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

[worstblogever]

You were saying?

I think I was saying I was waiting for more details before I passed any judgment, and the details that are out don't exactly paint this as a simple situation. Also, Franken is practically volunteering to go before the ethics committee to allow them to investigate, which is rather unprecedented, and doesn't sound like something a guilty politician would do, does it?

Take a serious look at the savvy of Democratic sex offenders. They aren't exactly Captain John Patrick Mason when it comes to that stuff.

Hey, look... #30 is alluding to a massive, unspoken list of supposed Democratic sex offenders in Congress, without actually naming any.

[numberthirty]

He meant that YOU were tardy to the party, #30. We've been discussing the Franken allegations all afternoon and evening.

That aside...

Nice use of nice use of alliteration.

[numberthirty]

Hey, look... #30 is alluding to a massive, unspoken list of supposed Democratic sex offenders in Congress, without actually naming any.

For one thing, two female members just said there was a Republican and a Democrat earlier this week. I'll find something, and repost it. Don't think they named them.

As for "Massive", I don't see that in my post. I said that there are Democratic sex offenders.

[numberthirty]

For that matter(not exactly being Captain John Patrick Mason when it comes to keeping sexual misconduct under wraps), neither is the GOP.

[Mister Mets]

A second trans woman has accused Jeffrey Tambor of sexual harassment.

In the second season of Transparent, the groundbreaking Amazon series that traces one father's journey to womanhood, Maura Pfefferman — played by Jeffrey Tambor, in a role that has won him two Emmys — struggles to find the right inflection for the popular queer catchphrase, "Yas queen."

Her teacher is Shea — played by Trace Lysette — a yoga teacher and sometimes stripper, who steps in to show her fellow transgender, a newbie, the ropes.

The moment, which went viral shortly after the season debuted in November 2015, plays out as sweet, hilarious and authentic. But Lysette now says the circumstances around its filming were anything but.

According to Lysette, when she emerged from wardrobe in her costume — a salmon-colored lingerie top and matching short-shorts — Tambor remarked, "My God, Trace. I want to attack you sexually." Alexandra Billings, the third actor in the scene, was present to hear the remark, she confirms. Both "laughed it off because it was so absurd," Lysette says.

A few minutes later, while waiting for a camera setup between takes, Lysette was standing in a corner of the soundstage set. That's when she says Tambor, dressed as Maura, wearing a green satin kimono and gray wig, approached her.

"He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrust back and forth against my body. I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas," Lysette says.

Lysette pushed Tambor away and "rolled my eyes." Billings was not present for this alleged incident, and several crewmembers were nearby "but they were focused on their jobs. It was discreet. If you were behind Jeffrey you might have thought he was giving me a hug."

The actress, who is transgender, is the second on the Transparent payroll to come forward with allegations that Tambor, 73, has subjected them to sexual harassment, sexual assault and generally abusive behavior on the set of the critically adored series.

The first accuser, Van Barnes, is a trans woman who worked as Tambor's personal assistant, and whose allegations have led to an internal investigation by Amazon Studios. She has previously appeared on E!'s I Am Cait.

According to Barnes' lawyer Alana Chazan, her client signed a nondisclosure agreement while working for Tambor and therefore could not comment on Lysette's claims. Nor would Barnes detail what workplace abuses she allegedly suffered at Tambor's hands — accusations which were made in a private Facebook post that had leaked and circulated within Hollywood transgender circles.

A copy of that Facebook post was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. In it, Barnes, without directly naming Tambor, vents about an employer who made comments like "I should be sleeping with him if I want a Hollywood industry appropriate pay grade" and "it wouldn't take long, he pops quick." She says the employer subjected her to "butt pats," pornography played at loud volumes, and complaints that she "was useless, could do nothing right,"

[numberthirty]

This one was a step in the right direction...

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...116-story.html

In rare mass exoneration, 15 drug cases tied to corrupt Chicago ex-cop are thrown out

[InformationGeek]

Well you know what they say about glasshouses...

The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? .....

Also, I like how he has said more about this than Roy Moore. It says something that we all already know.

[numberthirty]

That guy has never heard of that one.

[InformationGeek]

That guy has never heard of that one.

You're right. That's a bit above his intelligence level.

[numberthirty]

You're right. That's a bit above his intelligence level.

Actually, I think he might be able to work it out. There just isn't anyone throwing that one around in his world.

[worstblogever]

Two more amazing coincidences happened on the Franken story...

InfoWars knew the story was dropping before it did.
Russian bots have gone into overdrive to share the story on social media.

[mojotastic]

Russian bots have gone into overdrive to share the story on social media.

I see, russian...bots, hmm, couldnt that just that just be right wingers? Becsuse Mr Takei also said the same thing when he was accused of sexual misconduct recently

[InformationGeek]

Two more amazing coincidences happened on the Franken story...

InfoWars knew the story was dropping before it did.
Russian bots have gone into overdrive to share the story on social media.

Got a link on the infowars thing? Good to have for reference.

[Tazirai]

Two more amazing coincidences happened on the Franken story...

InfoWars knew the story was dropping before it did.
Russian bots have gone into overdrive to share the story on social media.

Seriously Not everything is the Russians. Our own Right Wingers are just as capable of being asshats.

[mojotastic]

Also i asked about Curbelo because i saw this

http://thehill.com/latino/360696-his...equest-to-join

Hispanic Caucus rejects Republican's request to join

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) on Thursday rejected Rep. Carlos Curbelo's (R-Fla.) reques

"After due consideration, the CHC determined not to accept Rep. Curbelo’s request to join the Caucus,” CHC spokesman Carlos Paz Jr. said in a statement after the group held a closed-door majority vote.

Curbelo appeared before the group in the morning to plead his case. His appearance was followed by deliberations that included several CHC members and ended with a meeting between Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), the group's chairwoman, and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), it's vice chairman.

"[Curbelo] made a presentation and it was a good presentation," Lujan Grisham said after the vote.

But Curbelo's presentation didn't sway enough CHC members, many of whom have publicly sparred with the Republican lawmaker during the application process.

Still, the official explanation for the rejection came down to values.

“The CHC isn’t just an organization for Hispanics; it is a Caucus that represents certain values. This vote reflects the position of many of our members that Rep. Curbelo and his record are not consistent with those values,” Paz Jr. said in the CHC's official statement.

Lujan Grisham outlined some of the key issues on Curbelo's record.

"We discussed several items. Health care, tax bill, relief for Puerto Rico. Many of those votes in this climate gave members who voted no, and maybe other members, some pause about whether or not this was a good time for changing membership," she said.

But Curbelo said the rejection amounted to discrimination, an argument that raised eyebrows among CHC members during the application process.

"It is truly shameful the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has decided to build a wall around the organization to exclude Hispanic-Americans who aren’t registered in the Democratic Party. This sends a powerful and harmful message of discrimination, bigotry, and division," he said in a statement.

The CHC is a bipartisan organization on paper, but it hasn't had Republican members since a spat over Cuba policy created a rift in 1997.