Your tax dollars at work.
"When FBI supervisors in Miami met with new interim U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta last month, they wondered what the top enforcement priority for Acosta and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would be.
Would it be terrorism? Organized crime? Narcotics trafficking? Immigration? Or maybe public corruption?
The agents were stunned to learn that a top prosecutorial priority of Acosta and the Department of Justice was none of the above. Instead, Acosta told them, it's obscenity. Not pornography involving children, but pornographic material featuring consenting adults.
Acosta's stated goal of prosecuting distributors of adult porn has angered federal and local law enforcement officials, as well as prosecutors in his own office. They say there are far more important issues in a high-crime area like South Florida, which is an international hub at risk for terrorism, money laundering and other dangerous activities.
His own prosecutors have warned Acosta that prioritizing adult porn would reduce resources for prosecuting other crimes, including porn involving children. According to high-level sources who did not want to be identified, Acosta has assigned prosecutors porn cases over their objections."
Not only is this a matter of letting consenting adults do whatever they damn well please (thought that was a conservative value), but it's a complete waste of time.
More on the miserable failure (for the Holy Terrors, that is, triumphant victory for lovers of the First Amendment) that was the Extreme Associates obscenity prosecution later.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
A Very Important Link
In case you didn't know, or knew but had simply forgotten, the EROTICA READERS AND WRITERS ASSOCIATION is the rockin'est website for lovers of erotica, smut, dirty stories, and good ol' fashioned porn on the web. You gotta check it out if you haven't done so already.
And not just because my column's there every month.
(Bear with me. Testing my ability to link, here.)
And not just because my column's there every month.
(Bear with me. Testing my ability to link, here.)
Friday, August 19, 2005
First Post
This column ran on July's ERWA website.
ALL WORKED UP ABOUT THE FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
By J.T. Benjamin
Copr. 2005
Bad news: Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. In the United States alone, one half of all sexually active women between the ages of 18 and 22 have the virus. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that by the time they reach the age of fifty, 80% of all women in the U.S. will have acquired the disease at some point in their lives. HPV is highly contagious, and can be spread by skin contact, so not even condoms are effective in prevention.
Good news: The vast majority of people with HPV don’t know they have it, and having the disease doesn’t affect their daily lives. HPV has no obvious symptoms in most people, and the virus most often simply clears up on its own.
Bad news: When HPV does display symptoms, it’s most often in the form of what are called “genital warts.” Some 20 million Americans are unfortunate enough to suffer from this ailment.
Good news: Genital warts can be treated with a variety of ointments and procedures, they tend to merely be an inconvenience, and often, like the more common forms of HPV, they simply go away when they feel like it, with no lasting after-effects.
Bad news: HPV can in some cases lead to cervical, anal, vulvular, and penis cancer. The CDC estimates that every year in the U.S., 10,000 women will develop cervical cancer from HPV exposure, and four thousand women will die. In the rest of the world, where early treatments and diagnoses are more rare than in the U.S., the mortality rate is much higher; around 250,000 women per year world-wide. The International Agency for Research On Cancer, based in Lyon, France, estimates that by 2050, cervical cancer will kill one million women every year.
Good news: The pharmaceutical company Glaxo-Smith Kline reports having developed a vaccine against HPV infection. Studies so far indicate the vaccine is effective against the HPV strains which constitute 90% of new infections. The story can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624954.500. If this success rate holds up, a worldwide comprehensive vaccination program could drastically reduce the spread of HPV and potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women.
Bad news: In the same article, Bridget Maher, spokesperson for the Family Research Council, believes that last bit of good news may not be such good news after all. “Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”
Wow.
That’s impressive.
I’m serious.
To think that this cruel, stupid, amoral, self-righteous, sanctimonious, arrogant, heartless, soulless, worthless shit-for-brains, this fucking asshole, this harpy, this monster, this waste of oxygen can successfully pass herself off as a human being is nothing less than an Oscar-caliber performance.
Read what she said again. “Giving the vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”
In other words, in the eyes of Ms. Maher and the Family Research Council, an unmarried woman is better off dead than sexually active.
It’s only one of the more recent salvos in what I’ve dubbed “The War On Whoopie.”
In case you didn’t know, or knew but had simply forgotten, there’s a war on in the U.S. between us normal people and a fanatical cult of sexual fascists. Hiding behind the Bible and an endless sea of perfect teeth and well-scrubbed faces, these Holy Terrors are bound and determined to bash down our bedroom doors and eradicate any form of sexual experience that 1) is or may be outside the bonds of holy matrimony and/or 2) is not expressly for the purpose of procreation. And there’s lots of stuff within the bonds of marriage the Holy Terrors aren’t too keen on, either. Fun is simply not allowed.
Holy Terrors have come out in opposition to premarital sex, birth control, (before OR after marriage), condoms, women’s choice, pornography, profanity, sex toys, homosexuality, gay marriage, AIDS awareness, public broadcasting, premium cable TV, and any form of sex education that goes beyond, “Don’t do it!”
Holy Terror positions range from the silly (condemning Spongebob Squarepants and Baxter Bunny cartoons for allegedly advocating tolerance of homosexuality), to the merely obnoxious (pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions), to the stupid (the ineffective abstinence only education programs) and the downright cruel (opposition to anti-gay discrimination laws and same-sex marriages and civil unions).
And the Family Research Council is at the vanguard of the War on Whoopie. The FRC brags that it’s got half a million members, and the ears of some of the most powerful players in the U.S. government, including the White House itself.
Now, thanks to Ms. Maher, it’s clear that the Holy Terrors’ agenda includes control not only over our sexual choices and preferences, but over life or death, as well. The implications are astounding and frightening.
Imagine watching the Fox News Channel. The commentator on one of the talking head shows announces, “The Food and Drug Administration has given final approval for an AIDS vaccine that has been demonstrated to be 100% effective. With me now is a spokesman for the Family Research Council. Your thoughts?”
“It’s a dark day for humanity, Bill. Now, homosexuals will be free to fornicate without fear of consequences or God’s holy wrath. This vaccine is a tool of Satan and must be eradicated at all costs.”
Think I’m exaggerating? Last month, the Washington Times carried a story about Anglican churches in Africa combating famine, and how difficult it’s been for them to raise funds.
Part of the problem has been these churches have been REJECTING donations from Episcopalian churches and charities in the U.S. that have supported gay bishop V. Gene Robinson. Rwandan Bishop John Rucyahana said, “To be honest, there is not enough money for the needs we have in Rwanda after the (1994) genocide, but if money is being used to disgrace the Gospel, then we don’t need it.”
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, (whom I doubt has ever suffered the effects of starvation), was quoted as saying, “I applaud the actions of the African Anglican churches. No amount of silver is worth sacrificing your duty to your congregation and to God.”
Now, my Bible talks about an obligation to “do justice, love goodness, and to walk humbly” with my God. (Micah 6:8). According to my Bible, Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness, generosity, feeding the poor, not judging others, mercy, and above all, love. I wonder what Bible Mr. Perkins reads.
Anyway, in the eyes of the FRC, accepting a gift from a church that supports a gay bishop is a fate worse than death. Literally. Coming from an institution that thinks a cancer vaccine is a bad idea, this is no surprise.
You almost have to admire that kind of cruel stupidity.
Almost.
ALL WORKED UP ABOUT THE FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL
By J.T. Benjamin
Copr. 2005
Bad news: Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. In the United States alone, one half of all sexually active women between the ages of 18 and 22 have the virus. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that by the time they reach the age of fifty, 80% of all women in the U.S. will have acquired the disease at some point in their lives. HPV is highly contagious, and can be spread by skin contact, so not even condoms are effective in prevention.
Good news: The vast majority of people with HPV don’t know they have it, and having the disease doesn’t affect their daily lives. HPV has no obvious symptoms in most people, and the virus most often simply clears up on its own.
Bad news: When HPV does display symptoms, it’s most often in the form of what are called “genital warts.” Some 20 million Americans are unfortunate enough to suffer from this ailment.
Good news: Genital warts can be treated with a variety of ointments and procedures, they tend to merely be an inconvenience, and often, like the more common forms of HPV, they simply go away when they feel like it, with no lasting after-effects.
Bad news: HPV can in some cases lead to cervical, anal, vulvular, and penis cancer. The CDC estimates that every year in the U.S., 10,000 women will develop cervical cancer from HPV exposure, and four thousand women will die. In the rest of the world, where early treatments and diagnoses are more rare than in the U.S., the mortality rate is much higher; around 250,000 women per year world-wide. The International Agency for Research On Cancer, based in Lyon, France, estimates that by 2050, cervical cancer will kill one million women every year.
Good news: The pharmaceutical company Glaxo-Smith Kline reports having developed a vaccine against HPV infection. Studies so far indicate the vaccine is effective against the HPV strains which constitute 90% of new infections. The story can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624954.500. If this success rate holds up, a worldwide comprehensive vaccination program could drastically reduce the spread of HPV and potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women.
Bad news: In the same article, Bridget Maher, spokesperson for the Family Research Council, believes that last bit of good news may not be such good news after all. “Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”
Wow.
That’s impressive.
I’m serious.
To think that this cruel, stupid, amoral, self-righteous, sanctimonious, arrogant, heartless, soulless, worthless shit-for-brains, this fucking asshole, this harpy, this monster, this waste of oxygen can successfully pass herself off as a human being is nothing less than an Oscar-caliber performance.
Read what she said again. “Giving the vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”
In other words, in the eyes of Ms. Maher and the Family Research Council, an unmarried woman is better off dead than sexually active.
It’s only one of the more recent salvos in what I’ve dubbed “The War On Whoopie.”
In case you didn’t know, or knew but had simply forgotten, there’s a war on in the U.S. between us normal people and a fanatical cult of sexual fascists. Hiding behind the Bible and an endless sea of perfect teeth and well-scrubbed faces, these Holy Terrors are bound and determined to bash down our bedroom doors and eradicate any form of sexual experience that 1) is or may be outside the bonds of holy matrimony and/or 2) is not expressly for the purpose of procreation. And there’s lots of stuff within the bonds of marriage the Holy Terrors aren’t too keen on, either. Fun is simply not allowed.
Holy Terrors have come out in opposition to premarital sex, birth control, (before OR after marriage), condoms, women’s choice, pornography, profanity, sex toys, homosexuality, gay marriage, AIDS awareness, public broadcasting, premium cable TV, and any form of sex education that goes beyond, “Don’t do it!”
Holy Terror positions range from the silly (condemning Spongebob Squarepants and Baxter Bunny cartoons for allegedly advocating tolerance of homosexuality), to the merely obnoxious (pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions), to the stupid (the ineffective abstinence only education programs) and the downright cruel (opposition to anti-gay discrimination laws and same-sex marriages and civil unions).
And the Family Research Council is at the vanguard of the War on Whoopie. The FRC brags that it’s got half a million members, and the ears of some of the most powerful players in the U.S. government, including the White House itself.
Now, thanks to Ms. Maher, it’s clear that the Holy Terrors’ agenda includes control not only over our sexual choices and preferences, but over life or death, as well. The implications are astounding and frightening.
Imagine watching the Fox News Channel. The commentator on one of the talking head shows announces, “The Food and Drug Administration has given final approval for an AIDS vaccine that has been demonstrated to be 100% effective. With me now is a spokesman for the Family Research Council. Your thoughts?”
“It’s a dark day for humanity, Bill. Now, homosexuals will be free to fornicate without fear of consequences or God’s holy wrath. This vaccine is a tool of Satan and must be eradicated at all costs.”
Think I’m exaggerating? Last month, the Washington Times carried a story about Anglican churches in Africa combating famine, and how difficult it’s been for them to raise funds.
Part of the problem has been these churches have been REJECTING donations from Episcopalian churches and charities in the U.S. that have supported gay bishop V. Gene Robinson. Rwandan Bishop John Rucyahana said, “To be honest, there is not enough money for the needs we have in Rwanda after the (1994) genocide, but if money is being used to disgrace the Gospel, then we don’t need it.”
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, (whom I doubt has ever suffered the effects of starvation), was quoted as saying, “I applaud the actions of the African Anglican churches. No amount of silver is worth sacrificing your duty to your congregation and to God.”
Now, my Bible talks about an obligation to “do justice, love goodness, and to walk humbly” with my God. (Micah 6:8). According to my Bible, Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness, generosity, feeding the poor, not judging others, mercy, and above all, love. I wonder what Bible Mr. Perkins reads.
Anyway, in the eyes of the FRC, accepting a gift from a church that supports a gay bishop is a fate worse than death. Literally. Coming from an institution that thinks a cancer vaccine is a bad idea, this is no surprise.
You almost have to admire that kind of cruel stupidity.
Almost.
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