They Get Younger And Younger

The johns, we mean. A 13 year-old boy was busted for soliciting an undercover cop.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An undercover officer posing as a prostitute in Alabama tried more than once to run off a 13-year-old boy who asked her for sex, but police say the teen insisted and had to be arrested.

Authorities in Mobile said Wednesday the teenager has been charged with a misdemeanor count of loitering while looking for a prostitute. The next-youngest suspect nabbed in the sting was 22.

Police set up the sting in a residential area last week because of complaints about prostitutes trolling for business. Officer Christopher Levy says it's not clear exactly what the teen said to the officer, or how she responded.

Bravo, kid. We wish we had that much balls when we were young.

Catch Phillie Fever! And Possibly An STD!

In other sports-related news, I would be remiss if I didn't blog this story from the New York Post:

A rabid Philadelphia fan -- apparently believing the "P" on the team's cap stands for "prostitution" -- was busted yesterday for offering sex in exchange for World Series tickets, police said.

Susan Finkelstein, 43, was nabbed after allegedly soliciting an undercover Bensalem, Pa., cop who answered her innuendo-laced craigslist ad seeking the coveted ducats.

The married Finkelstein posted her ad -- with a subject line that read, "DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX (Philadelphia)" -- on Monday in the "tickets for sale/wanted" section.

Describing herself as a "Diehard Phillies fan" and "gorgeous tall buxom blonde," Finkelstein said she was "in desperate need" of two tickets to see the Phillies play the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park.

Then came the zinger: "Price negotiable -- I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!"

The suggestive line caught the attention of a Web-trolling cop, who set up a meeting at a Bucks County bar.

The officer said he had one ticket, but when Finkelstein said she needed two, the cop said his brother might have an extra, Bucks County Public Safety Director Fred Harran told The Post.

"She offered to take care of both men," Harran said.

Asked what specific activities Finkelstein offered, Harran said, "Let's just say she wanted to go around the bases the other way."[emphasis added.]

Her lawyer, while claiming his client is innocent, neverthless explains: "She's a rabid fan who, if anything, was overcome with Phillies fever."

Read the whole story, with pic, here.

In other New York Post prostitution reporting, we learn that Eliot Spitzer's favorite hooker is now working at the Scores strip joint as a cocktail waitress.

Do Everything The Nice Officer Tells You

Not exactly news: A woman is arrested for leading a double life as a prostitute by night. News: Her day job was as a cop.

Blue Light Specials In Red Light District

The recession is hurting Amsterdam's prostitutes so bady that they have been forced to discount themselves like they were mini Wal-Marts:

Eva, a 25-year-old prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district, gestures angrily in the direction of a rival who has slashed her rates as the economic crisis emboldens sex tourists to haggle.

"People like her make it very difficult for the rest of us," scowled the tall, blonde Estonian in skimpy black-and-white lingerie as she dragged on a cigarette while posing for men passing the window in which she offers herself.

"Some of the girls are now doing it for 30 euros (A$70). My price is still 50 euros, but the men are playing us off against each other. Some want to pay only 20 euros," she said.

Eva is not the only one complaining.

As the credit crunch keeps away sightseers and business travellers, owners of brothels, escort agencies and sex shops grumble that visitors who still do indulge in the pleasures of the flesh are increasingly tight-fisted.

They haven't been helped by the fact that Amsterdam has been busily trying to destroy its own tourism industry:

Last December, Amsterdam's city officials announced plans to halve the total 482 prostitutes' windows in the centre in a multi-million-euro revamp that would also involve shuttering many cannabis-vending coffee shops, another tourist drawcard.

Officials claim the two vices, in themselves not illegal, attract elements of organised crime. But observers have pointed to a growing Dutch conservatism.

Glenn Quagmire, You Have The Right To Remain Silent ...

Will Rhode Island now be monitoring what goes on in your bedroom? Looks like it :

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island could soon end a dubious distinction of being the only place outside certain counties in Nevada where indoor prostitution is legal.

House lawmakers voted 62-8 on Wednesday to close a loophole in state law, which criminalizes the solicitation of sexual acts in the street but not behind closed doors. It now heads for a vote in the Senate, where identical legislation is pending.

***

Rhode Island never expressly legalized prostitution and has several statutes meant to discourage the world's oldest profession.

Instead, lawmakers goofed in 1980 when they revamped a statute making it illegal for people to engage in prostitution in or near the street. The law also prohibits stopping vehicles and people to solicit sex. Nothing in the statute explicitly prohibited prostitution that occurs indoors, however.

Giannini's bill would end that distinction. If it becomes law, prostitutes could be punished by a prison term of up to six months in prison and a maximum $1,000 fine for a first offense. Subsequent convictions would carry a prison term of up to one year and similar fines.

That's 6 months in prison and $1,000 for doing something indoors with the shades pulled down.

Craigslist's Buckmaster Goes Down, And Cheaply Too

Last month I sold my car through Craigslist. Why that way? Mainly because Craigslist doesn't charge you if you want to advertise a car. They only charge for two things: Job listings and "erotic services".

Well, scratch one of those:

CHICAGO - (AP) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says that Craigslist is getting rid of its "erotic services" ads and will create a new adult category that Web site employees will review.

Madigan's office said Wednesday that such existing ads on Craigslist will expire in seven days.

Madigan and the attorneys general for Connecticut and Missouri met with Craigslist officials last week seeking an end to ads they contend are advertisements for illegal sexual activities.

An e-mail sent to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

Craigslist came under renewed pressure to remove the ads after a medical student in Boston was charged with the April killing of a masseuse he met on the site.

As Rob has already pointed out, these ads are far better than the alternative, forcing the girls to walk the streets where their chances of a meeting a guy like the Craigslist killer are about 100% higher.

I suggest we start a fundraising drive for Buckmaster to help him afford a pair of testicles, 'cause he obviously needs a pair. Who's with me?

Prostitutes: Keep Our Profession Illegal!

The mayor of Las Vegas is pushing to legalize prostitution in the city by creating an official red light district. Why? Well, for the children of course. And by "for the children" he means "I want to tax the hookers":

[Mayor Oscar] Goodman said, “I’ve met with folks from that industry who make a very compelling argument that it could generate 200 million a year in tax dollars, and that would buy a lot of textbooks, pay for a lot of teachers.”

So what do the hookers think of paying more taxes and being forced to work in brothels instead of independently? Shockingly, they are not thrilled one told the L.A. Times:

"Since many customers are critically concerned with discretion and prostitutes prefer their 'freedom,' I believe the idea may appear much more appealing than the reality of the situation and what is necessary to make it happen."
***
In any other industry, the brothel system itself would seem obviously a bad deal for the workers. The brothels charge room and board to the workers for lodging as well as take up to half the money earned by them from customers, technically often including tips. So, you could in theory work a week and lose money after you pay your rent to the brothel. Women have no privacy rights even in their rented rooms which can be searched by the brothel owners for hidden cash or drugs at any time. The sacrifice of "freedom" is real.

Others strongly object to the money. One local high-end illegal escort I reached who opposes legal brothels in Vegas told me: "I would never give a brothel owner half of what I earn, that is a legal word for pimp."

One Way Or Another He Was Determined To Get People To Shout "Oh, God!"

Here's one for the you-cannot-make-this-shit-up file: The ex-director of Ohio's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives has been arrested on charges he was running a prostitution ring. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

COLUMBUS -- A man once hired by Gov. Ted Strickland to head a state office because of his ties to Ohio's religious community stands accused of being involved in an online prostitution ring.

Robert Eric McFadden, former director of Strickland's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, was arrested Wednesday morning in the Columbus suburb of Dublin. He has been charged with seven felonies, including pandering obscenities involving a minor, promoting prostitution and compelling prostitution, according to a Columbus Police Department spokesman.

Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Weiner confirmed that the 46-year-old is the same person who worked for Strickland.

McFadden headed the faith-based office for nine months before taking a demotion and a pay cut for a short-lived job as an administrative assistant with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Police believe that McFadden was the man they have been looking for in connection with a prostitution ring that was run from Craig's List, according to a report on the Web site of Columbus television station WCMH. Police cracked the ring when men involved in a Web site that posts reviews of prostitutes held a raffle for sex at a brothel near downtown Columbus.

TtP noted that bust at the time, calling it the "cutting edge of pimping". We had no idea. Again from the Plain Dealer:

For years, police have noticed a man involved in prostitute discussion boards under the names of Sullivant Guy, Broad Street Guy and Toby, according to a report in the Columbus Dispatch. They now apparently believe that man is McFadden.

An academic adviser at Ohio State University and a sex-abuse caseworker at Franklin County Children Services recently were arrested in connection with the ring.

McFadden was hired by the Strickland administration in February 2007 and paid an annual salary of $75,000. Strickland knew McFadden before he was elected governor in November 2006.

"He is someone that had been engaged in work in the faith community for a long time and was someone very known by people in the faith community, and that led to his hire," said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman. Dailey called McFadden "well-regarded."

A local TV station adds a bit of color to this story:

[Police] said he was one of the main organizers and the “guru” of Columbus prostitution, writing reviews of their services and advising Johns on how not to get caught.

***

Police also said McFadden was the go-to guy in Columbus when it came to prostitution.

This Week In Prostitution

This is a little late (sorry, Christmas shopping) but here's the latest from 'round the world.

Update: Amsterdam Destroys Its Own Tourism Industry -- Yeah, like you ever went there just to see Anne Frank's House. From the AP:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Amsterdam unveiled plans Saturday to close up to half of the famed brothels and marijuana cafes in its ancient city center as part of a major cleanup operation.

The city says it wants to drive organized crime out of the district, and is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including prostitution, gambling parlors, "smart shops" that sell herbal treatments, head shops and "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold openly.

"I think that the new reality will be more in line with our image as a tolerant and crazy place, rather than a free zone for criminals" said alderman Lodewijk Asscher, one of the main proponents of the plan.

The city said it would also reduce the number of business it sees as related to the "decay" of the center, including peep shows, sex theaters, sex shops, mini supermarkets, massage parlors and souvenir shops.

San Francisco Not Helping Itself Either -- Not sure how I managed to overlook this before but in the election San Francisco residents decided against legalizing sex work in the city. Geez, are you guys queer or something?:

Not quite everything goes in San Francisco.

Voters in this liberal bastion have turned down a measure that would have barred police from arresting prostitutes.

San Francisco couldn't technically legalize since it's against state law, but Proposition K would have barred local authorities from investigating, arresting or prosecuting anyone for selling sex.

Advocates say the measure would have freed up to $11 million the police spend each year arresting prostitutes, and allow sex workers to form collectives to defend their rights and safety.

The Cutting Edge of Pimpin' -- Two Ohio men were busted after they engaged in a rather novel form of entrepreneurialism. From the Columbus Dispatch:

Rusty Blades, 42, a Hamilton Township real-estate agent who bought the house in December 2007, is among three people who have been arrested after a party at the house on Oct. 11 in which police said seven prostitutes mingled with customers who had posted reviews of their services online.

***

Blades was arrested Friday and charged with promoting prostitution. Christopher S. Johnson, 33, an adviser at the Ohio State University College of Nursing, also was arrested Friday on the same charges.

Police say Johnson started the Web site that featured prostitute reviews and set up a $10-a-chance raffle that offered sex with a top-rated prostitute as its prize.

The Libertarian Case Against Prostitution? -- Yes, someone has tried to make that argument. Here's the column. Debate amongst yourselves:

The bottom line is that black market prostitution is legitimately a social evil — it has risks for its costumers, makes the lives of its lower echelon of providers miserable, and produces all sorts of problems for those not even involved in it. A-ha! you say, but that is black market prostitution, and if we legalized prostitution, we could eradicate black market prostitution and have transparent and regulated prostitution. From what I have read, legal prostitution is no picnic either, but I have no personal observations of it, so I will skip that point. My main concern is precisely that legalizing prostitution will not eliminate black market prostitution.

In Malaysia, It Is Safer To See A Prostitute Than To Sleep With Your Wife. -- This one is not a joke:

Kuala Lumpur: HIV infections among women in Malaysia are on the rise and more housewives than sex workers have been found to contract AIDS, according to a new report that has health planners worried.

Prostitution-Related Headline of the Day -- "Boy George 'was too fat to be able to attack male escort'". Enough said.

Client #9 Is Back In The Game, Baby

Meet the media's latest financial columnist:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned earlier this year over his involvement in a prostitution ring, will write a column for online magazine Slate.com about the economy and financial regulation.

The column, which will be called "The Best Policy," will appear every other week, Slate Group Editor Jacob Weisberg told Reuters in an interview.

Excuse me, but what does this guy know about finance? He's the only Jew ever to have paid above retail price for something, for crying out loud.

Oh well, at least this time he'll only be able to screw over his new employers at Slate.com.

So, will Spitzer write the only column by him that I am interested in reading? The answer is maybe:

David Plotz, who edits Slate.com, said Spitzer has not said whether he will write about the events leading to his resignation, but, "if he chooses to write about that in Slate, we'd be happy to publish it."

UPDATE: Here's his first column, and, no, it is not about hookers. It's about why the bailouts are a bad idea. Maybe there is hope for the guy yet.

This Week In Prostitution

Once again, we here at TtP are dedicated to bringing you the latest news in the vitally important economic sector. So here we go, sailor:

Ho's Down, Economic Indicators Up in Middle East -- Here's one of those stories that makes you wonder how exactly the reporter did his research. It's headlined Prostitutes in Syria raise prices, improve services.

Defying the worldwide economic downturn, prostitutes in Syria are experiencing boom times as more robust economic activity in Syria has created a booming market for their profession due to an inflow of investments in the private sector that have increased the disposable incomes that fund entertainment and indulgence.

Prostitutes in Syria hoping to cash into the economic boom are accordingly raising their prices and improving their highly sought services for better customer satisfaction as the demand for prostitution peaks.

"Prostitution is gradually becoming a legitimate profession, considered mainly as part of tourism."

From AlArabiya.net.

Ho's Down, Economic Indicators Down In Nevada -- Things are worse here in the states, where even in the popular places more and more people are getting laid off as opposed to getting laid:

The Mustang Ranch is a multimillion-dollar business and, despite the unique product, it's run with sophistication and a keen eye on the profit margin. Austin is a former prostitute and shrewd businesswoman who never goes anywhere without her German guard dog named Cita. These days, she is worried. Despite strong demand, the clients are spending less money.

"Well, recently, business has dropped off dramatically dollar-wise, a lot of men coming in, a lot of parties, but less money," she said. "They don't have as much to spend."

***

The irony for Austin is that while the money is drying up, more women are applying for jobs. "And the age group is going older," she said. "I had a 72-year-old apply for a job."

She says the poor economy has forced her to lay off 30 percent of her staff, unheard of in a business generally regarded as a printing press for making money.

Read the whole story here.

Child Prostitution Stings Nab Adult Prostitutes -- The FBI and the Justice Department operates a program called "Innocence Lost," which is intended to combat child prostitution. It has task forces set up in 23 cities around the country. So how are they doing? Well ABC News sent a news crew along to one of their stings. What they discovered is that the task force is a doing a bang up job with your tax dollars:

When the police had enough evidence, officers came in the hotel room to arrest the woman and bring her to another room for questioning. It turned out she was not in fact underage, but in her early 20s.

Soon after, a second woman arrived. She was 23.

They're not exactly being exploited either:

The second woman told Bob that she got involved with escort services after working at a strip club in Atlanta, where the VIP room strippers performed sexual services for men.

"I like sex, sex is my favorite thing," she said.

This Week In Prostitution

It's been another busy week in the world's oldest profession with news from all four corners of the globe. So let's get ready to go 'round the world:

Australian Brothels Make Certain Taxpayers are Screwed: According to the Daily Telegraph, about 80 of the nation's (legal) brothels have been calling their "massage with happy ending" services "therapeutic" and billing apparently unsuspecting health insurers. Thanks to the country's involvement in the health care sector that means the taxpayers are getting jerked around too:

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said her department was investigating the report because public money was involved through government subsidies to health insurance premiums.

"We are interested in public funds being used for health services, and if we have any evidence to the contrary then certainly we would look at how we could take action," she told reporters.

The story was headlined: "No happy ending on rebates from brothels."

You Can Regain That Loving Feeling For 60 Won: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has filed suit to evict a karaoke bar that operates out of a building he owns. Why? 'Cause apparently it is the most awesome karaoke bar ever:

Allegations surfaced before last December's election that female employees provided customers with sexual services in the bar.

So That's Why Daddy Always Volunteers To Pick The Kids Up: Police in San Juan arrested seven women for operating a brothel that was disguised as a child day-care center:

The establishment had been registered as a "family training and childhood development center."

Danish Polls Get Blackballed, Develop Blue Balls: The Danish prostitutes union SIO (Sex Workers Interest Organisation) is urging all prostitutes to boycott any Danish elected official who backs further restrictions on their trade. This follows the proposal by the ruling Liberal Party's Karen Riis-Jørgensen and other officials to bar pols on official business from staying at hotels that are known to allow hookers to operate:

"The hotels are where we work. We can't do it in backyards or in cars. The proposal will force many out into the streets," Sex Worker Sus tells politiken.dk.

The Recession Is Truly Global

A German Brothel is offering discounts to patrons who get its logo tattooed on their arm. So far, 40 men have agreed to do it and the place's in-house tattoo artist is working around the clock. Classic quote from regular customer Herbert Manske:

"My wife doesn’t mind. I save five euros entry, plus the thirty euro cost of a lap dance."

Politician's Excuse of the Week

Peter Allan, an Australian elected official, has resigned from office following reports that he visited a local brothel and then charged it to the taxpayers. His defense? He didn't know it was a brothel. He thought it was a strip club!:

"It was nine years ago, I don't remember exactly what happened," he said. "I went in with two other guys, they asked for two strippers and that's all I'm prepared to say."

"I didn't participate in anything other than that. We were only there for 20 minutes, there was no intercourse or anything like that."

But a spokeswoman for the centre said they did not offer stripper services.

The studio's website says it is "Canberra's largest brothel with the biggest choice of ladies".

This Week In Prostitution

It's been a busy week for the world's oldest profession, so let's relax and get right to it:

Life Imitates Late Night Cinemax Movie: In the category of "why didn't I ever get a teacher like this in junior high?" a New Zealand educator was discovered moonlighting as an escort. Here's the real twist: She may actually keep her day job. Prostitution is legal in New Zealand and the woman is arguing that as long as she does it on her off hours and it doesn't interfere with her teaching, they don't have cause to fire her:

Teachers' Council director Peter Lind said the most important factor was whether the teacher's second job was affecting her teaching duties, "and there would have to be actual evidence".

She's not alone either:

Prostitutes Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy said there were several teachers who had second jobs as prostitutes.

Prostitutes -- A Leading Economic Indicator. Despite the carnage on Wall Street, a Columbia University sociologist says the meltdown is not likely to hurt Gotham's call-girl business. That makes sense. If ever there was a time those Wall Street guys needed to blow off some stress, this is it. Meanwhile globalization is bringing a better quality of escort to India, the land that gave us the Kama Sutra. Elsewhere around the world, there's crackdown going on in South Korea.

Atlas Shrugged, Then Humped: New York Magazine prints the epic account of a high class New York pimp who says he was inspired by Ayn Rand:

To me, the higher percentage of your life you are happy, the more successful you are,” says Jason, who came upon his philosophy while reading Ayn Rand. “I was really into the ‘Who is John Galt?’ Atlas Shrugged thing. I thought I could save the world if I could bring together the truly elite people, the most beautiful women with the most perfect bodies, best faces, and intelligence, and the elite men, the captains of industry, lawyers, and senators. This would bring about the most happiness, to the best people, who most deserved to be happy.”

The New York Post reports how his agency's staff included a young woman named "Kristen" who was a favorite of "Client No. 9" better known as Eliot Spitzer. "This girl could be our next superstar," one of the agency's top girls said. Be careful what you wish for. That's her in the picture above.

Duncanville, Texas, Knows How To Make Zoning Disputes Sexy: Despite the best efforts of the local prosecutor, including alleging the participants are involved with prostitution and money laundering, the Cherry Pit, a Texas swingers' club, defiantly continues to operate:

"We want it to shut down. We asked them. We told them they're illegal," City Manager Kent Cagle said. "We gave them lots of chances – they continued to operate."

The Cherry Pit's slogan now is "Fight For Your Right To Party."

H&R Block Is My Pimp: A New York attorney tried and failed to get the money he spent on hookers and related services written off on his taxes:

All told, Halby spent about $322,000 to satisfy his desires, according to court papers.

In 2002 alone, Halby deducted $111,364 for "therapeutic sex" and massages "to relieve osteoarthritis and enhance erectile function through frequent orgasm."
***
A former counsel for the Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States, Halby represented himself through the proceedings. He meticulously recorded each liaison in a notebook titled "Tax Journal," including the cost and practitioners' first names.

Astonishingly, the IRS did not see it his way. The guy is appealing though. Maybe he can still get a happy ending.

It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp: Especially when your 'hos look like this.

Sen. Vitter Gets Off Again

Louisiana Senator David Vitter -- the upright Republican who was patronizing Deborah Jean Palfrey's escort service -- got a bit of good news the other day. The Senate Ethics Panel dropped its complaint against Vitter "with prejudice" this week, meaning he'll escape any official sanction for his whoremongering.

How did he do it? Well, it seems that timing is everything, as the Washington Post explains:

In its ruling, the [Senate Ethics] panel said it could not punish Vitter because his association with the escort service occurred before he joined the Senate in 2005.

"The conduct at issue occurred before your Senate candidacy and service . . . the conduct at issue did not result in your being charged criminally . . . the conduct at issue did not involve use of public office or status for improper purposes," the committee wrote in a letter signed by all six senators.

Elected to the House in 1999, Vitter cannot be investigated by its ethics committee because it has no jurisdiction now that he is a senator.

So while the woman who ran the service got convicted, faced a jail term, was bankrupted and finally became so depressed that she hung herself, her patron gets away without even a slap on the wrist thanks to his Senate buddies. Makes you proud to be an American, doesn't it?

On a related note, the Post earlier pointed out that Palfrey's total earnings from her escort service were peanuts.

Palfrey ran her business, Pamela Martin & Associates, by telephone from her California home, and authorities said she grossed about $2 million from 1993 to 2006, splitting the money about evenly with her escorts. They said she employed at least 132 women over the years, dispatching them nightly to clients in homes and hotel rooms in the Washington area.

So, $2 million over 13 years? Whip out your calculator: that means her whole operation was grossing about $154 thou annually. Half of that went to the call girls. Palfrey then had to pay whatever the overhead was herself (It was probably not that much, since she ran it all by phone). It's not clear whether she paid any taxes on the call-girl service either, but she wasn't convicted on tax-dodging charges, so she may very well have.

In short Palfrey was making about $77 thou a year before any expenses and any taxes. Retirement and health care came out of her own pocket too. Hardly a lavish operation. Isn't there actual, big-time corruption going on someplace the feds can go after?

Breaking News: Husband Cheats on Ugly Wife with Hot Hooker

Keep these coming please:

ROY, Mich. — The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow told police he paid a prostitute $150 for sex at a hotel, according to a police report.

Thomas Athans, 46, co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network, was stopped by police who were investigating prostitution at the hotel, according to a police report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press under the state Freedom of Information Act.[...]

Officers said they saw Athans enter the room Feb. 26 and leave 15 minutes later, and they stopped him and informed him of the investigation.

He told the officers he had used the Internet to make a date with a prostitute and paid her $150 for oral sex at the motel, the report said.

Quick facts of this case: Picture of Sen. Stabenow below.

Yikes. She's pretty frightening. So her husband pays $150 to get a blow job from this 20 year old My Space whore. [I prefer craigslist, but I don't judge]

Yeah, all the facts line up in this case.

Profitable Mistake

How many of you would like to make a $5,000/hr mistake?

Now that her alleged involvement with Emperors Club V.I.P. has been exposed, "she's just trying to work through it," says high school friend Joe Pawlak, who remains in touch with Ashley. "We're just trying to keep her head up and keep her strong, have her look at this as a positive. People make mistakes. All you can do is try to go on, grow from the experience."

Yeah, move on. I'll translate for you -- Move on: Capitalize on your fast, and probably short-lived fame with a few high-priced media interviews and a shady music deal or two.

I'm not sure I get all this hand-wringing over her decision to sell her body and sexual talents for what would certainly be considered more than fair market price. As a society we tend to look up to politicians like say Barack Obama, who make a living out of selling more than just their bodies to the highest paying special interest group, doing damage not only to their souls, but to our pocketbooks and freedoms. I know which whore I respect more.