N/A I'm NOT ON THE LIST - - -

Lawreston

Lawreston

En-Route
Gone West
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
4,573
Location
Georgetown, ME
Display Name
Harley Reich
Home Airfield
KIWI
- - - of those 21 men referenced to the prostitution scandal that's been all over the national news for the last week or so(including live coverage on NBC News an hour ago). (Just in case anyone was wondering)

And though I come from the same area(Thomaston) I don't know the fellow who's charged with 59 counts of various "infractions." However, when I was a teenager there his two older brothers were in my age group and circle. The natives are --------------------------------surprised?

HR
 
Why should the natives be surprised. Guys want sex. Been that way for 10, 12000 years.
 
I've known Maine is a really small place, but I honestly wasn't worried...

Indeed, Maine is so small the cops have little more to do that bust up brothels.
 
People (and I am one of them) say the "war" on drugs is the most inefficient use of tax dollars in the last century, the never ending "war" on prostitution (unless you run your brothel out of Barney Frank's house in which case it's just fine) is just as stupid.
I can't decide if it stems from trying to put a hurt on the mob, or it's pathetic politicians trying to gin up church goer votes, or if it is outraged politicians that see a potential tax burden unexploited, that drives the government to be so obsessed with sex.
 
Man, this isn't even thread creep. That just took a left turn from "the list" to drugs.
 
Florida Cracker said:
, or if it is outraged politicians that see a potential tax burden unexploited, that drives the government to be so obsessed with sex.
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By keeping it illegal they make it harder to tax. License it, regulate it and tax it like the swiss and a couple of other european countries.
We have a deficit, right ?
 
weilke said:
By keeping it illegal they make it harder to tax. License it, regulate it and tax it like the swiss and a couple of other european countries.
We have a deficit, right ?
Click to expand...

Oh, the French apparently find it tit-ilating, too. There was a big article on the front page of the NYT this weekend about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's involvement in the libertine & prostitution lifestyle in France.
 
bartmc said:
Not out of the water just yet. 21 names released, up to 150 to be released.
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And the 150 names include many persons of note from the surrounding communities, NH, and MA. Filings were made to keep the list non-public; denied by judge, and appeals denied. One of the first 21 is former mayor of Portland(and a large business owner); one high school faculty member has stepped down. Civil courts are expected to be busy with matters of matrimonial discontent.

HR
 
What is really damning is the illicit nature of prostitution in the US allows for an increase in human trafficking, which is little more than modern day slavery. Make it legal and licensed, and that sort of crime becomes far more difficult.
 
You know, if those same guys just went to the singles bars, struck up conversations with women, got them dinner and ended up in the sack NOBODY would ever call them out for it. I think all this attention to enforcing prostitution laws is misguided.

I have a friend of mine that is a defense attorney that lives in Sacramento. He tells me that the local district attorney there has a pet program for prostitution sting operations that has nearly a 100% arrest/conviction rate, which she touts for political purposes. The way it works is they do sweep arrests for prostitution solicitation, and the DA's policy is to prosecute any and every solicitation case, regardless of merit (hello, state bar?) BUT, they have a program where if you pay the fine and plead no contest, they will drop the charges and reverse the conviction after a period of two years.

Basically, if you're innocent, you have two choices: 1) spend somewhere between $5,000 and $20,000 in legal and court fees for your defense, win or lose, or 2) pay a $700 fine and in two years it's the same as if you fought it and won in the first place. Guess what most people do.

He says roughly half the people he represents truly are innocent and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
So...are you relieved..or disappointed???? :dunno:
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:o) What prompted the thread was the dozen emails I received from personal friends, and other contacts from around the country, each of whom titled the email with a twist of "Are You On the List?" All were in jest but each had a "take" on the goings-on in the area which is about 65sm south of me.
Biddeford was probably best known for its Pepperell Mills and other fabric manufacturers in those bygone days, but this case has put it on the map again, not to the delight of its residents and businesses.

HR
 
steingar said:
What is really damning is the illicit nature of prostitution in the US allows for an increase in human trafficking, which is little more than modern day slavery. Make it legal and licensed, and that sort of crime becomes far more difficult.
Click to expand...

(this is so close to SZ material...we probably should create a new thread if we really want to continue this discussion...)

Do we as a nation really want to legalize prostitution? Is forced prostitution bad and "regular" prostitution ok?


btw - I don't really believe that human trafficking will be more difficult. Isn't it already illegal to traffic minors as sex slaves?
 
We as a nation definitely do not want legalized prostitution, because we as a nation are really stupid. We as a nation are also big fans of the War on Drugs and the TSA, by the way.
 
steingar said:
We as a nation definitely do not want legalized prostitution, because we as a nation are really stupid.
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If prostitution was legalized, that would definitely be a reason to be ashamed of our nation.

You might think it is stupid to make prostitution illegal. I think legalizing prostitution would be absolutely imbecilic.
 
steingar said:
What is really damning is the illicit nature of prostitution in the US allows for an increase in human trafficking, which is little more than modern day slavery. Make it legal and licensed, and that sort of crime becomes far more difficult.
Click to expand...

Excellent point
 
Bob Noel said:
If prostitution was legalized, that would definitely be a reason to be ashamed of our nation.

You might think it is stupid to make prostitution illegal. I think legalizing prostitution would be absolutely imbecilic.
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Why? I can't find a good reason for it to be illegal. Not like we're going to get rid of it or the supply or the demand.
 
I always get a kick out of pointing out to people who say "prostitution is illegal in the U.S." that they're incorrect. Prostitution is legal and regulated in certain counties in Nevada.

One example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Ranch_(Nevada)

It even had an airstrip:

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NV/Airfields_NV_S.htm#chicken

There's no credible scientific evidence that suggests there's any reason not to allow it, if public health measures are regulated. Switch it from a drain on the public coffer (law enforcement) to a net zero (legalize and require the regulatory agency bills be 100% covered by any resulting taxes). Fine by me.

(And I do understand that law enforcement isn't a net drain on the public coffer in many "vice" scenarios these days, since they just love to confiscate anything and everything in sight including innocent people's property -- as Spike can attest with his friend's airplane confiscation story and resulting multi-year battle to get it back -- to pay for their shenanigans.)

Prostitution laws seem to stem from the outdated continuation of the cultural notions that women are owned by men.

If the public health issues are addressed and regulated, I really don't care who decides to go play "Doctor" for money. It's none of my business.
 
denverpilot said:
Prostitution laws seem to stem from the outdated continuation of the cultural notions that women are owned by men.
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I would respectfully submit that they are an artifact of religious groups trying to foist their views on morality off on the majority. The fact that these same groups tend to hold the Old Testament beliefs that women are inferior to and should be subservient to, men supports your statement. Or were you avoiding the "R" word??? :D
 
How about y'all take the discussion over to Spin Zone and leave this one be? :yes:
 
Bob Noel said:
If prostitution was legalized, that would definitely be a reason to be ashamed of our nation.

You might think it is stupid to make prostitution illegal. I think legalizing prostitution would be absolutely imbecilic.
Click to expand...

Just on a technical note (I'm not arguing with your opinon) prostitution is not illegal on the Federal level, but rather on the State and local level. There are places, such as most of Nevada, where it is legal here in the US.

I'm personally am ambivolent over the issue. I see upsides and downsides. I have no use for it myself, but again you can come close enough to it anyway without breaking the law so why bother.
 
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