On the fiftieth anniversary of the court decision that ruled that Alan Ginsberg’s poem Howl was not obscene, radio stations are reluctant to air a reading of the poem. Faced with the potential of stiff fines from the Federal Communications Commission for “indecency,” radio stations are taking a pass on the poem. Fifty years have passed and a court decision has ruled that the poem is NOT obscene, and they are still afraid to broadcast an important poem. Damn you, Janet Jackson.

Meanwhile, in Canada the government of Toronto used a picture of a penny in a campaign to lobby the Canadian government to return a portion of the taxes raised by the Province. Not only does Toronto appear to be getting stiffed on the tax issue, they are also being sued by the Canadian Royal Mint for copyright infringement for unauthorized use of a photograph of Canadian money and using the words “one cent”.