Do You Think The Congressional Page Program Should Be Terminated?

[What was the difference between your average preptest score and the real LSAT?]

What was the difference between your average preptest score and the real LSAT?

>+5

 18 (22.5%)

+3 tor 4

 4 (5%)

+1 or 2

 8 (10%)

0

 9 (11.3%)

- 1 or 2

 2 (2.5%)

- 3 to 4

 13 (16.3%)

>-5

 14 (17.5%)

I didn't take any practice tests.

 12 (15%)

Total Members Voted: 68

[doremi]

Very interesting, rosebud!

[Spritz!Spritz!]

very interesting indeed! you feminine hygiene product

[leg]

[...] but his behavior is not exactly atypical in a world of trophy wives and Britney Spears[...]
 

Do you know what happened with Britney? When exactly did Britney Spears jump the shark? Writer Camille Paglia says it was when she kissed Madonna on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Paglia told US that, in a sense, Madonna was saying, "'I'm passing the torch to you.' It was a fabulous moment. Britney looked toned, in control of her career. Literally from that kiss, from that moment onward, Britney has spiraled out of control." Thanks a lot, Madge.

[mrsdclare]

I worked as a Congressional Page for the House of Representatives in High School.  It was one of the best things I did my entire high school career.  I loved it.  I did not see the debauchary that apparently every one assumes is common place for all pages.  I think it really has to do with the personalities of those who are chosen to work as Pages.  The people I hung out with while I worked as a page were my fellow pages who were also my age.  I am sure we could have found trouble had we wanted to. BTW I still maintain contact with many of my fellow pages today, like  8 years later.  Anyway just thought I would put in my two cents since I had firsthand experience with the OP.  I would be willing to answer any questions others might have. 

[mrsdclare]

Bill Gates was also a page

[mantoytano]

I am sure we could have found trouble had we wanted to.
 

Didn't you want to?!

[LawNOrder]

[image removed]

Do you know what happened with Britney? When exactly did Britney Spears jump the shark? Writer Camille Paglia says it was when she kissed Madonna on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Paglia told US that, in a sense, Madonna was saying, "'I'm passing the torch to you.' It was a fabulous moment. Britney looked toned, in control of her career. Literally from that kiss, from that moment onward, Britney has spiraled out of control." Thanks a lot, Madge.

Looks like Madonna has smarter advisors/pr people!

[winona]

[image removed]

Do you know what happened with Britney? When exactly did Britney Spears jump the shark? Writer Camille Paglia says it was when she kissed Madonna on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Paglia told US that, in a sense, Madonna was saying, "'I'm passing the torch to you.' It was a fabulous moment. Britney looked toned, in control of her career. Literally from that kiss, from that moment onward, Britney has spiraled out of control." Thanks a lot, Madge.

LOS ANGELES -- An appearance in family court sought by Kevin Federline amid a child custody dispute with Britney Spears was canceled Thursday after the pop star entered a rehabilitation program. Spears has gone into the Promises Malibu drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, her manager, Larry Rudolph, confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He gave no details. The TV entertainment magazines "Extra" and "The Insider" and the Web site TMZ said Spears' mother, Lynne Spears, drove her daughter to the center, which she had reportedly been in and out of earlier in the week.

The center specializes in treating drug and alcohol abuse. Last week, Spears sought treatment at a center in the Caribbean but also checked out after a day, according to various reports. Spears and Federline reportedly agreed Wednesday night that he would keep their two young sons while Spears was in rehabilitation, a program that takes between 30 and 45 days.



Last Friday, Spears arrived at a San Fernando Valley hair salon, grabbed an electric razor and shaved her head bald. Afterward, she visited a tattoo parlor, where she had a pair of red-and-pink lips inked onto her wrist. Then she went out clubbing with friends before apparently checking into Promises. Whether her recent behavior will damage her recording career is hard to say, said Vibe magazine music editor Jon Caramanica.

Spears, whose 1999 debut album, "... Baby One More Time," sold more than 13 million copies, hasn't released a new album since 2003. Before her troubles began she had promised one this year, and Caramanica suggested that might be a good outlet to address what she's going through. "I think the best thing she could do is make an album that engages with this subject matter in some way," he said. "Not only to have a good album but to have an album that's a declaration of emotional health."

[Troy]

Some older men feel unable to go to the gay clubs that attract the youngest crowd because there's this perception that older gay men are going after young boys and the minute an older man goes near a young man, they're branded as pedophiles.

It's not because they are branded as pedophiles that they can't go to the gay bars .. it's because they are branded as gay that they don't go to those bars ..

David is a kept boy. This year, he’ll collect $50,000 from two much older male sponsors who pay him for sex and companionship. It's a thriving underground industry, David says. And he's far from alone in taking care of business. Rich, closeted gay men—in La Jolla and moneyed communities all over the world—pay big bucks to maintain discreet liaisons with younger (though legal age), pay-for-play boys. The practice, many would say, differs only in degree from the straight-world version of older wealthy males collecting younger "trophy" wives or girlfriends. The difference: The mainstream has—fundamentally, if not wholeheartedly—embraced the latter as a socially acceptable inclination.

David (not his real name) lives in Hillcrest. The money he quietly receives via bank drafts goes in large part toward college tuition, he says. In addition to the money, David's sugar daddies lavish him with gifts—like the Cartier watch draped on his wrist, the latest in computer hardware, and the furniture that adorns his home. And they wine and dine him at tony spots like the Hotel del Coronado and Le Meridien, or downtown's La Strada and Fio's. Not bad for someone with no full-time job, per se. Especially since before becoming a trophy boy, David was a hooker. There's a difference, he says. He met both sponsors through classified ads. "At the time, I was hooking. I'd been hooking for two years. Just four days after putting an ad in national classifieds I was in New York. Days later I was in Phoenix. I was flown out to places sight unseen—except for a small picture that ran with my ad. A $56 ad made me so much money. Both of my sponsors first called me strictly on a sexual basis, but then took a liking to me."

Though he won't name names, David says his benefactors are prominent and wealthy businessmen. "There are so many wealthy gay men who will pay for companionship from younger guys," he says. "It's a whole circuit. The people that do this are the most powerful in America. It's unbelievable. It can be married men in high-level positions. Very, very wealthy men. To this day it still surprises me when my friends tell me who they're sleeping with. Or when these men appear as guests on Larry King Live." In agreeing to meet face to face with a reporter, David asked that his physical description be kept to a minimum. Suffice to say he could easily be cast as a pool cleaner on Melrose Place. His shoulders stretch the elasticity limit of a white Gap T-shirt. Though his visage is nearly fawn-like, David's close-cropped hair lends an appearance slightly reminiscent of Kept-Boy-of-the-Year Andrew Cunanan.

"It's fun when I deposit $30,000 in my account in one month. But as far as it being fun and exciting to be with an older man—it’s not. They’re not fun to hang out with. When one of my sponsors wants me to go with him to the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel for a weekend -- and I'm not due to get any money from him for two months -- I wonder if it's really worth it. After I've already received a chunk of money, I really don't feel like being bothered."

[Troy]

An older man feels he maintains youth by having someone around who is younger. And there are men—both homosexual and heterosexual -- who simply like to pay for sex and for favors. They enjoy buying clothes or a convertible or dinner at expensive restaurants. Why? To show off. To maintain youth. To be allowed to live vicariously through the eyes of youth. One guy in his 70s, a wealthy lawyer who is not "out" about his sexual orientation but enjoys the company of young trophy boys. Takes off and flies to Las Vegas or Hawaii with these boys. And then tires of this one particular boy. It happens. So he takes on another boy. But he still continues to take care of the first one. He is in a position where he worried about the possibility of blackmail. It happens...

Blackmail is just one reason to fear ramifications if you're a wealthy businessman who has young trophies in the closet. Being looked down on by peers and shunned by high society are others. A reason not to be concerned, however, is legality. It is not against the law to maintain a Cunananesque relationship, according to Lieutenant Jim Duncan of the San Diego Police Department's vice unit. "Keep in mind that this is something that occurs not only in the gay community but also the heterosexual community," says Duncan. "Repeated solicitation of the same prostitute does not constitute a legal relationship. That's against the law. But the idea of a 'kept' relationship is that it is a long-term solution where one person supports the other. It's not prostitution. It may be money for sex, but usually there is more consideration shown in these long-term relationships." Though perfectly legal, daddy/boy relationships -- quietly more common than most people realize -- are made public in mainstream San Diego about as often as rain showers in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

It's nothing new for older gay men to be attracted to attractive people. If they have power and position, some want a trophy person to make them look good. To a large extent, the gay community puts a high premium on physical appearance. Older people often get overlooked.