Via Drudge, I see the statues can bare themselves again:
With barely a word about it, workers at the Justice Department Friday removed the blue drapes that have famously covered two scantily clad statues for the past 3 1/2 years.
Spirit of Justice, with her one breast exposed and her arms raised, and the bare-chested male Majesty of Law basked in the late afternoon light of Justice’s ceremonial Great Hall.
The drapes, installed in 2002 at a cost of $8,000, allowed then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to speak in the Great Hall without fear of a breast showing up behind him in television or newspaper pictures. They also provoked jokes about and criticism of the deeply religious Ashcroft…
In the past, snagging a photo of the attorney general in front of the statues has been somewhat of a sport for photographers.
When former Attorney General Edwin Meese released a report on pornography in the 1980s, photographers dived to the floor to capture the image of him raising the report in the air, with the partially nude female statue behind him.
The first attorney general to use the blue drapery was Republican Richard Thornburgh, attorney general under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He had the drapery put up only for a few occasions when he was appearing in the Great Hall, rather than permanently installed as it was under Ashcroft.
I am not sure what is sillier- worrying about the breasts showing up, or the press jumping on the floor to make them show up. And, since this is a post about pr0n at the DOJ, I guess I should make the obligatory solicitor general joke.
Jon H
“I am not sure what is sillier- worrying about the breasts showing up, or the press jumping on the floor to make them show up.”
The photographers are paid to do that sort of thing, doing whatever they have to to get the shot. In other circumstances, a move like that could get them a magazine cover or a major prize.
Photographers probably go into similar contortions to get those pictures of Bush with his head surrounded by a halo of light.
Now, you could say that it’s silly for them to go to the same length for a boobie shot, but that might be a little unfair, since they’re conditioned to seek the best shots.
Rick
Mmmmm…boobies.
Jon, suffice it to say, those statues have been there for decades, but no such low angle shots were pursued of AGs from Janet Reno working back to FDR’s admin, I guess. It was sport.
Rather than spend the public money on curtains, Ashcroft should’ve just shifted the press conference site.
Cordially…
caleb
The covers hiding Law and Justice have been lifted.
Expect to see some folks looking at this as a hopefully symbolic event.
Stormy70
I am feeling sexually harrassed by those naked chick pictures. You guys all owe me some money for Angel DVDs.