Can Edwards Recover
From Affair Scandal?

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ dreams of being Barack Obama’s vice president are shattered after he admitted to having an affair with 44-year-old novice filmmaker Rielle Hunter, reported ABC News today.

It has been speculated that meetings with Obama and then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton a few months back after dropping out of the race that Edwards would be their choice for vice president. That speculation was further fueled when Edwards endorsed Obama this past May.

While Edwards’ experience in the Senate and in politics in general would have made him a very attractive candidate for the VP position, having an affair on his terminally ill wife would turn down even the most morally challenged politician. Granted, Edwards told ABC News that his wife’s cancer was in remission during his affair, but that isn’t how some people are going to see the 2006 fling.

And when the National Enquirer first reported on this recently, it was reported that Edwards fathered a child with Hunter, but Edwards’ former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has stated that he is the baby’s father.

Now, what does this really mean for Edwards’ political career? It will hurt him, but he can recover from it like Bill Clinton. Clinton had numerous alleged affairs, not including the Monica Lewinsky one, and he’s approval ratings were still quite good. America still loved him.

With Edwards background of helping the lower class and the poor, he is basically a media darling in that regard. Whatever political faults he may have, Edwards’ heart is in the right place when it comes to people in need. Many might easily forgive Edwards for his affair and say he was under stress of losing his wife Elizabeth before hand. Some might see that as a “noble” and understanding cause of running into another woman’s arms.

By no means is this an excuse for Edwards to cheat on his wife, but merely how some will see it. Besides, Edwards is no Eliot Spitzer, the former New York Democratic governor who was caught with a call girl earlier this year.

However, there seems to be more to this than meets the eye. Hunter, who was hired in 2006 to film campaign videos for Edwards, had been living under false names while she was pregnant and lived in expensive homes in North Carolina and California, according to ABC News. Her baby girl was born on Feb. 27 of this year.

And Edwards claimed that he has not paid any money to keep Hunter silent about their affair, “but said it was possible some of his friends or supporters may have made payments without telling him,” ABC News reported Edwards as saying, a former North Carolina senator.

(Editor's note: It an updated story, ABC News has reported that Edwards' 2008 national finance chairman Fred Baron stated that he gave "assistance" to Hunter without the former senator's knowledge, according to an e-mail sent by him to the news network late on Friday.)

And Edwards also told ABC News that he did not tell his wife of the famous Beverly Hills Hilton meeting with Hunter last month.

It is only a matter of time before the whole truth comes out. Edwards just has to take his medicine that the media onslaught and his wife will give him before he even considers entering politics again.

Spitzer Screws Himself
In A Poetic Justice Style

Unless one has been living an a rock the past few days, New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced today that he’s resigning amid findings that he allegedly paid $80,000 for hookers, or super delegates as some are calling them these days.

Spitzer has a long career of fighting corporate corruption and various types of fraud and you would think that someone with his track record would realize that eventually, someone will do an undercover investigation, such as the infamous New York Times. And that’s what the New York Times did. They said, “Let me whip this out,” and aired one of Spitzer’s hooker’s dirty fishnet stockings for all the world to see. Also, do hookers at the Emperors Club VIP, where Spitzer allegedly found his “constituents,” even wear fishnet stockings or is that a tired cliché?

And that’s the most puzzling aspect of all of this. It’s not that happy Republicans were calling for Spitzer’s resignation or why his wife of more than 20 years was standing by her man (and probably the number of a divorce lawyer in her pocket), far more were wondering why he didn’t think he would get caught.

After all, this has to be one of the biggest, ironic comeuppance in political history … until next week when some politician, who never heard of the charges against Spitzer, gets his hands caught in a cookie jar or a foot under a public men’s bathroom stall or any number of shenanigans.

And what does this say about the intelligence levels of our elected leaders? If Spitzer has to sleep with a number of hookers (and that seems to be a huge burden that many politicians seem compelled to take on), I wouldn’t want him caught. Because if he’s caught, not only is it hypocrisy on his part because of his work at the New York District Attorney’s office, but it shows we have a stupid politician. Personally, I want my elected officials to be crooked and smart. But that’s just me.

All kidding aside, just for the moment anyway, let’s give Spitzer some credit. While he hurt his loved ones and colleagues, at least he didn’t let it drag out, which would further hurt his wife and the Democratic Party. Despite what he did, I do give him a lot of credit for that.

But watching politicians screw up on this level has become a favorite past time for many political junkies. It’s far more entertaining than watching a rare, exotic one-eyed cockatoo. While we savor the juices that Spitzer found himself in, we can only wonder what type of elaborate trap some dimwitted elected official will find himself in next.

And on a side note, because of the time of year it is, one has to ask: Is paying for hookers at the swanky Emperors Club tax deductible?

School Board That Expelled Kissing Teens Says There Is More To It

The school board that expelled Blythewood High School junior Dominique Goyner and his unnamed girlfriend for kissing on a school bus is now coming out, saying that there is more to this than meets the eye but cannot release that information due to “legal reasons.”

Granted, there is always more to any story but the board members of Richland School District Two, in Columbia, S.C., did not handle the situation well at all. The board should have made it perfectly clear that from day one that there was another side to this story and that because of legal reasons, the situation could not be discussed. The school board would have saved itself a lot of headaches if it did that.

The Charlotte State reported that the officials stated that the kissing “… episode that resulted in the expulsion went beyond acceptable social norms.” If this is true, it certainly flies in the face of Jody Free, Goyner’s mother, who told the Associated Press that she saw the video recording of the “session” and said the two teens only kissed.

Sadly, because multiple parties are not willing to give full accounts of what actually happened on that fateful day last October, one is forced to speculate that the school board showed Free the video tape. So, either Free is lying about what she really saw on the bus’ video tape so she can help her son or the school board members saw something that they thought was inappropriate to them but not to Free. Or the other scenario is the school board members showed an edited, G-rated version to Free. Sure, that does not make any sense but at the moment, the whole affair does not make any sense at all either.

And it would be extremely helpful if we could hear the unnamed girlfriend’s side of the story in all of this. Or maybe the reporters could do some legwork and just interview the bus driver or the kids on the bus about what they saw. Since this whole affair is becoming a typical gossip mill found in any high school hallway between Goyner and the school board, reporters might as well get as much of the facts out as possible.

While many have found it hard to believe that the school board expelled two teens for kissing and insist that there is more to this story, they seem to be correct. But lately, school officials are making very stupid judgment calls.

After all, in today’s society we have teachers pretending to be hooded gunmen during class field trips and students getting detention for hugging, it truly does seem possible that a school board would allow such a ridiculous punishment to take place.

School Board Expels Teens For Kissing On Bus

We can all understand why some school boards are getting stricter in cases of sexual misconduct but this is asinine.

Because two Blythewood High School teenagers were caught kissing on the school bus, the school board decided to expel the both of them for the entire academic year, the Associated Press reported. The school is located in Blythewood, S.C.

“I saw the tape. They kissed maybe two minutes and the rest of bus ride home they leaned back on seat and that was it,” Jody Free, mother of ousted teen Dominique Goyner, told the Associated Press. “Had it been anything different, I would have said ‘OK you two have to suffer the consequences.’”

A message left for the girl’s lawyer was not returned and the school district refused to comment, except that it stands by the school board’s ludicrous decision.

All this has done is ruined two teens’ social lives and more importantly, their academic and professional careers. According to the story, Goyner receive awards for his service at the Blythewood High School JROTC and that now that he’s being home schooled, he hopes that does not hurt his chances to attend a military academy after he graduates.

Sure, kissing on a school bus, while a video camera is recording this act of passion, may not be the smartest thing to do but hey, these are two teenagers we are talking about. It’s not as if these two were having a “Lewinsky Moment.”

It seems as if the school board has a zero tolerance policy about any type of public displays of affection, which it seems to be labeled as “sexual misconduct.” We often hear in some schools that even hugging is not allowed without dire consequences.

Thankfully, it has been reported that parents for both teenagers will settle the matter in circuit court, which is a shame that that is the only place where this nonsense can be dealt with.

Let kids be kids. Allow them the freedom to express themselves as long as it’s within the line of civility. If not, such as the case of Romeo Dominique Goyner and his unnamed girlfriend, a warning is fine, but ruining two lives just results in big, fat “Fs” for members of the school board.

It’s time for the school board to reevaluate its “sexual misconduct” policy and start giving out appropriate punishments to fit the “crime.”

Justice For Teen In
Consensual Oral Sex Case

Georgia’s Supreme Court today ruled that Genarlow Wilson, who was sentenced for 10 years in prison for receiving oral sex when he was 17 from a willing 15-year-old girl, should be released, saying that his punishment was “cruel and unusual”.

Hopefully, Wilson should be home some time today, his lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, told CNN.

Wilson has already spent more than two years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a teenage girl at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003.

As was mentioned before, Wilson should not have been placed in prison for doing something that normal teenagers do. And as said before, District Attorney David McDade and Attorney General Thurbert Baker could have prevented this travesty by not charging Wilson with felony aggravated child molestation, which is a 10-year mandatory sentence.

But it’s a shame that other district attorneys and attorney generals don’t have the same zing as McDade and Baker. While Wilson was sentenced for 10 years in jail for receiving “oral entertainment” from a willing 15-year-old girl, we have a 46-year-old New York man, Edward Miller, who may get one to four years for raping a teenage girl 68 times over a period of two years.

We have enough to fear with animals like Edward Miller running around but what we don’t need are district attorneys and attorney generals who don’t know that they can exercise their right to not press charges when it comes to consensual sexual relations between two teenagers.

Hopefully, Wilson’s ordeal will be over soon and will be home with his family by the end of today. But the overzealous actions of Baker and McDade have already shattered this young boy’s life, who had a promising football career ahead of him.

Whatever justified bitterness and resentment that Wilson has over this affair, hopefully he won’t let that poison him and he can start making plans for a bright future.

Is YouTube The Way To Vote?

This is pretty scary. Some time ago, I wrote about Obama Girl, whose real name is Amber Lee Ettinger. No, certainly not the scary part, but this comment from a person claiming to be a photographer of the lip-synching Obama supporter is.

“… You Tube is changing the way American people view their political hopefulls. You can still vote for whomever you want. It's just a more entertaining and more modern way that political candidates can reach the American people,” according to a Brian Williams on a CNN comment page about a recent story that questions Ettinger’s allegiance to the Democratic presidential candidate.

Now, if anyone has seen Ettinger’s desired-filled video, one would realize that it has about as much meaning and insight as a JibJab political cartoon.

Granted, this Williams person has a point, politics can be a bore. However, spicing it up with a girl who belongs on a Playboy spread out shouldn’t be helping anyone decide who to vote for.

And despite Williams’ belief that modern candidates want to reach potential voters by using not-quite soft porn, then he hasn’t heard that Barack Obama wasn’t pleased with the video. Obama has already stated in an Associated Press interview this week that he doesn’t appreciate Ettinger’s endorsement.

In fact, I can’t imagine any self-respecting candidate who is serious about winning the highest office in the land who would want that type of support.

When I’m going to vote on Election Day, I’m not going to choose a candidate, who if elected will have a finger next to that little red nuclear button, because some scantily clad singer from a 15-year-old boy’s wet dream endorsed him or her.

Electing an American president should be taken seriously. And maybe it’s time that the rest of the voting population who is under 30 start to realize that.

No Justice In Consensual
Statutory Rape Case

There’s no get-out-of-jail-free card for Genarlow Wilson, a 21-year-old man serving a 10-year prison sentence for statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl, even though it was consensual oral sex, back in 2003, when Wilson was 17. Sadly for Wilson, the D.A. in the case forgot what the term “consensual” meant.

A few days ago, Georgia Superior Court Judge David Emerson denied Wilson bail, even though earlier this month a court voided the original sentence and reduced it to one year, with time served. Wilson has already served two years.

Here’s the deal: At a New Year’s Eve party in 2003, Wilson, then 17, he received, shall we say, “oral relaxation” from a more then willing 15-year-old girl. Of course she was willing, because according to a videotape of the party that was used in the trial, she gave “oral entertainment” to another party guest before going to Wilson.

Because of a law at that time, Wilson was convicted of felony aggravated child molestation. It doesn’t make sense, since the “child” in this case was only two years younger than Wilson.

So, not only is Wilson known for such a grievous form of injustice, he also has to deal with snide jokes about his lawyer's name: B.J. (Brenda Joy) Bernstein. Out of good taste and respect for Wilson, there won’t be any jokes about oral sex or prison.

But the biggest joke of all is David McDade, the D.A. who prosecuted the first case that ended with Wilson behind bars. He said he realizes that the 10-year mandatory sentence was too harsh but he couldn’t turn a blind eye to the “crime” since it was videotaped. In fact, McDade even went so far and blamed everything on Wilson.

“We don’t believe that a 10-year sentence is an appropriate punishment (in this case), but he made that decision to put himself in that predicament,” explained McDade to Atlanta Magazine, of Genarlow’s refusal to cop a plea. McDade said Wilson decided to be a martyr because people told him he could be famous.

Actually, Wilson decided to fight because he didn’t want to spend 10 years in prison doing what that 15-year-old girl did to him at that party, except it won’t be consensual for him. (Please note that this isn’t a joke.) Plus, after he gets out, he will be registered as a sex offender. And if McDade was in Wilson’s situation, he would fight the charges too.

McDade could have dropped the charges against Wilson; he had that type of power. But no, instead he decided to haul Wilson to court. Maybe McDade is the one who wanted to be famous.

And poor Wilson, a bright guy who had a bright football career ahead of him, with colleges after him to play football. But that’s all gone now and whatever college dreams Wilson could have salvaged now are gone because Attorney General Thurbert Baker is appealing the one-year ruling that could have set him free.

In a world where Jose Antonio Lopez only gets three years in jail for a real rape of a 15-year-old girl and Wilson is serving a decade for receiving consensual oral sex, maybe there isn’t justice in the world anymore.

Originally posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008

Women Having Sex With Teens?
No Big Deal!

Do you know what burns my bacon?

When some people are honestly shocked and outraged when some teen-aged boy has sex with a woman and actually feeling this will scar the kid for life.

Angela Honeycutt, which sounds like a bad Bond girl’s name, is charged for allegedly exposing herself to teen-aged boys at a sleepover and having sexual contact with them.

So, yes, we can all see how this would scar a young, strapping male teen with raging hormones.

Now, let’s say Ms. Honeycutt allegedly did what police are charging her with. I can tell you now the police didn’t find out about her little Show-And-Do because Little Johnny woke up screaming in a cold sweat from a nightmare over the incident.

Just like many teen-aged boys, Little Johnny, or in this cases Johnnies, bragged about having some type of sex with a 38-year-old woman from Lower Makefield, Pa. And if you ever been to Lower Makefield, that’s actually one of the few highlights that are available there.

If Ms. Honeycutt is guilty, then she has joined a seemingly growing number of women, mostly teachers, who have been charged with the laughable crime of statutory rape of male minors. And yes, it is laughable because in some of these cases these women aren’t exactly forcing themselves onto these willingly teen-aged boys.

While the man-pig in me roars its ugly head in approval of a male teen having sex with an attractive woman, simply because it’s just about every schoolboy’s fantasy of being with a teacher or female adult, the parent side of me realizes that this does send a wrong message to male teens. But what message should be given to these Ron Jeremy wanna-bes?

Well, sitting Little Johnny down and telling him that having sex with a hot woman with years of experience is wrong and that he should wait for someone he truly loves isn’t going to cut it. And neither is telling him to write a letter to Penthouse. (Sorry, the man-pig in me suggested that one.)

Now, what you have to do is scare the ever-living sh!t out of Little Johnny. How to do that? If he actually had sex with the woman, telling him he got her knocked up might work, but not likely. Getting a woman pregnant rarely stops some guys from acting irresponsible, no matter how old they are.

The best way is by lying through your teeth and saying that the woman has the most horrible form of sexually transmitted disease that it would make the Black Plague look like a case of the sniffles.

This will cause either one or two healthy choices from the young Casanova: Either he’ll cool his jets and wait until he’s old enough to use better judgment or two, he’ll be using protection.

Because the reality is, an average teen-aged boy having sex with an “older” woman is not going to emotionally scar him, but he is too stupid to realize the circumstances of his actions. So to be on the safe side, showing him some slide shows of a hooker riddled with STDs might work better than a cold shower.

Originally posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Barbie's S&M Headline Misleading?

Do you know what burns my bacon? Media sensationalism just to sell a few newspapers and extreme Christian groups that try to suck the fun out of life; so yeah, there’s a double-bonus of bacon burning in this edition’s column.

First, the headline from the U.K.’s The Sun reads, “S&M Barbie lashed by public.” But once you read the story, you find out that Mattel is really releasing a Barbie doll that is dressed like the DC comics superhero Black Canary. They have previously released a Barbie version of fellow DC comics heroines Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Supergirl, just to name a few.

Granted, Black Canary does dress in leather and fishnet stockings, so it’s really not a real S&M look she has, but more of a biker-stripper look going on. This may not ease a lot of parents, but considering that Wonder Woman has been parading around in her star-spangled panties for more than 65 years, Black Canary’s outfit is an improvement and covers more.

Now considering that the U.K. is famous for its S&M outlet stores, clubs and such games as, Whip The Donkey’s Tail, it is understandable why The Sun thought a superhero might have been one of former New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s call girls. But with the Internet and Wikipedia around, it would be a simple search to find out if Black Canary was really into S&M or she just wears her leather outfit just to annoy PETA.

Sensationalism has no place in journalism, but sadly, shoddy publications do make room for it.

But now we come to the other half of the bacon burning: The Christian side.

“Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it’s filth,” stated the religious group Christian Voice, as reported by The Sun.

Yes, it can’t be denied that everyone’s favorite plastic, blonde doll does dress like a tart, maybe a bit slutty at times. Hell, she looks like a hooker in some of the outfits that I’ve put her in.

Besides, even if parents are going to buy the Black Canary for their daughter, I would like to think a young girl at that age doesn’t know about such things as S&M.

But these extreme Christian groups have to remember that most little girls usually take Barbie’s clothes off faster than G.I. Joe on shore leave anyway. So having her in fishnet stockings isn’t that much of a big deal.