Two weeks ago we put
Daniel RadoshTwo weeks ago we put together a package for my brother-in-law Kevin who is with the 101st Airborne in Iraq. Since he once told me that his favorite magazine is Maxim -- and that it has replaced Playboy as the magazine the guys fight over most -- I had planned to go down to the 14th floor and pick up a few copies for him. Then Becky sent us the regulations: "Any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith or depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or non-authorized political materials is prohibited." I was pretty sure Maxim fails several of those tests, so we sent Blender and some other publications Kevin probably has no interest in (along with wet wipes and candy wrapped in the same cheery yellow as cluster bomblets, just to mix things up a bit.)
What a chump I am. On Saturday, the New York Times ran this photo of Kevin's brigade. You can't quite see it here, but the guy on the right is clearly reading a copy of...Hustler!
Imagine -- I watched M*A*S*H my whole childhood, and never learned that Army rules are meant to be broken.
Update: Art Winer writes: "I was absent mindedly watching CNN with the sound muted, and couldn't help but notice, in fat block letters on the screen: NO PORK OR PORN. Out of context, or even in context, that would make a great title for...err...I dunno, something. Maybe an album cover."