Raw Deal for Paterno

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other Sports, Sex Scandals6 Comments

I'm not a Penn State fan; I'm not even a follower of college football. But as I understand it, after 46 seasons, Penn State college football coach legend (he's a "legend" apparently, although I wouldn't know) Joe Paterno has been removed from his position because he supposedly exercised bad judgment back in 2002.  What happened was, he was told by … Read More

Shorter Aaron Worthing

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Sex Scandals3 Comments

The depraved idiot tries to make a deep point, but just spittles on his face: The First Amendment doesn't prevent people from making sexual threats in the workplace, and it shouldn't. UPDATE:  Worthing responds in the comments.  I stand by my "shorter" representation of what he was saying, and of course, I have provided the links so that readers can … Read More

Cain: “Sharon WHO?”

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

MSNBC: Cain, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, maintained his innocence amid allegations that he had made an inappropriate advance toward [Sharon] Bialek in 1997, when he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and she had traveled to Washington, D.C. to seek his help in finding a job. "I can categorically say I have never acted … Read More

“Doesn’t Exist” Is The Scariest Response

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex Scandals, Women's IssuesLeave a Comment

It's a bit disconcerting to see some of the responses from the Cain supporters this morning, following the sexual harrassment/assault allegations of Sharon Bialek directed at Cain. It's one thing to disbelieve Bialek.  In a he said/she said situation, people are going to line up that way. But what's happening in some quarters of the right is stomach-turning: some rightwing columnists … Read More

Cain Campaign Delusional

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

This is part of a statement released by the Cain campaign last night, after Cain's fourth accuser got on national television and told her story in detail: Unfortunately, the media-driven process by which one must seek this opportunity is fundamentally unserious. I have touched on this before – the emphasis on "gaffes," gotcha questions and time devoted to trivial nonsense – … Read More

Herman Cain And Racism

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Race, Sex Scandals1 Comment

Okay.  So Herman Cain was once accused of sexual harassment.  And now people want to know more. My feelings?  I don't think this has any bearing on anything, and I detest this kind of politics.  I need to be shown why it is important, and how it bears on his ability to be president.  There are answers to that question … Read More

NOM Uses Obama Crowd Photos In New Hampshire Ad

Ken AshfordSex ScandalsLeave a Comment

See if you can spot any similarities in this website, which is a website that the National Organization for Marriage has put up to end same-sex marriage in New Hampshire… and this website post, which is about the crowds who turned out for an Obama rally in November 2008 in Columbus Ohio: Hint: look in the lower left hand corner of … Read More

Shorter Aaron Worthing

Ken AshfordSex ScandalsLeave a Comment

Shorter Aaron Worthing of Patterico's Pontifications: Monica Lewinsky is totally to blame for the fact that people like me can't pass up the opportunity to scold and/or mock her, even now.

The Long National Obsession Is Over

Ken AshfordCongress, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

Weiner is stepping down. Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York will step down from office amid intense pressure from congressional Democrats following his admission of risque online chats and photo swaps with multiple women and lying about it, sources tell ABC News. Weiner, 46, has begun sharing his decision with close friends, the sources said, but has not yet sent … Read More

The Final Word (One Hopes) On Weiner

Ken AshfordSex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

I'm just outsourcing this to Glenn Greenwald, who makes some valuable points: What makes the Anthony Weiner story somewhat unique and thus worth discussing for a moment is that, as Hendrik Hertzberg points out, the pretense of substantive relevance (which, lame though it was in prior scandals, was at least maintained) has been more or less brazenly dispensed with here.  This isn't a … Read More

The End Of Weiner?

Ken AshfordSex ScandalsLeave a Comment

I like Anthony Weiner and his brand of politics.  No holds barred.  Fiery. And then he had to go and do something stupid and classless like having inappropriate online conversations with women not his wife, some underage apparently, and some conversations including risque photos.  Worse than that — far worse than that — he made Andrew Breitbart look somewhat respectable. So…. … Read More