Another Censorship Skirmish in the Culture Wars  Why must I pay
for filth?  The Washington Post brings us another thrilling
skirmish in the culture wars.  To oversimplify a bit, the facts
seem to be:    • The National Portrait Gallery, which is part of
the Smithsonian Institution, a partially tax-funded public
museum, put on an exhibit called "A Fire in my Belly" by David
Wojnarowicz.   • The work was part of an exhibition on gender
identity, itself one of our more controversial topics.   • "A
Fire in my Belly" is a 30-minute video which includes a brief
sequence in which ants crawl across a crucifix lying in the
dirt.   • Enough people objected to this show of disrespect for
Christianity that the Smithsonian decided to eliminate that part
of the video from the exhibition.   • An uproar ensued with
artists crying "censorship" and conservatives claiming that
public money should not be used to promote offensive art.   • An
art gallery named Transformer obtained rights to the exhibit
from the artist's estate and