Florida Republican Representative Resigns Effective Immediately

[Drake Tungsten]

16 isn't post-pubescent

Maybe for you. Sorry dude...

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Is it pedophilia if the person attracted to the 16-year-old is also 16?

[Kuciwalker]

There isn't some magic change that occurs when someone turns 18 versus the day or even the year before

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
There isn't some magic change that occurs when someone turns 18 versus the day or even the year before

Yes there is, more things become legal at 18.

[chequita guevara]

Like having sex with 50 year old men.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
There isn't some magic change that occurs when someone turns 18 versus the day or even the year before

Laws can't take a million variables into account. So nice, simple lines are drawn. One has been drawn at 18.

[Drake Tungsten]

According to the Wikipedia article on puberty, nearly all American men finish puberty by the time they're 15 years and 9 months old. che was just really unlucky, apparently...

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by GePap
Laws can't take a million variables into account. So nice, simple lines are drawn.

On the other hand, personal judgements can and do take other factors into account.

One has been drawn at 18.

Except where this actually happened. So, he didn't violate the letter or the spirit of the law. He's just creepy (and abusive of a position of power, but that's a different subject).

[chequita guevara]

Again, since it happened over the internet, the local D.C. laws don't necessarily have precidence. Where the boys were, is what is important, and since it crossed state lines, the Feds get to get involved too, so Foley may have to face some of his own laws.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


On the other hand, personal judgements can and do take other factors into account.

And this is nice and irrelevant to the legality of an act.

Except where this actually happened. So, he didn't violate the letter or the spirit of the law. He's just creepy (and abusive of a position of power, but that's a different subject).

On the "letter of the law", that is true only if the law that applies is that of DC, and not other localities. As for "the spirit", this is one of those laws that is rather simple, where the "spirit" matches the wording. The spirit being, not letting adults have sex with people considered underage.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Did he keep his committee posts?

I don't know. But I don't think that's the point. The point is that when the House leadership got wind of what was going on in 1983, they took immediate action by launching an investigation into the behavior of two of their own members, one of whom was from the party in power. The media didn't break the story; they learned of the story from the House leadership (on both sides of the aisle). By contrast, today's GOP House leadership seems to have known what was going on here for at least a year, and maybe 3 years, and did nothing until the media forced its hand. That's the difference, and its a big one.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

From WaTi thread

Hassters assertions

Internal Review of Contacts With the Office of the Speaker Regarding the Congressman Mark Foley Matter

9/30/2006 7:08:00 PM


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

To: National Desk

Contact: Ron Bonjean or Lisa C. Miller, 202-225-2800, both of the Office of Dennis Hastert

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On Friday, September 29, the Speaker Dennis Hastert directed his Chief of Staff and Outside Counsel to conduct an internal review to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding contact with the Office of the Speaker regarding the Congressman Mark Foley matter. The following is their preliminary report.

Email Exchange Between Congressman Foley and a Constituent of Congressman Alexander

In the fall of 2005 Tim Kennedy, a staff assistant in the Speaker's Office, received a telephone call from Congressman Rodney Alexander's Chief of Staff who indicated that he had an email exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House page. He did not reveal the specific text of the email but expressed that he and Congressman Alexander were concerned about it.

Kennedy immediately discussed the matter with his supervisor, Mike Stokke, Speaker Hastert's Deputy Chief of Staff. Stokke directed Kennedy to ask Ted Van Der Meid, the Speaker's in house Counsel, who the proper person was for Congressman Alexander to report a problem related to a former page. Ted Van Der Meid told Kennedy it was the Clerk of the House who should be notified as the responsible House Officer for the page program. Later that day Stokke met with Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff. Once again the specific content of the email was not discussed. Stokke called the Clerk and asked him to come to the Speaker's Office so that he could put him together with Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff. The Clerk and Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff then went to the Clerk's Office to discuss the matter.

The Clerk asked to see the text of the email. Congressman Alexander's office declined citing the fact that the family wished to maintain as much privacy as possible and simply wanted the contact to stop. The Clerk asked if the email exchange was of a sexual nature and was assured it was not. Congressman Alexander's Chief of Staff characterized the email exchange as over-friendly.

The Clerk then contacted Congressman Shimkus, the Chairman of the Page Board to request an immediate meeting. It appears he also notified Van Der Meid that he had received the complaint and was taking action. This is entirely consistent with what he would normally expect to occur as he was the Speaker's Office liaison with the Clerk's Office.

The Clerk and Congressman Shimkus met and then immediately met with Foley to discuss the matter. They asked Foley about the email. Congressman Shimkus and the Clerk made it clear that to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and at the request of the parents, Congressman Foley was to immediately cease any communication with the young man.

The Clerk recalls that later that day he encountered Van Der Meid on the House floor and reported to him that he and Shimkus personally had spoken to Foley and had taken corrective action.

Mindful of the sensitivity to the parent's wishes to protect their child's privacy and believing that they had promptly reported what they knew to the proper authorities Kennedy, Van Der Meid and Stokke did not discuss the matter with others in the Speaker's Office.

Congressman Tom Reynolds in a statement issued today indicates that many months later, in the spring of 2006, he was approached by Congressman Alexander who mentioned the Foley issue from the previous fall. During a meeting with the Speaker he says he noted the issue which had been raised by Alexander and told the Speaker that an investigation was conducted by the Clerk of the House and Shimkus. While the Speaker does not explicitly recall this conversation, he has no reason to dispute Congressman Reynold's recollection that he reported to him on the problem and its resolution.

Sexually Explicit Instant Message Transcript

No one in the Speaker's Office was made aware of the sexually explicit text messages which press reports suggest had been directed to another individual until they were revealed in the press and on the internet this week. In fact, no one was ever made aware of any sexually explicit email or text messages at any time.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

[Jaakko]

Drake Tungsten, the Repub cheerleader who will bend over (backwards or forwards? I'm not sure these days) to apologise for a perv and sexual predator!

[Drake Tungsten]

How does pointing out that Foley isn't a pedophile based on what we know now amount to apologizing for him?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
I don't know. But I don't think that's the point.

I think that's entirely the point. If he still held positions of power within the party structure in the House, how is that not an endorsement of his actions?