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tf -i Wii ednesday, April 13, 1988 St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch PC 91P -1Y Continued from Page 1N the price. ii It's in I�k Meanwhile, a St. Paul -based campaign called Clean Up Project vows to launch a boycott against "cable porn" by suggesting viewers cancel their subscriptions and tell the companies why. "It's just like dial -a -porn. These new technologies have outstripped the government's capacity to regu- late them," said Clean Up director, Robert Heinrich, former Minneton- ka city manager. He added, howev- er, that he will press for federal legislation to block the explicit films from cable systems. Earlier, objections to the movies were expressed by several city of- ficials, including the Little Canada and Vadnais Heights city councils and Newport Mayor John Walker. "The company is lying to ,is," said Bob Staeheli, who represents Mahtomedi on the Ramsey -Wash- ington County Cable Commission. "They say it's not pornography. I watched one; it shows anal and oral sex, intercourse, masturba- tion, group masturbation. I was devastated by it; I'm 50 years old. It's not X-rated because it hasn't been submitted to rating." Staeheli said the public should have the right to know who is wn tching these programs and use t that information in protest cam- paigns. Boycotts may be the only effec- tive avenue for people who are determined to stop the programs, c said attorney Tom Creighton, who t \ 7 e dilal-a-Dorn. These new -- technologies have outstripped the government's capacity to regulate them. 9' Robert Heinrich Clean Up director advises cable commissions repre- senting area suburbs that have franchises with Cable TV North Central. Before the North Suburban com- mission took its stand last week, Creighton spent two months weigh- ing the commission's power to con- trol programs vs. the cable compa- ny's right to exercise its First Amendement guarantee of free speech. In his equation he pitted the company's earlier promise not to show "X-rated" material against the federal cable deregulation act, which became effective last year, stripping local commissions of their authority over program con- tent. He outlined the Supreme Court's difficult -to -prove definition of ob- scenity and noted that the movies are shown after 10:30- p.m., that viewers can turn a key to block re- ception as well as refuse to allow heir homes to receive the entire Channel 34, which carries the ex- plicit movies in the Cable TV North Central area. Creighton concluded that if a lo- al commission tried to thwart T— ransmission of the movies, it r probably would face long and cost,- ly court battles and ultimately lose. The local commissions and city councils are "easy targets" for people who object to the explicit material, Creighton said. Instead, he said, protesters should "organize the community and have them convince the com- pany it would be an economic dis-, aster to keep on showing it." Shoreview City Council member Bob Weyandt voted against the North Suburban Commission's res- olution, made it clear his intent was not to endorse the movies. "I must explain," he said. "My. feeling is that people out there can take a position. They have every opportunity to do that, and I en- courage them." N 3• J'' AC. M,EN�S'�S7'dRf�