I just grabbed this out of the New York Times. And I’m sitting here thinking, “Hm.” This is happening in Egypt but geez, what about here? I mean, given the official debauchery promotion emerging from the White House, every single day?<\/p>\n
But wait no, I’m confused. We may have a debauched White House but we don’t want Purity Police. Do we?<\/p>\n
Bringing cases against puppets, belly dancers and other really really dangerous sorts:<\/a><\/p>\n CAIRO \u2014 In a cluttered corner of his labyrinthine law office, amid dog-eared files and half-drunk coffee cups, Samir Sabry stood over a computer screen, his face grave as a stone, watching a clip of a potty-mouthed puppet.<\/em><\/p>\n On screen was Abla Fahita, a popular satirical character based on a wisecracking widow with a salty sense of humor. She was poking fun at the forced intimacy of Egyptians in such a crowded society. \u201cLike two butt cheeks in a pair of underpants,\u201d she quipped.<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Sabry\u2019s lip curled.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey call this funny?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely immoral, and a lot of Egyptians hate it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He issued an order, and the following morning, his office dispatched a criminal complaint to a public prosecutor, accusing the puppet\u2019s producers of \u201cpromoting debauchery.\u201d If convicted, they face up to five years in prison.<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Sabry, a portly 67-year-old lawyer, is one of the most prolific litigators in a country where the law allows one citizen to press charges against another for vague crimes like immorality and \u201cinsulting\u201d the nation. While it falls to a government prosecutor to decide whether to pursue such cases, and many are dismissed as frivolous, the successes have stifled free speech, hobbled the arts and even swayed national politics.<\/em><\/p>\n “Mr. Sabry’s lip curled.” Love that line. It’s maybe my favorite line in, I dunno, an hour or so.<\/p>\n Oh, and “insulting the nation,” OMFG. He knows nuthin’ about insulting the nation.<\/p>\n Guy has NO SENSE OF HUMOR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I just grabbed this out of the New York Times. And I’m sitting here thinking, “Hm.” This is happening in Egypt but geez, what about here? I mean, given the official debauchery promotion emerging from the White House, every single … Continue reading