Porn and poppies: The culture war intersects the Afghanistan war against terror

The land of Afghan Hounds is running its poppy operations faster than its namesake dogs toward record heroin production. According to CNN, "Afghanistan still accounted for 87 percent of the world supply, up from 76 percent in 2003." Guess where the money goes. Terrorists.

In a related note, witnesses before the Senate's Science, Space and Science Subcommittee compared pornography to heroin addiction. Wired writer Ryan Singel says (tongue firmly planted in cheek), "Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday." One witness before the committee said:

The internet is a perfect drug delivery system because you are anonymous, aroused and have role models for these behaviors," Layden said. "To have drug pumped into your house 24/7, free, and children know how to use it better than grown-ups know how to use it - it's a perfect delivery system if we want to have a whole generation of young addicts who will never have the drug out of their mind.

So, we were distracted out of Afghanistan by the war in Iraq; now we identify internet porn as the new Osama bin Laden.

Another witness before the committee, a psycho psychiatrist, made the direct link between poppies and porn:

Pornography really does, unlike other addictions, biologically cause direct release of the most perfect addictive substance," Satinover said. That is, it causes masturbation, which causes release of the naturally occurring opioids. It does what heroin can't do, in effect.

My favorite word from the hearings: erototoxins. Ever hear that one about why Evangelical women get wrinkles around their eyes? You want me to do what? Face it, it's the erototxins.