All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Dalak]

In 30 world, you can't draw conclusions unless circumstances are EXACTLY SPECIFICALLY the same.

And if you aren't perfect you aren't worth voting for, regardless of how despicable the alternative.

[Tendrin]

and if you aren't perfect you aren't worth voting for, regardless of how despicable the alternative.

"respect mah puriteh"

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

Please name each member of this "Majority".

I don't know them all by name but apparently they equate to 46% of the state's population presently supporting Moore's run. Soooo, most of them?

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

The story I read isn't good by any means, but it's well within the realm of "drunken mistake in the 80's" rather than some criminal stuff.

It's too much like what Spacey did for me to write it off, speaking personally. I've been drunk quite a few times myself, and one thing I've noticed is that it makes my body sluggish, but it doesn't impact my ability to think. Any choices I make, I'm actually making. Saying it's the booze is just a myth and a convenient legal defense. Same deal with being stoned or sleep deprived. Takei would need to be on something capable of causing a psychotic break for me to believe he wasn't himself. PCP, or LSD. Something that can break you.

[Tendrin]

It's too much like what Spacey did for me to write it off, speaking personally. I've been drunk quite a few times myself, and one thing I've noticed is that it makes my body sluggish, but it doesn't impact my ability to think. Any choices I make, I'm actually making. Saying it's the booze is just a myth and a convenient legal defense. Same deal with being stoned or sleep deprived. Takei would need to be on something capable of causing a psychotic break for me to believe he wasn't himself. PCP, or LSD. Something that can break you.

I dunno, man. I don't think substances effect everyone equally, and more importantly, they can have disinhibiting effects. If this is a pattern for Takei, we'll know soon enough because there's never just one.

[Dalak]

It's too much like what Spacey did for me to write it off, speaking personally. I've been drunk quite a few times myself, and one thing I've noticed is that it makes my body sluggish, but it doesn't impact my ability to think. Any choices I make, I'm actually making. Saying it's the booze is just a myth and a convenient legal defense. Same deal with being stoned or sleep deprived. Takei would need to be on something capable of causing a psychotic break for me to believe he wasn't himself. PCP, or LSD. Something that can break you.

I dunno, man. I don't think substances effect everyone equally, and more importantly, they can have disinhibiting effects. If this is a pattern for Takei, we'll know soon enough because there's never just one.

That's why I'm waiting a few days to see how things shake out, but as these people were both of the age of consent, were both very intoxicated, and had a friendly relationship in the 80's when it wasn't exactly easy to find find lovers if you were gay (I assume, having been 9 when they ended) I wouldn't compare it to anyone literally trying to overpower a kid. It's not cool or acceptable, and if true it will shatter my opinion of someone I've admired . . . but it doesn't qualify as criminal to me.

Forcing yourself on a child (successfully or not) is very criminal.

[Malvolio]

This is what worries me. With so many people coming forward with their stories of sexual assault, I hate to say it, but there are probably going to be a few unscrupulous people who make up stories of famous people sexually assaulting them. These unscrupulous people will do it for fame or money or both, but they will not only ruin the lives of those they accuse, but once they are found out as frauds, they will make it harder for true victims to be believed.

[worstblogever]

Please do!

Hang on, I compiled the GOP affairs and sexual assault lists since 2010. I need two posts to list them all.

[worstblogever]

• Carl Paladino- Among this 2010 Gubernatorial candidates' quirks (other than the racial ones) were sending colleagues images of horse pornography. He was never alienated from the party, and surprise, remained among the GOP long enough to stump for Donald Trump in 2016, six years later.
• Newt Gingrich- Didn't just cheat on his wife... handed her divorce papers while she was in a hospital bed being treated for cancer while his mistress waited outside in the hallway. He's a frequent Trump loyalist to this day, and that mistress is now our Ambassador to the Vatican.
• Blake Farenthold- Sexually harassed his own Communications Director, saying he had "wet dreams" about her and sued for it in 2014. Still in Congress.
• Herman Cain- Countless women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment during his presidential run, eventually forcing him to drop out of the race. However, Cain and many Republicans in 2012 attacked his accusers, including... Donald Trump.
• Tye "Glenn" Champ- Entered the race for California Governor in 2014 in spite of being a felon who solicited prostitutes and once was convicted of assault with attempt to rape. Some Republicans at their state convention played this up as a "second chance" candidate, specifically.
• Kyle Tasker- The GOP defended him after dropping his firearm in the middle of the state legislature, and a variety of misogynist or racially insensitive remarks. His resignation only came after he was arrested for trying to lure a 14 year old girl to his house for sex online. A GOP colleague did call for his resignation but adding the "IF TRUE" caveat. Because why should you just believe the accuser and the police who have the evidence?
• Phillip Hinkle- Indiana state legislator who attempted to bribe sexual favors from an 18 year old on Craigslist, then sexually assaulted him. His colleagues through him to the wolves not because of the solicitation, but the gay part.
• Mary Fallin- The Governor of Oklahoma had an affair with a state trooper while still in Congress. Has been governor supported by the GOP for 7 years.
• David Vitter- Caught in the DC Madam Scandal back in 2006, allowed to serve in the U.S. Senate for a decade, being re-elected twice in spite of it being known he solicited prostitutes and was rumored to enjoy being diapered and changed by a baby by them.
• Scott Desjarlais- Had multiple mistresses, some of whom were patients of his while he worked as a doctor. Oh, and this "pro-life" Republican got one pregnant and coerced her into getting an abortion.
• Paul Babeu- Caught trying to cover up a gay relationship with an illegal immigrant by threatening to have them deported, and there's also video of him bragging about abusing children in his care when he ran a special needs school in Massachusetts. He ran for Congress twice, winning the GOP Primary in 2016, and the GOP said f-all about it.
• Mark Sanford- Abandoned South Carolina to "hike the Appalachian trail" i.e. bang his Argentinian mistress. Finished his term as Governor, with the only criticism coming from South Carolina Republicans who wanted his job. Less than two years after he left office, he ran for his old Congressional seat.
• Michael C. Duvall- California State Assembly member caught on a hot mike bragging about having sex with mistresses and spanking them. It wasn't the affair that forced his resignation, though... it was the FBI investigation into it because they were lobbyists he was in bed with literally, and they wanted to try to convict him on quid pro quo charges of sex for favors.
• Ralph Shortey- Oklahoma State legislator caught soliciting underage male prostitutes. Gay stuff, so yeah, some Republicans called for his resignation.
• Lawrence Lockman- Maine State legislator, once asked why men shouldn't just be allowed to use their superior strength to rape women." Still in office in Maine, one of Gov. Paul LePage's favorites.
• Dan Burton- Voted for the impeachment of Bill Clinton for having an affair, even though he himself had an affair and fathered a child with his mistress in the 1980s. Served 15 terms in office, retiring in 2012. Never resigned or criticized for an affair by the GOP.
• Lori Klein- Hey, remember earlier when I talked about Republicans who attacked Herman Cain's accusers? Lori Klein was one of them, too.
• John McGee: Idaho State Senator who sexually harassed a female staffer. He was forced to resign... over a DUI. Because why believe a woman, when you can instead believe a breathalyzer?
• Sue Myrick- Very insane former North Carolina Congresswoman who admitted she was "the other woman" in a relationship with the man who would become her husband. Served 9 terms in office, faced zero criticism for it.
• Peter Kinder- Spent 16 years as a Missouri state legislator, even though he frequented Hooters for campaign events. In 2016, while running for Governor of Missouri, was accused of sexually assaulting a former stripper who went on to become a Penthouse Pet, trying to force her head onto his genitals during a lap dance. He was the establishment favorite, because of course he was.
• Leslie Rutledge- Arkansas Attorney General who has e-mails leaked where she jokes about minors being sexually assaulted by saying, "If there's grass on the field, play ball!" Still in office, zero criticism.
• Sylvia Allen- Arizona State Senator who tried changing prison sexual harassment laws in her state to make it harder to prosecute them, perhaps not coincidentally after her son, working as a prison guard, was fired for trying to solicit oral sex from female inmates for cigarettes.
• Christy Perry and Jim Guthrie- Two Idaho State legislators both caught having an affair with each other. Still in office without any consequences as Perry tries to defend the rights of Christians to refuse medical care to their children in favor of "faith healing" that's ld to an outbreak of child deaths.
• Henry Rayhons- Iowa state legislator who raped his wife who was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's. Resigned quickly and quietly, with the party trying not to comment.
• Norman McAllister- Vermont State Senator arrested after it was discovered he was working out a sex for rent scheme with women working on his farm, and pressuring them to also have sex with his male workers. Did not resign, and the Vermont GOP took the extreme step of.... removing him from his committee assignments. WOW.
• Matt Richardson- candidate for Washington State Senate to unseat Pam Roach who molested two family members in his youth and had plead guilty. Washington Republicans put their hopes on a guy with a known guilty plea on molestation charges.
• Tom Ganley- Former candidate for Congress from Ohio who had multiple women come forward to accuse him of sexual assault prior to the 2012 elections. Ganley claimed Democrats orchestrated the move, and the GOP never had a single person criticize him, even after he lost the election and was charged in court.

[worstblogever]

• Charles Perry- Texas State Senator accused of stalking an exotic dancer, still in office with full backing of the GOP, even while he currently meets with Anti-Islamic hate groups.
• Justin Harris- Arkansas state legislator who adopted troubled girls, then "rehomed" them so they could live with a child molester who abused them while he still claimed tax exemptions on his adopted daughters. Had the wagons completely circled to defend him, and was actually given awards for his excellent "Christian Values". Wish I was joking.
• James Comer- Accused of abusing his former girlfriend during the 2014 Kentucky GOP Primary for Governor, and still maintained the backing of the party establishment but lost that primary to Matt Bevin. Two years later, he successfully won office in Congress, facing no consequences for assaulting his former girlfriend.
• Donald Trump- Didn't just sexually assault women... BRAGGED ABOUT IT ON TAPE. Also, rumored to have partaken in Russian pee hookers in the Steele Dossier.
• Chris Lee- New York Congressman quickly resigned after being caught trolling for sex on Craigslist. Why was this one shut down so fast? It seems Congressman Lee was seeking transgendered partners to have sex with, which means the party frowned upon it not because it was an affair, but because it was a non-straight one.
• Michael Speciale- North Carolina state legislator whose son was arrested for sexually assaulting two teenaged girls. Speciale of course, is more concerned about mythical transgendered sex predators that don't exist and sponsored NC's HB 2 law.
• Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser- Two Michigan state legislators who were caught having an affair with each other, and then started cooking up a plan to fake a gay sex scandal with Courser that would be revealed to be fake to clear the two of all rumors about them. They got charged with 6 felonies for the latter part, and the GOP already thought of them as a headache and forced them to office not for the affair, but because they're just a pain in the ass.
• Greg Abbott- The Governor of Texas who as a prosecutor, refused to press charges against a Texas Youth Prison where children were routinely sexually abused by guards in spite of receiving reports about it from a Texas ranger for over TWO YEARS.
• Jud McMillin- Indiana state legislator who had video of his affair leaked on the internet by who he called "Canadian thieves" and soon resigned. In 2005 he sent videos to a domestic violence victim in a case he was prosecuting of himself masturbating and playing with dildos. In spite of that latter fact, he had the support of the Indiana GOP until his resignation on the second WTF sex video to fix his marriage.
• John Diehl- Missouri state legislator caught sexting a 19 year old intern, and resigned partially because he only had six months left in office before term limits would have ended his career anyway.
• Bill Shuster- Cheated on his wife of 20 years with a lobbyist who lobbied him specifically. Married that lobbyist, hires her employees as Capitol Hill aides. Still in office. Still has party backing, completely.
• Jeremy Durham- A rare exception, as this Tennessee state legislator was booted from office by both parties but the GOP were only on board because he practically sexually harassed everything female within a 20 mile radius of the state capitol.
• Scott Jones- Sacramento County Sheriff who ran for Congress in California whose whole sheriff's office was filled with rampant discrimination and harassment towards women by male officers, leading to lawsuits. Meanwhile, Sheriff Jones was cheating on his wife with one of his own female deputies, who he would openly grope in the office. The GOP stayed behind him the whole time.
• Daniel Webster- Florida Congressman with strong ties to the church of Bill Gothard, who has been arrested for a variety of claims of sexual abuse to children in his flock. Meanwhile, the GOP consider him a potential Speaker of the House.
• Jon Girodes- New York State Senate candidate arrested on fraud charges, but called a accuser of his who was disabled and threatened to rape them. Since this happened after he already lost an election, the GOP looked the other way and let him disappear into prison without any criticism at any point.
• Jennifer Carroll- Former Lt. Governor of Florida allowed to maintain office after being caught in a lesbian affair with a staffer. But she got pushed out of office after being caught in a financial fraud scandal six months after that.
• Bill Kintner- Had an affair with a woman online in a sex chat (who also tried to blackmail him after he wanked over video chat with her), but was only forced to resign because he did it on a government-issued laptop, which is a crime. Hard for him to get away with it, as there was literal video.
• Tara Mack & Tim Kelly- Minnesota state legislators who got caught cheating on their spouses with each other in a car by a state legislator, and tried claiming they were "exchanging documents". Resigned after trying to smear the reputation of the officer who caught them in the act.
• Gia Arnold- Tea Party darling and Congress New York State Senate candidate who couldn't even decide if she should resign after being caught having an affair. Never given grief by the party, even after she was arrested on weapons charges near the U.S./Canada border.
• Robert Fisher- New Hampshire state legislator who literally started the Men's Rights Activist forum "The Red Pill", which gives tips on how to get away with raping women, who he accuses of filing false reports of sexual assault. Was called on to resign by Gov. Chris Sununu, and eventually relented and stepped aside. Still has loyal allies in office.
• Joshua Youssef- Another New Hampshire state legislator and Men's Rights Activist, a former boss of Robert Fisher. Still in office without criticism in spite of the MRA identity.
• Robert Bentley- Former Alabama Governor who resigned after he was caught banging his mistress, who also was being paid a government salary to work for him. All criticism regarding Bentley from Alabama Republicans should be taken with a grain of salt, because most of those who did wanted to be the next governor.
• Bryce Marlatt- Oklahoma state legislator who sexually assaulted an UBER driver. Resigned six days later, but without any calls from colleagues to do so.
• Tim Murphy- Pennsylvania Congressman who cheated on a wife with his mistress. The GOP weren't going to force his hand, and he was just going to retire at the end of his term. At least, that's what they were going to do until it was revealed Murphy and his mistress had a pregnancy scare, and he pressured her during that stretch into looking into an abortion. WHOOPSIE. When that became public, his resignation was to take effect immediately.

[worstblogever]

Should I follow this up with a supercut of all the Republican comments about rape with the Alabama GOP officials who downplayed statutory rape laws, or have I proved my f***ing point that "Both Sides are NOT the same" sufficiently?

Because I'm willing to embarrass any false narrative folks further, if they so wish.

[numberthirty]

Should I follow this up with a supercut of all the Republican comments about rape with the Alabama GOP officials who downplayed statutory rape laws, or have I proved my f***ing point that "Both Sides are NOT the same" sufficiently?

Because I'm willing to embarrass any false narrative folks further, if they so wish.

In more "Not The Same..." news...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/anthon...t-sex-scandals

• Democrats tend to have more problems with harassment, staffers, and underage girls; Republicans tend to have more problems with prostitutes, hypocrisy, and underage boys.

Staffer

There’s a clear abuse of power when a politician and his employee is involved in a sex scandal. Democrats, by a count of 16 to six, have seemingly leveraged that power imbalance more.

Solid Democrat (16-6)

Sexual harassment

Whether threats or phone calls, it’s mostly been Democrats.

Solid Democrat (9-2)

Sexual assault

Six Democrats have faced allegations of sexual assault, compared to four for Republicans.

Lean Democrat (6-4)

[numberthirty]

That said, I just don't see avoiding discussing that each of those parties need to be endorsing some bare minimums as far as what they will come down on like a Looney Tunes anvil.

One party being worse doesn't wipe the other parties issues away.

[worstblogever]

That said, I just don't see avoiding discussing that each of those parties need to be endorsing some bare minimums as far as what they will come down on like a Looney Tunes anvil.

One party being worse doesn't wipe the other parties issues away.

I produced a list about how worse the GOP has been the past 7 years.

You posted an article that talks about how Democrats were about as bad... from 7 years AGO that discusses 1990-2010 where Anthony Weiner is the only one in the same time frame and hoped I wouldn't notice that.

I noticed, and you're still wrong, #30. And as disingenuous a debater as ever. I mean, conveniently moving the goal posts of the time frame to support your argument? Weak sauce.

[SquirrelMan]

Pitiable semantics. He's a former office-holder who's in the running for an office and there are demands, in advance of a trial or even a formal charge, for his party to condemn him. That's the whole story, bubie.

Have you changed your mind now that Moore is no longer denying the charges, instead saying it wasn't something he did "in general"?