This is really the only way to combat prostitution, in my view. Go after those with the most to lose. That’s more likely to be the johns than the prostitutes. Speaking of Sweden, they have awesome thieves.
There seems to be a slate of “things you think you know are wrong” and this falls into that category. Stretching was considered sacrosanct in PE.
Happy to see that Happy Burger (the regional chain from where I grew up, pseudonymmed) rates so well by Consumer Reports.
Beijing is raising its minimum wage. As I’ve said, Chinese labor won’t be this cheap forever. Of course, they have quite a long ways to go before closing the gap with us.
Why innocent people confess. There’s really a thin line between interrogating the guilty to get them to confess and confusing the innocent into thinking that confession is their best option. Relatedly, dogs have been declared unreliable witnesses.
This sounds like a pretty sweet gig.
Does early voting hurt turnout? It’s counterintuitive, but makes sense in its own way. Even aside from this, I think that something is lost when we no longer have an “election day.” Our votes essentially don’t matter individual basis, particularly when it comes to the presidential vote. I mostly do it to reserve bitching rights and to participate in the process. By my perhaps old-fashioned way of thinking, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is a part of that process.
I am all about increasing the gasoline tax and other things so that our roads pay for themselves. However, the conversion of existing roads into toll roads for some reason bothers me a bit. I like toll roads as a concept, but I think I like it better when there is a free, slower option.
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This is really the only way to combat prostitution, in my view.
I suspect I’m the only person that will defend legalized prostitution. Not that I want children or women to be trafficked and forced into that position, but I don’t see what’s wrong with a woman offering sex for money with her consent. Mind you, as an unattractive man, I’m likely to have a sympathetic view of prostitution use even though it’s unlikely that I’d make use of such services.
Regarding the author of “Sex for Sale”:
Janice G. Raymond is professor emerita of women’s studies . . .
Um . . .
Okay, snark aside, there are gaping factual holes in the prostitution story. For instance, the author proceeds as if punishing buyers as well as sellers of sex is a novel concept. Really? Since when? How did this come to be? In the U.S., sting operations against johns were the bread and butter of Cops back when I used to watch it (hypothetically speaking; I don’t actually admit that I ever watched it. Please refer any questions to my legal counsel . . .).
I think a more thorough report is needed that is not written by a feminist harridan crowing about punishing men instead of women.
David, I go back and forth on the degree to which prostitution should be legal (somewhere between totally legal and the Nevada setup). But, if you’re going to criminalize it, this is (IMO) the way to do it.
Phi,
Perhaps not the best choice of links. I was off-put by the tone of the article and I am pretty indifferent to going out of our way to help the prostitutes any more than we would help others in a similar financial situation.
That being said, feminist harpy or not, the success she is citing is based on government reports and not some study by a feminist group. The gist of the report is that street prostitution is down considerably, though they’re worried about alternate forms like the Internet and private broker/trafficking.
From a moral standpoint, I have no particular preference on whether we should go after johns or the prostitutes themselves. From a logistical standpoint, like I said in my post the most effective way to pursue something is to go after those with the most to lose. Johns are likely to be much, much more fearful of getting caught and arrested than prostitutes (which is why you can get by with “modest” penalties – the biggest penalty is exposure).
Like you, I took note of the claim that they are the first to target johns. I’ve seen that claim elsewhere. I wonder if the US doesn’t count because our anti-prostitution laws are generally local and not national?
Funny prostitution story: a few weeks ago I stopped at a deli to get a diet Pepsi. It was in a small strip mall a couple of doors down from an “Asian Bodywork” salon. As I was heading back to my car, one of the women from the salon came out to have a cigarette. Granted, it can be difficult to judge the ages of Asian women, but without any doubt this woman had to be at least 60 to 65.
I guess you’d have to be really desperate to patronize her!
OT, but wondering what people might think of these two posts:
My Wish List for the US polity: part II
http://mariatheproblem.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/my-wish-list-for-the-us-polity-pt-ii/
and Part I
http://mariatheproblem.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/my-wish-list-for-the-us-polity-part-i/
I’ve been pondering responding to portions on those posts (actually, the first, didn’t know about the second until now). I’ll respond over at your place, though.
(btw, was there a reason your blog was down last week?)
(btw, was there a reason your blog was down last week?)
I had a troll problem, and didn’t know enough about the software to deal with it any other way.