There are some who would argue that there have always been secrets kept from the American people in times of war, but that after war is over, the pendulum swings back to a more open society and easing certain restrictions on civil liberties. How would you respond to that argument?
That's not always the case. When you lose freedom, you don't lose it all in one fell swoop, you lose it a little bit at a time. I think we've got to tread very cautiously when we start distorting the Constitution in order to make things more convenient for ourselves. We've got a justice system that's the envy of the whole world. And for that reason, I don't think it should be tampered with.
The Salon Interviews index -- links to all the interviews related to the Sept. 11 attacks and the events that have followed.
To your mind, what's been the most disturbing breach of civil liberties since 9/11?
The most chilling aspect is all of these, what is it, a thousand detainees they've got, they won't even release their names. We don't know if these people have been provided with a lawyer. We don't know if they're being tortured. We have no idea under what conditions they're being held. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have any sympathy for the terrorists. And I think they deserve exactly what's coming to them, exactly what they gave the people in New York. But you just simply cannot discard the Constitution in order to make things easy.
A lot of Americans might say, "Well, these people are not Americans, and in many cases there may be some problem with their paperwork. We should be tightening up on that sort of thing anyway."
They're not including just illegals. This also means non-U.S. citizens. Even if someone is totally legitimate and has their green card, they fall under Ashcroft's hand, so to speak.
Do you believe Attorney General Ashcroft can be trusted with these broad, new powers that he has now under the USA-PATRIOT Act?
I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. To say that the guy is to the right is an understatement. He's to the right of Attila the Hun. He's probably the most dangerous man in America. And he comes off as so reasonable. Any time I see one of these conservatives on television, it doesn't bother me as long as their true colors are showing through. But when they start to sound halfway intelligent with the argument they're making, it just frightens the hell of me. And that's the boat I put Ashcroft in.
Do you think that Ashcroft will attempt to use any of his new powers to go after the adult entertainment industry?
Oh, I think we got a reprieve because of the war in Afghanistan. I think that we're at the top of his list. They can't keep the streets clean, but they sure want to keep our minds pure. And you can bet that Ashcroft will make Ed Meese look like Mary Poppins when it comes to persecuting pornography.
Do you think that the fact that adult entertainment is more mainstream now than it was 10 years ago makes it more difficult for someone like Ashcroft to put the genie back in the bottle?
Well, of course. Look, freedom of the press is only important if you have one. So what we're really talking about is freedom of expression. And that's a catchall phrase for it. It doesn't matter if it's a book or an X-rated video. Overwhelmingly, people want the right to be able to read, view, see whatever they want in the privacy of their own home without government intervention, and I don't think the government will be able to take that away from the American people.