The Silence Is Deafening!

What goes around comes around.  Yesterday there was a headline on Drudge that said Bette Midler was demanding an apology from Geraldo Rivera.  I was waiting for someone to bring the focus to him because I remember back when he rather enjoyed bragging about his conquests.

FOX's own.  Don't you love it?  It was Bill O'Reilly who got this sexual harassment era started when FOX let hm go.  Now it has gone full cycle.  Yet I have not heard word one on FOX about any of this.  Maybe it stings a little too much since they've so enjoyed wallowing in other peoples miseries.

Maybe, too, as far as news cycles go this one has run its course.  One can only hope.

There have been womanizers for as long as I can remember.  No one should be pointing fingers - neither Republicans, nor Democrats nor broadcast networks nor film studios.  Everyone has a piece of this pie.  A lot of people have escaped the worst.  Clinton and Kennedy if you want to start at the highest levels.  Don't forget David Letterman.  Then there are the invisible others that hound and harass that are never heard about because they have no level of  power or celebrity.  But it does go on.

It seems we tend to address our problems with a high degree of overkill.  Just read the headlines about our President.  Those who think he is so mentally unstable he should be institutionalized just cannot give it a rest.  Morning Joe is perhaps the most ludicrous and without realizing it makes himself look as unbalanced as he claims Trump to be.  Overkill.

I don't think it will put the President in an institution but perhaps it can bring to a halt the bad behavior by men who indulge in it because they think their power or celebrity either gives them a pass or immunizes them from consequences.  Wrong.

Sure they're embarrassed.  Dirty laundry is never attractive.  Ashamed?  I have my doubts on that one. Repentant because its the proper thing to say. Too bad they didn't equate proper with their behavior.

Cheers to the women who have had to courage to say enough is enough and call these men out.  Hopefully their recollections are the accurate ones and they haven't come forward with the hope of making a few bucks, or worse, exacting revenge for some slight.  The men sure are remembering things differently.  Somewhere in between you'll probably find the truth.

It's a new month now.  The holiday season is in full swing.  Too many people will be having a less than pleasant one because of the questionable behavior of a whole passel of people, mostly on the political front.  It may not be sexual harassment but it is harassment never-the-less and will leave those accused but innocent with scars that are just as deep.

To paraphrase Dickens ~ it is the best of seasons, it is the worst of times.

Cain - Searching For A Shred Of Decency

Now that Gloria Allred has involved herself, how is any one's guess, any chance of the Herman Cain sexual harassment allegations ending with a note of decency has now disappeared.

We should all share some blame in this circus. One, for the many assumptions of guilt when the allegations were first made.  Anyone who deals in the real world knows that opportunists looking for a quick buck or to bring someone down can and will file a law suit about any number of things.  Sexual harassment being a favorite because it captures headlines and possibly a bigger payout.  That businesses pay these bribes, whether or not substantive, is a not uncommon practice.

Mr. Cain was ill served by his campaign advisers when told not to comment on them though he vehemently denied them. There was the looming questions as to just who are these women and where have they been over the years.  How opportune.  More money?  A book deal?

On the other hand Mr. Cain owes his supporters an explanation.  Even though there was an agreement with the National Restaurant Association to not discuss the complaints, I wonder if they could have been made public without identifying the complainant.  Then we could all have decided for ourselves whether the complaint was worthy or frivolous.

That opportunity has passed by now that number four has come out with the help of Ms. Allred. It couldn't get any more salacious.  And where has she been?  She said she didn't file a complaint because she wasn't an employee of the NRA.  Nonsense!  Had a man done to me what she accused Mr. Cain of doing I'd have filed police charges against him, I'd have gone to the NRA and any and everybody else who would have listened.  Right then.  Not ten years later with a sensation seeking attorney who appeared out of the woodwork.

The damage now seems insurmountable.  I'm not convinced of anything at this point.  That Mr. Cain might have made some gesture or comment deemed inappropriate may well be. That he didn't see it that way may also well be. That it rose to the level of sexual harassment  to the degree that has been claimed is something we do not know unless or until the actual complaints are made public.

But the seed has been planted, cultivated and has thrived.  Even if it is pulled up by it's roots, some remnant will remain.  The only to kill it off would be for him to drop out of the race.  He has been striped of his dignity.  The campaign is in turmoil because this rather than what really matters owns the air waves.

It's human behavior at it's lowest ebb.  If it was politically motivated it's sick.

I don't think, when push came to shove, that Mr. Cain would have gotten the nomination.  He has too many areas in which he lacks sufficient knowledge and experience.  Remember how wildly popular Sarah Palin was but how may people didn't vote for McCain because she was such a light weight?  And she was only running for Vice President.

If Herman Cain is guilty as accused, he doesn't deserve a pass.  If he is not, and we don't know, that he be taken down by the sleaze factor is about as disgusting as it gets.

By the way, thinking about justice being served, Lindsey Lohen left jail moments after reporting.  No room at the inn. Funny, if I remember correctly, she was proven guilty of her offenses!

What Exactly Is Sexual Harrassment These Days?

It seems to me the standards for sexual harassment are many and mixed.  We don't even know exactly what it is Herman Cain has done to raise such a hue and cry.  He made someone feel 'uncomfortable'.  What does that mean?

I think back to my younger days and how many guys I dated, or didn't, at whom I could aim such accusations by today's standards.  I guess because none of them ever came into the public eye I didn't bother.  I just avoided them. The thing that is bothersome is not knowing exactly what we're supposed to be so angry about.  Everything is skewed.  Plus it's his word against those who have lawyered themselves up.

I remember when the harassment movement first began.  A woman would walk past a construction site and if she were attractive she'd elicit wolf whistles and catcalls. That became politically incorrect so the guys would stand by silently, undressing her with their eyes.  They couldn't be sued for that.  If one is harassment isn't the other?

Granted we'd like our Presidential candidates to be a cut above but if you look deeply enough I doubt any of them would meet the pureness the media, for us, is demanding.  Why aren't they as tough on House and Senate candidates?  Where were these women when Cain ran for Senate?  Why did they give Kennedy a pass? And Clinton?  At least the women who claimed relations with Clinton came forward.

Considering the sexual mores in the world of athletics and entertainment and lower level politics, we certainly don't have a single standard.

Look at Hugh Grant.  Just yesterday I read he recently became a father for the first time.  You know him, the guy who got picked up in Hollywood a few years back for picking up a prostitute.  It seems a baby wasn't expected since he only had a 'fleeting' affair with the mother, but never-the-less he's delighted.

Then there is 17 year old Justin Bieber who is being accused of parenting a child with a nineteen year old.  He was sixteen at the time.  He claims he never met her.  She wants a paternity test.  If it proves true, she's in big trouble because she had sex with a minor!

I give credit to the people of Iowa who, if the reports are accurate, could care less about the harassment reports.  They feel Cain's 9-9-9 plan will help them.  At least they have their priorities straight.

Is it an issue of character?  Neither John McCain nor Newt Gingrich have treated their previous wives well yet neither have been pilloried about it during campaigns. Those actions are provable.

Is it race?  Or is it just plain dirty politics?

I haven't made up my mind about Mr. Cain.  My worry is whether or not we should place our trust in another rank amateur as President.  We have one in office now.  While I admire Mr. Cain's business accomplishments, his lack of political experience worries me.  The same criteria in reverse applies to many of the other candidates.

Whether I end up supporting him will depend on the balance of experience his experience and proposed policies versue everyone elses.  Not on hearsay and innuendo from invisible accusers hiding behind lawyers, all  looking for their fifteen minutes of fame ~ and a few dollars more.