Let them titties out; U.S. Dept of Justice statues to be uncovered(finally)

http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20050624/capt.wx11406242321.statue_cover_up_wx114.jpg?x=180&y=284&sig=THaZ6x_hekfk372RcgCjFA--No more cover-up of nudes at Justice Dept

By Deborah Charles
Fri Jun 24, 6:37 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The cover-up is over at the U.S. Justice Department.

After more than three years of being blocked by large blue drapes, two Art Deco aluminum statues of semi-nude figures in the building's Great Hall can be seen again.

The "Spirit of Justice" and the "Majesty of Justice," which loom over the stage in the Great Hall, were blocked from view by curtains installed by the department in January 2002, when former Attorney General John Ashcroft was in office.

The curtains were quietly removed on Friday after a decision by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Justice Department spokesman Kevin Madden said.

At one end of the stage is a 1930s-era female statue representing the "Spirit of Justice." Although she wears a toga-style garment, one breast is exposed. At the other end of the stage, a male statue represents the "Majesty of Justice," and has a cloth draped by his waist.

When they were covered up, officials working for Ashcroft -- a devout Christian -- said the move to spend about $8,000 for curtains to cover the figures were made for "TV aesthetics..."

[...]

The most famous picture of the female statue came in the 1980s, when Attorney General Edwin Meese released the final report of his commission on pornography.