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U.S. declares War on Porn
Baltimore Sun ^ | April 5, 2004 | Laura Sullivan

Posted on 04/05/2004 9:23:56 PM PDT by Quick1

WASHINGTON -- Lam Nguyen's job is to sit for hours in a chilly, quiet room devoid of any color but gray and look at pornography. This job, which Nguyen does earnestly from 9 to 5, surrounded by a half-dozen other "computer forensic specialists" like him, has become the focal point of the Justice Department's operation to rid the world of porn.

In this field office in Washington, 32 prosecutors, investigators and a handful of FBI agents are spending millions of dollars to bring anti-obscenity cases to courthouses across the country for the first time in 10 years. Nothing is off limits, they warn, even soft-core cable programs such as HBO's long-running Real Sex or the adult movies widely offered in rooms of major hotel chains.

Department officials say they will send "ripples" through an industry that has proliferated on the Internet and grown into an estimated $10 billion-a-year colossus profiting Fortune 500 corporations such as Comcast, which offers hard-core movies on a pay-per-view channel.

(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: algoresfault; antichristianbigot; ashcroftbashing; babyboomers; blamealgore; clintonlegacy; clintonlibertarians; crime; culturewar; doasthouwill; fbi; hedonism; hedonists; homosexualagenda; ifitfeelsgooddoit; internetporn; itsjustsex; libertarianflamewar; libertinarians; libertines; obscenity; obscenitylaws; permissivesociety; porn; pornisfun; pornisgood; pornography; promiscuity; religiousintolerance; sex; slipperyslope; supremecourt; waronporn; wasteoftime; wildgoosechase
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To: biblewonk
Prohibition can not be shown to have increased drinking

Forgetting about wine, hard liquor sales went through the roof.

Total Expenditure on Distilled Spirts as a Percentage of Total Alcohol Sales (1890-1960)

Back to wine. Sales of sacremental wine, which was allowed due to freedom of religion, shot up a large percentage when prohibition started.

461 posted on 04/07/2004 1:45:22 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: biblewonk
We make laws against things that are intrinsically very very evil

What you accept as evil and what I may accept as evil and what Joe Blow that lives down the street thinks is evil are probably different, at least in degree.

A good example - adultery. I consider it very evil. Society doesn't and accepts it - witness how many of our elected leaders (both democrat and Republican), as well as "role models" for our youth, are adulterers.

Because I feel adultery is very evil, does that mean we should toss everybody in jail that has cheated on their spouse (and by proxy God), or had pre-marital sex or sex with somebody they weren't married to? No, of course not, for two reasons. Reason #1 - I don't want the government to have that kind of power needed to seek out adulterers (and who's going to police the police). Reason #2 - It's a religious belief that not everybody shares with me. I do not believe in forcing my religious beliefs upon others - it's un-American and I know God will deal with those who do so.

We even make laws against not wearing seatbelts.

and I don't agree with these laws. It's not the government's job to protect people from themselves. Unfortunately laws are pushed through by people or industries with money, not because of any kind of common sense.

462 posted on 04/07/2004 1:45:44 PM PDT by af_vet_rr
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To: antiRepublicrat
Forgetting about wine, hard liquor sales went through the roof.

Ofcourse. Can't you see why?

463 posted on 04/07/2004 1:47:00 PM PDT by biblewonk (The only book worth reading, and reading, and reading.)
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To: af_vet_rr
Yes adultary is bad and yes it is impossible to police and yes I don't want the government in that business.

But, why is it so hard to imagine the easy and cost effectiveness of simply saying that all hard core porn is now illegal. It wouldn't take much money at all to police it, only to incercerate, for some amount of time, people who willfully blow off the law. Corporate america would quickly get out of it and so would ma and pa. It would go underground and become much more scarce.

Why is this thought so repulsive to people who are not porn users? I suspect we have a lot of monkey spankers here who are waxing elloquent, or something, on the issue. But I have to wonder why people would argue against such a simple thing except for an irrational fear that making porn illegal would lead to the Taliban.

464 posted on 04/07/2004 1:52:10 PM PDT by biblewonk (The only book worth reading, and reading, and reading.)
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To: biblewonk
Any thought about decency and the roles of the government is laughed even off of so called conservative web sites.

You and woman-hating fundamentalist Muslims have something in common. In Islam, a woman should conform to the dress code, including head coverings. However, it is the woman's choice whether to do so, as her decision is an issue purely between her and her god. Even her husband cannot force her to wear that stuff, although trying to convince her is allowed. However, you have these theocratic fundies who believe they have the right to declare not wearing proper attire is a sin that can be punished in this world.

They are usurping God's/Allah's role in punishing sin. So are you.

465 posted on 04/07/2004 1:53:38 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: bvw
I gather that you would disagree (as do I) that an activity may properly be banned simply because it is "very very evil." Is that correct?
466 posted on 04/07/2004 1:54:42 PM PDT by Sweet Land (http://www.savingangel.org)
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To: biblewonk
"Slowly, very slowly our society is eroding away to humanistic headonism."

We're there already or we wouldn't be having this discussion.

"Soon marriage will be any group of living things that like to have sex with each other."

Unless we do something about rogue courts, you are right. But society has a vested interest in protecting the sanctity of marriage as an institution.

The government has no business peering into your computer. If they can look for porn, they can look for people like you and me who disagree with the liberal agenda.

"You mentioned age as a limiting factor for porn but that is a silly manmade constraint."

I hardly think it is silly. There is a long tradition in this country of determining the age of consent by statute.

"The average ho starts her career at 14 years old."

If true, pretty sad. I haven't taken any polls of prostitutes so I can't verify your claims. However, my guess is the prostitute of 14 comes from a broken family or is strung out on drugs because her parents have lost control of her, or society has prevented them from protecting her. It has little to do with prostitution per se. It has more to do with the breakdown of family and community, the destruction of traditions and the concept of family and personal honor, and the total loss of compass of mainstream religious groups.

If prostitution and drugs were decriminalized, the state could regulate them like anything else. Even tax them.

Personally, I find the concept of politicians supporting themselves by making money from prostitutes aptly appropriate.

467 posted on 04/07/2004 1:55:09 PM PDT by ZULU (God Bless Senator Joe McCarthy!!!)
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To: razorbak
Somehow Libertarians think it is acceptable and somehow a matter of civil liberties (like the ACLU and the Hustler chap the darling of Hollywood -Larry Flynt) to have an uninterrupted flow of inhuman garbage coming into our homes and our streets from all over the world. Somehow they believe that all the rights should be held by the porn promoters and none by those who have to pick up the messes left behind.

Don't Libertarians also believe that a woman has the right to butcher another human being because the child is still in her womb?

Libertarians have absolutely no credibillity! They are simply the holdovers from the 60's "whatever makes me happy and to ##ll with the rest of humanity" crowd!

468 posted on 04/07/2004 1:56:55 PM PDT by eleni121 (Preempt and Prevent---then Destroy)
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To: LowOiL
The two types of posters on this thread are vividly described in this picture.

No, they're not ... where are the Christian stormtroopers busting perverts' heads for Jesus?

469 posted on 04/07/2004 1:57:36 PM PDT by Sweet Land (http://www.savingangel.org)
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To: biblewonk
Ofcourse. Can't you see why?

Yes. While wine and beer were still available, the bit of a high you could get off those wasn't worth the danger of getting caught. Distilled spirits were much more effective for the same amount of danger. Plus, from a production standpoint, producers could ship more money's worth of alcohol high in the same shipment, meaning a successful shipment of liquor gave more profit than one of beer or wine.

None but the most tyrannical of laws can argue with basic economics and human nature.

470 posted on 04/07/2004 1:57:58 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: biblewonk
It would go underground and become much more scarce.

First as I've said the underground aspect would let organized crime run the business and result of vastly higher instances of abuse for porn produced in this country. Second, because there will still be a demand, cutting the legal supply would not make it in the least bit scarce. Basic economics shows this with the failure of the War on Drugs. It would be even more so since porn could be sent from foreign locations to consumers in the U.S. over the Internet.

471 posted on 04/07/2004 2:01:58 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: ZULU
I have a rebellious daughter and studied prostitution a bit out of fear. 14 is a number that I saw in several places. Actually I think it was 14.5 and that was an average. Here in CR Ia, girls in middle school who are at most 14 are giving hummers for money.
472 posted on 04/07/2004 2:02:03 PM PDT by biblewonk (The only book worth reading, and reading, and reading.)
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To: biblewonk
But, why is it so hard to imagine the easy and cost effectiveness of simply saying that all hard core porn is now illegal

Because enforcement would be incredibly expensive and intrusive. First, it would be much easier to import bootleg porn from other parts of the world, than it was to import bootleg alcohol. Second, the only way to enforce such a ban would be for government to have the power to read your e-mail or keep track of what websites your surf.

It would go underground and become much more scarce.

Like alcohol was scarce during Prohibiton, or drugs are scarce today?

Why is this thought so repulsive to people who are not porn users?

Porn or not, I for one am very uncomfortable with giving the government the power to tell me what I can and cannot read or view in the privacy of my own home.

473 posted on 04/07/2004 2:02:46 PM PDT by Modernman (Work is the curse of the drinking classes. -Oscar Wilde)
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To: antiRepublicrat
A couple of more points, it was depression time which meant there was less money to spend. And it was illegal which meant you had to be willing to pay a premium for the risk. My grandma was a "flapper" though and they drank freely at speak-easy's. All the cops knew they were there and there were even city officials involved. If there was ever a bust it was for political expedience. IOW it was as "illegal" as prostitution is today. IE not really illegal at all.
474 posted on 04/07/2004 2:04:48 PM PDT by biblewonk (The only book worth reading, and reading, and reading.)
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To: ZULU
Personally, I find the concept of politicians supporting themselves by making money from prostitutes aptly appropriate.

That is definitely a comment fit for a sig!

475 posted on 04/07/2004 2:04:50 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: biblewonk
Here in CR Ia, girls in middle school who are at most 14 are giving hummers for money.

I have honestly never heard that term. Is it what I think it means?

Glad we're homeschooling.

476 posted on 04/07/2004 2:07:07 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Sweet Land
No, they're not ... where are the Christian stormtroopers busting perverts' heads for Jesus?

No need for that (unless someone comes to my front door dressed in a g-string, then you will see some butt kicking). The proper course for this is government authorities according to the Bible.

Vengeance is inherently good. God said, "Vengeance is Mine." Individuals, however, are not to avenge themselves, but are to allow God to avenge in His way: Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Rom. 12:19 (see also Lev. 19:18) While Paul instructs people not to seek their own revenge, but to "give place to wrath." Paul then explains that the proper channel for wrath is the "governing authorities." The government is the "place" for wrath and vengeance: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities... For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Rom. 13:1, 3 Godly rulers are a terror to evil doers. Note that God’s two witnesses in Revelation "tormented those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 11:10). God through Paul specifically commands earthly governments to execute criminals with the sword: For [the governing authority] is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Rom. 13:4

477 posted on 04/07/2004 2:08:02 PM PDT by LowOiL (Christian and proud of it !)
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To: antiRepublicrat
That is definitely a comment fit for a sig!

Q: What's the difference between a politician and a whore?

A: When the whore takes your money and screws you, you leave with a smile on your face. When a politician takes your money and screws you, he leaves with a smile on his face.

478 posted on 04/07/2004 2:09:11 PM PDT by Modernman (Work is the curse of the drinking classes. -Oscar Wilde)
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To: biblewonk
Why is this thought so repulsive to people who are not porn users?

Enforcing my personal morality on others is repulsive to me. (The public morality that says no violating others' rights is another story.)

an irrational fear that making porn illegal would lead to the Taliban.

How do you know this fear is irrational?

479 posted on 04/07/2004 2:10:24 PM PDT by Sweet Land (http://www.savingangel.org)
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To: biblewonk
My grandma was a "flapper" though and they drank freely at speak-easy's

And then there was the majority of the population, which got it's alcohol from moonshiners. Speak-easys were quite expensive.

480 posted on 04/07/2004 2:10:33 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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