Now the Teabagger Rethugs are coming after your Porn!

[BITEYOASS]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0411/Senators_ask_Holder_for_more_pornography_prosecutions.html#

Senators ask Holder for more pornography prosecutions

Nearly half of the members of the U.S. Senate are urging Attorney General Eric Holder to step up federal prosecutions of adult pornography.

In a letter sent to Holder earlier this week, 42 senators encouraged Holder instruct prosecutors and FBI agents to counter what the lawmakers called "the growing scourge of obscenity in America." Anti-pornography activists have noted with alarm that, under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department has not filed a single new obscenity case anywhere in the country.

"We write to urge the Department of Justice vigorously to enforce federal obscenity laws against major commercial distributors of hardcore adult pornography," the senators wrote. "We believe it is imperative that the Department, with cooperation by the FBI, investigate and prosecute all major producers and distributors of adult obscenity. We need your leadership."

The signatures on the letter from socially-conservative Republicans like Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Jim Demint of South Carolina are unsurprising. However, some fairly liberal Democrats also joined in: Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Tom Carper of Delaware and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Also on board from the Democratic side, though less surprisingly: Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

"We know more than ever how illegal adult obscenity contributes to violence against women, addiction, harm to children, and sex trafficking. This material harms individuals, families, and communities and the problems are only getting worse," the senators added. (View the full letter here.)

The April 4 letter refrains from criticzing the Justice Department's record. However, in the past, Hatch has publicly complained to Holder that the Justice Department was devoting too much focus to small-time purveyors of "fringe" fetish pornography and not enough attention to the mass-market producers. However, winning cases against large-scale operators could be complicated since they could argue that their very success demonstrates that their products do not violate community standards.

Three cases left over from the Bush administration have been allowed to proceed since Obama came into office. Those prosecutions have produced lackluster results for the department.

Last year, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the acquittal of a major California porn producer, John Stagliano, following his trial on obscenity charges. In February, a guilty plea drew a sentence of six months "home confinement" and three years probation for a small New Jersey producer of torture porn, Barry Goldman. The third holdover case, against a small California producer of "scat" pornography, Ira Isaacs, is set to go to trial next month in Los Angeles.

A Justice Department spokeswoman had no comment on the senators' letter.

In recent decades, Democratic administrations have tended to focus on child pornography prosecutions while Republicans have sporadically pursued more cases of adult obscenity. However, anti-pornography groups have complained that federal prosecutions of adult obscenity have languished under administrations of both stripes.

[Kristy]

"We know more than ever how illegal adult obscenity contributes to violence against women, addiction, harm to children, and sex trafficking. This material harms individuals, families, and communities and the problems are only getting worse," the senators added.

Exactly how do they know this? And what constitutes legal adult obscenity? The subject of porn leading to violence against women has yet to be substantiated especially when you consider about half those who run the porn industry these days are women. Even in the most extreme genres of porn like BDSM which includes brutal whipping and/or caning of women can be somewhat disturbing but if a women sodomizes and beats the shit out of a guy where's the argument for that? Why doesn't porn induce violence against men as well?

Harm to children? Again, how? I'm not going to address the human trafficking issue) Not in most westernized countries which child porn laws are so strict and even regulated to the point of if so much as an actor is 17 the prison terms go way beyond the risks. The only harm that can come to a child by watching porn is if they are watching it (via internet in most cases) and find the scene utterly disturbing in which case, I ask you, where are the parents? That's not a cop out response but if parents are going to allow their kids to be in the internet then they also better be monitoring what they are doing. But oh no, let the government handle it. Yeah, that makes more more sense.

Does porn harm families? Yes. Now it is considered in most courts to be a reason to file for divorce. Seems to be more of interpersonal issue that would be best served by counseling rather government intervention. It's only getting worse because of the stigma attached to porn. If more men came out (so to say) (and some women, too) that watching porn is interference with their work, marriage and family and there were more avenues of therapy to treat it then certain Senators would be better off looking at more pressing social issues. The internet is already fucked up enough as it is.

[Nitro Express]

I remember taking a law class in college and we covered obscenity laws. The problem is how do you define obscene? The more subjective something is the harder it is to define the issue and make laws regarding it. This argument is as old as the hills and it's nothing more than politicians in conservative areas trying to rally some vote equity. Ever since the internet came into the mainstream the Mormon Church has been blaming all the bad behavior of it's membership on porn. Religions always need something to battle against to justify their existence and give them an excuse to probe into the members lives more. They are much like the government regarding this. So that's why Orrin Hatch is on that bandwagon.

[SunisinuS]

I bet the letter writers are doing intensive research right now to determine the scope and breadth of the problem. In fact, I am willing to wager that one or more of them will be found "out in the field": In men's bathrooms, in foreign countries like Thailand, and in young women's bedrooms. They are more than committed I am sure.

[Nitro Express]

But hey if the religious right want to drag us through this again. Go for it. It's quite entertaining.

[FORD]

The signatures on the letter from socially-conservative Republicans like Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Jim Demint of South Carolina are unsurprising. However, some fairly liberal Democrats also joined in: Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Tom Carper of Delaware and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Also on board from the Democratic side, though less surprisingly: Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

Just for the record, there is NOTHING "Liberal" about Diane Feinstein, Tom Carper, or Amy Klobuchar. All three are members of the treasonous Republican mole organization known as the DLC, and are no better than Nelson or Lieberdouche.

And in any case, this is fucking stupid.

[binnie]

This is a really interesting issue.

Here's my two cents: if it involves consenting adults who are free of drugs or anything else which inhibits decision making, I really couldn't care less what people film. Hell, if someone wants to watch one guy shitting into another guy's mouth, then so be it. If that's you bag, fine be me. We're all adults, and we don't need protecting. I also think that this contributes to violence against women is laughable - if you're the kind of guy who rapes of beats women, I doubt you were A OK before you watch Debbie Does Dallas (I could go on a tangent here about feminism in general: if men and women are equal now, why is male violence against women so much than male violence against other men?)

What I think needs regulating in someway, however, is the internet. I say this because I think it is just far, far two easy for kids to see porn. I think even the most liberal person would admit that if a 13 year old kid is watching a lot of youporn or pornotube, his expectations of sex, relationships and women could be warped to some extent because he might not have the context to understand that that is fantasy. Now, you might counter that such material is not made for a 13 year old, and you would be correct - but the internet means it is easy for him to get it. In my youth, porn was something you came across by luck and chance, the holy grail dumped in a lay-by or in the woods, not something accessible at the click of a button. I'm not sure how we get around the problem of exposure, but it is worth considering.

[binnie]

You might also imagine that when I watch porn I inevitably descend into a fit of 'I'd Hit that.....and that......and that........and that.....and - oh my, that looks painful - and that.....and that.....' before giving myself a hernia.

[binnie]

Does porn harm families? Yes. Now it is considered in most courts to be a reason to file for divorce. Seems to be more of interpersonal issue that would be best served by counseling rather government intervention. It's only getting worse because of the stigma attached to porn. If more men came out (so to say) (and some women, too) that watching porn is interference with their work, marriage and family and there were more avenues of therapy to treat it then certain Senators would be better off looking at more pressing social issues. The internet is already fucked up enough as it is.

A reason for divorce? Wow.

Maybe this is my male opinion/naievty here, but it's hardly like committing adultery is it? Once we understand that porn is little more than fantasy the 'problem' should go away.

[hambon4lif]

The teabaggers are a huge part of the problem.
I can't even hear the word 'teabagging' without thinking of dunking my nuts in someones mouth.

They should really crack open a dictionary and search for a new word in which to define themselves.

[Blaze]

porn is little more than fantasy

The key in that sentence, specifically in your description is the qualifier "little more than".
So to you specifically, by your definition, porn is more than fantasy.
The qualifier "little" would be a variable of how much is "little"

[ELVIS]

Hell, if someone wants to watch one guy shitting into another guy's mouth, then so be it.

I would file that in the obscene drawer and would be inclined to prosecute as such...

[ashstralia]

interesting timely article...http://www.smh.com.au/technology/tec...408-1d6oe.html

[Nitro Express]

The internet needs zero regulation period. If you have kids there are things you can do to keep their young tender eyes from stumbling onto porn. I think the government should stick to building roads, bridges, sending people into space and things like that.

[Nitro Express]

The teabaggers are a huge part of the problem.
I can't even hear the word 'teabagging' without thinking of dunking my nuts in someones mouth.

They should really crack open a dictionary and search for a new word in which to define themselves.

The liberals called the Tea Party members tea baggers as a joke. They never named themselves tea baggers.