11th, 2006

Editorial: Will Gas Prices Go Up?
April 30th, 2006

Editorial: Tree Ordinance Violations
April 26th, 2006

Editorial: Why Worry about Global Warming?
April 21st, 2006

Editorial: The Purpose of Government?
March 23rd, 2006

Editorial: Air Boat Regatta, Guests or Pests?
January 29th, 2006

Editorial: The East-West Management Plan
December 21st, 2005

Editorial: Water, Water, Water
December 13th, 2005

Editorial: Bad News for Print News, Good for Online
November 14th, 2005

Editorial: A Bad Tradition
November 10th, 2005

Editorial: For the Birds
October 17th, 2005

Editorial: If It Killed the River....
October 4th, 2005

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Editorial: The Obscenity Conundrum

Editorial: The Obscenity Conundrum

Editor

Obscene, adj., based on the Latin word for filth. 1. offensive to one`s feelings, or to prevailing notions of modesty or decency; lewd. 2. disgusting; repulsive.

Complaints from citizens of Cedar Key about allegedly obscene signs have inundated city hall recently. The stimulus of the complaints is the name of a yet-to-open restaurant on Dock Street. The complaints are an echo of complaints about the name of a chain of restaurants called Hooters. The name Hooters as well as the local instance have been judged to be insulting to women, disgusting and repulsive.

Debates about obscenity arise from content of radio programs, newspaper cartoons and works of art. Deciding what is legally obscene depends on "one`s feelings or prevailing notions of modesty, etc." Gainesville radio station Rock 104 includes the Lex & Terry program, a nationally syndicated show, in which Lex and Terry use presumably simulated sounds of flatulence and recommendation of giving women physical abuse. This passes for entertainment and airs despite complaints from Floridians. On the international scene, a Danish cartoon depicting Allah caused an outcry and death threats from offended Islamic people far from Denmark. These examples demonstrate the difficulty in getting a consensus of what is obscene. Locally it is hard, globally it is impossible.

The U.S. Supreme Court has great difficulty in deciding what is obscene. The Cedar Key City Commission plans to have the obscenity issue on the agenda of a meeting in the near future. The current sign ordinance may or may not be adequate to limit the contents of commercial signs. If the ordinance is unenforceable then it should be modified.

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