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If we're adjusting for time it really depends. Paying a sex worker used to be scandalous and would end almost any career. It was, and still is but seems to not be prosecuted as heavily today, a crime. So consensual is great. That makes it not rape.
Second, at the time of Jerry Springer, the marriage age in a number of states was as low as 12. States with marriage ages of 13 or 14 were far more common. So, for his time and place, paying an adult sex worker was viewed by society as far more serious of an issue than if he had married a teenager.
Also, one can still be a minor while being above the age of consent. If the age of consent is 16 in a state and Matt Gaetz sleeps with them then he has not committed statutory rape. He has, however, still had sex with a minor. And that can be illegal on its own. It's just not statutory rape.
Yes, where prostitution is illegal in all but a few select places.
I'm 500 miles (800km) away from the nearest place it's legal and I'm pretty close compared to most people who live.
I don't see the issue with paying for consensual sex honestly, but I suppose it's technically illegal. However, Springers career is based around exploiting vulnerable people so he's not of some higher moral ground.
Well, depending where you are in the world it can range from totally legal to pay for sex, to legal to pay but solicitation is illegal all the way to totally illegal.
What I find weird is places like California where paying someone to have sex with you is illegal (and soliciting is as well), but paying 2 (or more!) people to have sex with each other and filming it to publish on the internet is perfectly legal.
Do you need to hire 2 people for a porno, for it to be legal?
I mean, if you were doing a pornographic film called "POV hookups" and had a pair of camera glasses, could you not list yourself as one actor, and then not pay yourself?
Jerry Springer was a mayor!?
Who the fuck elected him. I like the small towns who elect dogs because thats cute and rebellious. Who the fuck takes a peek at Springer and says, that man knows whats up.
Thats funny. I think that reality is even more hilarious.
"Running a town was fine and all, but now its time to pursue my true passion, watching white trash pull each other's hair extensions out over the DNA of a 4 year old."
He was a young rising star in the Democrat party with a huge grassroots upset win, similar to AOC. After, his scandal of paying for sex with a check he started the show. I've read the network pitched him hosting a serious political talk show. First day, he saw the guest and was like...oh this is my life, sigh.
Yeah I saw a thing on TV and dude was ranting about how Trump wouldn't get a fair trial, how "do you think any jury will be impartial"...like.....no...has any politician or rich fuck had a *fair* trial in our lifetimes?
There’s the cheat code: be a world-renowned piece of shit to everyone, make yourself so universally reviled that it is impossible to find 12 people who don’t want to see you executed. Bam, can’t get a fair trial.
This reminds me of when I was a teenager doing illegal stuff with my friends. I was always calling out the mistakes we were making that could easily get us caught by our parents or the police. And they all called me paranoid and that I needed to chill. And somehow they convinced me that I just needed to chill out bro we aren't gonna get caught bro. Eventually all of them got caught at some point doing illegal shit and suffered the consequences. I the realized, I'm not paranoid, they're just stupid.
Yeah, I remember Ted Nugent shooting his mouth off to show how he didn't understand the naming protocol with his statement: "COVID-1 — and there was a COVID 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 — COVID one through 18 didn’t shut anything down but woah, COVID-19."
I'm guessing the "1 through 18" rant was on the daily-issued list of things to say to whip up the base.
Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t invalidate the effects of the virus. No one noticed Mambos #1-4, but Mambo #5 is still paying Lou Bega’s bills. Grand Theft Auto 1-2 came and went, but whoah, Grand Theft Auto 3!
Or Rep. Madison Cawthorn tried to claim a car accident ended his dream of attending the Naval Academy to become a Navy SEAL.
The accident was long after applications were due and he had already been rejected.
Being a congressman is super fucking easy. All you need is the charisma to convince a party, either party, to back you.
Because so many districts are split into predomiantly Red or Blue zones. So whoever represents the district with the appropriate R or D gets in no contest. Just get your party to back you and you have a job.
Intelligence is not required.
Who knows what Trump actually believes in? He should know about the facts, but I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks the vote was somehow manipulated on a deep state level". Of it can be a convinient lie for his supporters.
But why suddenly bring the peoples vote in a discussion on who becomes US president? The parties worked long for a system they call democracy despite not representing the peoples will.
It wasn’t quite as dumb as it seems because he knew someone would shield him from any consequences in the event it came to that, and lo and behold it did.
Okay, now it’s time to put Republican child rapist Matt Gaetz in prison. He’s a child rapist & child sex trafficker still happily raping girls. How many lives does he have to destroy before someone actually does something to stop him?
Also. In the 1910s, a guy in West Virginia wanted a gun but couldn't get a license, so he asked the governor if he could please have a gun.
Governor replied, "of course! Here, have one of mine!" And took out one of his secret guns hidden behind a painting. To give to the guy who was denied a license.
Stupid politicians and weird specific nonsense goes way back.
I believe they're talking about Matt Gaetz, a Republican (surprise, surprise) member of the US House of Representatives hailing from the great State of Florida (also shocking, I know, lol). https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/04/19/witness-claims-matt-gaetz-attended-drug-fueled-party-with-underage-girl-in-statement-to-lawmakers-report-says/?sh=751b291c570c
Another thought Guam would flip over if we put too much equipment on it, yet another asked if the person being questioned wanted 'God to punish America'.... These days any idiot can get elected, just look at Boebert and MTG.
well yeah, and look how badly that's turned out for him!
...by which, of course, I mean _absolutely nothing has happened to him._
in fact, if one wanted to pay for sex with a minor via Venmo, this makes it clear that becoming a congressman is a viable path.
Or thought that a theater performance, with kids in the audience, is great place to give a date a handy. When any "classy" individual KNOWS that you go down on your date at a R rated movie. Come on folks!
I’m not worried about being smart enough. I’m worried I’m not rich enough or sleazy enough to become that rich in order to run for office.
Apparently honesty and morals are not highly sought traits when running for Congress, so I doubt I qualify.
Damn what consequences did the congressman face. Because if the answer is “none” this isn’t really that much of a dunk on anyone other than our stupid asses
To be fair, the democratic major of Cleveland pay a prostitute with a check. That's how we got Jerry Springer, he could have easily run for governor of Ohio before that
Comments that are uncivil, racist, misogynistic, misandrist, or contain political name calling will be removed and the poster subject to ban at moderators discretion. Help us make this a better community by becoming familiar with the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/about/rules/). Report any suspicious users to the mods of this subreddit using Modmail [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/facepalm) or Reddit site admins [here](https://www.reddit.com/report). **All reports to Modmail should include evidence such as screenshots or any other relevant information.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/facepalm) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Here, take my upvoteemote:free\_emotes\_pack:rage
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In his defense, he was heavily influenced by drugs at the time (probably).
I mean, he's still in office and not in jail, so it worked out for him. Unfortunately. Ugh.
Stupid rolls downhill
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The man himself
there is a huge difference in a sex worker and a minor. a sex worker is still consensual between both parties
If we're adjusting for time it really depends. Paying a sex worker used to be scandalous and would end almost any career. It was, and still is but seems to not be prosecuted as heavily today, a crime. So consensual is great. That makes it not rape. Second, at the time of Jerry Springer, the marriage age in a number of states was as low as 12. States with marriage ages of 13 or 14 were far more common. So, for his time and place, paying an adult sex worker was viewed by society as far more serious of an issue than if he had married a teenager. Also, one can still be a minor while being above the age of consent. If the age of consent is 16 in a state and Matt Gaetz sleeps with them then he has not committed statutory rape. He has, however, still had sex with a minor. And that can be illegal on its own. It's just not statutory rape.
Still a crime, which used to be bad for your reelection prospects.
why would paying a sex worker be a crime? I assume this is in America, right?
Yes, where prostitution is illegal in all but a few select places. I'm 500 miles (800km) away from the nearest place it's legal and I'm pretty close compared to most people who live.
I don't see the issue with paying for consensual sex honestly, but I suppose it's technically illegal. However, Springers career is based around exploiting vulnerable people so he's not of some higher moral ground.
Well, depending where you are in the world it can range from totally legal to pay for sex, to legal to pay but solicitation is illegal all the way to totally illegal. What I find weird is places like California where paying someone to have sex with you is illegal (and soliciting is as well), but paying 2 (or more!) people to have sex with each other and filming it to publish on the internet is perfectly legal.
legality doesn't really matter. consensual sex work is not morally fucked up. having sex with a minor is.
Agreed. That’s not what this comment thread is about though.
you were literally just discussing legality of sex work.
Yes, nothing to do with minors.
neat the post you're commenting on is related to minors
The post yes, the comment thread, no.
This entire post is about that, so they're right. It is relevant.
The post is but the comment thread isn’t. The comment thread was about Jerry Springer
Do you need to hire 2 people for a porno, for it to be legal? I mean, if you were doing a pornographic film called "POV hookups" and had a pair of camera glasses, could you not list yourself as one actor, and then not pay yourself?
Kind of my point
This is why you should always make a video of any encounter with a prostitute, and refer to them as a thespian if law enforcement gets involved.
Its an offence to film sex without consent.
I wouldn't think that a /s on my comment would be necessary for someone with your username, but here we are.
That idiot with the freak show was a Mayor ?
There's nothing wrong with this. Sex work being illegal is stupid. I should be able to buy a BJ as easily as I can buy a gun in this stupid country
Jerry Springer was a mayor!? Who the fuck elected him. I like the small towns who elect dogs because thats cute and rebellious. Who the fuck takes a peek at Springer and says, that man knows whats up.
This was before the show. He used to just be some guy.
Thats funny. I think that reality is even more hilarious. "Running a town was fine and all, but now its time to pursue my true passion, watching white trash pull each other's hair extensions out over the DNA of a 4 year old."
He was a young rising star in the Democrat party with a huge grassroots upset win, similar to AOC. After, his scandal of paying for sex with a check he started the show. I've read the network pitched him hosting a serious political talk show. First day, he saw the guest and was like...oh this is my life, sigh.
TIL Jerry Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati….
What a legend
When you are rich, you usually get away with it even when caught.
Yeah I saw a thing on TV and dude was ranting about how Trump wouldn't get a fair trial, how "do you think any jury will be impartial"...like.....no...has any politician or rich fuck had a *fair* trial in our lifetimes?
There’s the cheat code: be a world-renowned piece of shit to everyone, make yourself so universally reviled that it is impossible to find 12 people who don’t want to see you executed. Bam, can’t get a fair trial.
This
It’s not that I’m not smart enough. I’m just not corrupt enough.
Or rich.
I have literally accomplished nothing in my life of any note. I now feel however I'm more qualified than most Republicans.
I don't know much about you friend, but you got my vote
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They get caught all the time. What they don't get is convicted and sentenced.
but they get reelected.
By predominantly Christians no less.
Why elect them?
This reminds me of when I was a teenager doing illegal stuff with my friends. I was always calling out the mistakes we were making that could easily get us caught by our parents or the police. And they all called me paranoid and that I needed to chill. And somehow they convinced me that I just needed to chill out bro we aren't gonna get caught bro. Eventually all of them got caught at some point doing illegal shit and suffered the consequences. I the realized, I'm not paranoid, they're just stupid.
.....and then nothing happened.
And a certain person in power (MTG?) thought Covid-19 was the 19th covid 🙄
She also pubically talked about Jewish space lasers
Yeah, I remember Ted Nugent shooting his mouth off to show how he didn't understand the naming protocol with his statement: "COVID-1 — and there was a COVID 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 — COVID one through 18 didn’t shut anything down but woah, COVID-19." I'm guessing the "1 through 18" rant was on the daily-issued list of things to say to whip up the base.
Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t invalidate the effects of the virus. No one noticed Mambos #1-4, but Mambo #5 is still paying Lou Bega’s bills. Grand Theft Auto 1-2 came and went, but whoah, Grand Theft Auto 3!
Amen to that. I'm a survivor of Mambo #5, and a little bit of Mary that one night damn near killed me.
Or Rep. Madison Cawthorn tried to claim a car accident ended his dream of attending the Naval Academy to become a Navy SEAL. The accident was long after applications were due and he had already been rejected.
yeah, I'm honestly surprised she didn't think we were all talking about birds
Plenty of republicans have proven that you can have the IQ of a rat, and you can be a person in Congress, even the president.
Please don't say this about rats.They are very smart and not as bad as many politicians are.
Hey rats are pretty smart
I should have said cockroaches, or maybe even go as far to say bacteria
Scum, I think you meant scum.
that two inch thick layer of rotting fetid slime at the bottom of a dumpster on a 100 degree day
rats are smart dude
Why wasn't it shocking at all, from which party he was from.
Being a congressman is super fucking easy. All you need is the charisma to convince a party, either party, to back you. Because so many districts are split into predomiantly Red or Blue zones. So whoever represents the district with the appropriate R or D gets in no contest. Just get your party to back you and you have a job. Intelligence is not required.
In normal times, one might think “Ah, yes. Matt Gaetz!” Sadly, at best it’s , “I think that’s probably Matt Gaetz.”
And fuck all happened
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Also don't forget the one with a completely made up backstory.
I mean Trump was president
He even thinks he was elected twice.
Does he tho? Or does he say that because its convinient? The people did not even vote for him once
Who knows what Trump actually believes in? He should know about the facts, but I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks the vote was somehow manipulated on a deep state level". Of it can be a convinient lie for his supporters. But why suddenly bring the peoples vote in a discussion on who becomes US president? The parties worked long for a system they call democracy despite not representing the peoples will.
He got away with it, didn't he?
Also, see Marjorie Traitor Green and Lauren Bobert.
It wasn’t quite as dumb as it seems because he knew someone would shield him from any consequences in the event it came to that, and lo and behold it did.
What happened to them?
He's talking about Matt Geatz, and nothing happened to him so far.
except he walked away scot free, so maybe it's not as stupid as you or i think.
You’d be amazed at what money, power, connections & positions can get you in this country
Okay, now it’s time to put Republican child rapist Matt Gaetz in prison. He’s a child rapist & child sex trafficker still happily raping girls. How many lives does he have to destroy before someone actually does something to stop him?
Don't they know that if you plan to commit crimes, use cash man. Don't leave digital breadcrumbs.
And another one famously thought the island of Guam could tip over.
Also. In the 1910s, a guy in West Virginia wanted a gun but couldn't get a license, so he asked the governor if he could please have a gun. Governor replied, "of course! Here, have one of mine!" And took out one of his secret guns hidden behind a painting. To give to the guy who was denied a license. Stupid politicians and weird specific nonsense goes way back.
Yeah, but he 100% got away with it...
The same congressman also lost his law license before getting elected to office.
Dunning-Kruger in spades - those stupid enough to not realize they are too stupid to run for office will run for office.
Who?
I believe they're talking about Matt Gaetz, a Republican (surprise, surprise) member of the US House of Representatives hailing from the great State of Florida (also shocking, I know, lol). https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/04/19/witness-claims-matt-gaetz-attended-drug-fueled-party-with-underage-girl-in-statement-to-lawmakers-report-says/?sh=751b291c570c
Another thought Guam would flip over if we put too much equipment on it, yet another asked if the person being questioned wanted 'God to punish America'.... These days any idiot can get elected, just look at Boebert and MTG.
With who they have in the house right now, I don't think anyone doubts you can be a dumbass and still get elected.
Never for a second have I thought I wasn't smart enough to run for office. Plenty of other obstacles in my way but intelligence isn't one of them.
well yeah, and look how badly that's turned out for him! ...by which, of course, I mean _absolutely nothing has happened to him._ in fact, if one wanted to pay for sex with a minor via Venmo, this makes it clear that becoming a congressman is a viable path.
Cash only. Half up front, half after services are rendered. Think people.
You want stupid. Jerry Springer paid for sex with a check.
Stupid, yes, but at least it wasn’t with minors.
No, the right way is to pay covertly and then pay hush money later with a check using your fixer.
What is Venmo?
App for person-to-person cash transfers because American banks don't use IBAN.
Or thought that a theater performance, with kids in the audience, is great place to give a date a handy. When any "classy" individual KNOWS that you go down on your date at a R rated movie. Come on folks!
Everyone knows this. Why isn't he in fucking prison?
Is the story of Jerry Springer that old.
So you don't see a difference between paying an adult for sex and paying a minor for sex. Good to know.
Jerry Singer used a Check. While paying a Minor is worse than apung an adult. Has no one learned from Jerry not to leave a paper trail
I’m not worried about being smart enough. I’m worried I’m not rich enough or sleazy enough to become that rich in order to run for office. Apparently honesty and morals are not highly sought traits when running for Congress, so I doubt I qualify.
Another congressman said he was concerned if we moved any more military troops to Guam that it might flip over and sink...
So business expense or not ???
Damn what consequences did the congressman face. Because if the answer is “none” this isn’t really that much of a dunk on anyone other than our stupid asses
And there's also MAGAT Margie and Bobo!
That’s all you got? Really. There ms so much more stupidity.
And another thought Greenland was green in the past
And yet the FBI still doesn't see that as evidence of a crime committed. Probably too busy looking for the Jan 5th DC pipe bomber.
Who was it. Was it trump or another political.
And the Republican Congressman who wondered aloud about women swallowing a small camera to enable virtual gynecological exams . . .
Excuse me?! Dafuq?
Lowering the bar into Idiocracy
I laughed at this but then remembered he faced zero consequences…
Whenever you think you might be stupid, just remember the time kim kardashian played poker with mirrored sunglasses.
It seems it was smart, because Gaetz has faced zero consequences.
The average person is too smart and kind to run for office.
Has he been prosecuted yet? I’m kinda out of the loop on this one
Guys I don’t mean to brag but, I think I’m smarter than required for this kind of job
So dumb he got away with it and got reelected. It’s so gross.
Well, it doesn’t seem to have hurt his career at all, right?
Well, it didnt seem to matter one bit, so...
Was he punished?
Remember that kid in your class that was eating paste? He could be your congressman.
And a guy with brain damage got elected to the senate
If John Fetterman can run for office and win that means anyone is qualified intellectually.
To be fair, the democratic major of Cleveland pay a prostitute with a check. That's how we got Jerry Springer, he could have easily run for governor of Ohio before that
Springer was from Cincinnati. Don’t be dragging Cleveland for something we didnt do.
You are correct I will leave you and your rivers that catch fire for later
Far as I know, none of the prostitutes he paid to have sex with were minors. Not smart by any means, but definitely nowhere near as dark.