Can the Spread of Pornography Be Stopped?

My VIP for this week is Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) because he is actively working to protect children and victim-survivors from the harm of pornography. Hanna Seariac published an article in The Deseret News about the senator’s efforts. 

According to Seariac, “pornography was relegated to VCRs, magazines and brick-and-mortar buildings” prior to the explosion of pornography on the Internet in the 2010s. “Now pornography websites bring in billions of users and it’s available in people’s pockets at virtually any time.”

Having pornography much more available is one thing, but the change of morals is something else.

Gallup polling data from 2023 shows that 39% of respondents said pornography is morally acceptable. That’s up from 30% in 2011 when Gallup first started asking the question. Other survey data shows 37% of baby boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) think pornography is “very bad” for society. By comparison, 14% of young adults hold that same view. 51% of respondents said they disagreed with the idea that pornography was morally wrong.

Viewership has also increased. Using data from the General Social Survey, a group of economists, a policy analyst and a sociologist evaluated pornography consumption of 18 to 26 years-old from 1973 to 2012. 45% of young men said they viewed pornography between 1973 -1980 and that increased to 61% between 1999 and 2012. These researchers pointed toward the spread of the internet as potential driver of the increase.

According to Seariac, attempts have been made to slow or stop the use of pornography. Utah and fourteen other states passed “resolutions to declare pornography a public health crisis.” In addition, “Psychology and health communication researchers have sounded the alarm, pointing toward negative impacts of viewership like increased physical aggression and a distorted perception of intimacy.”

Senator Lee took the issue to Washington, D.C., and is trying “to get legislation passed aimed at protecting children from seeing pornography and giving victim-survivors paths to legal recourse.”

Lee said that Congress has passed laws – such as The Communications Decency Act (title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) -- to protect children. However, this law was struck down by the Supreme Court as too broad.

The SCREEN Act, according to Lee, found “the sweet spot” and may be constitutional. He believes that this law will “survive if it becomes law, which it should.” This law focuses on “age verification with regard to commercial purveyors of pornography.” Seariac explained why.

This bill requires commercial websites distributing pornography to use technology to verify the ages of its users. Children would be blocked from seeing content defined as harmful in the bill including images and videos “taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion.” Lee compared it to the sale of cigarettes. “Just as you can’t sell cigarettes to a minor and give them to a minor, you also shouldn’t directly market cigarettes to a minor,” he said.

Seariac’s article has much more explanation. “In some states which have passed laws restricting children’s access to pornography, there’s been a discernible impact on the industry.” After Utah passed its law, “Pornhub blocked access to all users who attempt to access the site.” Lee hopes to “put a lot of these bad actors out of business.”

Who Is Mike Lee?

My VIP for this week is Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) who has an outstanding knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws.

The U.S. House of Representatives added several amendments to an $875 defense bill before passing it last Friday. The amendments, if included in the bill that becomes a law, would change policies at the Pentagon that include issues about transgender, diversity, and abortion. The bill was passed mostly on party lines. Suzanne Bates wrote the following in an article published in The Deseret News. 

One of the amendments added to the bill would block the Department of Defense from paying for service members to travel to receive abortions, a policy introduced after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade….

The issue of the military paying for abortion-related travel has been contentious in the Senate, where Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, has for several months blocked the confirmation of military promotions over the policy.

Tuberville’s blockade could slow President Joe Biden’s choice for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top position in the military, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a former F-16 pilot in the Air Force, who had his Senate confirmation hearing this week.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee encouraged his fellow Republican senators to support Tuberville’s actions in the Senate, which have so far kept around 265 nominations from moving forward.

“Senate Republicans should support – not criticize -- @Sen Tuberville in his efforts to defend a law (10 USC 1093) prohibiting the use of @DeptofDefense funds to perform abortions,” he wrote on Twitter.

The federal law cited by Lee prohibits the Pentagon from paying for abortions, except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

The Pentagon said in February it would pay for service members to travel to receive abortions if they live in states where access to abortions is restricted….

But Lee says Tuberville is doing the right thing.

Secretary Austin “could end this standoff TODAY simply by halting his indefensible abortion policy, the sole purpose of which is to circumvent federal law,” Lee said.

Another reason for Lee being my VIP is the fact that his name is on a list for Supreme Court justice released today by presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy described Lee and the other men and women on his list as being “committed to our Constitution, the rule of law, and individual liberty.” Lee certainly knows the Constitution and would make an excellent justice. However, we need people like Lee in Congress to protect and preserve the Constitution through legislative means. 

Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel

            The United States officially dedicated its new Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday. Several Republican Senators traveled to Israel for the grand opening, but there were no Democrat Senators in attendance.

            Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) was part of the American delegation, and he called the act of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “a long overdue recognition of history and reality.” He described the mood at the opening ceremony to be “optimistic” and “upbeat” in spite of the “unfortunate” and “tragic” protests. He continued with this statement.

It is unacceptable that people would choose to respond with violence to a move that is as innocuous as the United States moving its embassy to the actual capital of the host country. Think about how odd this is.

            Many people are excited to have the embassy moved, but others are throwing fits. As Senator Lee points out, the people who are upset are the “same people who wouldn’t want the state of Israel in existence in the first place.” He says that Jerusalem “is, in fact, Israel’s eternal capital,” so people might as well get used to that reality.

            The United States did the right thing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and to move the nation’s embassy to Israel’s capital city. Palestinians are going to be violent no matter what the United States does, so the U.S. might as well do the right thing.

            The fact remains that there would be peace if the Palestinians wanted peace, and Palestinians would not exist at all if Israel wanted war.

Senator Mike Lee and Truth

                I had a short but interesting discussion with one of my daughters recently. There were eight of us in her car – the six members of her family, my husband and myself. One of her sons began asking questions about the people who are on our coins and dollars. I listened as she answered his questions until he asked about Alexander Hamilton. My daughter did not know much about him other than the fact that he was a U.S. President. I corrected her and explained that Hamilton was not a President but is honored because he started the banking system for the United States. She accepted my explanation, so I attempted to teach her more about him.

                I am reading a book written by Senator Mike Lee titled Our Lost Constitution – The Willful Subversion of America’s Founding Document. I had just finished reading Lee’s words about Alexander Hamilton. Early in the Constitution Convention, Hamilton gave “an uninterrupted six-hour speech” about his proposal for a “strong government” led by “an elected monarch.”

                I tried to share this information with my daughter, but she was more interested in where I got the information. I pulled out my book to show her, but she dismissed the information because it was written by a conservative. She wanted to know who the author was, so I showed her the front cover of the book with the name of Lee written across the top of it. She and her family have lived in Utah for two or three years, but neither she nor her husband knew that Mike Lee is their Senator.

                I have two daughters who vote Democrat or have done so in the past. They both voted for Obama the first time. This daughter was wise enough not to vote for him the second time and probably will not vote for Hilary Clinton. The other daughter intends to vote for Clinton in this election. Because I know my daughters and know they are genuinely good people who want the best for our nation, I have a very difficult time classing all Democrats as “evil.” Having said that, I believe there are many people, particularly Democrats, who refuse to fully study both sides of the issues simply because one side is conservative. My daughter admitted that she did not know much about Hamilton, but she denied that he wanted a monarch simply because the book was written by a conservative. That does not make sense to me!

                My daughter is not the only one who is unwilling to listen to both sides. I recently made a post on Facebook about a statement made by Hilary Clinton about the need for changing religious ideas. An associate jumped down my throat and insisted that Clinton did not make the statement. A friend backed up my statement and gave a link to it. He explained that my quote was not a perfect quote, but it stated the same idea as found in the link. He continued in his explanation that my associate could understand that the statement meant something different than I thought, but she had to admit that Clinton said what she said. My associate could not do it.

                Truth is truth no matter the source. Barack Obama was elected as President of the United States, not just once but twice, by people who refused to listen to the words he said. They denied all the warnings because they already made their decision and would not listen to conservative viewpoints. We are currently enduring another presidential election cycle, and many among us disregard conservative warnings about Clinton. All of us should be seeking the truth and looking for it from all sources. We cannot disregard statements simply because they are made by a liberal or by a conservative. We can know the truth of all things – even political matters – by asking the Source of all truth. If we sincerely want to know the truth, we can find it with the help of God. I encourage my readers to make their political choices a matter of prayer and then to follow the promptings given by God. We can know the truth and be free!

Our Lost Constitution

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the Constitution.  Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has written a book titled Our Lost Constitution.  Senator Lee sat down for an interview with Ben Weingarten to discuss his new book and how to restore our Constitution.  Senator Lee was also appeared on Mark Levin’s LevinTV to discuss Conservatism and the Constitution. 

                Senator Lee also spoke at The Heritage Foundation about his book. In his book, published on April 9, 2015, the Senator “tells the dramatic, little-known stories behind six of the Constitution’s most indispensable provisions.  He shows their rise.  He shows their fall.  And he makes vividly clear how nearly every abuse of federal power today is rooted in neglect of this Lost Constitution.  Examined are the Origination Clause, the Legislative Powers Clause, the Establishment Clause, the Balance of Powers and the Second and Fourth Amendments.  Each has been used at some time in our Nation’s history by shortsighted opportunists to defy the Constitution’s safeguards to liberty.”

                I encourage you to watch the videos and listen to Senator Lee discuss the Constitution and why we need to restore it as our Supreme Law.  I also encourage you to read Our Lost Constitution.  I ordered my copy today.

Senator Mike Lee

                I chose Senator Michael Shumway “Mike” Lee as my very important person (VIP) for this week because of his outstanding record of standing for conservative values.  I have liked Senator Mike Lee since he was campaigning for Senator.  I do not know him or any of his family personally, but I do know his father’s reputation.  As soon as I learned that Mike Lee was the son of Rex E. Lee, I wanted to know more about him.  Everything I learned caused me to like him more and more.  I am grateful to have him in the U.S. Senate!

                I learned of Rex E. Lee when he became the tenth president of Brigham Young University (BYU).  I gained a lot of respect for him in this position and only later learned of his law experience.  He was a Constitutional lawyer, a law clerk for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, and the United States Solicitor General under the Reagan administration.  He argued 59 cases before the U.S Supreme Court.  He was the founding dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU.

                Senator Lee is an Eagle Scout, a former missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Republican, and the junior United States Senator from Utah.  Like his father, he is a constitutional lawyer in Utah and Washington, D.C.  He served as a clerk for then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

                By all accounts, Senator Lee is a true conservative and has been embraced by the Tea Party.  “In 2011, Club for Growth gave him a 100% score.  Only four other U.S. Senators received a perfect score:  Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Jim DeMint, and Tom Coburn.  He also received a 100% Conservative voting record for 2011 from the American Conservative Union.  The Heritage Foundation gave him a 99% score, ranking first only with DeMint.  The only wrong vote he made, in the opinion of the Heritage Foundation, was voting for the GSE Bailout Elimination and Taxpayer Protection Act that would privatize Fannie and Freddy.” 

                Senator Lee and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) were the only two Republicans to vote against extending three key provisions of the USA Patriot Act in February 2011.  He repeated his action in May 2011.

                “On December 01, 2011, Lee was one of only seven U.S. Senators, and one of only three Republicans, to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.  He vetoed because of concerns over Section 1021, the section of the bill that gives the Armed Forces the power to indefinitely detain any person (including U.S. citizens) `who was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners’, and anyone who commits a `belligerent act’ against the U.S. or its coalition allies in aid of such enemy forces, under the law of war, `without trial, until the end of the hostilities authorized by the [AUMF]’.

                With all of his accomplishments, I chose Senator Lee as my VIP because of his principled stance on Obamacare.  Along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Lee has worked tirelessly to defund Obamacare.  On July 17, 2013, Senator Lee spoke about the need to defund Obamacare:  “It is fundamentally unfair for President Obama to exempt businesses from the onerous burdens of his law, while forcing American families and individuals into Obamacare’s unsound and unstable system.”  The full text of Senator Lee’s remarks along with audio can be found here.  

                Senators Cruz and Lee are leading an effort in Congress to use mandatory spending bills to defund Obamacare.  Lee and some of his colleagues have called on Democrats to pass a bill that would fund the government but also defund the health care law.  If Congress does not pass a bill to extend funding of government, the federal government will have to shut down – temporarily – on October 1, 2013.  The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to fund government without funding Obamacare last week, and Senator Lee later spoke at a news conference about how the Republicans do not want to shutdown government.

                “A shutdown is too much.  We don’t want a shutdown, we don’t need a shutdown.  We should avoid a shutdown, and Obamacare is a law that’s going to harm people.  It certainly is not a good idea to shut down the government in order to force through the implementation of Obamacare at a time when the president has said he’s not going to follow the law and he’s made substantial changes.”  He added, “Shutdowns are bad, shutdowns are not worth it; this law is not worth causing a shutdown over.” 

                The Democrats will probably use Senator Lee’s words to press their cause without using them in correct context.  The bottom line is, the Republicans want to fund the federal government without funding Obamacare, and the Democrats are willing to shut down the federal government if Obamacare is not funded.  The whole thing will probably get uglier before it gets better, but I admire Senator Lee and Senator Cruz for standing on their principles and trying to help Americans.

                Senator Lee continues to affirm that the effort to defund Obamacare will not lead to a government shutdown.  When asked about a potential shut down of the federal government on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Senator Lee said, “No.  We all know that the government is going to be funded.  The question is whether it will be funded with Obamacare or without.”  The supporters of the Defund Obamacare movement have declared that they will not support a budget that funds Obamacare, and the Democrats insist on funding Obamacare.  I expect to see a show down before the government is funded – with or without funding Obamacare.

                I believe that we can know a lot about a person by the words they speak.  Here are just a few quotes from Senator Lee.

                “I want to be one that is willing to do things that are not easy but that need to be done.”

                “We can’t legislate the creation of jobs, but we can legislate things that will allow jobs to be created.”

                “We ought to have more people who believe in constitutionally limited government.  We have to have more people come to Congress with that mindset.  I think we can make this a better place, if, when elections happen, we support candidates who share that philosophy.”

                “I would vote against raising the national debt ceiling.  Again, this is about mortgaging the future of unborn generations of Americans.  It’s a form of taxation with representation.  I don’t think we can do that.”

                “Whether it’s a penalty or a tax, it’s all one and the same.  It’s coming out of somebody’s hard-earned money in their pocketbooks and that’s the point.  So in some ways, to me, it’s a distinction without a difference.”