U.S. Indicts Porn Sellers, Vowing Extensive Attack

[DoveTurnedHawk]

The Justice Department on Thursday charged a North Hollywood wholesaler of adult films with violating federal obscenity laws, launching the first of what it promised would be a wave of criminal cases against purveyors of pornography.

The 10-count federal grand jury indictment against Extreme Associates and its executives, Robert Zicari and Janet Romano of Northridge, raised alarm among adult entertainment companies in the San Fernando Valley, which is considered the capital of the nation's multibillion-dollar pornography industry.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft promised upon taking office that he would crack down on the distributors of adult entertainment material such as movies, magazines and Web sites, much as his Reagan administration predecessor Edwin Meese III did in the 1980s.

Thursday's indictment came after investigators with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service set up a sting operation in Pennsylvania. From September 2002 through July 2003, the indictment says, the defendants sold allegedly obscene material over the Internet and distributed videotapes and DVDs across state lines through the postal system, a violation of federal law.

<...>

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-obscene8aug08002425,1,3559525.story?coll=la-headlines-business-manual

DTH

[Ohio Dem]

1. Well, that's obviously more important

than catching the Anthrax terrorist. Or combating the rising violent crime rate.

Wouldn't want people to see porn, after all. Who knows what would happen if, say, you or I saw two strangers doing the nasty. Hell, it might bring down the Sears Tower.

[papau]

2. This will take ones mind off war lies and down economy

Crime is up compared to the days of Clinton - but we have our priorities straight and are now chasing nude videos that have sex acts!

It is good to have the GOP in control.

:-(

:-)

[Cambist]

6. What A MAJOR ASS HOLE!

I hate that son of a bitch. I bet he fucked his mother. (and father too for that matter)

[rucky]

21. If you had that on film...

...you could make a killing.

[Voltaire99]

49. Best Dubya-era porn video title...

"Cock and Awe"

That our censorious little Witchfinder General Ashcroft would seek to deny us such lovely puns (and all they, er, entail) seems to me grounds for rebellion.

Or at least for some grouchy posts on the Internet. ;-)

[rook1]

32. Crime stats please

You made the claim...please show me the stats....Thank you.

[snippy]

45. Crime stats.

For 2001:

"The estimated number of Crime Index offenses for 2001 was 11,849,006. This number
reflects an increase of 2.1 percent from the 2000
estimate, the first increase since 1991."

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_01/01crime2.pdf

These numbers exclude the crimes committed on 9/11 "{d}ue to the unique nature and the statistical implications inherent in {those} events."

For 2002:

"Preliminary data for 2002 released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program indicate a 0.2-percent decrease in the Nation's Crime Index from the 2001 figure."

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel03/12month2002.htm

[Mari333]

3. Cant we make it a Crime for Ashcrack to exist???

His Existence is Far more OBSCENE then any porn film.

[carolinayellowdog]

4. Prepare for detailed descriptions on cable news

of all the horrible, indecent, disgusting acts found in Extreme Associates videos. They will be just as horrified, aghast, beside themselves as they were over the Starr Report-- with an equal amount of leering as they tell us all about it.

[Walt Starr]

7. Maybe Ahnold will be indicted too

He is a former porn star, after all.

[Walt Starr]

5. Looks like Bill Maher has his newest schtick laid out for him

No comedian could ever pass this one up.

Asscrack needs to be put on trial like traitor to the constitution he is.

[mumon]

8. That PERVERT Ashcroft has sexual obsessions about statues!

And what the f*ck is his beef? Bukkake?

[truebrit71]

9. Bunch of puritanical bastards..

Glad to see that they're focussing on the REALLY important stuff...This would be funny if it weren't so f*&*ing scary...


It is sooooooooo important that this facist regime is ousted next year...YOUR RIGHTS DEPEND ON IT!!

[tom_paine]

10. Ah, Nazis don't change much over time, do they?

I believe Hitler had the same views towards pornography.

Hey, at least these Nazis are "kinder and gentler"...for the moment.

[Heddi]

11. Let's see----

Okay. Porn is bad enough to have a federal investigation of distributing porn across state lines---uh, is it just me, or have ads in the back of "juggs" been doing this for YEARS?

Anyways---glad to see they've got their fingers on the pulse of Americans and what THEY think is important...hmmm...if given the choice, I'd rather have the feds going after boobie movies ANY day of the week than say, oh, billionaires who bled their workers dry, or important things like that :eyes:

So I wonder how many people worked for the companies that are being indicted---and I'm not just talking about porn stars....there are plenty of people in wharehouses and on telephones working for this company. They'll now be put out of a job. Why? Why because porn is bad. As is sex, and marijuana and other evils like that.

So we have more people unemployed for no reason. We have a justice department that finds the time to bust Tommy Chong for selling bongs, and these people for selling flesh flicks, and people in California for growing pot for medically-needy people, and people in Oregon for VOTING for assisted suicide.....but this same justice department isn't sure if it's going to try Eric Rudolph as a terrorist.....the same justice department that has NO idea who the anthrax mailer is (but is able to identify the 19 terrorists within MINUTES of the planes going down)....

Yeah. They're on top of things alright :not:

[plcdude]

16. Juggs

just how long have you been reading the articles in the back?

[Heddi]

18. heh. well I used to be in advertising sales

so, uh, you know, would uh, get advertising ideas from other, uh, magazines, or something :evilgrin:

[plcdude]

12. so is it illegal

to have adult films in PA? It is here in OK

[DoveTurnedHawk]

15. Community Standards Test

That's one prong. What is legal in SF or LA or NY, probably isn't legal in other parts of the US.

DTH

[rucky]

22. Then isn't it a State issue?

What's the USAG doing sticking his nose in this? Didn't Ed Meese catch hell for the same reason?

[plcdude]

24. good point

n/t

[DoveTurnedHawk]

31. It Becomes Federal When You Use Mail, or Cross State Lines

I'm betting Extreme mailed out these tapes from CA to folks in PA and elsewhere.

DTH

[worldcomflunky]

50. Whoa there PLCDUDE!?!!? I live in Oklahoma.

What part exactly is about "owning" porn illegal here in good old Oklahoma? There are a plenty of X-rated places here in Tulsa that sale porn but it does happen to be softcore with no penetration. You saying if you have a tape in your house that has penetration then your breaking the law? No matter where you got it from?

[MaraJade]

53. Nope. . .

I live in the capital (Harrisburg) and there are numerous purveyors
of adult movies here.

What really bothers me about this is that Asscroft is trying to
tell ADULTS what they can and cannot watch.

I believe that purveyors and consumers of kiddie porn should be
shot on sight, but if grown-ups only are involved, why should I care?
I wouldn't want to see that stuff, but it is none of my business
if other grownups do.

Corollary: what is the Galactic Empire going to do about people
who sell sex education videos and ship them through the mail?
Some of those videos depict adults in "action" too. Are they going
to throw the doctors and psychologists that sell them in jail also?

:eyes:

[DBoon]

13. War on CA

So he's going after another pillar of the California economy? First the manufactured energy crises, now this? Without porn, the economy of the entire San Fernando Valley would collapse. Is this what he wants?

humor intended...

[Wednesdays]

14. Part of the story they edited out...

Ashcroft went on to say, "How dare they sell all that pornography to the public...I want it all to myself!"

Well, he really didn't say that. But then again... :evilgrin:

[jayfish]

17. Should Probably Do The Same To GM.

GM owns Hughes, Hughes owns DirecTV, DirecTV has 4 or 5 channels of hardcore porn. And since it is available almost anywhere in the US, they are trafficking across state lines.

Jay

[plcdude]

26. exactly

we are opening a can of worms here.

[jayfish]

54. Of Course I Would Never...

want them to do the same to GM, but fair is fair right? I happen to enjoy porn, along with 90% of the men I know and 40-50% of the women I know. However, if your going to go after a porn peddler why not go after one that can peddle to 11.6 million viewers every minute, of every hour, of every day? I'll tell ya why ...money. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, General Motors gave $797,988 in political contributions during the 2000 election cycle. Of that amount 69% went to Republicans and 29% was given to Democrats.

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=M&Cycle=2000

It's always about the money.

[NashVegas]

62. I Think it Depends on State/Local Laws

Some areas (mine, for instance) black out the hardcore channels. Softcore comes through, but the Dark Brothers aren't welcome here.

[oneighty]

19. Well,

I hope he takes Viagra off the market. TV commercials are discusting.

Guy gets a piece of ass and people think he got a haircut, jeez!

Hey, Bob! Why you grinning? And you too Liddy.

180

[MaineDem]

39. That commercial has always bothered me (n/t)

.

[truth2power]

51. ROTFLMAO!

That's a good one, 180. Best laugh I've had all day.

Yeah...that ad really is stupid! :eyes:

[Character Assassin]

20. Holy Shit! Extreme Associates are great! Hope Tommy's saved up, though

To pay to defend himself against that fuckwit Ashcroft.

I've seen a lot of their work. Can't imagine which parts they're labelling 'obscene.

[kathee]

23. "So John,.."

tell me what your fantasy is.."

"Huh, hehe, he...I like to sniff girl's tootsies..and, and, and i like it when they sneeze too...*giggle*, that's all I ever got when I was younger.."

"Ooooo so you like the sneeze fetish do you? Achoo!! aaa aaa aa ACHOO!!" "HERE, big boy, smell my big toe!"

"Yeah, that's it! ooo I LIKE it like that, sneeze again you cutie you.."

"Anything for you, johnny-poo..AA CHOOOOOO~~!"

Yeah, I think he DID call!!

[nolabels]

70. Wait a minute, did they rate that post yet? This could get us all in......

trouble, such lurid adjectives and demonic cloys. The public should not be allowed to read such lascivious titillations <as he drools upon his bright blue blazer>

[Aaron]

25. Recent Frontline report on American porn and prosecuting pornographers

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/porn/prosecuting/

Some of it is probably a bit explicit but I thought it was really interesting/informative. There's also an interview with Rob Black of "Extreme Associates" here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/porn/interviews/

[Chovexani]

29. Seymour Butts?

Is that the guy from Family Business on Showtime?

I like that guy. He's the nicest pervert you'd ever want to meet. *g* I'd rather live next door to him than Asscrack. He's probably a better parent too.

[Aaron]

35. I'm not sure I don't have showtime

I think his mom works for him though. Probably the same guy, seemed pretty reasonable when I saw the interview on frontline with him. Those links I posted should have a page that has an interview with him about being prosecuted for obscenity or something like that.

[Chovexani]

37. That's him then

Family Business is a reality show about him and his family. It's a riot.

God I wish Asscrack would just get laid once in a while and quit worrying so much about what the rest of us are doing. It's pathetic and would be hilarious if this horseshit wasn't taking away much-needed resources from prosecuting REAL criminals like Enron, Halliburton, etc.

What Ken Lay did is way more obscene IMO than anything Seymour could think of.

[Aaron]

58. I think the son of one of the Smothers brothers does porno too

I saw an interview with him, talking about how his dad hated his work. He seemed pretty reasonable to me too. I'm sure there are some creeps in the porn biz, but I'd bet one could put together a pretty reasonable set of neighbors out of it. Certainly better than the likes of the Enron folks and the rest of the corporate thieves.

[PurityOfEssence]

60. Yep. Dick jr....don't even have to make this stuff up

He does it under his real name, too.

[VolcanoJen]

66. Seymour Butts rules!

And, if I may be so bold as to say, he makes very good porn.

The stuff he used to do with his wife, Shane, was wonderful. He was a *bit* more soft-core then.

[rhino91063]

27. bush may let me be killed by terrorist

but by God he will protect me from that evil porn!

[SideshowScott]

42. My god no truer words have been spoken Rhino

As long as our ass backwards hung ups on sex remian intact who cares if we die due to terrorist attack

[m_h_lovecraft]

28. I'm no prude, and I despise attacks on the 1st, however

I like, nay, love porn. I don't consider it obscene or a vice, and most of the time I consider it victimless, but...

Extreme Associates' Janet Romano is director Lizzie Borden and the "entertainment" they churn out is VILE, DEGRADING and VIOLENT. She and a video she was directing were featured in a Frontline that made my skin crawl. She and her ilk have put themselves in the position they now have to defend (community standards)... they have been pushing the envelope for a long time, since the Clinton Admin. It is obvious Ashcroft deliberately picked the worst of the bunch to make his example.

I am not saying a dogged pursuit of adult film producers and wholesalers is a good thing. I am saying that Lizzie Borden has in fact put many other decent people on notice, risking their financial and civil liberties in the process by acting irresponsibly. Damn her for it.

[Pompitous_Of_Love]

46. Give me a break!

None of us watches that stuff. Not one of us. No sirree. This is essentially an argument about vague abstracts that none of us has any real experience of...and just in case you needed it: </sarcasm>

[MadHound]

30. On behalf of all Missourians, I wish to apologize to everyone

We tried to keep this ass out of office, really we did. We even voted a corpse in over him. But noooo, he had to go and get himself appointed to AG.

Again I apologize. Please forgive Missouri, we're not all like him, just the more inbred ones.

[rook1]

33. Yep

Porno is a victimless crime....yep!

[Q]

36. How many investigators is Ashcroft tying up with his puritanical zealotry?

- The Bushies tell us they're fightng a WAR on terror...yet they've devoted neither manpower or budget to bring the criminals responsible for 9-11 to justice. A cynic would say they're not trying very hard to solve the crime that killed 3000.

[Chovexani]

38. Asscroft's crusade

Asscroft has to wage his War on Fun. No time to worry about things like terrorists! GAWD just told him to bust that long haired hippie Tommy Chong. And dontcha know when the good LAWD tells you somethin, you'd better dip your head in some Crisco and get to work!

[pinniped]

34. Thanks Asscroft., now I can sleep soundly at night.

n/t

[beanball]

40. Tell Larry Flynt

Asscraft is out to get him. .

[short bus president]

41. FUCK ASHSTOCK!!!

FUCK HIM UP HIS SCALY REPTILIAN ASS!!!

Comstock according to Planned Parenthood.

[Oreegone]

43. First the Hookers

Then the bong makers, now the porn kings....who has time for terrorists when God has appointed and annointed you the clean up guy....make Amerika safe for Christians. Remember this is the the guy who covered up the Justice Statue cause she's got hooters......I bet he wonders why God even made women with them there things, probably it was really Satan that added those to try to lead the divine into temptation.

[Zero Gravitas]

52. Hooters

It is SO appropriate that the Statue of Justice has to be hidden from view when the Witch-finder General is in the room...

[snippy]

44. Someone probably does. My guess would be Bush and Cheney.

http://www.theonion.com/onion3905/ashcroft_orders_staff.html

[short bus president]

47. oh, that is truly, truly foul!

is that... Ron Jeremy under that hideous face?

[Trek234]

48. First amendment?

Did the federal courts not rule porn was protected by the first amendment back in the 70's?

If so, won't Ashcroft get shot down in the courts?

[Aaron]

71. I think the difference is it's still not ok to send by mail n/t

[Generic Other]

55. And this is why when I surf the web I always ask

What would Ashcroft do? And I do the opposite.

[kathee]

56. Asscrack

is one sick putrid individual. he is our Pretend Puritanical, keeping his head oily,(NOt the one he SHOULD keep oily,) and Those boobies properly covered..

Sex is missionary, and in the dark. Orgasms to be followed by fervent apologetic prayer...does not apply to wives, as wives who have them would be considered whores so would not be allowed to have sex in the first place, were one to take place, as we know that female orgasm is not required for procreation.

[farmboxer]

57. Ashcroft Also Spent $8,000 For Curtains To Hide A Nude

Greek statue! He also thinks it is a sin to dance! Will he also outlaw dancing?

Where is the criminal who sent the anthrax. I guess that's not important. Also, Enron is not important either.

[PurityOfEssence]

61. Hillary had the best line about that:

"Silly me, I thought Missouri was the 'show me' state."

[Paschall]

59. Sometimes actions are more revealing than words

"What do you make of a man {John Ashcroft} who has in his barn a 7-ft. statue he crafted of the Statue of Liberty? He made it of barbed wire."
- TIME, January 15, 2001

[snippy]

63. Nothing says liberty like barbed wire.

As I recall Ashcroft also annoints himself with Crisco.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

64. ashcroft spends $15 million to snag 6 New Orleans prostitutes ...dedux

while terrorists live and plot inside the US

[Mari333]

65. and dont forget he sings!

http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/25/ashcroft.sings.wbtv.med.html
:bounce:

[Chomskyite]

67. To quote my main man David Cross

"That dirty dirty titty!!!"

[Swede]

68. Why does the rightwing

Love guns and violence but hate sex and compassion

[BiggJawn]

69. I don't have to worry...

I've never bought any of Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh's books over the internet...

Now, talk about OBSCENE!