Why they were fired


The REAL reason the prosecutors were axed
This one is NOT work safe folks. But you need to know about the threat to freedom.

Susie Bright shows us. Open your eyes and look close. Emphasis in original.

Do you know what the eight fired prosecutors have in common? The mainstream media have downplayed this, when you'd think they'd be building a bonfire.

The common thread between the Fired-8 is that all of them declined to press obscenity charges on cases that the DOJ was desperately running up a flagpole without success.

Now, why? — since we know these prosecutors are Republicans who would love to win a solid case— why would they frown on pursuing such charges?

Bush's DOJ Porno Task Force told the prosecutors to go after X-rated entertainment companies who make adult, consensual productions—grown-ups with contracts! This time, the focus was supposed to be on subject material like piss, scat, bestiality, and... S/M. They were counting on a big "ick" factor!

But the Super-8 aren't all that stupid, and they know what happens in obscenity trials when you go after the 1st Amendment. They could paper the White House with case history. They won't chase these clown cars, because, as Paulie Walnuts might put it, "they're weak, they're out of control, and... an embarrassment to yourself and everyone else."

What the hell is an "S/M" video, after all? Are you going to go after Hollywood for releasing 9 1/2 Weeks? Any defense lawyer worth his salt is going to bring in Pasolini's Salo, portraits of Abu Gharib victims, and documentaries on cattle insemination to pose the question: What is context? What about taste? What crime has been committed? Legitimate film producers, be they "adult," mainstream, or hybrid, are not going to take it lying down.

You know when President Reagan went after porn in the 80s, he told his Attorney General, Edwin Meese, to focus on gay sex, anal sex, and black-white couples— and to charge them in Texas. And it still backfired.

Here's the rule of thumb: whatever the DOJ wants to prosecute as obscenity is an unfortunate snapshot of the dirty mind that wrote the memo.

So why should you care about porn?

Think about it. When government outlaws or controls porn, they are limiting what you can read. Government can't be allowed that power. And under the First Amendment, government is specifically prohibited from that power.

I won't get into the differences between porn and erotica here, that is a matter of personal taste after all. Both deal with glamorizing biology. There is a place for both, not to mention actual sex. But any "anti-porn" law can be stretched to cover erotica. Once government is allowed to make "moral" choices for the people, one morality dominates.

This week it could be the Christian Right. Next week it could be the Green Left. The week after it could the the Progressive Atheists. And of course everyone knows it REALLY should be the libertarian Pagans.

The instant you allow government to control moral choices is the moment you just sacrificed your own morality.

I've done a little checking, and this story seems to hold up. And for their choice, I have to respect the eight prosecutors that were fired. They did the right thing for the wrong reasons, but it was still the right thing.

Hat tip Sunni Maravillosa via Eros Blog.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - April 6, 2007 at 02:33 PM  Tag


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