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Archive for February, 2012

One Year Later

Posted in Current Events, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 9, 2012| 10 Comments »

The art of the police is not to see what it is useless that it should see.  –  Napoleon Bonaparte

Most of the updates featured on this blog are indirect; in other words, they’re new stories which call to mind some feature of the issue covered in the updated column, but usually aren’t direct sequels.  When I reread my column of one year ago today, however, I discovered that not only both of the covered stories, but also the column itself, deserved direct updating.  It took a bit of digging to uncover anything about the case of Jimmy Dac Ho, a Florida cop (with a long history of bizarre loose-cannon behavior) who murdered an escort on January 31st of last year, but this October 6th article from the Palm Beach Post seems to be the most recent news:

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a former…police officer accused of fatally shooting a Boynton Beach escort…48-year-old Jimmy Dac Ho…was arrested on murder charges in February after 29-year-old Sheri Carter died of a gunshot wound she received during an encounter with Ho at her apartment.  Investigators say Carter was an escort who advertised her services on a website that has factored in numerous prostitution and human trafficking investigations.  Ho…made conflicting claims of self-defense and fear of robbery after his arrest [and] was briefly hospitalized when he tried to hang himself inside his jail cell.  He is still in jail but did not appear…at a hearing to check on the status of his first-degree murder case.  Attorneys…say they could be ready for a trial as soon as January, but defense attorney Elizabeth Ramsey said she still needs to review the large amount of evidence…

I contacted the reporter, Daphne Duret, and she told me the next status check was set for February 29th.  Notice the way that the system is working to shield a murdering cop from the full consequences of his actions; prosecutors aren’t seeking the death penalty despite the fact that Ho admitted to murder, and the “investigators” are making absolutely sure that everyone knows his victim was “only” a whore and implying that the website on which she advertised somehow shares the blame.  Even the mention of the bête du jour, “human trafficking”, is a clear attempt at misdirecting public attention from the real monster.

Last year’s column also presented the case of Hanna Morris, who was tricked by the Surrey police into revealing information they claimed would be used to prosecute thugs who had robbed and threatened her escorts, but was actually used to prosecute her for brothel-keeping.  She filed suit against the police for their crime against her, but that of course failed so she and her partners were forced to plead guilty, as reported in Get Surrey last April 4th:

Three people who ran a number of brothels across Surrey have avoided jail terms.  Hanna Morris, 28…was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years…[and] ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work.  Her partner, Michael Jones was also  sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work…Valerie Coster…received a 16-week jail term, suspended for 12 months…[and] 120 hours of unpaid service.  All three entered guilty pleas after failing in an abuse of power case against Surrey Police…

The police attack on Morris was not motivated by mere sadism but rather by profit; the “Proceeds of Crime” law allows police to rob those they prosecute, so even though her sentence was suspended, Morris’ home and life savings were stolen from her – a fact the mainstream press didn’t bother mentioning.  The thugs who threatened Morris and her ladies were dangerous and poor, but Morris was a wealthy sitting duck so the police victimized her instead.  As the English Collective of Prostitutes pointed out:

Prosecutions for brothel-keeping and other prostitution charges have risen since the 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act [from 3 in 2004, to 11 in 2005, to 39 in 2006, to 41 in 2007].  Under that law, the police keep 50% of assets confiscated during raids and 25% from subsequent prosecutions, with the Crown Prosecution Service keeping another 25%.  Concerns have been raised that this desire to profit is fuelling raids and arrests, distorting police priorities and encouraging police corruption.

Unlike similar concerns in the US, however, these appear to be taken seriously by some UK government actors; last Friday I reported that the Association of Chief Police Officers (represented by Simon Byrne, recently appointed assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard) now supports decriminalization, and that several politicians agree.  As the above-linked Harlot’s Parlour column explains, another high-profile brothel-keeping case was dropped on January 4th:

Sheila Farmer, a sex worker who worked with other women…for safety had charges of brothel-keeping dismissed today in Croydon Crown Court.  She worked with other women since being viciously raped and attacked whilst working alone…she…suffers from severe diabetes and a malignant brain tumour.  Her doctor had provided evidence that an onerous and stressful trial would have exacerbated her condition…Farmer [said]:  “Whilst I’m relieved not to be facing trial I am angry that I was prosecuted.  Will the person who made that decision now be held accountable for the 18 months of distress and upset I have suffered while waiting for this case to come to court?  Safety and survival has always been my priority.  Like hundreds of other women I was working to support my son and more recently to pay for cancer treatment.  I would never have got through this ordeal without the English Collective of Prostitutes…”

Cari Mitchell [of the ECP said]…“Sheila Farmer’s bravery in publicly fighting these charges should be commended.  She, like many other sex workers, should never have been forced to choose between safety and legality.  Why is it legal to work alone but not with others?  The prostitution laws are endangering women and should be abolished…”  Ms Farmer’s trial was thrown out because of police and prosecution incompetence – witnesses had not been asked to attend court and a key witness could not be found.  Ms Farmer has attended court six times and the case has been listed to start on two previous occasions…

The conviction of two of Stephen Lawrence’s murderers reminds us once again that the priorities of police and prosecution fly in the face of public opinion.  Why did it take 18 years to try and convict these dangerous criminals while sex workers who do no harm are quickly arrested and jailed?  The ECP has received multiple reports of violent robberies by a gang of five men in East London.  The only police action has been to threaten the victims with prosecution.  Why are women who report violence arrested while their attackers are not pursued?…

I think my readers know the answers to these rhetorical questions, but it’s important that they be asked repeatedly in public until government persecution of prostitutes is stopped completely.

One final note; “To Protect and Serve” was linked and referenced by Dr. Brooke Magnanti (AKA Belle de Jour) in a guest blog on a feminist website last March, leading to a firestorm of controversy and a battle royale between garbage-vomiting neofeminist prohibitionists and sane, reasonable sex worker rights advocates (including Dr. Laura Agustín, regular reader Sina More and myself).  I described the incident in “Cognitive Impairment”, and one well-researched post on that thread by a commenter called “Eva” was so informative that I later drew heavily on it for an important column that I still reference quite often.  Every column has an effect on those that follow, but it’s rare that an unassuming daily post based on two current events produces ripples that are still spreading a year later.

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Do You Know What It Means?

Posted in Biography, Diary, Miscellaneous, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2012| 4 Comments »

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans,
And miss it each night and day?
I know I’m not wrong, the feeling’s gettin’ stronger
The longer I stay away.  –  Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter

We try to get down to New Orleans once a year to visit friends, stock up on groceries we can’t get elsewhere and go to a few of our favorite restaurants.  I even use the opportunity to have my annual checkup, because I like my gynecologist and saw no real reason to try to find a new whore-friendly one here.  Usually, we go near the end of January or beginning of February, but last year my husband’s schedule was such a mess we couldn’t make it until August…which made exchanging Christmas presents a bit strange (but still fun).

As in August, he had business in New Orleans this week, which means we get to stay in a nice hotel near Canal Street on his company’s tab.  So we drove down Sunday and will be returning Friday; I’ll bet you didn’t even notice I was gone.  See, I’ve been pre-posting all of my columns since mid-autumn; I find it’s a lot more convenient, because then if the internet goes down, or I somehow get distracted in the morning, or I have to drive my husband to the airport, or we decide to run off to New Orleans for a week, everything still publishes on time and y’all aren’t disappointed.  The only drawback is that if I have to shift columns to make room for a more pressing item, it’s a colossal pain because I have to change links and everything.  For example, “2011 in Review” was originally scheduled for the 11th, but was bumped from the spot by “Hark, Hark, the Dogs Do Bark” because the “one year ago today” connection was too good to pass up.  That meant displacing “Rhinoceros” from the 14th to the 21st and “Q & A (January 2012)” from the 21st to the 23rd; fortunately I hadn’t gone any further than that yet.  Whew!

So while I’m in New Orleans, I thought those of you who haven’t yet read all my columns might enjoy some of my New Orleans-themed ones.  I already linked “Out and About” in the first paragraph; it’s a guide to my favorite places to eat in the Big Easy.  And for those who prefer to cook their own food, I gave you the recipe for gumbo only yesterday.  “They All Axed for You”  uses my August trip as a springboard for a discussion on New Orleans’ dialect, and since we’re making it down during Carnival this year you may find “King Day” and “Mardi Gras” appropriate reading.

One year ago today I wrote about a famous New Orleans madam in “Josie Arlington”, then last September I wrote about another one in “Lulu White”.  Both of those ladies’ bordellos were found in “Storyville”, the city’s famous red-light district; many of the refined Creole ladies who plied their trade there were the descendants of “left-handed marriages”, as explained in “Plaçage”.  Creole prostitutes are so much a part of the city’s history that I’ve shared two songs about them (“New Orleans Ladies” and “Lady Marmalade”) with you, and the very first song in my very first hooker song column (namely “Fancy”) was about yet another New Orleanian fille de joie.

It’s been said that part of the distinctive character of New Orleans comes from her relationship with Nature, an idea I visit in “Moondance”; of course, the city’s most famous brush with Nature was Hurricane Katrina, and I discuss my experiences after it in the three-part “The Only Working Girl in New Orleans”.  If you don’t already have a low opinion of the New Orleans Police Department, you will after reading those columns; nor has it improved since I left town, as explained in my second-to-last column of 2011, “Three Steps Back”.  And if all these aren’t enough, just click on the “New Orleans” tag at the bottom of this post.  I apologize if I’m a bit slow to reply to emails or moderate comments this week, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me (it isn’t like I do this every month, after all).  And if we manage to get to a parade while we’re there, I’ll catch some beads for y’all.

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Gumbo

Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, tagged , , , , on February 7, 2012| 25 Comments »

A piece of French bread
With which to wipe my bowl,
Good for the body, good for the soul.
It’s a little like religion
And a lot like sex.
You should never know
When you’re gonna get it next.
At midnight in the Quarter or noon in Thibodeaux
I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo.  –  Jimmy Buffett, “I Will Play for Gumbo”

In my Imbolc column I promised you my recipe for gumbo, and my husband took some pictures while I was preparing it that day so I could illustrate the finer points.  It’s not especially difficult or complicated, but there are a few terms and techniques with which people who aren’t from south Louisiana might be unfamiliar.  This is actually my second sister’s recipe; she and I are the best cooks in the family, but while I’m a generalist she is a specialist:  I cook many things very well, but she cooks a smaller number of things extremely well.  So when I somehow managed to misplace my old recipe eight or nine years ago, I called her to replace it and she gave me this one, which she had perfected over years of repeated preparation.

First of all, gumbo (for those who don’t know) is a thick soup of French Creole origin; like many Creole dishes it is a fusion of African and French elements.  There are many kinds of gumbo, but the three most common are shrimp and okra gumbo, seafood gumbo, and chicken and andouille gumbo.  Okra is a pod eaten as a vegetable, and andouille is a kind of sausage; since I dislike okra intensely I never make gumbo with it, and seafood gumbo has no specific ingredients (one uses whatever crustacean or mollusk is available).  This recipe is for chicken and andouille gumbo, which is both the easiest for a beginner and (in my opinion) the tastiest.

Let’s start with a few terms.  Andouille (ahn-DOO-wee) is a smoked, coarse-ground pork sausage spiced with pepper and garlic.  It is extremely important that you NOT confuse it with the French andouillette, which is a tripe sausage with a powerful odor and a taste politely described as “earthy”.  If you can’t find andouille where you live, see if they’re selling anything as “Cajun sausage”, and if that fails ask the butcher for a firm, spicy pork sausage; it will probably be close enough to work once it’s all cooked in the gumbo.  The firmness is important; the andouille is skinned before cooking, so a too-soft sausage will crumble and that’s not what you want.  My sister and I are so picky about it that we only buy it from one particular butcher, Bailey’s Andouille in LaPlace, Louisiana (about 30 miles west of New Orleans).  LaPlace styles itself “the Andouille Capital of the World” and Bailey’s is the best store there.  And they do ship, so American readers can get the real thing for just a few dollars more.

Next, there’s the matter of roux (pronounced “roo”).  Every Louisiana girl worth her salt can make a roux, but for some reason this useful culinary technique is less common outside the Deep South so I’ll tell you how to make one:  in a saucepan over medium heat, combine equal quantities of cooking oil and white flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and all lumps are gone (usually less than a minute).  That’s it.  Simple, isn’t it?  What I just described is a “white roux”; the only difference between it and a “brown roux” is that one keeps cooking the latter until it turns brown, stirring constantly.  The only two secrets to making a proper roux are 1) don’t be in a hurry; and 2) don’t be lazy.  If you turn the heat above medium or stop stirring, you’ll burn it and will be forced to start again.  Roux is a thickening agent; it’s the first component of many gravies and also thick Creole soups (like gumbo).  White roux is good for milk gravy or cheese sauces, brown roux is used for brown gravy, and a very dark roux (see recipe below) is for gumbo.  As a rule of thumb, each tablespoon (15 ml) of flour will thicken ½ cup (120 ml) of thin fluid such as broth or ¾ cup (180 ml) of a thick fluid like milk.  Those proportions don’t hold for gumbo, which is obviously thinner than gravy.

Finally, the Creole spice mixture; I use Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, which is available in most American grocery stores and on their website.  You can probably use any Creole or “Cajun” seasoning mixture, though.  Now without further ado, the recipe itself!

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo a la Maggie’s Little Sister

One whole chicken or 8 parts (legs and thighs are best), skinned
1 # (450g) andouille, skinned and cut into small pieces
1 cup (240 ml) all-purpose flour
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
1 large white or yellow onion
2 green onions
Creole spice mixture
Cooked rice

1)  On the day before the gumbo is to be served (if at all possible), skin the chicken and cook it in 1 gallon (about 3.9 liters) of water with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the spice mixture.  Don’t be tempted to leave the skin on the chicken; it makes the finished gumbo far too greasy (I always fry the skins up in a skillet later and give them to the dogs as a treat).  With the pot covered, you can use a fairly low heat; cook the chicken until the meat entirely falls off of the bones, checking about every half-hour and removing the bones as they come free.  Let the pot cool, then strain the broth and store it in a clean, covered glass jar (like a pickle jar), adding water if necessary to bring it back to 1 gallon.  Remove any remaining bones and gristle from the chicken and put it into a (separate) covered container; store both broth and chicken in the refrigerator overnight.  You could actually do this step two or three days in advance if you like.

2)  When you’re ready to make the gumbo, skin the andouille and cut it into small pieces.  Then chop the onions (chop the white or yellow onion as finely as you can, but the green onion bits should be large enough to be identifiable).

3)  In a large, heavy skillet, combine the flour and oil and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture turns a rich brown (see photo); this takes about 30 minutes.  The cooked roux will exude a strong, characteristic aroma which you will always be able to recognize thereafter.  Once the roux is brown enough add both types of onions and sauté for a minute or two, then add the andouille and cook it until the meat is hot (about four more minutes).

4)  Transfer the entire contents of the skillet to a large pot, then add the broth, the cooked chicken and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the spice mixture.  Cook and stir the mixture over low heat until well-combined (about 10 minutes; you’ll be able to tell when it’s mixed enough), then cover and cook over low heat for about two hours, stirring occasionally.  The gumbo’s appearance won’t change much after the initial stirring, but the aroma will grow stronger and richer.

5)  Serve the gumbo over cooked rice.  You don’t want a tremendous amount of rice; for a large (main course) bowl of gumbo, use less than ½ cup (120 ml) of cooked rice.  Refrigerate leftovers, and if possible reheat them on the stovetop rather than in the microwave.

And that’s it.  The most important thing is the roux; once that’s done the rest is really just stirring and waiting.  If you have any questions, just ask them in the comments.  Bon appétit!

One Year Ago Today

“Misrepresentation” looks at an attempted comment by a person who represents herself as a “survivor” and indulges in various propaganda techniques which reveal her as either a brainwashed “john school” type, a cop, or something worse.

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Change a Few Words

Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2012| 33 Comments »

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.  –  Laurens van der Post

Though prohibitionists will vociferously deny it, all prohibitionism is the same.  Oh, they’ll throw out all sorts of bogus reasons such as “morality”, “decency”, “health”, “public order”, “national security” and of course “the children”, but in reality they’re all based in one thing:  a busybody desire to control the private behaviors of others because they make individual prohibitionists uncomfortable.  Many of my columns tagged “welcome to our world” clearly demonstrate this; just change a few words and Presto! an argument against porn, gay rights, immigration or even a woman wearing a certain article of clothing or selling her eggs for research becomes an argument against prostitution.  The closest parallel is probably the expensive, rights-trampling, unwinnable “War on Drugs”, and this article from the January 17th Huffington Post demonstrates it as clearly as anything I’ve ever seen.  It’s called “How to Write a Clichéd, Unpersuasive Argument Against Drug Legalization” by Scott Morgan, and is a dissection of a (drug) prohibitionist article.  Change a few words, and it’s equally applicable to those who support the War on Whores:

This piece by Manon McKinnon at The American Spectator is so perfect an exhibit in pompous drug war cheerleading that one can construct a fairly comprehensive crash course in bad drug policy writing based entirely upon its contents.  Let’s take a moment to review some of the tactics on display here…

Step 1:  Attempt to marginalize supporters of drug policy reform by claiming they are “pot heads.”

From the article:  “Every so often, alas, the subject of drug legalization reappears.  This time it is…one of many bad ideas from presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul and is cheered on by the usual fans, from libertarians to pot heads”…Since recent polling shows that half the country supports marijuana legalization, you’ll immediately offend many of your readers by ignoring their legitimate public policy concerns and dismissing them as a bunch of self-righteous drug addicts.  Huge numbers of non-users are interested in improving our approach to drug policy, so name-calling is a quick way to alienate well-meaning people and prove that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Step 2:  Frame legalization as a plan for “surrendering” or “giving up” and letting drugs defeat us.

From the article:  “’Paul deserves full credit for endorsing drug legalization,’ writes Ms. Charen as she goes into all the reasons she thinks the U.S. should give up and give in to corrosive drugs.”  This is a good way to show that you don’t understand the opposing argument.  Supporters of reforming drug laws believe that the problems associated with drug use…can be better addressed [under legalization]…Referring to that process as a form of surrender will help to demonstrate that you aren’t listening and don’t understand even the most basic motivations behind reforming our drug policy.

Step 3:  Insist confidently — but without citation — that no one actually gets in serious trouble for personal use.

From the article:  “…the imagined wrongful incarceration of simple users (no — such prisoners have plea bargained down from major trafficking and violent crimes)”  This is great for destroying your credibility, because examples of people being sent to prison for personal use are so numerous.  A lot of people know someone who’s done time for drugs, without ever getting involved in “major trafficking and violent crimes,” so you can lose a lot of people quickly by speaking against their own experience…one of the main concerns people have…is that their own friends and family could be scarred for life by the criminal justice system…a minor marijuana arrest can [result in] lost employment opportunities, loss of public housing, child custody, professional licenses, and…other serious consequences.  By implying that a drug arrest is insignificant unless it involves jail-time, you can show everyone how little you know about the real impact of the policies you’re promoting.

4:  Insist that illegal drugs can never have medical value.

From the article:  “…medical necessity (banned drugs are not medicine)”…Many Americans have seen firsthand the benefits of medical marijuana in their own families, and public opposition to medical use has dwindled into near invisibility.  Meanwhile, the federal government itself is growing medical marijuana for select patients and the DEA is trying to change the rules so that pharmaceutical companies can begin growing marijuana plants and making medicines out of them…

Step 5:  Compare regulating drugs to legalizing rape.

From the article:  “[If] Drug prohibition creates drug crimes, so legalize drugs and, poof, no more crime.  However, it should be pointed out that no one makes the same argument for rape.”  No incoherent anti-legalization rant is complete without a variation on this classic theme.  You can appear instantly and fundamentally clueless by suggesting that all criminal laws are equally sound…the “why not legalize rape, then?” argument could be made in defense of any law, no matter how stupid and unjust.  Demonstrate your demagoguery and total lack of perspective by mindlessly comparing marijuana users to rapists.

Step 6:  Mention something bad that happened involving drugs and ask smugly whether legalization would have prevented it.

From the article:  “Two small children were found that night wandering alone in the storm with no coats.  They were trying to find their grandmother’s house with food and warmth because their own parents had passed out on drugs.  Would legalization have helped here?”  Another trademark of the typical drug war supporter is the habit of pointing out examples of the failure of our current approach and then incoherently citing them as arguments for continuing the policies that produce these outcomes.  Insist that legalization must be proven to be the indisputable solution to every single existing social problem on the planet before being considered in any form.

Step 7:  Close with a sweeping, apocalyptic generalization.

From the article:  “And here are the words of sociologist James Q. Wilson who once put it:  ‘drug use is wrong because it is immoral and it is immoral because it enslaves the mind and destroys the soul.’  Let’s not legalize that.”  In your closing statement, you’ll want to double-down on outrageous claims that defy the knowledge and experience of the general public.  Hyperbolic concepts such as slavery of the mind and destruction of the soul will leave you plainly and hopelessly divorced from reality.  If executed properly, your conclusion should result in…everyone…wondering what your problem is and doubting whether you’ve ever actually met a drug user in real life…

I couldn’t have written a better primer on “How to Write a Clichéd, Unpersuasive Argument Against the Decriminalization of  Prostitution” if I tried.  The seven steps are almost exactly the same:

Step 1: Attempt to marginalize supporters of decriminalization by claiming they are “trafficking apologists” or “rape supporters.”

Step 2: Frame decriminalization as a plan for “surrendering” or “giving up” and letting the “exploiters” win.

Step 3: Insist confidently — but without citation — that “real men” never pay for sex and only damaged or coerced women sell it.

Step 4: Insist that sex work can never be consensual or therapeutic.

Step 5: Compare decriminalization to legalizing rape.

Step 6: Mention something bad that happened involving prostitution and ask smugly whether decriminalization would have prevented it.

Step 7: Close with a sweeping, apocalyptic generalization.

See what I mean?

One Year Ago Today

“Real People” is a look at people (especially politicians and prohibitionists) who promote their anti-whore campaigns by working to dehumanize the real people involved in sex work.

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That Was the Week That Was (#2)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2012| 23 Comments »

A puritan is a person who pours righteous indignation into the wrong things.  –  G.K. Chesterton

Welcome to the second installment of my new weekly feature (introduced yesterday); once I catch up, all the stories appearing in “That Was the Week That Was” columns will be ones I discovered within the previous week.  But for now, let’s look at a few items from week 2 of 2012:

The Last Shall Be First

I’ve often stated that humans have a distressing tendency to elevate the least-evolved among us – those who desire control over others – to positions of power, but it’s rare that a politician gives such a clear and graphic demonstration of that truth as the one thoughtfully provided by Tennessee state representative Richard Floyd on January 12th:

…Richard Floyd…[is] the sponsor of [a] bill (HB 2279), which [would institute a $50 fine for anybody who does not use the public restroom or dressing room that matches the sex on his birth certificate; since Tennessee law does not allow for the sex to be changed on birth certificates, this would make it illegal for transgender people to utilize public accommodations that match their gender.  Floyd said]…“I believe if I was standing at a dressing room and my wife or one of my daughters was in the dressing room and a man tried to go in there — I don’t care if he thinks he’s a woman and tries on clothes with them in there — I’d just try to stomp a mudhole in him and then stomp him dry.  Don’t ask me to adjust to their perverted way of thinking and put my family at risk.  We cannot continue to let these people dominate how society acts and reacts.  Now if somebody thinks he’s a woman and he’s a man and wants to try on women’s clothes, let him take them into the men’s bathroom or dressing room”…This bill is nothing short of an outright attack on transgender people…Even individuals passing through one of Tennessee’s airports or bus stops could be targeted for these fines, just for being transgender.

The bill was introduced January 9th and withdrawn by its co-sponsor on the 12th, effectively killing it and deeply upsetting Floyd.  In an interview on WTVF in Nashville, Floyd explains that his bill “protects everybody”:

“I’m just sick and tired of society having to adjust to every little alternate lifestyle or little whim of someone who thinks they’re different,” Floyd says.  “We’ve got the tail wagging the dog.  If things go in the future like Washington wants them to go, people will be marrying their dogs and cats and horses.  We can’t continue to let society go down a slippery slope of depravity and survive as a society.  We can’t do it.”

Well, that’s different!  And here you thought he was just a bigoted ignoramus, when in reality he was using the Scalia argument.

Update to “A Moral Cancer” (March 6th, 2011)

The article described in this column intended to create panic over a minor increase in a rare form of cancer caused by HPV spread through oral sex.  I described those who write such articles as “crypto-moralists”, people who…

…avoid words like “sin” and eschew religious rhetoric, and may not recognize their own moralism even if confronted with it.  Such people are always (perhaps unconsciously) looking for ways to prove that vices really are objectively “bad”; they delight in cirrhosis and emphysema, secretly love syphilis and AIDS and pore over each new “discovery” about the deleterious health effects of good-tasting foods with the same rapt attention as a normal person might read a letter from his accountant informing him that his taxes had decreased.

Here’s the latest exercise in crypto-moralism, courtesy of the Guardian of January 13th:

…Eating 50g of processed meat every day – the equivalent to one sausage or two rashers of bacon – increases the risk [of pancreatic cancer] by 19%, compared to people who do not eat processed meat at all.  For people consuming double this amount…the increased risk jumps to 38%, and is 57% for those eating 150g a day.  But experts cautioned that the [lifetime] risk of pancreatic cancer was relatively low…one in 77 for men and one in 79 for women.  Nevertheless, the disease is deadly – it is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage and kills 80% of people in under a year.  Only 5% of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.  The latest study, published in the British Journal of Cancer…found inconclusive evidence on the risks of eating red meat overall, compared to eating no red meat…

The article goes on to say that smoking causes a third of all cases of pancreatic cancer, and that obesity is a major cause as well.  Now, let’s look at the math; what they’re actually saying is that if you eat a serving of bacon every single day for your entire adult life, your chance of contracting pancreatic cancer “jumps” from about 1 in 78 to 1 in 65…slightly less than the likelihood of terminal flu and a tiny fraction of the odds of perishing by heart disease, cancer or stroke.  So by all means, give up foods you enjoy in order to reduce your already-minuscule chance of croaking from a rare illness, but don’t imagine these “warnings” are anything other than disguised Puritanism.

Update to “Sales Pitch” (May 22nd, 2011)

The Swedes claim that criminalizing the clients of prostitutes has almost wiped out prostitution in Sweden and Norway; they claim that it’s “impossible to run a brothel in Sweden”, that sex workers have not been harmed in any way, and that the vast majority of Swedes “enthusiastically support” the ban.  All in all they claim a lot of things, none of them true; on January 15th Wendy Lyon reported the results of an official Norwegian government study:

…Norway’s 2010 Progress Report to UNAIDS…states that since the sex purchase ban was introduced…“it has become more difficult to…gain admittance to prostitution circles…sex workers no longer want to carry condoms and lubricants out of fear that they will be used by the police as [evidence]…support and health services for sex workers…argue that due to increased competition and greater stress on the market, sex workers are forced to offer clients [more] unprotected sex…[and] sex workers in escort services are forced to sell sex at the customer’s arena, which makes them more vulnerable to violence and abuse.”

…More detail appears in [an] appended…survey…with data compiled by the Norwegian Directorate of Health in conjunction with other government departments and NGOs…Part B…was answered by six NGOs…On the issue of obstacles [to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, they]…state:  “…police enforcement has affected the sex workers’ relation to other services, such as harm reduction services, as many refuse to associate with anything or anyone that may give the police a suspicion of sex work.  Condoms are used as evidence, hence the sex workers position for negotiation with the client about safe sex [has] been weakened…”

…But has the ban achieved its aim of reducing the amount of prostitution and trafficking? …“[A harm reduction centre]…estimated that the number of sex workers…in Oslo is reduced by 16%…However, [because] these estimates…are based on those who have had contact with support services or placed advertisements, researchers maintain that these data are unreliable because not all prostitutes get counted…there has been a significant reduction in registered sex workers from Nigeria and Central and Eastern Europe residing temporarily in Norway…Reports from Denmark and Luxembourg indicated [that] many Nigerians have moved [there]…The number of registered Thai sex workers on the other hand, has increased…”  I’m unclear as to why the number (as opposed to the proportion) of Thai sex workers should have increased since the ban, but this otherwise seems to validate a few points that I’ve made…first, that criminal laws are a poor method for getting people out of prostitution; second, that the effect of prostitution laws cannot be viewed in isolation from the effect of migration policies; and third, that what may seem to be a “reduction” in prostitution is all too often merely a diversion…If those Nigerians and CEE sex workers had been trafficked or otherwise exploited in Norway, and undoubtedly some of them were, they’re still being exploited in Denmark or Luxembourg or wherever.  Norway’s law hasn’t done a thing to help them, it just made them someone else’s problem…

Of course, this is exactly what sex workers have been saying for years, but now that one of their own government bureaus has said it maybe someone will listen (not that I’m not going to hold my breath or anything).

One Year Ago Today

“Between the Ears” presents evidence that “most women’s sexual problems derive not from [low testosterone levels], but from what’s going on in their heads.”

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That Was the Week That Was

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2012| 11 Comments »

All books can be indecent books,
Though recent books are bolder,
For filth (I’m glad to say) is in the mind of the beholder
When correctly viewed,
Ev’rything is lewd.  –  Tom Lehrer, “Smut”

My miscellanea and update columns have always been popular, but I’m getting so many items now that it’s become too cumbersome to organize them on a monthly basis as I have been; since I write most of my columns days or even weeks before they appear, my present format tends to make some of the features “stale” by the time I present them.  So I’ve modified an idea used by SWAAY and Tits and Sass (both of whom present “Week in Links” columns) and by The Agitator (which presents such a list nearly every day) to create “That Was the Week That Was”, a weekly feature which will appear every Saturday (though sometimes shifted by a day where necessity demands).  This won’t just be a list of links; it will look pretty much like my traditional miscellanea and update columns, but combined and appearing weekly.  The first few installments will cover stories from January and early February, but by the end of the month each column will feature only items which came to my attention in the preceding week (even if the actual story is somewhat older).

Incidentally, I’ve borrowed the title as well as the concept.  Readers over 50 (or those who, like me, are fans of vintage television which aired before they were born) may recognize the name as that of a satirical sketch comedy show hosted by David Frost which ran in the UK for two seasons (1962-63) before moving to American television for one more (1964-65).  It satirized current events and did not shy away from controversy; it was thus in a way the ancestor of programs like The Daily Show, Not the Nine O’Clock News and Politically Incorrect…and considering the way I lampoon the writers or characters in many of the articles I cover, I felt it was an appropriate title.  I’ve never actually seen an episode, but I know of it from my reading on the background of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and from the work of Tom Lehrer, who wrote a number of current-event-inspired songs such as “Wernher von Braun”, “National Brotherhood Week” and “The Vatican Rag” for the American version.

Without further ado, let’s look at a story from Week 1 of 2012:

Update to “Sex, Lies and Busybodies” (January 27th, 2012)

The news about the rescue industry scam run by a group of Australian cops called “The Grey Man” broke on January 6th, but wasn’t mentioned here until three weeks later.  In a perfect example of why this format change was necessary, this follow-up to investigative reporter Andrew Drummond’s initial “Grey Man” story was published on January 7th, yet isn’t appearing here until today.  See what I mean?

The village of Baan Khun Suay in Northern Thailand is populated by people of the Akha Hill tribe.  They earn a living from farming rice, tea, and coffee, and are poor but self-subsistent…they hit the headlines when The Grey Man, an Australian registered charity which boasts it comprises ex-Special Forces men and police officers announced that its ‘operatives’ had rescued 21 children – 13 boys and 8 girls – and saved them from certain slavery and sexual exploitation…[they] also claimed that one of the girls, aged 13,  had also escaped from a brothel and been taken to a police station where she was held for two days and raped by a police officer before being returned to the brothel, and…that [they] had videos of the traffickers fleeing the scene…But our investigation shows that [the children shown in pictures as “rescued victims”]…were going to school as they normally do…

…[After the “rescue” was announced] Trafcord – The trafficking co-ordination unit of northern Thailand – [told Grey Man president John Curtis that it]…was eager to get involved…Curtis [then] wrote to Trafcord saying: “…it seems that we were misreported in the Australian press that we rescued those kids.  Embarrassing for us and I have pulled the story off the net.  It must have been one of the other groups up there.”  This was not true.  The Grey Man  organization had in fact put out their own press statement and the story was covered by [many press organizations and]…websites.  Meanwhile Trafcord had done their own investigations and had confirmed that three grey men, had on two different occasions visited Baan Khun Suay, together with an unregistered American charity called COSA – Children of South East Asia.  They had gathered a group of children together [and] posed with them for a picture, and then returned to photograph individually for the charity’s records and to show they were providing medical assistance and transport to school.

Trafcord reported its findings to [the Thai government]…who issued a statement on December 7th saying that the rescue was a scam…Curtis reacted in anger and issued threats to Trafcord…saying the rescue HAD taken place after all…readers of the Grey Man Facebook page had been getting regular updates at what was happening to the children still allegedly being held in a secret location…

Faced with this massive clash of stories… [Drummond travelled to the village and found it] comparatively prosperous for a hill tribe village…coffee shops can be found throughout Thailand selling their produce.  When [Drummond] asked where the trafficked children were – it was a school holiday – all but one, who posed for [the original picture] appeared within half an hour…The missing person was…from another community.  [Drummond] reconstructed The Grey Man picture outside the house of farmer Jaimuk Laisai who said:  “The three foreigners came to the village…They said they wanted to help kids in the village and asked what sort of help we needed.  We said the kids needed help with the school and healthcare.  There was no talk about prostitution at all.”  [Village elders are upset that] “…Other people are exploiting our children” and the children themselves seemed upset…about the taunts of “prostitute” given by children from neighbouring villages…

… the future for The Grey Man in South East Asia seems limited unless they can now find someone to trust in Thailand and who trusts them.  They claim they work closely with Thai police and foreign police agencies, and [though] that has been true with individual police agencies and even charities in the past…they are [now the] subject of both a DSI investigation and a Thai media frenzy…[which] accused “foreign gangs” of faking the rescue to stuff their own pockets with cash.  The Grey Men were even accused of being the traffickers…

Drummond (who also produced this 15-minute video on the affair) goes on to say that though his investigation indicates it’s unlikely The Grey Man has made any real money from Thailand,

The way The Grey Man presents its information using military and police jargon…and stories it puts out of attacks by men with Molotov cocktails, and bullets ricocheting [off] of cars in high speed chases,  has raised a few eye-brows.  On behalf of organisations in Thailand I myself have gone into brothels and massage parlours to bring out under aged girls.  I am careful about it, but have never seen it as a real risk and don’t normally expect to be petrol bombed or shot at…

Going by the evidence and what we know of the rescue industry, it seems most likely that the Grey Man’s profits come from grants and from their well-meaning supporters rather than from their victims or innocent bystanders in Thailand.  Their real motivation is probably not profit but rather the desire to play hero; as I said in “Schadenfreude”,

…when the speaker dwells lovingly upon lurid details, treats humans as passive objects to be done to (“rescued”, “saved”, kept from making their own choices, etc) instead of helped, arranges as many photo-ops with starving children/trafficking survivors/disaster victims as possible and makes sure that his own name and image are always prominently associated with his crusade, one can be…certain that one beholds a narcissistic “baby person” whose interest in tragedy is his own self-aggrandizement and a paternalistic satisfaction in controlling “lesser” (usually brown-skinned and/or female) people “for their own good”.  The “rescue” industry is stocked to the rafters with such people…

In the next edition of this feature tomorrow, we’ll look at items from the second week of the year.

One Year Ago Today

“A Distorted Lens” is an introduction to Iceland’s particularly nasty variety of the Swedish Model, which has also banned stripping and is now taking aim at porn.

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February Miscellanea

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2012| 55 Comments »

That is not a just government where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations.  –  James Madison

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been publishing quite a few miscellanea and update columns; since last May, I’ve had about 4-6 columns of that sort every month.  Besides getting more reader submissions than I used to, I’ve also become better at finding articles myself.  So rather than concentrating them together, I’ve decided to spread them out throughout the month.  This will therefore be my last monthly miscellanea column; starting tomorrow I’ll present “That Was the Week That Was” every Saturday, except when it’s bumped to Friday or Sunday by some special circumstance.

Out of the Bedroom

Civil libertarians often say we want government out of our bedrooms, but here’s a politician who wants people out of their bedroom clothes:

…Michael Williams (of Shreveport, Louisiana) doesn’t care to see people in their PJs, at least not at a shopping center, restaurant or anywhere else in public…after seeing a group of young men at a local Walmart wearing pajama pants that revealed one young man’s private parts, he decided to push for an ordinance that would prohibit wearing pajama pants in public.  “Pajamas are designed to be worn in the bedroom at night,” Williams said.  “If you can’t (wear pajamas) at the Boardwalk or courthouse, why are you going to do it in a restaurant or in public?  Today it’s pajamas,” Williams said.  “Tomorrow it’s underwear.  Where does it stop?”

…One problem with a possible ordinance is what constitutes pajamas.  Williams said it could be defined as a garment sold in the sleepwear section of department stores, and violators should not go to jail but perform community service…The city of Shreveport [already] has a no-sagging law.  In 2011, Shreveport police reported 31 incidents involving “wearing of pants below the waist in public.”  Most of those were unattached to other more serious crimes, and the offenders were issued misdemeanor summons…

Unsurprisingly, Williams can’t see the irony in his own words:  if we let politicians control the clothes we wear, “Today it’s pajamas…Tomorrow it’s underwear. Where does it stop?”  I personally think pajamas in public are extremely déclassé, but so are sweat pants and nobody’s trying to make laws against them.  Perhaps Williams would be happier in France, where lots of politicians think they have the right to tell people what not to wear.

The Hooker Vote

One day, politicians may actually concern themselves with winning the support of sex workers, but for the present the easiest way to get the hooker vote without losing that of the moralists is to point at that the federal government has no constitutional authority to regulate private behavior:

…Ron Paul can count on support from some members of the world’s oldest profession as he campaigns for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.  Prostitutes at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch…have launched a “Pimping for Paul” campaign for the Texas libertarian, who backs their right to earn a living as working girls…The Bunny Ranch ladies are asking johns to donate money to Paul’s campaign as they leave the brothel, which also backed Paul’s presidential bid four years ago.  Though Paul hasn’t commented on the brothel’s latest drive, his spokesman told the Associated Press in 2007 that “while Paul does not personally condone prostitution, the candidate does not think it’s the role of the federal government to regulate such activity.”  During a 2012 GOP candidates debate in May, Paul said that states should be free to legalize prostitution, gay marriage and marijuana if they choose to do so…U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada’s senior senator, told the state’s legislature last February “the time has come for us to outlaw prostitution,” which Reid said discourages businesses from moving to the state…

While I don’t vote and I’m not going to endorse any political candidate, the civil and sexual rights of American citizens will probably be less endangered under a Paul presidency than under a regime headed by of the other current candidates, especially Obama, Romney, Santorum or Gingrich.

The Mother Learns From Her Children

It’s beginning to seem as though the United Kingdom might be starting to learn something about sex worker rights from two of her former colonies.  Like New Zealand, she may be moving in the direction of decriminalization.  And as in Canada, the reason for the shift is the realization that the laws endanger the safety of sex workers.  This article appeared in The Guardian on January 16th, and came to my attention via Harlot’s Parlour:

A series of gang attacks on brothels in east London has triggered calls for changes to the prostitution laws after victims who reported …robberies said they ended up being threatened with prosecution.  A police investigation has been launched as senior Labour and Conservative members of the London assembly and the English Collective of Prostitutes allege that violent crime is being given a lower priority than less serious sex offences.  The attacks highlight the growing debate over calls for New Zealand’s pioneering decriminalisation of sex work to be considered – an approach recently supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

…a spate of robberies…coincides with an increase in police raids…The first…was in Barking, east London, on 6 December.  A video showing five men…breaking into another house in the area being used by sex workers is also being studied by officers.  The women who made the first complaint allege they recognise some of the gang members from the YouTube clip.  In a third attack, at a different address, a woman who worked as a maid at a brothel is alleged to have been raped by the gang.  None of the victims there reported the offence for fear of being charged…with living off the proceeds of prostitution…The ECP said changes to the law, in response to fears over the forcible trafficking of foreign sex workers into Britain, have made it more difficult for women to work together…for safety.

A letter of complaint sent…[to the police by ECP activist] Niki Adams…[said] “We are receiving reports of incidents where women have been attacked and their attackers have told them brazenly that they know women won’t dare go to the police.”  Adams believes there may have been as many as 20 attacks in the area over the past two years…Last November Simon Byrne, Acpo’s lead officer on prostitution and sexual exploitation, suggested there was a need for a fresh look at the legal balance…”There is a great amount of academic research available, much of which supports the view that an alternative approach is needed,” he wrote on his official Acpo blog.  “An example would be the decriminalisation and regulation of brothels in Australia and New Zealand, not an answer to all of the related issues but certainly a solution to some.  More of those involved in sex work in Australia and New Zealand can now access health services with ease, whilst maintaining more personal security in an emotive area for policing.”

Another proponent of reform is Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London assembly.  “The law is framed so as to put women [sex workers] into the most vulnerable position,” he said.  “The changes brought in by the last government seemed to [be derived from] the view that every single worker in the sex trade was trafficked.  People are not willing to come forward over these attacks.  When they report them, the women themselves have had action taken against them…”  Len Duvall, the leader of the Labour group at the London assembly, said:  “We need to examine in greater detail information and case studies from those countries that have sought to legalise prostitution, including the model put forward by New Zealand, especially if it provides a degree of protection for sex workers and reduces crimes associated with prostitution…There is also evidence that crimes against sex workers are being ignored”…Tim Barnett, the British-born former New Zealand MP who pushed through his adopted country’s decriminalisation legislation in 2003, was in London before Christmas where he briefed Boff and Duvall…

There’s definitely cause for hope here.  American politicians can ignore New Zealand as an antipodean anomaly, but if Canada and the UK also decriminalize it’s going to be a lot harder for American prohibitionists to convince everyone that theirs is the “normal” view.

One Year Ago Today

“Maggie in the Media” is a description of all the interviews I gave last January, mostly on the subject of nonexistent Super Bowl prostitution booms.

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Candlemas

Posted in History, Holidays, Miscellaneous, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2012| 23 Comments »

Why, what’s the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?  –  William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (V,iv)

Today is the ancient festival of Imbolc, celebrated by the Celts as the beginning of spring and the day sacred to Brigit, the goddess of fire and healing.  The Irish drove their cattle between two sacred bonfires on this day in the belief that it would help to keep them free of parasites, and when the festival was Christianized as Candlemas the association with fire and healing remained:  this is the day on which all the candles to be used in the next year are consecrated, and the candles are used tomorrow (St. Blaise’s Day) to bless churchgoers so as to protect them from ailments of the throat.

Due to our continental climate, few North Americans can imagine this day as anywhere near spring; accordingly, we celebrate the beginnings of the seasons on the solstices and equinoxes and perceive the cross-quarter days (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain…or as Americans call them, Ground Hog Day, May Day, August 1st and Halloween) as the midpoints of the seasons rather than as their beginnings.  Indeed, where I live February is often the coldest month (unlike South Louisiana, where it’s usually very spring-like).  As I explained in my column of one year ago today, the Celtic and Germanic peoples believed that the cross-quarter days could be used as inverse weather predictors for the next six weeks, and though the tradition has been forgotten for the other three days it remains alive and well for this one, so much so that Americans name it after the sacred animal used for the weather-forecasting ritual.

We always celebrate Imbolc with a feast, and since it’s in the middle of Carnival season (Mardi Gras is February 21st this year) the center of that feast is always a big pot of chicken and andouille gumbo made from my sister’s recipe.  Like king cake, the dish is best when the initial stage is completed a day in advance, and since many of you enjoyed seeing that recipe I’ve decided to give you the one for gumbo as well this coming Tuesday (unlike king cake, it isn’t seasonal; gumbo can be eaten any time of year, and some old Cajun ladies still make it every Sunday).  It’ll require a full column, not because it’s especially complicated (it isn’t), but because some of the culinary terms may be unfamiliar to many of my readers and will thus require a bit of explanation (and photos I’ll take today).

I pray that all my readers, no matter what your individual beliefs, find renewal in your lives at this time; I ask that negative things die away like weeds in winter, and that positive things appear and grow for you like leaves in the spring.  Blessed Be!

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Repeat Offenders

Posted in Current Events, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2012| 24 Comments »

A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier. – H.L. Mencken

The Super Bowl will be held in Indianapolis this coming Sunday, and though the egg-covered faces of Dallas area “authorities” seems to have chastened some of their Indiana counterparts somewhat, there’s still plenty of hysteria to go around.  As I explained in my column of one year ago today, there is absolutely zero evidence that prostitution or so-called “human trafficking” follows major sporting events, and in fact there are a number of studies (besides anecdotal evidence) which proves they don’t:

Here’s a detailed examination of the 2006 “World Cup sex trafficking” hysteria in Germany, which you will notice closely resembles our current Super Bowl hysteria…Luckily, prostitution is legal in Germany, so it was easy to research and publish an expose of the myth…And just for good measure, here’s a report by the Sex Industry Worker Safety Action Group which conclusively shows that there is absolutely no correlation between mega sports events and either sex trafficking or a dramatic increase in prostitution.  Also, the Swedish government funded a separate study which also demonstrated the falsity of the World Cup sex trafficking claims.  In 2006 the German authorities uncovered only five cases of “human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation” instead of the imaginary 40,000; in Tampa…there were NO arrests for prostitution during Super Bowl week, and according to this report from the  Vancouver Sun:

After the last four [Olympic] Games (Turin 2006, Athens 2004, Salt Lake City 2002, and Sydney 2000), there were almost no confirmed reports on the numbers of sex workers, level of violence or other associated factors.  Notably, almost all anecdotal reports suggested no obvious change in level of activity.  During the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, where sex work is legal, only a marginal increase in prostitution was reported.  In Salt Lake City, one confirmed report indicated that city licenses for escort services increased by only 12 per cent in the period leading up to the Winter Games.

In short, there is literally no evidence whatsoever for any measurable rise in prostitution during such events, much less thousands of trafficked sex slaves.

Regular readers may recall that after all the hype, the number of prostitution arrests in the Dallas area during last year’s Super Bowl week was typical of any other week, and the one single individual accused of “human trafficking” got the idea from the propaganda.  Texas officials tried to blame this utter and complete failure of their predictions on unseasonable weather and a supposed deterrent effect of all their “precautions”, but I doubt anyone other than die-hard “true believers” was fooled; for example,

…Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Bates said he did not expect a lot of human trafficking at the Super Bowl.  “In Dallas, they expected a big influx, but they saw a lot less than they thought they would,” said Bates, who went to Dallas and talked to police there.  “They had only a few arrests.”

Bates of course went on to make stupid statements about “prostitution unrelated to human trafficking [being] expected to rise” and equating stripping with hooking, but he also seems to comprehend that most whores aren’t streetwalkers.  Indiana attorney general Greg Zoeller is far more credulous and made the jaw-droppingly stupid statement that “There are limits to our hospitality, and certain activities are not welcome…Prostitution and human trafficking are way over the line” (presumably he believes that there are no resident hookers in Indiana), but even he seems to realize that not all whores are helpless victims.  Still, Governor Mitch Daniels is “concerned that the approaching Super Bowl will bring women and girls sold into sexual slavery” and state Senator Randy Head wants the legislature to “target…human traffickers who flood Super Bowl sites with teen prostitutes” by increasing the penalty for statutory rape (sex with a minor) to equal that for aggravated rape.  And apparently, there aren’t enough members of the Indiana legislature who don’t “believe the Super Bowl to be the biggest human trafficking event in the country, if not the world” to stop Head’s ill-conceived bill from sailing unanimously through the legislature just as nearly all sex-crime legislation does.

Perhaps the strangest aspect of this year’s Super Bowl hysteria is the concentration on meddling in the business affairs of hotels rather than indulging in the Texas-style “law and order” threats and swagger to which we were subjected so much last year.  A group called Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (whose founder’s horror stories strike me as very odd indeed) plans to use special bars of soap to fight “human traffickers” hiding in hotel lavatories, and a group of nuns (who unlike Sister Lynda Dearlove are unencumbered by any actual experience with real whores) has been annoying the managers of hundreds of hotels within an 80-km radius of Indianapolis with prying questions, and then further harassing those who give the “wrong” answers (or, presumably, tell them to mind their own business).

Of course, a lot of this moral panic is supported by the media, who repeat the bogus “trafficking” statistics and claims of marauding hordes of nomadic strumpets without so much as a qualifying statement, despite the fact that the studies disproving those claims can easily be found online in minutes.  Ah, well; sooner or later a few of the mainstream journalists will begin to wake up, and once that happens it’s all over but the shouting.  I wonder how many more annual invasions from the demimonde have to fail to appear before the American Fourth Estate comes out of its collective mental hibernation?

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