WRONG ISSUE ALARMS ASHCROFT

The culture wars are heating up.

And those now in control are really loony as well as seemingly hell- bent
on a mission to cleanse America of its sinful nature to an extent that is
truly alarming, as exemplified by that "give me that good ol' time religion
soul" who holds a top post in the Bush administration: Attorney General
John Ashcroft, also known as "Mr. Clean."

In a soft-core version of a religious fanatic like "let's purify the
nation" decree, Ashcroft ordered $8,000 drapes to cover the Justice
Department's statue representing the Spirit of Justice because this female
figure, which has graced the Great Hall since 1934, features an exposed
breast. After all, as a culture we are still trying to answer the question
raised by Pamela Norris in her book, Eve, A Biography: "What is the
appropriate response to a naked woman offering forbidden fruit and
promising secret knowledge?"

Yet, Ashcroft appears to be quite comfortable to be in the presence of guns
exposed to public view, canceling background checks for his fellow
countrymen who wish to buy such weapons at gun shows, and approving the
brandishing of guns by Drug Enforcement Administration officials as they
tyrannize patients and officials at medical marijuana centers in
California, seizing the "wicked weed" and patient records.

I would imagine that in the eyes of children, adults are quite weird. The
big people in power approve of children seeing guns everywhere--in history
textbooks, in the mass media, on the streets, in public buildings, and on
public statues, but for children to view a naked breast is morally abhorrent.

Yes, children of America, see, learn about, esteem and play with guns, but
don't view or touch your bodies--at least not those "dirty parts," because
we all know that's what led Adam and Eve astray, an act of betrayal and sin
that we are still paying for, according to the likes of John Ashcroft and
William Bennett, God's chosen cultural warriors.

As Walt Kelly's Pogo often reminded us, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Louis Silverstein, Loop