Rick Santorum vs. Marc Randazza: A Dichotomy of Zealotry

The censorship method … is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient.  –  George Bernard Shaw Though there’s no scientific proof for it, I tend to believe in synchronicity, the tendency of …

A Broker in Pillage

Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods.  –  H.L. Mencken As an organism which is at best symbiotic with (and in the overwhelming majority of cases parasitic on) society, government is a non-producer; its only means of support is to drain money from those …

Friday the Thirteenth

A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.  –  P.J. O’Rourke Today is the third Friday the Thirteenth since I’ve been writing The Honest Courtesan, and there will be three such days this year (today, April 13th and July 13th); as it so happens, …

Lies, damned lies and statistics

We’ve all heard the claim from moralists, feminists, anti-sex crusaders, well-meaning but ignorant people who lack critical thinking skills, and unquestioning media outlets like CNN:  “There are 100,000-300,000 trafficked child sex slaves in the United States right now, and the average age at which prostitutes enter the profession is 13”.  But though it maybe that, …

It is, but it isn’t

Most of you probably heard about the court proceedings on prostitution law which were held in Ontario last week, and you may be a bit confused about what’s going on.  Prostitution is, after all, legal in Canada, so what’s the fuss about?  The problem is that prostitution isn’t actually legal in Canada, at least not …

Who is Maggie McNeill and what is she doing here?

My name is Maggie McNeill, and I’m a whore. Well, more specifically, a retired whore.  Or if you want me to be really specific, a retired call girl and madam who now writes a blog called The Honest Courtesan, in which I discuss the realities of harlotry.  Sometimes I write about my personal experiences (sans …