"In December of 2006, I embarked on my ninth USO Tour to entertain our troops, my eighth to the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks," writes Leeann Tweeden, a morning news anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, writing on the TalkRadio 790 KABC website.
When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’... On the day of the show Franken... said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him... He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.... I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth. I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time....
Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips. No one saw what happened backstage. I didn’t tell the Sergeant Major of the Army, who was the sponsor of the tour. I didn’t tell our USO rep what happened. At the time I didn’t want to cause trouble.... Other than our dialogue on stage, I never had a voluntary conversation with Al Franken again....
It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:
I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep....
A few weeks ago, we had California Congresswoman Jackie Speier on the show and she told us her story of being sexually assaulted when she was a young Congressional aide. She described how a powerful man in the office where she worked ‘held her face, kissed her and stuck his tongue in her mouth.’
At that moment, I thought to myself, Al Franken did that exact same thing to me....
Franken: And, "I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley's passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her." Or, "That's why you never see Lesley until February." Or, "When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her."
AND: Here's how Franken talked about Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape:
I stopped over at the Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune, which had this as the top story on the website, and in the comments, Franken is being raked over the coals. Very few comments coming to his defense.
Maybe Larry David was onto something with the common-denominator joke.
I think whoever responded that it's Hollywood, not Jewishness, that's the common denominator, and that it's more or less coincidental that Hollywood is dominated by (non-religious) Jews, was correct. I'm sure there is no shortage of non-Jews in Hollywood guilty of the same stuff--like Spacey, for example.
Some might find it interesting that Orthodox Jews regard being alone with a woman other than one's wife or close relative (Pence's rule) as being prohibited by Jewish law.
I object to society's and especially men's sexualization of women's mammary glans. I would bet money that the male heterosexual commenters in this thread are guilty to a man of getting sexual gratification from looking at mammary glans, and often masturbating at the same time. The slang terms for breasts, like tits, knockers, boobs, & hooters are probably exceeded only by words for a penis. I'll spare you the list. The schmuck blog commenters around here, and you pricks know who you are, are blatant hypocrites to ask for Al Franken's resignation from the senate. You dicks deserve to be called out for your obsession with demeaning-to-women pornography, too.
We'll see. This is a good test to see if the Liberal MSM spin machine still has any power left. Because obviously Fox News, Talk Radio, and the internet won't let it go so easily. And even if they manage to bury it, what if Trump decides to Tweet about it? With a single Tweet Trump can revive stories that the media have killed. He's like a necromancer for inconvenient stories.
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Democrats got away with keeping a Grand Kleagle of the KKK in the Senate until he was 3 heartbeats from the Presidency. And with all the Antifa and BLM stuff, I have yet to hear anyone "reevaluate" the Dem's tolerance of Robert Byrd.
For Dems, even the vaguest apology in the face of overwhelming evidence earns full and eternal forgiveness. Actually, forget that, they don't even need to admit it (see Ted Kennedy).
But if it's a Republican, the accusation alone is ironclad evidence, and no forgiveness is ever possible.
Whether he really touched her is totally irrelevant.
Not only is he a scumbag for thinking this pretend crime was funny, someone, presumably Franken, made the effort to make certain that the woman would see the photo after the tour was over, when she got a collection of photos for remembering the event. That photo was inserted into the set. So that she would get to feel humiliated all over again.
Malice aforethought.
Frankel must go. He ought to do the honorable thing and just resign.
Char Char Binks: "You can tell by the shadows that Franken's hands aren't actually touching her.".....yet....
There is more than sufficient "evidence" (democrat pre-qualified "evidence") that this was probably not the first or last time Franken pulled this on women.
He. Has. To. Go.
Inga nowhere in sight. Had to send Chuck in the first wave of #FrankenDefense.
Melanie Morgan @MelMorgan1350 Yes, it’s true. I was stalked and harassed by Al Franken. I will have details @MediaEqualizer shortly. 12:04 PM - Nov 16, 2017 99 99 Replies 1,052 1,052 Retweets 1,080 1,080 likes
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
-- I don't see any way to read that to see him claiming he did not grope her. That's what he was accused of, and he pretty clearly admits that was what the photo was intended to be. "Look at funny me molesting the sleeping pretty girl! FUNNY!"
Only, yeah. Not Funny.
Sorry. I'm more than willing to play by the rules we hold Republicans to. He needs to go.
You can tell by the shadows that Franken's hands aren't actually touching her.
It's a still photo, not a video from beginning to end. In any case, he doesn't even deny touching her, though that's pretty much beside the point given the whole story.
As for this: NEWS ANCHOR NOT CALLING FOR FRANKEN TO STEP DOWN.
As far as I've seen, she wasn't asked about this. She simply said that she accepts the apology, which is the polite thing to do.
Maybe Larry David was onto something with the common-denominator joke.
I think whoever responded that it's Hollywood, not Jewishness, that's the common denominator, and that it's more or less coincidental that Hollywood is dominated by (non-religious) Jews, was correct. I'm sure there is no shortage of non-Jews in Hollywood guilty of the same stuff--like Spacey, for example. ----------------- I was just jokin', ya know! ;-)
A note on tossing Representatives out: This is in regards to Roy Moore & Franken. And any other representatives.
I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps. I don't think it's a good idea. The People have the right to elect their Representatives. Youngstown elected that criminal involved with the mob for years. Trafficant? That guy went to jail.
I don't think The People should elect scumbags and criminals. But if they do, I do not think fellow Reps should overturn the will of the People.
I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps.
You should try reading the Constitution.
Article I, Section 5, Clause 2:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
The Pro-Choice thing to do is presume that he is guilty, deem him non-viable, and abort him... his career. Either that or trial by press in a court of public opinion influenced by DNC collusion with the bullhorns from the mainstream press (e.g. Washington Post).
Okay, I have to say, while Franken's political behavior has appalled me, and this childish behavior of his does too, I have reached my limit. This is it for me. I will pay no more notice to anything I see online about any of this. I await Thermidor to put an end to what has become a Jacobin Reign of Terror. In case no one has noticed, big things are happening in the world. Al Franken's gropings are not among them.
Unknown: "The point of my comment is that religiosity and puritanical morals don’t mean you haven’t done wrong."
The point is that Pence takes active measures to ensure what your side claims are horrendous actions never occurs.
And your side blasted him for it.
Still waiting for you to criticize Franken.
Bit of a conundrum for you, isn't it? I mean, you want Moore outta here and you want to transfer 50 years of institutional leftist misogyny onto Trump to get rid of him (similar to how the dems converted 200 years of democrat slavery issues onto modern day republicans) but now you've got this.......Franken "problem".
"Mike said... Looked at the People story. Interesting. This is probably what they will say. Very similar to Franken up until the part where Franken actually grabs her and takes a "funny" photo of it. That distinction may protect Trump.
I don't see this rising to the level of "assault" based on her story though."
Here, let me open your eyes: "Sexual assault is “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” Sexual assault is basically an umbrella term that includes sexual activities such as rape, fondling, and attempted rape."
Of the things going on in the world, the current US political instability is the most important. This is the principal global danger, through its likely economic consequences.
The potential downsides of a US constitutional crisis and its downstream effects are much worse even than a nuclear weapon on Seoul or Riyadh.
My question seems to have been misunderstood, so I'll rephrase it: Who will have the most accusers by the time this is over, Roy Moore or Al Franken? My money's on Franken.
It strongly appears — from the Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack and its logical sequelae in the courts — that the Senate can neither refuse to seat nor expel members for offenses committed long before they take their seat. The people who elected them must be allowed their representative of choice.
That case deals solely with exclusion, not expulsion.
So Congress has to let Moore take the oath of office and be seated...but can immediately hold a vote on whether to expel him. Franken has already been seated, and so may be expelled.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Yeah, but doesn't this apply to disorderly behaviour within the House or the Senate? As in not abiding by rules on the floor? Or beating up a Senator with a cane on the floor of the Senate?
I don't think reps were expelled for duels that occurred off the senate & house floor.
“I hope this opens the floodgates and we find out where all those millions in taxpayer dollars have gone to and why.”
“Sure you do. Uh huh.”
That quote is not mine, it’s from the conservative Unknown, but I agree with him. Men who used their power to abuse women should be exposed and made pariahs, it’s about time.
buwaya: "The potential downsides of a US constitutional crisis and its downstream effects are much worse even than a nuclear weapon on Seoul or Riyadh."
Where have you been?
We are already in a full-blown constitutional crisis where the entire govt establishment is negating an election, the leftist judges are abandoning any pretext of "nation of laws not of men", the democrat tainted intelligence agencies are still in the middle of an "Op" to first spy on and now remove their domestic political opponent, etc.
This was after 8 years of weaponizing the federal departments to attack conservatives and to set the stage to remove key constitutional rights.
It's only fun and games if Republicans are caught. I'm guessing the MSM quickly loses it's appetite for this topic as Democrats begin showing turning up in the nets.
Unknown: " Men who used their power to abuse women should be exposed and made pariahs, it’s about time"
Oh, it's "about time" eh?
Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.
The entire democrat apparatus was designed to facilitate this type of abuse and you and yours winked at it the entire time.
We had all of Hollywood give a globally viewed standing ovation, prolonged standing ovation, to a convicted sodomizer of young girls.
And you delighted in their actions.
Sorry, we aren't going to let you pretend that you've been fighting some "good fight" all this time.
“And there you have it. After prompting (similar to the Clinton tales), Inga is willing to put her foot down.”
By your own comments in these comments sections over the years, I have no reason to believe you aren’t every bit as much a misogynistic asshole as the rest of these sexual assaulters.
"Sorry, we aren't going to let you pretend that you've been fighting some "good fight" all this time."
-- That's what I find so offensive about this. The people who told me Clinton was "just about sex" and that Polanski was "so long ago," suddenly want to be on my side of the "assaulting women is bad" political line. I, mean, welcome to the club. But, maybe, they should ask themselves why they weren't here to start with?
“Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.”
Hypocrite. Where have your pals been? Assaulting 14 year old girls, that’s where.
I will admit though, taking a picture of groping a sleeping woman is probably about as stupid than signing and dating the yearbook of a girl you're about to try and rape.
Why doesn't Franken use the already tested and pre-approved lefty rationale: "You drag a hundred dollar bill through a C-17 transport aircraft or an lefty-dominated "comedy" show rehearsal...."
"Matthew Sablan said... I will admit though, taking a picture of groping a sleeping woman is probably about as stupid than signing and dating the yearbook of a girl you're about to try and rape."
All you folks who voted for Trump and were so cavalier about dismissing his accusers are no better than any Democrat that you are accusing of hypocrisy. You KNEW Trump was a sexual assaulter and you didn’t care and even made him President. Hypocrites.
“All the women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment are lying, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday when asked for the official White House position on the issue.”
"Unknown said... “Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.”
Hypocrite. Where have your pals been? Assaulting 14 year old girls, that’s where."
First the election. Then Russia. And no Moore. It's all going south for you. And the beauty of it is you were sold the bullshit by your own side! Do you feel betrayed. Stupid? Used?
Scenario 1- The left is right, here. They could pivot from all these female problems into a Moore-like assault on the President, and try for some mechanism to either impeach or do a cabinet-removal. It would not have worked earlier, and there may have to be more groundwork yet to be done. It all MAY burn out in hysteria fatigue before it comes to pass. TBD.
Other cases will depend on events. A recession, a foreign war, with something going badly wrong, some other domestic scandal, who knows. I don't have the imagination to come up with everything that could serve as a trigger. In any case it is all primed to escalate without limit.
"Unknown said... All you folks who voted for Trump and were so cavalier about dismissing his accusers are no better than any Democrat that you are accusing of hypocrisy. You KNEW Trump was a sexual assaulter and you didn’t care and even made him President. Hypocrites."
Were is the photo? Where is the confession. Where is the spooge all over the dress?
Until you Trump sychpohants call the for resignation of Trump, for his sexual assaults, you’re as big a hypocrite as any Democrat. Hang your heads in shame.
312 votes, folks. Franken won (or "won" if you're someone who still thinks finding trunks full of votes late in the process is a bit fishy) his seat by 312 votes. Franken's vote in the Senate gave Dems 60 (after Specter switched, Lieberman caved, & Nelson was bought off) for Obamacare.
I'm no fan of Franken, but this picture doesn't impress me as proof of anything. It doesn't look like he's touching her. It looks like he's trying to get a picture people will find funny. Sure, it's a bit disrespectful. So what? Where is the injury here?
Poor Inga. Once your side decides that giving Billy boy a pass for 20 years and giving standing ovations to convicted sodomizers of young girls (when you aren't busy downplaying the islamist practice of female genital mutilation), you find that your self-awarded moral superiority was really just a mirage all along.
Inga's obvious panic and discomfiture is quite indicative of that self-realization.
"It strongly appears — from the Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack and its logical sequelae in the courts — that the Senate can neither refuse to seat nor expel members for offenses committed long before they take their seat. The people who elected them must be allowed their representative of choice."
True the Senate has to swear Moore in if elected. The Senate can then start an ethics investigation to expel, but the Senate would be setting a dangerous president, it would be the first time to charge a Senator for ethic violations that happened long before becoming a Senator.
What all this moral outrage by Sen. McConnell and GOPe has done is put the Republican 2 seat majority in the Senate at risk, if not the majority. That means the Republican agenda is dead including another SCOTUS appointment. Republicans should have just let the people of Alabama decide and kept their pie holes shut, play like Democrats.
"I'm no fan of Franken, but this picture doesn't impress me as proof of anything."
-- He didn't deny touching her. He had the opportunity to, and does deny remembering the forced kiss, so he clearly could have denied touching her if he wanted to. He didn't. That's... pretty damning.
Unknown: "Until you Trump sychpohants call the for resignation of Trump, for his sexual assaults, you’re as big a hypocrite as any Democrat. Hang your heads in shame"
LOL
More howling at the nighttime sky.
Sorry Inga. Your side and your lies no longer have that kind of power any longer. We can all understand how frustrating that must be for you.
BTW, have you contributed to the Roman Polanski School for Future Young Girl Producers yet? I mean, any Producer you and your pals would give a standing ovation to ought to be supported eh?
The pic is all the more repulsive when you see what Tweeden looks like and what he was grabbing for. I doubt he would've made a similar pic with someone more flat chested.
I will happily trade a relatively unliked, free spending Rockefeller Republican with ethics issues and an itchy Twitter finger with calm, respectful, guy who is never even alone with women not his wife Pence. He'd be the perfect foil to this sexual harassment revolution.
Drago said... "Except it's clear now that he didn't sign it."
Which is why Allred has gone radio silent on whether the signature is a forgery or not. I think we have another case of Dan Rather-itis."
What high school kid asks a 30 year old to sign their yearbook? You ask other classmates and maybe teachers you like to sign it. I never asked my boyfriends to sign it because they didn't go to the same school
And Moore supposedly signed it in December? Yearbooks don't come out in December, but closer to the end of the school year.
Someone adding "Moore" in blue ink when the rest of the comment is written in black ink seems like such an dunderheaded mistake that I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to do it. But I can't believe other people would be stupid enough to do a lot of things, and they do.
Clinton-voting admitted Democratic hypocrite Inga is completely right, and I will call for Trump's resignation as soon as there's photographic evidence of him assaulting anyone.
It is really something to watch as the democrats/leftis/LLR allies attempt, in real time, to shift their institutional misogyny (including the biggest name democrat law firms hiring ex-intelligence agent goons to harass victims of lefty-sexual assault!!) onto the republicans.
If only this were the 1980's again and the media was under their complete sway, they might just pull it off.
By the way, who has the Biden Watch today? Is he still keeping clear of school zones? Lots of pictures of that too!
Unknown: "Yes, I did. Now if you weren’t such a hypocrite and misogynist asshole you’d say the same about Trump."
Sorry Comrade. I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.
BTW, exactly how many flights, exactly, did Billy boy take on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epsteins jets? And on how many of those "business/pleasure trips" did Billy boy have the Secret Service stay home and not accompany him?
Not to worry Inga. Your side and their institutional power are making sure that doesn't come out either.
So, celebrate! Your side gets away with it again.
The young girls however? They tend not to fare as well.
Someone adding "Moore" in blue ink when the rest of the comment is written in black ink seems like such an dunderheaded mistake that I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to do it.
Apparently the 'blue ink' thing is a hoax. But the fact that it was signed "Roy Moore, DA," when he wasn't a DA, and that his clerk's initials were D.A. and he added those initials when he signed documents for Moore, pretty much blows this out of the water. As does the fact that they aren't producing the yearbook for forensic examination. And, to top it off, the accuser omitted the fact that Moore was the judge in her divorce case, having claimed she'd had no contact with him. Surely she would have demanded his recusal had he been guilty of assaulting her 20 years earlier.
“I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.”
Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on.
"Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old."
-- Moore was never accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year old, just trying to date one (though it turns out, given the dates involved, she was actually 16, maybe. Once the contradiction in the dates came out, the story dropped.) So, he still was being skeezy dating teenage girls, but way, way different from drugging and raping them, like Polanski.
(Still was, of course, assuming you believe the accusations, which, I'm unsure of, though I have some reservations about the yearbook, and would like to have it resolved with some science.)
Unknown: "Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on."
LOL
The careful observer will note how the panicked lefty retreats to previously created "safe rhetorical" modes, thinking that in those modes "success" can be conjured up as if by magic.
The more dunderheaded of the lefties, once they realize that these outdated modes are properly viewed as hopeless due to decades of lefties lies and posturing, will still double-down on them as they lack the ability to adapt to the realities of what is happening in real-time around them.
It is both amusing to watch as well as informative.
“Moore was never accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year old, just trying to date one (though it turns out, given the dates involved, she was actually 16, maybe. Once the contradiction in the dates came out, the story dropped.) So, he still was being skeezy dating teenage girls, but way, way different from drugging and raping them, like Polanski.”
Precisely the kind of hypocrisy I speak of regarding you Trumpists. Thanks Matthew for displaying it so nicely for me.
Still waiting for Inga to criticize the ENTIRETY of Hollywood for giving a prolonged standing ovation to a convicted drugger and sodomizer of young girls.
We will be waiting a long time indeed, because Inga knows the dems need those Sodomizer bucks for campaigning.
I guess I'm a horrible person because I think the picture of Franken with his hands reaching towards and maybe touching the jacket of the sleeping Leeann Tweeden was obviously intended as a joke, and actually is kind of funny, and shouldn't be the kind of thing that people are fired over.
Now I want to put a qualifier in here. The trouble with making this kind of comment is I have no idea of what else is going to come out about Al Franken in the coming weeks. It may turn out that there are multiple women accusing him of rape a week from now. I'm not defending that; I'm only talking about this picture.
Now the irony is here that I know full well that if this was a picture of a Republican doing this, Franken would be part of the mob baying for that man's scalp. Al Franken is a hyprocrite and I assume that's part of the point of Ann giving the link to Franken on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Franken lies really well; he sounds like he's telling the truth. But he isn't.
I'm also aware that if this were a picture at an office party of some non-public figure doing this, then in today's world that probably get that person fired. But I think that's a shame. I don't think it deserves that.
In the '08 campaign, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman was running for re-election against Democrat Al Franken. It was impossibly close; on the morning after the election, after 2.9 million people had voted, Coleman led Franken by 725 votes.
Franken and his Democratic allies dispatched an army of lawyers to challenge the results. After the first canvass, Coleman's lead was down to 206 votes. That was followed by months of wrangling and litigation. In the end, Franken was declared the winner by 312 votes. He was sworn into office in July 2009, eight months after the election.
During the controversy a conservative group called Minnesota Majority began to look into claims of voter fraud. Comparing criminal records with voting rolls, the group identified 1,099 felons -- all ineligible to vote -- who had voted in the Franken-Coleman race.
With 1,099 examples identified by Minnesota Majority, and with evidence suggesting that felons, when they do vote, strongly favor Democrats, it doesn't require a leap to suggest there might one day be proof that Al Franken was elected on the strength of voter fraud.
Hey, Gloria Bolger said on CNN that Frankenstein's boob grabbing shouldn't matter because he wasn't a Senator at the time! Er, Moore wasn't a judge in the late 70's. As a matter of fact, he was a Democrat then, which kinda explains things...
"It is imperative that Lorne Michaels come out and condemn the disreputable behavior of his most distinguished alumnus in the strongest possible terms."
Eh--it's a New York thing. Or a Minnesota thing. Or a Washington DC thing. Whatever.
Franken won on the back of Felons voting and "found ballots" (what a break!) in the trunks of cars that a democrat judge allowed to be counted.
Franken's stolen seat was coordinated with the hit job done on Ted Stevens, and thats how LLR Chuck got his dreams fulfilled with a 60-dem senate followed by obamacare.
Precisely the kind of hypocrisy I speak of regarding you Trumpists.
There must be someone who can explain - in words small enough for Inga to understand - the difference between Franken's proven and admitted assault and the still-unproven allegations against Moore.
What all this moral outrage by Sen. McConnell and GOPe has done is put the Republican 2 seat majority in the Senate at risk, if not the majority. That means the Republican agenda is dead including another SCOTUS appointment. Republicans should have just let the people of Alabama decide and kept their pie holes shut, play like Democrats.
11/16/17, 1:52 PM
Sorry but you are assuming facts not in evidence. What have the GOP(e) done since the Trump election to lead you to believe that they actually WANT to be in control? Life is SO much easier for a Republican Congressman when you are the underdog. You get to draft all these great GOP bills never having to have them become law. You get to cry about how you can't get anything done because you are the minority party. Life is good. They fully expected to keep the party going with a President Hillary and [damn that] Trump went ahead and spoiled all their grand plans!
" I think the picture of Franken with his hands reaching towards and maybe touching the jacket of the sleeping Leeann Tweeden was obviously intended as a joke"
To a degree it was a joke on Franken, he was laughing, to the crew, at his own reputation as a creepy molester, within the context of that tour, probably. And beneath that was honest lust. And beneath that was self-disgust. And beneath that...
But every bit of comedy is layered with motives and implications.
And, to top it off, the accuser omitted the fact that Moore was the judge in her divorce case, having claimed she'd had no contact with him. Surely she would have demanded his recusal had he been guilty of assaulting her 20 years earlier.
Franken admits the photo (he HAS to, doesn't he?). He claims he "remembers" the rehearsal "differently" from Leeann, but he doesn't deny anything she said, so that's an admission, too. http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/al-franken-apology/index.html
It's not exactly the sort of thing Chuck's beloved MSM is going to report on.
I mean, it's merely testimony under oath that she did not know Moore and had never met him.
But that was then and this is now and the lefties/LLR NEED her to have known Moore before so voila! Instant lefty airbrushing of history...but in this case someone is brushed BACK IN to the picture.
You can also tell the dishonest commenters here: He groped her! Okay, well he pawed her suit! Okay well it looks like maybe a fingertip is touching her uniform! Okay he didn’t touch her in the photo but maybe he did earlier! Or later!
Think about it. He doesn’t want to wake her. He has to look away, how hard is it to control your touch so you don’t wake her doing that?
Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping. It might by the standards he holds other to be slimy and terrible. But the word “grope” is wrong.
"What have the GOP(e) done since the Trump election to lead you to believe that they actually WANT to be in control?"
They have been approving judicial nominees rapidly and without demur.
Their real problem is a conflict of policies with the President. The sticking point is immigration, and nothing else really. That what the entire inter-Republican war is about.
He was trying to humiliate her after she turned down his advances.
That is the likely explanation why he not only targeted her but also recorded the event. It wasn't for posterity. It wasn't a joke. It was the behavior of a pathetic male responding to an unrequited advance.
MSNBC's Kasie Hunt claims Franken was "mock-groping," not "groping" as Leeann Tweeden described."
The beauty of any quasi-defender of Fraken, whether a new idiot like Hunt or our own resident moron Inga, is that they simply repeating the decades of hypocrisy in this area. Instead of taking their lumps they are keeping the ball rolling.
Exiled, That might be true. All I am insisting on is that we be accurate in our facts and clear about what we can know versus what we can infer. We know he made the photo. Some infer a desire to humiliate her. That's a reasonable inference. But it isn’t what Sablan and some others are doing by insisting that he groped her. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.
Melanie Morgan's story is not sexual in nature, just weird. It will make a difference if other women come forward with sexual allegations against Franken.
Tweeden posed for Playboy, Hooters and Venus over the years, so I would expect she has personal stories about quite a number of boorish male celebrities.
I am not aware of any workplace I've ever been in or heard of that would not fire me if I did something like that to a coworker. That picture would be grounds to not give me severance. It would also prevent me from being hired by anyone else in the industry who found out about it. I can't believe any of the above commenters are seriously claiming this is no big deal. It's a BFD
Isn’t she wearing Individual Body Armor? Maybe I’m seeing the picture wrong, but I think there’s a good thick Kevlar plate between his fingers and her breasts.
Is there a picture of Franken groping a man's chest too? If not, it's sexual, regardless of the Kevlar between her breasts and his hands.
"Ken B said... Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping. It might by the standards he holds other to be slimy and terrible. But the word “grope” is wrong."
grope: informal feel or fondle (someone) for sexual pleasure, especially against their will.
"I am not aware of any workplace I've ever been in or heard of that would not fire me if I did something like that to a coworker. That picture would be grounds to not give me severance. "
-- If I see someone stabbing someone in a photo, I might infer a desire to stab someone. I don't care if he wanted to humiliate her, or if that was just a happy bonus to him groping her. I don't care about the state of either of their minds beyond: She was sleeping and not consenting to his groping her. Which he admitted.
I don't care if he desired her to win the lottery by laying hands on her and convening with God -- the *action* is the problem.
Sablan, The word “grope” is and was an inference from the photo. She has no recollection to controvert like the kiss. And the photo does not, upon close inspection, show a grope. So there is no reason for him to all about it.
Further he is hoping to just deal with this as smoothly as possible. He denies the kiss, agrees the photo was an unfunny joke. That is actually a good way to do things. I was wrong, sorry.
It's worth pointing out that Moore is unfit for office because he doesn't respect the rule of law. But the publicly-demonstrated hypocrisy of so many Democrats, and their subsequently-finished ability to cause harm, is a massively positive development
I mean, sure. You can claim it was an inference from the photo. Because it shows us it happening. If you take a picture next to the Eiffel Tower, and I infer you were in France, that's... not wrong. Now, maybe you green screened it. Or took a very artsy shot with a fake Eiffel Tower. But, if you say, "You're right. I was in France," then... well, it isn't wrong to infer you were in France.
Read the headline; this is what she accused him of: "Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It."
He didn't say: "Whoa, I took a goofy picture, but I never groped her!" No. He acknowledges he was wrong and apologized.
Because he knew the media would defend him and ignore the fact he sexually assaulted a sleeping woman because, "Eh, if you squint, maybe he's not touching her in that picture."
Sounds like a “man” problem, more so than a Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative problem. Men, check yourselves first, before accusing others of what you’ve been doing for so long and getting away with it. It’s a new day, no longer will women be intimidated into remaining silent.
1.) The Democratic Party is full of men who have sexually abused women. The Republican Party is full of men who have sexually abused women. The mass of Americans who belong to neither party is full of men who have sexually abused women. Peer into socialist circles, libertarian circles, tech circles, media circles, the construction trades — you will find men who have sexually abused women. America has allowed a culture of sexual abuse and harassment to flourish, and all of our industries and political parties exist within that culture. This is a systemic rot, not merely a few bad apples.
2) I have been reflecting of late on why the Harvey Weinstein revelations kicked off this revolution, and one theory I have is that Weinstein was a powerful Democratic donor, and that was actually important. After Trump, Democrats were primed to take allegations of sexual abuse seriously. And since Weinstein was a Democrat, Republicans didn’t respond by rallying around him or trying to change the subject. Thus, the Weinstein affair broke the normal forces of polarization and made this something more than red versus blue.
5) But it’s worth remembering that the president of the United States has more than a dozen well-documented, on-the-record allegations of sexual assault against him. The fact that those allegations are known doesn’t make them less serious, and the fact that he won the Electoral College despite them does not absolve him. It is a good thing for the country and our future that we are taking sexual assault so seriously. But it is a very, very bad thing if the one exception is the most powerful, prominent abuser in the world..”
They have been approving judicial nominees rapidly and without demur.
11/16/17, 2:20 PM
You are correct, that is a plus. Isn't that still going slower than it could?
They bungled the OCare cleanup, they may [MAY] get taxes done, aren't there still admin positions to get approved? What is the hold up? It is like they are slow walking it.
They had plenty of notice that Trump won. They should have had a stack of bills all ready to go the day he was sworn in. That is what winners do. That is what people that want to win do. For the most part, these clowns don't want to win unless they get to win their way, not our way.
Sablan says Franke admitted groping her. Will Sablan provide a quote. I note that Sablan has, by his own logic, admitted he is being dishonest because I accused him of it and in his reply he didn’t deny it.
There is no rational reason to doubt the truth of Tweeden’s accusations, no legitimate defense of Franken’s actions, and no ambiguity here at all: Franken should resign from the Senate immediately. Democrats should call for him to step down straightaway. This revelation is a test of the Democratic Party’s consistency, honesty, and decency. If Democrats wish to preserve whatever moral standing they have today, they must exhort Franken to leave the Senate, with no hesitation or reservations.
Franken, it seems, won’t go quietly. His first response to Tweeden’s article is a case study in pseudo-apologetic denial, an effort to gaslight Tweeden while purporting to express regret. “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way,” Franken said, “but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.” He deserves no credit for this hollow contrition. Franken “doesn’t remember” the harassment “in the same way”? His actions were “intended to be funny”? Touching a woman’s breasts without her consent is not a joke. It is a crime. Franken is not really admitting guilt or apologizing to Tweeden. He is laying the groundwork for his own defense.
I read the quoted bits of the Constitution to mean that 2/3 of the Senare can expel a member for any or no reason. The "bad behavior" is not relevant. I welcome counterarguments.
Ken: How else do you interpret Franken point blank stating "I shouldn't have done it" when talking about the photo.
He said: “For instance, that picture. I don’t know what was in my head when I took that picture, and it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuse. I look at it now and I feel disgusted with myself. It isn’t funny. It’s completely inappropriate. It’s obvious how Leeann would feel violated by that picture. And, what’s more, I can see how millions of other women would feel violated by it—women who have had similar experiences in their own lives, women who fear having those experiences, women who look up to me, women who have counted on me."
This is in response to the accusation of him groping her. So, if you read this to mean, "he didn't grope her," then... well... there's no help there. That's a deliberate misreading of his statement. He's confessing to what he was accused of (unless he comes out with another clarification.)
If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it.
Unknown:"Sounds like a “man” problem, more so than a Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative problem."
LOL
Like clockwork, when the dems are in trouble its time for the lefties to pull out the "its Societies fault" card!
Hilarious. So utterly, utterly predictable!
Such weak tea at this late date. The left has no credibility on this, which explains everything they are trying to pull now to change the subject.
Hillary was the dems nominee just 12 months ago and she made it a personal mission to destroy her husbands victims, and she was worshipped by the lefties.
"If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it."
I guess it depends on what the meaning of "is" is.
"They had plenty of notice that Trump won. They should have had a stack of bills all ready to go the day he was sworn in. "
Your sticking point is the Senate, which is full of people who are wholly-owned by interests opposed to major changes in the status quo. You can consider all the deadlock as a form of negotiation over the most important policy areas - to the financiers.
Politics works on multiple levels, most of which we can only infer.
They see bridges where none exists: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/07/17/vox-com-just-needs-to-stop-writing-about-israel/?utm_term=.aec57ad5581e
“I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.”
Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on. 11/16/17, 2:04 PM Stupid. Repetitive. Lies. Boring. As usual. Here, this is more fun:
Inga said...
Stop and think how ridiculous you've become. I'm fine with becoming persona non grata. Your blog has become the cesspool it once was. I'm pretty much done here. 6/30/17, 6:33 PM
"Democrats should call for him to step down straightaway. This revelation is a test of the Democratic Party’s consistency, honesty, and decency. If Democrats wish to preserve whatever moral standing they have today, they must exhort Franken to leave the Senate, with no hesitation or reservations."
Sorry. Too late. That ship sailed on July 18, 1969.
Groping, manipulating, violating the space of someone while they are unconscious, for purposes other than medical care, or without consent, is done with a single purpose: to emasculate or humiliate her. He wanted her to feel vulnerable; to feel less dignified; to recall that moment when she had no voice to protest nor arms to prevent his intrusion. Fortunately, he failed, and she has lived her life despite him.
“If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it."
I don’t “want him to be innocent”, dumbass. Either he’s guilty or he isn’t and he admitted to it. As I said earlier, up thread, he should resignas should Trump and Moore. As long as you don’t call for Trump and Moore’s resignation, you are as big a hypocrite as you accuse Democrats of being. You don’t have credibility or a leg to stand on.
Inga is off desperately seeking new articles she can link which "helpfully" have lefties explaining to everyone why lefties doing things isn't as bad as you think.
In the first six minutes of The Ben Shapiro Show, Ep 419 Ben talks about this thing with Al Franken. Ben Shapiro grew up in Los Angeles and his mother worked in Hollywood. I think he provides some useful context that kind of makes me wonder if this isn't uglier than I realized.
Unknown: "As long as you don’t call for Trump and Moore’s resignation, you are as big a hypocrite as you accuse Democrats of being. You don’t have credibility or a leg to stand on."
When confronted with "facts" that don't fit the narrative, the standard leftist will simply repeat, ad nauseam, the same assertions over and over again. As if repetition alone will make them true.
I actually wrote that last comment before reading Inga's latest bleat. Calling for Franken's resignation because he's a pig is moral. Calling for Franken's resignation to contribute to hysterically frivolous "Resistance" is trivial, and worth ignoring.
"2) I have been reflecting of late on why the Harvey Weinstein revelations kicked off this revolution, and one theory I have is that Weinstein was a powerful Democratic donor, and that was actually important. After Trump, Democrats were primed to take allegations of sexual abuse seriously. And since Weinstein was a Democrat, Republicans didn’t respond by rallying around him or trying to change the subject. Thus, the Weinstein affair broke the normal forces of polarization and made this something more than red versus blue."
The New Yorker and the NYT broke this story. And you do know what "theory" is don't you?
"I doubt anything is going to happen, he's a Democrat. Mea Culpa and move on."
He's more than a Democrat he's part of the Harvard Political Cartel. Let the professor expound on how wonderful all things Harvard are, which they are not.
I say tax the Harvard endowment, take the property by eminent domain to build housing for refugees, and move the University to some cold unpopular, under populated place, say Alaska.
I think I've been clear, I'm willing to hear out Moore's accusers, and I'd gladly trade out Trump for Pence if the accusations are proven, though I'm sure he'd become Literally Hitler as soon as we did.
Why hasn't Inga organized a p****-hat march on the capital to oust Franken?
Until she does she is a hypocrite and does not have a leg to stand on.
Why hasn't Inga organized a p****-hat march on Hollywood demanding justice?
Until she does she is a hypocrite and does not have a leg to stand on.
Poor Inga. Literally thousands of democrat assaulters and their enablers at the highest levels are awaiting her outrage, but she can't quite get to them.
Inga, how do you feel about the biggest dem law firm organizing the coordinated intimidation efforts against victims of your beloved Hollywood hero sexual assaulters?
They actually hired intelligence agency goons to go after the women.
And they are all, to the man and woman, democrats.
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This.
Clever ploy calling on the ethics board on himself. Interesting to see if he gets away with it.
I stopped over at the Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune, which had this as the top story on the website, and in the comments, Franken is being raked over the coals. Very few comments coming to his defense.
Also, it is irrelevant if he touched her or not, the picture was about humiliating her. According to her, she was humiliated.
Wow! LLR and "Accidental Leftist" Chuck is going to be working overtime to try and minimize the damage done to the dems.
But if ever there was a LLR who was up to the task, its our very own "accidental leftist" Chuckie.
Maybe Larry David was onto something with the common-denominator joke.
I think whoever responded that it's Hollywood, not Jewishness, that's the common denominator, and that it's more or less coincidental that Hollywood is dominated by (non-religious) Jews, was correct. I'm sure there is no shortage of non-Jews in Hollywood guilty of the same stuff--like Spacey, for example.
Some might find it interesting that Orthodox Jews regard being alone with a woman other than one's wife or close relative (Pence's rule) as being prohibited by Jewish law.
Expel Senator Franken! -- Just Say NO to White Privileged gropers!
BTW, Lorne Michaels and the entire executive team at SNL who ENABLED this behavior have to go to.
Every. Single. One. Of. Those. Misogynistic. Pigs.
Every one.
">>He's released the non apology statement. My prediction: MSM kills the story before dinnertime."
MSNBC's take, in big red letters, is NEWS ANCHOR: I ACCEPT FRAKEN APOLOGY. and NEWS ANCHOR NOT CALLING FOR FRANKEN TO STER DOWN.
Story will be gone by 4 o'clock tea.
What an interesting post by Althouse.
And on the blog, not a lefty in sight, save Chuck.
Original Mike: "Story will be gone by 4 o'clock tea."
The picture isn't going anywhere.
Inga and LLR Chuck hardest hit.
"Based on my social media feed, Franken is done. Whether or not he made contact that photo is a joke about groping her.
Never mind the rest of the story.
I haven't seen a lot of media enablers here"
I'll believe that when I see it, he's a Democrat and there are different rules for the Dems.
I object to society's and especially men's sexualization of women's mammary glans. I would bet money that the male heterosexual commenters in this thread are guilty to a man of getting sexual gratification from looking at mammary glans, and often masturbating at the same time. The slang terms for breasts, like tits, knockers, boobs, & hooters are probably exceeded only by words for a penis. I'll spare you the list. The schmuck blog commenters around here, and you pricks know who you are, are blatant hypocrites to ask for Al Franken's resignation from the senate. You dicks deserve to be called out for your obsession with demeaning-to-women pornography, too.
Story will be gone by 4 o'clock tea.
We'll see. This is a good test to see if the Liberal MSM spin machine still has any power left. Because obviously Fox News, Talk Radio, and the internet won't let it go so easily. And even if they manage to bury it, what if Trump decides to Tweet about it? With a single Tweet Trump can revive stories that the media have killed. He's like a necromancer for inconvenient stories.
You can tell by the shadows that Franken's hands aren't actually touching her.
“It was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t.” Said Willet.
Franken’s rejoinder: "Sometimes when you don’t get a joke, it’s because it wasn’t a joke.”
Franken does not deserve any civility or grace from anyone else.
His office has issued a statement:
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Democrats got away with keeping a Grand Kleagle of the KKK in the Senate until he was 3 heartbeats from the Presidency. And with all the Antifa and BLM stuff, I have yet to hear anyone "reevaluate" the Dem's tolerance of Robert Byrd.
For Dems, even the vaguest apology in the face of overwhelming evidence earns full and eternal forgiveness. Actually, forget that, they don't even need to admit it (see Ted Kennedy).
But if it's a Republican, the accusation alone is ironclad evidence, and no forgiveness is ever possible.
Burn it all down.
Michael at 12:29 nails it.
Whether he really touched her is totally irrelevant.
Not only is he a scumbag for thinking this pretend crime was funny, someone, presumably Franken, made the effort to make certain that the woman would see the photo after the tour was over, when she got a collection of photos for remembering the event. That photo was inserted into the set. So that she would get to feel humiliated all over again.
Malice aforethought.
Frankel must go. He ought to do the honorable thing and just resign.
Char Char Binks: "You can tell by the shadows that Franken's hands aren't actually touching her.".....yet....
There is more than sufficient "evidence" (democrat pre-qualified "evidence") that this was probably not the first or last time Franken pulled this on women.
He. Has. To. Go.
Inga nowhere in sight. Had to send Chuck in the first wave of #FrankenDefense.
In Ken B's world the only one who has a gripe against Harvey Weinstein was the potted plant.
Don't forget that Franken was (is?) happy about murdering gays (or "homosexuals" as the called/calls them)
"Hey, I was glad when that Pudding homosexual got killed in Philadelphia."
And note that, after having said that, he didn't say to the interviewer "Errr... Perhaps don't quote me on that." No, he doubled down and said:
"Put that in, put that in," Franken laughed, leaning over the desk. "I'd love to see that in The Crimson."
Yeah. That's the kind of fella we want in the Senate.
John Henry
Melanie Morgan @MelMorgan1350
Yes, it’s true. I was stalked and harassed by Al Franken. I will have details @MediaEqualizer shortly.
12:04 PM - Nov 16, 2017
99 99 Replies 1,052 1,052 Retweets 1,080 1,080 likes
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
-- I don't see any way to read that to see him claiming he did not grope her. That's what he was accused of, and he pretty clearly admits that was what the photo was intended to be. "Look at funny me molesting the sleeping pretty girl! FUNNY!"
Only, yeah. Not Funny.
Sorry. I'm more than willing to play by the rules we hold Republicans to. He needs to go.
You can tell by the shadows that Franken's hands aren't actually touching her.
It's a still photo, not a video from beginning to end. In any case, he doesn't even deny touching her, though that's pretty much beside the point given the whole story.
As for this: NEWS ANCHOR NOT CALLING FOR FRANKEN TO STEP DOWN.
As far as I've seen, she wasn't asked about this. She simply said that she accepts the apology, which is the polite thing to do.
And you can bet Franken won't be the last democrat accused.
LLR Chuck galactically-hardest hit.
NEWS ANCHOR ASKED TO STEP DOWN
News at 11PM.
Now Melanie Morgan (former San Francisco talk radio person) is tweeting about a run-in with Franken.
When one does it, the rest follow soon after.
We all know what comes after one...
"A second woman is coming forward with allegations that Democratic Senator Al Franken “stalked and harassed” her."
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/11/16/second-female-accuser-coming-forward-accusation-al-franken-stalked-harassed-563856
Maybe Larry David was onto something with the common-denominator joke.
I think whoever responded that it's Hollywood, not Jewishness, that's the common denominator, and that it's more or less coincidental that Hollywood is dominated by (non-religious) Jews, was correct. I'm sure there is no shortage of non-Jews in Hollywood guilty of the same stuff--like Spacey, for example.
-----------------
I was just jokin', ya know! ;-)
If Roy Moore doesn't get an ethics panel if he is elected, they just refuse to seat him, then no ethics panel for Franken.
Shoes. They can go on other feet.
So, whaddaya think? Will we end up with more accusers for Roy Moore or Al Franken by the time it's all over?
franking
noun
an official mark or signature on a letter or parcel to indicate that postage has been paid or does not need to be paid.
frankening
noun
an incriminating photograph of a politician engaging in unbecoming conduct.
A note on tossing Representatives out: This is in regards to Roy Moore & Franken. And any other representatives.
I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps. I don't think it's a good idea. The People have the right to elect their Representatives. Youngstown elected that criminal involved with the mob for years. Trafficant? That guy went to jail.
I don't think The People should elect scumbags and criminals. But if they do, I do not think fellow Reps should overturn the will of the People.
Will we end up with more accusers for Roy Moore or Al Franken by the time it's all over?
Most likely. Moore had a established pattern. A security guard said he wasn't welcomed at the local mall. These types don't stop until they age out.
Franken came out of SNL. Does anyone thing there wasn't drugs and inappropriate sexual touching involved?
“Mike Pence looks like a fucking genius right about now with his stance on not being alone with women other than his wife.
Everyone made fun of his ridiculous religiosity and puritanical morality.
Ha. Who has the last laugh now?”
Plenty of people laughed at Judge Roy Moore’s religiosity and puritanical morality too, how’s he standing up to scrutiny?
I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps.
You should try reading the Constitution.
Article I, Section 5, Clause 2:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Uh, Inga, you dope, has anybody accused Pence of sexually molesting them?
"I don't think The People should elect scumbags and criminals. But if they do, I do not think fellow Reps should overturn the will of the People."
Yeah, a lot of destruction happening in our world.
Unless there's another accusation by another woman, Franken will likely brazen this out.
The Pro-Choice thing to do is presume that he is guilty, deem him non-viable, and abort him... his career. Either that or trial by press in a court of public opinion influenced by DNC collusion with the bullhorns from the mainstream press (e.g. Washington Post).
Okay, I have to say, while Franken's political behavior has appalled me, and this childish behavior of his does too, I have reached my limit. This is it for me. I will pay no more notice to anything I see online about any of this. I await Thermidor to put an end to what has become a Jacobin Reign of Terror. In case no one has noticed, big things are happening in the world. Al Franken's gropings are not among them.
Inga: "Plenty of people laughed at Judge Roy Moore’s religiosity and puritanical morality too, how’s he standing up to scrutiny?"
Mike Pence is standing up to scrutiny quite well, despite your sides non-stop insults about him.
I suggest you have an intervention for your soon to resign Dem Senator from MN. It looks like he really, really, really needs one.
Go ahead Inga. Criticize Franken. I notice you can't quite bring yourself to do that. I wonder why that is.
It's almost as if you don't actually believe a single thing you lecture the rest of us about....(Fen's Law on steroids)
"I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps."
It is.
Earnest Prole: "Unless there's another accusation by another woman, Franken will likely brazen this out."
It's already on its way.
Petards. Hoists. Some assembly required.
“...has anybody accused Pence of sexually molesting them?”
The point of my comment is that religiosity and puritanical morals don’t mean you haven’t done wrong. Duh.
"Unless there's another accusation by another woman, Franken will likely brazen this out."
-- Life comes at him fast.
Per Ace (ace.mu.nu)
Update: The Tax Reform & Jobs bill is now Passed out of the House.
Al Franken will be groping it within minutes.
I hope this opens the floodgates and we find out where all those millions in taxpayer dollars have gone to and why.
Unknown: "The point of my comment is that religiosity and puritanical morals don’t mean you haven’t done wrong."
The point is that Pence takes active measures to ensure what your side claims are horrendous actions never occurs.
And your side blasted him for it.
Still waiting for you to criticize Franken.
Bit of a conundrum for you, isn't it? I mean, you want Moore outta here and you want to transfer 50 years of institutional leftist misogyny onto Trump to get rid of him (similar to how the dems converted 200 years of democrat slavery issues onto modern day republicans) but now you've got this.......Franken "problem".
LOL
Enjoy.
Unknown: "I hope this opens the floodgates and we find out where all those millions in taxpayer dollars have gone to and why"
Sure you do. Uh huh.
"I'm unsure if it's Constitutional for fellow members to toss out fellow reps."
It is.
It doesn't seem like a good idea. I don't like the downgrading of the People's will.
"I don't like the downgrading of the People's will."
-- Then amend the constitution.
“Still waiting for you to criticize ”Franken.”
Franken should resign.
"Mike said...
Looked at the People story. Interesting. This is probably what they will say. Very similar to Franken up until the part where Franken actually grabs her and takes a "funny" photo of it. That distinction may protect Trump.
I don't see this rising to the level of "assault" based on her story though."
Here, let me open your eyes:
"Sexual assault is “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” Sexual assault is basically an umbrella term that includes sexual activities such as rape, fondling, and attempted rape."
Of the things going on in the world, the current US political instability is the most important. This is the principal global danger, through its likely economic consequences.
The potential downsides of a US constitutional crisis and its downstream effects are much worse even than a nuclear weapon on Seoul or Riyadh.
My question seems to have been misunderstood, so I'll rephrase it: Who will have the most accusers by the time this is over, Roy Moore or Al Franken? My money's on Franken.
Unknown: "Franken should resign"
LOL
And there you have it. After prompting (similar to the Clinton tales), Inga is willing to put her foot down.
All it took was to call out her obvious hypocritical and deafening silence on the matter to get her to respond.
To her credit, unlike the last 30 years it didn't take her and her lefty pals 25 years to decide that something a democrat did was wrong.
Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
It strongly appears — from the Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack and its logical sequelae in the courts — that the Senate can neither refuse to seat nor expel members for offenses committed long before they take their seat. The people who elected them must be allowed their representative of choice.
That case deals solely with exclusion, not expulsion.
So Congress has to let Moore take the oath of office and be seated...but can immediately hold a vote on whether to expel him. Franken has already been seated, and so may be expelled.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Yeah, but doesn't this apply to disorderly behaviour within the House or the Senate? As in not abiding by rules on the floor? Or beating up a Senator with a cane on the floor of the Senate?
I don't think reps were expelled for duels that occurred off the senate & house floor.
"Unless there's another accusation by another woman, Franken will likely brazen this out."
There is already another one.
"A second woman is coming forward with allegations that Democratic Senator Al Franken “stalked and harassed” her."
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/11/16/second-female-accuser-coming-forward-accusation-al-franken-stalked-harassed-563856
It doesn't seem like a good idea. I don't like the downgrading of the People's will.
Amend the Constitution.
“I hope this opens the floodgates and we find out where all those millions in taxpayer dollars have gone to and why.”
“Sure you do. Uh huh.”
That quote is not mine, it’s from the conservative Unknown, but I agree with him. Men who used their power to abuse women should be exposed and made pariahs, it’s about time.
Embrace the suck, leftists.
You are now being crushed under the rules you imposed on the rest of us.
Enjoy it. I know I am.
buwaya: "The potential downsides of a US constitutional crisis and its downstream effects are much worse even than a nuclear weapon on Seoul or Riyadh."
Where have you been?
We are already in a full-blown constitutional crisis where the entire govt establishment is negating an election, the leftist judges are abandoning any pretext of "nation of laws not of men", the democrat tainted intelligence agencies are still in the middle of an "Op" to first spy on and now remove their domestic political opponent, etc.
This was after 8 years of weaponizing the federal departments to attack conservatives and to set the stage to remove key constitutional rights.
We have been here for awhile now.
By the Packwood Standard he would be expelled. But the standard requires a Republican or it's not applicable.
Yeah, but doesn't this apply to disorderly behaviour within the House or the Senate?
Nope. Members of Congress can be expelled by their House for any reason.
It's only fun and games if Republicans are caught. I'm guessing the MSM quickly loses it's appetite for this topic as Democrats begin showing turning up in the nets.
That picture seems very typical of Franken's comedy--not funny at all, hard to see how anybody could find humor there.
Not because it is offensive (which it is, but not my point), but that there is just no way that is funny.
Given that it is not funny, what could have been Franken's motivation?
Unknown: " Men who used their power to abuse women should be exposed and made pariahs, it’s about time"
Oh, it's "about time" eh?
Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.
The entire democrat apparatus was designed to facilitate this type of abuse and you and yours winked at it the entire time.
We had all of Hollywood give a globally viewed standing ovation, prolonged standing ovation, to a convicted sodomizer of young girls.
And you delighted in their actions.
Sorry, we aren't going to let you pretend that you've been fighting some "good fight" all this time.
“And there you have it. After prompting (similar to the Clinton tales), Inga is willing to put her foot down.”
By your own comments in these comments sections over the years, I have no reason to believe you aren’t every bit as much a misogynistic asshole as the rest of these sexual assaulters.
Everyone made fun of his ridiculous religiosity and puritanical morality.
No. Only the stupid people did.
Stupid people like you.
"Sorry, we aren't going to let you pretend that you've been fighting some "good fight" all this time."
-- That's what I find so offensive about this. The people who told me Clinton was "just about sex" and that Polanski was "so long ago," suddenly want to be on my side of the "assaulting women is bad" political line. I, mean, welcome to the club. But, maybe, they should ask themselves why they weren't here to start with?
"I have no reason to believe you aren’t every bit as much a misogynistic asshole as the rest of these sexual assaulters."
-- Well, for one -- there's no photographic proof.
“Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.”
Hypocrite. Where have your pals been? Assaulting 14 year old girls, that’s where.
I will admit though, taking a picture of groping a sleeping woman is probably about as stupid than signing and dating the yearbook of a girl you're about to try and rape.
Why doesn't Franken use the already tested and pre-approved lefty rationale: "You drag a hundred dollar bill through a C-17 transport aircraft or an lefty-dominated "comedy" show rehearsal...."
"Matthew Sablan said...
I will admit though, taking a picture of groping a sleeping woman is probably about as stupid than signing and dating the yearbook of a girl you're about to try and rape."
Except it's clear now that he didn't sign it.
"We are already in a full-blown constitutional crisis "
I disagree.
This all has been, so far, for all the emotional investment, very tentative sparring on an institutional level.
Neither side has gone where they could go, given the stakes.
Unknown: "Hypocrite. Where have your pals been? Assaulting 14 year old girls, that’s where"
Your team gave a globally televised standing ovation to a sodomizer of a 14 year old girl.
Globally televised standing ovation to a convicted sodomizer of a 14 year old girl.
And you squealed with excitement over it.
You reveled in it.
And now you're "outraged"!
LOL
Oh yes, so much brand spanking new lefty outraged outragey-nous!
buwaya: "This all has been, so far, for all the emotional investment, very tentative sparring on an institutional level"
There is nothing "tentative" about what we are seeing, but its true there are not competing armies in the streets.
All you folks who voted for Trump and were so cavalier about dismissing his accusers are no better than any Democrat that you are accusing of hypocrisy. You KNEW Trump was a sexual assaulter and you didn’t care and even made him President. Hypocrites.
“All the women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment are lying, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday when asked for the official White House position on the issue.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/27/all-of-the-women-who-have-accused-trump-of-sexual-harassment-are-lying-the-white-house-says/?utm_term=.f4747cd752cd
Geez I hate to be pedantic but it's Al Frankenstein's monster.
Al Frankenstein was the doctor.
"Except it's clear now that he didn't sign it."
Which is why Allred has gone radio silent on whether the signature is a forgery or not. I think we have another case of Dan Rather-itis.
He'll be fine. He has 100% ratings from NARAL and Planned Parenthood, after all.
"Unknown said...
“Where the hell were you and your pals just a few months back during the campaign? Oh that's right, you were insulting Clintons accusers...who Hillary actively worked to destroy.”
Hypocrite. Where have your pals been? Assaulting 14 year old girls, that’s where."
First the election. Then Russia. And no Moore. It's all going south for you. And the beauty of it is you were sold the bullshit by your own side! Do you feel betrayed. Stupid? Used?
"Professor Althouse; surely you realize what a false comparison it is, comparing the alleged assault by Franken, to Trump's "Access Hollywood" tapes."
At least Chuck isn't defending Al Franken! Lulz
Unknown: " You KNEW Trump was a sexual assaulter and you didn’t care and even made him President."
Yes, a Bill Clinton and Hollywood activist fan actually had the nerve to write that.
Just now.
On this thread.
Thank you Inga. Trust me, you are the PERFECT spokesperson for your side on this.
Absolutely PERFECT.
The only thing missing is a strong defense of your position by Chuck, which I expect any moment now.
You reveled in it, you voted for a known sexual assaulter, Trump. Hypocrite.
And now you're "outraged"! over a Democrat that did the same thing Trump did. Hypocrite.
LOL
Possible escalation -
Scenario 1- The left is right, here. They could pivot from all these female problems into a Moore-like assault on the President, and try for some mechanism to either impeach or do a cabinet-removal. It would not have worked earlier, and there may have to be more groundwork yet to be done. It all MAY burn out in hysteria fatigue before it comes to pass. TBD.
Other cases will depend on events. A recession, a foreign war, with something going badly wrong, some other domestic scandal, who knows. I don't have the imagination to come up with everything that could serve as a trigger. In any case it is all primed to escalate without limit.
"Unknown said...
All you folks who voted for Trump and were so cavalier about dismissing his accusers are no better than any Democrat that you are accusing of hypocrisy. You KNEW Trump was a sexual assaulter and you didn’t care and even made him President. Hypocrites."
Were is the photo? Where is the confession. Where is the spooge all over the dress?
Until you Trump sychpohants call the for resignation of Trump, for his sexual assaults, you’re as big a hypocrite as any Democrat. Hang your heads in shame.
312 votes, folks. Franken won (or "won" if you're someone who still thinks finding trunks full of votes late in the process is a bit fishy) his seat by 312 votes.
Franken's vote in the Senate gave Dems 60 (after Specter switched, Lieberman caved, & Nelson was bought off) for Obamacare.
312 votes.
I'm no fan of Franken, but this picture doesn't impress me as proof of anything. It doesn't look like he's touching her. It looks like he's trying to get a picture people will find funny. Sure, it's a bit disrespectful. So what? Where is the injury here?
Poor Inga. Once your side decides that giving Billy boy a pass for 20 years and giving standing ovations to convicted sodomizers of young girls (when you aren't busy downplaying the islamist practice of female genital mutilation), you find that your self-awarded moral superiority was really just a mirage all along.
Inga's obvious panic and discomfiture is quite indicative of that self-realization.
Finally.
At long last.
But far, far too late.
Michael McNeil said..
"It strongly appears — from the Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack and its logical sequelae in the courts — that the Senate can neither refuse to seat nor expel members for offenses committed long before they take their seat. The people who elected them must be allowed their representative of choice."
True the Senate has to swear Moore in if elected. The Senate can then start an ethics investigation to expel, but the Senate would be setting a dangerous president, it would be the first time to charge a Senator for ethic violations that happened long before becoming a Senator.
What all this moral outrage by Sen. McConnell and GOPe has done is put the Republican 2 seat majority in the Senate at risk, if not the majority. That means the Republican agenda is dead including another SCOTUS appointment. Republicans should have just let the people of Alabama decide and kept their pie holes shut, play like Democrats.
"I'm no fan of Franken, but this picture doesn't impress me as proof of anything."
-- He didn't deny touching her. He had the opportunity to, and does deny remembering the forced kiss, so he clearly could have denied touching her if he wanted to. He didn't. That's... pretty damning.
Unknown: "Until you Trump sychpohants call the for resignation of Trump, for his sexual assaults, you’re as big a hypocrite as any Democrat. Hang your heads in shame"
LOL
More howling at the nighttime sky.
Sorry Inga. Your side and your lies no longer have that kind of power any longer. We can all understand how frustrating that must be for you.
BTW, have you contributed to the Roman Polanski School for Future Young Girl Producers yet? I mean, any Producer you and your pals would give a standing ovation to ought to be supported eh?
“.... is quite indicative of that self-realization.”
Poor Drago, outed as a misogynist asshole and hypocrite. You have a long long ways to go before you reach any self realization.
The pic is all the more repulsive when you see what Tweeden looks like and what he was grabbing for. I doubt he would've made a similar pic with someone more flat chested.
I will happily trade a relatively unliked, free spending Rockefeller Republican with ethics issues and an itchy Twitter finger with calm, respectful, guy who is never even alone with women not his wife Pence. He'd be the perfect foil to this sexual harassment revolution.
Bob Loblaw
It's more actual evidence than what we have on Moore.
“Your side and your lies no longer have that kind of power any longer. We can all understand how frustrating that must be for you.”
Hahahaha, now you’re just blathering.
Drago said...
"Except it's clear now that he didn't sign it."
Which is why Allred has gone radio silent on whether the signature is a forgery or not. I think we have another case of Dan Rather-itis."
What high school kid asks a 30 year old to sign their yearbook? You ask other classmates and maybe teachers you like to sign it. I never asked my boyfriends to sign it because they didn't go to the same school
And Moore supposedly signed it in December? Yearbooks don't come out in December, but closer to the end of the school year.
Someone adding "Moore" in blue ink when the rest of the comment is written in black ink seems like such an dunderheaded mistake that I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to do it. But I can't believe other people would be stupid enough to do a lot of things, and they do.
Unknown: "Poor Drago, outed as a misogynist asshole and hypocrite"
LOL
You just described, perfectly, a certain Democrat Senator from Minnesota!
Well played!
Clinton-voting admitted Democratic hypocrite Inga is completely right, and I will call for Trump's resignation as soon as there's photographic evidence of him assaulting anyone.
Unknown: "Hahahaha, now you’re just blathering."
"blathering" perfectly describes Franken's incoherent and inconsistent answers to questions about his now clear crimes.
You should try reading the Constitution.
What a deplorable way to decide if something's constitutional! Don't you know that thing was written by white male slaveowners over 100 years ago?
“You just described, perfectly, a certain Democrat Senator from Minnesota!”
Yes, I did. Now if you weren’t such a hypocrite and misogynist asshole you’d say the same about Trump.
What makes Drago a misogynist exactly?
Inga's definition of a misogynist: someone who makes Inga look stupid.
By that definition, Inga meets dozens of misogynists every week!
It is really something to watch as the democrats/leftis/LLR allies attempt, in real time, to shift their institutional misogyny (including the biggest name democrat law firms hiring ex-intelligence agent goons to harass victims of lefty-sexual assault!!) onto the republicans.
If only this were the 1980's again and the media was under their complete sway, they might just pull it off.
By the way, who has the Biden Watch today? Is he still keeping clear of school zones? Lots of pictures of that too!
What makes Drago a misogynist exactly?
Inga's definition of a misogynist: someone who makes Inga look stupid.
Are you calling Inga a misogynist?
Hah. Roy Moore asks what we're asking of McConnell. Why's Franken get a pass, and Moore not?
Unknown: "Yes, I did. Now if you weren’t such a hypocrite and misogynist asshole you’d say the same about Trump."
Sorry Comrade. I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.
BTW, exactly how many flights, exactly, did Billy boy take on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epsteins jets? And on how many of those "business/pleasure trips" did Billy boy have the Secret Service stay home and not accompany him?
Not to worry Inga. Your side and their institutional power are making sure that doesn't come out either.
So, celebrate! Your side gets away with it again.
The young girls however? They tend not to fare as well.
"Inga's definition of a misogynist: someone who makes Inga look stupid."
At this point, Inga would be more successful if she just returned to defending the islamists and their FGM and forced sexual slavery of young girls.
Someone adding "Moore" in blue ink when the rest of the comment is written in black ink seems like such an dunderheaded mistake that I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to do it.
Apparently the 'blue ink' thing is a hoax. But the fact that it was signed "Roy Moore, DA," when he wasn't a DA, and that his clerk's initials were D.A. and he added those initials when he signed documents for Moore, pretty much blows this out of the water. As does the fact that they aren't producing the yearbook for forensic examination. And, to top it off, the accuser omitted the fact that Moore was the judge in her divorce case, having claimed she'd had no contact with him. Surely she would have demanded his recusal had he been guilty of assaulting her 20 years earlier.
“I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.”
Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on.
James K, that is precisely the sort of "unhelpful" information that Inga and Chuck do not appreciate.
"Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old."
-- Moore was never accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year old, just trying to date one (though it turns out, given the dates involved, she was actually 16, maybe. Once the contradiction in the dates came out, the story dropped.) So, he still was being skeezy dating teenage girls, but way, way different from drugging and raping them, like Polanski.
(Still was, of course, assuming you believe the accusations, which, I'm unsure of, though I have some reservations about the yearbook, and would like to have it resolved with some science.)
Unknown: "Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on."
LOL
The careful observer will note how the panicked lefty retreats to previously created "safe rhetorical" modes, thinking that in those modes "success" can be conjured up as if by magic.
The more dunderheaded of the lefties, once they realize that these outdated modes are properly viewed as hopeless due to decades of lefties lies and posturing, will still double-down on them as they lack the ability to adapt to the realities of what is happening in real-time around them.
It is both amusing to watch as well as informative.
You know why Franken did what he did?
The Russians.
“Moore was never accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year old, just trying to date one (though it turns out, given the dates involved, she was actually 16, maybe. Once the contradiction in the dates came out, the story dropped.) So, he still was being skeezy dating teenage girls, but way, way different from drugging and raping them, like Polanski.”
Precisely the kind of hypocrisy I speak of regarding you Trumpists. Thanks Matthew for displaying it so nicely for me.
Still waiting for Inga to criticize the ENTIRETY of Hollywood for giving a prolonged standing ovation to a convicted drugger and sodomizer of young girls.
We will be waiting a long time indeed, because Inga knows the dems need those Sodomizer bucks for campaigning.
I guess I'm a horrible person because I think the picture of Franken with his hands reaching towards and maybe touching the jacket of the sleeping Leeann Tweeden was obviously intended as a joke, and actually is kind of funny, and shouldn't be the kind of thing that people are fired over.
Now I want to put a qualifier in here. The trouble with making this kind of comment is I have no idea of what else is going to come out about Al Franken in the coming weeks. It may turn out that there are multiple women accusing him of rape a week from now. I'm not defending that; I'm only talking about this picture.
Now the irony is here that I know full well that if this was a picture of a Republican doing this, Franken would be part of the mob baying for that man's scalp. Al Franken is a hyprocrite and I assume that's part of the point of Ann giving the link to Franken on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Franken lies really well; he sounds like he's telling the truth. But he isn't.
I'm also aware that if this were a picture at an office party of some non-public figure doing this, then in today's world that probably get that person fired. But I think that's a shame. I don't think it deserves that.
Byron York, from the Washington Examiner:
In the '08 campaign, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman was running for re-election against Democrat Al Franken. It was impossibly close; on the morning after the election, after 2.9 million people had voted, Coleman led Franken by 725 votes.
Franken and his Democratic allies dispatched an army of lawyers to challenge the results. After the first canvass, Coleman's lead was down to 206 votes. That was followed by months of wrangling and litigation. In the end, Franken was declared the winner by 312 votes. He was sworn into office in July 2009, eight months after the election.
During the controversy a conservative group called Minnesota Majority began to look into claims of voter fraud. Comparing criminal records with voting rolls, the group identified 1,099 felons -- all ineligible to vote -- who had voted in the Franken-Coleman race.
With 1,099 examples identified by Minnesota Majority, and with evidence suggesting that felons, when they do vote, strongly favor Democrats, it doesn't require a leap to suggest there might one day be proof that Al Franken was elected on the strength of voter fraud.
(World Famous Lurker says....)
Note to self: Stop on the way home to buy more popcorn.
BTW, it seems like the markets like the Franken news.
The S&P was up nearly 1%.
For what its worth.
What is hypocritical between drawing a line between raping someone and general skeezy, but non-rape, behavior? I clearly dislike both.
Hey, Gloria Bolger said on CNN that Frankenstein's boob grabbing shouldn't matter because he wasn't a Senator at the time! Er, Moore wasn't a judge in the late 70's. As a matter of fact, he was a Democrat then, which kinda explains things...
Make these Democrats live by the rules they've made.
"It is imperative that Lorne Michaels come out and condemn the disreputable behavior of his most distinguished alumnus in the strongest possible terms."
Eh--it's a New York thing. Or a Minnesota thing. Or a Washington DC thing. Whatever.
Gadfly is correct.
Franken won on the back of Felons voting and "found ballots" (what a break!) in the trunks of cars that a democrat judge allowed to be counted.
Franken's stolen seat was coordinated with the hit job done on Ted Stevens, and thats how LLR Chuck got his dreams fulfilled with a 60-dem senate followed by obamacare.
#RapeCulture
Precisely the kind of hypocrisy I speak of regarding you Trumpists.
There must be someone who can explain - in words small enough for Inga to understand - the difference between Franken's proven and admitted assault and the still-unproven allegations against Moore.
Mac McConnell said...
What all this moral outrage by Sen. McConnell and GOPe has done is put the Republican 2 seat majority in the Senate at risk, if not the majority. That means the Republican agenda is dead including another SCOTUS appointment. Republicans should have just let the people of Alabama decide and kept their pie holes shut, play like Democrats.
11/16/17, 1:52 PM
Sorry but you are assuming facts not in evidence. What have the GOP(e) done since the Trump election to lead you to believe that they actually WANT to be in control? Life is SO much easier for a Republican Congressman when you are the underdog. You get to draft all these great GOP bills never having to have them become law. You get to cry about how you can't get anything done because you are the minority party. Life is good. They fully expected to keep the party going with a President Hillary and [damn that] Trump went ahead and spoiled all their grand plans!
PN2: "...in words small enough for Inga to understand..."
Inga and Chuck.
" I think the picture of Franken with his hands reaching towards and maybe touching the jacket of the sleeping Leeann Tweeden was obviously intended as a joke"
To a degree it was a joke on Franken, he was laughing, to the crew, at his own reputation as a creepy molester, within the context of that tour, probably. And beneath that was honest lust. And beneath that was self-disgust. And beneath that...
But every bit of comedy is layered with motives and implications.
And, to top it off, the accuser omitted the fact that Moore was the judge in her divorce case, having claimed she'd had no contact with him. Surely she would have demanded his recusal had he been guilty of assaulting her 20 years earlier.
11/16/17, 2:03 PM
Well, well, well, I didn't know that...
Franken admits the photo (he HAS to, doesn't he?). He claims he "remembers" the rehearsal "differently" from Leeann, but he doesn't deny anything she said, so that's an admission, too.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/al-franken-apology/index.html
exiled: "Well, well, well, I didn't know that..."
It's not exactly the sort of thing Chuck's beloved MSM is going to report on.
I mean, it's merely testimony under oath that she did not know Moore and had never met him.
But that was then and this is now and the lefties/LLR NEED her to have known Moore before so voila! Instant lefty airbrushing of history...but in this case someone is brushed BACK IN to the picture.
Char Char Binks
Yes re the shadows.
You can also tell the dishonest commenters here:
He groped her!
Okay, well he pawed her suit!
Okay well it looks like maybe a fingertip is touching her uniform!
Okay he didn’t touch her in the photo but maybe he did earlier! Or later!
Think about it. He doesn’t want to wake her. He has to look away, how hard is it to control your touch so you don’t wake her doing that?
Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping. It might by the standards he holds other to be slimy and terrible. But the word “grope” is wrong.
"What have the GOP(e) done since the Trump election to lead you to believe that they actually WANT to be in control?"
They have been approving judicial nominees rapidly and without demur.
Their real problem is a conflict of policies with the President.
The sticking point is immigration, and nothing else really.
That what the entire inter-Republican war is about.
MSNBC's Kasie Hunt claims Franken was "mock-groping," not "groping" as Leeann Tweeden described.
Is "mock-groping" like "rape-rape?"
"Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping."
He was trying to humiliate her after she turned down his advances.
If he didn't grope her, why not set the record straight, like he did about his recollection of the forced kiss?
He was trying to humiliate her after she turned down his advances.
That is the likely explanation why he not only targeted her but also recorded the event. It wasn't for posterity. It wasn't a joke. It was the behavior of a pathetic male responding to an unrequited advance.
"exiledonmainstreet said...
MSNBC's Kasie Hunt claims Franken was "mock-groping," not "groping" as Leeann Tweeden described."
The beauty of any quasi-defender of Fraken, whether a new idiot like Hunt or our own resident moron Inga, is that they simply repeating the decades of hypocrisy in this area. Instead of taking their lumps they are keeping the ball rolling.
How fucking stupid is that?
Exiled,
That might be true. All I am insisting on is that we be accurate in our facts and clear about what we can know versus what we can infer. We know he made the photo. Some infer a desire to humiliate her. That's a reasonable inference. But it isn’t what Sablan and some others are doing by insisting that he groped her.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.
Melanie Morgan's story is not sexual in nature, just weird. It will make a difference if other women come forward with sexual allegations against Franken.
Tweeden posed for Playboy, Hooters and Venus over the years, so I would expect she has personal stories about quite a number of boorish male celebrities.
I am not aware of any workplace I've ever been in or heard of that would not fire me if I did something like that to a coworker. That picture would be grounds to not give me severance. It would also prevent me from being hired by anyone else in the industry who found out about it. I can't believe any of the above commenters are seriously claiming this is no big deal. It's a BFD
Still, Franken is Pro-Choice. Shouldn't we judge him according to the standards that he judges others?
Specifically, we should presume that he is guilty, inconvenient, or profitable, and send him to Planned Politician.
Isn’t she wearing Individual Body Armor? Maybe I’m seeing the picture wrong, but I think there’s a good thick Kevlar plate between his fingers and her breasts.
Is there a picture of Franken groping a man's chest too? If not, it's sexual, regardless of the Kevlar between her breasts and his hands.
"Ken B said...
Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping. It might by the standards he holds other to be slimy and terrible. But the word “grope” is wrong."
grope: informal
feel or fondle (someone) for sexual pleasure, especially against their will.
You're an idiot.
Whatever he did here it wasn’t groping. It might by the standards he holds other to be slimy and terrible. But the word “grope” is wrong.
Wow, you *know* that from a still photo?
In any case, it was after he had forcibly stuck his tongue in her mouth against her will. Nice try.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts."
-- Given that he was accused of it and apologized for doing it... what other facts are there? Do you think he apologized for something he didn't do?
"I am not aware of any workplace I've ever been in or heard of that would not fire me if I did something like that to a coworker. That picture would be grounds to not give me severance. "
This is true.
"Some infer a desire to humiliate her."
-- If I see someone stabbing someone in a photo, I might infer a desire to stab someone. I don't care if he wanted to humiliate her, or if that was just a happy bonus to him groping her. I don't care about the state of either of their minds beyond: She was sleeping and not consenting to his groping her. Which he admitted.
I don't care if he desired her to win the lottery by laying hands on her and convening with God -- the *action* is the problem.
Sablan,
The word “grope” is and was an inference from the photo. She has no recollection to controvert like the kiss. And the photo does not, upon close inspection, show a grope. So there is no reason for him to all about it.
Further he is hoping to just deal with this as smoothly as possible. He denies the kiss, agrees the photo was an unfunny joke. That is actually a good way to do things. I was wrong, sorry.
It's worth pointing out that Moore is unfit for office because he doesn't respect the rule of law. But the publicly-demonstrated hypocrisy of so many Democrats, and their subsequently-finished ability to cause harm, is a massively positive development
I mean, sure. You can claim it was an inference from the photo. Because it shows us it happening. If you take a picture next to the Eiffel Tower, and I infer you were in France, that's... not wrong. Now, maybe you green screened it. Or took a very artsy shot with a fake Eiffel Tower. But, if you say, "You're right. I was in France," then... well, it isn't wrong to infer you were in France.
Read the headline; this is what she accused him of: "Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It."
He didn't say: "Whoa, I took a goofy picture, but I never groped her!" No. He acknowledges he was wrong and apologized.
Because he knew the media would defend him and ignore the fact he sexually assaulted a sleeping woman because, "Eh, if you squint, maybe he's not touching her in that picture."
Sounds like a “man” problem, more so than a Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative problem. Men, check yourselves first, before accusing others of what you’ve been doing for so long and getting away with it. It’s a new day, no longer will women be intimidated into remaining silent.
1.) The Democratic Party is full of men who have sexually abused women. The Republican Party is full of men who have sexually abused women. The mass of Americans who belong to neither party is full of men who have sexually abused women. Peer into socialist circles, libertarian circles, tech circles, media circles, the construction trades — you will find men who have sexually abused women. America has allowed a culture of sexual abuse and harassment to flourish, and all of our industries and political parties exist within that culture. This is a systemic rot, not merely a few bad apples.
2) I have been reflecting of late on why the Harvey Weinstein revelations kicked off this revolution, and one theory I have is that Weinstein was a powerful Democratic donor, and that was actually important. After Trump, Democrats were primed to take allegations of sexual abuse seriously. And since Weinstein was a Democrat, Republicans didn’t respond by rallying around him or trying to change the subject. Thus, the Weinstein affair broke the normal forces of polarization and made this something more than red versus blue.
5) But it’s worth remembering that the president of the United States has more than a dozen well-documented, on-the-record allegations of sexual assault against him. The fact that those allegations are known doesn’t make them less serious, and the fact that he won the Electoral College despite them does not absolve him. It is a good thing for the country and our future that we are taking sexual assault so seriously. But it is a very, very bad thing if the one exception is the most powerful, prominent abuser in the world..”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/16/16666004/al-franken-donald-trump-sexual-harassment
buwaya said...
They have been approving judicial nominees rapidly and without demur.
11/16/17, 2:20 PM
You are correct, that is a plus. Isn't that still going slower than it could?
They bungled the OCare cleanup, they may [MAY] get taxes done, aren't there still admin positions to get approved? What is the hold up? It is like they are slow walking it.
They had plenty of notice that Trump won. They should have had a stack of bills all ready to go the day he was sworn in. That is what winners do. That is what people that want to win do. For the most part, these clowns don't want to win unless they get to win their way, not our way.
Sablan says Franke admitted groping her. Will Sablan provide a quote.
I note that Sablan has, by his own logic, admitted he is being dishonest because I accused him of it and in his reply he didn’t deny it.
I see we have a few Al Franken defenders. Their defense: Al stopped short a few milimeters of actual titty grabbing the innocent sleeping woman.
It is a brilliant legal defense. Professor Lawrence "3-steps to success" Lessig couldn't do it better.
Here's Ms. Tweeden's full statement for full context.
Here's Slate: Al Franken Should Resign Immediately.
Money grafs:
There is no rational reason to doubt the truth of Tweeden’s accusations, no legitimate defense of Franken’s actions, and no ambiguity here at all: Franken should resign from the Senate immediately. Democrats should call for him to step down straightaway. This revelation is a test of the Democratic Party’s consistency, honesty, and decency. If Democrats wish to preserve whatever moral standing they have today, they must exhort Franken to leave the Senate, with no hesitation or reservations.
Franken, it seems, won’t go quietly. His first response to Tweeden’s article is a case study in pseudo-apologetic denial, an effort to gaslight Tweeden while purporting to express regret. “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way,” Franken said, “but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.” He deserves no credit for this hollow contrition. Franken “doesn’t remember” the harassment “in the same way”? His actions were “intended to be funny”? Touching a woman’s breasts without her consent is not a joke. It is a crime. Franken is not really admitting guilt or apologizing to Tweeden. He is laying the groundwork for his own defense.
Ball in your court, Sir.
I read the quoted bits of the Constitution to mean that 2/3 of the Senare can expel a member for any or no reason. The "bad behavior" is not relevant. I welcome counterarguments.
Ken: How else do you interpret Franken point blank stating "I shouldn't have done it" when talking about the photo.
He said: “For instance, that picture. I don’t know what was in my head when I took that picture, and it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuse. I look at it now and I feel disgusted with myself. It isn’t funny. It’s completely inappropriate. It’s obvious how Leeann would feel violated by that picture. And, what’s more, I can see how millions of other women would feel violated by it—women who have had similar experiences in their own lives, women who fear having those experiences, women who look up to me, women who have counted on me."
This is in response to the accusation of him groping her. So, if you read this to mean, "he didn't grope her," then... well... there's no help there. That's a deliberate misreading of his statement. He's confessing to what he was accused of (unless he comes out with another clarification.)
If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it.
Unknown:"Sounds like a “man” problem, more so than a Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative problem."
LOL
Like clockwork, when the dems are in trouble its time for the lefties to pull out the "its Societies fault" card!
Hilarious. So utterly, utterly predictable!
Such weak tea at this late date. The left has no credibility on this, which explains everything they are trying to pull now to change the subject.
Hillary was the dems nominee just 12 months ago and she made it a personal mission to destroy her husbands victims, and she was worshipped by the lefties.
Today?
Clinton who?
Democrats should call for him to step down straightaway. This revelation is a test of the Democratic Party’s consistency, honesty, and decency.
Now THAT's comedy.
"If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it."
I guess it depends on what the meaning of "is" is.
Right Inga?
"They had plenty of notice that Trump won. They should have had a stack of bills all ready to go the day he was sworn in. "
Your sticking point is the Senate, which is full of people who are wholly-owned by interests opposed to major changes in the status quo. You can consider all the deadlock as a form of negotiation over the most important policy areas - to the financiers.
Politics works on multiple levels, most of which we can only infer.
I love that Inga retreats to Vox "news".
You remember Vox, don't you?
They see bridges where none exists: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/07/17/vox-com-just-needs-to-stop-writing-about-israel/?utm_term=.aec57ad5581e
...but in a good way....
Unknown said...
“I choose not to join you in celebrating sodomizers of young girls.”
Maybe not, you just celebrate pussy grabbing and sexually assaulting a 14 year old. Until you condem and reject Trump and Roy Moore, you have no leg to stand on.
11/16/17, 2:04 PM
Stupid. Repetitive. Lies. Boring. As usual.
Here, this is more fun:
Inga said...
Stop and think how ridiculous you've become. I'm fine with becoming persona non grata. Your blog has become the cesspool it once was. I'm pretty much done here. 6/30/17, 6:33 PM
And yet, she persists.
Also, I love Franken's statement, where he denies kissing her, and then closes it by saying, "women should be believed."
"Democrats should call for him to step down straightaway. This revelation is a test of the Democratic Party’s consistency, honesty, and decency. If Democrats wish to preserve whatever moral standing they have today, they must exhort Franken to leave the Senate, with no hesitation or reservations."
Sorry. Too late. That ship sailed on July 18, 1969.
Groping, manipulating, violating the space of someone while they are unconscious, for purposes other than medical care, or without consent, is done with a single purpose: to emasculate or humiliate her. He wanted her to feel vulnerable; to feel less dignified; to recall that moment when she had no voice to protest nor arms to prevent his intrusion. Fortunately, he failed, and she has lived her life despite him.
Matthew Sablan: "Also, I love Franken's statement, where he denies kissing her, and then closes it by saying, "women should be believed.""
Intellectual consistency is a tool of the white supremacist patriarchy!
Franken wants women to know he'll support them. Unless he thinks he can get a cheap laugh by squeezing their boobs while they're sleeping.
Ah and now comes the defense: it was a grope but it wasn't a grope groupe.
He'll probably use the John Stewart defense. "Hey, I'm just a comedian. It's a joke. You shouldn't take it too seriously."
The sexual assault took place on a US military aircraft. I want him in Leavenworth by sundown.
“If you *want* him to be innocent, you have to ignore the picture, where he's clearly grabbing her, and the admission that he grabbed her and apologizes for it."
I don’t “want him to be innocent”, dumbass. Either he’s guilty or he isn’t and he admitted to it. As I said earlier, up thread, he should resignas should Trump and Moore. As long as you don’t call for Trump and Moore’s resignation, you are as big a hypocrite as you accuse Democrats of being. You don’t have credibility or a leg to stand on.
Sorry. Too late. That ship sailed on July 18, 1969.
I'm legitimately impressed by anyone calling for Franken to resign, because it's the right moral call. It's never too late to do the right thing.
Pretending that the accusations against Moore and Trump have the same weight as the photographic proof of Franken's assault remains dishonest.
Inga is off desperately seeking new articles she can link which "helpfully" have lefties explaining to everyone why lefties doing things isn't as bad as you think.
In the first six minutes of The Ben Shapiro Show, Ep 419 Ben talks about this thing with Al Franken. Ben Shapiro grew up in Los Angeles and his mother worked in Hollywood. I think he provides some useful context that kind of makes me wonder if this isn't uglier than I realized.
Unknown: "As long as you don’t call for Trump and Moore’s resignation, you are as big a hypocrite as you accuse Democrats of being. You don’t have credibility or a leg to stand on."
When confronted with "facts" that don't fit the narrative, the standard leftist will simply repeat, ad nauseam, the same assertions over and over again. As if repetition alone will make them true.
“Pretending that the accusations against Moore and Trump have the same weight as the photographic proof of Franken's assault remains dishonest.”
The vast majority of sexual assaults are not caught on camera.
I actually wrote that last comment before reading Inga's latest bleat. Calling for Franken's resignation because he's a pig is moral. Calling for Franken's resignation to contribute to hysterically frivolous "Resistance" is trivial, and worth ignoring.
"2) I have been reflecting of late on why the Harvey Weinstein revelations kicked off this revolution, and one theory I have is that Weinstein was a powerful Democratic donor, and that was actually important. After Trump, Democrats were primed to take allegations of sexual abuse seriously. And since Weinstein was a Democrat, Republicans didn’t respond by rallying around him or trying to change the subject. Thus, the Weinstein affair broke the normal forces of polarization and made this something more than red versus blue."
The New Yorker and the NYT broke this story. And you do know what "theory" is don't you?
“When confronted with "facts" that don't fit the narrative, the standard leftist will simply repeat, ad nauseam, the same assertions...”
Sorry if they make you feel uncomfortable, maybe it hits you personally.
Ray said:
"I doubt anything is going to happen, he's a Democrat. Mea Culpa and move on."
He's more than a Democrat he's part of the Harvard Political Cartel. Let the professor expound on how wonderful all things Harvard are, which they are not.
I say tax the Harvard endowment, take the property by eminent domain to build housing for refugees, and move the University to some cold unpopular, under populated place, say Alaska.
I think I've been clear, I'm willing to hear out Moore's accusers, and I'd gladly trade out Trump for Pence if the accusations are proven, though I'm sure he'd become Literally Hitler as soon as we did.
Ken says It wasn't a grope-grope.
More like a nope-grope. Certainly not more than a hope-grope. Doesn't even rise to the level of a Pope-grope.
I think Exiled has it right. He's angry that she brushed him off.
So it's a misanthrope-grope.
The vast majority of sexual assaults are not caught on camera.
That's true. And irrelevant.
Adrian!!! Aaiiidriiannnn!!!!!
Unknown: "...maybe it hits you personally."
Once again, Unknown describes Franken and his gropey groper hands on women.
Poor Inga. She does not want to discuss this Franken thing, does she?
After Chuck failed to change the subject Inga stepped up to do what she could!
Why hasn't Inga organized a p****-hat march on the capital to oust Franken?
Until she does she is a hypocrite and does not have a leg to stand on.
Why hasn't Inga organized a p****-hat march on Hollywood demanding justice?
Until she does she is a hypocrite and does not have a leg to stand on.
Poor Inga. Literally thousands of democrat assaulters and their enablers at the highest levels are awaiting her outrage, but she can't quite get to them.
Perhaps its the arthritis.
Inga, how do you feel about the biggest dem law firm organizing the coordinated intimidation efforts against victims of your beloved Hollywood hero sexual assaulters?
They actually hired intelligence agency goons to go after the women.
And they are all, to the man and woman, democrats.
Congratulations!
“Pretending that the accusations against Moore and Trump have the same weight as the photographic proof of Franken's assault remains dishonest.”
The vast majority of sexual assaults are not caught on camera.
“That's true. And irrelevant.”
Not irrelevant to your assertion that until a sexual assault is caught on camera it carries little weight. Your comment is the dishonest.
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