Monday, October 02, 2006

What About the Kids?

We know that Rep. Mark Foley sent some inappropriate e-mails and IMs to underage male pages in the Congress.
We know that Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation of the case.
We know that Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is saying he didn't know how bad the situation was, that he's only just now learning of the utter horn-dogginess of Foley's communications.
We know that Foley checked himself into an alcohol rehab program over the weekend.
Obfuscate, obfuscate, obfuscate.
What about the kids?
Is anyone looking out for the emotional welfare of all the young pages that Foley befriended under false pretenses?
The first kid whose so-called "over friendly" e-mails from Foley were revealed — the ones that Republicans think are merely... well, let's let White House spokesperson Tony Snow characterize them: "naughty" — was revolted! He thought the messages from Foley were "sick, sick, sick." He was uncomfortable, he told his parents so, and that ought to be enough. The kid was uncomfortable.
Foley is a predator, and all we see is Republicans and Democrats trying to spin this situation to their own benefits.
WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?
They need counseling. Reassurance. They don't need to be the discarded tissues of this ugly truth.

9 comments:

Moonbear said...

Great post Cookie- you hit the nail on the head. This ugly truth is even more ugly due to the way it has been "handled". I am so disgusted with polititians and twisted politics I could puke.
I know lots of lovely alkies who aren't sickos. I hope Foley doesn't get to hide behind them.
Our so-called democratic government is casting a long and ever darker shadow. Just in time for halloween only there's no candy.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't a politician have to prove he/she is an alcoholic before acceptance into a rehab? This might avoid the taint of protecting an unworthy and most probably an unrepentent miscreant.....Perhaps he should have gone instead to a Benedictine monastery for sanctuary where anyone is accepted for a time of contemplation and self-examination. (I have, at mements, wished I could do just that!)....Your subject line is just right.

Civic Center said...

It's coming out now that the FBI knew all about this for years and did nothing. The rot in this story is getting deeper every moment.

However, I don't worry about the kids so much in this tale. The stories of sexual abuse I've heard from friends and family and print about priests, other clergy, and relatives strike me as ten times nastier and unfortunately just as pervasive as pedophilic perversion in D.C. If you end up as a 16-year-old page in Congress, somehow I don't think the pool of kids is going to be on the "innocent" end of the scale. I could be wrong about that, but it just makes sense.

What is sickening is the total institutional cover-up and I think it might actually bring these criminals down. You'd think the Iraq war or legalizing torture would have been enough to completely disgust the U.S. population, but somehow people can relate to this scandal in a way they can't to our invasion of Iraq.

Anonymous said...

Deb, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said and all those very pertinent comments. The whole system is rotten to the core starting with the evil threesome (Bush, Cheny, Rumsfelt) and it goes right down through the Speaker, FBI and all those other lackeys. To think, I took the oath to defend the Constitution (and fought to do so) only to have these scumbags ruin everything moral and just. It's just sickening!

Anonymous said...

'monkey faces', all...

Dagny said...

I found the whole "He's an alcoholic, not a pedophile" explanation to be truly disturbing. Ummm. I would think that perhaps he always had those tendencies. The alcohol perhaps made it easier for him to act upon his thoughts. I just don't believe that it is the root cause of his behavior.

And the whole cover-up is truly disgusting.

kitchenmage said...

But wait, there's more! First, the Rs said they didn't want to say anything about their suspicions lest they seem to gaybash. (nice to see they care) Then, Drudge and Rush said the kids were (ahem) playing him and it was their fault.

Then, after the lawyer announces Foley's gay, we get the ultimate buck-pass. Seems that (wait for it) Foley was molested by a priest!

However, truly the best piece of reporting has to be ABC's reenactment of the chat sessions wherein the "Foley" guy starts typing with two hands and ends up typing with one. OMFG!

Uh, err, what about the children...with any luck, we'll never know who those kids are and they can escape the endless publicity machine that goes with being in their position. They should bill the Republican party for their therapy.

I also bet that there will be one person who was NOT part of this who claims they were "one of Foley's interns" as a means of generating publicity for their desired career.

Not that I'm a cynic or anything.

Amy Sherman said...

What nobody needs is more pathetic excuses, the only thing Foley seems good at making.

cookiecrumb said...

It's Clinton's fault!!
:P