Gov Rick Perry Seems to Have a Hypocrisy and Porn Problem
Here's an interesting tidbit from Rick Perry's past to keep an eye on. In the mid-1990s, the presidential candidate owned stock in a video rental store chain whose hardcore porn offerings drew the ire of conservative groups, according to a 2006 report on a liberal Texas blog. That item was resurrected by several liberal web sites this week.
Burnt Orange Report, a site founded by a Democratic activist, reported in 2006 that Perry's 1995 financial disclosure showed he owned between $5,000 and $10,000 in stock in the company Movie Gallery. He was at the time state commissioner of agriculture.
Why is that significant? Because the now- defunct Movie Gallery, once a competitor to Blockbuster, was known for offering XXX porn rentals along with conventional Hollywood fare. (FireDogLake offers a useful sampling of titles here.)
Ironically, it was the social conservative crusaders at the American Family Association -- the very group that helped organize Perry's stadium prayer rally this month -- who spent years on an anti-porn campaign targeting Movie Gallery. AFA was active targeting Movie Gallery both before and after Perry owned the stock; at one protest event outside Movie Gallery's Alabama headquarters in 2000, AFA members held signs reading "Serve God or Serve Money," "Pornography hurts families," and "Porn dishonors mothers."
Some people don't leave the house without their credit car, conservatives never leave the house or govern without a sag full of hypocrisy. Perry will publicly repent and his sycophants in the so-called family values community will forgive him. That's how its done.
Warren Buffett says the super-rich pay lower tax rates than others. And frequently on unearned income.
Conservative pundits - they're everywhere in the media - frequently make millions. One assumes the pay is based on merit. Merit means being knowledgeable about the subject on which they perform their punditry. Not so at Fox News, home of one of Rupert Murdoch's golden boys Sean Hannity - Sean Hannity may have just gone on record as the last person on the planet to recognize the housing bubble.
