Petty political prevaricate about prostitutes

If you think cops are bad, and if you think politicians are bad, then what would you think when we combine the two? I suggest this crossbred creature is a monstrosity from the start. Witness Sheriff Joe Arapaio of Maricopa, AZ, as one example. Now, another elected law enforcement official who is scrapping the bottom of the barrel in hyperbole, hysteria and self-promotion is Sheriff Tom Dart of Cook County, Illinois.

This smarmy little man is clearly a self-promoter who is using his office to garner publicity for some higher office he is seeking. Dart has filed a lawsuit against Craigslist for prostitution based on the ads which individuals place there. Let us leave out of the discussion, for the time being, whether prostitution should even be a crime. Dart is not just pushing his image through the prosecution, he is also making some of the most hysterical, unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims that I have seen in a long time. If you think the bullshit from fundamentalists is absurd, if you think what Nazis says about Jews is ridiculous, then you will keel over when you read Dart’s claims about Craiglist.

Dart invents claims. It isn’t that he’s just some moralist on an anti-prostitution crusade. He probably doesn’t personally care; it’s a career move. That he will hurt people in the process, well, don’t bring it up. What is quite fascinating is that Dart is a bald-faced liar. What we can assume is that some women, and men, advertise their sexual services on Craigslist. They do so under various guises to escape the silliness of legislation. I would guess that nigh unto 100% of them are voluntary sellers looking for voluntary buyers. Not in Dart’s fevered imagination. Dart claims, “Missing children, runaways, abused women and women trafficked in from foreign countries are routinely forced to have sex with strangers because they are being pimped on Craigslist.”

Dart says he made some 300 arrests of individuals who sold their services. Yet, not one “missing child” or “women trafficked in from foreign countries” was used by him to prove his point. The way this Billy Sunday of sex explains it, there are no willing sellers on Craigslist, just individuals who are forced to sell sex to strangers. And it isn't just your run-of-the-mill prostitute either. It is kidnapped children, runaways and abused foreign women with funny accents. It may even be a runaway, foreign woman who was forced to come to America and then kidnapped by a rival gang and then forced to sell sex.

It is apparent that this is a stunt pulled by a political con man even if you ignore Dart's hyperbole and false claims. One of the things we discover is that Mr. Dart filed a lawsuit against Craigslist entirely on his own. Normally such a lawsuit would be filed either by the Illinois Attorney General or the Cook County state’s attorney. Neither of them were even informed that Dart was going rogue and filing his lawsuit, using a law firm of pimps, Querrey & Harrow who are representing Dart free of charge. No one represents a politician free of charge. Trust me, they expect that Dart will use his political pull to reward them. Complaints regarding this may be made at: mstillman@querrey.com. In fact, Michael Stillman, the man giving the “free” legal service to the sheriff, is himself a petty politician and the law firm offers services “defending governmental bodies.” Any politician wanting to hire the firm is urged to contact Stillman for information. Stillman wants in on all the action, quid pro quo you know.

Stillman, (see the nerdy photo to the left) is a political wannabe, a low-level apparatchik who is sucking up to those with power. He is a member of the Worth Township council and a school board official. He also ran for delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and got a paltry 0.5% of the vote. He ran for Board of Trustees for the local community college and got 11.2% of the vote—last place. This is very low-level politics. Stillman obviously wants higher office and is hitching his wagon to the Sheriff’s horse. Anyone want to bet that Stillman will seek higher office with the Sheriff’s endorsement? Stillman looks like a political whore. He claims he is doing this “with public interest at the forefront” and because Craigslist has failed “to protect our citizens.” Notice how cheap politicians always refer to the general public in a possessive term—the way you might describe “our property.”

Another reason that Stillman might think that stopping people from having voluntary sex is a good thing is because he may well be a hardcore Catholic. He graduated from a Catholic high school, went to a Catholic university, he is a board member of a Catholic hospital and describes himself as an “active member of St. Catherine of Alexandria”. Personally I suspect Mr. Stillman is a petty politician in a hurry and he’s using the Sheriff, like the Sheriff is using him, like they are both using this issue to promote themselves. The man is a politician so how concerned about morality can he be?

So far, however, only Dart is clearly lying to the public and making unsubstantiated claims. Mr. Stillman will get his chance later in court.

Question: Why do politicians crusade against prostitutes?
Answer: They hate the competition.

Question: Why do politicians demand discounts from prostitutes?
Answer: Professional courtesy.

Question: What's the difference between politicians and prostitutes?
Answer 1: There are some things prostitutes won't do.
Answer 2: Prostitute only screw you if you want it.
Answer 3: With prostitutes it's more fun.
Answer 4: Prostitute will only hurt you if you beg for it.
Answer 5: Prostitutes trade sex for money, politicians just steal it.
Answer 6: Prostitutes don't start wars.
Answer 7: Prostitutes only come in your bedroom when invited.
More answers encouraged in the comment section.

Photos: Tom Dart upper right, Mike Stillman middle left.