TragicMonkey
Poisoned Waffles
This has been bugging me, and if it was mentioned before I missed it...but isn't Franken gay? Why is he groping women? Or am I confusing him with someone else?
Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny
- Thread starter LTC8K6
- Start date
Skeptic Ginger
Nasty Woman
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
- Messages
- 96,955
Not gay. He's been married to the same woman, Franni, since his SNL days (since 1975 according to Google).
Oystein
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 18,903
What?!? I said that? Not at all!
I think you totally missed what I was talking about.
[ETA]: In context: I was debating whether or not Robin Williams and a guitar player were sexually assaulted by Leeann Tweeden at USO gigs - someone accused Tweeden of assault, and made the men victims.
I presented a long version of the gig with the guitar player, where
a) He has his butt grabbed by a dancer
b) He has his butt mock-spanked by another dancer
c) He has his butt rubbed against by Tweeden
d) He himself fondles Tweedens butt for a couple of moments
e) He grins a wide, lewd smile that indicates he is having a good time
f) Then, at the very same gig, with guitar still around his neck, he explains that "It's not harrassment if you both enjoy it" - which makes it crystal clear that he was most definitely not a victim, but enjoyed himself
g) And finally, he makes a spoof with another person on stage where he very directly grabs that persons butt.
I take from this that of course NO sexual assault took place on that stage - all that butt-grabbing was a SHOW! Everybody grabbed everybody else's butt - and I bet my own sweet butt that not a single butt-grabbing came unexpected or unwanted!
And yet, some people here accuse Tweeden of having committed sexual assault right there in that scene, at step c) of the above list. That's bizarre, egregious, deluded nonsense!
In short: I was defending Tweeden - and explaining that the guitar player most certainly wasn't a "victim" of anything. Nor was Robin Williams, who got the "leg hug" from Tweeden every *********** single time she greeted him on the USO stage.
[/ETA]
I don't even know what you mean here, or what "the GOP position on sexual assault" is. Can you explain?
And strangely, I agree with this.
Last edited:
TragicMonkey
Poisoned Waffles
Hmmm. Now I'm going to go nuts trying to figure out who I'm confusing him with.
Eta: got it! I was thinking of Barney Frank, because of similar names.
Last edited:
Skeptic Ginger
Nasty Woman
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
- Messages
- 96,955
Oh yeah, and both Senators. Barney Frank has been an openly gay Senator for as long as I can remember.
phiwum
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2010
- Messages
- 13,590
Perhaps you didn't. My mistake.
Nonetheless, rather than complain about a question "based on something [you] haven't said," you could merely have answered the question. Why keep going with this derail?
I'm personally done with it. Just for future reference, in discussions, it is helpful to simply answer questions (complex questions aside, which this one wasn't) rather than whine that it shouldn't have been asked.
Answer what question?
Which derail? Correcting false claims or pointing out people have made incorrect assumptions is not a derail.
And a bit of advice to you, if you want a discussion with someone don't make up things and attribute them to the person, it's much better to simply address what they actually said or posted.
Last edited:
angrysoba
Philosophile
Thanks for the acknowledgment. I sincerely appreciate it.
To be fair, my initial position was that he should resign. I then changed my mind and said that I think Franken’s referral of his behaviour to an ethics committee is okay, but I think the Democrats need to be clear about what action they will take if the ethics committee’s judgment is unfavourable to him.
However, I think it is annoying that you insist on spinning the charges and attempting to put words in my mouth with “condemn any and all grope jokes regardless of the context”?
The problem is we don’t know all the facts right now, hence the investigation, and we don’t know how how much of what Tweeden remembered about the rehearsal was true. As much as Franken wrote a pretty good apology, it’s worth noting that he is very vague about what he denies doing. He doesn’t say he didn’t grope not that he didn’t put his tongue in during the rehearsal. He hasn’t actually denied grabbing arses. The only thing he has categorically denied is “propositioning women to join him in the bathroom” and he says he doesn’t remember the campaign events. Hmmmm... why doesn’t he categorically rule out butt grabbing or tongue kissing or groping then?
Surely you cannot feel as confident as you appear to be that he has done nothing wrong. I think that a lot of your bluster betrays am anxiety that he might not be as unimpeachably honourable as you would like to believe he is.
Toontown
Philosopher
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2010
- Messages
- 6,595
I know that. I thought about saying "kneecap" instead.
The point is, putting a Democrat majority in congress will lame him up pretty good, if not get him impeached.
The voters need to do something to discourage others of Trump's ilk from making their own runs at the White House. Something punitive.
Skeptic Ginger
Nasty Woman
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
- Messages
- 96,955
Sure I can, I've followed Franken for years, listened to his radio program, read the Lies book, know a bit about the Limbaugh book, learned from Franken about O'Reilly,Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff and the Saipan slave labor sweatshops and the legislation Delay got passed to keep those sweatshops using the 'made in America' label. I know why Franken went into politics....
As for Tweeden, I looked into the USO entertainment she's been involved in, listened to her interview where she was clearly disgusted by Franken, know she has a military father and husband and is not a liberal, saw those grope jokes she does. And we all know how people perceive things is not always in line with what actually happened. ...
And then you have three people who say Franken did something out of character for him, a butt squeeze. On top of that SNL cast and those who've worked with Franken more recently say that is out of character for him.
I also know a lot about sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence. That's a whole other body of knowledge I have.
I'm not just going by some quick assessment or the fact Franken is a Democrat.
You can't say how confident I am without knowing everything I know. You can assume I know as little as other people in this thread know. And you'd be wrong.
Last edited:
Rougarou
Thinker
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2009
- Messages
- 188
Isn't a president a lame duck after the next president has been elected but has not yet taken office?
angrysoba
Philosophile
I take it that you simply do not believe the stories of him squeezing butts or other forms of groping if your knowledge of him and that of the SNL cast is being used to show it is out of character.
What evidence would you need for you to believe the accusations that he groped breasts or butts given that you are apparently dismissing multiple claims?
phiwum
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2010
- Messages
- 13,590
Looks like your definition is #2 and mine #3 on Merriam Webster, so yours is probably the older definition. Nowadays, I hear newscasters and talking heads use the third definition usually.
Rougarou
Thinker
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2009
- Messages
- 188
Common usage can change, and definitions two and three are not mutually exclusive.
Speaking of things changing, I'd be a little uncomfortable with someone being held accountable today for something they did in the past, if that something would not have been as big a deal if it had come out then. I don't know if that applies in Franken's case, but we'll see.
Foolmewunz
Grammar Resistance Leader, TLA Dictator
.... partisan pearl clutching, conservative hypocrisy, Squirrel! distractions....
Yep, all the standard elements.
The Big Dog
Unregistered
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2007
- Messages
- 29,742
My favorite was the Russian troll conspiracy theory. Which was your favorite?
“I’m not just going by some quick assessment or the fact Franken is a Democrat.“
Also magical.
Not that my opinion makes one bit of difference, but I'm with Skeptic Ginger here. This has turned into an absolute witch hunt and it's ridiculous.
None of us know for sure what happened. I could see a situation where people are coming up to him asking for pictures, him going to put his arm around someone, and accidentally putting it a little too low. Maybe he left it there for a second or two before he moved it or maybe he didn't move it at all. Either way boo *********** who. That is if it even happened at all.
I'm just waiting on the wrong person to get accused of something. Maybe that person will speak up and say enough is enough and more people will join with them in stopping this nonsense.
None of us know for sure what happened. I could see a situation where people are coming up to him asking for pictures, him going to put his arm around someone, and accidentally putting it a little too low. Maybe he left it there for a second or two before he moved it or maybe he didn't move it at all. Either way boo *********** who. That is if it even happened at all.
I'm just waiting on the wrong person to get accused of something. Maybe that person will speak up and say enough is enough and more people will join with them in stopping this nonsense.
Last edited:
beren
Graduate Poster
Once again, you are right because you have special knowledge that no one may question.
On the other hand, evidence.
Foolmewunz
Grammar Resistance Leader, TLA Dictator
Oh, I love the whole thread. I was going to compare the partisan pearl clutching to the comments made by outraged, outraged I say, conservatives in the Judge Roy, Trump Pussy Grabber, Bush Senior Ass-grabbing, State Congressman Boytoy-in-the-office .... threads.
But guess what? Much to my chagrin, but no one's surprise, there's no such concern for the victims or even sense of aprobation by you folks in those threads. It's, golly, almost like you're avoiding those issues and wait until you find a nice fat Democratic target. That couldn't be, could it? Surely a form Bernie Sanders supporter would be quick to show off the double-dealing corruption and felonious acts of members of BOTH parties.
So far, all we've got is a sitcom sub-plot - Men Behaving Badly. We have a Senate candidate cruising for high school nookie and molesting underage girls, we have a president who admits that he forced himself and his attentions on women and girls without approval, and a couple of Bennie Hill comedy sketches - - - Bush Sr and Al Franken.
As Sistah whatever her name is said, "Honey, men are dawgs!" Censure? A slap on the wrists? For ass-grabbing. Maybe we could get Bush Sr. onto the sexual predators website to warn people off? I can see the Trump enablers getting behind that?
Yeah, watching conservatives and MRA supporters go through all these politically correct motions is quite entertaining.