. . . I don’t care who you are:
Carol at No Sheeples Here is having a contest to guess the date when Anthony Weiner finally resigns, with a $50 Amazon gift card as prize.
VIDEO: ‘Neither Explicit Nor Indecent’ Also, How Not to Get Banned at AOSHQ
Here is an Associated Press video report about WeinerGate:
Keep in mind that Anthony Weiner spent the first 10 days of this scandal telling lie after lie after lie, until Andrew Breitbart finally started publishing the pictures Weiner had sent to Meagan Broussard.
And even in his Monday press conference confession, Weiner continued telling lies, among other things saying that he’d never used his office to communicate with his cybersex partners.
Anthony Weiner is a liar. Why should we believe him now?
Well, Delaware police say they have ended their investigation of Weiner’s communications with the 17-year-old girl, even though it was reported “much of the conversations between Weiner and the high schooler had been deleted from the girl’s computer.”
So we are left to wonder exactly what Weiner and the girl were chatting about. The award-winning Ace of Spades says:
A guy who sometimes sends [obscene photos of himself] to admirers should not be cultivating an online relationship with a 17 year old girl. Period.
By the way, Ace is now banning commenters who engage in unwarranted speculation about “Weiner’s Wilmington Lolita” (as certain irresponsible people have called her). Whatever you do, don’t go over to the award-winning Ace of Spades HQ blog and suggest that this “sultry jailbait vixen” (to cite another unfair label) was anything other than an innocent victim of Weiner’s perverse online predations.
Calling her a “hot-to-trot teen temptress“? Yeah, Ace would ban you in a heartbeart for that. And don’t be linking any “suggestive videos,” either.
UPDATE: So far as I know, Dan Collins is not yet banned at AOSHQ, even though Dan seems to be speculating on a connection between WeinerGate and “Slutwalk.” And since we’re engaging in unwarranted speculation here — trying to fill the niche left open by by Ace’s banhammer threat, as it were — let’s just go all-in, why don’t we?
How is it that feminists nowadays are so adamantly “pro-sex,” encouraging young women toward “sexual empowerment” by dressing (or rather, undressing) as trashy as Madonna circa 1992 and acting as whorish as one of Charlie Sheen’s porn-star “goddesses” and yet — and yet! — should one of these completely empowered feminists get herself mixed up with some sort of highly public sexual wrongdoing, she must be treated with such deference that no one even dare identify her, at peril of being accused of “blaming the victim”? Continue reading VIDEO: ‘Neither Explicit Nor Indecent’ Also, How Not to Get Banned at AOSHQ →
Weiner’s Liberal Support Collapses as Three Top Dems Call for Resignation
The latest revelations appear to have finally tipped the balance against the cybersexing New York congressman:
Three weighty Democratic voices – including Nancy Pelosi – on Saturday called for the resignation of embattled U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has been under fire after admitting to inappropriate communications with women online.
The House Minority Leader, and the chairmen of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in separate statements called for Weiner to step down.
Just 24 hours ago, Pelosi had refused to speak out. But after police began investigating Weiner’s communications with a 17-year-old Delaware girl, Weiner announced he would “seek treatment” — effectively admitting that he is psychologically disturbed — and then the Democrat leadership said, “Hey, Anthony, you see this bus here?”
Democratic leaders had hoped Weiner would resign on his own, but he refused.
A senior Democratic aide said party leaders have been talking with him throughout the week, and that the coordinated effort to push him out began when he told the Democratic leadership he had decided to seek treatment. The aide said Weiner was informed that the leaders would be issuing a public call for his resignation.
The aide said the statements were released on Saturday to get ahead of the Sunday shows and the return of lawmakers on Monday.
Yeah: In their colleague’s hour of need, his liberal friends were chiefly concerned about . . . working the news cycle.
As Darleen Click says, they’re all “moral fascists” now.
UPDATE: New York Times:
Representative Anthony D. Weiner planned to check himself into a treatment center on Saturday after House Democratic leaders, including Nancy Pelosi, called on him to resign and suggested he needed psychiatric counseling. . . .
“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” said the spokeswoman, Risa Heller. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.
“Congressman Weiner takes the views of his colleagues very seriously and has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents.”
Want a textbook definition of “hubris”? Politician admits he is mentally ill, yet doesn’t see mental illness as a disqualification for public office.
Democrats always think themselves fit to govern, even when they’re nuts, zany, daft, bonkers and cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
UPDATE II: “Ah, the old ‘sex addiction’ excuse.” Beyond the “moral fascist” outrage — which Lisa Graas examines — aren’t we entitled to ask whether a man who succumbs to a dangerous sexual compulsion is fit for high public office? One may be entirely sympathetic to people suffering from mental disorders without believing that we should be governed by them.
Meanwhile, look at the top of the latest Memeorandum aggregation:
The New York Times, CNN, Politico, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, National Review and, further down the page, we find the Associated Press, the Washington Post, etc.
Now, go back and look at the Memeorandum aggregation at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. Notice something?
When this story was first broken by Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, all these major media organizations weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to be first with the exclusive scoop. In fact, you might say, they seemed rather determined to ignore the story.
And two weeks later, they don’t even make mention of the insignificant right-wing bloggers who beat them to the story.
UPDATE III: Linked by POH Diaries and by Bob Belvedere at The Camp of the Saints — thanks!
America’s Cultural Elite
“Anthony Weiner deserves to be supported and hopefully he will be mayor of New York one day. I’m serious. He is a Democrat [who] actually fights for the things liberals and progressive and rational people care about. I don’t know why he’s being thrown under the bus. He hasn’t done any — he hasn’t broke any laws.”
— Janeane Garofalo
“Appearing on HBO’s ‘Real Time,’ the so-called comedian and actress claimed Weinergate is caused by the media and ‘hypocrite Republicans.’ “
— Noel Sheppard, Newsbusters
‘Moral Fascists’?
That phrase is used by Dave Brockington of the liberal blog Lawyers, Guns & Money, to describe people offended by the behavior of Anthony Weiner. Brockington endeavors to dismiss the whole thing:
I’m not going to elaborate on the irrelevance of his behavior beyond the effect on his relationship with his wife and family in moral or governance terms.
Brockington has a Ph.D. in political science, which means he assumes himself to be the intellectual superior of anyone who might disagree with him — especially any of you “moral fascists” who find Anthony Weiner’s behavior disturbing.
Rather than arguing with Herr Doktor, then — because he knows absolutely everything about political science, including such scientific categories as moral fascism — I suppose we ought to consult those whose expertise lies in other fields of endeavor, such as law. Patterico holds the juris doctor degree, has examined the available evidence and concludes:
So this guy knew he was talking to a high school girl, and he used a grooming line that had been successful with an older woman.
You should read the rest of that, including the link to Verum Serum. Last night I offered the word “grooming” to characterize Weiner’s communications with the Delaware teen, apologizing for the tendentiousness of that word.
Certainly, as a mere journalist, I am unqualified to offer a psychological diagnosis of Weiner’s condition. What we need here, I would suggest, is the authority of an expert in such matters — perhaps a forensic psychologist — who can tell us (a) whether Weiner’s behavior appears consistent with known forms of psychosexual disorder, and (b) what significance there might be in Weiner’s communications with this 17-year-old Delaware girl.
Not being an expert as deviant psychology, I’m not fit to judge such matters, but I know what’s newsworthy. And the latest developments certainly are:
Weinergate took a lurid new direction with the disclosure yesterday that Rep. Anthony Weiner invited a “hot sexy baby” to an X-rated date via the Skype network, which provides text, talk and video chats.
Racy new e-mails — sent just a month ago — detail exchanges between Weiner and Traci Nobles, the 34-year-old Georgia teacher and cheerleading coach who has surfaced as his fifth sexting partner. . . .
Weiner suggested they take it to another level:
“So i will make sure to keep some time open so we can have a cyber session via skype. Does that make my hot sexy baby happy?”
Hours after the e-mails were unearthed, Delaware cops descended on the home of a 17-year-old high school junior to ask her about online communications she had with Weiner.
“They were made aware of an alleged contact between Congressman Anthony Weiner and an area teen,” said New Castle County police spokeswoman Officer Tracey Duffy.
“The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity.”
She said the probe was continuing.
Read the whole thing. The connection between these two events — the revelation of Weiner’s cybersex sessions with the 34-year-old teacher, and the Delaware police investigation of Weiner’s communications with the 17-year-old — is probably entirely coincidental, except . . .
Well, except that Weiner did both things: He was seeking cybersex with his female online friends and he was privately communicating with a minor girl.
And if you think that’s skeevy, you’re a “moral fascist.”
UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi, Moral Fascist!
Minor Disagreement With VodkaPundit
by Smitty
In an otherwise agreeable post on the possiblily of Texas Governor Perry running, Iron Liver remarks:
. . .good candidates can be dismissed for trivial reasons. Ask Jeb Bush about that some time.
Not to say that Jeb is a bad candidate in the slightest, but the anti-dynasty sentiment is non-trivial.
As good as Jeb may be, I just don’t see him as so overwhelmingly better than the other possibilities as to overcome the dis-interest in YAB (Yet Another Bush).
More, not less variety is key to recovery.
I Need People To Go Watch
‘The Undefeated’ For Me
by Smitty
Based upon Dan Riehl’s review, The Undefeated may be bigger than the fattest documentary maker in Hollywood, which is to say: huge.
As a personal favor, if you could all just go pack the theaters, and keep this flick showing until late July, when I get home on R&R, I would appreciate it.
Quantitative Easing Is Not Default!
by Smitty (h/t World’s Only Rational Man)
I am nearly tempted to defend the Federal Reserve in the strongest terms. If I felt any more strongly that making money appear by piles of half a trillion was not theft, I would lay down a firm argument. Clearly, ‘Quantitative Easing’ has six syllables; ‘default’, a mere two. Look at Ben Bernanke:
Would you trust a face like this with protecting the value of your currency? Trick question! You’ve got no choice. Somebody else decided, by Progressive fiat, that in order to keep the Federal Reserve free of tawdry politics, they’d just, you know, appoint him. OK, that notion is a trifle whiffy when set beside the U.S. Constitution proper, but when has the Congress ever blown off the Constitution?
We really have to help these humorless Chinese. Note what a real thief looks like:
Is not he difference between good and bad blatantly obvious to even the most casual observer? Bernanke is wearing a necktie. The good guys always go that extra fashion mile.
Washington had already defaulted on its loans by allowing the dollar to weaken against other currencies — eroding the wealth of creditors including China, Guan said.
See, now, that sounds like something Ron Paul or Sarah Palin would say. And have they not both been declared hopelessly out of touch by The People Who Matter?
It’s high time for all these grouchy, pedantic Chinese and conservatives to just relax. Trust your Federal Reserve. Let them run stuff. We should thank Ben Bernanke for sparing us the gory details of, say, bailing out his chums in Greece. We really have been relieved of a lot of stress there. Thanks, Ben!
It really is cool of him to permit us to retain the fiction of sovereignty and valid currency. Let’s not make Mr. Bernanke mad. Who wants to see Mr. Hand turn into Mr. Fist? Not me.