I’m Not The Only One

Since March is Women’s History Month, I think it would be appropriate to address an issue which affects women worldwide and has done so for centuries: prostitution.

20/20 aired a fantastic special titled “Prostitution in America: Working Girls Speak“, most likely because of the recent scandal involving now de-throned New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and various encounters with expensive prostitutes. Despite heckles and snide remarks (I can’t believe you’re watching this!) from my mother and my fiancee which ultimately sent me retreating to the TV in my bedroom, I managed to watch most of this amazing piece of investigative journalism.

A portion of this special has been uploaded to YouTube and I highly recommend watching it because it is, to my knowledge, the most unbiased and in-depth hour of quality news reporting I’ve ever seen on the subject.

People who are close to me know that I am in favor of legalized (and regulated) prostitution through the control of red light districts. Regardless of what they think of hookers and the sex trade itself, no one I’ve spoken to has ever been able to refute my argument. I’m in favor of legalized prostitution because as a libertarian I don’t believe that it should be illegal for two adults to engage in any mutually consenting exchange of money for services. But on a more personal level, I support legalized prostitution because the trade’s current illegal status in most parts of the world cause pimps, customers and police (all of whom are men) alike to physically, emotionally and psychologically abuse prostitutes (almost all of whom are women) and strip them of their basic civil rights and freedom over their own bodies.

Although I’ve never personally worked in the sex trade, I’ve become intimately familiar with those who do for the following reasons:

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 Why do local reporters insist that “all New Yorkers” are still in shock over the Eliot Spitzer resignation? Spitzer’s s a hypocrite, a lawbreaker and an unfaithful husband. I get it. Can we move on? Especially since a state budget has to be passed by April 1?

Frankly, I was over it the minute I first heard the news. I am so ready for a governor of color it’s not even funny. I voted for Carl McCall, the former State Comptroller (an African-American) ran for Governor back in 2002 and lost Republican incumbent George Pataki. Although I did vote for Spitzer and think he was a pretty good lawyer (in comparison to Pataki, but a law breaker cannot be a law maker, especially a law maker known for launching crusades against corporate and government corruption in this state.

Also, can the New York media stop insinuating that Gov. Paterson is going to hire an all-black administration? Of course, they don’t actually say “black” but rather refer to Paterson’s years as a State Senator representing Harlem. This is an indirect reference to former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, who upon election in 1989 immediately assigned the positions of the city’s School Chancellor, Police Commissioner and other appointed city officials to African-Americans. So the assumption by the local media is that any person of color in a position of power will probably fill their administration completely, if not predominantly, with members of their own ethnic group.

This mentality may have contributed to Barack Obama’s lackluster performance in the New York Democratic Primary this past February, in addition of course, to new York being Hillary Clinton’s “home state”. This ill-conceived notion is further justified by the fact that Paterson’s father was a friend of Mayor Dinkins and that both father and son was supporters of Dinkins’ mayoral campaigns.

On a side note, even if politicians of color were to have staffs consisting primarily or completely of members of their own ethnic group, who cares? I didn’t hear anyone complaining for all the years that white politicians did that, even when their constituency comprised of many ethnically diverse groups. For the record, Paterson plans to keep many key members of Spitzer’s administration. Hey, it’s not like they got caught with high-price hookers, too.

This is a lot of hype, the idea that New Yorkers are still in shock over the scandal leading to Eliot Spitzer’s resignation. I don’t care, I’m over it, and I can’t wait for David Patterson (who I suspect is a closet libertarian) to be sworn in today as Governor of New York.

But on at least one issue, Mr. Paterson breaks from liberal orthodoxy. He is passionately in favor of school choice and has even spoken at two conferences held by the Alliance for School Choice. At one, he pulled off the rare feat of quoting both Martin Luther King Jr. and individualistic philosopher Ayn Rand approvingly in the same speech. -Wall Street Journal

For any of the gringos (African-Americans are gringos, too!) who place their faith in the myth of the anti-Obama Latino vote, please note that early last month, Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila officially endorsed Barack Obama for President. By now most Americans know that the Puerto Rican Primary will be the held June 7. For those of you familiar with Puerto Rico, it is a U.S. colony which was taken from the Spaniards (who treated Puerto Ricans far worse than the Americans ever could have) as a sort of consolation prize (along with Cuba, the Philippines and Guam) at the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898. The Jones Act of 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico residents, but historically anyone living in Puerto Rico cannot vote for President and do not pay federal taxes. However, in the last few years, Puerto Rico residents have been forced to pay federal taxes and I believe this is the main reason why they are now being allowed to participate in the Presidential Primary. However, Puerto Rico has no electoral districts and therefore cannot cast electoral or popular votes in the general election, but the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico has been authorized to have about 63 delegates.

Governor Acevedo-Vila praised Senator Obama as the leader to unite America and move forward on a progressive agenda for change, while advocating for the interests of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in particular. Citing Senator Obama’s commitments on several key issues, including economic development and job creation in Puerto Rico, and the future relationship of the Commonwealth and the United States, Governor Acevedo-Vila today issued the following statement after receiving a letter from Senator Obama.

“Today I announce my endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. Not only is he the right leader for Puerto Ricans, but he is the right leader for the Hispanic community and the right leader to unite all Americans. He has the determination to make our collective future great.

Senator Obama demonstrates the strongest commitment to Puerto Rico that we have seen in recent times in U.S. politics. Most importantly, he has pledged to me that as President he will work to advance job creation and economic development in Puerto Rico-my highest priorities as Governor.

Puerto Rico’s Commonwealth relationship with the United States is a treasured part of our identity and a critical tool for achieving our economic development goals. Senator Obama respects and supports Puerto Ricans’ right to an unbiased, transparent self-determination process, which may include a constitutional convention or plebiscite, should Puerto Ricans reevaluate our status with the United States. He rejects the recent assertions made by a controversial Presidential Task Force on Puerto Rico which falsely declared our Commonwealth status as unconstitutional and which would force Puerto Ricans to choose between only statehood and full independence from the United States. Senator Obama believes that our fate as U.S. citizens should remain in our own hands.

Senator Obama shares my goals for improving access to affordable healthcare through Medicaid and other federal health care assistance programs, and providing quality education for all Puerto Ricans. Additionally, he has pledged his commitment to ensure the proper clean-up of the U.S. Navy site on Vieques, the health of Vieques’ people and the successful use of this land.

Senator Clinton has been a valued friend to Puerto Ricans on the island and U.S. mainland, including many in New York. Her support cannot go unrecognized and on behalf of all Puerto Ricans, I thank her for her leadership.

Great leaders like Senator Obama are defined by their visionary leadership but also by their willingness to listen to, and learn from, the voices of citizens. The four million Puerto Ricans on the Island, along with the our million across the U.S. mainland, are seeking such a leader as President. Senator Obama has answered our call, by hearing Puerto Ricans’ desire to advance our economic, social and political aspirations. I am proud to endorse Barack Obama for President.”

This photo is obviously a fake; I found it on Craigslist.

Probably the funniest aspect of the photo is the image of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton under the monitor on the left. I laughed for a good three minutes when I saw this, and I figured you would too.

Enjoy!

Also, check out this spitzer-ized spoof on the Untouchables.

Damn, looks like my home state of New York is getting its first governor of color!

By now, most Americans have learned that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was found to be a client of a multi-million dollar high-class prostitution ring that was being investigated by the FBI. Ironically, as New York’s Attorney General, Spitzer had also conducted his share of raids on prostitution rings in the Big Apple. While Gov. Spitzer has not said so yet, he has stated that he will spend “some time regaining the trust of his family” and this is a Democratic governor who was unpopular with state legislators from both parties. The Republican-dominated New York State Senate is calling for his resignation, and the Democrat-dominated State Assembly is not defending him one bit.

If Spitzer resigns as expected, his Lt. Governor David Patterson will become Governor. Patterson is African-American and legally blind, and will be the first black and/or disabled New York Governor in the state’s history. It’s too bad that this is the only way New York gets its first governor of color. I say this because in 2002 Democrat H. Carl McCall, the state’s then-Comptroller, ran against the incumbent governor, Republican George Pataki. Unfortunately, McCall, who is African-American, only got 33 percent of the vote despite the fact that scores of white Democrats Downstate said they would support him, which is when I first learned that white voters will support a black candidate in public and cast their vote for a white candidate in the privacy of the voting booth.

A primer on New York State politics: The state is divided into two geopolitical factions: Upstate New York and New York City/Long Island, commonly referred to as Downstate. Upstate is heavy with Republicans and Downstate is heavy with Democrats, and in gubernatorial elections candidates’ party affiliation match the part of New York State they are from. Generally speaking, when the Governor is from Downstate, Republican and Upstate residents expect to get screwed, and vice versa when the Governor is from Upstate.

George Pataki who is from Upstate New York was Governor for 12 years, defeating numerous Democratic challengers including McCall. He worked hard to cut funding from the State University and shortened state-based college financial aid to fund the expansion of the state’s prison system, and as Governor Pataki was one of three men (the others being the heads of the State Senate and Assembly) who reigned over what the  New York University School of Law ranked in 2004 as the most dysfunctional state legislature in all 50 states in a nationwide survey of state legislatures. Did I mention that he and Rudy Giuliani used to cross-endorse each other during their perspective campaigns?  Like his boyfriend Rudy. he too was fixing to run for the Republican nomination for the 2008 Presidential election.  There are far more faults in Pataki’s tenure as Governor to point out, too many to mention here.

But if Spitzer does indeed step down from his position, as so many New York Republicans are asking him to do, New York will indeed have its first black Governor.  He may not have been elected to the position, but we’ll take what we can get.

And in case you’re wondering, the title of this post isn’t an actual question, but more of a play on the classic  “Is America ready for a black President?”

I’ve been a fan of Bill Maher since his ABC show “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher” and I am an avid viewer of his latest show on HBO “Real Time With Bill Maher”.

However I was disappointed with some things he has said on his show, things that make him sound really ignorant. I’ve posted the following onto the HBO.com Real Time message boards because apparently Bill and his staff read these postings.  I figured I’d also post it here.

Bill Maher-Out of Touch With Latinos
Mar 9, 2008 5:07 PM

I am a Latino and I’ve been a fan of Bill Maher since Politically Incorrect, but I’ve always been a bit disappointed on his coverage of Latino issues and Latino guests. For one thing, the only Latino guests I’ve ever seen on either of his shows were Cristina Saralegui, Vicente Fox (the Mexican ex-President with the German last name) and that Cuban-American Congresswoman from Florida, three of the whitest Latinos I’ve ever met. Why not Carlos Mencia, Tego Calderon, Nydia Velazquez, Bill Richardson or Antonio Villagrosa?

Second, I was really disappointed last Friday to see that Bill has bought into the mainstream media-propagated bullshit regarding the Latino vote being against Barack Obama? Last week he “caucused” some Mexican-Americans in Texas and kept saying “But don’t Latinos have a problem with black people?” “Would your parents have a problem if you brought home a black guy?” and even whined “Why won’t any Latinos admit that there is a blood feud between Latinos and blacks?!?” Nobody will admit to something that doesn’t exist, Bill. Bill Maher was looking for Black-Latino tensions the way George Bush was looking for WMDs in Iraq. And in both cases,

I find it fascinating that everyone is an expert on the Latino vote except for Latinos. Eating at Taco Bell does not make you an expert on the Latino vote. And the whole rumor about tensions between blacks and Latinos came from the Clinton campaign, which was obviously a successful effort to divide and conquer, which is how white people have defeated people of color for hundreds of years.

I am an Obama supporter, and I have found that Latinos, although supportive of minority candidates in local elections will vote for the Democratic leadership in Presidential elections. Obama is not part of the DNC leadership, but the Clintons certainly are. Also, Obama began his Latino vote outreach much later than Hillary did, plus the Clintons are obviously well known to the Latino community for a much longer time.

I think this whole reporting of the so-called friction between the black and Latino communities are based on isolated incidents and are an accurate reflection of the abysmal lack of mainstream news coverage of the Latino community and a sign of lazy reporting in general, which has become the norm in this country. I’m very disappointed that Bill Maher of all people has stopped thinking for himself and has joined the chorus of the ignorant in declaring themselves experts on Black-Latino relations. I found it ironic that in his New Rules for last week he mentioned that people should not listen to outrageous rumors just because it was said on television or the Internet. I guess he picks and chooses which rumors to follow blindly.

Many white people did not vote for Obama either; should this suggest a “blood feud” between the white and black communities?

Last month Hispanic Pundit blogged about Steven E. Landsburg, a professor of Economics at the University of Rochester who went on Fox News and theorized that anyone who advocates for Americans to buy only American-made products is no different than someone who would advocate that certain jobs be made available to white people only. His thesis? Listen to the rhetoric of the “Buy American” crowd and if you replace the word “American” with the word “white” it sounds a lot like racism.

The professor makes a valid point although it is a bit of a stretch, but it got me to thinking: if protectionism of American labor is akin to racism, wouldn’t the support of amending the U.S. Constitution to strictly define marriage as only being between one man and one woman be similar to ethnocentrism?

Let me explain.

While God and spirituality are universal in all His/Her and its forms, it is agreed that religion (Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Protestantism, Mormonism, Santeria, Voodo, Bhuddism, Shintoism, Wicca, etc.) is a man made construct which is tied to a particular culture or group. Christianity is the main religion of Europeans, those in the Western Hemisphere whose ancestors came from Europe or whose ancestors were captured and forced into cultural assimilation by Europeans. Since mainstream Christianity, at least in the United States defines marriage exclusively as being between one man and woman, wouldn’t something like the Defense Of Marriage Act be similar to legislative ethnocentrism and outright prejudice and intolerance towards the values of other cultures and religions? (more…)