November 17, 2017

Liberal websites absorb/process the Al Franken news, part 4: Slate.

I think this one will be my favorite. I've been saving this up as I slogged through some other things. Here's the Franken-related material as situated on the front page of Slate:



You've got, first, most prominently, "Al Franken Should Resign Immediately / Democrats’ credibility on sexual harassment is at stake," by Mark Joseph Stern. That went up very quickly (at 12:11 p.m.), and you don't even need to click through to get the message, with is impressively forthright. Stern cares about principle, perhaps on the theory that it's the most effective strategy for the Democrats. Don't waffle! Stern is hardcore:
The Democratic Party now has a chance to set the proper example and prove that absolute intolerance for sexual harassment crosses party lines. Democrats should not hedge or wring their hands or await more accusations. The path forward is simple: If the party wishes to retain an ounce of credibility, it must demand Franken’s swift resignation.
Absolute intolerance. There are those in Congress who know more about what secrets have been hidden and therefore where an absolute-intolerance policy may lead. A Franken resignation won't affect the number of Democrats in the Senate. (Minnesota has the Governor fill an opened Senate seat, and it stays that way until the next election.) But will the Democrats insist on the resignation of all sexual harassers? And once they lock into that track, what will count as sexual harassment? If you go with feminist analysis, it could be quite a lot. Consider the next article:

"Al Franken's Humor Always Had a Mean Streak," by Laura Miller. If you click through, the headline tames down to "Comedians Know to Play to the Room. Al Franken Should’ve Known Better." Miller is pretty sympathetic to Franken, offering him the padding of context, but she says something I'm going to make a big deal about. I'll put it in boldface:
It doesn’t matter—as Franken, to his credit, now seems to realize—whether the photo portrays an actual grope or a near-grope. The joke was at Tweeden’s expense, a tedious unfunny entry in the long, long catalog of humor based on the idea that sex in any form is an advantage men seize over women, at women’s expense. That seems to have been a theme of Franken’s USO appearances with Tweeden, as well: him leering at her in order to win laughs from servicemen. It looks like the servicemen found this antique, Bob Hope-style shtick funny, but humor is notoriously dependent on context....

Every joke is meant for one room or another, some group of people with a particular set of values whose approval the joker hopes to gain....
As I've said a few times, we may be entering the era of That's Not Funny. If everything is going to get out, through social media, open microphones, and digital cameras everywhere, then maybe nobody should dare to be a comedian or at least comedians need to confine themselves to comedy shows and stay out of politics.

But let's look at that boldface and think about the burgeoning potential of the idea that you might not be able to safely express anymore. The whole "Bob Hope-style shtick" is off limits. All the jokes (and all the serious statements) about sexual transactions may become suspect, and any statement about unequal sex may turn you into a social pariah. In this new template, Trump could be denounced without any credible stories about groping a woman and without regarding the Access Hollywood remarks as a confession that he actually did go up to women and just start kissing them. Just the idea that he thought of kissing women as taking an advantage is enough to condemn him — even if it's true that the women want that kind of sexual domination when it comes from a star.

Here's something I wrote in 2005, when the feminist writer Andrea Dworkin died:
[T]his is a classic problem in American feminism: do you want to describe one big system that applies to all women or should you concentrate on the truly oppressed?.... In the area of sexuality, I can see why people like Dworkin wanted to say to all the women who were smug about their own lucky lives and proud of their mates to say look closely at what you've got and start identifying with women at other levels of sexual happiness: empathize with them and see the problems. Dworkin and MacKinnon said that women had eroticized domination. That's not absolutely accurate, but it is one of the most powerful ideas I have ever encountered in my life. It's a truly scary, unsettling insight and a lot of the intense reaction to them is an unwillingness to lose what you want to believe is good.
The feminism of the 1980s may be reviving, and I see it right there in Laura Miller's hostility to "the idea that sex in any form is an advantage men seize over women, at women’s expense." This is just one product that might emerge from the manufacturing process that takes in Al Franken as its raw material. And I do want to scare you! Soylent Green is people!

The third article from the front page in Slate is "Today in Conservative Media: Let’s Be Frank About Franken" by Osita Nwanevu, and I like this because it looks as though it might be the same as the idea I'm applying to liberal media, just doing it to conservative media. But it's just collecting quotes. No real commentary.

The headline on the front page has more analysis than anything in the article: "Conservative Media Sounds Gleeful About Al Franken." I guess that means it's wrong to be gleeful. You should be somber and empathetic toward the women who come forward to speak about sexual harassment, so if you let it show that you're enjoying taking down a political enemy, you're committing an offense, the offense of glee. But if you're going to crack down on that offense, you'll have to restrain yourself over Roy Moore and Donald Trump. So quit smirking and put on that face you're going to need to avoid disaster in the era of That's Not Funny.

94 comments:

Mark O said...

I await the return of Increase Mather.

Nonapod said...

The Democratic Party now has a chance to set the proper example and prove that absolute intolerance for sexual harassment crosses party lines.

So now the Dems care about claims of sexual harassment? That sure is convenient. Is this the end of hypocrisy? Yeah, right...

Big Mike said...

The path forward is simple: If the party wishes to retain an ounce of credibility, it must demand Franken’s swift resignation.

Would the path forward be as simple if Franken was from a state that had a Republican governor?

Luke Lea said...

The most cynical take yet of what's going on: https://goo.gl/oqKC3x

Ann Althouse said...

"I await the return of Increase Mather."

I hope you're saying that because you know Althouse is a direct descendant of Cotton and Increase Mather.

Spiros said...

Stalin famously said "We have enemies inside, we have enemies outside. We must not forget it, not for a moment, Comrades." It was over some nonsense about the "aristocrats" conspiring with foreign powers to undermine the revolution. Likewise, here the alarm being spread over perverts is not spontaneous. In the future, when we're less emotional, we can decide what the roots of this scaremongering are (probably Trump) and what the ultimate outcome will be.

Pookie Number 2 said...

If the party wishes to retain an ounce of credibility, it must demand Franken’s swift resignation.

The party wishes only to retain power. Credibility may or may not be useful, but it's demonstrably not an end in itself.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Until Trumpists and Rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore along with Franken, they have no moral high ground upon which to stand. Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women, a picture exists of Franken doing so and there are multiple allegations against Moore
(as well as Trump).

Michael K said...

Inga is right on top of the latest talking points. Trump, of course, did not admit anything.
This is another front in the war on men. Feminists like INga want to get rid of men and have a world composed of women and beta males who seem safe enough.

Then the Muslim "refugees' will arrive.

Henry said...

I'm reminded of the Republican leaders who resigned during the Clinton scandal.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Until Trumpists and Rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore along with Franken, they have no moral high ground upon which to stand."

LOL

Gahrie said...

Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women

You're either stupid, or a liar. Trump admitted no such thing. What he did was say that women would allow him to grab their pussies, not that he did grab their pussies.

Bay Area Guy said...

Damn, Althouse, you gotta sift thru all this leftwing internet nonsense? I'm impressed by your perseverance.

I am also impressed by the Leftwing efforts to throw Bill Clinton under the bus - 20 years after the fact!

Talk about a profile in courage........

Pookie Number 2 said...

You're either stupid, or a liar. Trump admitted no such thing. What he did was say that women would allow him to grab their pussies, not that he did grab their pussies.

Why "or"? Inga intentionally writes things she knows are false (as you've demonstrated), and any honest appraisal of her writings revseals severely limited intelligence.

tcrosse said...

It's just Moral Preening to go on record calling for any of them to resign. Let the voters of Minnesota, Alabama, and the USA decide which, if any, of them gets removed from office.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“This is another front in the war on men. Feminists like INga want to get rid of men and have a world composed of women and beta males who seem safe enough.”

LOL! Be scared be very very scared! In the real world, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, and even great grandmothers will laugh at men like you who are so very frightened of women who stand up for themselves. How the hell do you think we women have managed to have children and grandchildren considering how much we want to “get rid of men”. What do you think we do with our sons and sons in law, husbands and fathers, fathers in law, brothers, brothers in law, uncles and grandfathers? Somehow the male species survives despite the dastardly feminist, go figure.

Amexpat said...

The whole "Bob Hope-style shtick" is off limits.

What about Groucho Marx?

What's wrong with comedy being a vent for thoughts/desires that we have but don't act upon. Sort of like sports being an acceptable outlet for aggression.

AllenS said...

Inga said...
Somehow the male species survives despite the dastardly feminist, go figure.

You're talking about Mary Jo Kopechne, aren't you?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Transcripts: What the mics caught Donald Trump saying in 2005 and what he said in his taped apology

“The following is a transcript of Donald Trump and Billy Bush talking off and on camera during a 2005 taping of an Access Hollywood segment. The footage was first obtained and released by the Washington Post.

What the mic captured during the 2005 ‘Access Hollywood’ segment:
Donald Trump: You know and—

Unidentified voice: She used to be great. She’s still very beautiful.

Trump: I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married.

Unidentified voice: That’s huge news there.

Trump: No, no. Nancy. No this was— And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I took her out furniture– I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.

Bush: Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple.

Trump: Whoa!

Bush: Yes. Yes, the Donald has scored!

Trump: Whoa!

Bush: Whoa, my man!

Unidentified voice: Wait, wait you’ve got to look at me when you get out and be like ... will you give me the thumbs up? You’ve got to put the thumbs up.

[crosstalk]

Trump: Look at you. You are a pussy.

[crosstalk]

Unidentified voice: You’ve got to get the thumbs up. You can’t be too happy, man.

Trump: Alright, you and I will walk down.

[crosstalk]

Trump: Maybe it’s a different one.

Bush: It better not be the publicist. No, it’s her. It’s her.

Trump: Yeah, that’s her, with the gold. I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. I just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Unidentified voice: Whatever you want.

Trump: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything


http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-bush-transcript-20161007-snap-htmlstory.html

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Somehow the male species survives despite the dastardly feminist, go figure.”

“You're talking about Mary Jo Kopechne, aren't you.”

Mary Jo is an odd name for a male.

Paddy O said...

"The Democratic Party now has a chance to set the proper example and prove that absolute intolerance for sexual harassment crosses party lines."

If Democrats took this absolute intolerance approach to corruption too, they'd win every election.

But before that happened, they'd lose all their politicians, and would have to start over with a new bunch, so it's not likely.

Bay Area Guy said...

First, they came for Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and I said nothing.

Then, they came for Sly Stallone -- and I said nothing.

Then, they came for Steven Seagal -- and I said nothing.

Then, they came for me -- and nobody was around to speak for me.

Paul J said...

"the idea that sex in any form is an advantage men seize over women, at women’s expense"

Not expense. Often to their disinterest, or amusement, or annoyance, or obliviousness, or any of a wide range of attitudes. But it is not apprehended by men as being in itself a cost.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

I'm still trying to figure out why Trump should resign. As far as I can tell, none of the women accusing him (the ones who appeared after the primaries and disappeared after the general election) have gotten any traction as credible. If so, the news outlets and pundits would be all over it 24/7.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Unknown" - perhaps you are very lost. But the Access Hollywood tape was played heavily before the November 2016 election. And, guess what?, the voters still elected Trump.

Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did.

Curious George said...

Unknown said...
Until Trumpists and rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore they have no moral high ground upon which to stand. Trump admits to sexually assaulting women, a picture exists of Franken doing so, Moore has multiple allegations against him.

11/17/17, 10:31 AM

Unknown said...
Until Trumpists and rightists call for the resignation of Moore and Trump along with Franken they have no moral high ground upon which to stand. Trump admits to sexually assaulting women, a picture exists of Franken doing so and there are multiple allegations against Moore (as there are against Trump).

11/17/17, 10:39 AM

Unknown said...
Until Trumpists and rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore, along with Franken, they have no moral high ground on which to stand. Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women, a picture exists of Franken doing so and there are multiple allegations against Moore (as well as Trump).

11/17/17, 10:43 AM

Unknown said...
Until Trumpists and Rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore along with Franken, they have no moral high ground upon which to stand. Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women, a picture exists of Franken doing so and there are multiple allegations against Moore
(as well as Trump).

11/17/17, 10:47 AM

You can post this idiocy over and over and over (you are mentally ill) but Trump never admitted to sexually assaulting women you lying POS, and there are only allegations, that at this point are swirling in the bowl, against Moore. But we know of Franken, and also of Bill Clinton, who you didn't say boo about. Or about the Hildabeast falsely slut shaming his accusers.

You have no morals period. You are garbage.


Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did.”

You’ve proven you can’t. So your assertion of intelligence falls flat.

FullMoon said...

Inga says:
What do you think we do with our sons and sons in law, husbands and fathers, fathers in law, brothers, brothers in law, uncles and grandfathers?


That is the second obviously incestuous comment you have made. One yesterday, now this. Is there something you want to get off your chest?

Howard said...

Talking about moral high ground and politics in the same sentence is cute.

Bill said...

As I've said a few times, we may be entering the era of That's Not Funny.

Which was always the feminists' endgame. That, and making infanticide respectable.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“That is the second obviously incestuous comment you have made. One yesterday, now this. Is there something you want to get off your chest?”

That’s funny, but not what my comment you took out of context meant.

FullMoon said...

Inga says:
What do you think we do with our sons and sons in law, husbands and fathers, fathers in law, brothers, brothers in law, uncles and grandfathers?


You have no husband and have never been married.

Peter said...

As I've said a few times, we may be entering the era of That's Not Funny.

We already are. Among a lot of millenials, jokes or eye-rolling about all sorts of stuff tied into identity politics are met with cold stares. It isn't just that they're not considered funny, it's that the entire subjects must always be talked about with great solemnity because a failure to do so reveals an empathy deficit. (A lot of Larry David's comedy is based on being out of step with this.) OTOH, the fact that we feel a huge loss and chill because we can't make sex and harassment jokes anymore says something a little pathetic about the state of comedy today. Maybe this will be an opening for a renaissance of new genres in comedy. Plus it isn't the first time. We tend to think the Victorians were humorless because they didn't smile in photographs, but they actually laughed a lot. Sex was taboo but they were riotous about death. I don't know what the Puritans laughed at, but I suspect they did.

But while I have your attention, and before it's made illegal, did you ever hear the one about the priest, the rabbi and the famer's daughter?

FullMoon said...

“That is the second obviously incestuous comment you have made. One yesterday, now this. Is there something you want to get off your chest?”

That’s funny, but not what my comment you took out of context meant.

Obviously you have been keeping something bottled up. Who was it? Dad? Grandfather? Uncle? More than one?
Now is the time to speak up, especially if they still live.

Howard said...

Look, all this shit is silly, powerful men prey on weak women, it's the way of the world. However, when you righties defend Trump, you are also defending Louis C Kuck as well. Take the Billy Bush tape for instance. What Trump claims he can do is exactly what Loser Louis did.

Louis CK/DJT: Yeah, that’s her, with the gold... I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Unidentified voice: Whatever you want.

Louis CK/DJT: Jack off in front of them. You can do anything

Amadeus 48 said...

Althouse--Cotton and Increase Mather? Cool! You are genetically predisposed to recognize both witch hunts and witches. I recommend The Witches: Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff. She tells the story as it would have appeared to people in New England in 1692. It is very well done and very disorienting. Lots of social anxiety (many of the girls who started the controversy were or were closely related to families killed in Indian massacres in western Massachusetts) and Salem Village was a notoriously quarrelsome community, with constant disagreements with potential pastors while they tried to establish a church in the Village. At the same time all land titles were not secure after a revolt in Massachusetts Bay Colony against the royal governor and the proposed new charter for the colony.

Enter the Devil.

Bay Area Guy said...

Every left wing female who has ever been grabbed by the Pussy, now blames Trump.

Inga...Allie Oop said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inga...Allie Oop said...

“That is the second obviously incestuous comment you have made. One yesterday, now this. Is there something you want to get off your chest?”

Full Moon, are you aware that women ( even feminists!) do love men not in a sexual way? Would it surprise you to know feminists love their husbands in both ways? Does your wife love your son? Did your mother love you? (If she did, she was a Saint). That you have now gone out of your way to twice ascribe some sort of sexual deviancy to my comments about loving the men in my life is either a joke on your part or some effort to discredit the love I expressed for the men in my life.

MadisonMan said...

they have no moral high ground upon which to stand

I'm not calling for anyone to resign. Do I still have moral high ground upon which to stand?

This sudden fascination with male-female roles when the two sexes are in close physical proximity due to working together is interesting to me, from a Why is this happening now? point of view. And I know the answer: This would not be happening if Hillary was President, and that's a fascinating thing to ponder! Sexual Harassment by Prominent Democrats would be kept closely under wraps if a Democratic Women were President.

Should Moore resign/step aside? I don't care -- this is something for Alabama residents to decide. Alabama was a very backward state as far as male/female power goes 30/40 years ago, maybe it still is, so why do we judge Moore by today's standards for yesterday's behavior? He's not still dating teenagers is he? (I don't think so).

Should Clinton have faced a more withering inspection by the Press back in the 90s? Yup.

Should Al Franken resign? Putting aside the fact that he really never should have been elected, I'll say that it's up to the "Progressive" people of Minnesota. The nation doesn't get to decide who represents people in a particular state.

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Curious George said...

"Bay Area Guy said...
"Unknown" - perhaps you are very lost. But the Access Hollywood tape was played heavily before the November 2016 election. And, guess what?, the voters still elected Trump.

Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did."

Inga is a moron. It's pretty evident daily here. Yesterday, failing to be able to intelligently argue her point, she went on a mad copy and paste spree. Today is posting the same idiocy over and over on every thread.

She's a dullard. And psychotic.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“But the Access Hollywood tape was played heavily before the November 2016 election. And, guess what?, the voters still elected Trump.”

Precisely. And that doesn’t refelect very well on you Trumpists.

FullMoon said...

Unknown said...

“That is the second obviously incestuous comment you have made. One yesterday, now this. Is there something you want to get off your chest?”

Full Moon, are you aware that women ( even feminists!) do love men not in a sexual way? Would it surprise you to know feminists love their husbands in both ways? Does your wife love your son? Did your mother love you? (If she did, she was a Saint). That you have now gone out of your way to twice ascribe some sort of sexual deviancy to my comments about loving the men in my life is either a joke on your part or some effort to discredit the love I expressed for the men in my life.

11/17/17, 11:33 AM


Inga, my now is the perfect time to expose your abuser. It was not your fault. You need not feel ashamed. The atmosphere is perfect. By remaining silent, you may allow your abuser(s) to carry on. If they are dead, you will free yourself of the burded you have carried all these years.

Curious George said...

"FullMoon said...
Inga, my now is the perfect time to expose your abuser. It was not your fault. You need not feel ashamed. The atmosphere is perfect. By remaining silent, you may allow your abuser(s) to carry on. If they are dead, you will free yourself of the burded you have carried all these years."

She can't. They were all Democrats.

FullMoon said...


Inga is a moron. It's pretty evident daily here. Yesterday, failing to be able to intelligently argue her point, she went on a mad copy and paste spree. Today is posting the same idiocy over and over on every thread.

She's a dullard. And psychotic.

Inga seeks attention, and she gets it from people like you who respond to her.
Oh, wait, dang it, she sucked me in too, again.

MacMacConnell said...

Unkown
All that just describes that Trump tried to seduce a married women and he backed off.

In the second "grabbing pussy" part, Trump basically admits after getting walked to first on balls, he steals third base without touching second. Lots of women by the way do the same thing to men.


Curious George said...

"Unknown said...
Transcripts: What the mics caught Donald Trump saying in 2005 and what he said in his taped apology

“The following is a transcript of Donald Trump and Billy Bush talking off and on camera during a 2005 taping of an Access Hollywood segment. The footage was first obtained and released by the Washington Post.

What the mic captured during the 2005 ‘Access Hollywood’ segment:
Donald Trump: You know and—

Unidentified voice: She used to be great. She’s still very beautiful.

Trump: I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married.

Unidentified voice: That’s huge news there.

Trump: No, no. Nancy. No this was— And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I took her out furniture– I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.

Bush: Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple.

Trump: Whoa!

Bush: Yes. Yes, the Donald has scored!

Trump: Whoa!

Bush: Whoa, my man!

Unidentified voice: Wait, wait you’ve got to look at me when you get out and be like ... will you give me the thumbs up? You’ve got to put the thumbs up.

[crosstalk]

Trump: Look at you. You are a pussy.

[crosstalk]

Unidentified voice: You’ve got to get the thumbs up. You can’t be too happy, man.

Trump: Alright, you and I will walk down.

[crosstalk]

Trump: Maybe it’s a different one.

Bush: It better not be the publicist. No, it’s her. It’s her.

Trump: Yeah, that’s her, with the gold. I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. I just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Unidentified voice: Whatever you want.

Trump: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-bush-transcript-20161007-snap-htmlstory.html"


ZDo you think this is some kind of revelation? What a dullard.

Curious George said...

"FullMoon said...
Inga seeks attention, and she gets it from people like you who respond to her.
Oh, wait, dang it, she sucked me in too, again."

I generally don't, same goes for some of the others. Slow day here, just winding up the week so...

William said...

Bob Hope's Schlick: He was a beta male hopelessly smitten with a gorgeous woman, completely out of his class. The gorgeous woman easily deflected his passes. In the real, as opposed to schtick world, Hope would hit on the women in his USO tours. He had a lots of power and influence and got a lot of action.

FullMoon said...


Blogger Curious George said...

"FullMoon said...
Inga seeks attention, and she gets it from people like you who respond to her.
Oh, wait, dang it, she sucked me in too, again."

I generally don't, same goes for some of the others. Slow day here, just winding up the week so...

11/17/17, 11:46 AM


Poor thing lives in a fantasy world where she has a happy family and everything is wonderful. Totally unaware that her kids and in-laws laugh at her. I have realized for quite awhile she has been sexually abused. Her comments over the years are classic signs.
Never brought it up before, but now the time is right for every abused woman to open up about it.

William said...

People are ignoring the full malignancy of Franken. She rejected his pass. After that he made jokes at her expense. Not at the expense of women but at a specific woman who had rejected him. That photo was meant to ridicule her and not women in general. His abuse was personal.

Big Mike said...

@MadMan, I’m going to disagree with you, a little. The Senate has rules about whom it seats as a member. The states could, in theory, elect an axe murderer, but the Senate does not have to seat him — or her.

And that’s why the Republicans of Alabama should vote for Moore. The Senate can decline to seat him until the allegations are disproven, and decline to seat him st all if one or more turn out to be true.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Feminists like INga want to get rid of men and have a world composed of women and beta males who seem safe enough.

Then the Muslim "refugees' will arrive.

11/17/17, 10:49 AM

Hispanic and black men from the barrios and the 'hood are famously "macho" and very unlikely to meekly follow the dictates of white middle-class scolds. Ironically, it's white middle class twinks with man buns and skinny jeans who are the ones who go along with this crap (because they think it will get them laid.) And they are already the most unthreatening men on the face of the planet. Unfortunately, they are also not very threatening to the real bad guys who are out to do harm.

Florence King once called WaPo columnist Richard Cohen the man any woman would least like to have with her if she was held up by a mugger.

MacMacConnell said...

"ZDo you think this is some kind of revelation?"

No, but I was surprised to learn on a link posted by one of our commentators this week the full list of Bill Clinton accusers. The list included the reason Clinton left Oxford, he was accused of raping a coed.

William said...

Cotton Mather presided at some of the Salem Witch Trials. On the plus side, he was an early adapter of smallpox vaccination. He got some things right. There are many, many famous people who got everything wrong.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, if you are descended from Cotton Mather then by definition you are descended from Increase Mather, who was Cotton Mather’s father. But I don’t know that I’d own up to it, given their enthusiastic support for the Salem witchcraft trials.

Darrell said...

The Mathers figure prominently in the TV series Salem. Oh, and the witches are real.
Here's the complete first episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTm-bcfD3AU

Donna B. said...

I'm remembering a conversation with my brother way back when Franken was running for Senator. At the time I said I hoped he'd be a better Senator than comedian because I couldn't recall ever finding him funny -- just strange.

He had a copy of one of Franken's books (the Lying Liars one, I think) and we had the internet and my poor brother tried for over an hour to explain why Franken was funny. The best he could come up with was Franken being a twerp.

That doesn't mean Franken is either guilty or innocent of whatever, but the first time he actually made me laugh was when his excuse for the behavior in the picture was that it was a joke and meant to be funny.

Earnest Prole said...

we may be entering the era of That's Not Funny

If this were 2007 you'd be prescient.

MacMacConnell said...

1969, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that both the House and Senate must seat duly elected candidates if they meet the constitutional requirements to hold office.

The Senate could bring Moore up on ethics violations after he is sworn in. If Senate rules are followed as they now stand that could take years, an investigation and hearings must occur. It would also be the first time the Senate expelled a member for infractions committed prior to being a Senator. In Moore's case if the allegations are true 30 years ago.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Be scared be very very scared! In the real world, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, and even great grandmothers will laugh at men like you who are so very frightened of women who stand up for themselves."

Uh huh. That's why "strong" leftist women at Rutgers needed counseling and safe spaces after Milo spoke there. Poor darlings heard opinions they didn't like. Sooooo strong! Just like Susan B. Anthony!

And let's not forget those attention-seeking bitches like Crystal Magnum (now in jail for murdering a man), Mattress Girl at Columbia and that fool at UVA who lied about being raped and had no qualms about ruining mens' lives with made-up stories.

Men are right to shun liberal woman. They are crazy, vindictive harpies.

Darrell said...

Now women are accusing Ron Jeremy.

Will it ever end?

Darrell said...

Has Ron Jeremy ever touched a woman appropriately?

FullMoon said...

Ann Althouse said...

"I await the return of Increase Mather."

I hope you're saying that because you know Althouse is a direct descendant of Cotton and Increase Mather.

11/17/17, 10:44 AM


Whoa!, Are you related to Jerry, the Beaver? Impressed!

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Increase Mather had 6 kids. Cotton Mather had 15, but all but 2 died before reaching adulthood. The Puritans were not all that puritanical about sex within matrimony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had the highest birthrate in the Western world for a while. Having 15 children was not unusual and many of those kids did live - which is why the settlers of the Bay Colony have many descendants.

gerry said...

Every left wing female who has ever been grabbed by the Pussy, now blames Trump.

Does that include Inga?

Fernandinande said...

Frank Zappa - Would you go all the way?

What can you do?
When a joker like that
Got his hands on you-
Oh, baby!
T-T-T-Tell me baby,
Would you go all the way
For the U.S.O.?
Would you go all the way
For the U.S.A.?
Would you go all the way
For the U.S.O.?
Lift up your dress, if the answer is "no" . . .

Kevin said...

A Franken resignation won't affect the number of Democrats in the Senate.

That's really what it boils down to, doesn't it? A non-injury for the Dems and a chance to continue lecturing everyone going forward.

I would really like to see the response if Franken's resignation would give the R's another vote. Then there would be an actual principle at stake.

Sebastian said...

"we may be entering the era of That's Not Funny" to women.

The Rule of Women will be so boring everyone will be clamoring for a return to good old male supremacy.

Plus it will deprive ciswomen of opportunities to eroticize domination, so that will add to the demand.

tcrosse said...

The lesson for the Dems is that if you weaponize your newly-discovered Moral Perfectionism, you have to be careful where to point that thing.

Jim at said...

Princess Sky Screamer polluting every thread.

Perfect.

I can only hope I'm here when her meltdown is complete.

Jim at said...

Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did.

See. There's your key, right there.

Smart people can.
Stupid people cannot.

Mark O said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"I await the return of Increase Mather."

I hope you're saying that because you know Althouse is a direct descendant of Cotton and Increase Mather.

I did not know that. That's a wonderful history, full of fascinating characters. I was making a diversionary nod to Puritanism in general and, for me, your ancestor, Increase, represents that. Do a post on them and your relationship to them. I would love it.

robother said...

Increase, as I recall, was not a facilitator of the Salem witch trials.. But his son Cotton, pretty clearly did, by appearing to endorse the use of "spectral" (i.e., she came to me in a dream) evidence. Cotton, however, endorsed it in a fairly clever deniable way that would do credit to his great (X) granddaughter Ann's legal mind.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did.

See. There's your key, right there.

Smart people can.
Stupid people cannot.”

So you say Althouse is stupid? She’s a law professor and doubtless knows the law better than you.

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2016/10/grabbing-unsuspecting-and-unwilling.html

“October 8, 2016
"Grabbing an unsuspecting and unwilling person's genitals is a criminal act of sexual assault under any definition of sexual assault."
"Trump is evidently proud of the fact that he wielded his wealth and star power as a weapon to help him abuse women—to kiss and grope them without their permission. This is violence, full stop.... Trump would be a dangerous enough human being if he were just a regular celebrity with a penchant for groping women. As it so happens, he might also become the next leader of the free world—a position he is manifestly unqualified to hold.... No man whose overriding ideology is that he gets to do whatever he wants—to whomever he wants—should be president."

Writes Robby Soave at Reason.

I said the same thing when I first heard the recording yesterday. Quoting Tim Kaine's "I don't like to say the words that he's used in the past... but this is behavior," I said:
Yes, Tim Kaine is right. Trump's statement — which is itself only words — is a confession to behavior.

Criminal behavior. Sexual assault.
And I agree with Soave that the problem goes beyond sex. It reveals an attitude about how to use power: If there is no external restraint, you can do anything.


You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint.”

David Baker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pacwest said...

I need to get some sort of gradient definition of "sexual harassment".

Say I meet Althouse on the street:
1. Hi.
2. Looking good.
3. Looking very good.
4. Nice dess.

Once I notice sex in the conversation is this the definition?
5. Sexy outfit.

Since I'm a man the line probably starts here somewhere.
6. Looking hot today.
7. Looking sexy today.
8. What a babe you are.
9. You are one hot babe.
10. You are one sexy babe.

Pretty sure I'm reaching some sort of threshold here.
11. Getting any lately?
12. Nice honkers.
13. Nice ass.
14. Would you like to come up to my place later?
15. I'll bet you would be great in the sack!
16. Wanna fuck?
17. Hey tits. Wanna fuck?

Have I reached the definition of sexual assault yet?
18. Pull out my dick. You want some of this?

Pretty sure I'm there by now.
19. Grab her breasts.
20. Grab her pussy.

Is physical contact where the "assault" becomes real?

Since the female is the one making the rules in what is sexual assault how do I know where EXACTLY the line is?

Drago said...

"You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint."

LOL

Why not? The dems have been doing it for 60 years!

tcrosse said...

"You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint."

Brand spanking new Principles, fresh out of the box. The old ones were no longer practical, but they're being kept in reserve should the need arise.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint."

“LOL

Why not? The dems have been doing it for 60 years!”

You’re laughing at Althouse’s words. I quoted her. Hence the quotation marks.

Achilles said...

Unknown said...
“Smart people can and will discern between "locker room talk" by Trump and physical groping, i.e., what Al Franken did.

See. There's your key, right there.

Smart people can.
Stupid people cannot.”

So you say Althouse is stupid? She’s a law professor and doubtless knows the law better than you.

Inga goes on to prove she can't read. There is no way to write this in crayons so her 5 year old reading level will be more successful:

"And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything."

I would chase him off if he was trying to date my daughter. I would actually hope that they kick his ass because I don't want them to grow up to be whiny powerless losers like todays feminists. But he is not admitting to anything non-consensual.

I know you are amoral and stupid so I am just posting this to aggravate you. You voted for Bill Clinton twice and for his Wife who threatened and assaulted his victims. You are clearly on a power trip with this garbage. This blog was better without you in every way.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint."

“Brand spanking new Principles, fresh out of the box. The old ones were no longer practical, but they're being kept in reserve should the need arise.”

Perhaps Althouse will thank you for your observation. Her words, not mine, but I agree whlolehearedtedly with her.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

My reading comprehension is just fine.

“Criminal behavior. Sexual assault.

And I agree with Soave that the problem goes beyond sex. It reveals an attitude about how to use power: If there is no external restraint, you can do anything.

You can't trust a person with power who doesn't have an internal moral core and who is not governed by self-restraint.”

Ann Althouse

traditionalguy said...

People are overthinking this. Sex is male pursuit of prey. Ever seen the sperm swim for the egg? If that biology offends women, then go back to burkhas and a male minder in public.

Otherwise, accept the need to say no and set your boundary case by case. And one day, kiss one back and maybe live happily ever after.

Being Harrassed means pushy jerks did not accept your boundary. It goes with the territory.

This comment agrees with the Professor's theme.

Fernandinande said...

Luke Lea said...
The most cynical take yet of what's going on: https://goo.gl/oqKC3x

Interesting...dunno about cynical.

Amadeus 48 said...
Althouse--Cotton and Increase Mather? Cool! You are genetically predisposed to recognize both witch hunts and witches.


Actually probably not. There's about an 80-90% probability of inheriting no DNA from a given ancestor 10 generations back (~250 years).

Night Owl said...

"This sudden fascination with male-female roles when the two sexes are in close physical proximity due to working together is interesting to me, from a Why is this happening now? point of view. And I know the answer: This would not be happening if Hillary was President, and that's a fascinating thing to ponder! Sexual Harassment by Prominent Democrats would be kept closely under wraps if a Democratic Women were President."

Which is why talk about "the moral high ground" coming from a leftist falls flat. As I said before, attempts at shaming are downright laughable when coming from the shameless.

Night Owl said...

We've had "Russia, Russia, Russia!", then Charlottesville, then the NFL comment, now this. Did I miss something over which Trump was already supposed to have resigned?

Quaestor said...

Unknown wrote "Until Trumpists and Rightists call for the resignation of Trump and Moore along with Franken, they have no moral high ground upon which to stand."

No matter how low I stand I can happily look down on moral cripples like Inga.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Andrea Dworkin was a moronic ugly she-he who hated men and thought the penis was nothing more than a weapon of war and debasement. She made all sorts of crazy social judgments that were window dressing for what was nothing more than her sense of resentment and physical repulsion to men. That's all it was. She was no intellectual, either. Unless the vandalism of the mind in the service of base emotion counts as intellectualism.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Actually probably not. There's about an 80-90% probability of inheriting no DNA from a given ancestor 10 generations back (~250 years).”

Statistically, correct. 8 or 9 generations may be more accurate (2!8=64 > 46 chromosomes). BUT that ignores that you inherit Y chromosomes on the male line and mitochondrial DNA/on the female line. Which means that, assuming legitimacy all the way down, I inherited my Y chromosome from a Norman knight who lived some 900 years ago (Thomas de Heydon, from whose holdings my last name evolved).

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Now women are accusing Ron Jeremy."

I'm devastated. Now I feel like I never really knew the man....

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

“Actually probably not. There's about an 80-90% probability of inheriting no DNA from a given ancestor 10 generations back (~250 years).”

Statistically, correct. 8 or 9 generations may be more accurate (2!8=64 > 46 chromosomes).


Statistically incorrect. In high school biology they teach about something called recombination.

Sebastian said...

@pac: "how do I know where EXACTLY the line is?" You don't. Tough. They'll let you know after the fact, whatever the fact is.

You're on your own, buddy.

Now, even prog credentials are no ironclad defense.