First, you absolutely must go to American Thinker and read this post from Clarice Feldman on the Foley scandal. It is, to put it mildly, flabbergasting in its implications.
In her article, Clarice mentions the website that started it all. Stop Sex Predators came on line in late July with one post announcing its intention to “serve as a clearing house for the public to report sex predators and as a resource for concerned parents and citizens.”
The next blog post wasn’t until August 17th where the writer listed in a rather desultory manner some more notable sex predators. After that, two posts on August 26, including this curious item:
HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS! On a whim, I googled “Congressional sex scandals.” WHOA! You hear stories about ‘things’ that happen along the gilded halls of power in Washington. But I was shocked to see how much of it goes on the record! From a Washington Post article, here are five…yes, FIVE members of Congress who had incredibly inappropriate relationships with minors. What’s worse is that some continued to serve in Congress and one of them is still in office!! How much more of this is going on??
How much more, indeed. The fourth and last post for the entire month of August was a cut and paste from Wikpedia of the Gary Condit affair. More “political predators” on a site dedicated to sex predators in general? Why?
This brings us to September and what could be construed – if one had a suspicious nature – as a “build-up” of sorts to the Foley emails.
After a short post giving a link to a safety website on 9/2, there is another Capitol Hill sex story about an issue that stirred the blogs a bit on 9/4; the “skintern” culture on the Hill that saw young women dressing provocatively in order to get ahead.
Then comes a post on 9/21 that mentions Foley for the first time:
I have been away for a while, so please accept my apologies for the lack of blog posts. BUT….while I was away, the blog has been noticed and some shocking emails have been received! I can hardly believe it! I’m posting each one below. It’s proof that the Congressional Corruption of the past is alive and well today. It’s up to us to expose it and stop this predatory harassment! Please promote the blog and email any further information to stopsexpredators@gmail.com . Together we will make a difference!
Why would anyone notice this blog? It has posted nothing original in its short existence. The rare postings means that it has not built up any audience whatsoever. The first Technorati reference to the blog is from two days ago. Even a Google search doesn’t show it on the first 10 pages when searching for “Stop Sex Predators.”
And yet, 3 separate people who had contact with Congressman Foley somehow found this website independent of one another and supposedly sent emails to the owner of this site to complain about Foley’s inappropriate behavior.
Possible? Yes. Probable? I’ll let you decide.
The question is, are they real emails from real former pages and interns? Does this sound plausible to you?
My dad who gives a lot of money to republicans got me an internship capitolhill. I thought that I was hot shit, having such a good internship after myfreshman year of college.After a few weeks, I was finally learning my way around DC and I wasenjoying my job.One night, I decided to go out with my new fake ID to my first gay bar.I went to this bar named Coblot.There was old guy who would not leave me alone. He kept following me around.I tried to get him to leave me alone by going to the bathroom.Instead he followed me in and tried to grope me.A few days later my boss had me run something over to another congressmansoffice. It turned out that the guy who groped me was Representative MarkFoley.
All three emails sent independent of one another naming the same Congressional pervert? That is really stinking up the smell test.
Finally, we get to the emails sent from Foley to the former Page. These are the emails that the House Republicans knew about and, after investigating the situation, ordered Foley to stay away from the boy and have no more contact outside of official Congressional duties. This was posted last Sunday, 9/24 – a full 5 days before the story broke:
This is absolutely amazing. I just received these emails. They were sent by Congressman Mark Foley to a 16-year-old male page. I have removed his name to protect his identity. But how shocking is this? I can’t believe this was emailed to me? There must be even more out there. Email me at stopsexpredators@gmail.com and let me know what we should do!! Something must be done!!
The emails are blurry – probably faxed and not, as the author claims, emailed. But the question is how did they migrate from an incredibly obscure website into the mainstream media? This is indeed a mystery. It is possible that an opposition researcher could have Googled “Foley” and found the tiny website. But search engine rankings being what they are, that would have had to have been one dedicated oppo researcher to find the emails on Stop Sex Predators, a blogspot blog with virtually no posts and zero incoming links.
Clarice informs me that an old friend might be behind the Stop Sex Predators blog:
One of the JOM (Just One Minute) posters who’s been paying attention thinks Jason Leopold is the owner of stopsexpredators. The only place we can find a link to the story is another site (from the desk of patrick J fitzgerald which we also think is Leopold) Leopold you may recall was writing all those crazy stories for Truthout including the one that Rove was indicted and the indictment would be unsealed in 24 hours.
Highly speculative, but it fits. Leopold would have been able to make CREW aware of the emails published on the blog. Here’s ABC News on the genesis of the story:
Yesterday, we asked the congressman about some much tamer e-mails from one page, and he said he was just being overly friendly. After we posted that story online, we began to hear from a number of other pages who sent these much more explicit, instant messages. When the congressman realized we had them, he resigned.
Instant messages not emails. As ABC makes clear, there are two different stories. The question is, how many sources?
Clarice picks up the narrative:
As soon as the ABC story ran, and organization called C.R.E.W., which said it had the original exchange which Hastert had heard of and the St Peterburg paper had seen, put them on their website .They said they’d earlier conveyed them to the FBI, were releasing them because of the ABC story, and asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Republican leadership.It is abundantly clear to me that C.R.E.W. and ABC communicated and may have coordinated the release of this story.
CREW is a liberal public interest group funded by George Soros and seems to have its fingerprints all over this scandal.
The question isn’t whether or not Foley is a lowlife pervert who belongs in jail. He does. The question isn’t whether the House leadership did a good enough job with the Foley case when it came to their attention. They probably didn’t.
The real question is if CREW sat on these emails for months with the knowledge that children were at risk on the Hill thanks to stalker Foley. And if CREW knew, why release the raunchy IM now?
For maximum political damage to Republicans, of course. And I would hope that some enterprising reporters and bloggers out there will ferret out the details of this story and bring to light everything that needs to be known.
UPDATE
Tom McGuire, doing what he does best, lays out what we know about this website and has some more information on how the former page’s emails migrated from SSP to the mainstream press:
The River City Mud Bugle has even more backstory:
Two hours later [following the first posting of the former page’s emails], someone writing under the name “WHInternNow†published a diary on Daily Kos linking to Stop Sex Predators. The diary was met with skepticism from Daily Kos users, and received only a few largely critical comments. “This diary makes an accusation,†one commenter wrote, “a serious accusation, but provides no evidence to back it up.â€
In a previous Daily Kos diary about Foley, “WHInternNow†made an early attempt to draw attention to Foley’s peccadilloes.
So the Kos Kids acted pretty responsibily under the circumstances for which they should be praised.
Come to think of it…if the Kos Kommunity wasn’t buying Foley as internet stalker, maybe you liberals out there would like to explain to me why the GOP leadership should have been more skeptical about Foley than their most rabid opponents?
12:30 pm
[...] Update: Wow. At the rate we’re going here, the left is going to end up being hurt more by this scandal than the right is. [...]
12:45 pm
RW Blogger Wants Republican Congressional Leadership to Resign – Others Defend
This RW blogger wants the Republican Congressional leadership to resign from their leadership positions. But… but… all the did was cover up for a pedophile! Hastert Knew While Foley Flew,I cannot tell CQ readers how disgusted I am with Speaker…
12:53 pm
Somehow, I don’t think this is going to distract the public from the juicy details. In most peoples’ eyes, conspiring to out a potential sexual predator isn’t a bad thing… Call me a nut, but Mainstream America cares much more about the sex than the alleged conspiracy to bring the scandal to light.
12:54 pm
Yeah, and the fact that the House sat on the info… not so critical.
1:04 pm
Rick, even if every one of your and Ms. Feldman’s suspicions are correct—right down to Jason Leopold—that discovery won’t save the GOP here.This scandal is: sex, minors, a party leadership covering it up, and unfortunately for many the homosexual aspect is also relevant. If one were sitting down and drafting a perfect scandal to destroy the GOP with an election 5 weeks in the offing, one could not do better than this.
Even if those who put this scandal on the political radar did exactly as you post, that won’t make a bit of difference to the nuclear fall-out for the GOP. Myself, I deeply dislike this matter, but since the public cannot manage to get aroused to outrage over torture, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and the violation of laws such as one requiring warrants, well, I will take the saving of my country where I can get it— even on the rancid basis of Foleygate, which is going to harm the gay community badly.
1:14 pm
Foleygate: Some Quick Thoughts
It’s not looking too good right now for Republicans, to tell you the truth. Foley has handed Democrats an issue to beat Republicans over the head with heading into the mid-term elections and, to a certain extent, so did the House leadership.
I’ve…
1:41 pm
Dear Mona, if you are going to let fishy ginned up stuff like this turn you off the party, you will see these things ginned up every election.
How likely is it that as ABC says overnight after printing the innocuous emails, the salacious IM”S—years old—suddenly poured in? Not very, I say. Someone who cared not a whit about protecting the pages sat on that evidence. Think about THAT.
http://americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=6256
Here are some updates on my story.
Please note there was zip traffic on that site until they printed the emails, It is an astroturf site created for only one reason: To set an already planned game in motion.
1:50 pm
Dear Republican Party,
Please accept our most sincere condolences, and know that your dearly departed Congressional leadership is in our prayers.
Your friends,
the Democrats
2:16 pm
Any investigators out there?
A poster at F.R. posted this tantalizing tidbit:
More from a poster at F.R.
“there was a news guy from Miama(Steve Rothaus, http://www.rothaus.net: 305-376-3770 or srothaus@MiamiHerald.com) who had posted in the comments section on September 24(the sunday before the story ‘broke’) seeking information. He writes on Gay Issues for the Miami Herald and has his own blog on Blogspot for South Florida Gays.
2:19 pm
This really should not be about politics. It really should be about protecting children. If someone, like CREW, had this information and knew that a sexual predator was loose for months and did not act on it they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If former Rep Foley is guilty and it appears he is, he will be prosecuted tot he fullest extent possible. If House leadership are proven to have known about this, they should be prosecuted as well. While it should not be about politics it probably will be. Btw, if the Republicans are proven to have covered for this guy, they are virtually guaranteed to lose the House and the Senate and they should.
2:21 pm
Denial is not a river in Egyot.
Yes, the public, I men those other than the 49% who are the Republican Kool-Aid drinkers, are going to care about where this info comes from more than the fact that it is all true.
Hastert is toast.
The seat is lost and you guys are going to get roasted over an open flame.
2:49 pm
Here are some facts to go with that troll wine:
No reputable paper felt it could run with the story based on the nature of the innocuous emails and the privacy claim. Neither could the leadership of the party.
Had they, the headlines would have accused Hastert of homophobia for
booting Foley on the thinnest grounds and a suspicion of homosexuality.
If the base can be turned off by such ginned up C*&) then you can expect to see an unending stream of it.
If you cannot see that asking a former intern who is of the age of consent for a picture is not criminal and not grounds for removal, you are lost.
If you cannot see that the steamier stuff of unknown provinence was held back to stiff Hastert at whatever cost that meant to interns and pages you are looking in the wrong places.
3:26 pm
[...] Rick Moran is still asking questions as are a bunch of other people right now. Quite simply, what Foley did was worthy of immediate criminal investigation. If anyone sat on incriminating evidence that kept young people at risk for political purposes they are also worthy of criminal investigation. [...]
3:53 pm
Ricky,
thanks.
Keep flailing about.
It’s really effing funny.
Nevermind the homophobic yet closeted gay kiddie diddler who broke his own cyberpredator laws, who told on him?
Love it.
4:38 pm
“It’s vile. It’s more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction.”
—Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach, 1998, talking about Bill Clinton.
h/t Chris Vosburg
4:46 pm
So many false premises from Clarice.
Nobody was asking Hastert to “boot” Foley—what was being asked was an investigation into the matter. That, of course, didn’t occur.
I also believe Clariceis counting on readers’ ignorance of DC and politics. DC is very much a small company town; it was widely known Foley among Congressional staffers that Foley often engaged in inappropriate conduct and language with young pages. It’s difficult to believe GOP leadership didn’t know Foley was something of a ticking political time bomb.
But Clarice is pretending these events occurred in a vacuum—that Foley is only guilty of being a GOPer and sending “creepy” but “legal” emails. Yet, Clarice will defend the exposure of CIA agents, wiretapping of US citizens, and torture on the basis that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
But to investigate a GOP Congressman who was sending “creepy” and unwanted emails to a child? Hey, that’s out of bounds.
5:12 pm
As I’m sure you all know by now, Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley has resigned in disgrace after the press got hold of several sexually suggestive e-mails he’d sent to a 16-year-old page. (Wrong. They were not “sexually suggestive” according to several newspapers, Members of Congress, and anyone with even a modicum of objectivity) While this development is shocking in its own right, sources close to [deleted by blog owner] have sent us a series of even more shocking e-mail exchanges. Apparently, Foley was also in frequent contact with a 12-year-old Netvocates employee named Gary Ruppert.
Pimp your blog somewhere else.
5:42 pm
[...] Tom Maguire from JustOneMinute, Rick Moran from Rightwing Nuthouse, and Clarice Feldman from The American Thinker have been doing some wonderful research on the suspicious way in which this story took fire. In my earlier post I delved into the fact that the liberal group CREW had a big hand in getting the IM’s out. Now Rick has done some research on the website that supposedly broke the story: Stop Sex Predators came on line in late July with one post announcing its intention to “serve as a clearing house for the public to report sex predators and as a resource for concerned parents and citizens.†[...]
5:58 pm
Still defending the pedophiles, eh?
6:10 pm
They’re only doing it “for the children,” dave.
6:22 pm
Foley Page Scandal May Blow Up in Democrats Face!
6:38 pm
What is all the attention on his being GAY? Being GAY doesn’t make you a pervert! Straight men do this kind of thing to women and girls ALL THE TIME and liberals don’t care, I mean that “date liberally” or whatever ad that most liberal bloggers have on their sites shows girls who look 12 years old
I doubt any of the fat pigs who surf that “date” site are under 40.
I don’t understand why the liberals are equating gay with diddler, but then I don’t understand why the liberals do anything. I guess they’re all just a bunch of homophobes. And blog whores.
6:45 pm
Could the IM be a fake? If they are real Foley should fry. If they are fakes then we have another Rathergate on our hands. Someone should contact the person Mark Foley was supposedly instant messaging and clear this up. I talked to Matthew Loraditch (site administrator for pagealumni.us) on the phone a couple of hours ago and he seems to know the page that wrote the IMs to Mark Foley, but he would not verify that I had the correct name.
7:29 pm
Wild Bill calls Matthew Loraditch about Mark Fole
I have been following the Rep. Mark Foley case and I have uncovered the screen name and first name of the page that Mark Foley supposedly instant messaged.
7:47 pm
Foley-Gate Link O’Rama – You Won’t See This Reported in the MSM
Meanwhile the blogosphere is all over the Mark Foley story and some interesting facts have bubbled to the surface. For instance, the emails were shopped to several other news outlets as far back as a year ago.
7:50 pm
Something About StopSexPredators May Not Smell Right:
If you’ve thought the Mark Foley story was strange sit down, because still stranger things seem to be afoot. Clarice Feldman @ The American Thinker notices an obscure blog StopSexPredators and does a little thinking and digging. From her article…
8:52 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House and Flopping Aces there are some very interesting players – Does The Name Jason Leopold and/or Soros Ring a Bell?? [...]
8:52 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House and Flopping Aces there are some very interesting players – Does The Name Jason Leopold and/or Soros Ring a Bell?? [...]
8:52 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House and Flopping Aces there are some very interesting players – Does The Name Jason Leopold and/or Soros Ring a Bell?? [...]
8:56 pm
Could you please explain how CREW forwarding the e-mails to the FBI and waiting to have their authenticity confirmed fits into your narrative about them sitting on them to pop them before the election? And while you are at it, how about somebody explaining to me what the difference is between “over friendly” and “of a sexual nature” is when it comes to old men hanging out with young boys? Hastert seems to think there is some big difference but it isn’t obvious to me.
9:06 pm
Well, someone was shopping these things to news outlets as early as last November.
http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2006/what_did_they_know_
and_when_did_they_know_it
And it would be interesting to know just how long CREW had these IM’s.
I’m coming around to the idea that in fact Foley’s predilictions were an open secret in the House – that the kids knew, the Page system knew, and almost certainly some of the leadership knew the guy was a danger to kids.
It makes one wonder if he actually molested anyone.
9:09 pm
While were at it , could you help me with how the fact that Republican sponsored pages were warned of Foley since 2001, while Democratic pages were left to their own devices (as reported by ABC News) is the fault of CREW, the meanie media, or Jason Leopold? And if IM’s were fake do you really believe that FOley wouldn’t be denying the crap out them by now? Other than that, all your conspiracy theories are great.
9:09 pm
[...] Read more about the odd chain of events at at Rick Moran’s site Right Wing Nut House. [...]
9:11 pm
Here’s something odd. I’ve copied several portions of the same email from the sites of CREW and SSP. Guess what? Someone has Altered them!
9:13 pm
Flounder: You responded to my 7pm message at 8:05, but evidently you didn’t read it.
You’re still conflating the 2005 e-mails and the 2003 IMs. The controversial timing is the release of the IMs, not the e-mails. The e-mails are not sexual in nature, the IMs are. The IMs were released more recently, caused the ouster, and this is the release that is triggering questions of motivation.
Please try to grasp the chain of events, the difference should immediately become clear. Diagram it if you have to, this isn’t rocket science.
9:21 pm
Foley’s Slimy Trail
So Rep. Mark Foley, Republican of Florida, has quit the house after ABC News exposed explicit text messages and emails between Foley and a page (pages?). Rightfully, and for slime like him if prosecution is available he should be prosecuted.
9:24 pm
I’m not conflating anything. Hastert described the e-mails as “overly friendly” but not “of a sexual nature.” I’ve seen enough dirty old men in my day that I don’t really know that there is any difference between the two. You’ve watched that Dateline show. Is there any difference? Could you diagram it?
9:42 pm
HASTERT CALLS FOR A FULL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION:
Jason Leopold or whoever the leftist blogger is who sat on the IMs should be pretty scared right now.
9:44 pm
Flounder: No, I haven’t watched that Dateline show.
As I said before, the left can’t distinguish between dissimilar things.
Is your contention that expressing sympathy for danger from a natural disaster and requesting a picture of someone you used to work with “of a sexual nature?”
If there is no difference between being “overly friendly” (I think a better term for Hastert would have been “excessively familiar”) and “of a sexual nature,” then you can but either abolish all harassment law or, alternatively, be mean to everyone to avoid harassment charges.
If you think that the emails that triggered last year’s “chat” were “of a sexual nature,” then either we have been looking at vastly different messages or you’ve made a set of unshakeable assumptions that the contents of the messages have been unable to drive you away from.
It may be that your experiences have made you very sensitive to a particular kind of harassment, just as mine have made me sensitive to false or mistaken accusations.
Are you asserting that the contents of the e-mails that triggered the House “warning” and were unproductively promulgated to the press are “of a sexual nature” and were sufficient to warrant charges or an investigation?
Or are you really saying you don’t know, after looking at them if they are “sexual” or not?
Or are we down, again, to words that don’t mean anything?
9:56 pm
[...] This just keeps getting better. Running some checks on “Matthew” now, I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile check out Rick Moran again with a newpost for more on other developments. [...]
9:58 pm
The authenticity and path of the recent IM’s will tell us much more. If a kid was harassed then hang Foley – but forgive me if I smell a set up at the moment? If Foley’s “funny” nature was widely known, perhaps some one posing as a page took it a step further with the IM’s posing as a page?
9:59 pm
Jason Leopold or whoever the leftist blogger is who sat on the IMs should be pretty scared right now.
Shouldn’t the Justice Department check first under Hastert’s fat ass?
10:09 pm
Republican perverts menacing the nation’s youth?
I’m a bit confused by the huge fuss over the Foley scandal, because while what he did (sexually suggestive flirting with a page) was inappropriate, this jerk was caught and he resigned. While Foley’s conduct was a reprehensible breach of…
10:16 pm
From post #32, this thread, Quilly Mammoth Said:
9:11 pm
“Here’s something odd. I’ve copied several portions of the same email from the sites of CREW and SSP. Guess what? Someone has Altered them!”
Look at the dates on this pdf. from CREW
http://www.citizensforethics.org/filelibrary/FoleyEmailExchange.pdf
Aug of ‘05, May of ‘06
Could the “Subject: email2”, etc. be from forwarding?
Also, the two compared at http://justbarkingmad.com/?p=1154 have different formating and one possible auto-correct(?) of capitalization “g” in “glad” as well as different font.
10:20 pm
I think they were retyped or possibly the information was pasted on. That might be why the line “subject”e-mail 2” appears to be different. I wish Charles Johnson was on this.
10:23 pm
Republicans were warning kids away from Foley since 2001 because he is “over friendly,” to pages even though there are no hurricanes involved as far as I can tell. Same situation comes up in 2005, same cast of Republican overseers are notified, yet “over friendly” is waved off as owing to a hurricane. Matter is ignored. Are we clear on those pieces of information? When does a history of being “over friendly,” one that dates back to at least 2001, become of a sexual nature?
10:42 pm
Commenter Purple Avenger on Justoneminute has noted that stopsexualpredators.blogspot.com has been totally cleaned up. What th’ heck? I’ve got a few screen caps of the old page. Anyone else?
10:44 pm
And really, you guys are out chasing around Jason Leopold while Bob Woodward is out there telling the American public that tricky old John Murtha is the “soul and concience of the military.” While you guys are trying to do an end around on a sex predator case and try to prove something or other, there is a couple dudes out there that need to be swiftboated. You took your eye off the ball!
10:51 pm
Flounder:
Since when does “warned to back off” equal “ignored?” What penalties do you think would be appropriate for asking someone for a picture? Maybe you can point me to some case law on Lexis.
And maybe the House Republicans were reluctant to drive a member out of the house when their evidence, at the time, consisted of a mildly creepy e-mail and widespread rumor. Hell, maybe there is more to it than that, but I haven’t seen any actual evidence that there is more to the “coverup” accusation than that, please let us know if you have.
I’m going to respond to your post on the “old thread” here, as it was mostly the same as this one… the difference being where you say:
Are you referring to the “send me a pic” e-mails or the “masturbation” IMs? Because if it’s the former, what did you expect people to do with only that information, and if it’s the latter, why do you expect the House Reps to have acted a year ago on information they got last week?
Do you begin to see why I keep saying you’re conflating the two? The IMs were not released publicly until last week. If CREW had them for months, why didn’t they tell the House leaders so something could be done?
You said they were waiting for FBI authentication. If they were successful, why haven’t we heard that they’ve been authenticated? If they haven’t, why release them now?
Revelations at election-time are always (properly) greeted with suspicion. Especially when accompanied by hyperbole.
10:58 pm
Why The Differences in Some Foley E-mails???
12:29 am
Are you saying that the warnings that republican pages should stay away from Foley in 2001 were based on a mildly creepy e-mail from 2005 (actually two I believe, one of which I will call the great body e-mail)? Because you are implying that the e-mails from 2005 are the only data points that House Republican leadership and overseers of the page program had to go on when confronting Foley with them. And from what I can ascertain is that the same people who had red flags in 2001 are largely the same actors involved in 2005.
And what I am asking is if they have at least 4 or five years of circumstancial evidence that Foley is a perv who likes young boys it might be worth doing something more than taking his word that it was all due to a hurricane. Oh, and Foley assured them that he just wanted a picture because he kept a file of all the pages he thought might want a reference someday, do you suppose they ever thought to ask to see the file and make him support his excuse?
1:11 am
Flounder:
The only thing I’ve heard about 2001 is from ABC:
Loraditch, the president of the Page Alumni Association, said the pages were told “don’t get too wrapped up in him being too nice to you and all that kind of stuff.”
Which, frankly, is a far cry from massive evidence of predatory behavior. That evidence may exist somewhere, I’m just not seeing it presented. Do you have it?
There are lots of conflicting reports now, and probably were then. No doubt someone in a position of power looked at the conflicting reports, had a word with someone, then filed it as “rumor and innuendo.” At least one supervising clerk is reported to have given warnings about Foley’s “friendliness.” Others have reported that they received no such warning (maybe the supervisor didn’t like them).
So, given the quote above and the e-mails (not the IMs) in question, what do you think the House should have done? And what do you think they would have accomplished, apart from being accused of a homophobic witch hunt?
There is a natural tendency to judge past actions by what we know today. It would be nice if people could look back and ask themselves, honestly, what they would have done in that situation, not knowing what they know now, but knowing only what that other person knew then.
I would be curious to know whether anyone else knew about this 2001 warning, whether it had any official backing, and what, if any response the House Reps had at the time, if it was just considered rumormongering, whether the supervising clerk had a personal axe to grind, or personal experience with Foley, and whether anything else was documented in the four intervening years between the warning and the e-mails.
Unfortunately, apart from internet rumors, I don’t have any of that information. So it’s a little hard for me to get all excited about attacking Hastert at this point, seeing as how, other than rumors that rumors were widespread, I don’t have any evidence that he had anything like complaints on file or a record of disciplinary action against Foley.
And most of the discussion I’m seeing is typical ignorant J. Random Poster blather. The left has a habit of getting in front of the story, which has bitten them several times in the last decade. Maybe it’s time to take a breath and stop hyperventilating, as a community.
Out of curiousity, apart from the suggestime instant messages, are there any credible allegations of any actual “relationships” with any pages?
Oh, and as long as you keep mixing things up and misinterpreting what people say, no one can really communicate with you. It’s sad, but there you are.
1:31 am
Great work here-
Let me get something off my chest first. I have been on the blogs and the conservative forums. I have seen a certain segment of conservatives that are engaging in something distasteful.
If certain Republicans and conservatives see this as a chance to purify the party of gays and bisexuals ,or take out out Republican leadership they think is too Rino in their view please by all means go and join the blogactives of the world. They are your common allies. Different Goals but yall have the same means. That means is called “outing”. Sorry just seen to much of that today
That being said again good work. THe press has infuriated me all day mixing all these im’s and emails together.
One other thing on the page gossip that I suppose some think the House should have acted on. I had a gay teacher once. All the teenage boys were always going off about better watch Mr x he wants you or Mr x looks at me etc. Well that was all happy BS really and stupid teenage kids just acting up. Mr x never did those things of course.
I see a similar case here. I have read the email and to be honest there is nothing there. I am not looking at that email through GOP rose colored glasses either.
A fact on Criminal prosecution and all that. I am not here to defend Foley at all. But if we are going to sling words around like Criminal prosecution around it would be nice to know if Im ing a 17 year old kid sexual related messages is criminal. Since I believe in almost all the States one can have sex with a 17 year old even if you are 108, I have my doubts it is illegal. Not defending Foley here but I think we at least need to quit worrying about showing sufficent rage and try to start getting facts down. Of course if not criminal it is a abuse of authority and highly unethical.
Keep up the good work. This is important
4:12 am
Despicable; Foley, CREW and Jason Leopold
That’s the word for it; the latest democratic hitjob which is being discussed behind the scenes, under the covers, and is now out in the open, thanks to CREW, the group that is representing Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson in their ridiculous lawsuit…
6:20 am
Foley Follows Rehab Script
Disgraced Congressman Mark Foley becomes a Kennedy. Letter purpordedly sent to WPBF, the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, from former congressman, Mark Foley: X X X X X October 1, 2006 Painfully, the events that led to my resignation…
7:51 am
I’ve been asking the commentariat to provide an explanation or link that demonstrates that the IMs are genuine. So far, no one has answered that question, or even acknowledged it.
8:53 am
[...] PUNDIT VINCE AUT MORIRE VODKAPUNDIT WALLO WORLD WIDE AWAKES WIZBANG WUZZADEM ZERO POINT BLOG OY WHAT A MESS! FOLEY COVERUP AND THE GAMBIT THAT EXPOSED IT THE RICK MORAN SHOW - STILL AWOL THE WEBSITE THAT STARTED IT ALL - STRANGE BUT TRUE NOW I KNOW HOW Admin Login Register Valid XHTML XFN Design by: Hosted by: Powered by: 10/2/2006 OY WHAT A MESS! FOLEY COVERUP AND THE GAMBIT THAT EXPOSED IT CATEGORY: Politics,Ethics [...]
9:49 am
And meanwhile, back in the real world, some of us are still fighting the war in Iraq and around the world. It’s really heartening to know that our political class and those beholden to it are spending such valuable time getting to the bottom of this weak political conspiracy.
10:08 am
I am no fan of bizarre sexual behavior…Therefore, no fan of Mr. Foley.
But,
This episode is beginning to look almost exactly like the same type of operation, run by the Spokesman-Review against (Gay) Spokane Mayor Jim West.
Beginning with an e-mail from an UNidentified source….Obstensibly, from a “teenager” and using “age” as a pretext to NOT identify him.
In other words, a set-up to entrap someone known to be sexually deviant (Gay,) and then try to hang the Albatross around the Neck of the whole GOP.
11:03 am
Mark Foley Flashback: If I Were One Of Those Sickos
Update: The problems compound; as Foley checks into alcohol rehab.
Were Foley’s emails altered??? Looks quite likely. Strange stuff. Strange stuff indeed.
May all the laws this man helped create to protect children and punish those that …
12:43 pm
Republicans Need to Hang Tough
The survival of the country is at stake in this election as it was in the past two. Where ex-Rep. Foley is concerned, watch for the Democrats to over reach in their reaction to this scandal in their quest to win majorities in the House/Senate in this e…
1:53 pm
[...] The first person on the FBI list of people to investigate is this troll. More good questions from Rick Moran on the nothing site all of sudden attracting attention and breaking this story. Do these liberal really have brains? Does anyone think bloggers, experts in the media, would not sniff out a fraud? [...]
2:20 pm
You really are going to bat on this one. The guy is more than likely a paedophile and you are trying to excuse his actions? His behaviour is unacceptable and I find it incredible that Republican blogs seem to be trying to confuse the issue here. I am a conservative and voted GOP at the last elections, won’t happen this time. Next time it could be my children at the hands of some sicko that the GOP covered up for!
2:30 pm
RealityCheck:
Boy, I hate how you democrats support Hussein putting those people in wood chippers!
You didn’t say that? Well, look what happens when I hold myself to YOUR standard of behavior!
No one on the “right” is excusing Foley, and YOU are the one trying to confuse the issue by false attribution.
Lefties call themselves “reality-based” in the same way that North Korea calls itself “democratic.”
2:54 pm
Merovign do your parents know you are playing on the internet?. How about a little reading first and try a little c-o-m-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-o-n.
I am a conservative, not a democrat which is fact #1. Fact #2 there are plenty on the right trying to excuse Foley.
The talking points go something like this:
1. The emails were only ‘naughty’ (Tony Snow)
2. But look at Clinton, that was just as bad
3. The Democrats set this up
I would say all 3 of those arguments are trying to change the subject. Foley was a disgrace and hopefully will face criminal charges and the Republican party refuses to condem him unequivocally.
5:24 pm
The Story Behind the Mark Foley Story
It is possible that Democrats knew about the Foley story and sat on it to have the maximum impact before the elections? That is one theory that is floating around.
If true this would kind of make Democrat hysteria over their claims that Republicans he…
6:06 pm
One of the above statements is not true.
10:09 pm
“Reality”Check:
I think the problem may be we have different definitions of the word “fact.” Mine reads something like “objectively testable proposition that multiple observers can test and confirm.”
Yours reads closer to “the way I want things to be.”
Your definitions of “excusing” and “condemn” are also suspect, since no one on any side of the political debate is anything but condemning Foley.
The problem is, the right is refusing to accept your proposition that somehow they’re ALL responsible and should turn over the keys.
As to your party affiliation, I once knew someone who claimed to be a Republican, but, like you, echoed all Democratic talking points, voted Democrat… so, do you think I honored their desire to be referred to as a “Republican?”
The “I used to vote R but now I’ll vote D!” talking point is also legendary for how often it turns out to be a lie, not to mention the tens of thousands of times the statement has been made.
I think the instant revulsion you express for “the Republican party,” with really skimpy evidence, speaks more to your affiliation than your claims.
One would think that someone “independent” and “conservative” would spend less time leaping to conclusions and more time seeking facts.
But instead of coming out and saying “Hey, we need more information, we should find out who had this information before last week and what they did about it,” you come out and, either through deliberate ignorance or mendacity, claim that Republicans aren’t condemning Foley (false), and asserting that “the GOP covered for” his crimes (unproven).
In other words, you’re following the talking points to a “T”, whether just because you want to believe it or because you’re following a script.
I don’t know or care which one it is, because both are dishonest, the first to yourself and the second to everyone else.
What I do want to know is, did the GOP in the House know about the IMs (you know, the actual explicit material) before last week, and since the IMs are from 2003, who else knew and why did the information come out now?
The D talking points scream the former and abuse anyone who expresses the latter as “excusing” Foley, which is the kind of thing that only comes from people who have gotten away with lies for far too much of their lives.
The root cause of lies, like crime and terrorism, are their success.
Our ADD press corps are just enablers.
12:00 am
Dear Democrats,
Dang! If we had thought of this first, you can bet your sweet butt we would have pulled it on one of your guys!!
Signed,
Slimeball Republicans
12:40 am
[...] Update: This is an aweful story indeed, but as more facts come out, it seems like this whole scandal has been rolled out in a very coordinated fashion. Some are also asking what more Hastert, et al. were supposed to do with the information they had (at this point it appears Hastert and others may not have had all of the information we’re now seeing) 1 Comment » [...]
1:23 am
Instead of assuming this was some patisan scheme cooked up by the Democrats who, by the way, was KEPT OUT OF THE LOOP as always by the Republicans,think for a second, about the Pages.
Yeah,that’s right.The PAGES.This may be all their doing.They probally got together and decided to finally fight for their rights becuase they were trapped by the Republican Leadership and was trying to reach out for help.
8:31 am
Merovign with your comments it is clear you are attempting to protect Foley who let’s be blunt about it is a paedophile. It appears that you doeth protest too much, maybe you have more in common with Foley that you are willing to go to such lengths to excuse his behaviour? I cannot think of another reason why a man or a woman would write off the behaviour of a paedophile.
9:29 am
Pass the popcorn! Foley is apparently turning to Scientology to cure him of teh gay.
3:03 pm
At best, you’re all morally confused. To be obsessed with the genesis of this story while you elide the abhorrance of your right wing pedophile, and the subsequent cover-up by your right wing leadership, is just cynical and sick and remarkably amoral.
4:22 pm
“Reality”Check:
I have no doubt that your lies, false accusations, and baseless personal attacks are a signifier to your personality and your ideology.
You have baselessly accused me of being a child molester, based on the equally false charge that I am “defending Foley,” which I am not.
I think that speaks volumes as to your trustworthiness, which is nonexistent.
Go ahead and have the last word, because your word is meaningless.
5:08 pm
Merovign, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and is a supporter of NAMBLA or a defender of Foley to the extent you have been then guess what, at an absolute minimum you are an enabler. In my book a paedophile like Foley deserves everything he gets coming to him and people who covered it up or seem to think that what he did is OK are not much better!
7:19 pm
I nailed this one, yes?
http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com
7:33 pm
some other bloggers found out that Jason Leopold really did supply CREW with the text messages. A little known fact for everyone here: Leopold does a radio show on KRXA 540 AM on Tuesday’s at 4:30 p.m. PST. The person that follows Leopold at 5 p.m. is…Melanie Sloan of CREW.
6:59 am
[...] Nice reporting there, Radar, though I’m not too clear on why you consider your story an “exclusive”: [...]
10:14 am
Mark Foley used to be a Democrat, he then switched to be a Republican. Why doesn’t anyone talk about that?
1:40 am
CREW and the FBI
e-mails provided by CREW were heavily redacted and that the group refused to provide unedited versions to the FBI. One law enforcement official—speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation—also told The Washington Po…
1:04 pm
[...] Update: Right Wing Nut House has more. Allah from Hot Air is all over this too. [...]
6:49 pm
http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/eddie-merckx-biography.html eddie merckx biography [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/eddie-merckx-biography.html]eddie merckx biography[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edan-hall-spa.html edan hall spa [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edan-hall-spa.html]edan hall spa[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikkinova82.html nikkinova82 [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikkinova82.html]nikkinova82[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edauth.html edauth [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edauth.html]edauth[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikon-ls30-xp-drivers.html nikon ls30 xp drivers [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikon-ls30-xp-drivers.html]nikon ls30 xp drivers[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edcil-results.html edcil results [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edcil-results.html]edcil results[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikki-mckibbins.html nikki mckibbins [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikki-mckibbins.html]nikki mckibbins[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikroo-hashemi.html nikroo hashemi [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikroo-hashemi.html]nikroo hashemi[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikomalee.html nikomalee [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/nikomalee.html]nikomalee[/url]http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edftp.html edftp [url=http://freewebtown.com/k7ct/edftp.html]edftp[/url]
10:26 pm
TO ALL MY FRIENDS….LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE….....FYI only.
George Bush has been in office for 7 1/2 years. The first six the economy was fine.
A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.
4) the DOW JONES hit a record high—14,000 +
5) American’s were buying new cars, taking cruises, vacations overseas, living large!...
But American’s wanted ‘CHANGE’! So, in 2006 they voted in a Democratic Congress and yes—we got ‘CHANGE’ all right. In the PAST YEAR:
1) Consumer confidence has plummeted ;
2) Gasoline is now over $4 a gallon & climbing!;
3) Unemployment is up to 5.5% (a 10% increase);
4) Americans have seen their home equity drop by
$12 TRILLION DOLLARS and prices still dropping;
5) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
6) as I write, THE DOW is probing another low~~
$2.5 TRILLION DOLLARS HAS
EVAPORATED FROM THEIR STOCKS, BONDS & MUTUAL FUNDS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS!
YES, IN 2006 AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE…AND WE SURE GOT IT! ....
REMEMBER THE PRESIDENT HAS NO CONTROL OVER ANY OF THESE ISSUES, ONLY CONGRESS.
AND WHAT HAS CONGRESS DONE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
NOW THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT CLAIMS HE IS GOING TO REALLY GIVE US CHANGE ALONG WITH A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
!
JUST HOW MUCH MORE ‘CHANGE’ DO YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND?