Wrongful Posing

Several papers, including The New York Times, reported yesterday that Private Lynddie England was found guilty in the Abu Ghraib abuse case. Except for a conspiracy count, Private England was not convicted of any misconduct other than "wrongfully posing in photographs." The nut of the case, apparently, was whether she posed on her own initiative, or was what you might call a compliant poseur.

Wow. This raises so many issues one hardly knows where to begin. The first is the mind boggling inflation in lawmaking that our authoritarian nation has gotten addicted to (or is it just the lawyers who run the country?). Did you know that wrongful posing was against the law? I didn't. Runaway Law Inflation can only lead to one thing: totalitarianism. Guess it's on its way, folks. Maybe they're giving the "wrongful posing" law a test run in the military? If it works there, then they'll inflict it on the rest of us. So you'd better dump that snazzy new cell phone-camera that you paid so much for, before it gets you in trouble (and makes some lawyer a lot of money defending you).

This particular strange new law must have consequences undreamed of...because the law itself was undreamed of (except by those who can't dream up enough laws). Define posing, will you please. Does this mean only for cameras and film? Like, for example, President Bush's posing aboard a US aircraft carrier, while declaring his war had just been won. Now I won't make judgements here. But since that was a pose that also got people riled up, then certainly the riled might make a case for "wrongful posing" by the Prez. Also, think of Paris Hilton. Recently I saw her in a home-made flick, A Night in Paris, in which she was involved in all manner of poses. Personally, I liked them (I am Eros Rising, after all). But we must admit that those poses got lots of people riled up. Do they likewise have a case for "wrongful posing" by this bold young heiress, who--let's face it--is absolutely addicted to posing.

Now if by "posing" the lawmakers have in mind the broader uses of that word, then God help us all. I, for example, am here posing a critique against legal fascism--the egregious abuse of lawmaking by an out-of-control group of lawyers and legislators (same thing) who want to criminalize everything. This "posing" of mine will undoubtedly rile our law-crazy leaders and the control freaks who keep feeding them new ideas. Thus riled, they might even come after me for...wrongful posing.

All I can say is... watch your backs, folks.