Us libtards would have given Petey Holmes a swift kick in the ass out of office if his opponent in the last election was not an even a bigger prick.

Of course it is damn tough to find a prosecutor who is not a malignant shit. Speaking of which, you would make a pretty good one Mr. Mehlman.

None of that invalidates the absolute stupidity and anti-democratic nature of arresting people for what are effectively consensual "crimes". If two people agree to do something, and no one is coerced or hurt in the process, how could that be a crime?

Additionally, regarding the exacerbated fear of "sex trafficking",
1. Labor trafficking is far, far more prevalent in the US and the world than the relatively small subset of sex trafficking.
2. Decriminalizing sex work generally would allow both sex workers and clients to go to the police if they suspected a sex trafficking situation, something clients have been on record saying they would have done if they weren't also exposing themselves to arrest.

It's really a whole lot worse when the police themselves are setting up fake massage/sex parlors to entrap hapless people, messing up their lives when they just wanted to have a consensual good time. That's cruel.

Whether prostitution is a problem in Seattle right now, or the money for renting those shacks and buying the signs could be spent elsewhere is irrelevant to most.
“Police cracks a prostitution ring” makes for a great opening line that boosts ratings, law enforcers’ image, and of course their budget.
We laugh at the miserable horny bastards and await juicy details of their shenanigans.

What cannot be denied is that despite all elimination attempts prostitution is still alive here and everywhere else.
Legalization anyone?

@4:

Not to mention the fact that the guys on the Vice Squad get some regular action on the side, which I cannot possibly imagine has ANY impact on their desire to continue to run undercover sting ops, nosirreebob.

@6,
Oh come now, you can troll better than that. What you wrote is practically the definition of a straw man argument.

@6 you could indeed do so much better. The difference has ben already defined by @ 3 as “…two people agree to do something, and no one is coerced or hurt...” which is usually not applicable to rapes and murders.
You’re still a nice guy, after all you didn’t mention anal sex or “engage in homosexual activity.”

So Mr. Mehlman equates consensual sex between adults with violence, interesting insight.

If a person were being forced, then it wouldn't be consensual now would it,

@6 I get the idea. Mr. Mehlman is a crank with a mysterious obsession with the sex lives of other consenting adults.

"attorney does job, judge backs him."

@8, 11,

Do you believe the majority of sex workers are not doing it by choice? And I mean true choice, not simply "not wanting" to do it but can't find anything better.

If it's not a majority, if it's not even a large percentage who are being forced, then why should those doing it consensually be punished?

I would argue that no murders are consensual, no rapes are consensual, no domestic violence is consensual. So those aren't valid analogies.

"So Mr. Mehlman equates consensual sex between adults with violence, interesting insight."

"So Mr. Mehlman equates consensual sex between adults with violence,"

This has largely been Mr. Home's position. He openly admits that he's too ignorant to tell consent from rape so we should treat everything as rape.

It's an idea so stupid that only a Seattle City Attorney could believe it. Soon we will be arguing that he's not bright enough to tell the difference between buying a candy bar and stealing one, so the only solution is to arrest our way out of it.

My god, I wish we had a better choice in Seattle last go around. For the first time in memory, I could not bring myself to vote for either of them.

I will not have the problem with Judge O'Donnell when his turn comes up........

When did we start feeding the trolls?

You guys realize that Mehlman is just a very dedicated fake, right? Google his name once.

I don't know why he has been doing the same shtick for the last seven goddamn years, but I imagine it is because people still respond emotionally to his obvious trickery.

I think they should have more of these stings not less. There are some women who choose this as a profession, but far too many are victims. Women who have enough resources to pick and choose can choose a different profession. It's more important to protect the woman who have no choice. I read a book about the Mustang Ranch. It was interesting, but I was saddened to learn how many of the girls were browbeaten into the work by their families or boyfriends who liked the money. Even in legal situations, it seems it's often taking advantage of domestic abuse victims whose other option is homelessness.

@20 Eh he is not actually Ken Mehlman, but that does not mean that his consistently pro-authoritarian, repressed right-wing sour-puss commentary is parody.

Look at all the self-righteous males defending prostitution as their god-given right to access women's bodies if they just pay enough money. LOL and puke.

@25 Look at all the morality police who imagine it is 'feminist' to assume they are entitled to treat other adult women like children because they don't approve of the decisions these women make.

26, nice try, but FAIL. I don't give a rats ass about the feminist label. But men defend prostitution as if it's their RIGHT. It is not. Men do not have a right to anything but their own hand.

@27 Splendid! Then you'll be fine with the 'fundamentalist' label.