pacino wrote:We take each person and check it out.

Who's the 'we'? The loudest/leftist people on Twitter? (I don't aim that at you or slugs, btw; I respect your views very much.)

And did we check it out? He has admitted to some stuff and is denying others and, it seems, was pushed out. I was accused of false equivalence last month but still ask - is that photo worse than a DUI or a demonstrated history of lying, in terms of who has the morals to serve in the Senate? And who decides?

Seems at least some Republicans are upset with Franken resigning because they can't say "what about" anymore. Here's the reality--Republicans seem happy to tolerate sexual assaulters and pedophiles, Democrats have higher standards.

Grotewold wrote:

pacino wrote:We take each person and check it out.

Who's the 'we'? The loudest/leftist people on Twitter? (I don't aim that at you or slugs, btw; I respect your views very much.)

And did we check it out? He has admitted to some stuff and is denying others and, it seems, was pushed out. I was accused of false equivalence last month but still ask - is that photo worse than a DUI or a demonstrated history of lying, in terms of who has the morals to serve in the Senate? And who decides?

I certainly get what you're saying, but when I say we in that post i'm more talking about the party; I don't think it's a coincidence that the women in the caucus basically had enough. Gillibrand has been talking for years about fellow reps that made comments about her looks, etc and has been pushing hard for anti-sexual violence and better ways to report it in the military.

yes, ultimately an actual impartial body not under the jurisdiction of the very legislators that would be accused should test these out. this is also one of those moments where lots of stuff is coming to light and those checks aren't in place. i'm pretty sure they'll get erected for the future, though. there's a lot of movement in many levels of government pushing for it.

as for society? yeah, it's a cruel thing to lump various levels of crimes together. I've railed on this with different things for years. it is, unfortunately, happening and will continue to happen. there are still gradations and it's not like anyone is asking franken to face charges in comparison to Moore or Trump or whoever that likely did far worse. maybe he just doesn't get to be on of the most powerful men in the country anymore.

the second accuser said he cupped her breast from the side during a photo opp. said it last 5-10 seconds.

not sure how he could physically wrap his arm around her back to reach her far breast to cup it in the first place, at least judging from the image where this happened.

and 5-10 seconds. maybe it felt like that but was maybe just actually one before she moved. our minds play tricks on us like that. i have given talks where i forget what to say and clam up for what seems like minutes when in fact it was maybe three seconds.

people remember things in different ways. the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

pacino wrote:yes, ultimately an actual impartial body not under the jurisdiction of the very legislators that would be accused should test these out. this is also one of those moments where lots of stuff is coming to light and those checks aren't in place. i'm pretty sure they'll get erected for the future, though. there's a lot of movement in many levels of government pushing for it.

I guess this is my hang up here, as it seems pretty strikingly un-American. Hopefully it's for a greater good, but a lot of people are going to be unfairly swept up in Hurricane Harvey

Grotewold wrote:

pacino wrote:yes, ultimately an actual impartial body not under the jurisdiction of the very legislators that would be accused should test these out. this is also one of those moments where lots of stuff is coming to light and those checks aren't in place. i'm pretty sure they'll get erected for the future, though. there's a lot of movement in many levels of government pushing for it.

I guess this is my hang up here, as it seems pretty strikingly un-American. Hopefully it's for a greater good, but a lot of people are going to be unfairly swept up in Hurricane Harvey

that's pretty good


you know, I personally think this actually stems from Trump winning, not from Weinstein. trump got off scot-free and lots of people were pissed about it; it's led to all this.

i think this all follows under the established legal ground of 'talk the talk. now you gotta walk the walk'. if democrats want to be the inclusive party that they claim to be then they need to hold their members, especially those in high profile office, accountable.

is unwanted kissing rape or child molestation? no. but franken has now had multiple accusers and many of them follow a pattern. he had to go.

Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist from California, reporting on twitter that that WaPo and CNN working on a story of sexual harassment allegations against 20-30 members of Congress.. so buckle up I guess

Before taking to the streets to protest, you can hit the Star & Buck cafe in Bethlehem or Ramallah.

So where’s the line with accusations? If someone has half a dozen random women accuse him (or her) of sexual impropriety, should they immediately resign if they contest the allegations or should there be some actual investigation into the matter? It just seems like kind of a slippery slope

Gimpy wrote:So where’s the line with accusations? If someone has half a dozen random women accuse him (or her) of sexual impropriety, should they immediately resign if they contest the allegations or should there be some actual investigation into the matter? It just seems like kind of a slippery slope

Welcome to what the NFL has tried to deal with as well as other industries. It is all a gray area and with it dealing with politics it is even murkier.

Yeah I can somewhat understand it in business, which relies greatly on perception. But an extra-legal process for a Senator seems bizarre

Al Franken sucks

who’s next

maybe davis will take his seat

slugsrbad wrote:20-30 members of Congress

There are 535 members of Congress, 430 of whom are men.

If only 20-30 of them are guilty of sexual harassment, I find that, sadly, to be lower than the number I would have guessed, by quite a lot.

TenuredVulture wrote:Seems at least some Republicans are upset with Franken resigning because they can't say "what about" anymore. Here's the reality--Republicans seem happy to tolerate sexual assaulters and pedophiles, Democrats have higher standards.

and that is why Franken had to resign.

Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist from California, reporting on twitter that that WaPo and CNN working on a story of sexual harassment allegations against 20-30 members of Congress.. so buckle up I guess

This would not be surprising (and I agree that number still seems low). Is it wrong to hope that most of them are GOP?

Aren't there witnesses placing Trump in beauty pageant changing rooms (including teen pageants)?

Phred wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Seems at least some Republicans are upset with Franken resigning because they can't say "what about" anymore. Here's the reality--Republicans seem happy to tolerate sexual assaulters and pedophiles, Democrats have higher standards.

and that is why Franken had to resign.

Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist from California, reporting on twitter that that WaPo and CNN working on a story of sexual harassment allegations against 20-30 members of Congress.. so buckle up I guess

This would not be surprising (and I agree that number still seems low). Is it wrong to hope that most of them are GOP?

Aren't there witnesses placing Trump in beauty pageant changing rooms (including teen pageants)?

My guess is it's why he bought the Miss Universe pageant.

Of course 20-30 is low but you need accusers who come forward and some sort of proof in a lot of instances. Some of these guys are really good at making people stay quiet and cleaning up after themselves.

I can't wait to hear them say that the GOP accusers are lying but the Dem accusers are telling the truth.