Congressman Creepy's Office...

This struck me as puzzling...
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Efforts to reach the boy were unsuccessful, but he told the St. Petersburg Times last November, "I thought it was very inappropriate. After the one about the picture, I decided to stop e-mailing him back." The Times didn't publish the comments until Friday.
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Why would the Times sit on this for 10 months? They didn't think it was a story?

 

I thought that odd as well. Perhaps they really thought it was innocent and didn't want to get into it -- but had to now.

 

I can't wait to see how Poynter handles THAT one.

However, I'd hold off on giving the seat to the Democrats just yet. It depends on what the laws in Florida are regarding getting off (no pun intended) the ballot. If Foley does not officially withdraw from the race (or if it's too late for him to do so), then it's possible he could win, thus allowing the Republican party to appoint his replacement. How could he win? If people decide they would rather have whatever Republican is thrown at them rather than the Democrat who's actually running.

 

I've heard of people losing to dead men, but it would be tough to lose to a guy with an unnatural interest in 16-year-old boys.

 

Campaign slogan: 16? He told me he was 18!

 

Ace. You're hilarious!

Sidebar: Can someone please summarize the literal meaning, history and proper usage of "shoo-in" for me? I ask because I was told once by an editor, who sounded pretty definitive, that the correct term is "shoe-in". Thanks.

 

Interestingly, there are a lot of people here who think his crime was being a Republican, not being a gay man going after kids.

 

Yeah, you tell the cockeyed world, Tone.

 

Where? Show me an example.
My problem with this guy is he's a dirty perv who is a hypocritical asshole. I don't give a damn if he's a Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, etc.

 

Oh good, old tony's weighing in.

 

Chris L:

Reagan cut taxes for the rich in 1981. The tax cuts, along with increased military spending, led to an increased budget deficit. You could argue that the increased military spending ended the Cold War in favor of the US, but nobody ever ran on the platform of "we'll spend so much money on defense the Russians will have to give up". The Soviets also imploded an already bad economic system with their war in Afghanistan (a lesson to be learned?) - they lost the Cold War as much as we won it - a good thing, to be sure.

The next year, Social Security and Medicare taxes are raised from 6.2 percent to 7.65 percent. So after cutting taxes for wealthy people - and unlike Bush's 2001 tax cuts, Reagan didn't even throw lower income people a small tax cut - taxes for working people increase. The result - by 1982, unemployment hits double digits - it was 11 percent at one point and well-paying blue-collar jobs become harder to find.

The deficits increase until 1986. Then Congress passes a new tax law in 1986 - if you listened to what the Reagan White House and Congressional Democrats said, it was supposed to be revenue neutral. It wasn't - it was a tax increase. Taxes were increased in 1982 and in 1986. That is a fact. Reagan said he wouldn't use unemployment to fight inflation. That was exactly what happened.

Why did unemployment start to decrease in the mid-1980s? Thank those hippies and other young people you talk about. With increased use of birth control, more people going to college and delaying marriage and having children, the birth rate went down. Also, 500,000 troops in Viet Nam would cause a decline or delay in the birth rate. I saw this in the late 1970s and early 1980s in New Jersey when some towns started to consolidate schools because the birth rate had declined. There was also a drop in the birth rate during the 1930s because of the depression. Birth rates increased right after World War 2, and that is when George Bush and Bill Clinton were born.

Sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll has been the answer. Of course, we need Viagra for the sex and the drugs - the legitimate kind - keep us alive much longer and keep classic rock on the radio. Whether that is a good thing is a matter of personal opinion.

 

That the best you got, T?