Federal Anti-Obscenity Program Comes Up Limp 321
kotj.mf writes "The New York Times reports that the Federally funded anti-Web pornography campaign run by Morality in Media, a conservative religious group, has yet to result a single prosecution for obscenity, despite having generated more than 67,000 citizen complaints. The group, better known for its campaign to have Cosmopolitan removed from supermarket checkout stands, is pushing the Justice Department to more aggressively pursue cases against what it sees as 'a prime threat to society, the growth on the Internet of sexual material involving consenting adults.'"
Re:Federally Funded?? (Score:5, Informative)
Congress initially denied funding, citing the separation of church and state, and Bush bypassed them via an "Executive Order".
Welcome to the theocracy.
I guess they see how well all those middle-eastern governments are working, and want to bring the same thing to the U.S.
Re:You were shoved headfirst through sombody's vag (Score:2, Informative)
@Cordath: "Now, which of these things" (TV violence or porn) "have the bible thumpers made their top priority?"
Well, both, actually. Violence on over-the-air TV has been a major target of religious organizations since the medium graduated from geekdom to mainstream.
People (religious or not) who are offended by violence, public displays of sexuality, and non-normative language have always attempted to drive such behavior out of the public eye and into "red light districts" and alternate media.
Just like anti-religious bigots try to outlaw public worship and evangelism. :-)
Re:You were shoved headfirst through sombody's vag (Score:3, Informative)
Re:So much idiocy, so little time... (Score:5, Informative)
What the guys and gals at the Morality in Media group don't seem to get is that the Justice Dept is not the FCC. The DOJ doesn't file criminal charges based on the number of complaints.
But if you look at the PTC & FCC, you can easily understand where they got the idea from and why they thought would work.
Re:Pass the buck (Score:5, Informative)
Re:USA & Australia (Score:2, Informative)
Douglas Adams pointed that out in the notes that were compiled in his last book (a postscript of material gathered after his death).
Re:You were shoved headfirst through sombody's vag (Score:5, Informative)
You should cite your sources. This is something Alan Watts [wikipedia.org] said many times in many ways. You also might want to provide one of the full quotations, since they're directly relevant to this discussion. For example, in 1968 he said that
Source [deoxy.org]
Re:Federally Funded?? (Score:3, Informative)
The funding was done via a congressional earmark to a non-profit organization. I'm not sure, but I don't think there's any particular limitations on what an organization can then do with that money, since the organization itself is operating within the bounds of law. If anything though, this is further evidence that earmarks gloriously suck.
The grant, about $150,000 a year, has helped pay for Mr. Rogers and another retired law enforcement officer in Reno, Nev., to harvest and review complaints about obscene matter on the Internet that citizens register on the Justice Department Web site.
Re:USA & Australia (Score:3, Informative)