There have been several posts about people here contacting their congressional representatives about the upcoming porn prosecutions. That's fine, but in addition, you all may want to contact the members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. These are the groups in Congress that have direct oversight of the Dept. of Justice and Federal Courts.
The Attorney General and everyone beneath him are answerable to these committees. If he or one of his attorneys are asked a question by a committee member, like why Western PA for the first porn proscecution, they are obligated by law to give a straight answer to the question. They can't weasel out of giving a true response, like the U.S. Attorney Oosterbaan did on the Nightline show on Wednesday.
The House Committee members can be found at: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/members.htm
The Senate Committee members can be founed at: http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/members.cfm
The Senate Committee is particularly powerful, and has four members that would be good to contact:
1. Sen. Patrick Leahy(Dem) of Vermont. He is a liberal, and is the 2nd highest ranking on the committee. His website also states that he has interests in free speech issues and the internet.
2. Sen Orrin Hatch (Rep) of Utah. Yes, he is a staunch conservative, but he is chairman of the committee. What I have seen of him, still, is that he is intelligent and seems like he will at least listen to other viewpoints, even if he won't change his mind. And he should hear why someone might have viewpoints other than his own.
3. Sen. Dianne Feinstein(Dem) of Calif. Hey, she was mayor of San Francisco, so she has got to be open-minded.
4. Sen Arlen Specter(Rep) of Penna. He's a moderate Republican, and has voted independently of his party in the past. And maybe he can find out why this first trial is going to be in Penna.
Also, on Sept 9 (at 2 p.m. EST) the Senate Committee is going to be holding a public hearing on Peer-to-Peer Internet networks (like Kazaa) and Pornography. Usually one of the C-Span TV networks will broadcast a hearing like this.
------------------------------- edited to remove direct links. great post. i just don't want the govt to see a bunch of traffic from our site and put us on their radar.
Static - they can't ban porn as it has been ruled that it is indeed protected by the first amendment unless it is ruled as "obscene". But they can drive companies out of business with legal fees and injunctions.
Still trying to get an answer to a legal question though.
If nothing is obscene until after a judge or jury decides it is then how is it you can get fined for distributing said material before the ruling? Wasn't it legal to do so then?
I had the same question Lee, my question is "If the people of western PA haven't ruled the material obscene then how can the federal government prosecute the charges of Interstate Transportation of Obscene Material?" It is my understanding (more likely misunderstanding)that the local community would have to deem the said material obscene before the Federal government could step in.
Lee, that seems like a great question to ask some (or all) of the people mentioned in Renee's post. I think the crackdown on porn by government is passe, legally unsound, and unconstitutional (to say nothing of a huge waste of tax payer dollars).
They can't fine you. They can just haul your ass across the entire US to post outrageous bail and threaten to drop you in a hole so deep you'll never see daylight again if you don't cop a plea.
Porn is the Schroedinger's cat of law - was it obscene before anybody saw it?
Open-minded? Yes, but not when it comes to porn. Her run-ins with the Mitchell brothers are legendary...But who knows. That was a long time ago. She may have changed her tune.
Well I have spent the majority of my day writing a letter to congress and researching the Senator's Renee mentioned. One thing I find interesting is that NONE of the Senator's Renee mentioned had "Obscenity" on their list of issues. So another question enters my mind, if the Judiciary Committee doesn't see "Obscenity" as an issue how does John Ashcroft make this a priority???
And now that John Ashcroft entered my mind I was doing research on him and found some interesting headlines such as:
"Destroying Freedoms to Save Them" (Denver Post, Diane Carmen)
"John Ashcroft: Minister of Fear Who needs terrorists when we have John Ashcroft to scare us out of our pants?" (CBSNews.com, Dick Meyer)
Eagle Spirit, these recent assaults on the porn industry are not because of a moral majority in our government leaders - its really because of John Ashcroft's own moral agendas and nothing else. When Bush first nominated him to be Attorney General there was plenty of opposition because of his radical and extreme ultra-conservative views. And yet Ashcroft still managed to get the job, which is why we're now having all these problems and not just with porn. Fortunately the tide has been slowly turning against Ashcroft and rightly so, check out the recent news article I posted here to see what I'm talking about. Voters with an interest in freedom from governmental oppression need to get busy now and get rid of Bush and the rest of the NWO come this next general election in 2004, or else we're going to lose a hell of alot more than our porn.
Well this is the letter I am sending to members of congress on Tuesday, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Dear Congressman,
I am writing you regarding what I consider a complete waste of my taxpayer dollars and more importantly what I believe to be an infringement upon my rights guaranteed to me by the Constitution of the United States of America.
Recently I viewed the news program Nightline and couldn’t believe the thirty-minute segment dedicated to the prosecution of Rob Zacari and his co-defendant for federal obscenity charges. I am an occasional viewer of adult films and have seen some of the material his company Extreme Associates produced. I thought that the renting of those movies was a complete waste of my money for I found the production qualities very low, but on the other hand I am grateful that I had the choice to make that personal decision.
After the tragic events of 9-11 I felt that terrorists put my freedom at risk. I was however pleased that the government declared a “War on Terrorism” and actively sought out to destroy the “evildoer’s.” I am very displeased that in today’s flagrant economy the Attorney General has decided to infringe upon my First Amendment rights and not only prosecute Rob Zacari but attempt to limit the type of material that I am able to view in my own home at my own free will.
It is my knowledge that the films made by Extreme Associates were done so with consent from everybody participating in them, furthermore it is my knowledge that everybody who has viewed their films also did so consensualy. So I have provided a list of questions that I would like answered.
1. Why are my tax dollars being wasted on this prosecution that involves adults all acting in a consensual manner?
2. Why aren’t all of the limited resources of the Justice Department’s “Division of Child Exploitation and Obscenities Section” going towards child exploitation?
3. If the local community in western PA where this case is being tried hasn’t found the said material to be obscene how can the Justice Department indict the defendants on “Interstate Transportation of Obscene Material?”
4. What is your stance on this case?
5. Do you feel that as an adult I am incapable of making decisions on what I can view in the privacy of my own home?
In my own effort to save taxpayer dollars I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope and am eagerly awaiting a reply.
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Posted - Aug 31 2003 : 11:21AM
Nice letters, guys! I would also encourage people to copy their own reps on these letters. They need your votes. My rep has responded to every email I have sent with a letter.
I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what party you belong to once you get in control of the purse strings of our great Republic that their is no such thing as wasting the tax payers money because they can and will justify any kind of spending.
Politicians spend money to score points with their constituents. Bear in mind that their constituents are the folks who spend money at their dinners and hob nob with them on their social/cash-raising circuit.
Nevertheless, neither party can admit to a quid pro quo, so if we raise a stink about how money is being spent the donors generally disavow any interests and the politicians decide maybe that spending wasn't necessary after all. Getting them to change isn't a sure thing, but it's a sure thing they'll run you over if you don't do something about it.
You couldn't have said it better Hardware, from the number of hits Extreme has said to have had on their website I would say there is a lot of interest on this subject. When it comes to voting I must admit I have been away from the polls for about 8 years now. Obscenity has never been an issue on the ballots (as far as I know)and it seems the political arena is out of control with so many PAC's persuading the politians. All I know is that I am going to start voting again and carefully researching the incumbants.
Posted - Aug 30 2003 : 12:30PM