PRISON TIME!!

So few people seem to believe that I COULD GO TO PRISON for being a pornographer -- they want to pretend that wouldn't happen in our country but IT IS HAPPENING NOW. Not to me, but here you go:

The Facts:
A Colorado porn magnate convicted of federal obscenity and tax fraud charges was sentenced Thursday to 13 months in prison and ordered to close his adult stores in Texas, authorities said.

Edward J. Wedelstedt, of Littleton, Colo., pleaded guilty in November to evading taxes and illegally distributing a pornographic video deemed obscene by a grand jury.

Leroy Moore of Arlington, Wedelstedt's former business partner, is scheduled to be sentenced March 30. He has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute obscenity.

So. I wouldn't defend the tax fraud (except to say that you can bet there are people withholding MUCH larger "sums of cash" from the IRS and no one is going after them), but the other stuff? It's fucking RIDICULOUS that the federal government even FINDS TIME to make allegations "that customers bought pornographic magazines, videos and other materials and paid to watch sexually explicit movies in the back of his stores."

Oh god!! In our country? People are *buying* things that they want? We better stop them!! Capitalism should ONLY apply to EVERYTHING *except* sex (unless that sex is packaged as something else, like a car or a pizza or a cheeseburger endorsed by Paris Hilton).

It's certifiably insane that people will rabidly defend our rights to buy guns, but not porn. What the FUCK?? Maybe if we actually COULD use porn as a weapon people would find it more agreeable.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to people being able to buy guns and hope to have a lovely arsenal myself one of these days, but porn is one of the LEAST dangerous things on the market these days. What about milk riddled with bovine growth hormone? What about meat riddled with e. coli? And the government PROTECTS and SUBSIDIZES the beef and dairy industries! Kids are seriously harmed every day by guns and hormones and chemicals and all kinds of stuff, but forget all of that. Let's throw some pornographers and smut peddlers in jail!!

Read carefully. "Conspiracy to distribute obscenity." Do you understand the frightening implications of such a ridiculous charge? And even if you DON'T think it's ridiculous, DON'T YOU THINK THE GOVERNMENT HAS MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO and real criminals to convict of REAL CRIMES?

Do not kid yourself into thinking this only happened in Texas. It is THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that brought these charges. Our *country* not some crazy backwards locality far away from you and I.
posted by Trixie at 3/03/2006 02:59:00 PM -