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A Smut Peddler, and a Patriot
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
By Stephen Lemons
Salon Internet, Inc.

Hustler's Larry Flynt asks why a porn mogul and not the New York Times had to sue the government for press access in Afghanistan.

Larry Flynt wants to go to Afghanistan. No, he's not looking to sign up new Hustler subscribers, he wants to send reporters to cover our boys on the front lines. He'd probably even throw in some free mags for the troops if the Pentagon would give him access. The Defense Dept., alas, denied his request faster than Mullah Omar hightailing it to the hills.

But unlike the Big Kahunas of America's fourth estate, Larry doesn't take no for an answer. The Premier Potentate of Porn has filed suit against the DOD to allow Hustler's scribblers to go where the action is, just like Matthew Modine in "Full Metal Jacket."

Flynt's suit may have a snowball's chance in Saudi Arabia, but that doesn't bother him. After all, he's been doing battle for so long over First Amendment issues that conservatives cringe when they hear his name. Recently, the patriotic Sultan of Skin took a break from assailing the government and overseeing his Beverly Hills-headquartered empire of erotica to discuss his suit, the war on terrorism, civil liberties and his current bete noir, Attorney General John Ashcroft.

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(Salon.com News Source)
2001 © Salon Internet, Inc.

Dan