Keepin' it Classy, Secret Service!

"....I said get a POSSE!!"

...old joke.

Old or not, that's funny Jeepmaker !!!!

I guess the Service for got about the Secret part !

Meh. I'm more than willing to cast issues of morality aside when we're talking about people who are expected to literally put their bodies in front of bullets fired at another human being. If they want to bring a little Columbian hottie back to the room and unwind, fine by me.

When I read the first sentence about a "prostitution scandal," I thought it was going to be an article about US secret service agents running some kind of sex trafficking ring, which would definitely get me all fired up. But this? Again, I say Meh.

And furthermore, after thinking about it more, what the F?! Peter King is now listed in my book as a douche of the highest order. This is now national news, and they are "presumed" to be prostitutes. So they very well may just be some girls our boys picked up in bars, but we're going to publish an article about them being prostitutes? Why is everyone out trying to make a name for themselves with holier-than-thou BS like this? What happened to being tactful, being discrete? If Peter King found out about this, couldn't he just alert those involved if it really bothers him this much, and say "hey guys, get your act together." Instead, he makes it public to the world? What a dick!

I'm with Johio83. I don't care much about this, and I'll bet most people don't. This is non-news.

It is a huge security concern and deserves to be front page news. All of these guys should lose their jobs.

SS agents are well compensated and when traveling for their job should be expected to be working whenever they are not asleep. Whether or not the women were prostitutes, the agents had other duties to be attending to.

I have an extended family member who is a long-time Secret Service agent.

My understanding is that the majority of Secret Service agents don't have time for interpersonal relationships. For those who do marry, the divorce rate is astronomical. It's not like they have a lot of free time to date and meet women, and I'd imagine there are some security issues involved with getting into a real relationship.

Setting my own personal views about prostitution aside, I suppose I'm not terribly surprised that some agents might choose to satisfy their needs in that manner, given that their lifestyle is not conducive to developing relationships in a more traditional way.

I think the blow up is more pronounced because it happened on a foreign trip where the Secret Service is on 24/7 high alert protecting the President. I don't know if they get any "R&R" time during those trips. I'm sure sleep is built into scheduling, but it would seem that these trips are long days and short nights w/o "partying".

Someone gets busted in DC on an off-night, it might be a small embarrassment, but the President is not affected. I don't think it makes any waves in that circumstance.

In the current situation, I think people's main reaction is "couldn't you guys keep it in your pants for a week until you get back to DC?"

OHT, I agree. That would be my concern also.

Especially in a country like Columbia, where it would seem like the Columbian drug lords may have their hands in the party and/or prostitution scene? Seems like there could be some inherent security risks with picking up women in Columbian bars (prostitutes or not).

First off, prostitution takes many forms. Whether it's flat out cash for sex, or dinner and a movie, it's really the same thing, just labelled differently.
If politicians can have affairs both gay and otherwise, why can't a secret service person?
I think this should only become a major concern if one of these so-called prostitutes attempted to harm the person these secret service were supposed to protect. Otherwise, it's just another sex story.

It's interesting to me how many peopel decry prostitution as a crime, and the exploitation of women and then when it's the secret service or someone who puts their life on the line it's not about the exploitation anymore, it's about satisfying their needs.
It's a story in part because the secret service were on duty preparing for the President's visit. One slip of the tongue, so to speak, about how long, so to speak, an agent might be able to enjoy his night could tip off someone wanting info on the president's planned arrival or departure.

Fred, we are in agreement here (shockingly). All partisanship aside, the security of the President is of utmost importance when traveling, and these agents wanted to make a vacation out of it.

And again, they "presume" them to be prostitutes. So all we actually know is that the secret service men have been bringing girls back to their rooms. And as the story says, this was before the president arrived, not during his visit.

It's interesting to me how many peopel decry prostitution as a crime, and the exploitation of women and then when it's the secret service or someone who puts their life on the line it's not about the exploitation anymore, it's about satisfying their needs.

To be fair, I didn't say that I'd agree with anyone hiring a prostitute, just that it wouldn't surprise me based on the lifestyle that Secret Service agents are required to lead.

Not being surprised by something isn't the same thing as condoning it.

(In fact, I even said "setting aside my own personal views about prostitution...")

And, of course, as someone mentioned, it hasn't even been determined yet whether these women were actually prostitutes.

Whether it's flat out cash for sex, or dinner and a movie

I'm sure women you've dated would be happy to know that you'd consider them the same as a prostitute if they happened to get intimate with you after dinner and a movie. :O

Is prostitution even illegal in Colombia? Heck, it's legal in half of the counties in Nevada.

These agents were in Columbia representing the US. With a job comes certain responsibilities such as being respectful of the residents of that country, not be drunk and disorderly and displaying most social norms. People in a third world country are forced into prostitution due to economic situations. Rich American representing the US government have no business exploiting the residents of a poor country and if they were prostitutes that is exactly what the agents did. If one did it then I would say shame, but seems to be a bunch of them did it together, this common action taken by a group without any apparent protest from any in the group shows poor judgment. People are lined up for jobs, looks like a bunch more will be available if the allegations are true.

I don't sleep with anyone on the first date. And, how do you know it was only women? Did we date once and I didn't sleep with you and you're still hurt by that?

But anyway,
Explain to me how it's different if you pay cash for it up front, or do the dinner/movie thing, have sex, and never talk to that person again anyway.

Really interesting-It is estimated that there are 35,000 children working as prostitutes in Colombia with between 5,000 and 10,000 of them on the streets of Bogotá.²

A series of factors put children at risk for sexual exploitation in Colombia and leave them unprotected. The war and the drug trade have altered family structures that in ordinary times would have provided safety and nurture. The war has also caused the displacement of countless families, some of whose children have been soldiers in the war. Displaced children are particularly vulnerable to being prostituted, even more so in the declining economy [3].

A spokesman for the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, Karel de Rooy, said many child prostitutes were as young as nine years old and that clients were often middle-aged foreigners. He also said that the children were often addicted to drugs [2].

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is found especially in urban centers and in areas where there are large numbers of men who are separated from families due to work. Children are involved in commercial sexual exploitation either on the streets or in private establishments such as bars, brothels, or massage parlors. [4].

The culture of violence in Colombia had created a feeling of fear and resignation among the population; the violence had led to child prostitution and child gangs which added to the worsening situation of violence.

Colombia also is a destination for foreign child sex tourists, particularly coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla

You are being so ridiculous that there is no point in answering any of your questions seriously.

I'm sorry, but using statistics from an organization that benefits from horror stories that make it sound like kids are torn from their families to be forced into prostitution at alarming numbers, is a little biased. What did you expect them to say?
And how exactly are they getting these numbers? Walking the streets supposedly filled with these "horrible drug lords" with a clipboard and pencil asking every prostitute, "Excuse me, but were you torn from your family to be forced into prostitution?" Or, do they ask the old rich men that go to those cities and ask them?
As any good survey or statistic should have, there is an error margin. What is that margin in this case?

mom2-good, then don't. You appear to be so closed minded that trying to wedge a new concept into it, might just cause your head to explode.

I'm not sure what has been up with you hockeyfan, but you've been a little unpleasant around here recently. I used to laugh at your posts and appreciate your sarcastic sense of humor, but there has been a distinct change in tone.

Maybe you have something stressful going on in your life and it has been showing through in your posts lately. Or maybe I was wrong before about you being a decent guy who happens to have a sarcastic sense of humor.

Don't know which it is, but I'm really not interested in getting into a pissing match. I did get a good laugh out of the closed minded comment though.

You, mom2, have hit it right on the head. This really isn't the place, but the city of Toledo has royally screwed me over with the not for profit roller hockey league I started and run here.

Didn't mean to offend. Really I didn't. Guess this has affected me more than I realized. Please consider accepting my apology and I'll take a mini leave of absense until I can direct my frustration in the right place.
Sorry again. Please disregard my recent posts. They were thoughtless and cruel for no reason.

^^While I am in full agreement with the message conveyed above, the truth of the matter is that we F*** ourselves every election day.

Secret Service motto....Wheels Up, Rings Off !

Pictures of the prostitute in question (a 24 year old with a 9...yes 9...year old son) are now being run by the New York Daily News

One of the agents tried to brush off his girl, the single mother of a 9-year-old son known as Tania, the next morning with only $28 in cab fare. She caused a ruckus, demanding her full payment, so cops got involved and word reached the US Embassy.

No worries, hockeyfan. I thought you seemed a little out of sorts lately.

Hope things start looking up for you soon. :)