WSJ: Foley mess due to tolerance of homosexuals!

[Fenris]

Florida Republican Mark Foley's sexually explicit emails to a Congressional page certainly warranted his resignation from the House, and they may well merit prosecution. But this being five weeks from an election, the GOP House leadership is also being assailed for not having come down more strongly on a gay Congressman for showing a more than friendly interest in underage boys. That's a different issue altogether.

At least this seems to be the essence of the Democratic and media charge against Speaker Dennis Hastert, who admits his office was told months ago about a friendly, non-explicit 2005 email exchange between Mr. Foley and another page. In that exchange, Mr. Foley had asked the teenager "how old are you now" and requested "an email pic."

<...>

What next was Mr. Hastert supposed to do with an elected Congressman? Assume that Mr. Foley was a potential sexual predator and bar him from having any private communication with pages? Refer him to the Ethics Committee? In retrospect, barring contact with pages would have been wise.

But in today's politically correct culture, it's easy to understand how senior Republicans might well have decided they had no grounds to doubt Mr. Foley merely because he was gay and a little too friendly in emails. Some of those liberals now shouting the loudest for Mr. Hastert's head are the same voices who tell us that the larger society must be tolerant of private lifestyle choices, and certainly must never leap to conclusions about gay men and young boys. Are these Democratic critics of Mr. Hastert saying that they now have more sympathy for the Boy Scouts' decision to ban gay scoutmasters? Where's Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on that one?

<...>

http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009033

[Syrinx]

1. The Wall Street Journal is a fine newspaper

But their Op-Ed page is run by lunatics and hacks.

[Fenris]

3. Yes.

Tear out the Op-Ed page, and it's a decent paper, with some great reporting.

[w4rma]

18. Why even give them money while they run hateful propaganda like this? (nt)

[wicket]

32. I can't read their OP Ed page

Too dangerous for my high blood pressure.

[LeftCoast]

2. Basically implying that gay men are more likely to be pedophiles

when in fact, both in actual numbers and percentages, heterosexual men are more likely to be pedophiles.

[Fenris]

5. I have it on good authority

That there a quite a few heterosexual representatives who routinely hit on female pages. Should they be "quarantined" as well? Are we being to tolerant of heterosexuality?

[LeftCoast]

14. I wonder if these are the other reps that ABC was hinting might be

involved as well (in the sense that they were doing what Foley was doing).

Listening to KO talk about the scandal right now. I love Tivo :)

[maddezmom]

7. pandering to the fundie base

an earlier link I saw:

Foley Scandal Raises Doubts about GOP's Flirtation with Pro-Homosexual Policies, AFT's LaBarbera Says
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/382781132.html

[LeftCoast]

12. Looks like they're following the Vatican play-book

I don't know how much mileage they'll get out of it though. At best they go through a party-purge and lose some closeted congresscritters and the log-cabin. It's not like they're out supporting marriage equality and gay adoption right now anyway. :)

[BattyDem]

4. What does being gay have to do with going after minors?

NEWSFLASH: Plenty of heterosexual men like young, underage girls! Should society become less tolerant of heterosexuals because some people are perverts? :eyes:

[Beartracks]

6. I thought it was due to alcohol!

>Some of those liberals now shouting the loudest for Mr. Hastert's head are the same voices who tell us that the larger society must... never leap to conclusions about gay men and young boys.

So... tolerating/accepting gay people = condoning pedophilia? Oddly, my gay friends don't even think that way.

[jpgray]

8. The Journal editorial staff is deeply insane

Yes, Hastert and co. were hamstrung in responding to this wretch by our society's misguided respect for the gay lifestyle, which naturally encompasses the creepy solicitation of minors.

:eyes:

[Fenris]

10. I don't know if I've ever met a homosexual by the Journal's standards.

No male has ever asked me about me about my penis size or masturbation habits.

[jpgray]

13. Publicly campaign on bigotry, secretly protect predation on minors

How interesting the article's cited "PC" climate which forces Republicans to baby-step around homosexuals only seemed to impact policy in the latter case, where the homosexuality isn't even the issue.

[greyl]

20. Check your PM.

KIDDING! :)

edit: re: "No male has ever asked me about me about my penis size or masturbation habits."

[jpgray]

22. (OT) It sucks that you're getting jumped on so to speak on the semantics

People love to lob a charged word like pedophile around, because we certainly have a target deserving of the worst, but apparently Foley didn't seek out prepubescents so it's not an accurate word. I just wanted to say nice work pointing that out, because people will read your posts on that and think about them even if they don't post to agree with you explicitly. Though I can certainly understand the enthusiasm behind pulling out all stops to bash Foley, we may as well call it what it is--that's bad enough.

[greyl]

33. Hey, thanks :)

Nice work in your Rove thread. ;)

[enigmatic]

9. It's not going to work

It's pathetic hackery, nothing less. The WSJ Op-Ed is run by some truly deranged nutcases right now.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

11. Man they really are scrapping the bottom of the barrel to

try and get themselves out of this. Hey guys, this is child pedophilia, not homosexuality. Get it.

[stopbush]

15. looks like someone at the WSJ needs to come out of the closet.

[cboy4]

16. The only thing that editorial lacked was a laugh track.

:eyes:

[Vexatious Ape]

17. Just another talking point for Brit Hume

[WCGreen]

21. Don't forget Larry "One Note" KKKUdlow....

[ClassWarrior]

19. Yes, because the Rape-Publican leadership is so sensitive to gay people...

...and would NEVER do something purely for personal political gain.

:rofl:

NGU.

[tenshi816]

23. Oh, yeah right. 'Cause we know that

heterosexuals never molest minors. :sarcasm:

This isn't about gay, it's about a 52-year old man sexually targetting underage boys. It would be just as bad if he were straight and going after young girls.

What is so difficult for Republicans to understand about this? (To be fair, I believe a lot of them do get it because they're thinking as parents, but some Republicans are so completely partisan that they can't think beyond covering up and making excuses about something they'd be screaming blue murder about if the guilty party had been a Democrat.)

[Binka]

24. Hey There! Makes Me Want To Be In The States So I Can Watch

The media circus. I need to PM you hopefully I will get a chance this afternoon. Things are a mess here. Talk soon friend!

[tenshi816]

28. Hiya sweetie!

My boy Nathan will be in Sicily for a week on a student exchange starting on the 22nd of this month! I'm not exactly sure where he'll be staying yet, but if he's anywhere near where you are I'm going to send him around with some photos of when you visited the UK - they're large pics and I'm afraid of them getting bent if I mail them to you.

I miss you lots and we're still patiently waiting for you to move here...:pals:

Yeah, this Foley thing has made me furious because of the way many of the Republicans are acting about it (and I won't even get started on Limbaugh). I'd be just as angry if Foley had been a Democrat and I haven't seen or heard any Democrats, not one, indicate otherwise. It has nothing to do with party affiliation or sexual orientation; it's about a middle-aged man sexually pursuing underage teens.

I asked my Nathan - who you'll remember is 15 - how he would feel if, say, one of his teachers or another authority figure started targetting him with sexually-charged messages or behavior. At first he tried to brush it off with bravado but then, in all seriousness, he told me that he would feel threatened and confused, and wouldn't know what to do about it. Teenagers try so hard to act like adults, but the bottom line is they're not, they're still just vulnerable kids. No amount of Republican partisan spin will change that basic truth.

[Skittles]

25. what crap

in what other working environment with such activity be tolerated ?????

[radfringe]

26. ahhh, yes,

was wondering when the repugs would turn it into a wedgie

[and-justice-for-all]

27. Foley is a fucking Pedophile, He is not GAY!

...I get so sick of that comparison I could toss a repuke bigot asshole over a cliff!!!

[Ice4Clark]

29. Myth: Gay men tend to be pedophiles

MYTH #6: Gay men tend to be pedophiles and molest children.


The perpetrators of child sexual abuse are overwhelmingly men; very few women are offenders. The abuser is usually a member of the child's family or someone known by the family. Pedophiles, men who have a sexual preference for children, constitute less than 1% of the adult male population. Pedophiles are quite distinct from adult gay men who prefer adult sexual partners. Studies have shown no correlation between a man's sexual orientation and a tendency to sexually abuse children

Homosexual pedophiles are considered a perversion of the normal homosexual man in the same way that heterosexual pedophiles are also a perversion. Heterosexual men are twice as likely to sexually abuse children as homosexual men are. There is solid evidence that over 92% of child abuse cases, including same gender sexual abuse, are perpetrated by heterosexuals.

The number of reported child abuse cases have increased over the past five years. It is crucial that we address the issue of child sexual abuse objectively and recognize that this abuse is occurring behind to many closed doors in so-called traditional family homes.

[greyl]

31. What makes you think he's a pedophile?

And what makes you think he isn't gay?

It is important to understand the differences between pedophiles and molesters. Pedophilia, which is a psychological disorder, is a distinct sexual preference for pre-pubescent children. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 111-R), which is published by the American Psychological Association, supplies this definition of pedophilia: “recurrent, intense, sexual urges and sexual arousing fantasies of at least six months duration involving sexual activity with a pre-pubescent child” (DSM, V.3, 1987). Generally, this means the target of the fantasy will typically be less than 12 years old. Notice the definition does not require the person to actually engage in a sexual act. Pedophilia is a psychological disorder that does not require, and usually does not involve, a criminal act.
crimelibrary

Pedophilia is considered a paraphilia, an "abnormal or unnatural attraction." Pedophilia is defined as the fantasy or act of sexual activity with prepubescent children.
more

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

34. The fact that he tries to have sex with children.

And the fact that he describes himself as a heterosexual.

Now, one could make an argument that he's bisexual. But just about everybody's bisexual.

[greyl]

35. You're misunderstanding what a pedophile is.

Some info was in my previous post.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

36. No, I think I got a pretty good idea.

Dictionary definition, in fact.

[greyl]

38. You are quite mistaken.

Unless you have evidence that Foley had sex with pre-pubescents, you have no good reason to call him a pedophile.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

But, greyl

You're own definition states that doesn't have to actually involve a sexual act.

Frankly, you've got no good reason to deny he's a pedophile.

Definition from another source:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) - Cite This Source
pe‧do‧phil‧i‧a  /ˌpidəˈfɪliə/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun Psychiatry. sexual desire in an adult for a child.



Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source ped·o·phil·i·a (pd-fl-, pd-) Pronunciation Key
n.
The act or fantasy on the part of an adult of engaging in sexual activity with a child or children.

pedo·phili·ac (-k) adj. & n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


WordNet - Cite This Source
pedophilia

n : sexual activity of an adult with a child

WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

[greyl]

44. Nope.

You're own definition states that doesn't have to actually involve a sexual act.

Thanks for looking at the detailed definitions. The key word is "prepubescent". How can you know that Foley fantasizes about prepubescent children? If there were evidence that he'd had sex with a prepubescent child, you would have grounds to call him a pedophile. As yet, there isn't and you don't.

[TahitiNut]

39. It's not what you don't know ...

... it's about what you think you know that just isn't true. So has it always been. :shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. So you're saying it's not true?

Because even Mark Foley isn't saying that.

[TahitiNut]

42. I don't look for my guidance from Mark Foley.

I also don't let my entrails take over my mental processes. Primal impulses are just that: primal.

:shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

43. Oh, I don't know.

It strikes me that denial is a pretty primal impulse.

[TahitiNut]

46. The inability to distingusih between disagreement and denial ...

... is akin to the inability to distinguish between opinion and fact, and between allegation and proof. :shrug:

Whatever floats your boat! :hi:

[maine_raptor]

30. Is this from the keyboard of John Fund?

If so consider the source.

Too bad there this Foley thing is not about wife beating, I'd love to see how he'd spin that.

[TahitiNut]

37. They're taking a page from the "Family Values Council" ...

... and blaming the inaction and cover-ups on the "culture of 'tolerance' and 'diversity'" that oppresses poor little Denny Hastert and John Boner.

You see, the real victims in this aren't the pages ... the real victims are Hastert and Company.

It's like poor George is the victim of the deaths in Iraq. It's all about poor George.

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[NewJeffCT]

40. Did Fred Phelps ghost-write that?

If you took away their editorial pages, the WSJ is actually an excellent newspaper with some very good reporting. But, that's like saying if you took away the engine, the Mercedes is still a nice car.

[Cha]

45. david dryer should take

exception with the wsj ed. he should stand up for those in congress who are gay and are not preying on young pages with their "rapacious desires".