It just seems strange the amount of attention a prostitution rings gets when there are far more pressing matters to be looked into. /shrug
NY Governor, Eliot Spitzer, To Resign
- Thread starter superstring01
- Start date
countezero
Registered Senior Member
There are more important matters for law enforcement to look into than a multi-state ring of prostitution?
The fact Spitzer was caught up in their investigation seems irrelevant to this point. It's the job of law enforcement to investigate this kind of thing, and this, by all accounts was no small criminal enterprise. The Feds wouldn't have wasted their time if it was.
The fact Spitzer was caught up in their investigation seems irrelevant to this point. It's the job of law enforcement to investigate this kind of thing, and this, by all accounts was no small criminal enterprise. The Feds wouldn't have wasted their time if it was.
alright goodtimes...
countezero
Registered Senior Member
Another charlatan bites the dust...
I dont believe I ever defended him. /shrug
Which is perfectly OK, if you are the mailman. But if you are a politican and an ex-attorney, who chastised other people for their morals....
See where I am going???Had he been a single guy, only a misdemanour, but mommy was waiting home with 3 kids...
Seriously people, what the fuck is so hard to see in it bad?
superstring01
Moderator
Really, then why all the hubbub in "liberal France" about Sarkozy's recent love life?
Well, the real issue is the fact that Spitzer WAS the "morality police" and fined and imprisoned people as AG of NY for years all the while he was balls-deep in numerous whores.
He should be locked up next to people he put away.
~String
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Bells
Staff member
That's the thing, isn't it? He was the moral police and had, in the past, prosecuted prostitution rings as well as other white collar crimes and the mob. All while engaging in the crimes he was prosecuting others for.
I would be more interested to know what money he used, and most importantly, where that money came from. Also how he paid for it and whether any money trail was concealed by him and/or others in his staff.
superstring01
Moderator
Just an update. While perusing various media sites, I came across this fact: this is a big deal EVERYWHERE too, not just in the States.
From El Pais, front page (Spain):
From The Timeshttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/global/ (global edition, UK):
It was also on the front page (today) on The Economist, Reuters, The Australian, and numerous other news sites.
So, it's apparently pretty important around the world. Sex scandals sell... everywhere.
~String
From El Pais, front page (Spain):
From The Timeshttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/global/ (global edition, UK):
It was also on the front page (today) on The Economist, Reuters, The Australian, and numerous other news sites.
So, it's apparently pretty important around the world. Sex scandals sell... everywhere.
~String
superstring01
Moderator
Wow. You hit it right on the head. Goose-stepping and everything! Especially the "Sieg Heil" part. I see that all the time. We're so lucky that you grace us with your cutting insight and deapth of knowledge.
Moreover, you're cut against George Bush is a tactless red herring. GW has nothing to do with this. The position of AG is very independent from the POTUS for obvious reasons. This does not imply that Bush could not influence the AG to pursue this case, but the fact is, even under a Democratic president, what Spitzer did was illegal. Not enforcing the law is considered contrary to the very postion of law enforcement. You can attempt to twist this into a political issue all you want, but the fact is, it's a legal one.
Let me make it simple for you: the guy broke the law. That you disagree with the law is another issue altogether (I, too, think that prostitution should be legalized). Moreover, he PUT PEOPLE IN PRISON FOR BREAKING THE LAW. He put people in prison for breaking the law that HE BROKE. This goes beyond "re-election" issues and "morality police".
Americans, for all their faults (along with most nations on Earth) tend to think that prostitution is bad and should remain illegal. That's how the process works. That Americans have beliefs different from you or me is inconsequential.
Spitzer was elected to enforce the laws of the state he lived in and then was re-elected based upon that record. During his tenure in both positions (AG and Governor), he then broke those laws. His crime was twofold: he broke the law as a citizen, and then enforced those laws on other citizens.
That's the issue.
~String
On ethnic/racial violence
No, not specifically. It gets pretty crazy elsewhere, too. Like Kenya. Americans tend to think of race as being defined by very obvious indicators: skin color and the shape of eyes, for instance (e.g. white/black, Asian, &c.). In Kenya, "ethnic groups" are killing one another. Rwanda was billed as a "genocide" event sparked by disputes between "ethnic groups". I admit, I don't know my "ethnic groups" in Africa very well. It's not so much that "they all look the same". The musician Seal, for instance, is of Nigerian (Ibo or Yoruba, maybe?) descent and looks much different than people in Egypt (Nubian?), Kenya (e.g., Kikuyu, Luo), or the southern part of the continent (insert ethnic group name here). To the other, it's kind of like the idea of the Germans attacking the French and English and calling it ethnic strife. And, as I recall, there are divisions among Mexicans that are regional, at least, if not ethnic, but I don't know a whole lot about that.
Perhaps the American dynamic is unique, but I'm not ready to make that case one way or the other.
Challenger78 said:
No, not specifically. It gets pretty crazy elsewhere, too. Like Kenya. Americans tend to think of race as being defined by very obvious indicators: skin color and the shape of eyes, for instance (e.g. white/black, Asian, &c.). In Kenya, "ethnic groups" are killing one another. Rwanda was billed as a "genocide" event sparked by disputes between "ethnic groups". I admit, I don't know my "ethnic groups" in Africa very well. It's not so much that "they all look the same". The musician Seal, for instance, is of Nigerian (Ibo or Yoruba, maybe?) descent and looks much different than people in Egypt (Nubian?), Kenya (e.g., Kikuyu, Luo), or the southern part of the continent (insert ethnic group name here). To the other, it's kind of like the idea of the Germans attacking the French and English and calling it ethnic strife. And, as I recall, there are divisions among Mexicans that are regional, at least, if not ethnic, but I don't know a whole lot about that.
Perhaps the American dynamic is unique, but I'm not ready to make that case one way or the other.
On a side note, the Lt. Governor could become the first blind governor.
Ya sure, he broke a stupid law. If Bush jay walks in Biloxi, Missisippi he broke the law and should resign. If Clinton does 35 mph in a 30 mph zone she should resign. If McCain spits on the sidewalk in Shelby, Montana he breaks the law and should resign. If Kennedy guzzles a beer in a public park he should resign.
Americans have a hang up about sex. It can't be about protecting society as the rate of sexual assault and teenage pregnancy is higher in the USA than in Sweden or Italy or any other western democracy where the population doesn't cower from an exposed nipple.
Bizarre societal norms in 2008.
Americans have a hang up about sex. It can't be about protecting society as the rate of sexual assault and teenage pregnancy is higher in the USA than in Sweden or Italy or any other western democracy where the population doesn't cower from an exposed nipple.
Bizarre societal norms in 2008.
Bells
Staff member
You aren't getting it.
He prosecuted those involved in prostitution rings while he himself was quietly transferring money to one such ring, for 'services'. It is not that he simply broke the stupid law. It is the hypocrisy of his actively seeking to prosecute others who have broken the same law, while he was doing exactly the same thing as those he sought to put in jail.
An analogy would be akin to a person who worked tirelessly for the protection of children from sexual predators while going home and having sex with his 8 year old daughter.
!!!!! you really believe that? At least now I understand the mentality of Americans towards consensual sex between adults...you equate it with the evils of pedophilia.
Americans are even twisted in their attitude towards sex.
Crimes of consent
I think you're overstating the analogy, Bells. Prostitution is what we in the U.S. call a "consensual crime". Unlike rape or assault, consensual crimes (including gambling and drug use) are considered to be "without a victim". I'm not sure what the Australian parlance would be.
(Note: A more existential consideration of victimization would hold consensual crimes to have victims, but we're working with a very basic definition for the moment. After all, a more existential consideration of victimization would hold that religion or suntanning have victims.)
That seems a bit of a non sequitur.
I think you're overstating the analogy, Bells. Prostitution is what we in the U.S. call a "consensual crime". Unlike rape or assault, consensual crimes (including gambling and drug use) are considered to be "without a victim". I'm not sure what the Australian parlance would be.
(Note: A more existential consideration of victimization would hold consensual crimes to have victims, but we're working with a very basic definition for the moment. After all, a more existential consideration of victimization would hold that religion or suntanning have victims.)
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Oreodont said:
That seems a bit of a non sequitur.