Last month, we looked at some of the prominent attorneys, preachers, and organizations who are leading the charge against your right to do business. This month, we discuss Websites, politicians, and a few others.
THE WEBSITES
Although we covered American Family Assn. founder Donald Wildmon last issue, the Websites he's founded - AgapePress News Summary, AFA Online, and Cybercast News Service - are each worth a look by themselves.
The AgapePress News Summary is ubiquitous across the Religious Right segment of the Web. Several different religious sites carry synopses of its daily stories, and others simply include a link to its homepage, but America's religion- and conservatism-starved masses get the bulk of their news from AgapePress, the Washington Times (owned by Rev. Sun Myung Moon), and the WorldNetDaily site.
Interestingly, AgapePress often credits Cybercast News Service (formerly "Christian News Service," and for some reason abbreviated "CNSNews") as a source; yet both are owned by the AFA. So whether a story appears first on AgapePress or CNSNews - or even AFA Online - hardly matters.
AgapePress, however, is a remarkable resource for Religious Right thinking. For instance, type "homosexual agenda" into the site's search engine, and literally hundreds of story links will appear; usually in pairs, since the same story is usually archived at AFA Online as well. A search on "pornography" will produce even more.
"Does The AFA Hate Homosexuals?" one section of the organization's Website asks rhetorically. "Absolutely Not!" is the emphatic answer. "The same Holy Bible that calls us to reject sin, calls us to love our neighbor. It is that love that motivates us to expose the misrepresentation of the radical homosexual agenda and stop it's [sic] spread though our culture."
In their "Pornography" section, one can find, among myriad other articles, "How To Raise Your Son To Be A Porn Addict" by Steve Gallagher, owner of Pure Life Ministries (Rule 3: "Another valuable lesson you can teach him through your own life is to immerse himself in the mentality of this fallen world by watching television, reading secular magazines and spending a lot of time surfing the Internet.") and "Is Pornography Harmless Fun Even If You Are Not Addicted?" by Vickie Burress, wife of Phil Burress, founder of Citizens for Community Values. (Excerpt: "For pornography to be harmless, the people who are depicted in its images would have to be unreal - mere symbols of something philosophical and intangible. However, the women violated in pornography are human beings. Beyond the glossy pages, the naked and used women are real, as real as all other women who work and live side-by-side with men who sustain a regular diet of pornography. Pornography makes women chattel, and all women have reason to fear that the attitudes of the men with whom they live and work are transformed by the images of pornography.")
Each day, the AgapePress writing staff churns out eight to 10 stories about how bad Democrats are, how it's all Clinton's fault, how the rights of Christians are being eaten away by non-God-centered legislators, gays, and the Left Wing. The staff includes Rusty Pugh, Bill Fancher, Jody Brown, Fred Jackson, Allie Martin, Chad Groening, and Ed Vitagliano, the AFA's "director of research," though his qualifications to hold that position are nowhere revealed, as well as being the editor of AFA Online. And then there are the columnists: R. Cort Kirkwood and Jeremy Sisto, plus the occasional guest like Warren Smith, most of whom work for obscure Christian tabloids and magazines scattered across America's heartland.
An offshoot of the AFA is the American Decency Assn. (ADA), also founded by Wildmon but now run by Bill Johnson. The ADA "monitors" Howard Stern's daily radio show in 19 cities throughout the U.S. In addition, it monitors the Stern/CBS TV show in upwards of 10 cities. ADA sends more than 1,000 letters a month to sponsors of the show. The organization claims that, since 1996, it has managed to get more than 12,000 sponsors to withdraw from the Stern show.
After the various AFA sites, porn's second-biggest opponent on the Net is Morality in Media (MIM), headed by attorney Robert M. Peters. Peters joined MIM in 1985 as a staff attorney, and was made president in 1992.
The MIM site provides articles of the alleged effects of porn, on obscenity law, on Internet and other mass media porn issues, as well as links to organizations that treat "sex addicts" and other pro-censorship organizations.
Peters hates being called a "censor," which he defines as something only the government can be: "Americans who are fighting against pornography and the declining standards on television are routinely called 'censors' by the porn industry and its allies. It's a buzzword used to discredit, distract, and distort. IT'S A LIE!"
As to Web porn, Peters says: "Clearly, there is a major failure of adult responsibility when almost three out of four teens report they have accidentally come across pornography on the Web. The biggest failure of responsibility lies with federal and state prosecutors who turn a blind eye to obscenity on the Internet. If obscenity laws were being vigorously enforced, the last thing hardcore pornographers would want to do is draw attention to their vile wares by engaging in reckless marketing methods. If vigorously enforced, there would also be much less pornography to accidentally stumble across."
Peters seems oblivious to the fact that one of the main arguments to the Supreme Court last November was that current laws regarding obscenity, which are based on "community standards," cannot apply to the worldwide community of the Web.
One of Peters' main projects has been the National Obscenity Law Center (NOLC), currently headed by attorney Paul J. McGeady, with Robin S. Whitehead as its senior attorney.
The NOLC acts as a clearinghouse for news of obscenity prosecutions and other legal issues surrounding the adult industry, through their bimonthly publication the National Obscenity Law Bulletin, and also is a reference site for past obscenity prosecutions and anti-porn legislation. Among the publications available (by mail; no Shopping Cart here!) through the site are a three-volume set of the 22 most popular secondary effects reports from municipalities around the country - one suspects that the recent Flanigan's, Inc. v. Fulton County, Ga. study, which found no adverse effects from adult businesses, isn't included; but we don't intend to pay the $50 necessary to find out - and the Handbook on the Prosecution of Obscenity Cases by George M. Weaver, Esq., which is described as "an authoritative guide that provides the reader an organized understanding of obscenity law by leading the reader through the History, Meaning, Investigation, Trial and Appeal of an obscenity case," all for a measly 10 bucks.
Also heavily involved on the political scene is the Family Research Council (FRC), which has about a dozen "policy analysts," but, oddly enough, no one with a title of "researcher."
For an organization with such a secular-sounding name, the casual surfer might be surprised to find the following in the FRC mission statement: "Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, we promote the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society... God exists and is sovereign over all creation. He created human beings in his image. Human life is, therefore, sacred and the right to life is the most fundamental of political rights."
Founded by failed presidential candidate Gary Bauer, the FRC's current head is Kenneth L. Conner, a lawyer who has been "deeply involved in state and national political affairs." But the organization's most active spokesperson has been Jan LaRue (see profile last issue). LaRue, however, has a new assistant, Miriam Moore, who's taken over much of the writing for FRC's Website, as well as its two main legal publications, Legal Facts and the annual Supreme Court in Review. Moore is an attorney who also has a Bachelor's degree in psychology, and is starting to make her mark as a spokesperson for the organization.
Another religious stealth organization is Concerned Women for America (CWA), whose mission is "to protect and promote Biblical values among all citizens - first through prayer, then education, and finally by influencing our society - thereby reversing the decline in moral values in our nation."
Chaired by Beverly LaHaye, CWA's main foci, often voiced by spokesperson Wendy Wright, have been browbeating the FCC for lax enforcement of its indecency standards, support for other organizations' efforts such as the AFA's "Victims of Pornography Month," and gay-bashing through its own Culture and Family Institute (CFI), whose "senior analyst" and primary spokesperson is Peter LaBarbera.
The "homosexual movement" has been attempting to paint conservative Christians, with their biblical view on the issue, as "hate mongers," according to LaBarbera. "Even though we're not haters, we have people writing in and saying that what we believe is hate, calling our site a hate site, and that sort of thing. The homosexual activists... [encourage] people to think that Christians who oppose homosexuality are somehow hateful."
Well, perhaps a look at their site is in order... "We believe it is uncompassionate to promote homosexuality as normal and healthy when well-documented evidence says otherwise," reads the site's overview. "CFI opposes the homosexual movement out of concern for people trapped in that tragic lifestyle and for the destructive effect that the homosexual political agenda is having on America's God-given freedoms... We believe that any society that encourages sinful and unhealthy sexual practices, such as the sanctioning of homosexual 'relationships,' jeopardizes its very survival and the welfare of its citizens... History teaches that civilizations that abandon the objective standards of right and wrong and the marital ideal for human sexuality eventually crumble. We at CFI will work to help America avoid that fate, and pursue the vision of godliness and ordered liberty upon which our great nation was founded."
All told, the Web is rife with religiously based right-wing political organizations and "fellow travelers." However, we've included a sidebar with several URLs in case readers want to check them out for themselves.
THE POLITICIANS
While adult industry members would be wise to eye most politicians with caution, the following members of Congress in particular seem to have an agenda in tune with the Religious Right.
"Today, this national scourge has begun to find its way across our phone and cable lines into our homes, libraries, and even public schools," wrote Rep. (and former NFL star) Steve Largent (R-Okla.), of Internet porn, in a Washington Times editorial. "Obscenity will continue to spread like a cancer, creating new addicts, extending its reach to every corner of our culture, provided the Justice Department continues with its current policy and does absolutely nothing."
Largent is a darling of the Religious Right, seeing things their way on nearly every societal issue from abortion to support for tax-paid "faith-based initiatives."
Rep. J.C. Watts, the ex-college football star, shares Largent's philosophy, particularly on abortion issues.
Largent's counterpart in the senate is Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). While recently active in congressional moves to ban all forms of cloning, even for medical research, Brownback is best remembered for joining Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in attacking the entertainment industry for the "trash and filth that we see and hear in the movies, on television, in music, and in video games." According to an AgapePress article, Brownback was also "upset with vulgar trends in television programming - among them a new Showtime series about homosexuals that features intimate sexual encounters between a man and a teenage boy."
In the letter to the FCC, Brownback, Lieberman, and two other senators blasted broadcasters for the "gross inflation of sex and vulgarity on free, over-the-air television, particularly in the early hours of prime-time," and mentioned several studies that claimed an increase in sexual messages being aired on TV.
Another prime candidate for the Enemies List is Mississippi Congressman Charles "Chip" Pickering, whose father was recently under consideration for a seat on the federal appeals bench.
For instance, in May of 2000, at a House Telecommunications Subcommittee hearing, Pickering and Largent attacked Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alan Gershel for the Clinton administration's failure to bring federal obscenity prosecutions. "One of the reasons I believe you have a dramatic increase [in the exploitation of children and child pornography] is because of the lax... effort to address obscenity. They overlap. They are integrated. They contribute to each other. And until you address both, you are going to see a dramatic increase," warned Pickering.
Currently, one of the religionists' primary issues is obtaining the right of its clergy to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without jeopardizing the church's tax-exempt status. Last summer, Pickering co-sponsored a bill that would prevent the IRS from punishing churches whose ministers speak out about political issues. "We think some conservative Christian groups actually are being targeted by the IRS for their political speech," he said. "This legislation would repeal that, take away any authority the IRS might have to do that."
Most recently, Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), has introduced the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act," which would "permit churches and other houses of worship to engage in political campaigns." The bill has 112 co-sponsors, all but four of whom are Republicans. Opponents say the bill is little more than a strategy by leaders of the Religious Right to mobilize conservative churches on behalf of conservative candidates, and in fact, the Christian Coalition lost its tax-exempt status several years ago for distributing "voter guides" at churches throughout the country.
While not strictly a politician, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is an unabashed Religious Right apologist. While addressing a church meeting several years ago, he said, "I'm a fool for Christ. We all are." It was Scalia who told a group in Mississippi in 1996 that Christians should "assert their faith" even if intellectuals dismiss them as "simpleminded."
Aiding Scalia in his quest to spiritualize America is the Attorney General of the United States, John David Ashcroft. Ashcroft is the embodiment of "government as defendant" in two of the major free speech cases currently under consideration by the high court - ACLU v. Ashcroft (about COPA) and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (about the Child Pornography Prevention Act).
Ashcroft has been biding his time since his confirmation about a year ago, but signals of his views are everywhere. In late January, for instance, he ordered $8,000 spent to cover the historic "Spirit of Justice" statue that's graced the Justice Department halls since the 1930s because he's embarrassed to have his picture taken in front of the statue's exposed breast.
And now that the new head of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Andrew Oosterbaan, has been installed, reliable sources say that Ashcroft is ready to move with federal indictments against adult video producers and retailers in at least five major cities, possibly based on raids conducted in those cities in August 2000 by the FBI, federal marshals, customs, and IRS agents.
THE REST
There are some folks out there who aren't politicians, preachers, or attorneys, and who don't operate primarily through their Websites, but who are certainly worth noting.
First among them has to be "Dr." Laura Schlessinger, whose doctorate (in physiology) has absolutely nothing to do with psychology, social work, counseling, or anything related to her profession as a radio advice columnist. Schlessinger, who is heard in every major radio market in the U.S., is harmless most of the time. But, for instance, on Jan. 29, Schlessinger went off on a woman who called after finding that her 42-year-old boyfriend had been looking at porn sites on his computer, and was wondering what she should do. "Leave," was Schlessinger's simple answer. "The man is a pervert. He's incapable of having a normal intimate relationship. How can you even think about trying to make a life together with a pervert?"
When the woman vacillated, trying to say that the man had many good qualities, Schlessinger started in on the woman herself. "What do you think it is about yourself that would make you defend a pervert? What is lacking in your life that you would have such a low opinion of yourself?"
"Well, I don't know," the woman answered. "I'm a normal 33-year-old woman who wants someday to have kids..." she began.
"Oh, so you're feeling old and desperate for a relationship, is that it?" Schlessinger countered. "You need to look inside yourself and figure out what it is that attracts you to perverts." Schlessinger launched salvo after "compassionate" salvo for about five minutes - which must have seemed like an eternity for the woman, and in fact was long for a typical call - and eventually brought the woman to tears... but it was just another day in the life of America's most popular conservative religious radio advice columnist. Schlessinger also opposes abortion and unmarrieds living together on religious grounds; claims the American Library Assn. "is boldly, brashly contributing to sexualizing our children" through its anti-filtering stance - "Now the pedophiles know where to go" - and was justifiably raked over the media coals last year for opining that gays were "deviants" and "biological errors." That makes her even more of a "moralist" than porn's other radio arch-enemy, Rush Limbaugh.
Also worth mentioning are a pair of "researchers" who've caused their share of trouble for the adult industry. Victor B. Cline, Ph.D,. is presently a psychotherapist specializing, he claims, in family/marital counseling and sexual addictions, as well as Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Utah. However, porn veterans may best remember him as one of the star witnesses before the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, more familiarly known as the Meese Commission.
Cline is considered an "expert" on porn by the Religious Right. Trouble is, according to attorney H. Louis Sirkin, a First Amendment advocate who's often had to challenge Cline's "findings," Cline hasn't done clinical studies on the effects of porn; his conclusions have been drawn from "case histories," "field studies," and "experimental laboratory type studies" - with stress on the word "type" - none of which would be accepted by scientists as empirical.
"In reviewing the literature on the effects of pornography, there is a variety of evidence suggesting risk and the possibility of harm from being immersed in repeated exposure to pornography," a typical Cline "study" might read (emphasis added).
Another Meese witness was the rabidly anti-porn Dr. Judith Reisman, a former scriptwriter for the Captain Kangaroo television show and now head of her self-styled Institute of Media Education. Reisman has spent much of her career attacking Dr. Alfred Kinsey (yes, the famous one), claiming that he got much of his evidence while molesting the children who gave it to him.
In preparation for her testimony before the Meese Commission, the Justice Department had given Reisman a grant for $734,000 to study the cartoons in Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler, but according to a paper by David M. Edwards, her grant was "so poorly written and its budget so inflated that it drew criticism from the Senate Juvenile Justice Subcommittee." Further, it emerged that "peer review" of Reisman's findings had been conducted by three vice cops, an FBI agent, and a fellow antiporn activist.
In May 2000, Reisman appeared on a panel on "Porn and the Internet," sponsored by the Pepperdine Law School, where she harangued the audience because none would admit to being "addicted to pornography."
IN CONCLUSION - BUT HARDLY "THE END"
Of course, the problem with any Enemies List, sadly, is that the number of individuals and organizations that can be placed on it is constantly growing. This article has been an overview of some of the main players, but in truth, it barely scratches the surface of what adult retailers and content providers will have to face over the coming months.
What can we say but "Good luck"... and as the much-embattled Boy Scouts of America would probably add, "Be prepared."
