LOS ANGELES – The enemies of free expression are at it again, with Morality in Media President Robert Peters criticizing FBI Director Robert Mueller for "refusing to investigate obscenity crimes that do not depict the most extreme hardcore pornography."

Peters' letter to Mueller came in response to the director's statement to the House Judiciary Committee that "We're losing" [the war against child pornography].

While it's no secret (except, apparently, to Peters and his ilk) that the legitimate adult entertainment industry has absolutely nothing to do with the production, distribution or proliferation of illegal child pornography; Peters, a frequent purveyor of intolerance and disinformation, claims that "the explosion of obscenity contributes to sexual exploitation of children in a number of ways."

Peters cites a number of ways in which he feels that constitutionally-protected materials lead to child abuse, including allowing "child molesters [to] use 'adult' obscenity (i.e., no minors depicted) to entice, arouse, desensitize and instruct their child victims," and how a consenting adult's viewing of legal erotica inevitably leads to the consumer's depravation and a "downward spiral" of viewing child pornography rather than "adult obscenity."

Peters' rant praised the efforts of former Attorney General Ashcroft and condemned the Supreme Court for upholding the Constitution in its overturning of the CDA and COPA.

MIM is also calling for increased efforts focusing on online adult entertainment as well as erotica delivered via in-room hotel PPV systems, citing titles from Hustler as an example of his belief that "much obscenity features teens who may be at least 18 but who are promoted for their youth.."

"It wouldn't require a tremendous allocation of investigative and prosecutorial resources to substantially reduce traffic in obscene materials," Peters said. "Because much if not most hardcore pornography is controlled by a relatively small number of companies based in the U.S. But it would require a commitment."

Finally, Peters expressed his support for Big Brother's monitoring of consumer's surfing habits via ISP record retention and called on the Justice Department and FBI to change its "counter productive obscenity enforcement policies that make it more difficult if not impossible to win [this] war."

This observer can only hope that in addition to winning the war against child abuse, the war against religious intolerance and ideologically-based censorship will also be won.