It is a slippery slope and EVERYONE is slipping down it.

[Tx4obama]

I thought that Americans had a RIGHT to privacy in their 'private lives', apparently we are giving up that right via the Anthony Weiner issue.

What everyone should be doing, in my opinion, is hollering to holy hell that anything that Anthony Weiner did in his private life should be OFF LIMITS.

I am appalled that so many folks are basically trying Weiner in a public NON-real court over an issue that has nothing to do with his 'work' or anything that is 'illegal'.

Where is the outrage in Congress over what Senator Vitter did which was actually ILLEGAL?

Where is the outrage in Congress over what Ensign did which was ILLEGAL?

Okay, Anthony Weiner lied to cover up his personal failings, but who among us would not have done the same thing if caught/exposed in the public media and were embarrassed. Only those without sin (and I am not saying that what Weiner did is sinful) should be the only ones casting a stone.

As Democrats I believe that if WE do not stand up to the GOP and to the pearl clutchers that this will come to bite us in the ass in the future when some other issue regarding our personal lives come into the public forum.

Now on the other hand, if Weiner has an 'online sex addiction' (which I think is NOT an addition) then folks on late night TV, etc, should not be making a jokes about a person with an addiction/mental affliction.

Maybe it's because I grew up with the visuals of the 'freedom of and free sex 60s generation' or that I have experienced IRCC/mIRC/Skype etc in the early days of the internet - where MILLIONS of people have expressed their sexuality - I just don't think that what Anthony Weiner is such a big deal.

Just my two cents.

[LAGC]

1. I think the bigger question is: did he do any of his sexting from work?

I know there were rumors of some of his pics being sent from his office, which might violate Congressional ethics rules.

I'm just more afraid of what's still out there, yet to come, the longer this thing drags on...

[aquart]

19. I'm proud that you think just as you ought to think.

Somebody worked damn hard to make you think you've just had a series of original thoughts.

And the professional roll out was exactly designed to make you feel MORE ARE OUT THERE. They well may be but my best guess is Breitbart and his money people had them all in hand before the fuss started. If we show the smallest sign of not being properly enraged, it won't be a losing bet that more will magically appear.

They sure got their money's worth.

Things go better with Koch, don't they?

[Maraya1969]

73. Snap.

:thumbsup:

[Horse with no Name]

112. And they are PAID to dribble them out...little by little

so every time you think it's over, it really isn't. It's all the same information, but we are being spoonfed it, piece by piece.

[krabigirl]

124. +1000

[Maraya1969]

74. I hear it on good word that Andrew Breitbart is, at the very time, taking pictures

of his penis to send around the internet by mistake again.

[newfie11]

2. We need Weiner in congress.

He seems to be one of the few not owned by lobbyist. I could give a shit about his photo ops.

[99th_Monkey]

3. +10,000 nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. You'd think he knows we need him in Congress

and he wouldn't be taking pictures of his penis and posting them on the internet. :shrug:

[DonCoquixote]

4. sex

It is perfectly reasonable to be angry with weiner, however, if we make sexual failings a reason to fire people, then we will be trounced by that party which has shown time and again they have no problem with their boys doing anything and everything, especially if they "come to jesus" afterword.

[Tx4obama]

6. I don't know about that....

I suppose I can see why some folks are angry with Weiner for 'lying' at the onset saying that 'he was hacked' when he wasn't - but I can also put myself in his shoes and say that I might have done the same thing if my PERSONAL LIFE was being attacked and I didn't really know how to respond while trying to not fess up to things that I wanted to keep secret in my PERSONAL LIFE from the rest of the world - embarrassment is a HUMAN issue/reaction - and none of us know how we would react unless we are in that situation.

Considering that Anthony Weiner did NOTHING illegal and that he NEVER ran on a 'family values' platform - I think that he hasn't done anything wrong. I do think that the MEDIA and the GOP/FoxNews have done things wrong and disgusting - the fact that FoxNews had reporters at the home of the 17 yr old BEFORE the police arrived is beyond DISGUSTING - and has FoxNews come out and reported that the police stated that NOTHING was found on the computer regarding the Weiner Tweets? If so I have not heard anything about that.

If I were Weiner I would file a lawsuit against FoxNews for 'defamation of character', liable, slander, or whatever fits ;)

[Maraya1969]

76. If I were that 17 year old girl I'd get a lawyer and sue Breitbart for

all the harassment he threw at her. Take away all the money he maid off this Weiner hunt and give it to the 17 year old. And Fox news for showing up at her house. (I don't know what law that would be but there must be a law)

[Recursion]

104. A law barring journalists from talking to sources in a story?

Um... no.

[Maraya1969]

120. From what I hear his goons were harassing her. And that was one of the things

she wrote to Congressman Weiner about.

[aquart]

24. Sex? He had sex? Office masturbation.

Would you perhaps like to put Congress under oath and ask them how many have had a little personal stress relief behind closed doors?

And we do NOT want to start asking about blow jobs.

Or do we. I say we start every press conference and every town hall meeting by asking if our elected official or candidate has ever masturbated. That should thin the herd to eunuchs.

[Tx4obama]

29. Well, we can't say that 'politicians can not have any sex at all'... because ....

we all know how that turned out for the Catholic church ;)

p.s. I am a Catholic.

[aquart]

31. But this was just THINKING and TALKING about sex.

With not particularly helpful illustrations. Kind of like an equipment ad. I was sure we were going to get a hands on masturbation shot but, if there are any, Breitbart is keeping them for his private stash so far. Or perhaps sharing them with Clarence Thomas (because a Supreme Court appointment is NOT a known cure for porn addiction).

[Bluenorthwest]

102. But the fact is that in most of America, people can be fired or

refused housing because of their sexuality. So when you say 'if we make' sexuality a reason to fire people, you are stating a delusion, that is the fact of the matter right now, and always has been. And yet you seem to only notice the reality when some straight man gets caught up in the cogs of the machine. If. If? It already is. And those who have not really spoken out against what is in the past could consider that fact and think about the wisdom of it.
You say 'if we start'. I personally just wish the straight community would just stop it. What you frame as a thing that might 'start' is the status quo, the way it is, the thing we have been fighting against, only to be told it was 'poutrage' or wanting a pony.
Hard to wrap my head around 'if we start' doing a thing we have been doing nonstop for generations.

[pnwmom]

5. That's exactly what Weiner should have been saying in his first press conference.

Instead, he lied. He said he had been hacked, and he said he didn't know if the photo was his. In another interview, he elaborated, saying that a right-wing conspiracy was to blame. And he asked Ms. Weiss to sign a statement lying for him. It's the lies-- for ten full days -- not the sex that doomed him.

If he was determined to hold a press conference, why didn't he just say that whatever he did in his private life was his business? How could he be so monumentally stupid to think that he could get away with the lie when he knew all the evidence that was out there?

Did Vitter lie to his party leaders? Did Ensign?

I don't blame Pelosi for not being able to work with him anymore. He should have gone to her and let her help him develop a sound strategy for dealing with the situation, but he didn't trust her. Now she doesn't trust him. Why should she?

[Tx4obama]

7. I am not so quick to judge another human being.

Unless a person has been in his shoes it is hard to say what a person would do in the same situation.

I believe that there is NO person that is without 'sin' (the word sin is used loosely) and no one knows what they would do in the same situation to save embarrassment to their spouse, family, and to their self.

Anthony came clean and issued a heart-felt tearful apology to everyone including his wife, family, staff. and supporters - I think that counts for something.

[DonCoquixote]

34. Ok, let me clarify

No, he did not put part a into part b, true, but as a congressman, he should have known that sending any sex material on twitter is dumb, and could cause issues. This is not the first time we have been bitten on this (Clinton, Edwards, etc) but he should know that it could cost him his seat.

[DonCoquixote]

35. THAT BEING SAID

Weiner should not move an inch till David Vitter goes.

[pnwmom]

53. Did Vitter lie to his Senate leadership?

How is Pelosi supposed to trust him now, when he didn't trust her with the truth -- when she actually could have helped him?

[Tx4obama]

36. Not everyone is internet savvy. There are tons of folks that haven't been on the net for decades

like some of us have been. some folks don't know the ins and out and the Do's and Dont's

Clinton and Edwards were not caught in an INTERNET scandal. I think there are TONS of folks that really don't know all the things that they 'should' know about internet privacy and safety.

[pnwmom]

54. Weiner bragged about being Internet savvy. Please.

If he wasn't smart enough to realize his tweets and texts and photos could be easily passed on to ANYONE, then he's not smart enough to be in Congress.

[pnwmom]

52. Sure, it counts for something. But it was 10 days too late,

after he had blamed everyone else but himself.

[eShirl]

13. This whole witch hunt is about lying like the Civil War was about states' rights.

We all know what's it's really about.

[aquart]

26. I'm pretty sure not everyone does.

[midnight]

27. Getting a handle on this personal attack was not as clean as

those of us from a distance would prefer..... However, I could think of lies being told right now about having to implement austere measures against the working class in order to save this country... Is that lie somehow forgivable because the leadership is in on it? Not to me... Our leadership is holding the working families responsible for Wall streets drunken orgy.... Real classy of them.... And since their all in on it... They are all trustworthy?

[pnwmom]

55. His situation is a huge, unnecessary distraction to all the important items

on the Democratic agenda.

He's not as indispensable as he clearly thinks.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[divvy]

10. Thanks for the reminder ..... Kick and Rec N/T

[bananas]

11. I recced it, good post. nt

[sabrina 1]

14. Rec'd. You have hit the nail directly on the head.

This is THE most important and tragic aspect of this whole witch hunt. And it is a witch hunt.

I just read another article recently that basically made the same point, that we will regret this if it succeeds and he is forced to resign.

I am livid at the Democrats for allowing this to happen, and I am really beginning to wonder why they are participating in it.

We are about to lose the right to privacy in our own personal lives. There have been no sane voices anywhere in the media either.

I really, really hope he does not quit. I now how hard it must be for him and I wouldn't blame if he did. But in a way this may be the most important stand he has ever made.

Tomorrow I am going to call every Democrat who were so cowardly as to call for him to resign today.

This may be the final straw for me with this party. They do no care one bit about the people nor do they listen to them. The people don't care about this.

So sad.

[smirkymonkey]

126. They need to just drop this now and move on with subjects that

are actually important - like the economy, wars, health care, education, medicare, etc. This is just a total red herring. Personally, I think it's a little creepy, but it's not a crime, totally blown out of proportion and as for the lying bit, if you got rid of every politician in congress who lied on a regular basis, we would have no congress.

Was he stupid to be so careless? yes. But some people have compulsions they can't control and as long as they can admit them and get help they deserve a second chance. I'm sick of the Democrats turning on each other because they're afraid of what the Republicans will think of them. What a bunch of cowards.

[divvy]

9. Weiner is a strong and consistent progressive vote

That is why the republicans want him to go so bad. He did not even have sex with these women. So would we put him in jail if he actually (gasp) watched porn?

[Tripod]

12. He lied to me, the public.

If he can lie to the public, then I know He will lie to every one. We cannot trust him anymore. He should resign

[Syrinx]

15. he lied to us about something that was none of our business anyway

And I don't blame him all that much for it. After all, the truth was embarrassing, but entirely inconsequential.

[Recursion]

18. Oh, well, that's fine then

:eyes:

[Syrinx]

28. rolling them right back at you

[Tx4obama]

16. Then be sure to call for the resignation of ALL congresspeople, they ALL lie

about one thing or the other.

[Recursion]

90. Deliberately and irrefutably, on national TV? Not so often. (nt)

[sabrina 1]

129. Here's a lie I hear, deliberately and irrefutably told

day after day on TV:

Social Security contributed to the deficit

That lie, if believed and acted upon by Congress, will cause so much harm to the most vulnerable people in this society, it is probably hard to calculate. Yet where is the same outrage, the cries of 'they lied to me so I cannot support them'?

A sex lie will will not take away money from the least able to afford it. It will not increase the deficit by extending tax cuts to the wealthy. Nor will it spend more of our tax dollars to bail out Wall St. So frankly, I fail to see the disproportionate amount of outrage by some regarding something that will have zero effect on their own lives, while by comparison, no outrage over the lies told about issues that will directly affect so many people.

Sex lies are justifiable imho, when strangers, and creeps like Breitbart have been stalking someone for months, prying into to their personal affairs, for the purpose of destroying them along with whoever happens to be in the way.

When someone asks a question they have no right to ask, the questionee may handle it however they want imho. My suggestion would be to ask 'and how is this your business'? But lying is fine also because some questions are grossly inappropriate and deserve whatever response they get. I have another solution for people who ask these kinds of questions, especially with an ulterior motive, but it's probably illegal.

[midnight]

37. Washington is full of those telling us one thing and then doing another thing..

and that is with the lives of our family members... Really... How about them Fema trailers full of poison gas... If the flood didn't kill our neighbors in Nola this would.... And then how about that B.P. clean up.... no lies there... I wonder who should have to resign for all those people dying?

[krabigirl]

122. So did Obama. But hey, he only lied about stuff to do with closing gitmo etc, so it's ok. Lol.

[Recursion]

17. Are you saying any non-illegal activity is acceptable for a Congressperson to do? (nt)

[Tx4obama]

21. Are you saying that Congresspeople do not have a RIGHT in the USA to do legal things? n/t

[Recursion]

22. They don't have a right to stay Congresspeople if they do some of them (nt)

[Tx4obama]

25. Which 'legal things' do YOU 'deem' improper? When were YOU elected judge and jury?

Do you think that we should throw out the U.S. Constitution and the laws of our land?
Should folks that are elected to Congress take an oath to GIVE UP their rights when they take office?

[cali]

46. When were YOU?

You're proclaiming Weiner cleared of any wrongdoing of anything- not just legally but pertaining to house rules.

And again, when you freakin' send shit to other people, you run the risk that they'll reveal that shit to others- no matter who the fuck you are. duh.

[Tx4obama]

59. Weiner has NOT been legally 'charged' with breaking any laws.

And what house rules do you think he broke?
Please explain.

[Recursion]

64. Why is it so important to you that his conduct was (mostly) legal?

And the Rules answer is Rule XXIII, Clause 1.

[Tx4obama]

70. Please post the Rule XXIII, Clause 1 for all of us. n/t

[Recursion]

88. Cali posted it in #42 (nt)

[Tx4obama]

91. The Congress can not make rules that pertain to what someone does IN their home

in their PRIVATE LIFE.

Anthony Weiner has NOT done anything illegal.

If anyone is to blame for any of this BS it is the MEDIA and Breitbart and FoxNews.

Edited to change 'there' to 'their'.
Time for bed ;)

[Recursion]

92. Of course they can, and do

Where did you get that idea? And why do you care so much that his behavior was largely legal? (Incidentally, sending unsolicited dirty pictures is not legal.)

[Tx4obama]

93. Why do you keep bashing him when he has done NOTHING illegal? n/t

[Recursion]

95. Well, at this point because he is creeping me out

But, like I pointed out, sending unsolicited pictures like this isn't actually legal.

[Broderick]

96. Nope

It's akin to going through the drive up and having your pants off, or walking up to a lady and opening your coat up with nothing on.

Still more worried about judgement. Who knows who is REALLy on the other end? A spy. A Breitbart. Seems you set yourself up quite easily to be blackmailed into giving away states' secrets or having to indulge in political favors to keep people's mouth shut. He did a bit of that offering PR services to a porn star as it is... Not quality judgement for the office he holds.

[cali]

20. sorry. in this situation, he threw out his expectation to privacy.

there is none when you send out pictures and texts to other people and they in turn reveal them to others.

As for work, he may well violated House Rules. You may not like the House Rules but Weiner knew them and knew they were part of the deal- the contract he has as a member of Congress.

Politics is a tough game. And yes, it's a game. Again, Weiner knew this.

As for Ensign. He resigned and odds are that he'll be indicted.


Weiner acted recklessly, knowing the consequences.

That's reality.

[Tx4obama]

23. When did he give up his RIGHT TO PRIVACY in his private life?

Politicians have a RIGHT to privacy in their 'personal conversations' and in their 'private lives'.

Watch out ... eventually YOUR employer will say that EVERYTHING you do in YOUR life (when not at work) will be their right to know. YOU will no longer have a private life that is private.

[CakeGrrl]

30. He gave up his right to privacy when he used electronic media.

That is the risk one incurs on a social networking site. That's one reason I don't use Twitter or Facebook.

I recall a couple of teachers/school administrators being outed for sexually explicit postings or strong political biases because they had the poor judgement to post this stuff on the Internet, where it was discovered by people who knew them.

If he had sent this stuff to his wife and it got intercepted, then he'd have more standing to tell everyone to MYOB.

But he took the extremely foolish and arrogant risk of sending explicit material electronically, and on top of it to several other women. If he hadn't made a sending error, he could've gotten away with it. But he goofed, and here we are.

Even if he hadn't goofed, any one of those women could've turned those pix over to anyone. That was his very stupid fault for taking that risk.

As to one's boss spilling the beans, I'm sure some are unscrupulous enough to do it. I know from experience, however, that some larger organizations will basically ask their employees to affirm their commitment to a reasonable level of ethics in their daily work.

But the internet? No expectation of privacy in cyberspace. If you give up your personal details on a site like this, for example, and someone makes a personal criticism about you or you are "discovered" by someone you know, you can't very well cry foul. You have a choice about what to make public.

Personally I don't give a damn who sees his junk or where he puts it. But I DO care that the MSM has a shiny new issue to help take the heat off of R's when it's critical that Dems make the case that they're trying to destroy the social fabric.

[cali]

39. I explained that to you in simple terms.

When you or I or Weiner or anyone else sends something to another person- a letter, a tweet, a photo- we relinquish control over its contents. it is then the property of the recipient to do with as they will. bye bye privacy. got it?

Oh, and no, my employer won't be doing that. That I can be assured of.

[Broderick]

94. What is quite strange to me

is putting himself in a position with anonymous people on the internet in a compromised fashion. How could he be sure it wasn't a Breitbart on the other end of the pixels track? How could he be sure it wasn't another country's spy? What if they used it to blackmail him down the road, if none of this came out for political favors or inside information?

[Bluenorthwest]

103. In most of the country, GLBT people have no protections at all

That is, this RIGHT to private lives is non existent, and that fact has thus far not really moved the mainstream straight community to action.
Did you know that in the majority of the US, any employer can fire or refuse employment to gay people, for being gay, openly and without reservation? Did you know that the same applies to housing? Are you aware, with your love of the right to privacy, that every day some landlord knocks on some door and says 'the neighbors say you are lesbians, get out.'?
But of course, this thing with Tony is worse than a poor family being evicted for being who they are.

[krabigirl]

125. I agree with you, and I think it is already that way. Sad thing is people love it!

[aquart]

32. Which House rules?

[cali]

42. here

for starters:

1. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.

[Tx4obama]

63. And Anthony Weiner's PRIVATE sex life is NONE of the House's business. n/t

[Recursion]

66. It stops being private when you tweet it publicly

And it really stops being private when you tell a cold-blooded lie on national TV about it for a week. He made the leadership look like idiots for defending him and they're pissed.

[cali]

68. but guess what? His lying is. His false accusations of hacking are.

And guess what else? It's up to the house ethics committee to decide what is and isn't it's business. Don't like it? Well, that's just reality intruding on your fantasy. Too bad.

[HappyMe]

71. His private sex life became everybody's business

when he put it on public media.

[DCBob]

33. This has nothing to do with slippery slopes.. its about character, ethics, credibility and..

the negative impact this is having on everything Democrats are trying to right now. The issue of privacy is another matter and has nothing to do with whether weiner should resign or not.

[Tx4obama]

38. Yes, it does have to do with slippery slopes.

If WE do not take a stand then everyone will lose their right to personal privacy on the internet and employers will be able to use what a person does on their personal time as a reason to fire them from their job.

And what someone does on the internet has nothing to do character in their 'real life'. What is done on the internet is FANTASY.
ALL people are SEXUAL human beings - and what they do in the privacy of their homes should not be held against them, especially in the work place.

[cali]

40. there is no personal privacy on the internet. and anyone who thinks there is

is foolish and naive.

[Tx4obama]

41. YOU are assuming that everyone is internet savvy, and not everyone is.

Don't try to put people in your shoes, try to put yourself into their shoes.

[cali]

43. wait a minute: do you think Weiner isn't internet savvy?

[Tx4obama]

45. I think that we do not 'know' if he is or not.

If he was then he wouldn't have gotten into the pickle that he's now is in.

Apparently 'he' thought that his messages were 'private', since they were not - then he was misinformed and therefore he was not as savvy as he might have thought he was.

[cali]

49. that is ridiculous. this guy watched a rep from his state resign

because of sending a pic to a woman he "met" on Craig's List- just a few months before. He has a tech staff. He used social media extensively. And arrogance and obsession could have caused him to ignore what he knew.

[Tx4obama]

57. Sending a photo via Craig's List is much different than...

sending 'direct messages' on Twitter where you think you have a sense of privacy.

[cali]

60. bwahahahahaha. first of all, he didn't send it via Craig's. secondly

Weiner mistakenly sent the underwear photo out to his general twitter list before discovering his error and deleting it, thirdly what PART OF ONCE YOU SEND SOMEONE SOMETHING, IT'S THEIRS TO DO WITH WHAT THEY WILL DON'T YOU FUCKING GRASP? It's simple shit. Anyone should be able to grasp it. Anyone at all. That YOU can't speaks volumes. And it has jackfuckingdogshit to do with the internet. Send someone a photo via snail mail and the same holds true and ALWAYS FUCKING HAS.

duh. duh. duh.

[HappyMe]

78. Exactly. nt

[DCBob]

44. Privacy is another matter that needs to be discussed.. but this is about Weiner..

the things he did and how he reacted to it once those things were revealed and how it is affecting Democrats and the critical issues facing the country right now.

[Tx4obama]

47. Bottom line: It was his PRIVATE life, it is none of anyone's business. n/t

[cali]

50. one more time for the reality and logic challenged.

If someone- anyone- sends a picture, message, whatever, to another person, one runs the risk that that person will reveal it to others. that's reality. that was reality before the internet age- long before. Oh, and public figures do not have the same expectation of privacy as others. that's been long established legally.

[DCBob]

51. Just an FYI.. if Republicans ever get control of both chambers of congress and the WH..

your "slippery slope" will become a "tsunami" of lost personal privacy rights.

[Bluenorthwest]

105. Where have you been with all this passion while GLBT people

are subjected to termination and eviction for being gay? This notion that you think WE have these rights is amazing to me. In a majority of States, being gay is a perfectly legal reason to fire people. Or to evict them.
These things you say should not happen, they happen every day. Where has your voice been the last few decades? It almost sounds as if you did not even know that people can be fired right now for their private lives. Did you?

[emilyg]

128. Correct.

[Broderick]

48. my problem

with this whole thing, that I think is near the line of legality, is offering possibly congressional PR resources to a porn star to keep her quiet.

[pnwmom]

56. That does appear to be the most serious issue.

Other than the fact that he lied to Pelosi.

[Tx4obama]

67. Where is the PROOF that he lied to Pelosi?

In America people are innocent until proven guilty.
And first of all a person must be charged with a CRIME before brought into a court in front of a judge and jury.
There has been NO crime committed as far as we know - and Anthony Wiener has NOT been charged of any infraction.

[cali]

69. omg. HE ADMITTED IT. HE APOLOGIZED FOR IT.

Are you saying he's lying about lying?

:rofl:

[Tx4obama]

72. Please post the quote from Weiner where he said he lied to Pelosi.

Post the quote with a source link.

[Broderick]

82. Lying to Pelosi is not a crime really

I am sure she gets lied to a lot, but from what I understand, he came clean with her five minutes before the press conference where he admitted sending the pics. She was in his corner after that admission, tenuously, but then did a 180 when other photos surfaced and the young 17 year girl had police at her house investigating the nature of the tweets between them. That was the timing, but from what I gather she did her 180 coming into the weekend when she was advised that he was entering treatment. I don't know what Pelosi knows, or how much more is gonna come out so I can't say for sure what the real reason for the 180 was...

[Recursion]

107. As much as it pains me to type this, Breitbart hasn't lied about this story yet

And he says there are other shoes that might drop.

[pnwmom]

116. Right, before the press conference that was 10 days AFTER

the first press conference, where he said he had been hacked. He should have told her the truth before the very first press conference, so she could help him handle it. But he didn't trust her, obviously, and now she has no reason to trust him.

[pnwmom]

115. He said in his press conferences that he had been lying to everybody.

And there are numerous articles like this one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/politics/08weiner.html?_r=2&hp


Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, was said to be particularly upset with Mr. Weiner, who waited until 15 minutes before his news conference on Monday to inform her, by phone, about his explicit online communications with women. And rather than engage in a discussion about resigning, he instead told her, in no uncertain terms, that he would keep his seat, according to a senior Democratic Congressional official.

[EFerrari]

61. But you don't know if he did that.

He could have been referring to his political people, not his office people.

[Broderick]

84. how do you feel about it?

If it is congressional staff PR folks, would that be crossing the legality line in your mind? It seems on the edge. What is "his political people" mean to you?

[EFerrari]

87. Well, the politicians I know have their office staff

and then they have a group of people who do their political stuff. They aren't the same people and they don't work out of their government office.

/oops

[Broderick]

89. That might not fall near being illegal if that is the case,

but I think it is a character flaw to offer PR services for the porn star to keep quiet. I think there is that chance that some of these ladies felt kind of special and aren't real happy to learn he has other internet flings going on, thus the releases we are seeing. The latest being him alone in the congressional gym taking risque shots of himself, holding his junk, etc... I haven't seen anyone bring up the fact that no other congress folks seem to utilize the gym - and perhaps quite a few should. HAHA. At any rate, the expense of having it but not being used could be considered.

[Broderick]

97. One further point

Is this akin to Blackmail payoffs regardless. Who is to say if the pretty lady on the other end of instant messaging is just Breitbart in drag? Or a spy.

[Recursion]

106. He has his staff. Anybody else works for the Architect or whatever they call the Doorkeeper now

They split up the Doorkeeper's office in 1995 and assigned those people among the Sgt at Arms and the Clerk. But either way, a Congressperson has his staff who are his staff and paid for out of his office budget; nobody else "works for" him, and there's not a political/operations distinction in any official sense in Congressional staff.

[EFerrari]

110. Do you know that? Even the superivisors in San Francisco

have political people on tap most of the time. Paid or unpaid or maybe only paid during the campaign. You call the office if you have an official issue, you call the political people for those issues.

[seabeyond]

58. i think this is a hoot. using the net yet arguing privacy. nt

[cali]

62. I think it's fucking moronic beyond belief. jaw droppingly stupid

and it's not even the net. Once you send someone something, you no longer have control of that message or photo- at least absent a contract or barring confidentiality laws. None of which apply to idiot Weiner.

[WolverineDG]

75. What I'm finding highly amusing

are all the pearl clutchers who were so up in arms 2 days ago over their insistence that he sexted a 17 year old, are now scrambling to find other "issues" to fan the flames with.

:eyes:

dg

[Tx4obama]

79. And it shows how 'immature' and 'stupid' Americans are that folks are obsessing over Weiner's penis

when there are people dying in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Africa, etc due to dictatorships -
and in Afghanistan and Iraq due to wars started by BUSH -
and people are dying in AMERICA due to homelessness, lack of food, lack of health care, and uncontrolled gun distribution.

Americans have gone fucking crazy !!!

[WolverineDG]

100. Yup

of all the things to go BSC over, what Weiner does or doesn't do isn't one of them.

dg

[seabeyond]

81. and even more amazing? call of acceptance of sexuality, in public, in face, yet continual "pearl

clutching" accusation to sexually demean people that have a problem with weiner, especially when expressed several times it is not a sex issue.

[WolverineDG]

101. If it wasn't about sex

then why all the contortions to turn what he did write to the 17 year old into sexual comments?

and the "pearl clutching" comment is dead on, seeing as how so many hyperventilate at the thought of a teenager thisclose to being an adult possibly being exposed to sex. Folks here make fun of "Purity Pledges," yet fly around the room at the mere thought that a teenage girl may have engaged in sexual banter with anyone.

dg

[seabeyond]

108. kinda like your last paragraph. hyperventilating? really? how about creep. 17, 47 = creep

because i see a 47 yr old sexually interacting with a 17 yr old as a creep, does not make me a pearl clutcher. (i understand it appears he did nothing inappropriate. i wasnt much into those conversation, came out quickle enough). does not in anyway tell you about all of the history of my sex life. it merely states that a 47 yr old man sexually interacting with a 17 yr old is creepy.... to me.

if you do not find it creepy, i am not gonna now tell you who you are sexually, and what you are. (name calling)

i have heard the most insulting comments made to people that disagree with you, and htat is allowed. as their very argument is... dont judge, and they judge.

i have heard people arguing for weiner tell people they are not sexually adventurous, have boring sex, dont like sex and all kinds of comments gernerally dissing another sexuality

that is hypocrisy in my opinion. but no one seems to have issue with that.

[WolverineDG]

118. This, despite the fact that he DIDN'T have any sexual interaction with her

yet the anti-Weiners (there, is that better?) here kept insisting that he did, even to the point of twisting & contorting what he actually said into something that fit their "OMG, SEX!" meme.

So, if it wasn't about sex, why did they keep insisting that it was?

dg

[seabeyond]

119. yes, anti weiner is better. nt

[kath]

130. Plus, a 17 yr-old is over the age of consent in most states - so she's old enough to have sex

involving a penis, probably old enough to marry, but if anyone were to send her a PICTURE of a penis, that's illegal? It's legal for a penis to enter her vagina, but not for her to see a picture of one? WTF?
If one is old enough to legally consent to sex, then one is old enough that all the "child porn" or "innappropriate contact with a minor" shrieking now longer applies. If you're past the age of consent, then you shouldn't be considered a "minor" in terms of any sexual issues.

BTW, Pictures of penises, and even vulvas (gasp!), appear in medical textbooks all the time, and they're not considered "x-rated" or obscene.

[Broderick]

86. It sounds innocuous on the surface

but the media seems to toss it around a lot, and unfortunately because of his other actions I think there is a large segment that got the initial headline wrapped in their mind - not here per se, but in the general public. Kind of that tarnish that will be hard to rub off unfortunately for him.

[Logical]

77. Weiner is a pervert! n-t

[Tx4obama]

80. If masterbation and sexting is perversion then the MAJORITY of Americans are perverts. n/t

[Logical]

83. You are clueless on this topic.....

You realize that one of the women he sent the bulging underwear to had no idea why he sent it to her? Up to that point they had just had a political conversion! She had NO IDEA why he sent it and said it was a joke and she said she did not understand the joke. He sent a sexual picture to this woman unprompted! YOU think that is normal?????

[Tx4obama]

85. I am not clueless.

Apparently it is you that is clueless regarding the internet.
Go spend a few months on IRC/mIRC, Skype, etc - then come back and we'll talk.

[Logical]

98. So in your "normal" world, middle aged men send photos of their bulging....

penis in their underwear to women who have NO IDEA they are in a sexual discussion?

And in your world this is 100% OK and normal behavior?

And, they use their work gym for some of the photos?

Wow, you live in a different reality than most people!

[Broderick]

99. If this in fact turns the ladies on

and gets them to come get the freak going, I would have done it a long time ago. Just hit up random people on Skype I think are cute and send them pics of the ole package and tell em I wear tights and I am hard.

Learn something new every darn day.

HAHA

[krabigirl]

123. The media are the perverts, they can't get enough of this.

[Javaman]

109. Don't you know that trail by public opinion is what passes a law these days?

We are dying.

[Recursion]

111. What "trail"? (assuming you meant "trial"? But what "trial", then?)

There's no trial. There's people making judgments about the character of a public figure based on his actions. That's a feature, not a bug.

[dvo]

113. from what I'm reading about Vitter.. is that he was not going to be charged because of

Statue of limitations.

What he did was wrong and illegal, but the law also has this statute of limitations.

He broke one law and was helped by another. End of story. Imo you cannot say you follow the law but want Vitter to face charges.

[Kaleva]

114. If he checked himself into rehab, he must have thought his behaviour was unacceptable.

[librechik]

127. maybe he thought he was doing what everyone expected of him

while reserving his private opinion about his own behavior

[slackmaster]

117. LOL!

Here's news for you: When you post something on the Internet, it is no longer private.

What everyone should be doing, in my opinion, is hollering to holy hell that anything that Anthony Weiner did in his private life should be OFF LIMITS.

Off limits to whom?

[krabigirl]

121. Not everyone. Many of us do not care, and laugh at the pearl clutchers.

The pearl clutchers probably have a lot in their closets.....