So, what's the deal? Is Pete Townshend, one of the '60s great rock
survivors, a child porn fan or was he doing research for an autobiography in
which he speculates that he was sexually abused as a child? Phillipe &
Jorge say hold your horses and let's see exactly what extent of smut the
authorities find on his computer hard drive. (Deadlines being what they are,
this information might already be out there.)
We don't know what to think, really, but the January 13 arrest of Townshend
reveals the inherently imperfect clash between laws and freedom of speech.
Civilized society abhors child pornography, but blanket laws often prove
problematic. Incredibly lifelike computer images can be generated without the
involvement of any children, for example, taking the exploitation of actual
humans out of the equation. In the United States, where freedom of speech and
expression are so valued as to be incorporated in the First Amendment to the
Constitution, how should such offensive images be regarded? And, if we are to
believe Townshend's explanation, would this be any different than, say, an
author of police procedural books accessing bloody crime scene photos?
We don't know the answers. There are lots of things that we find unhealthy,
unholy, or just plain distasteful, but which are nonetheless legal. In a
society dedicated to freedom, the logical reason why kiddie porn is illegal
isn't because it's disgusting or frequently feeds into a certain pathology, but
because it involves exploiting children, who are vulnerable and therefore
inherently "non-consenting." The same is true of bestiality -- an animal cannot
consent to sexual activity with a human. Obviously, not everyone who views
graphic sexual imagery has sexually assaulted, molested, or even harassed
another person.
These are just some of our sober thoughts on all of this. In true Cool, Cool
World fashion, your superior correspondents are far more interested in the way
that Jerry Hall (the former Mrs. Jagger) materialized from out of nowhere as a
spokeswoman for Townshend. If you want to know what we really think about that,
you'll have to talk to our spokesperson, Corey Feldman.
Typo of the week
Casa Diablo received information from our friends at the National Organization
for Women about festivities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Supreme
Court's historic Roe v. Wade decision (the Harry Blackmun-authored
decision came down on January 22, 1973. The vote was seven-to-two). We did get
a big kick out of the typo on the e-mail subject line, however -- a possible
olive branch to the anti-choice crowd:
"Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 5:47 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: RI Now Roe vs. Wade Celibration"
While the local chapter of NOW gets bonus points for the inherent humor value
of its typo, the New York Times has no such excuse. In an article by
Alessandra Stanley in Sunday's "Week in Review" section -- discussing the
cultural implications of CBS creating a new "reality" series based on the old
Beverly Hillbillies sitcom -- not only was Winona Ryder's name
misspelled (as "Rider"), but Ms. Stanley mentioned the famous Depression-era
tome, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, and referred to its author as
"William," not James, Agee.
Law and order
Sombreros off to outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan, for commuting the
death sentences of each of the state's 167 prisoners on Death Row, the most
sweeping action of its kind in American history. This will certainly open up
debate on capital punishment, which was the intent. With all the DNA-inspired
revelations of the past few years (not to mention the Jeffrey Hornoff/Todd
Barry case right here in the Biggest Little), it's only sensible that we
seriously question the wisdom of using the death penalty.
Our exposure to the "odds for error" in the judicial system suggests that
mistakes are far greater than we previously assumed. In a world where some cops
habitually lie and a few prosecutors are running around sporting the Grim
Reaper on their homemade silk ties, P&J will opt for prudence.
In a completely unrelated matter, your superior correspondents were stunned to
see that anyone would ever accuse John Martin, former radio talk host, Urinal
TV and radio columnist, PR professional, and all-around good guy, of voter
fraud.
A story in the BeloJo of Tuesday, January 14, noted that Martin has been
exonerated of the accusation that he had tried to vote illegally in Pawtucket
in November's general election. The whole thing seems somewhat odd when you
consider that the person making the charge, Polly Stiles, once sued Martin for
what was described as a "property line dispute." Ms. Stiles was operating as a
"poll watcher" for Pucky Harwood (well, if she was actively supporting the
patronage king, it's no wonder she couldn't see straight) at the Francis
Varieur School when she thought she saw Martin enter and vote.
It has been established beyond doubt, however, that on the morning of Election
Day, a) John was at a parent-teacher conference with his fab wife, Faye
Zuckerman; b) he voted in Barrington, where he legally resides; c) his name had
already been purged from the Pawtucket voting lists after he moved to
Barrington in December 1998.
But here's the scary part: according to Jeffrey Britt, Bruce Bayuk's stepson
and campaign manager, Ms. Stiles contacted him and insisted that Martin had
voted in Pawtucket. Britt felt compelled to refer the matter to the state
police, but he also noted that Bayuk's attorneys, who had interviewed Ms.
Stiles, said that, "If this was a murder case, she would be a great witness."
Nobody's telling us anything new when it's proven that John Martin is totally
above board. Still, death penalty opponents might want to reference Ms. Stiles
along with Governor Ryan.
The 10 Commandments of Petroideology
Here's an e-mail that materialized at Casa Diablo last week. We share it with
you because, well, it's pretty darned amusing. Jay Critchley is a former
artist-in-residence at AS220. He founded the IRS (International Re-Rooters
Society) in 1983 to reclaim or "re-root" ourselves to the Earth. We're not
entirely certain how large the membership is.
International Re-Rooters Society (IRS) President Jay Critchley issued his
annual 10 Commandments at the 20th Annual Re-Rooters Day Ceremony on January 7
in Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The theme for this year's
ritual, which includes the burning of a tree/boat on the water at sunset with
discarded items from participants' lives, is Personal Umbrella Handlers. This
was chanted backwards, lanosreP allerbmU sreldnaH.
And Our Lord appeared to Moses in the form of a Burning Bush and gave him .
. .
The 10 Commandments of Petro-Ideology-Part III
1. Oil is the Lord thy God and looting is thy credo;
(Chant after each commandment: LANOSREP ALLERBMU SRELDNAH)
2. Thou shalt not oppose simul-sequel wars;
3. Thou shalt not question daddy's war in vain;
4. Remember thou keep holy the Birth of Crude;
5. Honor thy father and thy mother: Lube & Job;
6. Thou shalt not murder -- but oil spills, boutique weapons branded Under God,
unilateral eliminating, and barrels of laughs are OK;
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery -- unless someone fucks with your pipeline
dreams, extreme stock options, balance balls, or your dipstick;
8. Thou shalt not steal -- except by greasing the frugal elite, lympo-sucking
the Earth, drilling into our predictive intelligence, and lubricating rogue
states;
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against cost avoidance -- beware of false
prophets who seek chat room contactees, Drive While Yakking, wear male
pantyhose, and discard their plastic dildos;
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods -- unless you are a charismatic
CEO, cloned ratbot, wrinkle reduction New Normal, have a personal umbrella
handler, or use anti-microbial hand cream.
Let it be known that the devils and sinners who deceive us shall be cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophets are, and
shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. AMEN.
Outside Germany
This is just to mention a notable international film event her in La Prov,
sponsored by the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Picture Start,
and presented by local film impresario George T. Marshall. George has hooked up
with the Boston-based German cultural outfit, the Goethe-Institut, in
presenting a package of films about post-WWII Germany, its culture and people,
from an outside perspective.
Screened will be Germany Anno Zero, (1946/47, 78 min., January 29) by
the Italian neo-realist master Roberto Rossellini; Night and Fog
(1955/56, 32 min.), Alain Resnais's powerful and justly celebrated documentary
on the Nazi death camps; and Jean-Luc Godard's Germany Year 90 Nine Zero
(1991, 60 min., both on February 5). All showings are at the Columbus Theatre
on Broadway in Providence and will begin at 8 p.m. Admission is a mere $5.
Kudos & congrats . . .
. . . to Katherine "Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill" Gregg, ace BeloJo scribe and
muckraker, for Sunday's look at the profligate spending spree that the General
Assembly has been on for the past decade. Certainly, some of it is small
potatoes (and you can bet that the Halitosis Hall leadership will be able to
provide the size, shape, and weight in nano-grams for each tiny tater). The
overview nonetheless suggests the arrogance and lack of accountability to which
we've become accustomed through all these years. Undoubtedly, part of the
reason for running this piece at this time is to keep the separation of powers
ball rolling (and roll it will). No wonder Pucky practically whipped out a
cross and garlic lei every time Gregg was within 20 feet of him. Her story,
however, details where the real bloodsucking is taking place.
Send kill-kitty's garlic soup recipe and Pulitzer-grade tips to p&j[a]phx.com.
Issue Date: January 17 - 23, 2003
