It’s not that I can’t believe that that of all things is their top priority. I just can’t believe he said it out loud. For some time now I’ve suspected that Alberto Gonzales and the DoJ had waged an all out war on pornography; and not just in its illicit forms such as child pornography. But why would a representative of his office come right out and say it? As it is, he’s not only put the industry on high alert that the entire U.S. judicial war-machine is after it, he’s alienated certain members of law enforcement and members of his own prosecution http://www.boobles.vip team.
To play devil’s advocate here, maybe he was indirectly speaking out to certain backers of the current administration that Bush et al. were on their side. It’s no secret (like the article says) that this administration has the support of ultra-conservative Christian groups like the American Family Association. Maybe the declaration was just to appease these Bush backers. (And just as an aside but isn’t it ironic that, for a president that’s so tough on the sex industry, every other sentence that contains his name has a sexual innuendo to it?). Even as the department sees the impracticability of destroying porn in every manner, shape, or form. But if you were the AFA or a member of such a group, that would sound great to your ears.
And I’m not even knocking the AFA. Every group has its own agenda and the AFA is no different. The eradication of porn – which I’m not on board with – is one of it’s chief goals, and understandably so. It’s not like grander social, government, safety, and international issues are on their docket. My gripe is with government who has greater responsibilities to the public than to listen to the select, yet highly vocal, religious right.
Even the Democrats are taking a page out of the Republican handbook: they’re even jumping on the “end all pornography now” bandwagon. In Operation Win-Over-the-Red-States (because the Southern US “red states,” if you will, comprise an overwhelming majority of the religious right), democrats and republicans alike are tripping over themselves to see who can crack the whip the hardest, the loudest, and with the most authority on the adult industry. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D- Ark) recently proposed the popular/infamous (depending on your stance on pornography) sin tax bill, wherein all online adult sales would be charged an additional 25%. Senator Hillary Clinton (D – NY) proposed a far less onerous statute that would fine electronic retailers who try to sell video games of an inappropriate rating (Mature or Adult) to underage kids.
In an article I wrote previously, I lambasted the pending Lincoln proposal (at the time, it was just a strong probability that the bill would be suggested). But it wasn’t along practical guidelines. My argument was more along moral lines; namely, the fact that the tax would be like punishing the porn consumer who’s only exercising his Free Speech rights to legitimate adult material. On the other hand, this Judicial Department crusade (which would also involve the FBI and other law-enforcement entities) makes no practical sense. As it’s been stated, it’s just a waste of valuable resources. In order to pursue this anti-porn venture, prosecutors would have to be taken off child pornography cases. Not that you need me to tell you how important it is to stem the proliferation of underage sex content; but the next time you get a moment, type the word “porn” into Google and search the News link. It seems every other story involves child smut.