Anti-porn squad reminiscent of 1980s

A Washington Post story about the FBI's forming of an anti-pornography squad threw some bloggers back to the 1980s when then Attorney General Edwin Meese took on obscenity as his signature issue.

Last month, the bureau began recruiting for the squad of eight agents, a supervisor and support staff to gather evidence against the "manufacturers and purveyors" of pornography, the story said. Attached to the job posting was a memo describing the initiative as on of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' top priorities, according to the Post.

The story also quotes an unnamed FBI agent as saying, "I guess this means we've won the war on terror." That flippant tone was apparently infectious...

Blog community response:

"After the Clinton era, surely this sort of thing must be history? Yet 1980s retro is back in vogue--John Roberts was, after all, one of Ed Meese's protégés. But don't toss your stash yet: Recruitment for the effort is said to be lagging among agents who consider other duties, such as the war on terror, a bit more important."
--Beaverhausen Blog

"It's like the election all over again: Play to the base by giving lip service to hot-button issues like family values, instead of putting all available resources against the forces that could harm the most people, such as terrorists and cyber-criminals."
--Sean McMahan

"Really, who cares that our troops in Iraq don't have armored vehicles and Osama Bin Laden is vacationing in Pakistan? We will all be able to sleep at night knowing that our tax dollars are being invested in the eradication of pornography involving bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior."
--Pick's Post