The current sex scandal involving former Congressman Mark Foley (Rep.-FL)begs the question: Just where do Washington politicians and US military seeking private trysting spots -- free of pesky media and routine security questions -- continue to find them? Why, the "O" Clubs, of course -- the Officers' Clubs of the US military. There are several in and around Washington, DC and at least 150 worldwide. Headquarters for Morale, Welfare & Recreation

They're cheap as well as cozy, with features like screened windows and rotating ceiling fans, so perfect on a sultry night on the Potomac. Even a special jewellery drawer for your Rolex and Tiffany cufflinks.

Some suites are as little as $25 a night. Rates (partial list) Navy Lodge
The only stipulation is that you be an active or retired military officer .

Retired military officer? - that includes a good slice of Congress. (Reservations are sometimes, somehow also made for friends of officers.)

Let's begin with the Washington, DC area and the Army & Navy Club (military affiliated). Then there's Fort Belvoir 12 miles outside DC.

Here's another DC area "O" Club, not far from the Eastern Shore homes of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney. Naval Station Annapolis Md

The Annapolis Bachelor Officers Quarters, in fact, boasts the cheapest rates in the DC area, and advertises the following:

"The BOQ has had many distinguished visitors as guests including the President, Vice-President, Secretary of the Navy, and numerous Congressmen and Ambassadors. In 2000, the Bachelor Quarters and Bachelor Officer Quarters won the Admiral Zumwalt Award for excellence in Bachelor Quarters management and earned a five-star accreditation."

Don't bring candles, however. Lighting them could set off the club's smoke alarm!

How about Canyon Lake in President Bush's home state of Texas?

Perhaps you prefer beach cottages and sand dunes?

Or cabins and camping?

Looking for a romantic tryst offshore? How about Hawaii? At Kaneohe Bay or Kilauea - www.kmc-volcano.com or Bellows?

Cuba anyone? There's so much more to Guantanamo than wire fences and Al-Qaeda. Navy Lodge Guantanamo Bay

Hiking with your honey in Alaska? There's Seward Military Resort

Perhaps the thrill you & yours seek is golfing on Freedom's Frontier in Korea?

How about beautiful Okinawa?

A mountain view of Italy? AF Inns - Aviano AB, Mountain View Lodge

The sizzle of Sicily? Navy Lodge Sigonella

Ooouuu . . . romantic Naples. . . Why else would the US still have a base there? Navy Lodge Naples

Suzan Mazur's reports have appeared in the Financial Times, Economist, Forbes, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, CounterPunch and Progressive Review (she broke the classic How Bush Got Bounced From Carlyle Board), among others, as well as on PBS, CBC and MBC. She has been a guest on McLaughlin, Charlie Rose and various Fox Television News programs. Her antiquities series about the Hecht trial in Rome and Italy's recovery of ancient art from US museums, featured here on Scoop, has received extensive media attention. Email: sznmzr@aol.com

Deaf Ears: Speaker On Support For Mojo Mathers

Scoop Audio: In a press conference this afternoon Speaker Lockwood Smith defended his handling of requests for support for profoundly deaf MP Mojo Mathers' participation in Parliament, and said he was "deeply concerned" by the way the issue had been portrayed.

Earlier today the Greens said they had been told they would have to fund support Mathers requires out of their own budget. More>>