If a massive federal deficit, a war in Iraq and Afghanistan and a passel of blithering idiots in the White House weren't enough for the Senate to try to get its collective mind around, Sen. Sam Brownback, Republican from Kansas and chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on—what else?—science, is holding hearings on porn addiction.

But speaking of wrapping your mind around an idea, try this—

"We're so afraid to talk about sex in our society that we really give carte blanche to the people who are producing this kind of material," said James B. Weaver, a Virginia Tech professor who studies the impact of pornography. [emphasis added]

But this you will readily understand—

Brownback, an outspoken Christian conservative who has championed efforts to curb indecency on television and the Internet, said the public is beginning to realize "they don't just have to take it."

But he acknowledged the First Amendment right to free speech has limited congressional efforts.
....

Brownback said scientific data is needed to help his cause.

And what is Brownback's cause? Nothing less than the suppression of free speech on the internet.

Make no mistake—the government would like nothing more than to gain control of content on the internet. And the method is clear—say that you're doing it in the interest of the children.

This is only the first sally. Expect more.

If there is any hope left for open media, the root of that hope lies with the internet. We must not let the government control content.

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I forgot to mention Judith Reisman. In her testimony,

Judith Reisman, a vocal critic of the Kinsey Institute and the field of sexology, suggested Congress require police officers to gather evidence of pornography at crime scenes to further research.

A charming and novel use of the police power.

And who is Judith Reisman? According to Wikipedia,

She now leads a campaign called Restoring Social Virtue & Purity to America (RSVPAmerica) that distributes material that criticises modern sexual viewpoints and sex education based on Kinsey's work.

Reisman argues that homosexuals are trying to "recruit" children through schools and the mainstream media, equates homosexuality with pedophilia, accuses Alfred Kinsey of abnormal sexual practices, and attributes his early death to excessive "self-abuse" (masturbation).

I'm ashamed to say how old I am.