Please forget where you heard this, because if what I'm saying here goes down, I'd rather not show up on certain government agencies' radar screens.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is finally finding the time to engage in his favorite hobby: pornographer hunting. He's pulling the big guns out of the cabinet and cleaning their barrels; his guns will soon be 'locked and loaded, and pornographers are going to find themselves centered in his rifle sights.

Now that the dust has settled at Ground Zero; now that the immediacy of tracking down and neutralizing the Taliban, Al Quaeda, and whoever else has links to or supports these terrorist scumbags has abated, the DOJ (that's Department of Justice) is gearing up to pick up where they left off in their quest to crack down on pornography. Just pretend we're back somewhere before Sept. 11, 2001. The DOJ was ready to roll on us then. But then the tragedy of 911 took place and priorities changed. But that was then and this is now. I'm not saying the DOJ's campaign to prosecute terrorism has gone away, but now they find there's at least a little room for other matters, and the matter of the U.S. Government vs. the jiz biz seems to be gaining political popularity with the Bush leaguers.

The internet is our Achilles Heel, even though whole galaxies of internet porn is controlled by individuals and companies outside of the traditional porn business. Regardless of that minor little detail, my guess is that's where the attack begins, but quickly changes course towards the brick-and-mortar smut peddlers of the West San Fernando Valley. I'm also thinking the purveyors of internet smut are playing right into the DOJ's hands. How so? One reason is their audacious manipulation of internet traffic. These guys will do anything to garner traffic. And once they have that traffic in their grimy little hands, they often take it to exactly the kinds of places that illicit the wrath of the 'religious right, which in turn gets the attention of the Republicans who in turn will use their considerable power to attack us. The recent wave of rape site spam is just one example of this, and manipulating internet traffic is just one practice the internet guys use that provokes the ire of the current government--there's a whole lot more.

By the way, I've been reading the DOJ has been paying a lot of verbal homage to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office lately. Anyone else think this Max Hardcore case is merely the initial salvo? I'm guessing it is. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a 'test case,' because win or lose, the government is going to come at us, barring any unforseen event that again changes priorities.

Child pornography--I've been in this business almost ten years. I've yet to meet a child pornographer (at least one that I knew was one), nor have I ever seen any child pornography knowingly existing in the hands of any above-ground pornographers. Yet that's the exact excuse--child pornography, that is--the DOJ is using to come at us. Why? because its sensationalistic and invokes the kind of response they hope to invoke in our community, in everyone's community.

Sometimes I wonder if the Free Speech Coalition performed such a great service in winning their recent Supreme Court battle. You see, a lot of people out there aren't too bright. You might even know a few of them. And while that case certainly wasn't about legitimizing child pornography, there's probably a bunch of idiots out there who have perceived it that way. And that's just what the 'Religious Right and the Republicans love to trade on: fucking idiots--fucking sheep--fucking people who only see the picture the way they're told to see it.

So what can we do about this imminent assault? I don't have a freakin' clue. Honestly, I don't know. Making sudden changes to the kind of content going out the door isn't going to stop this. There's too much 'edgy' content already on the shelves and available through mail order. Hope and pray you're not one of the targets? Yeah, I'll go with that one. Get your house in order? Most certainly. Pack up and leave the business? That might not be a bad idea for some of you--you know who you are. Other than that, I don't know. I'm not trying to sound like doom and gloom. Only time will tell if I'm calling this right and I sure can't predict the outcome of the DOJ's attack. It will be costly for everyone concerned, I can guarantee that.

There is the possibility the DOJ is overestimating the general public's anti-porn sentiments and their zeal to see porn prosecuted. And if this is going to be part of the Republican party's platform for the next election, all I can say to those guys is this: Economy, economy, economy... Going after the heads of pornographers ain't gonna get you elected dude. Not until the you put the head of Osama Bin Laden on public display.

You see, I think most people these days, that is those who aren't regular porn users, have a rather ambivalent attitude towards pornography. But the unfortunate truth is this: whether the DOJ knows that or not isn't going to make any difference. I'm pretty sure it's going to take more than an ambivalent populace to stave off this attack. I guess I'll go back to the 'hope and pray' solution, even though I'm guessing that God may not be on our side. But then, the other side has a bunch of hypocritical, war-mongering, lying, cheating, sleazy politicians amongst them.

I think it's a fairly safe bet God's not on their side either.




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