Spitzer's Lovely Lady
Submitted by Jerid on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 11:41pm.
http://www.myspace.com/ninavenetta
Like 10 people have IM'ed me the link, so I'm sure all y'all are interested too.
How is prostitution a
Submitted by jasono on Tue, 05/20/2008 - 1:27pm.
How is prostitution a victimless crime or crime at all shouldn't a woman have the choice to sell her self? Legal prostitution in other countries seems to work out just fine. I'm all for independent escorts and other such businesses. Women should have the same choice to sell sex no different then if they chose to be a porn star and get paid to have sex. How is porn any different than prostitution?
Problem with Prostitution
Submitted by Schmennis on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 1:42pm.
Prostitution is a sad state to end up in, whether you are talking about a womans rights or not .
Most times the women involved in it are addicted to drugs and have to work to support thier habit. It isn't all Julia Roberts "Pretty Woman."
The difficult thing about the whole sex trade (as I understand it) is the control women give up to organized crime....that controls it and them. Many times once a girl is lured into the job she can't get out.
Women' right to sell her body is over shadowed by all the baggage that comes with the profession, violence, drugs, organized crime..not to mention the detrimental effects on self-esteme and self worth.
Prostitution is illegal, as it should be.
Over the years I have had some clients that are strip club bar owners and I see some of the girls, they are a "hot mess."
They might look great at first glance but spend 10 minutes with many of them and you will see the sadness and drama they experience.
Not attractive and definitely not "hot."
"John's" that exploit their sadness for their own sexual gratification deserve to be in jail as do many producers of pornography.
I feel sad for the girls I have met because I wouldn't want my daughter to end up in that state.
Jasono, would you?
C'mon Jeff - Please Get Real
Submitted by Jerid on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 2:18pm.
No myth is perpetuated by BSB calling Spitzer's prostitute a "lovely lady." I don't think any suggestive young girl out there saw that I called Spitzer's prostitute a lovely lady and now has a softer image of the profession. I mean if so, we're in real trouble because the late shows are making hay over this one!
Maybe a little too sensitive here?
I'm Plenty Real, and I'm Perfectly Serious
Submitted by Ohio2006 on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 3:40pm.
You either stand up to something pernicious, or you don't. I realize there's a lot of lurid attention to this person going on in the media. But this is a progressive blog, and progressives should be about respecting women, in my opinion. There is a multi-mega-billion dollar industry out there, from pornography through prostitution to sex tourism and beyond, that is all about the sexual objectification of women and debasing and manipulating vulnerable young women for profit. The glamorization of prostitution in media and popular culture buys into a situation that is evil and ultimately harmful to women, as well as illegal, so that's why I object to calling her "Spitzer's Lovely Lady" and inviting readers to go look at her photographs.
God told me it was ok
Submitted by mvirenicus on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 11:05pm.
debasing and manipulating vulnerable young women for profit
I lived with a self-employed "call girl" during a year-long relationship in the very early 90s. Her clients were mainly airline pilots and traveling businessmen. She openly claimed to enjoy her occupation and I had no reason to doubt her. She long ago attained her bachelor's degree and currently works as a Management Analyst, whatever that is, for a state department of corrections. Ironic, no? I also understand she has since married a medical doctor, but that is unsubstantiated.
The only victim in that woman's vicinity during that long ago relationship was me. Victim of the heart, that is. 
Jeff, Calm Down
Submitted by Jerid on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:02pm.
I'll tell you what I stand for Jeff. Good government. Eliot Spitzer let down the people of New York, and I've been knocking him here over it since the first minute. I don't need your lectures on progressive politics and respecting women.
You may have a personal issue with the smut and prostitution business, that's fair enough. But expecting the rest of the world to cave at your over sensitive nature is a bit too much. There's nothing glamorous in the term "lovely lady" applied to the situation we've all watched unfold. Spitzer and this prostitution ring hurt the good people of New York - end of story. If you are mislead by the title, then that's your own problem.
And as for how looking at her myspace pictures is harmful - sigh - whatever. You better get a hold of the New York times, because they actually printed some of the photos instead of just linking to them.
There's plenty for Democrats to get up in arms about, especially with progressive politics. But sometimes we all get oversensitive. In the end that hurts our cause just as much as other detractions.
Musical interlude...
Submitted by davidmac2003 on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:34pm.
Lovely ladies, waiting for a bite / Waiting for the customers who only come at night.
Lovely ladies, ready for the call / Standing up or lying down or any way at all.
Bargain prices up against the wall!
Lovely ladies, waiting in the dark / Ready for a thick one or a quick one in the park
Long time short time, any time, my dear / Cost a little extra if you want to take all year!
Quick and cheap is underneath the pier!
Lovely lady! Fastest on the street / Wasn't there three minutes, she was back up on her feet.
Lovely lady, whatcha waiting for? / Doesn't take a lot of savvy just to be a whore.
Come on lady, what's a lady for?
Old men, young men, take 'em as they come / Harbor rats and alley cats and every kind of scum.
Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land / See them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand.
All it takes is money in your hand!
-Les Miserables
Pt. 2
Submitted by Brody on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 4:42pm.
Roxanne
You don't have to put on the red light
Those days are over
You don't have to sell your body to the night
Roxanne
You don't have to wear that dress tonight
Walk the streets for money
You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right
Roxanne
You don't have to put on the red light
I loved you since I knew you
I wouldn't talk down to you
I have to tell you just how I feel
I won't share you with another boy
I know my mind is made up
So put away your make up
Told you once I won't tell you again
It's a bad way
Roxanne
You don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne
You don't have to put on the red light
(In college we turned this song into a great drinking game)
Jerid, just say you used it to attract attention
Submitted by Jill on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 5:20pm.
And be done with it. Jeff represents many people's feelings - mine included - you know you know that that's true. You don't see it that way - big deal. Why do you have to write as though his perception is unique - it's not and you know that.
When I first read the post, it made no sense to me - if you received it from so many others, that only means that other people thought that you would be interested. You are guessing that since you were in fact interested, everyone else would be too?
Good guess - but what made you think we didn't all see it already too, just as 10 people emailed you about it?
If there's one thing that the BSB readers have in common, and I include myself, it's that we like to know what's going on. I'd bet you another dinner at my home - you pick the meal - that at least half of BSB's regular readers had already seen that photo and/or news before you posted the link.
And the unnecessary "lovely ladies" title.
good god, jill
Submitted by Tim Russo on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 5:40pm.
now we're not allowed to link to a picture of the woman who took down the governor of NY state? i'd say she's attracted enough attention on her own.
and by the way, how about jerid called her a lovely lady because IT'S TRUE. frankly, that's an understatement. she's a smokin hot BABE, worth every penny of the $4,300 per hour that spitzer paid her, and then some. hot. smoking hot. HOT.
"Eliot's Mess and the $200 Million Bailout"
Submitted by JeanLR on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 12:45pm.
"...Headlines in the financial press – one was “Wall Street Declares War on Spitzer” - made clear to Bush’s enforcers at Justice who their number one target should be. And it wasn’t Bin Laden...."
http://www.gregpalast.com/elliot-spitzer-gets-nailed/
The $200 billion bail-out for predator banks and Spitzer charges are intimately linked
"...The press has swallowed Wall Street’s line that millions of US families are about to lose their homes because they bought homes they couldn’t afford or took loans too big for their wallets. Ba-LON-ey. That’s blaming the victim...."
"...Now, what kind of American is ‘sub-prime.’ Guess. No peeking. Here’s a hint: 73% of HIGH INCOME Black and Hispanic borrowers were given sub-prime loans versus 17% of similar-income Whites. Dark-skinned borrowers aren’t stupid – they had no choice. They were ‘steered’ as it’s called in the mortgage sharking business.
"‘Steering,’ sub-prime loans with usurious kickers, fake inducements to over-borrow, called ‘fraudulent conveyance’ or ‘predatory lending’ under US law, were almost completely forbidden in the olden days (Clinton Administration and earlier) by federal regulators and state laws as nothing more than fancy loan-sharking."But when the Bush regime took over, Countrywide and its banking brethren were told to party hardy – it was OK now to steer’m, fake’m, charge’m and take’m.
"But there was this annoying party-pooper. The Attorney General of New York, Eliot Spitzer, who sued these guys to a fare-thee-well. Or tried to...."
"...Indeed, the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block Spitzer’s investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush’s banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.
Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup’s Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit centers. They did this through a bit of financial legerdemain called “securitization.”..."
continues-->
As a former mortgage broker
Submitted by Magi1 on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 1:49pm.
As a former mortgage broker and a loan officer for a finance company, I have to defend part of the mortgage industry. I used Countrywide when the people didn't quite have the credit to go conventional conforming ... they had some great rates! Although income was part of the factor of determining an interest rate, credit history was also used to determine the rate. LTV or loan to value also played a part. It really didn't matter if you were black, white, or purple ... we fit you on the matrix and that was what you got. Most people don't realize how important it is to pay your bills on time ... if you don't it dramatically affects the rate you get. As far as a lender being predatory, ei making a loan in order to be able to foreclose and take the house then reselling it for a profit, most lenders are prevented from making a profit on REO's, as was the company I was with. A foreclosure simply isn't worth the time ... we did everything to avoid them. But if someone thought they could slow pay and sit on our backsheet they had another thing comming. The worst loan we had on our books were from corperate 'Bulk Purchases' ... they were usually loans we had no control over put together with bailing wire by mortgage brokers. We pretty much knew they would go bad. The reason we got them is many CEO's had their pay tied to stock options, and they wanted to do everything to show the company was 'Growing' so they made these terrible purchases from banks like Bank One - home of the $150 drive-by appraisal ... those sub-prime purchases are comming home to roost now. To try to create a political spin on the banking crisis is wrong ... when loans were being approved to minorities everyone thought it was great! Now that things aren't going so well the banks are bad ... trust me, the banks don't want their homes, they want their money! Most of the blame does lye with mortgage brokers ... they had no vested interest in the lender or the home owner. Even if they built a loan they knew would go bad they still pushed it so they could get paid ... go after the brokers!
Please - Do Not Do This