Al Franken accused of kissing and groping radio host. Will resign.

[MomentsofSanity]

The woman went on Waaaaaaaaanity to continue here accusation that's enough for me to say she is full of shit and a political hack. She's splashed interviews everywhere she can looking for attention.

I would like to know how Roger Stone knew the night before that she was going to be doing this. That raises some flags for me knowing Stone's history of dirty tricks.

 

[emperus]

This is a tough one for me. He's a comedian, even she claims that she relented to practice the kissing scene and I don't think he was touching her in that picture (and by the way, I can't believe he would grope her on a public plane knowing someone is taking a picture(but I could be wrong)). Boy, I think I need to see a pattern of other woman saying the same thing. He may be guilty as sin as the story develops, but I think this is a rush to judgement (basically taking the absolute word of one party). That's dangerous.

 

[FIVR]

Sad to see so many here falling for Roger Stone and Hannity's "dirty tricks".


This whole situation is a setup by Hannity to cover for Roy Moore and to allow him to say "both sides do it". The woman is a frequent guest on his show and is a fervent Trump supporter. A twitter account associated with Roger Stone (he's banned from twitter so he has to use throwaway accounts) posted that it was "Franken's Time in the barrel" before she ever made her announcement. How many sexual assault accusers first forward their accusations to political hacks before going public? The photographer who took the photo says it was a joke and that she was actually awake. In the photo you can see a shadow behind his hands, he wasn't touching her at all. She admits that they were rehearsing a skit and that he asked her and she agreed to the "passionate kiss". She is making this whole thing up as a favor to her buddy Hannity.


Hannity knew she had this photo and after excusing Roy Moore, he needed an excuse for himself. He called up his Trump Supporter buddy and they set this up, but he couldn't resist telling his fellow political hack Roger Stone about his plans. Stone couldn't resist posting about it on twitter, even though he was banned.

And look at how many of you all fell for his tricks! Are you ashamed of yourselves?

 

[Zorba]

This is a tough one for me. He's a comedian, even she claims that she relented to practice the kissing scene and I don't think he was touching her in that picture (and by the way, I can't believe he would grope her on a public plane knowing someone is taking a picture(but I could be wrong)). Boy, I think I need to see a pattern of other woman saying the same thing. He may be guilty as sin as the story develops, but I think this is a rush to judgement (basically taking the absolute word of one party). That's dangerous.

Especially when the absolute word of the victim is that she consented to the kiss.

So many people are just standing around with their pitchforks, they don't take the time to actually read her full sory and think about it.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Victim blaming from the left...officially have come full circle

Not believing it not the same as victim blaming.

 

[FIVR]

It works both ways too. Even if this woman and Hannity are caught in their political hackery, it validates their accusations that all these women (including Trump accusers) are just political tools to be used by whatever party benefits most. Up to this point almost all the accusers have had no political associations and have all seemed to be legitimate. Now they have an example from the "left", and if they are caught they get a perfect example of a woman lying about her experience of sexual assault.

Leanne Tweeden will go down in history as the first example of fabricated political attacks by women using sexual assault, and it will validate Trump and Moore's accusations of their own accusers. It's a perfect plan, a perfect dirty trick.

 

[FIVR]

The only people who can possibly suffer from Leeanne Tweeden fabricating this story is Tweeden herself and other women who suffer sexual assault and make accusations. Trump accusers, Moore accusers.... It discredits all women and gives a "both sides" narrative with zero risk to themselves.

 

[zinfamous]

Not believing it not the same as victim blaming.

agreed, but that image as presented is tasteless. There's absolutely no reason to post an entirely unrelated image of her in a bikini posing for a shoot. The only purpose of that presentation is to discredit her by virtue of some infantile assumption that someone who makes a living by modeling their bodies has no business complaining about sexual harassment. That attitude is exactly the problem.

Anyway, this situation does seem suspicious and so far the only one of these ongoing celebutician harassment/predation cases where we only have one individual making accusations who, in the same day, has accepted the apology. Not that she deserves a history of this, but being in her business I'm sure she's dealt with far worse from other men than what we have here with Franken. ...and if Stone's fingers are on this, you know it's shady. There is no doubt there. It doesn't help his cause here that the accuser seems relatively passive in making assertive claims about "serious" harassment.

 

[cytg111]

Victim blaming from the left...officially have come full circle

Something is full circle altright.

 

[ch33zw1z]

agreed, but that image as presented is tasteless. There's absolutely no reason to post an entirely unrelated image of her in a bikini posing for a shoot. The only purpose of that presentation is to discredit her by virtue of some infantile assumption that someone who makes a living by modeling their bodies has no business complaining about sexual harassment. That attitude is exactly the problem.

Anyway, this situation does seem suspicious and so far the only one of these ongoing celebutician harassment/predation cases where we only have one individual making accusations who, in the same day, has accepted the apology. Not that she deserves a history of this, but being in her business I'm sure she's dealt with far worse from other men than what we have here with Franken. ...and if Stone's fingers are on this, you know it's shady. There is no doubt there. It doesn't help his cause here that the accuser seems relatively passive in making assertive claims about "serious" harassment.

i dont disagree.

when somebody doesnt understand victim blaming versus disbelief, i mean....cmon

 

[BigDH01]

This is a tough one for me. He's a comedian, even she claims that she relented to practice the kissing scene and I don't think he was touching her in that picture (and by the way, I can't believe he would grope her on a public plane knowing someone is taking a picture(but I could be wrong)). Boy, I think I need to see a pattern of other woman saying the same thing. He may be guilty as sin as the story develops, but I think this is a rush to judgement (basically taking the absolute word of one party). That's dangerous.

Not to mention that Franken disputes Leeann's account of the kissing:

While I don't remember the rehearsal for the skit as Leeann does, I understand why we need to listen to and believe women's experiences.

So we have a picture in which he's not really grabbing her breasts (although the media was quick to make that accusation) and a first hand account from the accuser that Franken apparently disagrees with. Clearly, someone took that photo, has the media made any attempts to do any due diligence and find the person that took the photo?

I'm also a little concerned about another statement in his apology:

Coming from the world of comedy, I've told and written a lot of jokes that I once thought were funny but later came to realize were just plain offensive. But the intentions behind my actions aren't the point at all. It's the impact these jokes had on others that matters. And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come to terms with that.

It's going to be a bleak fucking world if not even comedians are allowed to say or do something offensive (I don't care if it's in topics of racism, sexism, ageism, religion, height, weight, IQ, nationalism, political leanings, etc) without getting lynched by a mob. We're not even bothering to try and remain rational anymore. Look at Moore's infamous "mall ban" that has been showing up on my Twitter feed. The original article is here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news...eractions-with-teen-girls-at-the-gadsden-mall. It's pathetic. I really really dislike Moore whether or not the allegations are true, but this "explosive" piece about a mall ban is complete garbage.

This past weekend, I spoke or messaged with more than a dozen people—including a major political figure in the state—who told me that they had heard, over the years, that Moore had been banned from the mall because he repeatedly badgered teen-age girls.

Ok, so you spoke to a dozen people that heard through the grape vine he was banned. Is this what stands as journalistic integrity these days?

Teresa Jones, a deputy district attorney for Etowah County in the early eighties, told CNN last week that “it was common knowledge that Roy dated high-school girls.” Jones told me that she couldn’t confirm the alleged mall banning, but said, “It’s a rumor I’ve heard for years.”

More rumors.

Reached by phone on Saturday, Thomas, who lives in the nearby town of Southside, declined to discuss the existence of a ban on Moore at the Gadsden Mall. “I don’t have anything to say about that,” he said. A former manager of the mall, who began working there in the late eighties, confirmed the existence of a ban list, but did not recall Moore being on the list during the manager’s tenure there. Barnes Boyle, who is eighty-six, also managed the mall, from 1981 to 1998. His wife, Brenda, told me that Moore was a longtime acquaintance of his—they went to the Y.M.C.A. together often—and that he planned to vote for him. The recent allegations against Moore, the Boyles thought, are likely liberal propaganda and, as Brenda put it, “a sign of the times.”

So the people who would actually know aren't commenting or think it's propaganda. That seems a bit problematic.

Gadsden’s current law-enforcement community could not confirm the existence of a mall ban on Moore. But two officers I spoke to this weekend, both of whom asked to remain unnamed, told me that they have long heard stories about Moore and the mall.

More hearsay, but trying to lend credence to it because those who heard rumors are in law enforcement.

Seriously, how did this article get published? The people who could actually confirm it don't so it's all just innuendo and hearsay. I hate Moore for a multitude of reasons but if a person's character is going to be attacked we should at least be honest about it. I know there's huge pressure in the world of 24 hour news (and news for profit) to publish as quickly as possible, but that's a really dangerous foundation upon which to build a public movement that's going to put heads under the guillotine.

 

[FIVR]

Not to mention that Franken disputes Leeann's account of the kissing:


So we have a picture in which he's not really grabbing her breasts (although the media was quick to make that accusation) and a first hand account from the accuser that Franken apparently disagrees with. Clearly, someone took that photo, has the media made any attempts to do any due diligence and find the person that took the photo?

I'm also a little concerned about another statement in his apology:



It's going to be a bleak fucking world if not even comedians are allowed to say or do something offensive (I don't care if it's in topics of racism, sexism, ageism, religion, height, weight, IQ, nationalism, political leanings, etc) without getting lynched by a mob. We're not even bothering to try and remain rational anymore. Look at Moore's infamous "mall ban" that has been showing up on my Twitter feed. The original article is here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news...eractions-with-teen-girls-at-the-gadsden-mall. It's pathetic. I really really dislike Moore whether or not the allegations are true, but this "explosive" piece about a mall ban is complete garbage.



Ok, so you spoke to a dozen people that heard through the grape vine he was banned. Is this what stands as journalistic integrity these days?



More rumors.



So the people who would actually know aren't commenting or think it's propaganda. That seems a bit problematic.



More hearsay, but trying to lend credence to it because those who heard rumors are in law enforcement.

Seriously, how did this article get published? The people who could actually confirm it don't so it's all just innuendo and hearsay. I hate Moore for a multitude of reasons but if a person's character is going to be attacked we should at least be honest about it. I know there's huge pressure in the world of 24 hour news (and news for profit) to publish as quickly as possible, but that's a really dangerous foundation upon which to build a public movement that's going to put heads under the guillotine.

^See? They are already using this story to discredit the story about Moore.



At this point I think Stone knew this would all be exposed. That was the whole point. Muddy the waters, make women look like they just make this stuff up all the time.


Who knows, maybe Tweeden really did feel violated by that skit. It was gross, Franken is definitely not a man I would want to kiss. But she is being used by forces larger than herself as a screen for Trump and Moore and who knows whom else.

 

[BigDH01]

^See? They are already using this story to discredit the story about Moore.

Who's they?

 

[FIVR]

Who's they?

You just attempted to equivocate between Franken's accusations by a single Trump supporter with stories from dozens of people about Moore being banned by a mall because of his inappropriate interactions with female children.


Where are the dozens of Franken accusers? Where are the large establishments he was banned from for his proclivities towards sexual harassment?


We can all see what you're trying to do here. What "they" are trying to do here.

 

[BigDH01]

You just attempted to equivocate between Franken's accusations by a single Trump supporter with stories from dozens of people about Moore being banned by a mall because of his inappropriate interactions with female children.

Those dozens of people appear to just be repeating what they've heard about a mall ban. In other words, they are just repeating rumors. That's different than "Franken touched me." It's more like "I heard rumors that Franken touched that girl" and counting that as evidence of Franken's guilt. You see the difference between those two statements? A world that treats those statements as equivalent will be necessarily oppressive and evil.

To make matters worse, people who actually have knowledge of a ban list and who was on it aren't confirming anything. It's a piece that treats rumors as fact.

We can all see what you're trying to do here. What "they" are trying to do here.

I don't think you can. If "they" is anyone who's trying to be rational about the circumstances and look objectively at what's known, then sure, you can group me with they.

 

[Thebobo]

agreed, but that image as presented is tasteless. There's absolutely no reason to post an entirely unrelated image of her in a bikini posing for a shoot. The only purpose of that presentation is to discredit her by virtue of some infantile assumption that someone who makes a living by modeling their bodies has no business complaining about sexual harassment. That attitude is exactly the problem.

lol tasteless? as opposed to someone who is attempting to ruin another person's life. Guess that's ok?

 

[zinfamous]

lol tasteless? as opposed to someone who is attempting to ruin another person's life. Guess that's ok?

...no? Alright I'm confused--which part am I not supposed to find distasteful here?

 

[zinfamous]

Not to mention that Franken disputes Leeann's account of the kissing:


So we have a picture in which he's not really grabbing her breasts (although the media was quick to make that accusation) and a first hand account from the accuser that Franken apparently disagrees with. Clearly, someone took that photo, has the media made any attempts to do any due diligence and find the person that took the photo?

I'm also a little concerned about another statement in his apology:



It's going to be a bleak fucking world if not even comedians are allowed to say or do something offensive (I don't care if it's in topics of racism, sexism, ageism, religion, height, weight, IQ, nationalism, political leanings, etc) without getting lynched by a mob. We're not even bothering to try and remain rational anymore. Look at Moore's infamous "mall ban" that has been showing up on my Twitter feed. The original article is here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news...eractions-with-teen-girls-at-the-gadsden-mall. It's pathetic. I really really dislike Moore whether or not the allegations are true, but this "explosive" piece about a mall ban is complete garbage.



Ok, so you spoke to a dozen people that heard through the grape vine he was banned. Is this what stands as journalistic integrity these days?



More rumors.



So the people who would actually know aren't commenting or think it's propaganda. That seems a bit problematic.



More hearsay, but trying to lend credence to it because those who heard rumors are in law enforcement.

Seriously, how did this article get published? The people who could actually confirm it don't so it's all just innuendo and hearsay. I hate Moore for a multitude of reasons but if a person's character is going to be attacked we should at least be honest about it. I know there's huge pressure in the world of 24 hour news (and news for profit) to publish as quickly as possible, but that's a really dangerous foundation upon which to build a public movement that's going to put heads under the guillotine.

I get what you're saying. But again, there is a difference between dozens of cases of independent innuendo and "commonly accepted" hearsay that all add up to the same conclusion, and a single case of such. It is, in fact, the defining difference between hearsay and substantiated evidence.

That being said, having these cases be tried in the court of public opinion, while appearing distasteful and likely inappropriate from the perspective of "the lawful good," is looking to be the only avenue of approach when faced with a decades-centuries-millenia-long rebuffing of these grievances. When the powers harming you have also long been the very legal powers that have kept you muzzled, subservient and indeed--terrorized, how is the only acceptable option for your grievances the measured, restricted, lawful apparatus that far too often has failed to even accept these cases through process?

And that's it--the law absolutely has to be a part of this process, but that is because it never really has been a part of it to any substantial degree. When you look at what is revealed through the Weinstein case (fucker had former/current? Mossad agents terrorizing and gaslighting his victims and their friends for years to keep them silent), Ailes and O'Reilly, et al (the power structure of their industry keeping victims in check, just like with Weinstein, dangling their careers and reputations over their heads: "Look, toots, who do you think is going to believe you?") etc.

I find this current process of public vetting and very real shaming completely necessary if something is to be legitimately done to address this very real problem going forward. We have legitimate cause for why so many of these women have remained so silent for so long...yet we still see criticism over their claims, along this very line. I find that inexcusable, but perhaps part of the understandably nasty process of what really is a sea change in the culture. This is why Snowden and Wikileaks have the same type of controversy. We find these actions inherently distasteful, for good reason, because they don't appear through "the proper channels." Legality is either gray or inherently obvious...but you and I know that despite the risk of such information dumps, there is a legitimate cause here that is relevant to the public good. And, in direct comparison, there remains a substantial infrastructure in place to protect against the very damage that this kind of information dump causes. Very rarely, these days, is there any other way to begin the conversation and begin the actual legal process.

Call this the enema phase...

 

[pauldun170]

They are going to have an ethics investigation into Franken due to uproar over an (alleged) incident that occurred 2 years before he took office.
The ethics commission is going to result in a "public statement" that will occur long after people give a crap about this story.

Too put this in perspective, this will be like being brought into HR at your company over an incident that occurred while you were in college 10 years prior.
"It has been alleged that you gave a girl a wedgie in Junior year. Several executives feel that wedgies are sexual assault and promote rape culture and that you should consider resigning from your position of finance\marketing\BS title of the day director. Since this is on social media, you are bringing negative attention...."

 

[bshole]

Something is full circle altright.

LoL.... I saw what you did there....

 

[jmagg]

They are going to have an ethics investigation into Franken due to uproar over an (alleged) incident that occurred 2 years before he took office.
The ethics commission is going to result in a "public statement" that will occur long after people give a crap about this story.

Too put this in perspective, this will be like being brought into HR at your company over an incident that occurred while you were in college 10 years prior.
"It has been alleged that you gave a girl a wedgie in Junior year. Several executives feel that wedgies are sexual assault and promote rape culture and that you should consider resigning from your position of finance\marketing\BS title of the day director. Since this is on social media, you are bringing negative attention...."

So now its ok to give a girl a wedgie? You're part of the problem.

 

[WHAMPOM]

No, you're excusing the already admitted behavior of a liberal Democrat because he's your boy, when claims are made about Republicans, even if not proven. You want them to be removed or sacrificed. You have a clear double standard for your own political side.

Strange how you equate an accepted apology for unacceptable behavior has more heinous then multiple accusations of sexual assault with collaboration. Must be the denials of responsibility.

 

[blackangst1]

With pleasure! If this were a ballgame, it'd be a rout. He'd be outscoring (pun intended) Franken 11-1.

From The Guardian, a respected, mainstream English newspaper:

"They are Cathy Heller, who told the Guardian last year that in the late 1990s Trump forcibly kissed her on the lips the first time they had ever met; Kari Wells, a former model and Bravo Actress, who said Trump aggressively propositioned her in 1992 while he was dating her friend; and Jessica Leeds, who said Trump assaulted her on a plane in the early 1980s when he allegedly groped her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt.

[...]

There was his former business partner in the beauty pageant industry, Jill Harth, who told the Guardian in an interview last summer that Trump groped her breasts and grabbed her crotch in one of the children’s rooms at his Florida home Mar-a-Lago in 1993.

“My pain is everyday with bastard Trump as President. “No one gets it unless it happens to them. NO one!” Harth tweeted after the Weinstein allegations came to light.

Then there was Kristin Anderson, who claimed last fall that Trump touched her vagina through her underwear at a Manhattan nightclub in the early 1990s.

And Mindy McGillivray, who said Trump groped her in 2003 when she was 23, also allegedly at Mar-a-Lago.

And Rachel Crooks, who said Trump kissed her forcibly on the mouth in 2005.

Temple Taggart McDowell, a former Miss USA beauty pageant contestant, also alleged that Trump kissed her without permission, as did Jessica Drake, along with other claims. Natasha Stoynoff accused Trump of “forcing his tongue down my throat” in 2005.

A former contestant on The Apprentice, Summer Zervos – who also said Trump kissed and groped her without consent – has filed a defamation claim against the now-president. Through her lawyer Gloria Allred, she declined to be interviewed for this story."

Of course, each incident was Trumpeted all over the American press (you must have missed it) and, in each instance, multiple high ranking members of the Republican Party denounced his behavior and called for an immediate investigation!

Each time, Trump himself issued a heartfelt mea culpa and apology, and agreed that he should be investigated.

Hahahahaha, just kidding!

Hey Perk...this thread is about Franken. We dont need "But...but...but...TRUMP!"

 

[WHAMPOM]

It shows he's a sleaze, but at least in the picture he doesn't actually seem to touch her at all. Baffles me why a grown man would be so abjectly stupid as to pose like this, but this isn't proof of any sexual assault. Although it's still more than Roy Moore's accusers have.

You must be totally ignorant of Youtube. Being stupid enough to pose like this is in the six to seven figure group.
Moore getting Mall banned for trolling young girls isn't enough proof?

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Hey Perk...this thread is about Franken. We dont need "But...but...but...TRUMP!"

It was an answer to someone else's question regarding drumpf and his predatory sexual behavior, and if there was something more than the 'grab her by the pussy' statement as evidence of his predatory behavior in the past.