JUSTICE COVERS 'NUDE' STATUES

DRUDGE ^ | 01/28/02

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Fed up with having his picture taken during events in the Justice Department's Great Hall in front of semi-nude statues, Attorney General John Ashcroft has reportedly ordered massive draperies to conceal the offending figures -- which have been displayed since the 1930s!

The draperies were installed last week at a cost of just over $8,000, reports ABCNEWS.com's Beverley Lumpkin.

At the center of the controversy: two enormous and stylized but largely naked aluminum statues.

The female figure represents the Spirit of Justice; the male on the right is the Majesty of Justice. The male is clad in only a cloth draped over his essential parts; the female wears a sort of toga-style garment, but one breast is entirely exposed.

Last November, during a press conference announcing new challenges of fighting terrorism, Ashcroft was photographed with the naked breast right over his shoulder!

The snap ran in major papers.

Developing...

[Lazamataz]

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the FR forum is top loaded with folks that are not conservatives in the real sense, but revolutionary sepratists who are anti-government no matter who is involved. This venom spewed at the AG and Bush are just examples of the depth of this fact.

No, but when our guys act like boobs (pun intended) we call 'em on it. Actually, I have been holding my tongue on this 'Patriot Act' stuff. There's some very frightening stuff in there. This ain't your daddy's USA any more.

I'm not going to swear out any loyalty oaths to any person. I am loyal only to ideas and ideals. AG Ashcroft is better than Reno in most ways, but I will call him on the ways he is not.

I lurked on this site almost at it's beginning and found the anti-Clinton rhetoric to be sensible and conservative. I now find the same rhetoric leveled at the Bush administration. I find this disturbing and I am re-thinking my decision to join this so-called conservative group.

Hey! An Opus! You've got a few things you have to do first:

• Start a thread. Title it Goodbye, Free Republic.
• Explain you've been here for years, tell us what you've done for the forum.
• Explain that things are changed, or management is no longer doing things right, or someone called you a Canadian, or something like that.
• Tell everyone that you must now leave Free Republic.
• Sneak back under a new screenname.

;^)

[Cold Heat]

I would veture a guess that the AG could have done a much more controversial thing than hanging a drapery in front of the statues to protect himself from being the butt of a joke. 8k for a large amount of material is not as bad as 200 dollar toilet seats. He knew there would be a stink about it and is man enough to take the heat. Why should we contribute to it? What importance in the grand scheme of things does it have? What conclusions would a outsider to FR have, after viewing some of these posts? What good will be served by attempting to screw ourselves out of the 2004 and 2002 elections.

Every bullet we give the opposition can and will be used against us.

[an amused spectator]

Yet bush has already stated that he will not allow the assault rifle ban to sunset.

Could I get a ref on that for my files, s'il vous plaît ?

[Cold Heat]

I refer you to #321.

[Lazamataz]

I refer you to #321.

LOL! :o)

At least I'm in good company.

[an amused spectator]

I was going to point out to some on this thread about how easily the Democrat press seizes ANY opportunity to bash the Pubbies.

For instance, Bush was going to be bludgeoned with Enron no matter how he played it. If he bailed them out, he was on the take. If he didn't bail them out, he was screwing the little guy and his Enron 401K.

It's nice to own your own media conglomerate. :-)

[an amused spectator]

I'd rather have an AG that doesn't do stupid things then to try to justify what he did as being not as stupid as something he didn't do.

Grow up. The Democrat press could have toyed with Shaky Reno, the drunken buffoon, for years like this. Amazingly, they didn't.

Go figure. ;-)

[CyberAnt]

If the statue were of YOUR WIFE or YOUR DAUGHTER would you think differently about it? Today's women are not modest at all - and it's a shame.

[Dane]

I'd rather have an AG that doesn't do stupid things then to try to justify what he did as being not as stupid as something he didn't do

Huh? Paging George Orwell, paging George Orwell.

[The Grim Freeper]

What is wrong with being "Puritan?!" Some of us have learned that modesty is a good thing. Some of us have learned that "nakedness" is a shame, and the only time it is appropriate is when a man and a woman are married and they become one flesh. Some of us don't need to see private body parts or consider it art.

[twocents]

Very well said.

They could sell the statue on eBay and get back the money FDR spent on it.

[Lazamataz]

If the statue were of YOUR WIFE or YOUR DAUGHTER would you think differently about it?

I would be thrilled if my wife-to-be were immortalized in statue form.

But statues are usually idealized images of people or are not even real people at all.

Besides, I'm the one who campaigned to replace the Statue of Liberty with a motorized version that grinded like a stripper and took her top off and twirled it in the air. That would have been so cool!

I mean, talk about an accurate representation of America to immigrants......

[southern rock]

Grow up. The Democrat press could have toyed with Shaky Reno, the drunken buffoon, for years like this. Amazingly, they didn't. Go figure. ;-)

And we all know why. I just don't get the outrage here. I mean, Ashcroft just doesn't want his picture taken with nudie statues. I don't blame him!! It's not like he had them removed and melted down for cryin' out loud (although that would have not cost a dime ya know).

I don't know why nudie statues are allowed in government buildings anyway. A statue of Jesus Christ sure wouldn't be, but a big titty lady or some guy with a testicle hanging out, oh thats just fine! Sheesh!

[Cold Heat]

His approval numbers are driving them nuts! Why not use every rinky dink opportunity to generate negatives in a election cycle. Why not us the gullibility of the electorate to put something like this on the front page of every paper is the U.S., if they can. Every little bit helps.

[Jhoffa_]

I agree it's not only ridiculous.. it's flatly embarrassing.

Move the statue, move the podium.. control the angle, anything..

But don't hand the left a story like this, and by all means don't pay eight grand to embarrass us in the process.