UPDATE (he sort of apologizes) (Is this Franken’s motivation for internet censorship?):
Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Thu, 11/16/2017 - 11:33am
"
Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It"*
I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep.
I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.
How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?
http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken/
EDIT: pronoun ‘I’ got lost somehow. I put it back where it belonged.
UPDATE:
Franken apologizes after groping allegation: 'It was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/360669-franken-apologizes-after-gropi...
EDITS: update and typo
Comments
I'm not defending Franken by any means.
The guy sold out for a pat on the head years ago.
What I will say about this is that I'm surprised the USO isn't getting more of the blowback. Because this shit happens ALL THE TIME in the USO and has since time immemorial.
I mean, what do you expect is going to happen when you take a group of predominantly young males, then tell them they can't drink, smoke, watch porn, or even take long showers. THEN say, you know what? The boys deserve some entertainment! Let's throw up some bawdy and suggestive shows!
It is a recipe for disaster.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
@detroitmechworks The USO isn't getting the
The USO isn't getting the blowback because the problem is Franken. Just like the problem is Weinstein. And just like the problem is Trump.
It's an individual bad guy. Remember that.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
The priesthood of politics
Where perverts go to grope women under the guise of serving their constituents.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz Yes, it's wrong. But why
Yes, it's wrong. But why do I feel like some political consultant somewhere concocted this moment so that I'd react in a certain way?
Not saying that to defend Franken, who lost my support years ago, for good and forever.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal The elites ARE fighting
The elites ARE fighting and god knows what's going to be left of the cultural discourse on rape and sexual abuse when they're done.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
He looks like a 14 year old boy
in that picture, doing something he knows he's not supposed to and getting his picture taken doing it. Just gross. Not shocking, and supposed to be "all in good fun" but not for the person being made a fool of while sleeping. Gross.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
@lizzyh7
Surely she was hardly made a fool of, for being grabbed while sleeping? Personally, I'd have said that he was playing the fool, and well beyond the pale.
That would only have been funny if she'd wakened and belted him.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Oh goodie, the spin is out.
Franken's Followers are actively smearing the woman as a Trump supporter, claiming his apology is better than any other apology and as such deserves to be treated as genuine, and that he called for an ethics investigation, so therefore, we need to wait for the results of that.
You know. The Clinton Defense.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
How feminist of them
Apparently, being partisan for the other team negates your rights as a woman not to be groped against your will. Who knew?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz Didn't you know that?
Didn't you know that?
It's also true that you're not Black if you're Republican, unless your name is Colin Powell or Condi Rice.
In other words, we're racist for not voting for Hillary Clinton, but we're not racist for not voting for Ben Carson.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
We're definitely gonna need flash cards
To keep up with the hypocrisy.
When I was learning Japanese, I had Kana cards to memorize hiragana characters, maybe we need Can'ta cards to memorize the things women can't do anymore? Like live our lives and not be violated by men in power.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Correction on Ben Carson:
It's ok to vote for him as long as you are a Senator and it's a confirmation. Otherwise, I think you are a racist if you vote for him, but I may be mistaken?!?
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@Dr. John Carpenter I stand corrected
I stand corrected!The learned gentleman is quite right. You must vote for him in confirmation hearings; you can't vote for him if Hillary is running for the same office.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
At GOS they are even suggesting
that it's the Russians that are spreading this story. It's even on their wreck list.
The crazy is so thick and deep there, they might need an intervention.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
@dervish This is starting to
This is starting to make my head hurt.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
It's the endless spin; centrifuges the brain.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
@Ellen North No kidding.
No kidding.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@dervish
Lol, the universe is not controlled by white mice but by magical, time-traveling, god-like Russians who control everything we do and everything that occurs which appears to have been done by... certain others.... The Resistance is
puerilefutile!At least now we know.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
I suggest an intense
Course in de-programming, beginning with a strict moratorium on all media, and a requirement of community service in hospice care. Maybe that'll strip their delusions down a decibel. If, not, at least they will be providing a service that creates value.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz
Gawd, they'd probably waterboard the dying to hasten the process and save the expense and hassle of looking after them. Going by their behaviours, they need to be kept away from the vulnerable.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
We could probably get this into the DSM
as a mental health diagnosis, Russian Obsessive Disorder or something. The treatment could be as mild as what zoe suggests, but for the harder cases I'd recommend institutionalization for a long period of time, and maybe some electro-shock therapy.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
@dervish
A few White Russians might help sooth the panic, too.
I mean, how much ludicrous deflection and redirection can any one person deal with at a time, even if they aren't consciously aware that they're spouting propaganda? Must be disorienting, believing 187 newly introduced impossible things on a daily basis, as stuff comes out for the propagandists to re-attribute to what's supposed to be one insanely busy and time-traveling country, anyone remotely associated with that country's government whether within or especially outside of reality, and its leader, responsible, apparently, for anything that any American Evil doesn't want to admit to, despite ample (RUSSIAN!!! FAKED!!! STOLEN!!!) proof...
Except for those members of government which those paying the rest of the propagandists may have dealt with, of course. 'Cause that's different!
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
I see what you did there
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Goose and Gander
You get a pass?
Bush 41, grab ass on a 16 year old, just like grampa?.
You've seen this. right?
Good ole Uncle Joe..
https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2017/11/13/no-woman-is-safe-why-hasnt-...
The hypocrisy is killer.
It's OK if you're a democrat.
Franken. "I'm a comedian. Chill.
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
Look at how this woman and young girl reacted to him
he is well known for this type of behavior, yet people give him a pass for various reasons.
The death of his first wife and child, "oh he doesn't mean anything by this, he's just being joe " and other excuses.
If he runs, this is going to go viral.
Enlarge this and watch Jill's reaction when she sees what he's doing. The little girl must have gotten the "don't let anyone touch you" talk.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
That's what I was referring to in the Slick essay
There are compilation videos on YouTube. They are truly hard to watch. At one point he maneuvers a little girl's arm/hand right at his crotch. Wtf? All under the guise of arranging everyone for a photo. And he puts his hands at their waists - when no one else is doing that.
He's repulsive, but hey, it's the "norm", has always been this way, feminism sucks, women are whores, boys will be boys, men are pigs, teach your girls about men (bad parenting of girls), quit yer bitching and whining, he only did it once to each one so it's not harassment, haven't you heard about the tax bill?
With the exception of the biching and whining comment, I have read a version of every single one of those comments, defending this behavior and worse, right here on c99!
There are many more videos of him doing that
at the link Ed posted. I picked the first one because of Jill's reaction. She immediately dropped her smile when she looked at him and saw what he was doing.
There is no way that he is going to run again. Not in this environment. I think that this is good news.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
@snoopydawg The elites are
The elites are fighting. The way they fight is fairly disgusting. I wish I thought the fight would distract them from hurting us for a while, but I don't think that's going to work anymore.
Anyway, looks like the peace the Clintons and Bushes wanted to broker between the "left" and the "right" up there is not holding. Lately, it's been Democrats and their allies who have been targeted, including someone close to Hillary (Weinstein). There hasn't been a serious attack of this nature on the Clintons and their machine since the 90s, so I guess this fight's for real. I wonder how far it will spread?
If you see Democrats attacking Paul Ryan, you'll know the fight's gotten serious.
And no, I don't think this is fabricated. I think it's all real. But sexual harassment and rape are so widespread, and so normalized, just like politicians engaging in corrupt business dealings with foreigners is widespread and normalized, that a media shock wave about any of these issues is likely to be motivated by something other than genuine outrage or surprise.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@snoopydawg I feel the same way
I feel the same way about people suddenly, in 2016, discovering a massive outrage about racism and election fraud, when actual racist election fraud in 2000 and 2004 left them twiddling their thumbs and wondering if they should go out for Italian or Chinese.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Franken brings this story
into the halls of Congress. A whole bunch of congress critters and Senators best have their $h!ttin' Pants™ on, becuz they're about to $h!t their pants.
Not that they're going anywhere, but still... it does tarnish their legacy somewhat.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
And they want the taxpayers to pay for harassment training.
Easy, keep your hands to yourself, your mouth shut,vand your zipper up.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
There's a months long ordeal forced on victims too
Only after that will a formal complaint be issued. There's even a month long cooling off period included.
I'll go look for a link, but I saw it on T.V..
Edit add: all I could find was EEO stuff. But, I saw a bullet list on whatever news I saw it on. Anywho, disregard since I can't prove it.
Not just training
We've paid out $15 million in federal funds so far as hush money to the victims.
If we're paying for it, shouldn't we at least get to know the names of the perps in Congress?
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
What a prat!
Fondle Franken, doing his 'bit' for the Wellstone legacy. With Hillary supporters like him, no wonder Minnesota went so heavily for Sanders.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
@Bollox Ref Ack, bite your tongue.
Ack, bite your tongue.
That bastard has nothing to do with Paul Wellstone's legacy, personal friend or not.
Wellstone, the man who should have become President in 2004. Also the man who voted against the Iraq War while on the campaign trail, knowing it might mean he'd lose his job. But his numbers went up after he voted against the Iraq War, not down. They couldn't have other legislators getting funny ideas, and they certainly couldn't have someone who voted against the Iraq War running for President. So they killed him.
Just my opinion.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
"They" say that those
type of planes "crash all the time," nothing to see...
I suspect Wellstone was offed.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
I think a lot of people agree with you hence
the much used phrase directed towards any who tries to buck the establishment “...and stay away from small planes”.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
@Amanda Matthews I don't think he's
I don't think he's the only one they've killed via small plane.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Maybe not. But he’s the most well-know . And that’s why that
phrase as become the standard warning for any politician who steps outside TPTB’s approved political agenda (for lack of a better word).
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Smarmy, Mr. Franken,
and definitely uncool. That sort of thing may have been good for a few dirty snickers when you were a boy, but we're outgrowing it now.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Sen Franken does "honorable" thing says dkos
More:
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1716235
Top of the page is one of those 'Let us have your email address so we can spam the shit out of you' petitions calling for Trump's Twitter account to be permanently removed.
Does anyone have a barf bag?
Why am I not surprised . . .
The "honorable" thing is to not sexually assault women for laughs.
When I was 13, a bunch of boys came up behind me at school, threw me on the ground, four of them held my arms and legs and lifted me off the ground, while two or three others took a turn at grabbing my breasts and while my two female friends laughed along. They said they did it because I was a prude and wouldn't let one of them touch my breasts a few days before. One of them was my best friend's boyfriend, and she thought it was funny. She told me that they were trying to "cure" me from being a prude.
Oh my god! I'm so sorry!
My god. I don't know what to say, other than I'm so sorry!
Thanks
It's ok - it was a very long time ago! I guess it still bothers me though because it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw that photo.
My sister was viciously harrassed
for a few weeks by a group of boys in junior high school. My mother went down to the school but that really did just make it worse. It died down finally and my dad may have visited one time, not sure.
As far as I remember I only had one real incident of true sexual harassment in the Army. I guy who I thought was a friend took me out one Sunday afternoon off post for drinks. He got absolutely hammered, drinking salty dogs as I remember. We'd been friends, joked, played pool, had beer together so I trusted him and then we got in the car. He tried kissing me and I tried to just laugh him off. Pissed him off is what that did. He shrieked at me that I was "just like all the rest" and started driving, fast. He was yelling the whole way and we came to a stop light and I got the hell out of there. He yelled for a while as he drove off and I called a male friend in the barracks who came to pick me up. Dude sent me a dozen roses the following Monday, trying so hard to apologize. We weren't friends again, no way to be after that.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
#YesAllWomen
(Whatever happened to that hashtag anyway??)
Even I have one. I was at a Halloween dance one time, my second year of college I think. This drunk guy started dancing with me; he wasn't even dressed up. Which was all fine until out of nowhere he grabs my ass; all I could think to do at the time was shove him away, which thankfully was the end of it. In retrospect I should've decked him, but I think it's such a shock when it happens you can't think clearly.
Then there was the time I spent in New Orleans; I was there alone, which was incredibly stupid, but I thought, I'm 29, I can take care of myself. It could have been so, so much worse; I ended up in a situation that could've easily turned bad but I was smart enough to remove myself from it before it did. (Kind of a long story.) Then I bought a cheap $7 ring so people would think I was engaged, which did help some.
No, not all men are like this (I got one of the good ones.), but probably every woman you know has been harassed or assaulted at some point. It needs to stop.
This shit is bananas.
I love your sig, Daenerys
I only know about #MeToo, but the men folk at Twitter might have quashed that one, like the corporate shills there did the same to many Killary ones.
#EveryWoman is a good one I hadn't seen; though I go to Twitter rarely.
#RememberBerta only brings up a few things now.
For all I know, Killery ordered them dead - no pun intended, though it certainly fits.
She is a champion of women (and children) after all. *cough cough cough bletch*
We all do have a story, unfortunately, even almost 20 years into the 21st century. Says a lot about our society, and what's being taught to our children.
@Deja #YesAllWomen
#YesAllWomen is old, from a few years ago. 2013? 2014?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Daenerys That hashtag
That hashtag indirectly caused my exit from Daily Kos.
Some women began telling their stories of rape and harassment on Daily Kos because of that hashtag.
One day my family came in to find me at my computer with tears running down my face because of the way a woman was being bullied on Daily Kos after telling the story of her rape.
It's not that I even liked that woman particularly. But being bullied for telling your rape story is--I don't have words for what it is. The worst was when Denise Oliver Velez popped into the conversation to inform the woman that she had told that story to entrap a male commenter into getting in trouble with the mods .
Just think for a few seconds about all the horrible implications of DOV, of all people, committing that act.
That's when I started crying at the computer. And that's when I decided to leave.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Wow, what a horrible person
I probably shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't think she was devoid of a soul. I just thought she was a racist bully narcissist. And she claims to mold young females. That's scary!
If I hadn’t had to sign a legal agreement
to keep my mouth shut in return for ‘mandatory sexual harrassment training’ for all supervisors and corporate execs, a copy of my official ‘complaint’ and a copy of the report of the results of the’investion’ of what happened and their finding in my bosses employment record (a BIG concession back in those days),and $5,000 to tide me over until I found a new job, i would have a tale to tell myself. (I only got those concessions because I had help and backing of the EEOC. I could never have afforded an attorney.)
It was decades ago. And it is why I have no respect or an ounce of pity for the #metoo bunch who want some attention and pity now.
I deleted that remark from an earlier post because I was afraid people would’ve been on my ass tighter than my undies even though I backed it up by saying that if THESE VICTIMS would have stood up and done the right thing when it happened to them, maybe we could have started to deal with this foul and unfair situation long ago.
I needed that job. I could possibly have really gone someplace in it. Every time I look at my situation today that little voice in my head sometimes says ‘what if’ I had just gone along with it? Where would I be today? And then I come to my senses and realize I would be in a place where I had no respect for myself and a disgusting memory of one of the most unwanted and disgusting sexual/emotional experiences any woman can imagine,
I’m fine with it.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
How many women are being triggered by this?
This has happened to so many females for so long and with the accusations coming out, they are being reminded of what happened to them.
Of course this didn't only happen to females as we've been hearing.
Too many people are brushing the accusations off and offering all kinds of excuses for this. Look at what Roy Moore's supporters are saying about his behavior. Many are doing it because he comes across as a religious man who wants gawd back into people's lives. If you are an atheist, he'll shove his opinions on you anyway.
I too am sorry for what happened to you.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
@Iogrey Thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing your story. I support you and sympathize with your experience. I got that prude thing a lot too in school.
@Iogrey I hate it when women
I hate it when women help out. So disgusting.
The hangers-on always angered me even more than the bullies themselves.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Deja, wrong link?
Did you mean this one? The other one goes to a diary on Moore.
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1716183
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
It's comparing Moore & The Honorable One assaulters
So, it was the right link I posted.
But the quote is from the same Hill article linked in this essay we're on now.
I see your point now
I've been reading the twitchy website and it has some doozies on it. I didn't know that Moveon was created during the hearings into Clinton's lying. They wanted him censored and then for congress to "move on". If this is correct, then yeah, it's ironic.
This website skewers people who post dumb tweets.
ronic: MoveOn tackles Al Franken but seems to have forgotten why it was founded
This one is for gulfgal
‘Al is so WOKE!’ Joy Reid gives Al Franken a pass because of THIS, and no one is surprised
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
@Deja DKos has a concept of
DKos has a concept of honor? Funny. Where were they hiding that?
Probably in the back of the same closet where they stored their reason.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Chained and gagged
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Well my reaction to all of this will clearly be contrary and in
the minority here. Pedophilia and rape aside, I'm getting tired of this. War crimes, bank fraud destroying families, polluting the planet, stealing trillions and screwing over our kids, corruption out the ass, and America can't be bothered. But OMG someone touched someone else's boob, and everybody has to resign and go to jail immediately. This is just another distraction from what matters to me.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
It is court Drama...
After all, it's the most vital thing to the gossips and wags who hang about the royal court as to which courtier is the most scandalous.
I bet there was some guy, right before the gate of Versailles was knocked down, who was still trying to convince some fourth cousin of the king to get him an audience or he would reveal the Marquis' affair with that saucy wench...
/snark
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Yes, it is a distraction, I grant you that.
But in many ways it is connected to all the other big problems of our society. It is about power and the abuse of it. Its about hypocrisy of claiming you give a shit about real people while making fun of them or abusing them. It is part of the reason America is as sick as it is. Its attitude helps fuel the wars, fuels the contempt for the weak, fuels the cruelty it takes to DO that to others. Its as much a part of the whole damned problem as the origins of this country are. IMHO.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Exactly! Same people doing it all
The same rapists, child molesters, sexual harassers, creepy gropers (assault), are the ones committing war crimes, calling the shots on bombing hospitals, taking theirs and leaving others with nothing. The same ones who do all the sexual shit, also rape this whole planet. And the enablers are just as guilty as the perps on all fronts.
@dkmich DK, I'm on both sides of
DK, I'm on both sides of that issue. Yes, it's horrible. But it's like saying "OMG a member of Congress traded a vote for money! Inconceivable!"
This stuff is normalized horror. So when the media gets into a lather about something that 90% of the time they obviously don't give a shit about, I look to see why they're actually doing it.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal I bet you that if it
I bet you that if it were a superior officer grabbing her boob, we'd never hear about it.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
LOL, and if he's high enough up the food chain
that officer would probably know better than to be photographed doing it. But then again, just because he/she has a star or whatever on his/her shoulder don't mean he/she has brains....
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
More dirty laundry behing hung out to dry.
And then he goes on to explain in vivid detail what type of sex this group engaged in.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Apparently the public apology has been accepted.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/al-franken-sexual-harassment/inde...
I do find it funny that it's the media that's now pushing the "Should he step down?" question.
Seems to me the Media's become a little hungry... They want their scandal, and they want it dripping blood...
Question to me is what will the Democrats do? Will they respect the woman who NOW is claiming she doesn't want anything from this, but they were happily smearing as a Trump supporter for most of the day, OR will they carry on because of the need for another sacrificial sin-eater?
If the former, it was the perfect story for distracting us from the tax vote. No consequences, lots of innuendo, and an ending that perfectly preserves the status quo.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
As the TV Tropers would say, “the status quo is G~d”
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StatusQuoIsGod
We don't always get to decide
We don't always get to decide when an issue gets traction. Will people's stories get used for political purposes, twisted into that sort of thing? Of course they will. The point is that the sheer volume of people speaking out, many of them women and girls, may start having a lasting effect.
Apparently, whatever progress we'd made for decades for women's rights has been so deeply resented by some that half the duopoly's incompetence (that would be the Democratic half) at getting into elective office from the local level on up emboldened the hard-core regressives to work harder and harder to undo as much of that progress as they could with much of the focus on reproductive rights. Then, here comes Trump with his freight train load of baggage to do with women, but then he gets elected anyway.
Women react strongly to this election result, some of it ginned up by your Clintonite propaganda and graft merchants, but the thing is sometimes when you fire people up, you can't control what happens next.
I had thought from much of what I read here during the election that one of the few benefits of a Trump win would be the backlash to some of his more egregious crap. Well, this is one stream of that backlash, maybe not directly, and I know full well that Trump was persuaded to back the other horrible Republican candidate, but it wasn't because he had a problem with Moore per se. Somebody probably just convinced him that the other guy would help him get "wins" in the Senate. They made it about him and then pointed to something shiny to distract Trump on to some other horrible thing they wanted to do next.
Are there many other important things that the entire U.S. government and their overlords are screwing up and screwing us over about that are getting less attention this news cycle? Yes, there sure are, but if this helps to take a little wind out of the sails of the total assholes emboldened by Trump's election to preen about like every revolting thing they want to do and say about women and any kind of disadvantaged group is fine and dandy, then I'm all for it.
Also, in my case the boob grabber did it in a restaurant bar during happy hour because I wouldn't give him the entire evening of my time after he'd bought me one drink. (A town nearby the city I lived in was hosting a semi-annual international manufacturing convention that always brought a large influx of visitors, and this man identified himself as one of these visitors.) I sat at his table and had a conversation with him for maybe half an hour, thanked him, and stood up to go back to the friends I'd come to the restaurant with, and he stood up too and grabbed one breast in each hand and squeezed while I heard some laughter in the crowd. I was nineteen at the time and simply and utterly humiliated. That's just one example of many, and I know it's a very common occurrence. It's over thirty years later though, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Objectively, Moore's seeming Ephebophilia is worse than what Franken did, but so what? What Franken did was plenty bad enough.
Thank you for posting this, NCexile
Thank you, and I'm so sorry for your experience!
@Deja Thanks, Deja. It's
Thanks, Deja. It's true that we have a lot of different issues to work on and bad ideas and policies to fight, but when the media wants to help us out, even if they're doing it for the advertising revenue and website hits, it's still a chance to work on a positive change and to have the conversation that makes change possible.
Your story, and that photo reminded me of something
My mom told me about a co-worker who went on a business trip with a male counterpart. They had separate rooms. The last night of the trip, they had drinks, which he apparently spiked. The next day she woke up naked in her own room, feeling horrible, but more than a hangover. Within a few days she went to her doctor complaining of a heavy feeling in her lower abdomen. The doctor pulled out several pieces of whole fruit from her vagina.
Maybe that's an urban legend my mom told me to scare me, or maybe she really did know this woman. Horrible to me, either way.
The crack in the silence damn is widening, and I'm ready for the stories to flood the valley, because the predatory behavior is not okay, and has to stop.
Remember Air America?
Supposedly the 'resistance' to Bush the Dumberler.
Staffed by sellouts like Maddow and Franken.....along with Stephanie Miller and Hartmann at other radio locales.
Good times.
/s
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
"It was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't."
Pretty much sums up Franken's entire career.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@Not Henry Kissinger Hey! I love Trading
Hey! I love Trading Places.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Guys in gorilla suits....
do not think he's funny.
It's a union rule.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@Not Henry Kissinger LMAO!
LMAO!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver