London in New York

"American Gothic" by artist Grant Wood

This past weekend as has been customary for me for the last several years I have stayed in my beloved metropolis to celebrate Independence Day. After the mass exodus of vacationers heads off to the Hamptons and points along Route 27 on the East End of Long Island, including Shelter Island, and others to Summer vacation destinations in the New York region and vicinity: Bedford, Catskills, Finger Lakes, Historic Hudson River Towns, Woodstock, Saratoga, Lake Placid, Litchfield, Ct., Jersey Shore, the veritable solitude of city life and long strolls in Central Park is refreshing.  While there is so much to love in all parts of New York City and New York State, my jaunts have been more local to barbecues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Douglaston, Queens.

Current economic conditions have led to a retro Americana like movement with our people staying closer to home and spending their disposable income and vacation funds in and around the United States in a more traditional and humble manner.  The way I see some of my friends spending time with family in places like Historic Cornwall on the Hudson River and Warwick in Orange County, reminds me of a bygone era when the comfort of family was more relished than glamourous options and opportunities elsewhere. Even many of those who are not staying entirely local head to points further north and south, including the Berkshires, Newport (Rhode Island), Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard (Massachusetts),  Block Island and the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. It reminds me that the Northeast United States is one of the most under rated places in the world to spend the Summer, a number of these places readily accessible and only a boat ride or water taxi away from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and that includes a short ferry ride to Staten Island. The only sadness for me and my friends and family further South is that from reports online there has been  decline of vacationers along the beaches in the Gulf Coast region due to BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The East End of Long Island is still, however, a huge draw, and those that I know are heading out that way in these curious, if not introspective times are doing their socializing more intimately, around the homestead, with a bit less glitz and glam (or so they tell me). I have also been inspired to look inward and socialize more intimately with close friends and family.  Enjoying some cold Iced Tea and a barbecue in my brothers backyard in Douglaston has thus far been the highlight of my summer. Those who publish magazines highlighting the social whirl, however, have patrons and sponsors to feed, entertain and publicize in  these summer months and hence their festivities may sometimes rankle the ire of those who see the commercialism around the nightlife industry as a tad to crass for their community. Some, however, would rather  “Live and Die” in the Hamptons at any cost and while there are so many beautiful spots on the East End, all you need is a day in Sagaponack while drinking some Wolffer Estate Vineyards Rose to understand the addiction.

On Saturday, July 3rd Christopher Koulouris, the Editor of Scallywag & Vagabond, texted and then called me while he was out on the East End of Long Island with a rather startling report. The Scallywag left Brooklyn and went to the Hamptons to cover some events, including a Bridgehampton Pop-Up Art Party with the final destination to be the Social Life Magazine party hosted by Publisher Justin Mitchell and Editor Devorah Rose at the Social Life Estate to celebrate the July Cover Model Kelly Killoren Bensimon from the Real Housewives of New York City who reportedly attended  the party with Jill Zarin.  Mr. Koulouris and his friends were apparently greeted by a scene out of “Annie Get Your Gun.”

Christopher Koulouris: Christopher where are you? I arrived here at the Social Life Estate only to be confronted by a mad woman wielding a shotgun, what in the bloody hell is going on?

Christopher London: …….Jesus, you’re kidding right?

Christopher Koulouris: I am serious man. There is a woman here with a shotgun.

Christopher London: I am here in Manhattan bro. I never made the trip out East. Don’t ya know how wonderful Manhattan is when everyone leaves…even when it’s nearly 100 degrees? Look at the bright side. The Second Amendment is alive and well, even in the Hamptons, an enclave of neo liberal elitism.

Christopher Koulouris: This is crazy man. Why does this happen?

Christopher London: As anyone who has covered or visited the Hamptons for years or read Steven Gaines book, Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons, knows there has been a long history of uneasy blending of old society and new money.  The locals, whether it be those who have lived and worked there year around or those who have lived there seasonally for generations have a rather contentious relationship both non home owners (seasonal renters) who “Summer in the Hamptons” with their families and at times a borderline hostile relationship with the “Other Half Who Hamptons” (which author Jasmin Rosemberg has written about). This other half run and join share houses. Many locals will tell you it is the big parties of these philistines that disturb the peace and calm in their local community. In fairness to local homeowners on the East End, many who live year round, they often have to deal with having 100-200 or more cars parked around the streets leading to their property, late night noise and drunken people stumbling out in the middle of the night heading off to the clubs. Over the years I have attended a number of these huge Hamptons House parties, run by club owners and other private citizens on the East End of Long Island. On a few occasions I have pulled up in car only to be greeted by a hostile neighbor telling me not park my car near their property line. So while I have witnessed anger and certainly recognize the reasons therefore, I have never had a shotgun aimed in my direction. [In terms of full disclosure, I only got about half way through this historical analysis before Christopher Koulouris cut me off]

Christopher K: Staring down the barrel of a shotgun is just too high a cover charge if you ask me. Thanks for the historical dissertation but I got to go.

All I could think was maybe the lady was there guarding Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Social Life Magazine’s July 4^th Cover Model? Apparently the pitchfork wielding crowd may have put down their pitch fork for a more efficient killing device or at least one which is more effective at getting the attention of and driving away urban philistines. One might wish to keep in mind that these philistines, however, do have an economic impact on the local economy. Many a shop owner, Realtor and restaurant owner who make a living off the summer influx to the East End would clearly not want to discourage return visits from those who vacation and spend money here, and this says nothing of the First Amendment related issues surrounding the right to assemble peacefully, which gives me pause if a fine was issued to the proprietors of the Social Life Estate rather than a simple arrest of a woman wielding a shotgun.

For more on the party at the Social Life Estate, see:

-Devorah Rose, Kelly Bensimon, Jill Zarin and the lady on the front lawn with a shotgun.

-Social Life Magazine July 4th Party (photos)

-Radaronline: Frenemies Kelly Bensimon and Jill Zarin get cozy at the Social Life Magazine party at The Social Life Estate.

Epilogue: What would be most critical to know is (a) how the shotgun wielding woman was handled by local police, whether she was a homeowner in the area (or not), the use of deadly force in defense of property is illegal in New York State and that even assumes she was truly defending her property rather than defending her preference for more peace and quiet and that ain’t exactly self defense (b) administering fines for peaceful gatherings may be one way to raise revenue and insure that gatherings disperse but whether it is right is another thing, especially if such fines are administered selectively against a certain class of people exclusively.

I was thinking about who I might not yet have gotten around to pissing off lately. What other controversial issue could I come out in support of, but still offend nearly everyone, on every side of said issue? EASY: Gay Marriage.

I decided merely to weigh in on the one hot button issue where gay people are actually going against the grain rather than setting the trend. It is almost bizarre to me that a community defines its relevance and stature by a convention which is being abandoned or becoming almost passé to the heterosexual community.  America’s high divorce rate and a growing trend of more heterosexual people trying to find ways to  opt out of this convention, if not contract out of this convention entirely via prenuptial agreements and the like, obviously serves as no disincentive to the gay community even while their heterosexual counterparts are operating with a mindset that resembles  ”Just Live with me, sleep with me until I get tired of paying your bills”  or the Sugar Daddie terms of engagement which you can see has even become a mainstream dating ritual between younger women and older men on sites like Craigslist.  At least in America its the women getting a dowry so to speak and not even for marriage but for interim liaisons. How progressive we are in the west. It is even especially more confusing in an environment where there is a culture war questioning the excessive involvement of government in the lives of our citizens.   But then I realized a pattern, the moment that conventional norms become passé is usually the moment when the trendonista’s in the gay community find a means to adopt that convention as the new trend.

To prove my point, all you have to do is look back to the late 1990’s when the fashion trend became for straight men to come out and dress more “gay” or metrosexual. Trust me, I know all too well,  my then girlfriend had me accessorize my wardrobe with Gucci and Prada shoes, insisted I go to a nail salon on theUpper East Side and get my eyebrows waxed and a pedicure for my feet (so I looked less like a troglodyte) and before you know it I was dressing (and dancing)  like Ricky Martin and Living La Vida Loca. (Notably these days a guy does not have to be Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or adopt his grooming habits to feel a bit more comfortable getting a manicure or pedicure in the privacy of his own home via a unique service founded by entrepreneur Tracy Saunders.) In terms of full disclosure I have since retreated back to Alden Shoes, which to me is truly the Manolo for the Men. Ironically enough during that same time the gay community standard evolved towards a more preppy All American look.

Banana Republic,Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers and even J Press have and continue to profit handsomely from this resurgence of the standard of style of the straight male WASP in the gay community. And I have not even mentioned the current iconic appeal of Mad Men among the uber gay. There are more gay men walking around this city styled like iconic heterosexual men from yesteryear.  This has all led straight people back to where they initially started–confused. Now whether you are on the Upper East Side or Chelsea it’s hard to tell who’s what’s going on. Truth told Chelsea has become a tad more straight and the Upper East Side a tad more gay. Or if as some have suggested, Gay is the new straight then well straight is the new gay.

I got some further help from of porntrepreneur and now hypocritical moralist Joe Francis. For those of you who do not already know, according to the New York Post’s Page Six, the Girls Gone Wild evangelist and  porntrepreneur, reputedly famous most for getting under age girls to remove their clothing on camera, got engaged to his long time girlfriend, Christina McLarty.  Ms. McLarty is a popular entertainment reporter and local celebrity for CBS in Los Angeles as well as the daughter of former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty.  ”We have chosen to have a civil domestic partnership,” Joe Francis told Page Six, “because we don’t think it’s appropriate to be married until our gay and lesbian friends are afforded the same rights as us to marry in the United States.”  You know that your movement has literally jumped the shark when you can count Joe Francis as among your most loyal celebrity adherents.

Joe Francis has in effect done for the gay marriage movement what Madonna, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have done for the cult of The Kabbalah Centre, and that is, undermined its credibility. That a so called spiritual movement, has as its celebrity face a woman who has spent a good part of her career ridiculing Christianity and engaging in pronounced Catholic bashing, is nothing but bizarre, if not bad marketing. So forgive me, if I hardly see Madonna, an anti-Christian artist, as  “spiritual.” Maybe if I lived in Africa in a small village and Madonna purchased me off my parents for a good price I might feel differently. But then again, I digress. I am heading into an uber popularity zone with the gay community, ridiculing the urgency of gay marriage and gay icon all in one paragraph.

This retro Ozzie & Harriet movement (or perhaps Ozzie & Harry is more appropriate) has made me wonder how long it is before vegetarians start experiencing food shortages because fat kids start fighting each other over extra vegetables and demanding salads rather than cookies from their parents.

TRUTH is that even aside from the rational arguments in support of it, I support gay marriage because I believe that a civil society committed to sustaining its existence as well as evolving is dependent on individual liberty, free markets and free enterprise. While ultimately gay marriage will be great for the wedding industry (i.e., event planners, photographers, florists etc) when things go wrong with TWO BITCHES, look out!!!  One need only witness the Star Jones, Al Reynolds marriage and divorce to know what I am talking about.  Gay divorce will be an even bigger boon for the legal industry. As I am a lawyer by training and have lots of friends who profit off a healthy legal economy, I empathize with their plight in these unsettling times. A few good fights will keep divorce lawyers, private investigators and accountants in business. My friends in the legal industry will be only too happy to assist you in separating you and your partner from your joint and individual assets.

So to all the trendonista’s who have adopted and become obsessed with this issue as the civil rights issue of our time, you ought to check yourself before you wreck yourself with a misguided belief system, especially considering the implications of gay divorce. Spend a day, a week or a month in our court system to see how dysfunctional the divorce process truly is in America before you subject yourself to the rules of this convention which most of the rest of society is looking to abandon or contract out of via Prenuptial Agreements.  There is a reason why many in the straight community continue to try to contract out of this convention. And likewise there are even more folks in the straight community scratching their heads who are like, “dude you can do whatever you want and do not have to ‘get married’ or deal with the pressure thereof.” It is almost like the one appealing aspect of being gay vs. straight got lost.  Its enough to make bisexuals well…less bi-sexual. Unless you truly are Ozzie & Harry and not jumping from one bed to another do you really want to get married? Know that my lawyer friends are salivating.

My advice is to do go do something stylish. The world is going to hell in a proverbial hand basket, even if you are unmoved by the gravity of the ecological damage of the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico or the growing homelessness, unemployment and poverty in America.  You really need to think long and hard about what actually are the most critical issues of our time like the sustainability of life on this planet, at least before life as we know it on this planet implodes or collapses due to over population (in particular in the Islamic community), pending food and energy shortages in the age of Peak Oil (See also: ASPO International).  When the end of civilization comes and New York City looks like a scene out of Planet of the Apes, and you find yourself roaming the earth half naked in scraps of clothing like Charlton Heston, I hope you feel truly special that you made gay marriage the battle of your lifetime.

Only in America will people fight for the equal right to screw up their lives with the support of as well as oversight by the state for the terms of your romantic life.  Oh America….in the words of Marie Antoinette, I say “let them eat cake” and give us gay marriage once and for all. And then we shall see if the pattern re-emerges and the gay community no longer wants what currently amounts to the over priced item that nobody can seem to afford that is under lock and key behind bullet proof glass at Barneys New York or Jeffrey.   Maybe I am wrong and the gay community will abandon Madonna as an icon and instead embrace the life work of Andy Williams. Somehow I don’t think so.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world’s asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re
acceptable, respecable, presentable, a vegtable!

–The Logical Song from Breakfast in America by Supertramp (1979)

The more things change the more they stay the same. In times of uncertainty and upheaval there is a tendency to think that we must abandon our values and change everything about how we think, operate or conduct our affairs in order to evolve as a people.  In fact every few years, in the political realm it seems most often that the party that establishes themselves as the “change agent” is usually the one who rides into office with the backing of the popular vote.

As I have previously stated, in the words of Ayn Rand ”Every aspect of Western culture needs a new code of ethics – a rational ethics – as a precondition of rebirth.” I have also been on record as stating that America needs a colonic from time to time to flush out from the bowels of our society the toxins which line the proverbial walls of our democracy.  This American renewal while necessary does not imply that we must abandon principle or reason, especially the founding principles of our democracy.  The opposite is in fact so.   In uncertain times, however, a culture barren of values and principle, including the inability or unwillingness to stand on principle and defend our values,  is one that will expose and open itself up to the infiltration by spiritual hucksters, whether they be at The Kabbalah Centre or The American Society for Muslim Advancement or other fronts for Political Islamists.  When the people are thirsty they will drink from a poisonous well to quench their thirst.  The folks behind these movements, will, under the guise of nurturing souls and opening up an  inter faith dialogue,  infect the culture with a poison (that is even more dangerous than a culture barren of values and that is the installation of false if not dangerous and subversive ones). One need only look at how Europe’s burgeoning Islamic population has led to a cultural divide and is by many accounts, what is destroying Europe and the fabric of European society. Islam is also the fastest growing religion in Prison populations in America and the U.K.  This is certainly something to consider before America [finds itself] as the last man standing.

Once again, I find myself sitting here with a glass full of Wolffer Estate’s 2009 Grandioso Rosé contemplating the state of humanity. On the eve of our Independence Day celebration, America finds itself at a crossroads facing challenges both domestically and internationally, ecologically, geopolitically and in our internal political affairs. The economic malaise has unsettled Americans; from urban centers to the heartland, dissident voices bordering on revolution seem to question the very foundation of our republic. Or do they? If you listen closely, regardless of whether you agree with their rhetoric or see them as seriously misguided, these voices, however, are hardly calling for new approaches or more sophisticated forms of governance, additional programs or central planning. The call is for a retreat or restoration of our core values and conservation of the republic.

The lesson is that even in times of uncertainty and turbulence our people, even the most dissident voices among us recognize that evolution of American society is predicated upon a healthy restoration and conservation movement. Often that means we must have a heated dialogue amongst ourselves. There are some fundamental values that this country is based upon. As we begin to right the course in a fragmented country let us roll up our sleeves and pull folks aboard the ship and head towards calmer waters. We begin to fix what’s broken, not by stifling dissent but by incorporating the underlying logic.

While I hardly see myself as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York guarding the shoreline for the restless natives, I too believe that our greatest opportunity to advance our nation’s interests forward and lead us to evolve is to focus first and foremost on restoration and conservation. As America’s rebirth begins in Lower Manhattan with the construction of the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum, we ought to consider also the calls from a silent majority of our citizens represented by The Twin Towers Alliance who have called on our leaders to reinstall the pre-9/11 profile to the skyline with state-of-the-art Twin Towers symbolizing Lower Manhattan’s rebirth as a center of international trade and commerce. There is a time and a place for all voices to be heard, including those of the religious and the spiritual, but the call for American values first and foremost that resonates with those who want to maintain the integrity of America’s southern shoreline following the ecological damage done by the BP oil spill,  can be heard in resistance to the installation of Islamic shrines in the shadows of an American tragedy at Ground Zero. As stated by renowned Architect Robert A.M. Stern on September 23, 2001 in the New York Times, “We must rebuild the towers. They are a symbol of our achievement as New Yorkers and as Americans and to put them back says that we cannot be defeated.” Until the foot print of free enterprise in the form of a legitimate “World Trade Center” rises questioning the efforts of a Muslim Advancement Society to erect what would be a political symbol at this place and time are not the voices of bigotry or intolerance but those of reason questioning the motives of a quasi-spiritual/political movement and they ought not to be dismissed.

As stated by President Clinton: “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” America needs more capitalists with the spirit, ingenuity and vision of Henry Ford, if not Steve Forbes. Despite what has been labeled “The Madoff Economy” by Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman to explain the bubble decade or the United States of Ponzi, Wall Street is not The Great Satan and capitalism is not criminal. Islam however, has a rather curious irreverence towards western civilization, free markets and capitalism in general.  Nevertheless, America’s great builders and entrepreneurs still out number the rogues even if the Economic Crisis may have empowered the faux spiritualists. We may need to clean house from time to time. Boundaries will be crossed, punishments will be doled out and penalties assessed but we ought not to be in the business of undermining capitalism and the spirit of free enterprise.

Truth told, the problem with equity vs. efficiency arguments in running a Capitalist Democracy is after a while, folks will begin to question who’s deciding what is equitable as the inefficiencies mount. Yet it is because of the very crash of free efficient markets in 2008 that the proponents of equity hold center stage in America right now. But an even greater danger is the proliferation of a quasi spiritual political movement that has two faces, providing false hope and even affording the naive, the disaffected and the broken spirited a place to seek shelter,  while sowing seeds of doubt about the American way of life, and leading many of its adherents to question, if not challenge the foundation of our democracy.  America’s current economic state makes our society vulnerable to faux spiritual movements and prophets of dispair.

You will know that we are on the verge of better times, however, when the forces of efficiency take hold once again and fewer people are worried as much about equity as they feel empowered enough to create their own. Our country must go through these cycles unfortunately so that perhaps the have-not’s look at the have-more’s with a bit less contempt when they come to the realization that their elevation is going to come not from the President or Congress or even growing adherence to the tenets of Islam but by the sweat of their own brow. This is also why believe that the time has come to support The Fair Tax while treating political organizations guised as spiritual ones a fully taxable entities.

Epilogue: There will be more to come soon on the growing politics of so called spiritual movements and their attempt to change  the social, cultural and political dynamic in Western democracies.

It has become abundantly clear that love, sex and perhaps even romance now come with a price tag. As I stated to one of my friends just the other day, “If you think about it, you either Pay $1.99 per minute (actually more like $3.99 per, for fetish stuff), $500 per hour or more like $1,000 (actually for 4 star quality women) or by the lifetime sentence (with any random spoiled Princess you can meet in Manhattan). That does not include investments in 8 Minute Dating, Cosmo Party, Nerve.com, Drip Cafe, J Date, Match.com, It’s Just Lunch, tickets to multiple charity and networking events, stocking the home bar and nesting ground with top shelf alcohol & Godiva chocolates. On top of that some have even made the further investment of hiring their own personal Yenta, such as Janice Spindel, Samantha Daniels or Denise Winston. Although, I would be the first to tell you that an investment in the spiritual guidance of Mama Gena & her Courtesans is clearly a worthwhile investment, whether you are an aspiring goddess or adonis looking to understand or attract your very own Alpha Female Goddess.

There is unquestionably a transactional element to love, romance and sex in this town; money for orgasms with a different level of assistance and emotional involvement dependent upon what you offer in return. Nevertheless, it is ever hard to notice that in down economy the quest to connect however intermittently is a thriving business. Sure, I, like many others had forsaken the phone sex, happy ending massages and even escorts because due to inflation, the ones that one would most want to hire were costing a lot more these days. Yes ladies, men and in all likelihood your boyfriend, your husband etc…if he has a penis, has sampled some or all of the foregoing whether or not he ever intends on acknowledging it with you. In the words of Jack Nicholson…”You can’t handle the truth.” But frankly most men, could not handle the truth of your experiences either; yeah perhaps you did sort of fool around with your girlfriend or experiment with your personal trainer…and his buddy at the same time in between relationships. Sure it had nothing to do with sex..it was your need for affection not his great body and enormous phallus.

Nevertheless, with the stagnating economy’s impact on my livelihood, $1,000 per hour for pleasure at the hands of a sexy willing female sort of seemed financially irresponsible. It was also actually unnecessary. Not that I have become any Master of the Game, other than to note the ultimate irony in the mating game is that the less you try or desire to run into the Princes or Sex & the City Class of fems in this town, they are seemingly everywhere all over the lounge and charity circuit from Manhattan to the Hamptons, the harder it is to avoid them. Admittedly, perhaps less so in the East Village and Williamsburg, but I digress.

But then it hit me the dates, dinners, wine, romance, travel, chivalrous gifts of jewlery and the like, haven’t I basically been paying for it all along? Is that too crass a way too look at it? If so, then essentially the freebee’s, the girls you hooked up with and took home from Jimmy’s Downtown, The W,Serena or other Midtown watering holes really are the true values in the market place. They offer the best bang for the buck…..literally. Had my romantic ideals made me inefficient in the love game? Like many in a soft economy with evaporating retirement and investment accounts I found myself suffering from that Italian disease DeFundsALo and wondered what those vacations, spa and pampering treatments, Champagne and 5 pound lobsters at The Palm and jewelry might have gotten me by the hour on NYExotics or ErosNY.   Maybe I could have gotten at least a tall Nordic goddess for a few hours or smokey brunette dominatrix? If we as men are to be so objectified in crass financial terms, than perhaps many men will continue to explore other alternatives to the mating game or make investments based upon the level of commitment that they seek in return. That would certainly be a logical effect of “free market economics.”

In fact, that brings me to my point about whether there is actually a distinction between the “Love Brokers.” How is a matchmaker (a.k.a, a “Yenta”) any different than a madam in this town? What are they doing that Heidi Fleiss and Sydney Biddle Barrrows and other smaller time love brokers have been castigated, harassed, arrested and in some cases even imprisoned. It would be unfair to focus the spotlight exclusively on the matchmakers of the Janice Spindel, Samantha Daniels, and Denise Winston variety (the “Yenta Class” of love broker). What has also interestingly emerged is a middle ground of love brokers somewhere between the Yenta class and the Heidi Fleiss and Sydney Biddle Barrows class (the “Madam Class”) of love brokering. Some of these services known as Prime Connections or VIP Life offer a full array of “Concierge” services to the executive including the model of his choice at whatever his destination and invitations to private gatherings where other similarly situated executives can meet the female counterparts or models associated with the service. What do we call this hybrid class of service (Intermittent and semi permanent liaisons) which seems to blur the line between Madams & Yentas? The Concierge Class or the Models for Wallets Class?

You see my dilemma is that these services evolved to meet existing needs in the market place. Without the need they do not exist. Rather than pass judgment or attempt to draw hairline distinctions between these services we should instead draw no distinction between one service vs. another because in essence they are all to varying degrees catering to and servicing the market for transactional romance or contractual sex.

As one who is a lawyer and legal search professional or in more common parlance, a “Headhunter”, my business is a similar talent search but for jobs or firms. Thus, I do not condemn the concept of hiring someone as your agent to procure for you precisely what you desire. But tell me how and why we should draw distinctions between yenta’s who cruise the city for fresh young attractive female flesh to add to their data base to feed the hunger of a well heeled clientele of gentlemen willing to pay $25,000-100,000 or more per year for a Platinum service contract and those who serve as a madam to their clientele for less “permanent” associations, including contractual sexual encounters?. What is being sold is a promise of beauty or variations thereof for variations of wealth & status. What is fraudulent is to label it as anything other than that. There are also several little known trade secrets that I have come to learn. There seems to be a very flexible standard as to whom is the paying client. More often than not the less eligible party finds themselves in the predicament that the service costs more for them. Secondly, far too many yenta’s have a data base full of women who’s money they took for services that they can never render because there are not enough men or men who have paid for Platinum service contracts are not interested in the lower echelon members of their data base. Or as my female friend Lisa cracked, “why do I need to pay an unmarried Yenta Spinster $10,000 to help me meet a bunch of older balding men when I can meet them online or at J Date party for free?” It is the economic evolution of transactional romance, the objectification of the opposite sex based upon money (men) and beauty (women). Investments are made based upon the relative level of commitment to the service and what is obtained in return. If all parties to the transaction understand that so be it. But if you can license yenta’s finding wannabe models and princesses their matching wallets in the form of a well healed gentlemen, then why harass the Madam or the guy who calls the escort service and orders in a professional sex worker for his preferred level of commitment? Furthermore why is there any difference between a high class escortwho makes it very clear that her form of companionship has a price vs. the all too typical Manhattan Princess or Gold digger who does not quite make clear that her form of companionship also has a price or that she is in earnest looking for a sugar daddy and not a partner?

Questions arise whether the ethics of the more legal enterprise (matchmakers) are in fact worse than the ethics of the oldest profession. Is there not more hustling around legitimate human emotions by legal matchmakers than illegal madams? You see in the oldest profession, assuming that the woman is participating of her own free will and volition and is not the victim of human trafficking, and if she is say represented by a Madam who is not taking an egregious but rather fair cut for arranging the trysts than it is truly an above board fair market transaction. The problem with “ALL” matchmaking enterprises is that their marketing never matches their offerings or their actual capabilities. Transactional romance between willing patrons and consensual professional sex workers in a way seems more above board and straight forward than those so called arrangement by VIP Services. Not a critique, but rather just an observation.