Targeting porn on military bases

[Dardedar]

DAR
The height of American hypocrisy. Bold mine:

Targeting porn on military bases

Posted April 25th, 2008

Some very strange conservative activists, apparently with far too much time on their hands, launched an initiative last November to limit U.S. troops’ access to adult materials. It never occurred to me that policy makers would take this seriously, but apparently, they are.

To quickly recap for those just joining us, Congress banned sales of sexually explicit materials on military bases 11 years ago, but the Pentagon continues to allow base stores to sell magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse, which officials don’t consider explicit enough to prohibit.

The American Family Association and the Alliance Defense Fund, two religious right groups, demanded the Congress and Defense Secretary Robert Gates takes steps to scrutinize materials, including magazines and films, sold to the troops and their families.

Defense officials “don’t want to take porn away from soldiers,” ADF attorney Patrick Trueman said. “They say, ‘well, 40% of this magazine is sexually explicit pictures, but 60% is writing or advertising, so the totality is not sexually explicit.’ That’s ridiculous.”

Oddly enough, the activists actually found a far-right member of Congress to take their demands seriously.

U.S. Congressman Paul C. Broun, M.D. announced today the introduction of legislation designed to stem the sale of pornography on military installations. Broun’s legislation, the “Military Honor and Decency Act,” closes a loophole in current law that is allowing the sale of sexually explicit material on American military installations located both within the United States and around the world.

Upon unveiling his bill, Broun, a retired Marine, said, “Allowing the sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by: escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes; feeding a base addiction; eroding the family as the primary building block of society; and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad.”

The right is apparently lining up behind Broun’s bill.

...SNIP...

Let me get this straight. U.S. troops are fighting two wars, neither of which are going well, and Republicans believe we should spend time and energy considering what kind of magazines U.S. troops can purchase on base? Here’s a radical idea: maybe those who wear the uniform and put their lives on the line for their country should be able to read whatever they want.

LINK

DAR
As one person in the comment thread observed:

***
On April 25th, 2008 at 9:31 am, angry young man said:

"i’m all for this ban because it will turn soldiers against the republicans who supposedly have their best interests in mind just as the afghan people turned against the taliban when they blew up cell phone towers and stole their reception.

of course, this ban would be pure american: it’s ok to spend a day killing iraqi insurgent and citizens alike and blowing their cities to shit, but god help you if you should want to jerk off that night. violence good, sex bad, sayeth the lord."
***

Here is a 3 minute video of some genuine military porn, genuine military obscenity, from Vietnam. This is the real military obscenity worth being concerned about.

[LaWood]

Thanks for the post DAR. I wish it could be shown every night on the 6:00 O'clock news.
I have one question for all Conservatives, Republicans, and Democratic War mongers:

What would we have won if we had stayed in Viet Nam and defeated the Viet Cong?

Someday, you Bush Enabling Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives are going to face the same question about Iraq.

We were fed the same bullshit back in 1965 thru 1974 about defending our country, protecting America, etc, etc until it became a meaningless, rotten pile of lies.
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