Weiner-gate!

[Canadiens1131]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Bimbo is it? BS?

YouTube - ‪Morbo on the election‬‏

Heyyy look! It's your news cycle. So cuet.

[solemole]

Meh. Best Daily Show clip I can find on Youtube.

There is a warning... so, be warned...

YouTube - ‪Fox News Speaks for Majority on Health Care Reform?‬‏

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i guess this means 12 more years of bloomberg

[kramwest1]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

why? and i mean that as a serious question. i agree that he shouldn't have lied, but this was not a lie about a crime it was a lie about an embarrassing photo. he was also incredibly stupid, but does this affect how we see his political judgment or ability to lead? perhaps, but shouldn't that be decided by voters in the next election?

no one was harassed, everything was consensual. there is no evidence of actual physical infidelity. there's no crusading about sexual "morality" to indicate hypocrisy.

chances are, he was online late at night and sending sexual messages to women who would sext him back and he'd probably masturbate and go to bed next to his wife.

gee, no men ever do that.

the Democrats have ordered an ethics probe. what else is there to do?

I think the ethics probe will allow Weiner and the Dems to save some face, and he'll resign.


This morality arms race has been going on long enough. Everyone should know that the slightest indiscretion will lead to their ousting from office whether what they did was illegal or just really stupid.
I'm okay with it because as much as I like some politicians, I think there is always someone at least as qualified behind them in line.
It might not be right, it might not be fair, it might be ill-advised to continue these witch hunts because politicians are often cut from the same cloth, but ultimately I think purging is good and political turnover is great.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

i guess the bigger question is why do men with everything to lose do things like this?

Arrogance? They get so caught up in their own supposed power that they live in a completely insulated bubble where there aren't any real or imagined consequences.

He needed to do that in order to masturbate and then get in bed with his wife? Seriously? I mean to be blunt, can't you just do that without all those "extras"? I think it goes much deeper than that. The guy's got problems, and I don't think they're just sexual.

I consider that to be infidelity. Whether or not his wife does, that's her business. It's not even really the sexual aspects of it, it's the whole I'll create this entire false world for myself that my wife doesn't even know about. And I need all these other women to think I'm hot too and to affirm it for me..in such a bizarre and disconnected way. The way he had to mention that none of it ever got physical-does that really matter? What about what's going on in your head?

Not to mention the risk of it being a minor-as was mentioned in the press conference.

[MrsSpringsteen]

That must have been someone from the Howard Stern show yelling out that question at the end of the press conference. OMG. I never thought I'd hear THAT on CNN.


WASHINGTON (AP)—The conservative blogger who reported that a photo of a man's crotch had been sent from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account to a woman college student says he has an X-rated picture he'll publicize if the New York Democrat attempts reprisals against him.

Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart of the website BigGovernment.com tells NBC's "Today" show he considers the image "an insurance policy" against attacks from Weiner, who on Monday admitted the crotch photo was of him. The married Weiner also acknowledged he had engaged in inappropriate contact with six women over three years through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and occasionally over the phone.

Breitbart told NBC Tuesday that if Weiner wants to open himself to further investigation, "there are a lot of women" who could come forward. Asked directly if he considered the purported unpublicized picture an insurance policy, Breitbart replied, "I don't like to think of it that way."

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Arrogance? They get so caught up in their own supposed power that they live in a completely insulated bubble where there aren't any real or imagined consequences.

on the flip side, could it be weakness? he knows he shouldn't, he knows he could get caught, but he keeps doing it anyway?

He needed to do that in order to masturbate and then get in bed with his wife? Seriously? I mean to be blunt, can't you just do that without all those "extras"? I think it goes much deeper than that. The guy's got problems, and I don't think they're just sexual.

some of the other stuff that's out there that's supposedly written by him are fairly lengthy cyber-sex chats which i imagine were probably hotter to him than simple porn. this is a new area, this realm of virtual sex.

I consider that to be infidelity. Whether or not his wife does, that's her business. It's not even really the sexual aspects of it, it's the whole I'll create this entire false world for myself that my wife doesn't even know about. And I need all these other women to think I'm hot too and to affirm it for me..in such a bizarre and disconnected way. The way he had to mention that none of it ever got physical-does that really matter? What about what's going on in your head?

that's why i'm wondering if it's more about weakness than arrogance, and i think the lack of physicality means that we're getting a glimpse of what goes on in his head when it comes to sexual fantasy. and for him, i'm sure he doesn't consider it "really" cheating because he did not have sex (presumably, but who knows) with other women. kind of like how Clinton said that oral sex wasn't "real" sex ... and i think Weiner's position is more defensible here.

not trying to defend Weiner, but i am very interested in how technology impacts people's sexual lives and their sexual fantasies.

Not to mention the risk of it being a minor-as was mentioned in the press conference.

and that's a whole different story. if that becomes an issue then he's got big problems.

[MrsSpringsteen]

tmz.com

Congressman Anthony Weiner instructed one of his Internet women how to lie about their relationship ... and even offered PR help from his team, which could create major legal issues for him ... TMZ has learned.

Weiner and former porn star Ginger Lee exchanged scores of sexual emails over a long period of time. When the underwear scandal broke on May 28, Lee began receiving calls from the media, and Weiner was more than happy to help her control the situation ... by lying.

On June 2, Weiner emailed Lee, "Do you need to talk to a professional PR type person to give u advice? I can have someone on my team call. [Yeah, my team is doing great. Ugh]."

It's unclear if Weiner's PR team is from his Congressional staff. If so, Weiner could run afoul of House Ethics Rules as well as the law.

Weiner put on a full court press, urging Lee to lie about their relationship. On June 1, he emailed her: "The key is to have a short, thought out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it. Have a couple of iterations of: 'This is silly. Like so many others, I follow Rep. Weiner on Twitter. I don't know him and have never met him. He briefly followed me and sent me a dm saying thank you for the follow. That's it.'"

Weiner suggested a nice touch -- some good ol' Southern charm: "And then maybe insert some y'alls in there."

On June 2, Weiner sent Lee a proposed statement she could give to the press: "I have nothing to do with the situation involving Rep Weiner. I follow his twitter feed. And for a brief time he followed me. Much has been made of the fact that I have posted about my admiration for Rep Weiner and his politics. All I can say about that is that I'm a fan of his. Rep. Weiner sent me one short direct message thanking me for following him. I have never met Rep. Weiner and he has never sent me anything innappopriate (sic) ..."

Weiner then asked Lee directly, "How's it [the proposed statement] feel?"

[Tiger Edge]

let's fire all the politicians who have ever had affairs. then it will be true anarchy.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Or we'd just be left with female politicians. How come no female politicians are doing things like this? Or are they just not getting caught?

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Or we'd just be left with female politicians. How come no female politicians are doing things like this? Or are they just not getting caught?

testosterone.

seriously.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Or we'd just be left with female politicians. How come no female politicians are doing things like this? Or are they just not getting caught?

only female teachers get caught.

politicians are in the clear. for now.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by Headache in a Suitcase

only female teachers get caught.

very good point.

[kramwest1]

Originally Posted by Headache in a Suitcase

only female teachers get caught.

Well, who can resist those sexy teen boys with their acne and cookie-duster mustaches?

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

testosterone.

seriously.

Seriously? Does that cause you to transplant your brain to your crotch?

Maybe we need an Arab Spring type of revolution in this country against the country being run by penises. Vagina Spring-something like that.

But maybe they'd all start thinking with their vaginas.

We're all toast.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Lisa Weiss | Anthony Weiner | Weinergate | Mediaite


Weiner, evidently, told Weiss that he was a “caped crusader… looking for my sidekick.” And, as we well know, with great power comes a a great tendency to chafe. “”[I'm] dying of boredom over here,” he told her. “Plus my tights really itch, I need a distraction.” Wiener also admitted to enjoying Weiss’ Facebook photos. To completion.

And then, well..it continues *waves crashing in the background*

My tights really itch-that's like, the new way of wooing women. I think the new version of Spiderman Turn off the Lights or whatever that is should incorporate that. Someone tell Bono.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Seriously? Does that cause you to transplant your brain to your crotch?

in all seriousness, in a way, it does. and let me tell you why. i have recently done a project on transgendered individuals, and many of the female-to-male transgenders are absolutely stunned at the effect that taking shots of testosterone has on them. their libidos skyrocket. their tempers skyrocket. they often report being amazed at how men are able to live with testosterone because it makes their lives so radically different once they go on the hormones. this really surprised me.

now, they eventually learn to live with it and control it, which is what most men do. they don't know any different, and they learn -- and usually do a good job -- of controlling themselves. but the thing i walked away with was that testosterone is a very, very powerful substance. and it also doesn't surprise me that, since testosterone is linked to risk-taking (who are bigger risk takers than teenage boys?), that men who do take big risks like run for office, are probably going to have high levels of testosterone. and a big difference between them and the average guy is that they don't have the checks and balances on their hormones that society places on most regular men. since power is an aphrodisiac, these men often have no problem with finding women who will happily sleep with them, no strings attached. where the arrogance comes in, i think, is these men thinking they can get away with it and they feel they are actually free from the consequences.

i am not offering testosterone as an excuse, i'm offering it as a contributing factor and a reason why men seem to be different from women in this regard. this does not absolve anyone from the consequences of their actions. most men are socialized to control themselves. but i also think it wouldn't hurt us to understand that men don't behave in certain ways because they are idiots and assholes alone -- men and women do have different hormones pulsing through their bodies, and understanding that men are different and, yes, may face challenges that women don't have to deal with and may not fully understand.

i just did a quick Google and came across this blog by a FTM, which is exactly in line with what i had been told by the people i have worked with:

When I started testosterone a dozen years ago, I expected my sex drive to increase. The “horror” stories are a part of trans man lore, passed down from generation to generation as we all gear up for male adolescence, no matter how old we are, and take out a line of credit at the adult toy store.

And it did increase, within about four days of my first shot, and I basically squirmed a lot for two years before I got used to it. But I was planning for that. Here are the things that took me by surprise:

> It became very focused on one thing – the goal, the prize, the end. That doesn’t mean that I was not able to “make love.” What it does mean is that there was a madness to my method, because it was goal-oriented. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There was an unguarded hoop just waiting for a slam dunk – score!

> It became very visual. I saw it, I wanted it – whatever it was. This was a new experience for me, because, in the past, I had not been aroused so much by pictures and body parts (or pictures of body parts) as I had been by words – erotic descriptions, stories, and things said to me.

> It became very visceral – instinctual – with a need to take care of it. It had very little to do with romance or even an attraction that made sense intellectually. You’re hungry, you eat. There was a matter-of-factness about it, especially when I was by myself. Hmm … peanut butter sandwich sounds good. Okay, done. Let’s move on.

And that was how it changed. And I need to add some caveats here.

The first is to remind everyone that this was my experience. I cannot speak for anyone else.

The second is to point out that there are no doubt both women and men who have experienced or do experience something very similar. We can speak in general terms about the differences between men and women (and I personally believe, in general terms, that there are differences). But those generalities cannot be assumed to apply to all individual men and women.

The third is to totally refute the claims that have been made over the years that “all men are rapists if given the opportunity” and similar accusations. I think this is utter nonsense, as is the idea that men “can’t control themselves.”

And last, these things change. Either they eventually become less intense or we adjust. We are going through a male adolescence, and we survive and come out on the other side.

Testosterone and Sex Drive: My Second Adolescence � Matt Kailey

[MrsSpringsteen]

Sorry, I just don't have the time to read all that right now But thanks anyway

Bottom line-I just don't believe in biology being destiny, or an excuse, for men or for women. I think it's an easy cop out. We all lust and have urges, as we just talked about on here recently. But we have been given a brain and reason too. I happen to think that is far more powerful, but we have to make the decision to use it.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

but i also think it wouldn't hurt us to understand that men don't behave in certain ways because they are idiots and assholes alone

I think some do just because they are idiots and assholes. Just like some women do same for the same reason, just like some female teachers do (that's a whole abuse of power thing too).

Some people poke fun at women for all kinds of issues regarding hormones. Women are supposed to keep all that in check and control that, according to some people.

[deep]

Lawmakers in Albany could simply redistrict Weiner out of a job.

that would be interesting.