Weiners.

[Ben Lahnger]

I really think your focusing on the bedroom too much.

1) What he did wasn't in the bedroom.

(It certainly wasn't in HIS bedroom! Har-dee-har-har!)

2) There is evidence that some of the activity took place when he was in his office on "paid" time.
3) He really didn't get into the serious trouble until he got caught in a lie.
4) The voters in his area seem largely supportive of him, but the press are hounding him (which is what they do, so it shouldn't come as a surprise) and it's gotten to the point where Democratic leaders are asking him to step down. If he doesn't, I imagine he can get re-elected, because, as you say, his constituents don't seem to want him to resign.
5) There's no hypocrisy - people running for office routinely hold themselves up as being better than model citizens. I'm sure every election campaign Anthony Weiner trots his wife to stand on that stage with him, modeling what an ideal and loving couple they are. Now that some of his internet sexting pals have revealed that he isn't what he represented himself to be, there's going to be a reaction.

Saya, you just want to live in a land where politicians can be as wild and kinky in their personal lives as they want, and the public should have no opinion about it if it comes to light. Well, that's not the real world. And I don't think there's a darned thing you or anyone else can do to change people's opinions in this regard. But you CAN keep insisting that it's wrong, and frustrating the heck out of yourself.

Me, I'm satisfied with the fact that he knew the game wasn't fair when he started playing it - when he decided to get into public service - and even after all the other cautionary tales in the headlines in recent years, he still engaged in the risky behavior with strange women he hardly knew on the internet. I'm not feeling one bit sorry for him.

Oh, and I think I'd be right royally pissed if I was Weiner's campaign manager right now. For lack of being able to keep his digits in his pockets, he's taken what should have been a fairly easy re-election campaign and made it into some kind of fight. There will be credible opposition now, and that campaign manager is going to have to work his ass off.

[JCC]

Just to Saya's point on open marriage being political suicide, I don't think that is true here. If his wife truly was aware and aight about it, if he had responded when asked with a totally unflapped 'yeah, it's mine. My wife doesn't mind me flirting so long as I don't actually sleep around, it keeps our marriage strong to have an outlet' there would've been confusion for a time maybe but it wouldn't have come across as deceitful or, worse, adulterous and would be less of a scandal IMO, that isn't even an 'open' relationship in any significant sense.

[JCC]

Besides which, as far as I know she knew he used the internet for sex talk before they married, but did not know he persisted once they were together.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

I really think your focusing on the bedroom too much.

1) What he did wasn't in the bedroom.

(It certainly wasn't in HIS bedroom! Har-dee-har-har!)

2) There is evidence that some of the activity took place when he was in his office on "paid" time.
3) He really didn't get into the serious trouble until he got caught in a lie.
4) The voters in his area seem largely supportive of him, but the press are hounding him (which is what they do, so it shouldn't come as a surprise) and it's gotten to the point where Democratic leaders are asking him to step down. If he doesn't, I imagine he can get re-elected, because, as you say, his constituents don't seem to want him to resign.
5) There's no hypocrisy - people running for office routinely hold themselves up as being better than model citizens. I'm sure every election campaign Anthony Weiner trots his wife to stand on that stage with him, modeling what an ideal and loving couple they are. Now that some of his internet sexting pals have revealed that he isn't what he represented himself to be, there's going to be a reaction.

Saya, you just want to live in a land where politicians can be as wild and kinky in their personal lives as they want, and the public should have no opinion about it if it comes to light. Well, that's not the real world. And I don't think there's a darned thing you or anyone else can do to change people's opinions in this regard. But you CAN keep insisting that it's wrong, and frustrating the heck out of yourself.

Me, I'm satisfied with the fact that he knew the game wasn't fair when he started playing it - when he decided to get into public service - and even after all the other cautionary tales in the headlines in recent years, he still engaged in the risky behavior with strange women he hardly knew on the internet. I'm not feeling one bit sorry for him.

Oh, and I think I'd be right royally pissed if I was Weiner's campaign manager right now. For lack of being able to keep his digits in his pockets, he's taken what should have been a fairly easy re-election campaign and made it into some kind of fight. There will be credible opposition now, and that campaign manager is going to have to work his ass off.

If he did it on paid time, yes that's an employment issue, if it was sexual harrassment as I said before, its an issue. That he told a chick that he'd like to be behind her while they watch Colbert or that he sent a picture of his boner is what isn't anyone's real business. By "the bedroom" I mean his sex life, not his actual bedroom. Although I'd assume he'd be relieving himself in some sort of private space.

And don't twist my words around or paint me naive. Canadian politics isn't this sensationalized, if this happened in Canada it would just be a joke and laughed off. Honestly I couldn't tell you much about any politician's life, I don't know the name of the Prime Minister's wife, he keeps the fact that he's an evangelical Christian quiet, I don't know how many kids he has, or anything. I know Jack Layton's wife's name only because she too is an MP. When the person becomes more important than the politics I think democracy suffers, and representational democracy has enough problems without turning everything into a paparazzi circus. I'm pretty cool with watching the news discussing the budget and Syria without spending any time on what Layton is jacking off to lately.

And "You think its wrong but THERE"S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT" is just a cheap way to shut down discussion.

@JCC, The way Weiner phrased it was weird, like the only thing he lied to her about was lying about the particular Twitter thing, and she hasn't said a word about it yet, so its still kind of up in the air. And no I wouldn't consider it an open marriage if sexting was okay, but its not absolute monogamy either. He did shoot himself in the foot by lying about it, definitely, but I don't think there's anyway now for him to insist that without the media portraying him as a lecherous creep who doesn't think his wife is enough.

[Ben Lahnger]

Saya, I wonder when you became The Girl Who Cried "No Fair!"

And "You think its wrong but THERE"S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT" is just a cheap way to shut down discussion.

It's a succinct way to shut down a pointless discussion.

Quit trying to deflect responsibility. The guy knew the score before he ever undertook his actions.

By the way, how come women politicians never get caught up in these sex scandals?

-----------------------------

Anyway, now the DNC is asking him to resign (and again, this all flows out of his initial attempt to deceive the press and the public by denying knowledge of whether the pictures were his and claiming he was hacked. The lying is the problem.)

So if he doesn't resign, next election one of two things are likely. Either the DNC will decide to forget about it at that point and support him normally, or they will hold a grudge from this date because he didn't take direction from them and will choose to support another candidate.

If he has the DNC's support, no problem. If the DNC backs another candidate, he'll most likely have to run as an independent. He may still be able to win, and probably will, but that makes it an entirely different game.

[Grausamkeit]

I hope he refuses to resign, actually. He didn't do anything so terrible(unless we find out that those were inappropriate texts to that 17 yo) that the situation calls for it. Was he smoking crack and beating whores in a hotel room?

[Renatus]

Well apparently some of it was definitely on the clock since one of the newer pictures apparently was taken in the House of representatives gym locker room, which is located in the basement of the office for members of house of representatives.

[CptSternn]

Originally Posted by Renatus

Well apparently some of it was definitely on the clock since one of the newer pictures apparently was taken in the House of representatives gym locker room, which is located in the basement of the office for members of house of representatives.

So they can go to the gym on the clock? I'm more angry about that than the photos.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by CptSternn

So they can go to the gym on the clock? I'm more angry about that than the photos.

Yep apparently one thing they didn't disclose to the public until after the offices were built was that that the offices would have a gym in one of the garage levels, also apparently they have a shooting range down there as well(for the capital police force). Though it should be noted that the office was built back in 1965(though they keep the gym equipment up to date apparently).

One thing I don't get is why they included a telegraph room apparently, in a building that began construction in 1962.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Saya, I wonder when you became The Girl Who Cried "No Fair!"



It's a succinct way to shut down a pointless discussion.

Quit trying to deflect responsibility. The guy knew the score before he ever undertook his actions.

By the way, how come women politicians never get caught up in these sex scandals?

-----------------------------

Anyway, now the DNC is asking him to resign (and again, this all flows out of his initial attempt to deceive the press and the public by denying knowledge of whether the pictures were his and claiming he was hacked. The lying is the problem.)

So if he doesn't resign, next election one of two things are likely. Either the DNC will decide to forget about it at that point and support him normally, or they will hold a grudge from this date because he didn't take direction from them and will choose to support another candidate.

If he has the DNC's support, no problem. If the DNC backs another candidate, he'll most likely have to run as an independent. He may still be able to win, and probably will, but that makes it an entirely different game.

I don't think challenging the notion that politicians must be puritans even when they don't run with the idea of traditional family values, which Weiner did not do, is pointless. Unless you're saying you'd rather never change your mind about that and are happy with media that thinks sexting is more important than, you know, war, poverty, death.

What? Yes, women get involved in sex scandals sometimes, but women are far less likely to run for office. According to Wiki, there's only 17 senators, and 72 house reps in total, so we're looking at only 16% federally. Six states have female governors. If they don't run and people don't vote for them, scandals remain un-newsworthy.

[Ben Lahnger]

Saya, when a woman (or several women) come forward to say that a public figure has been sending them pictures of his erect penis over a public broadcast product like cell phone or internet services, it's news for a number of reasons (just ask Brett Favre.)

First, sending a picture by email or by picture message on public networks guarantees you no more privacy than sending a post card.

Second, any time a public figure gets outed for a sex scandal by another participating party, the media has a responsibility to report it. It is news by virtue of the fact that these public figures voluntarily put themselves in the public limelight, and with that limelight comes increased scrutiny.

Third, when the press asked the questions initially, they were simply asking the normal questions they were obligated to ask when the woman came forward claiming to have a picture he sent her.

Fourth, there's a right way and a wrong way to handle a sex scandal, and it's been known for a long time that the problem isn't with the sex scandal, it's in the denial after the fact (see Gary Hart's presidential campaign of 1988.) He could have told everyone this was a matter of privacy and nobody else's business. He could have refused to respond. Instead, he didn't just choose to obfuscate the facts, he outright LIED ("my account was hacked".) That IS the public's business and THAT IS NEWS!!!

Frankly, I know a lot of people like this guy a lot, but I don't think he's as bright as some people think. With the examples of Chris Lee, Representative (R-NY), Mark Souder, Representative (R-IN) and Eric Massa, Representative (D-NY) in recent headlines, he had to know this thing could blow up in his face. And even when faced with the probable likelihood that sending pictures of his aroused hard-on to women he didn't even know personally would result in those pictures becoming public fodder eventually, he chose to do it anyway. That's dumb; just plain dumb.

Originally Posted by Saya

I don't think challenging the notion that politicians must be puritans even when they don't run with the idea of traditional family values, which Weiner did not do, is pointless.

I'm saying the public responds the way they do. Politicians know full well before they become politicians that the public is going to react badly if they do certain things in their private life and it comes to light. You're saying it's not fair. But saying it here in a Gothic Literature and Trolling forum where a dozen people are knocking the subject about isn't changing any minds. That's what I meant by "pointless."

Originally Posted by Saya

What? Yes, women get involved in sex scandals sometimes, but women are far less likely to run for office. According to Wiki, there's only 17 senators, and 72 house reps in total, so we're looking at only 16% federally. Six states have female governors. If they don't run and people don't vote for them, scandals remain un-newsworthy.

Statistically, if you take all the women who have held political office in this country since they were first able to do so, it's a large enough sample that some scandals should have shown up if they engaged in the same types of risky behavior in the same percentages as their male counterparts. Here's a list of List of Federal political sex scandals in the United States. I don't see a single female name on it.

I know why. It's a different approach to the role and the responsibility. It's been said, "men run for office to be someone, women run for office to do something."

I wish we had more women in political and leadership roles.

[Ben Lahnger]

Stop the presses! There's a new headline:

BOEHNER TELLS WEINER TO PULL OUT!

I couldn't resist! LOL!

[Stormtrooper of Death]

Originally Posted by Grausamkeit

No, everyone should send their naughty pictures to Noomflow! As long as they are olde enough to buy alcohol.

[Ben Lahnger]

And the new headline:

WEINER TO PULL OUT OF CONGRESS. A FRUSTRATED CONGRESS COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT.

[Grausamkeit]

Ben, the size of your hilarity is bound to make me choke!

[Murder.Of.Crows]

I am so taking Saya's side on this.

[Grausamkeit]

You don't have to take sides.

[Murder.Of.Crows]

True, but it was my way of saying, I agree with most if not all of Saya's standpoint.

[Grausamkeit]

I agree with what Saya is sayan, but it doesn't take the funny out of Ben's posts.

[Ben Lahnger]

And this just in:

DNC announces possible replacement candidates for Weiner's positiion include Cox, Dong, Fleischphlute, Johnson, Spunkmeister and Wang.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.


Oh, and Penis.

[Ben Lahnger]

You know, Saya, I have to admit I admire your strong conviction that the people of New York should have had the right to hold onto their Weiner.

I just wish more people would have told him to stick it out.

[Renatus]

Well as usual Larry Flynn didn't waste time when it came to grabbing up Weiner, just a few hours after his resignation he offered Weiner a job with a 20% higher pay. But I suppose it figures, after all Hustler caters to the working stiff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-...ec1_lnk2|71156

[Ben Lahnger]

LOL @ Renatus!

This one came from my sister:

At first he was going to fight to keep his job, but after talking to the DNC, Weiner found he had a case of Electile Dysfunction!