Bush Administration Wages New Battle in "War on Porn" in Texas
- A Klixxx Staff Report
November 18, 2005
The War on Porn Battles in Texas Some are saying that the true battlefront for Bush's "War on Porn" will be fought in his home state of Texas. The media are citing examples such as the Ragsdale case that was heard in Dallas, relating to the shipping of simulated rape fetish videos through the US mail to customers via the Ragsdale's website. That case was recently upheld in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, rejecting First Amendment protection arguments, which some say has now cleared the way for more prosecutions for similar cases. Some say that this is just the beginning of a war that has not seen its rival since the Edwin Meese prosecution days under President Ronald Reagan. At the Ragsdale appeals hearing, the President's nephew, Dallas lawyer Neil Bush, served as the presiding judge's clerk - representing, in a way, the Bush Administration in this case. New cases are presently being filed, not just in Dallas but across the country.
Defense attorneys involved in upcoming cases in Texas claim that it's "no mistake" that the first obscenity prosecutions under the Bush Administration were brought in Dallas, or that more are coming in the area. They claim that North Texas prosecutors have moved in recent months to bring second and third federal obscenity trials to the city of Dallas because it is one of the nation's most socially conservative judicial districts. This is where the administration can set a precedence of early successes and win on appeals to the uber conservative Fifth Circuit Court. The prosecution of "extreme adult content" such as defecation, piercings and simulated torture will be an easy win for the Task Force.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas has also obtained indictments against three other sellers of simulated rape and sadomasochistic fetish videos. Thomas Gartmen of Nevada, a former partner of the Ragsdales, is one video seller who could face a trial in early 2006. Gartman's attorney Andrew Chathem, who will be defending the entrepreneur on grounds of the First Amendment, told the press, "This is a situation where you have overzealous individuals in the government who say 'Oh my God, this deals with sex! Ban it! Censor it! Criminalize it!' This isn't just a fine and go about your business and be on probation for six months. This is years of prison for selling ideas."
The Northern District of Texas was also chosen by federal prosecutors in Washington to indict Eddie Wedelstedt, who lives in the socially liberal jurisdiction of Colorado, and just so happens to be the nation's largest operator of adult video arcade stores, on 18 obscenity charges. Wedelstedt operates about 60 stores in 20 states, and many of the videos seized, as evidence in his case did not involve extreme rape or torture fetishes as in the Ragsdale and Gartman cases. Still, Wedelstadt was forced to come to Dallas and pled guilty to illegally transporting pornography and under-reporting his taxes. The case, which started as a tax evasion case under the Clinton administration, morphed into an obscenity distribution case under the Bush administration. Sentencing is set for February 9th.
U.S. Attorney Roper agrees that Dallas jurors are good for these kinds of cases, "I think Dallas has traditional, strong community values, a strong sense of family, strong sense of community values and decency. And I think the jurors in this area that have dealt with these cases have come back with a strong message, that the distribution of obscene material is illegal."
The FBI is quietly raiding Internet-based businesses and federal obscenity indictments are being filed across the country. In spring of 2005, the DOJ statistics logged 41 federal obscenity prosecutions since 2001 compared to just 4 during the previous 8 years under Clinton. In July, Alberto Gonzalez ordered the FBI to recruit its own "Porn Task Force" to be funded by Congress and supported by the DOJ. The task force's main job will be to gather evidence of obscenity statute violations by distributors and producers. Since its inception, the FBI has already raided LA-based Max Hardcore for his extreme adult videotapes that have been distributed via the Internet.
The new "War on Porn" revives age-old First Amendment debates, as well as the "Miller Doctrine" test to determine whether materials are obscene within local community standards, appeal only to prurient interests or lack artistic merit. In the Ragsdale case, a study was conducted by the defense for the area of North Texas utilizing a 40-square-mile circle around the local Federal building, and adult bookstores, art museums, mainstream bookstores and online fetish dating services were visited. This study showed that the simulated rape videos sold by the Ragsdales were in line with the sexual standards of North Texas, as materials depicting rape could be found everywhere within that radius, including the Dallas Museum of Art. Unfortunately, the evidence didn't fly with the jury or the organizations pressuring the Bush administration forward in this adult industry crackdown.
Supporters of the "War" include socially conservatives who feel that the spread of adult content via the Internet has led to a rise in sexual violence against women and children. They say that the new "standard" being developed in Dallas should be the standard for the rest of the country. Larry Flynt of Hustler Magazine says that he feels he will be next in the administration's attack on the adult industries. He says that he and his lawyers are ready and eager - he told the press that he's like a cockroach, "I'll always be here."