human heritage under attack.

I would guess that the Craigslist boss probably shut down the "erotic services" section to avoid a lengthy and costly lawsuit. But McMaster HAS gone too far. If what was reported in this article is true, he is guilty of defamation (libel). In any case, he is guilty of blackmail (“If those South Carolina portions of the site are not removed, the management of craigslist may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.”). My advice would be for Craigslist to sue McMaster and the State of South Carolina.

Most prenups contain terms that are clearly against laws which prohibit the trading of goods or services for sex.

Although reprehensible and obviously just grandstanding for election you could hardly call it blackmail. If it was blackmail then every time the law offered a remedy rather than a prosecution it would also be blackmail:

PC: "I notice your near side brake light is faulty. Here is a vehicle defect form, you have 7 days to effect a repair and take teh proof to your nearest police station. Failure to do so will result in you being charged under section 52 of the road traffic act - driving an unfit vehicle"

Motorist: "You going down for blackmail pig, you going DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!"

Equally any "license" type sentence (effectively you promise to be good else you go to prison for the term decided at the initial sentence) would also be blackmail.

Thinking about it, there would be an inherent, assumption of legal blackmail anyway. The authorities in this country are already blackmailing me by telling me if I murder someone I will go to prison. The bastards, someone get me a lawyer. Oh, wait, that would be blackmail, on second thoughts.......

Legally, it may not be blackmail, but when an Attorney General threatens to drag someone through court when it is perfectly clear that they are legally innocent, it is morally blackmail. It is also reprehensible, and one of the great failings of our legal system is the lack of any good redress for the victims of such tactics.

-Daniel

It's incredibly difficult to successfully sue any sort of government entity in the US... not impossible, but never a sure bet.

Also, I'm reminded of a saying they have (or at least had) in South Carolina regarding their public education: "Thank God for Mississippi!" Clarification: if it were not for Mississippi, South Carolina would be last in the nation with regard to test scores, rather than next to last.

SCWTFBBQ?!? gag. To each his own of course, but gotta say, not a fan of the mustardy SC bbq.