I Am Not A Doctor But...

I am not a doctor but I bet I could play one on television. Anyway, my developing theory about the insanity in Hollywood gets a whiff of oxygen from Kiss frontman Gen Simmons' latest antics:

Fox News Bans Kiss Frontman Gene Simmons for Life

The Kiss frontman’s inappropriate and sexist antics during a Fox office meeting led to his being kicked off the network and out of the building for good.

...

“The lunatics have taken over the insane asylum when respected business entities such as yourself ask guys that like to stick their tongues out,” Simmons answered, “what I think of Harvey Weinstein.” 

“Okay, I’m a powerful and attractive man, and what I’m about to say is deadly serious,” he continued. “Men are jackasses. From the time we’re young we have testosterone. I’m not validating it or defending it.”

Maybe not, but within minutes he was demonstrating it. According to a knowledgeable Fox News source, Simmons showed up on the 14th floor to do a book-plugging interview with FoxNews.com’s entertainment section, but instead barged in on a staff meeting uninvited.

“Hey chicks, sue me!” he shouted, and then pulled open his red velvet shirt to reveal his chest and belly, according to the source. Then he starting telling Michael Jackson pedophilia jokes, and then bopped two employees on the head with his book, making derisive comments about their comparative intelligence according to the sound their heads made when struck.

“It was pretty severe,” the source said.

After Simmons’s misconduct was reported to a supervisor, and then to human-resources executive Kevin Lord, the Kiss frontman was permanently banned from the building and will no longer be permitted on any Fox News or Fox Business Network programming.

OK, tasteless and juvenile. Maybe Al Franken is providing his material.

But the theory? I bet a lot of these aging Hollywood types would behave a lot more like humans if they stepped away from their Doctor Feelgood and the low-T patches that are being waaay over-prescribed.

Just guessing, of course, but there is no steroid testing in entertainment the way there is in sports.

Comments

[Captain Hate]

Gene Simmons is usually smarter than that.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

That first sentence of the article seems to be nonsensical. Am I misreading it?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Never mind. I figured it out.
Poor writing.

[narcisoyea]

Their skulls are hollow, it wouldn't make a sound

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I disagree with McClintock's "no" on the tax bill.
He is correct that marginal personal rates should have been cut. He is also correct that spending needs to be cut.
But his primary reasons for opposing it, that Californians have big mortgages and pay a lot of state taxes, are no reason to oppose the benefits of corporate side tax reform which he acknowledges are substantial.
It is nonsense that eliminating deductions for state taxes somehow equals double taxation and it is economically nonsense to claim lowering the cost of homes by limiting the mortgage deduction is lowering them for all the wrong reasons. To the contrary: eliminating a pointless favored subsidy that artificially raises the price of homes is always a good thing, even if it should be but isn't being eliminated entirely.

[narciso]

So the Murdoch are selling some assets to comcast, this is the reason for the faux snowflaking it has always been part hearst and part luxe, the gabe Sherman of the era dinged both, in their time.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

This is odd because I saw him doing weather with Janice Dean just a couple of days ago.

[Threadkiller]

From McClintock's statement:

The state and local tax deduction is removed under this bill, further disproportionately affecting Californians. The rationale is that taxpayers in low-tax states subsidize the high spending in liberal states. But this ignores a central tenet of federalism: that governments closest to the people should make most of the decisions and provide most of the services, and thus have first call on tax revenues – the federal government is supposed to get in line behind them. The bill turns this principle on its head and amounts to a double-taxation of every dollar government claims from family earnings.

Has there been a point in the history of Federal income taxes where McClintock would be proven wrong?

[Marlene]

I saw Simmons on Maria's show when he made the "men are jackasses statement." This must have happened after he left her show.

[Stephanie Nene Not your normal Grandma]

Peak insanity reached yet?

https://pagesix.com/2017/11/16/multiple-women-accuse-ron-jeremy-of-sexual-assault/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow&sr_share=facebook

[Threadkiller]

What was Simmons' "sexist antic?"

Saying "hey chicks?" Pedophile jokes?

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Reposting from the end of the previous thread. Narciso points out this is the one derived from the practice of dancing with corpses (a creepier religious practice I have never heard about):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5088307/Madagascar-plague-death-toll-rises-171.html

Madagascar plague death toll rises to 171 with a 4% jump in cases as experts fear the 'worst outbreak in 50 years' WILL become resistant to antibiotics and reach US, Europe and Britain

World Health Organization data shows 2,119 people have now been infected
Scientists are worried the 'worst outbreak in 50 years' has reached 'crisis' point
Ten countries have been placed on high alert as experts fear it will reach Africa
Other scientists fear this year's outbreak will reach well beyond mainland Africa
Two thirds of all the cases have been caused by the airborne pneumonic plague
This can spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting and kill within 24 hours

[jimmyk]

It is nonsense that eliminating deductions for state taxes somehow equals double taxation

Strictly speaking it is double taxation, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. In general, I'd rather the state or local government spend money than the federal government if there's a choice of who provides a service. I would propose a compromise, if necessary, saying that state taxes up to some percent of income, say 4 percent, are deductible. That would still penalize the profligate states for overspending, but give less of a windfall for the feds.

[simply simon]

Good press or Bad Press is better than no press. A has been has to try to promote and sell his wares any way he can. Since Michael Jackson is brought up it reminds me of the mid 1980s when Michael Jackson and Madonna were vying for all the media attention and they pushed the limits and a plug to Don Surber
http://donsurber.blogspot.com/2017/11/no-democrats-you-dont-get-your.html and Madonna's Like a Virgin

[henry]

Has there been a point in the history of Federal income taxes where McClintock would be proven wrong?

You just quoted it.

[Clarice Feldman]

Re the prior thread on Kasich, Scarborough and Condit--yes, I think Kasich's change is attributable to the doings of those 3--always thought his participation was out of his public persona.

[narciso]

When the zimbie apocalypse comes it will probably pop up in the mail first.

[Clarice Feldman]

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/11/wow-book-ties-fusion-gps-sen-mccain-mainstream-media-trump-dossier-new-details-emerge/

[James D.]

I bet a lot of these aging Hollywood types would behave a lot more like humans if they stepped away from their Doctor Feelgood and the low-T patches that are being waaay over-prescribed.

I don't.

For the most part, they never were capable of behaving like even halfway decent human beings.

[Threadkiller]

What? I don't get what you are saying, henry.

[narciso]

Yes but Harding Stu things putin swung the election for trump.

[Ralph L]

This sex business is a ploy to keep Dem-Russia off the front page.

[Threadkiller]

McClintock says, in essence, that Federalism dictates that the Feds get in line to get their portion of your income.

Has that always been the case since the inception of Federal income taxation?

Or was there a point in the history of Fed taxation that proves McClintock to be incorrect.

I am not including a pending tax bill as part of the history book.

[joan]

I wish I'd made a list of CH's descriptive terms for people and kept it for my own use. :)

In an exchange about the media/left's hatred and treatment of Linda Tripp.

"Hell no. The hated her like they do all whistleblowers who aren't ideologically aligned with them like that ambulatory crablice colony, Erin Brockovitch."

Perfect. Except in re-reading, CH could have said, "Erin Brockobitch." :)

[henry]

McClintock pulled that out of his ass, TK. It is simply to stay relevant with CA voters.

[simply simon]

Jimmyk, that is why the whole Obamacare repeal and the tax cut seem to be at odds. The favored position position on Obamacare repeal is block grants to states so that the federal government not be the 800 pound gorilla and stopping the one size fits all medical insurance and although creating state monopolies would allow insurance over state lines while the tax proposal cuts off mechanisms for state governance not a bad idea in Illinois , California and Illinois in which the state and city employees would be straved out of existence and there is way too much regulation as it is.

[henry]

Amendment XVI does not mention any precedence for the states. Ergo, there isn't one.

[Threadkiller]

McClintock pulled that out of his ass, TK

So there was a point where the Feds taxed the exact same income as the State? No deductions?

When was that?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Double taxation occurs when both the Feds and states tax the same income.
That double taxation is not eliminated and in most cases not significantly altered by allowing the deduction only for the actual state tax incurred.
The only way to end it would be a Federal tax credit for state income taxes and that won't happen.
As has long been noted if you want more of something subsidize it. The deduction amounts to a subsidy for high state taxes.

[narciso]

They were ok with straight up treason, giving up sources and methods but when they touched the democrat
;https://mobile.twitter.com/NoahShachtman/status/931348969996865538

Assuange doesnt even charge for the information

[Threadkiller]

Why does Ammendment II take a back seat to State and local laws, henry?

I don't see them mentioned there either.

[Clarice Feldman]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/11/al_frankens_career_is_collateral_damage_for_the_dems_on_the_way_to_getting_trump.html

[henry]

Troll to your heart's content TK. Not my job to explain it to you.

[exdemocrat]

from the DC article reached through Clarice's link:

“In October an email written by a person in the Clinton camp reached my inbox. It set out some of the unproven allegations against Trump, including sex with prostitutes in Moscow. The email said the claims came from a source inside the FSB. This was not Steele’s work, but some of it echoes the dossier.”

wait, which campaign was colluding with the Russians again??

[Threadkiller]

Whatever, henry.

I asked an honest question. You told me the answer was in my McClintock quote and then failed to explain what you were talking about.

Instead, it turns out, McClintock is an ass magician.

Good job.

[simply simon]

As to the why now with Moore and Franken, the Dems have several vulnerable female senatorial incumbents in McKaskill, Baldwin,Stebenow and possibly Heidkempt and the rallying cry is to keep the incumbents in place so we do not get any more alpha males with huge egos and testosterone levels.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

The only thing that is not double taxed under the present system is the actual state income or sales tax bill one pays, so for 99% of the people that amounts to a tiny fraction of their income not being double taxed.
Even in a horrible income tax state like CA, upper income people at the top state tax rates are still having 90+% of their income double taxed.

[Tom Bowler]

Strictly speaking it is double taxation, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

Jimmyk, can you explain how eliminating the deductions for SALT is double taxation?

[sbw]

I am confused, but that is nothing new.

As far as SALT taxes are concerned, explain why a state increasing taxes should not have those taxes paid by residents of that state?

The question seems not one of double taxation, but of who should pay for taxes.

[Beasts of England]

Gene Simmons is attractive?

[Ralph L]

Zombie Nixon called and wants his treaty back.

[Threadkiller]

The only thing that is not double taxed under the present system is the actual state income or sales tax bill one pays, so for 99% of the people that amounts to a tiny fraction of their income not being double taxed.

Even in a horrible income tax state like CA, upper income people at the top state tax rates are still having 90+% of their income double taxed.

It follows that taxpayers in low-tax states are subsidizing only a tiny fraction of what they claim the high spending states saddle them with.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
18m18 minutes ago

Together, we're going to restore safety to our streets and peace to our communities, and we're going to destroy the vile criminal cartel, #MS13, and many other gangs...

'Hundreds arrested in MS-13 crackdown'
http://45.wh.gov/MS13Crackdown

[narcisoyea]

Credentialed morons have to remove all doubt:

https://mobile.twitter.com/pspoole/status/931418176696602624?p=v

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Clarice,

I think that American Thinker piece is spot on on how the democrats believe they can get rid of Trump. (Probably some of the GOPe as well).

However, the plotters miss a few things:

1. All of the gossip about prostitutes and stuff is ridiculous. First of all, he wouldn't NEED to have used prostitutes, as women were falling all over him world-wide back in the 80's and 90's. Second, he is pretty particular about cleanliness, so a prostitute would have been a no go for him.

2. The sexual harassment charges Gloria Allred tried to make were stopped in their tracks. Bringing those back up, or bringing up new ones, would be looked at with high suspicion.

3. Americans are inherently fair. No one wants to make people pay for missteps or transgressions made in their youth, or else most of us would be in the dock. People DO pay attention to actions made while people are IN office.

4. A fair number of Trump supporters, particularly the younger ones, simply do not care. And a lot of people are so angry with Congress that any attempt such as described in the article will end up with marches on Washington and a whole lot of people voted out of office.

[simply simon]

Daddy was concerned that Mueller was doing to bag Kushner in the WSJ article about more than 12 Trump officials subpoenaed by Mueller , however at same time Grassley through Kushner a lifeline by asking him to provide the missing wikileaks e-mails. Grassley will hopefully stifle any Mueller shenanigans into trying to conjure process crimes for not being as forthcoming and cooperative as Mueller thinks they should be.

[Clarice Feldman]

There's absolutely nothing significant in those emails BTW.

[narcisoyea]

This is new yotker running interference:

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/11/liberal-websites-absorbprocess-al_17.html

New York magazine that once had mark halperin on staff and deepsixed the weinstein story a year ago is worse.

[JimNorCal]

I missed this one. Carjacking charged as a misdemeanor?
I don't like the ref to "Chocolate Cities", though I might use worse words if I had to live there.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/11/this_is_what_anguish_looks_like_victims_of_blackonwhite_violence.html
This week, after catching a few black people fresh from a carjacking spree, the police spokesman announced that juvenile justice is complicated because "we know their minds are not fully formed."
That is why, said the ABC owned and operated affiliate in Chicago, carjackers are now charged with a misdemeanor and released almost right away. (If someone told me this was actually happening, I would want to see the videos before I believed it. That is why they are included as links in this article.)
...
Ditto in Baltimore. Earlier this week, following dozens of recent attacks of black mob violence on white people, the mayor announced she was going to get tough: she and her department heads were going to have a meeting every morning and talk about this problem of runaway black violence in Baltimore until it went away.
Like Chicago and hundreds of other Chocolate Cities around the country, local authorities have decided "they are not going to arrest their way out of this mess."

[henry]

JimNorCal, at least they charge them in Chicago. They don't bother to charge them in Milwaukee anymore, judges let them go anyway.

[narcisoyea]

Carcettis one redeeming trait, was being tough on crime, we can't have that (I forgot his real life analogue)

The gop's Roy Moore problem is like grant he fights, they take a powder, has there been a single senator who has challenged this witch hunt

[Clarice Feldman]

henry--and when I was growing up in Milwaujee people believed if the city switched from socialist mayors to Democrat, we'd turn into another Chicago..Imagine., (Most felons were in prison within weeks and ccar jacking would never have been treated as a misdemeanor.)

[henry]

It is becoming an enormous problem Clarice. First "no chase" and now in effect "no catch" as a policing method. With Clarke out as Sheriff, Milwaukee County is getting just as bad. We get leakers out into Brookfield as well.

[jimmyk]

Suppose I earn $100,000, and the state income tax is 5%. I pay $5,000 in taxes to the state. In the absence of SALT, that $5,000 is also subject to federal income tax.

It's not as egregious as taxes on dividends only because in that case it's the feds taxing the income twice: Once with the corporate income tax, then again on the dividend.

If the concern is states spending too much, then my proposal to limit the SALT deduction to a percentage of income that is typical for state taxes in low-spending states would have the same effect as limiting SALT deduction altogether.

My other point is this: Suppose there's a road that needs to be built that is going to cost everyone $100 in taxes. Under the current system, if the state builds the road and taxes you, that reduces your taxable income to the feds. If the deduction is eliminated, then you pay the same taxes whether its built by the feds or the state.

What's the problem with that? The feds will spend too much, because of the free rider problem: Each state is happy to have the feds build roads because the funds come out of the national treasury. But we all end up paying for that. It's like when you split the bill at a restaurant with 10 other people, that $10 dessert only costs you $1.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://freebeacon.com/politics/resistance-royalty-pelosi-soros-headline-lefts-biggest-dark-money-conference/

Lots of names and organizations involved in this 3-day plot fest.

Maybe the FBI could do a large-scale no-knock raid.

[simply simon]

Why are you so concerned about the car jacking, when the Supreme court threw out Obama DOJ overly aggressive prosecution of McDonnell as Virginia Governor for minor bribes it led to Shelley Silver conviction and to Menendez and Norman Seabrook (NYC Correction Officer pension bribe) mistrials. That is why the Clinton and Dem shenaginas have to be tried in the court of public opinion rather than in the courts themselves with so many liberal judges steering the trials to mistrials,

[jimmyk]

The new Firefox takes some getting used to. The default is these black tabs that are hard to read, but you can change that. They've moved other things around just to be annoying, I suppose. Supposedly it's faster.

It also broke Greasemonkey, which means it broke narcisolator, which was half broken anyway because of Typepad (you can no longer jump to the last page).

However, if anyone still uses narcisolator for troll-blocking and/or avatar suppression, there's an add-on called Violentmonkey that supports it.

[Davod]

Found this on Americandigest.org:

It should be broadcast far and wide. The Dems and make believe Conservatives need to be tarred and feathered with this.

"From a comment on another blog: “If you’ve ever read the book by Simon Sebag Montefiore, “Stalin: In the Court of the Red Tsar”, the classic Soviet procedure was to bring forth false witnesses, then more witnesses, then forged documents. Then more false witnesses.

“And then yet more fake witnesses: but always, always, always: repeat the lie. Repeat the lie, repeat the lie, repeat the lie. The Supreme Soviet could not be wrong, so any one who question them, was also a traitor. Repeat the lie.

“Another favorite technique of Beria and his predecessors was to always choose an alleged “crime” that was impossible to defend. The favorite in their era was homosexuality. Against Judge Moore, it is “pedopheeeeelia”. — Never Yet Melted ｻ Yglesias Does the Liberal Two-Step

[Dave (in MA)]

Too big, so you'll have to click,

.

[Appalled]

Miss M:

Your average lefty does not feel like the Gloria Allred charges were really disposed of. They think they were just ignored. The press likes a fresh story far more than banging a dead horse, so they went and concentrated on Russia. Since Russia is going slowly at the moment, there may be a return to sexual harassment rehashes. Trump's tweeting from last night encourages that kind of story.

What's interesting is that I am seeing right wing conspiracy type of commentary on the Franken charges, because the person who complained is a conservative. He's not resigning -- he'll hang on for dear life, and get away with it if there is nobody else. Since there is always somebody else, I don't think he gets away with it in the end.

[Old Lurker]

The older I get the wiser I think the Founders were. On the assumption that most spending should be done by "neighbors" as much as possible since you can yell at them when you see them, they designed a system that a) let the States appoint their own Senators, and b) assessed the states directly for funds needed by the Federal Government and denied the Feds direct access to individual income or assets. So the Feds had to pass a bill that goes to the states, or else they get income from tariffs.

We are in the mess we are in largely because of those two changes to the plan. (Note that I did not mention giving women the right to vote...)

[Dave (in MA)]

Huffer headline that's being, uh, shoved down FB users' throats, so to speak,

Al Franken
Trump's Tweet Condemning Al Franken 
Backfires Spectacularly ‑ huffingtonpost.com

[Neo]

Police Body Cameras Can Threaten Civil Rights of Black and Brown People, New Report Says

"Unrestricted footage review places civil rights at risk and undermines the goals of transparency and accountability," said Vanita Gupta, former head of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and current head of the Leadership Conference, in the report's introduction.

Because an officer’s memory of an event may be altered by watching body camera footage, doing so will likely alter what officers write in their reports. That, in turn, can make it more difficult for investigators or courts to assess whether the officer’s actions were reasonable based on what he or she perceived at the time of the incident, states the report, “The Illusion of Accuracy: How Body-Worn Camera Footage Can Distort Evidence.”

[narcisoyea]

Wait, you didn't see that coming, what was the point them, except saddle the police department with mire debt and paperwork,

[narcisoyea]

They really know how to bury a story:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/16/heres-the-fbi-informant-who-says-he-has-evidence-on-the-uranium-one-deal

In other news Mrs nelson didn't actually see Roy sign the book.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Appalled,

You apparently think that the President is too stupid to know that his tweeting about Franken will cause the left to bring up those charges again.

I think he knows exactly what he's doing. I also think he knows far more about Franken than people realize. He and his family were hanging around NBC for 13 seasons, so I am sure that Trump, family and staff picked up a lot of stuff about Franken.

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of celebrities loved to talk to Trump, because he has a magnetic personality and he has immense wealth. In those days, they never thought of him as political, so I bet everyone from producers to the make-up gal told him all sorts of stories.

I really wish you would get away from your cartoon character image of Trump, which is the public face he puts on for the left. He is very, very smart and is a creative thinker. He also planned out what needed to be done in the government for years.

For evidence of what I said about celebrities and Trump, go search images and you can find him with everyone from Sean Connery to Mike Tyson.

For evidence on his intelligence, here is his testimony about UN Renovations before the Senate Oversight Committee:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4570351/donald-trump-2005-un-building-renovation-hearings

Note that this was done with very few notes.

[exdemocrat]

“The Illusion of Accuracy"

- the essence of prog-ism

[Extraneus]

In case anyone else is keeping an eye on this a-hole:

NY GOP Congressmen Say Cuomo Fabricated Quotes to Attack Them Over Tax Bill Votes

Cuomo on Thursday called the congressmen who voted for the bill "treasonous" and compared them to Benedict Arnold. He claimed that in private conversations, the lawmakers all told him that they were only supporting the measure to please their party bosses.

"I talked to all of them and they all had the same line which was, ‘Well you know my political leaders are forcing me to vote for it,'" Cuomo told reporters.

But of the four New York Republicans who voted for the House bill, three told the New York Times that they not only did not make the comments, but also have not spoken to Cuomo at all.

Republican Reps. Chris Collins, Claudia Tenney, and John Katko all said they did not speak to Cuomo about the measure. Tenney added that she has not spoken to Cuomo in several years.

"Not only is he a bold-faced liar, but he also is fabricating quotations," Collins said.

The only New York congressman who did speak to Cuomo about the bill also says he never made the comments that Cuomo claims.

"I never believed I'd be living in a state with a governor that was an outright liar," Rep. Tom Reed told the Times.

"I'm not even going to say mischaracterizing it. It's just an outright lie by a liar in the governor's mansion. To me, that is very troublesome," Reed added.

When contacted by the Times, Cuomo's staff did not bother defending the initial statement.

"The governor's point was the Republican congressmen he spoke to said they were under pressure from their political leadership to vote yes," spokesman Richard Azzopardi said.

[mockmook]

So it wan't a lie-lie

[Momto2]

One of my students is living in Madagascar now - serving a missionary family as a tutor for their children. Actually, she is on an island - Nosy Be - just off the northwest corner; but they traveled through Madagascar when they arrived. When I first heard of the outbreak I questioned her mom. She said since her daughter had been on the island for over 42 hours, she knew she was ok. She would otherwise have died within hours of contracting the plague.

I cannot imagine how stressed I would be if my 19-year-old daughter were living that close to such an outbreak. I worry enough about her just driving in Atlanta!

[James D.]

Ext @ 11:50

If we legalized dueling, things like that would be a lot more rare.

[Jane - not "in"]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I want the names of all those elected officials we paid out money to protect, and I want them now.

And I want all the $$$ back, and I don't care if the perv is dead.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Sean Spicer‏Verified account @seanspicer
1h1 hour ago

TSA agent at #LAX : “I thought you’d be taller”
Me: “me too”

[Porchlight]

I want names of the claimants. If as someone posted last night, bogus harassment claims are rampant in DC, we should know about it.

From the comment last night, this includes claiming harassment because you were told to do the job you were being paid to do.

If that is the atmosphere, and from my work experience it doesn't surprise me, these are mostly shakedown claims and I don't know what good options Congress has. Let's make it exceedingly transparent.

[Momto2]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I want the names of all those elected officials we paid out money to protect, and I want them now.

I agree, Jane - how in the world has this remained a "secret" for so long?

[Davod]

Freddie Mac is advertising Multi-family Financing?

[JimNorCal]

U1 stuff
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/11/breaking-fbi-informant-clinton-uranium-one-bribery-case-video-briefcases-full-money-video/

[Porchlight]

I'll continue to play devil's advocate here. How should this be handled? What privacy rights do the claimants have? How about the accused?

Companies set aside funds to deal with these things. Congress is an employer and also must set aside funds. Unfortunately, by definition with Congress these things are funded by the taxpayer.

You can say Congressmembers should pay out of pocket but that's just not going to fly.

I am not going to be personally liable in ANY employment situation for the frivolous claims of some nutjob employee, and I won't vote for anyone who is stupid enough to agree to that either.

And I don't think every one of these claims should be public knowledge, either. If you think Congress doesn't do enough work now, imagine how it will be if they have to spend 3/4 of their working time answering the MFM's questions about some employee's harassment claim.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Saudi Gazette‏Verified account @Saudi_Gazette
Nov 16

#BREAKING: #Saudi Foreign Minister @AdelAljubeir: #Lebanon's #Hezbollah must disarm and become a political party for that country to stabilize

==============================

It seems like the Middle East has disappeared from American news sources.

[Extraneus]

The informant will testify next week before Congress.

Assuming he's still alive. Why on earth would the DoJ disclose his name before he testifies?

[derwill]

--Your average lefty does not feel like the Gloria Allred charges were really disposed of. They think they were just ignored. --

The average Lefty also "feels" that Trump is Literally Hitler. So so what? Other people with two or more operative brain cells saw the MSM playing the Allred clown show on a continuous loop for over a week at least. Then she got a visit from Trump's legal team and she and her sidekicks abruptly disappeared, and the lie fest not-so-coincidentally abruptly disappeared off the air.

Why you keep forgetting this simple fact, Appalled, I do not know, but it doesn't reflect well on either your cognitive ability not your retentiveness.

[narcisoyea]

I was afraid of that, the reuters piece suggested he came out willingly.

[rich]

Posted by: Extraneus | November 17, 2017 at 11:50 AM

the quotes are fake, but the narrative was right ...

fake, but accurate.

[Jim Eagle]

A little different kind of sunshine.

Today, watching Frederick catch his bus to school:)

[Tom R]

This Thomas Wictor tweet thread raises a good point.

https://twitter.com/thomaswictor/status/931405713917620225

First off, a pedophile is someone sexually attracted to prepubescent children. In those tweets Wictor listed the two terms for people sexually attracted to post pubescent teenagers. I assume all three “-philes” are forms of mental illness.

Could someone who is a pedophile or a hebephile/ephebophile be cured of that mental illness or is it something they are permanently stuck with? If it is something that a person is permanently stuck with, then the fact there is no evidence of Roy Moore engaging in that kind of activity in close to 40 years indicates he does not suffer from any of those mental illnesses.

[Marlene]

This morning the daughter and I were texting and she mentioned that the sexual harassment payouts aren't in a "secret fund" but also includes other types of employee payouts (workers comp) so some portion could be harassment claims but not the total amount. So,apparently all the employment claims come from the same bucket. Does that make sense? No matter,the bucket holds our tax dollars!

[Appalled]

Miss Marple:

You apparently think that the President is too stupid to know that his tweeting about Franken will cause the left to bring up those charges again.

Actually, no. I think Trump is sailing directly into this one deliberately, and with at least some sense of the risks. Trump doesn't always have the best sense of how Washington works, but he does know how the media works. He might be running interference for Moore in an effort to suck up all the sexual harassment oxygen in the room. Or, he might be attempting to force the issue with Franken by encouraging woman #2, woman #3, woman #146 to step out there. Or he might even be trying to tease out the charges against him so he can deal directly with them. Or all of this is part of the carnival that allows the Trump deep state to overthrow the Obama/Bush/Clinton deep state.

Porchlight:

Agree with your 12:12. The people have a right to know who took the money, and who was accused. Also, I think NDAs that cover sexual harassment charges should be considered against public policy and voided.

[JohnH]

I would love to see the next person being asked a question by Franken during a confirmation hearing simply respond “I don’t respond to perverts”.

[jimmyk]

Companies set aside funds to deal with these things.

Porch, you make good points. But one difference is that companies can fire people. Yes, congresscritters can be voted out of office, but only if the transgressions and settlements are made public, and only every two or six years. If everything is kept quiet, the funds become basically taxpayer-funded scams, either protecting bad behavior by the elected officials, or encouraging frivolous claims, or more likely, both.

They can't have it both ways: If they want the employer to cover these claims, there has to be a mechanism to get rid of them.

[rich]

Posted by: Porchlight | November 17, 2017 at 12:22 PM

maybe they'd stop pestering us.

what ever happened to that weirdo that dressed up in a Tigger costume and had tickle parties with his interns?

[simply simon]

Well never Appreciated Franken's humor now I know why it was tongue in Cheek.

[JimNorCal]

Judge Moore fund raising email barel uses the word "Democrat".
Thank you, GOPe.

Friend,

My sleeves are rolled up tight . . .
My heels are dug in deep . . .
After 40 years of slugging it out day in and day out with the forces of evil trying to rip apart the moral foundations of our society, I've had enough.

I apologize for my tone, but McConnell crossed the line by assaulting my integrity and character as a Christian man through his false accusations against me.

So if McConnell wants a fight -- I'm going to give him a fight.

And I don't plan on holding back the punches.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://www.newyorker.com/sections/news/karl-rove-has-seen-the-enemy-and-he-is-steve-bannon

Karl Rove thinks the president is a moron, although he phrases it slightly differently.

Notice Rove gave an interview to The New Yorker.

The New Yorker!

[Extraneus]

Could someone who is a pedophile or a hebephile/ephebophile be cured of that mental illness or is it something they are permanently stuck with?

Being attracted to girls between 15 and 19 is a mental illness now? LOL.

[Threadkiller]

The Congressional sin fund is probably set up as a free money account.

"You have bills to pay? Make a #MeToo claim!"

I'll bet the checks fly out of that office during peak Christmas shopping.

[James D.]

jimmyk @ 12:33

Another difference is that a company is (if publicly held) accountable to stockholders. Employees don't just get to pay out settlements against them from a bottomless pool of unaccountable money.

(or, if it's privately held, the owner(s) are putting their own money on the line to pay those settlements and can, as you say, fire the employees in question)

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/931576605343911936

This has a new Facebook post by William O'Neill, candidate for Ohio governor. I have no idea what party, but Buckeye and Captain Hate might want to take a look at this.

[narcisoyea]

And I guess his previous enemy was the huntress, demint was as well.

[Thomas Collins]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes our Prez likes to bust agates. I think the Al Frankenstein tweet is such a time.

[Porchlight]

They can't have it both ways: If they want the employer to cover these claims, there has to be a mechanism to get rid of them.

jimmyk,

I probably wasn't clear.

We don't know for sure, but I bet that a good portion, probably the vast majority, of these claims are Congressional employees making claims against other Congressional employees. Not directly against the Congressmember.

There has to be provision for dealing with this no matter who is being accused. That includes Congressmembers, of course. They are employees, too, and they have rights. We're not going to give up our system of government, so something has to be arranged to deal with employee claims, even though yes, they are elected.

I'm definitely all for making it easier to fire federal employees. ;)