The Bane of McCain

[pasithea]

Here's a fun article.

http://news.com.com/Senator+to+propose+surveillance+of+illegal+images/2100-1028_3-6156976.html?tag=nefd.lede

This is a topic I have mixed feelings on. Child abuse really really upsets me. On the other hand, gestapo tactics to make anyone guilty upset me too. The real problem here is who defines what is 'offensive'. Personally, I'd love to see those 'Precious Moments' figurines in Hallmark stores banned. Sickly big-eyed children kissing shyly. They make me want to barf. But I suspect they'd be TOTALLY okay in McCain's twisted world view. But not Fritz the Cat It's an _adult_ cartoon. How awful! McCarthyism by any other name still as surely stinks.

Finally, I'd like to ridicule the proposed method. Let me get this straight. He proposes the government should build a HUGE ARCHIVE of kiddie porn which any ISP can plug into and compare their images to his collection and make sure they aren't offensive?

Aside from the obvious technical reasons this would fail, what is he? A commie? A huge state-run kiddie-porn bank which anyone can access freely in order to drive out the capitalist dogs who might host their own images?

And, joking aside, wouldn't killing the circulation of old child porn merely push makers of it to make more child porn, creating a greater market for new materials and a greater exploitation of children?

It makes me sad when my friends hold onto this faint hope that McCain might get in as a republican president and turn things around. The guy is a total tool. (Not that any of the dems currently running are any better)

Comments

[circuit-four.livejournal.com]

The only thing I like about this story is how easily it could be made into a dystopian-SF black comedy, where government censors loot the public airwaves and obsessively build their temple of cyberporn, the Great And Holy Thoughtcrime from which all society's laws derive...

Incidentally, child porn now no longer need involve any sexual activity whatsoever. Not that the sites under investigation weren't kind of skeevy -- one of the news.com commenters wisely noted that the real issue was whether the kids were being exploited financially as well -- but the convenient vagueness of this new standard makes it smell all the more like a deliberate powergrab...

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

I think we may rest assured that large commercial concerns need not fear prosecution under the law, since they can actually afford serious legal protection. So it'll just be small businesses and individuals who get prosecuted... you know, weaklings who can't fight back. God Bless America, long may she wave.

[cortezopossum.livejournal.com]

Um... I'm reading the article and ... why does this press conference have John Walsh and Miss America?

I've actually seen programs that you can use to detect similar-looking images on your hard drive so you can delete duplicates (they don't have to be identically digitally coded -- you can have a GIF and JPEG at different scales and it'll still make a 'match' of the two).

(The language warns that it is not necessary "that the minor depicted actually exist.")

This is going to totally kill the Sonic Porn industry (and all the various 'mon' porn .. pokemon, digimon).

I agree -- those Precious Moments figurines should probably be banned -- and that horrible 'Love Is...' comic strip

rant

[paka.livejournal.com]

It just really bugs me, McCain is built up to be this big hope. Like, because I have AOL, I get McCain banner adds about how he's reasonable and conservative. BULLSHIT! This is the same crap as before. But people will vote for him because these total lies are being pumped into their skulls so continuously.

He's conservative only when it comes to social stuff, never when it comes to actually trying to lay out sound fiscal strategy. And in a larger sense that's what the Republicans are all about, imo; they can't actually point to any big economic gains or successes or plans, so all they can do is spew an endless array of emotional hot-button social issues.

[ff00ff.livejournal.com]

Every time I'm reminded that "cartoon" kiddie porn is illegal too I wonder when the FBI is going to shut down FA.

[centauress.livejournal.com]

The last legal precedent says that it's not, despite lawmakers' attempts such as this.

[ff00ff.livejournal.com]

Ahh. I suppose this is the sort of thing that changes now and again, or that some politicians just wish was so, pedophiles are such an easy scapegoat after all. I think the last big pedophilia case I had heard of was about some guy being convicted of some crime or other for keeping a fictional journal of his child raping prowess. There was a little murmuring in the news about "thoughtcrime" but no one wanted to get too loud about it cause the guy was a pedophile after all.

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

McCainism!