@snoopydawg

I'll start with this one:

Clearly, if the #MeToo movement succeeds in driving out all of the sexual predators from the world of entertainment, business and politics, it may also succeed in driving out all of the most qualified men as well. This is the perfect example of a movement going too far, cutting down the apple orchard to kill off a few bad worms. Is there a future for men in the brave new #MeToo world?

1. What the hell is the author of the article, Robert Bridge, saying here?

A. That the most talented and qualified men are being falsely accused? If that's what he's saying, how does he know that the accusations are false?

B. That predators who are talented and highly qualified should not be accused? Cosby? Weinstein? Affleck?

C. That the most qualified and talented men, though not themselves either guilty of anything or accused, will get so terrified of being accused that they will flee the fields of entertainment, business and politics? Talk about a makeweight argument! Do Bridges seriously think that most qualified and talent men who are innocent are going to leave power/money fields simply because some other men in those fields have been accused--and rightly to date, as far as I can tell. And I include Biden in that.

2. What is a perfect example of a movement going too far? Accusing Biden? If so, why?

3. What orchard has been cut down simply to get a few bad worms? I bet for every Weinstein who got accused, there are at least a hundred who did not.

In February 2015, for example, Joe Biden was present at the swearing-in ceremony for Ashton Carter as the US Secretary of Defense. As Carter thanked the assembled audience for the honor, the ‘creepy’ VP was positioned directly behind Carter’s wife, Stephanie. Almost like clockwork, Biden placed both hands on her shoulders as he whispered ‘sweet nothings’ into her ear.

Before I even get to substance, I'd like to know Biden got positioned directly behind Mrs. Carter. Because I saw a youtube video where he position a little girl so that her should met his crotch; and, when she moved away slightly, so that a sliver of daylight existed between her shoulder and his crotch, he pulled her back to where he had originally positioned her. That may not have been the case with Ms. Carter, but it may have.

The spectacle lasted for only a few seconds, but it seemed sufficiently shocking enough for even CNN to mention it. In other words, here we have a definitive #MeToo moment. But wait, not so fast! Before calling in the Inquisition, what did Stephanie Carter, the women on the receiving end of those purportedly unwelcomed caresses, think about the situation? Carter says she did not perceive anything wrong with Biden’s physical gestures and in fact welcomed them (!).

So, let's see here. President Obama appointed Carter to a very important position, and Carter's wife didn't tell reporters that Biden, Obama's Vice President, should have kept his hands to himself? Isn't that exactly why people in power aren't supposed to take advantage of their positions? Because their victims are NOT likely to risk anything by running to Human Resources to report the predator, any more than Anita Hill reported Clarence Thomas to HR??

Also, per Bridges, the Carter episode lasted a few seconds--not the case with some of the other victims. And he was not weirdly inhaling her hair or kissing the back of her head too long. And, if it did last only a few seconds, did Ms. Carte even have time to move away? And why is Ms. Carter's experience the one we ought judge Biden by, rather than by all the women who have been complaining about his "gestures" and all the videos we've seen?

One of the problems with Biden is that (a) he has just been assuming that it is fine to put his hands on females of any age; or (b) he doesn't give a rap whether it's fine with the women or not. In either case, what were the women with whom it was not okay to do to escape? Make a public scene? No matter what that might do to their careers or the careers of their sons, husbands, etc? Go to media after it was over anyway?

Point is, Biden gave none of them, adult or minor, a reasonable choice. He just manhandled them. And I don't think he was oblivious to the fact that the women did not have a reasonable choice.

Can he put his hands and even his lips on people with whom he's had a close relationship for a reaonable? Sure, if it seems welcome to her. But a woman accompanying her husband to his first swearing in doesn't fit that description--and a minor daughter is off limits, no matter what.

Finally, Bridges limiting this to men is bogus. I'd feel the same if the predator were a female.

Biden is a lawyer. I am sure he is very familiar with these crimes:

Battery is a criminal offense involving the unlawful physical acting upon a threat, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact.

Battery is a specific common law misdemeanor, although the term is used more generally to refer to any unlawful offensive physical contact with another person, and may be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(crime)

The definition of assault varies by jurisdiction, but is generally defined as intentionally putting another person in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact. Physical injury is not required.
Overview

Some jurisdictions label "assault" as "attempted battery." In tort law, assault is considered an intentional tort.
"Apprehension"

In the context of assault, the victim's "apprehension" happens if the victim believes that the tortfeasor's conduct will result in imminent harmful or offensive contact unless it is prevented.

It is not necessary that the victim believes the conduct will be effective in making such contact, only that the victim believes the conduct is capable of making such contact.
Assault and Battery

In an act of physical violence by one person against another, "assault" is usually paired with battery. In an act of physical violence, assault refers to the act which causes the victim to apprehend imminent physical harm, while battery refers to the actual act causing the physical harm.
Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault refers to an assault with an additional aggravating circumstance. As such, the liability and sentencing for aggravated assault is generally more severe than that for an ordinary assault.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault

#2

should be what gets people to see that it was not appropriate. Many of us have already hashed this out in the previous essay on this. But that he doesn't seem to take the matter serious says a lot.

Absolutely mind blowing how people are just brushing this video off.. & saying he’s just being “loving & affectionate” nah this is predator status.. #HideYokids #CreepyBiden #Joebiden #CreepyUncleJoe pic.twitter.com/QP7kD8qKPM

— Don't @ me (@justnotacare) April 4, 2019

There are two possible reasons to explain why Biden, 76, acted in such an 'expressive' way with not only women, but young girls as well. The first explanation is that Biden felt comfortably empowered enough to behave exactly the way he did. In other words, he abused his powers. After all, what person is really going to challenge the second most powerful official in the US government as his nose is planted deep in their hair on live television? That is reportedly what happened to Nevada legislator, Lucy Flores, who said that Biden allegedly held her shoulders, sniffed her hair and kissed her head back in 2014.

However, photos, like words, are sometimes deceiving. This leads us to the second explanation.

In February 2015, for example, Joe Biden was present at the swearing-in ceremony for Ashton Carter as the US Secretary of Defense. As Carter thanked the assembled audience for the honor, the ‘creepy’ VP was positioned directly behind Carter’s wife, Stephanie. Almost like clockwork, Biden placed both hands on her shoulders as he whispered ‘sweet nothings’ into her ear.

The spectacle lasted for only a few seconds, but it seemed sufficiently shocking enough for even CNN to mention it. In other words, here we have a definitive #MeToo moment. But wait, not so fast! Before calling in the Inquisition, what did Stephanie Carter, the women on the receiving end of those purportedly unwelcomed caresses, think about the situation? Carter says she did not perceive anything wrong with Biden’s physical gestures and in fact welcomed them (!).

“The Joe Biden in my picture is a close friend helping someone get through a big day, for which I will always be grateful,” she wrote. “[H]is attempt to support me had become a joke and… supposed proof positive that he didn’t understand how to respect women.”

The article should be read in full since it's not a JOE you did bad. It ends with this.

Clearly, if the #MeToo movement succeeds in driving out all of the sexual predators from the world of entertainment, business and politics, it may also succeed in driving out all of the most qualified men as well. This is the perfect example of a movement going too far, cutting down the apple orchard to kill off a few bad worms. Is there a future for men in the brave new #MeToo world?

So who gets to decide whether someone touch someone is appropriate or not? The person doing the touching or the person being touched? For me it's the latter.

@snoopydawg I'm seeing a lot of outrage on the left about Biden, but from the same people who voted for Hillary Clinton, supported Barack Obama and support Bernie Sanders. They can excuse things like that, but they draw the line at Biden making people uncomfortable. Not everyone, but most. Another example of how hypocrisy rules politics.

#3

I have been commenting on what the Moreno government has been doing. I think I did in the Assange essay and a few weeks ago when 10,000/50,000 people were fired after the IMF loan. Our government is once again interfering in another country and many people are going to be hurt.

@karl pearson @karl pearson

. . . vis-a-vis Venezuela and presumably other countries. I guess he has no clue how they amount to economic blackmail, even warfare, and hurt ordinary citizens more than government officials.

What with him being from Notre Dame professor parents, it surprises me that he doesn't know much about or disagrees with Catholic Just War postulates.

See: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/433439-buttigieg-suggests-bolton-s... (the reference to sanctions is towards the end of the article).

#4 Thanks for the link. It was a nice summary.