Larry Flynt: The Right to be Left Alone

Did you know that the military's inclusion of embedded reporters as war correspondents was due solely to a law suit against the Pentagram by Larry Flynt? In this upside-down country of lying presidents, and corruption diseased politicians it seems almost natural that the one true champion of real American values is a world class pornographer. After all Larry Flynt went to the Supreme Court and won his counter suit case against Jerry Falwell who sued Flynt for a satirical cartoon he published showing Falwell having his first sexual encounter with his mother. Ironically Falwell copied the Hustler ad giving Flynt the opportunity to counter sue for copyright infringement.

That was all great fun and games, especially when Flynt won his case in the Supreme Court, also dramatized in the film, The People vs. Larry Flynt. Now we have this incredibly corrupt federal government and Flynt is again championing the banner of free speech winning his suit against the Pentagon to allow his reporters to cover the war in Afghanistan, and paving the way for the media to cover the war in Iraq. Incidentally HBO is running a very true to life miniseries called Generation Kill, written by front line reporter Evan Wright, based on a book he wrote on his exploits. No doubt, if not for Flynt, this exposé of the war in Iraq would not be possible.

More irony abounds when you find that Flynt's court case with Falwell was coined "God versus the Devil", considering Flynt is the one standing for truth and justice against the warmonger driven, lie telling, Pentagon trying to cover it's lawlessness and fascism with a media blackout. So which one was God and which was the Devil? Even Falwell ended up becoming friends with Flynt.

All of this comes to the fore when you look at the recent IFC release of Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone. I caught it's cable premier on IFC and was amazed at what Larry Flynt has done for our country. Besides the landmark court cases he's won, you may recall his career killing exposé of Congressman Robert Livingston during the Clinton impeachment debacle, leading to Livingston's resignation and probably the cooling of the impeachment proceedings. In 2007 Flynt offered a million dollars to anyone who could show they had a sexual encounter with a member of congress. He did this in retaliation for the government's years of investigations into his own life, and found numerous good leads to information.

You can still find God, truth, and justice in this country. They are just in the most unexpected of places.