The Open Thread for Saturday, July 27, 2013

Comments (11)

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1. cassandra_m says:

   July 27, 2013 at 12:19 pm

   I can’t stop reading about the Anthony Weiner train wreck. Frankly, I think that the source of his political problem is that he resigned the House when he didn’t need to. He should have stuck that out the way he is trying to stick out this race — he’d still be in the House. But it looks almost like he is trying to replay history here, when it is far too late to make a stand about your life.

2. Delaware Dem says:

   July 27, 2013 at 12:43 pm

   And I have no interest in him. He is a narcissist and he is suffering from his own hubris right now. You are right, if he stayed in the House and got help for his… whatever it is he is “suffering” from, at least he would still have a political career.

3. cassandra_m says:

   July 27, 2013 at 12:49 pm

   The guy who does need to resign is the Mayor of San Diego — a few of his victims have come forward and the Mayor goes into two-week therapy. He should just resign and stop prolonging his disgrace.

4. Delaware Dem says:

   July 27, 2013 at 12:54 pm

   Agreed. At least in Spitzer’s and Weiner’s case, there really isn’t a victim, except maybe their wives, but that is what Divorce Court is for. Filner has victims of his sexual harrassment.

5. Liberal Elite says:

   July 27, 2013 at 1:23 pm

   Weiner’s wife should run against him for mayor. She might actually win.

6. V says:

   July 27, 2013 at 10:51 pm

   I’d argue Weiner’s case isn’t without victims. This was published when he announced his run, BEFORE scandal two. I feel particularly bad for the girl who received the underpants picture seen round the world. She’s always maintained it was unsolicited and it seems to have done some damage to her life.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/nyregion/for-women-in-weiner-scandal-indignity-lingers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

   Also I don’t understand why no one raises the question that Huma is either 1. in on it or 2. doesn’t care/has made some sort of deal that it’s ok if he flirts online as long as he doesn’t physically cheat.

7. cassandra_m says:

   July 28, 2013 at 8:05 am

   I’m not sure why Huma should be part of the story (with one exception). It is her husband standing for office and he is the one with the issues. I don’t much like how this kind of thing become a referendum on the offender’s marriage, rather than dealing with the integrity issues of the offender.

   The Huma story that *is* interesting is with her close connection to the Clintons. Clinton fundraisers are helping Weiner and i had heard one report that the Clintons were surprised when she showed up with Weiner to speak at his press conference. This business has caused some angina in those circles, so maybe they are backing away from him.

8. puck says:

   July 28, 2013 at 8:47 am

   Here’s a rare win for the Fourth Amendment: A Wilmington DUI got thrown out because police did not follow guidelines for the location of the checkpoint:

   ccording to Davis’ opinion, Foley requested prosecutors produce traffic data on DUI incidents at the intersection of Fourth and Church streets, and the state at first ignored the request. Prosecutors then produced information that did not show a clear statistical trend at that location, according to the ruling..

   In Delaware, the limits on police authority are Delaware State Police guidelines that call for checkpoints to be set up in areas with a “comparatively high rate of drunken driving arrests,” according to Davis. And prosecutors did not provide the statistical information on Fourth and Church to show a “demonstrated problem” with DUI there, he wrote.

   However, Delaware’s police culture at every level of its government will likely wipe away this victory:

   Sosnov said while there is a reference to constitutional rights in the case, the real issue appears to lie in the state guidelines. This means prosecutors could fix the problem either by having sufficient statistical data to back up the location of checkpoints or officials could simply change the state police guidelines on how to select areas for sobriety checkpoints.

   “As long as you have guidelines set up by a government agency and [the checkpoints] are not dependent on an officer’s discretion,” Sosnov said, they are legal.

9. xyz says:

   July 28, 2013 at 6:29 pm

   Nice. A sleazebag lawyer gets a drunk driver, who could have easily ruined a life, or two, or three, off on a technicality. And this is cause for you to celebrate?

   Stay classy.

10. puck says:

    July 28, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    Where’s a strict constructionist when you need one?

11. Geezer says:

    July 29, 2013 at 11:59 am

    So much for conservatives loving the Constitution. I guess they stop reading at the 2nd Amendment and never make it to the 4th.