I've been busy trying to move heaven, the moon, and my own fat ass. Anyway, here's an article worth setting your lazy eyeballs to! Enjoy....
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Found VIA SetGo.com
By LUIZA CHWIALKOWSKA Staff Reporter of the New York Sun
From
www.nysun.com (free registration)
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is launching a “historical” crackdown on makers and distributors of material deemed to be obscene, after nearly a decade without prosecutions under federal obscenity laws, senior officials say.
At least 49 makers and distributors of pornography are under investigation, and indictments are expected over the next few months.
The Justice Department is “going back” to enforcing federal obscenity laws that were largely ignored under the Clinton administration, the deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division, John Malcolm, told The New York Sun in an interview.
“The lack of federal enforcement over the previous eight years sent a message to those who produce and distribute this material that they would get a free pass and enabled this to proliferate,” Mr. Malcolm said.
“Absolutely we are doing more,” Mr. Malcolm said. “More charges will be brought in the future.” Over the past year, there have been 19 federal obscenity-related convictions, and indictments have been brought in eight more, he said.
The FBI, U.S. Customs, and Postal Service agents involved in the effort appear particularly interested in bestiality, sexual violence, and unusual uses of human waste.
Officials say their interest in sexually explicit material is wide-ranging.
“There is no particular behavior that is off the table,” Mr. Malcolm said.
In a letter to conservative groups, a senior Justice Department official attempted to assure the impatient groups that, contrary to accusations, the antiobscenity efforts are “far from failing.”
“After an enervating eight-year stretch of nonenforcement during the previous administration, the Department once again considered obscenity enforcement to be an important priority and is once against vigorously enforcing federal obscenity laws,” the head of the child exploitation and obscenity section, Andrew Oosterbaan, wrote in an August 7 letter obtained by the Sun.
Producers of material considered more “mainstream” are not immune.
“One current case involves the owners of approximately 100 adult stores located in a number of states that pander ‘mainstream’ videos,” Mr. Oosterbaan’s letter states. “Another target is one of the largest producers of sexually explicit videos in the world.”
The renewed effort comes at a time when the administration is already squaring off against free speech advocates in litigation over campaign finance laws, but not soon enough for anti-pornography groups who have criticized Attorney General Ashcroft for ignoring pornography.
The letter states that the department is making “tremendous and historical progress” in combating “the scourge of obscenity.”
The Justice Department is planning its second Obscenity Training Seminar next month to teach U.S. attorneys across the country how to go after offenders. A High Tech Investigative Unit staffed with “computer forensic experts” is being staffed to investigate offensive content on the Internet.
“There have been technological advances that have allowed this material to explode into every household,” Mr. Malcolm said. “We think this is wrong and worthy of federal resources to combat it.”
Mr. Peters said the administration has assured him more indictments are coming. “That’s what they’ve told us, off the record and on the record, that there are several prosecutions under way that will expectedly result in prosecutions,” he said
The appointment of Mr. Ashcroft, a lay minister and social conservative, raised high hopes among the groups, but they were dashed over the past two years as obscenity was pushed off the table by terrorism.
“The pace of change has not pleased anybody on our side of the issues,” Mr. Peters said.
Citing spam and misleading Web site names, he said, “This is being thrust onto people in the sanctity of their private homes.”