Posted 2/13/2010 05:22:00 PM by Douglas

Looks like Texas' so called "pole tax" is taking the main stage again.

The Texas Supreme Court has decided to review the legality of charging a $5-per-person “pole tax” to patrons of strip clubs and other adult entertainment venues, a case that has hinged on whether the government can tax content protected by the First Amendment.

The law, passed in the 2007 legislative session, originally directed revenues collected from the fee toward sexual abuse and violence treatment and prevention programs, but it has been mired in legal wrangling almost since it took effect in 2008.

On any level, this "tax" is absurd.

Labels: houston titties

Posted 12/19/2007 05:44:00 PM by Douglas

Your lap-dance is about to go up five bones.

A judge denied a request from the owners of nude entertainment clubs for a temporary injunction Tuesday to block Texas' upcoming $5 strip club fee as an unfair tax and a violation of free speech rights.

Their attorneys had argued the fee should be blocked from taking effect in 2008.

Judge Scott Jenkins heard legal arguments and testimony throughout the afternoon before issuing his ruling.

State attorneys said the $5 per customer surcharge will be fairly imposed and won't violate the club's First Amendment rights.

Violation of free speech? Ok, that's a stretch, but still, pretty stupid tax if you asked me. But I'm not a big fan of "the man" telling me how to live my life.

Labels: houston titties

Posted 5/24/2007 05:05:00 PM by Douglas

I'm stuck on a de Tocqueville kick today. No idea why, but here's a pithy quote-a-thon:

• A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
• All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
• No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.
• There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.
• Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.
• In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.
• Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.
• There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
• The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.

And of course, his genius observation. Even in the 1820s, he knew what so many democracy worshipers still don't know today:

• The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

How eerily prophetic. For example, this unapologic quote from today:

"I had to make a decision to find a revenue source for issues important to me," he said. "It won't impact business and will serve a good cause."

Way to go. Extort money from one group to pay another. The American way!

Labels: de tocqueville, houston titties

Posted 5/21/2007 05:36:00 PM by Douglas

Not that the money is the only aspect to consider with Houston's latest crack-down on strip clubs, but $6 Million?!? Are you freakin' kidding me? Have the puritanical reactionaries that think men are going to stop wanting to look at women's boobs if Sugar isn't twisting her ass on stage offered up any kind of compensatory solution to the loss in tax base? I think not.

During the 10 years the city has fought in court for tougher rules regulating Houston's strip clubs, it has also accepted at least $6 million of their money.

That's the city's cut from nearly half a billion dollars in beer, wine and liquor sales inside the dozens of topless clubs that have operated since 1997, according to state tax records examined by the Houston Chronicle.

That was the year the City Council adopted a strict new ordinance regulating the clubs and other places defined as sexually oriented businesses. Among many new rules, the law prohibits them from operating near schools, churches, parks and one another.

$500 Million dollars generated in a voluntary, consensual, yet heavily regulated business in Houston alone. The mind set behind this law is just mind numbing. Houston, you want to see prostitution numbers soar? Shut down the tittie bars.

Labels: houston titties

Posted 5/10/2007 05:38:00 PM by Douglas

We all know strip clubs are an easy target for the bloody do-gooders that want to keep lonely guys from seeing boobs while they drink a beer. That's easy enough to understand, because who is going to defend them? But that doesn't mean anyone can just extort from them, does it? Meet Ellen Cohen.

Strip club patrons will have to pay an extra $5 at the door, under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday.

State Rep. Ellen Cohen, a freshman Democrat and president of the Houston Area Women's Center, sponsored the measure, which would provide $18 million for sexual-assault programs by tacking a $5 state fee on admissions to sexually oriented businesses that provide live entertainment.

"I am simply thrilled that this bill will help provide much-needed services for sexual assault survivors," Cohen said. "To me, this victory was in honor of the over 1.9 million sexual assault survivors in Texas today and in memory of those who did not survive."

First off, I don't see the connection. Women's centers need funding, too, but why get it from strip club cover charges? If you're going to extort money from strip club patron, why not put it to something that will have a greater impact on those that work there? Regrettable tattoo removal? How 'bout counseling and/or lessons for the dancer's kids in the delicate art of awkward breakfast conversation with strange men?

But the do-gooding puritanicals that want to legislate morality will introducing this stupid bullshit while the titty-bars rake in money hand over lap. Meanwhile, Houston spends millions in a vain attempt to keep two consenting adults from doing what they want to in a dimly lit bar.

It's a big bill for so few clothes.

The city has spent nearly $1.3 million since 1997 on outside lawyers to defend a sweeping sexually oriented business ordinance against legal challenges from topless bars, adult book stores and "modeling" studios, officials say.

That figure doesn't include the likely equal amount of time city lawyers have spent over the years supporting and advising the outside legal team.

Sleep tight, Houston, knowing the city and state are working overtime protecting the public from your dangerous boner.

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