In a sad blow to our First Amendment freedoms Paul Little aka Max Hardcore was convicted of selling obscene material last week.

I've been aware of Max's work for a long time, he had a truly wicked and twisted imagination and he gave satisfaction to untold thousands of people who shared his interests. While doing so he was able to make a good living for himself and create jobs for others.

The building of a brand and products that people wanted to buy, profit from ones efforts, the creation of jobs in the process. Capitalism at it's finest, the American way. Apparently not in Max's case, for apparently he crossed an ill defined, changeable line and was prosecuted by the Bush Administration at the urging of Christian fundamentalists.

No matter what is thought of Max's films, this case must be deeply troubling to those who value freedom, and especially those of us who value sexual freedom. The enemies of freedom will target a marginal figure like Max first but now that he has been successfully persecuted they will attempt to move ever closer to the mainstream. This process must be stopped.

Jurors convict adult film producer from the St. Petersburg Times

I hope that we will all remember what happened to Max, what could happen to us when we vote this summer and fall.