David Ogden, A REAL SCUMBAG PORN GUY FOR DEPUTY US ATTORNEY GENERAL??.. IS QUESTIONED

"IF YOU NOMINATE ME FOR THIS JOB I WILL TRY HARD NOT TO LOOK AT PORN WHILE I AM ON THE JOB !" I PROMISE.

Obama Nominates Porn Lawyer
Obama's Justice pick supports porn 'rights'
Ogden's clientele, legal arguments, raise alarms

Ogden Defended Purveyors Of Child Pornography
Barack Obama has nominated David Ogden to serve as the next Deputy Attorney General, a man who has represented Playboy and Penthouse, fought against requiring filters on library computers and successfully defended the right of pornographers to produce material with underage children.

“Ogden’s record is nothing short of obscene,” said Brian Burch, president of Fidelis, a pro-family advocacy group. “He has represented Playboy Enterprises in multiple cases, Penthouse magazine, the ACLU, and the largest distributor of hard-core pornography videos.”

In addition to opposing library filters and defending the right of pornographers to use underage children in their productions, Mr. Ogden even sued the federal government in an attempt to publish Braille versions of Playboy — at taxpayer expense.

As a lawyer in private practice, Mr. Ogden also argued for an unlimited abortion license, gays in the military and has urged courts to treat traditional definitions of marriage as a social prejudice.
“A vast majority of Americans support parental notification before a minor’s abortion and protecting kids from Internet pornography in our libraries,” Mr. Burch continued. “Yet David Ogden has fought tooth and nail against these common sense laws protecting our children from harm. At a time when America’s families are under increasing assault, Mr. Ogden is a dangerous choice for a position whose responsibilities include the enforcement of our nation’s laws.”

The nomination of a man with Mr. Ogden’s qualifications shows an alarming disconnect between the Obama administration and the American people. Polls have consistently shown strong support for obscenity law enforcement with numbers as high as 81 percent of Americans saying they want these laws more vigorously enforced.

Experts fear an appointment like Mr. Ogden will bring about another season of lackluster enforcement similar to that of Attorney General Janet Reno, an era that led to an explosion in pornography distribution. This could negate many strides made during the Bush administration to crack down on obscenity and sex crimes such as those that led to the removal of 90,000 sex offenders from the social networking site My Space which was reported in yesterday’s The Bulletin.

Referring to Mr. Ogden as a “hired gun from Playboy and the ACLU,” Mr. Burch is calling for prompt action against this nomination.

“The United States Senate has a responsibility to the American people to insure that Mr. Ogden’s full record is fully reviewed before any vote on his nomination,” he said.

Mr. Ogden’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For a full report on Mr. Ogden’s disappointing legal record, visit fidelis.org
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Obama has expressed his belief the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted through the lens of current events, and now he's apparently preparing to install as a senior official at the U.S. Justice Department a lawyer who goes one step further, advocating for constitutional protections for abortionists, pornographers and protesters.

The condemnation of Justice Department nominee David Ogden, who would be deputy to Attorney General Eric Holder, comes from Fidelis, a consortium of organizations working to promote religious freedom, values of human life and the institutions of marriage and the family.

"Ogden is an abortion-on-demand absolutist. He opposes common sense restrictions on abortion, including policies that have significant support from the American people, such as parental notification by minors," the organizations said in a report today.

Also, "Ogden is an absolutist on pornography and obscenity. He opposes common sense restrictions on the ability of pornography peddlers to sell their products. He believes pornography users have a constitutional right to view pornography at a public library."

Additionally, "He believes private property owners' right to exclude protesters from their property must yield to the protesters' free speech right."

And he "supports a 'living Constitution' that changes to fit the latest fad of the intelligentsia," the report said.

Ogden's belief system appears to align with the sentiments expressed by Obama earlier. WND has reported Obama believes the Constitution is flawed because it does not mandate redistribution of wealth, and he says the Supreme Court should have intervened years ago to accomplish that.

Obama also repeatedly has stated his desire for empathetic judges who "understand" the plight of minorities. In a 2007 speech to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, he said, "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

Fidelis called Obama's nomination of Ogden, who was described as a "skilled manager" when his name was suggested for the Justice Department's No. 2 post, a "major mistake."

"David Ogden is a hired gun from Playboy and ACLU," said Brian Burch, president of the pro-family group. "He can't run from his long record of opposing common sense laws protecting families, women, and children. The United States Senate has a responsibility to the American people to insure that Mr. Ogden's full record is fully reviewed before any vote on his nomination."

The group's extensive research on Ogden cites his work on behalf of homosexuality in Lawrence vs. Texas, for Playboy and Penthouse on issues involving pornography and his representation of a company that distributes videos titled "Bubblegum cuties," "Sweet young things," "Young girls" and "Fresh and young."

"He has opposed filters on library computers protecting children from Internet smut, and successfully defended the right of pornographers to produce material with underage children," Burch said.

"Ogden even sued the federal government in an attempt to publish Braille versions of Playboy magazine – at taxpayer expense, of course," he said.

The report said Ogden has argued for the treatment of traditional definitions of marriage as a "social prejudice."

"At a time when America's families are under increasing assault, Mr. Ogden is a dangerous choice for a position whose responsibilities include the enforcement of our nation's laws," Burch said.

Fidelis spokesman Joshua Mercer told WND one of the major worries is that children should be protected from online sex predators and Ogden's position goes beyond free speech absolutism.

"There is no such thing as free speech to yell 'fire' in movie theaters," he said. "Child porn is not free speech either. It's disheartening that the president would pick someone with that kind of radical views of human sexuality. You don't want him as the No. 2 at Justice."

According to the Washington Post, which reported on Ogden's work leading the transition team at the Justice Department, he has "sterling Democratic credentials" and knowledge of the department from his work as chief of staff to ex-Attorney General Janet Reno.

Ogden, a partner at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., also ran the department's civil division under Clinton.

But among other criticisms, LifeNews.com has reported Ogden authored a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing there were no negative effects from an abortion.

He wrote, "When women do experience regret, depression, or guilt, such feelings are mild and diminish rapidly without adversely affecting general functioning." He blamed those who have "negative" responses to abortion on "pre-existing emotional problems."

That would align with Obama's campaign statement that he didn't want his daughters "punished" with a son or daughter.

Fidelis, which has a Catholic-based value system and includes a flagship 501c4 group for lobbying and public education, a political action group, a Center for Law and Policy and the Fidelis Media Fund, has released its research online, calling Ogden an "Obscene Choice."

The report, replete with links to Ogden's actual court pleadings, confirm he has sought to push homosexuals in the military, extend racial preferences, oppose parental abortion notification, fought the Children's Internet Protection Act and more.

"In all of these cases he has demonstrated a troubling approach to judicial decision-making. Ogden supports a 'living Constitution' that changes to fit the latest fad of the intelligentsia," Fidelis said. "He believes that judges should rely heavily on social science when making decisions, that they should be 'compassionate' and partial to 'suffering' litigants, that they need not follow the Founders' intent for the Constitution, and that they should consider 'worldwide consensus' and international law when making their decisions.

"In fact, He will use social science to reach whatever result he wants," the report said.

According to the report and its links, his writings include:

"There is no question that the right to secure an abortion is fundamental."

"[T]he mainstream view in the mental health professions is that the most appropriate response of a therapist treating an individual who is troubled about his or her homosexual feelings is to help that person cope with social prejudices against homosexuality and lead a happy and satisfying life as a lesbian or gay man."

"By demanding that libraries be censors and devote resources – not to facilitating – but to interfering with patrons' pursuit of information and ideas, Congress has subverted the role of librarians and public libraries and violated the First Amendment rights of library patrons."
There was no response from the White House to a WND e-mail asking for a comment on the nomination.

But Ogden also argued to force the Library of Congress to print Playboy in Braille, and argued against including Playboy on a list of pornographic magazines potentially cited in the Meese Commission report.

In a challenge to the Telephone Decency Act he convinced a judge that "indecent" conversations between a client and a sex service were constitutionally protected, the report said.

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WASHINGTON -- Republican senators challenged Barack Obama's pick for the No. 2 position at the Justice Department, echoing concerns raised by Christian conservatives about his past legal arguments on pornography and abortion.

David Ogden, nominated to be the deputy attorney general, was questioned at length about those issues at his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Christian conservatives are challenging Mr. Ogden and others Obama has nominated for top positions at the Justice Department, contending that their past positions taint their resumes.

Republicans voiced similar concerns.

"You've taken some very extraordinary positions," Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) told Mr. Ogden, citing the lawyer's past work opposing some antipornography statutes and mandatory parental notification for teenage girls getting abortions.

Despite the pointed questions, Mr. Ogden is expected to be confirmed.

Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday and started work the next day. As he awaits confirmation of his top aides, many on the religious right are questioning the nominees' backgrounds, saying they have promoted far left, pro-abortion, pro-gay policies.

Mr. Ogden sought to reassure the lawmakers that he would prosecute child pornographers aggressively, and he urged the lawmakers not to judge him by arguments he made on behalf of his past clients.

"Child pornography is abhorrent," Mr. Ogden said, adding later, "Issues of children and families have always been of great importance to me."

Senator Ben Cardin (D., Md.), asked Ogden about the disparity in prison sentences for crack versus powdered cocaine, which many complain are unfair to black defendants.

Mr. Ogden said he wanted to work with lawmakers to eliminate the disparity "or at least reduce it very sharply."

But most of the hearing was consumed with social issues, particularly those that make Mr. Ogden objectionable to groups like Focus on the Family and the American Family Association.

"Ogden has been an activist in support of a right to pornography, a right of abortion and the rights of homosexuals," said Patrick Trueman, a former Justice Department official during the presidency of George H.W. Bush who is now in private practice.

While a private attorney, Mr. Ogden argued on behalf of Playboy and librarians fighting congressionally mandated Internet filtering software.

His clients also include corporate giants such as an oil company and the pharmaceutical industry.

Besides Mr. Ogden, conservatives also have taken aim at two other Justice picks -- Indiana University professor Dawn Johnsen for her association with an abortion-rights group, and Thomas Perrelli, who represented the husband of Terry Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die case that energized evangelical groups across the country.