Hullabaloo

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

 
More Salad

by digby



The Man Called Petraeus gets a promotion. His resume is looking good.

The Associated Press has learned that Gen. David Petraeus has been tapped to become the next commander of U.S. Central Command.

Perhaps someone can tell me what this means for Iraq? (I know what it means for his future political career.)


Update: Ok, now here's something guaranteed to cause a mutiny:

Bill: Stop selling Playboy, Penthouse on base


Concerned that the military is selling pornography in exchange stores in spite of a ban, one lawmaker has introduced a bill to clean up the matter.

"Our troops should not see their honor sullied so that the moguls behind magazines like Playboy and Penthouse can profit," said Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., unveiling his House bill April 16.

His Military Honor and Decency Act would amend a provision of the 1997 Defense Authorization Act that banned sales of "sexually explicit material" on military bases.

The new language would "close existing loopholes" in regulations to bring the military "into compliance with the intent of the 1997 law," Broun said.

"Allowing sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes, feeding a base addiction, eroding the family as the primary building block of society, and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad," Broun said.

Broun said he wants to bring the Defense Department into compliance with the intent of the 1997 law "so that taxpayers will not be footing the costs of distributing pornography."

Exchange officials noted that tax dollars are not used to procure magazines in the system's largely self-funded operations.

But Broun's spokesman John Kennedy contended that taxpayer dollars are involved — "used to pay military salaries, so taxpayer money is, in effect, being used to buy these materials," he said.

Broun's bill, which has 15 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee for consideration, would tighten the definition of pornography. One part of the provision states that if a print publication is a periodical, it would be considered sexually explicit if "it regularly features or gives prominence to nudity or sexual or excretory activities or organs in a lascivious way."

Previously, defense officials have said, they do not consider nudity in itself to be "lascivious."

Of course nudity is lascivious. And if any of those boys over in Iraq even look at themselves in the mirror they're obviously gay and should immediately be discharged.

Seriously, Playboy? What about Betty Grable pin-ups? Their own dirty minds?



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digby 4/23/2008 07:53:00 AM |