MetaFilter posts tagged with sex and politics

Politics 101: Don't Brag About Your Sexploits in Public

zarq — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:35:08 -0800

Conservative Republican California State Assemblyman Michael Duvall (Orange County) didn't realize his mic was live, moments before the start of a legislative hearing this past July. So when the 54-year-old married father of two began describing his ongoing affairs with two different women in very graphic detail for the benefit of a colleague seated next to him, he had no idea that he was being recorded. The story was picked up by KCAL, who cited unnamed sources that said Duvall was describing affairs with two married lobbyists. The problem: The KCAL report also tentatively identified one as a utility company representative. (The OC Weekly story says she works for Sempra Energy.) Duvall is the vice chairman of the California State Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce. Duvall "announced his immediate resignation from the Assembly this afternoon."

Fuck the President. Literally.

Pope Guilty — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:49:58 -0800

"In Join Or Die, I paint myself having sex with the Presidents of the United States in chronological order."

Sixth generation warfare: boner pills.

mek — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:07:12 -0800

The little blue pill goes to war.

Republicans just can't get away from this stuff even if they wanted to

Weebot — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:35:29 -0800

If you were asked to design the perfect weapon to exploit this vulnerability as it manifests itself in attractive, urban gay men, you’d want something that would intensify our isolation, exaggerate our propensity to objectify each other, and persuade us to objectify ourselves -- by encouraging us to believe that our purpose is to look good and have lots of sex. Manhunt would be your perfect weapon

"Has Manhunt Destroyed Gay Culture?". It's a great article, but what happened after its publication may be just as interesting. So the post-publication story goes like this: Out publishes its incisive thinkpiece about Manhunt.net [NSFW], the biggest gay hook-up site on the net, and its effects on gay culture. Some of the article devotes itself to the political leanings of the co-founders, Larry Basile and Jonathan Crutchley. Andy Towle at Towleroad takes that bit of info and reports that Crutchley has had donated $2300 to the McCain campaign. Not too many people are happy to hear that. Not his co-founder, not the McCain campaign, and certainly not the members, many of whom cancel their subscriptions. Crutchley subsequently steps down as chairman of the company, igniting another controversy over whether the actions of the gay community constitute a political witchhunt. Yeah, this is kinda two separate posts in one, but oh well.

The political-economy perspective on women's rights

kliuless — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:48:02 -0800

Women's rights: What's in it for men? - "Women in rich countries largely enjoy gender equality while those in poor countries suffer substantial discrimination. This column proposes an explanation for the relationship between economic development and female empowerment that emphasises changes in the incentives males face rather than shifts in moral sentiment. Technological change that raises demand for human capital may give men a stake in women's rights." also see "A Spontaneous Order: Women and the Invisible Fist"

All of this can happen quite naturally when a large enough minority of men choose to commit widespread, intense, random acts of violence against a large enough number of women. And it can happen quite naturally without the raping men, or the protecting men, or the women in the society ever intending for any particular large-scale social outcome to come about. But what will come about, quite naturally, is that women's social being — how women appear and act, as women, in public — will be systematically and profoundly circumscribed by a diffuse, decentralized threat of violence. And, as a natural but unintended consequence of many small, self-interested actions, some vicious and violent (as in the case of men who rape women), some worthwhile in their origins but easily and quickly corrupted (as in the case of men who try to protect women from rape), and some entirely rational responses to an irrational and dangerous situation (as in the case of women who limit their action and seek protection from men), the existence and activities of the police-blotter rapist serve to constrain women's behavior and to become dependent on some men — and thus dependent on keeping those men pleased and serving those men's priorities — for physical protection from other men. That kind of dependence can just as easily become frustrating and confining for the woman, and that kind of power can just as easily become corrupting and exploitative for the man, as any other form of dependence and power. (Libertarians and anarchists who easily see this dynamic when it comes to government police and military protection of a disarmed populace, shouldn't have any trouble seeing it, if they are willing to see it, when it comes to male protection of women.)

and btw "a book penned by a woman who lived with Roma for a time. The bare threads of Roma society are disturbing," cf.

"Flynt is arguably the greatest student of the American underbelly since J. Edgar Hoover."

amberglow — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:28:48 -0800

Vanity Fair sits down with Larry Flynt --his history and hits and misses, how much he pays for scandals involving hypocritical public figures, and a new (and limp) Nixon anecdote -- and tons of other juicy tidbits, of course).

Randall Tobias's smoooooooooth riiiiiiiide

jdfalk — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:53:27 -0800

Randall Tobias, the former drug company executive chosen as Global AIDS Ambassador by the Bush administration, has resigned "for personal reasons" after having "no sex" to demonstrate Bush's abstinence-only AIDS prevention plan with alleged call girls from Pamela Martin and Associates.

Previously, Deborah Jeanne Palfrey outed Harlan "Shock and Awe" Ullman. Keep your eyes glued to the TV, America, she might name 10,000 others even though the feds don't want her to!

(affair, divorce, affair, divorce)

amberglow — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:57:48 -0800

the most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history --meet 3 leading GOP candidates for 08. We've already read about Hillary's sexlife (or lack thereof), but will the double standard hold? ...if the top three Democratic presidential hopefuls each had extra-marital affairs in their backgrounds, it stands to reason that Republicans would have something to say about it--and if the past is any guide, those concerns would find their way into the papers. Will the same happen when it's about the "party of family values and morality"?

Vote Yes on Proposition 12

FeldBum — Tue, 30 May 2006 07:59:51 -0800

Vote Yes on Proposition 12? As in proposing a 12-year-old. Dutch pedophiles form a political party (English Wiki link)
Of course, they are not a one-idea party. They also favor "consensual sex between animals and humans".

God Bless Liberal Democracy

Meatbomb — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 08:23:24 -0800

Liberal Democracy.
This is the taste of freedom.

I gotta go get some of that hot poz seed!

amberglow — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 06:31:12 -0800

Dear Bareback Andy --a response by Signorile to Andrew Sullivan's recent article on HIV--"Still Here, So Sorry"-- how HIV vastly improved his life. (Sullivan also famously and prematurely wrote about the End of Aids in '96)

The 30-Year Secret Revealed

..ooOOoo....ooOOoo.. — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 12:34:46 -0800

With this year's Pulitzer Prizes announced, the award for Investigative Reporting went to Nigel Jaquiss of Williamette Week, a Portland alternative newsweekly. Jaquiss' story revealed the "30-year Secret" that led to the downfall of one of Oregon's most influential politicians, helped foster a public backlash against corporate greed, and exposed a conspiracy of silence, favoritism, and scandal among the powerful in Oregon.

51 Thoughts on the Apparent Sexiness of John Edwards

lilboo — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 19:37:27 -0800

51 Thoughts on the Apparent Sexiness of John Edwards from nerve.com - hilarious & (generally) SFW,

my favorite:

5. Bill Clinton, of course, was sexy in the former sense. He was sexy in the dangerous, you'd-like-to-sleep-with-him sense. Actually, Bill Clinton was sexy in the dangerous, you'd-like-to-sleep-with-him, and-after-you-slept-with-him, he-slept-with-your-roommate sense.

6. But we miss that playa, don't we?

NBP Combat Girlfriends

lazy-ville — Thu, 10 Jun 2004 00:36:00 -0800

National Bolshevik Party's Combat Girlfriends. The new, prettier, face of communism. via #mefi, contains communist propaganda and mild nudity.

A Gay ol' Time in Texas?

amberglow — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 10:07:35 -0800

RumorFilter: Gov. Perry of Texas in bed with his Sec. of State --for real! More on this brewing scandal here, here, here, here, and here. Perry in 2002 called Texas' then-existing/now-illegal sodomy laws "appropriate." And here's a rundown on the rumor and non-response (from the kos link)

jellybuzz — Fri, 15 Feb 2002 09:54:48 -0800

There goes Colin Powell, pissing off the far right again. This time the Family Research Council and folks like Gary Bauer demand to know how dare he go on MTV and, in response to a teen's question about AIDS, tell kids to USE CONDOMS! (And for that matter, what is the secretary of state doing appearing on that smut-filled network in the first place, and what kinds of parents allow their children to listen to satanic rock music and hip-hop, and how dare insolent children raise filthy questions with government officials about SEX?!)

Rastafari — Fri, 27 Jul 2001 10:26:10 -0800

Finally, a Republican sex scandal for a change. This guy was Joe Liberman's Republican opponent for the CT Senate seat when Liberman was running for both the Senate and the VP. On the bright side, no one's missing...

chason — Fri, 08 Jun 2001 11:12:39 -0800

Great article on the whole Andrew Sullivan and Michael Signoreli fiasco. Finally, a well written viewpoint about the barebacking incident that raised the hackles of gay conservatives and liberals alike.

swell — Mon, 14 May 2001 12:27:52 -0800

Jeb Bush did not have sex with that woman. No, not that one, this one.