Remember how, after Sept. 11, 2001 and the swift passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, when a lot of us civil libertarian types were warning that if the U.S. began restricting civil liberties – targeting Middle Easterners for searches, holding people in prisons without trials and essentially incommunicado, conducting searches of library reading materials, tapping Americans' phones – in response to the 9/11 attacks, that "The terrorists have won"?
Remember how Attorney Generals John Ashcroft and, later, Alberto Gonzales announced that they were going to target "purveyors of pornography" for federal prosecution – and then came up with the PROTECT Act, the Children's Safety Act, the new 2257 regulations and the Extreme and Goalie indictments?
"War on Terror"; "War on Porn" – can anybody out there add 2 plus 2?
Let's say you're an established adult video producer – one who consistently wins awards for – oh, I dunno – Best All-Girl Series, and a bunch of others for Best All-Girl Release, Best All-Girl Sex Scene, Best Vignette Series, Best Continuing Video Series ... need we go on?
And let's say this producer gets indicted on an incredibly bullshit charge: Shipping their videos to a legitimate distributor/retailer – not to a consumer, but to a bona fide adult business. (Don't laugh; it could happen!)
And let's say that fact gets reported in the press... and lo and behold, suddenly that producer's sales start to dry up!
Can anybody say "chilling effect"? Can anybody add 2 plus 2? Can anybody say, "The terrorists have won"?
Does "innocent until proven guilty" ring any bells? Does anybody think JM Productions (in case you haven't figured out who we're talking about yet) will be found guilty by a jury of ordinary citizens, at least one of whom has probably heard of the First Amendment, and who lives in the American Southwest, once known as the bastion of individualism?
Is there any adult business owner out there who seriously thinks his/her product is safe from this theocratic administration? Does anyone – and we mean anyone – seriously think that once Gonzales' minions have picked off the little guys and some of the easier targets, that the people who describe "pornographers" as "domestic terrorists" and "destroyers of children's innocence" won't be coming for them next?
Ask Mike Warner: He got indicted for printing box covers! Ask Chris Mann: They were ready to steal his multi-million dollar company for having shipped two (2!) adult videos to Dallas! Ask Russ Hampshire: He sold his business in part because he was tired of dealing with all the legal bullshit, and had no urge to spend any more time in the hoosegow. Ask Sherri Williams: She's already spent umpteen thousands of dollars trying to obtain the right to sell a friggin' vibrator in Alabama – and the guy she sued is now on the Court of Appeals that will eventually hear the case ... for the fourth time!
Okay; so you, Mr./Ms. Distributor and Ms./Mr. Retailer, don't have to order the five titles named in the Arizona indictment; there are hundreds in the JM catalog – including a couple dozen award winners – whose names have never been tainted by government. How about throwing a few of those onto your next order?
Our point: JM has already been indicted by the governmental terrorists; they don't need you to indict them as well.
