The crotch shot heard 'round the world

If you've been watching television or reading newspapers at all this week, you probably cannot have escaped seeing the picture of a man's bulging crotch in his tidy whities that is alleged to be of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Weiner is alleged by right-wing scumbag Andrew Breitbart to have taken the picture and sent it via Twitter to a young college student. Weiner denies that he sent the picture. He says his Twitter account was hacked and he has hired a legal firm to look into what happened.

Several bloggers, doing what the mainstream media would do if it had not completly abdicated its responsibility, have investigated the matter and turned up some evidence supporting Weiner's denial. Personally, I am inclined to give the benefit of a doubt to anyone attacked by Breitbart, given his history of fabrication of scandals such as the ACORN vs. the pimp story or the tale of Shirley Sherrod's racism.

Both stories were completely false, but Breitbart and his henchmen, along with their Republican cohorts in Congress, did manage nevertheless to destroy ACORN, the advocacy group that had, for decades, worked with the poor and disadvantaged of the country to ensure that their rights were not trampled. They did not destroy Shirley Sherrod because a full tape of the speech where she was alleged to have made racist comments soon came out and proved that what she had actually said was just the opposite of what Breitbart's doctored tape had claimed.

So Breitbart is a despicable liar and we cannot believe anything that he says. I would accept Anthony Weiner's denial and give him a full pass on the story except for one thing. He says that although he didn't send the picture he cannot say "with certitude" that the picture is not of him. Really, Anthony?

So, how many pictures of your bulging crotch are out there, Rep. Weiner? Are there really so many and are they so available that you just can't say whether this one is one of yours? Or not?

And what is it with men and their penises anyway? Why are they so sure that the whole world is jonesing for a look? Or to put it another way, why do men take crotch shots? Apparently a lot of them do, although I admit that I live in such a naive sheltered world that I wasn't aware of it until this story came out.

Frankly, I'll never understand why a man, particularly a man in the public eye, would be so stupid as to do such a thing - i.e., take a picture of his penis and post it ANYWHERE electronically so that any hacker can grab it (so to speak) and distribute it to the world. Perhaps it just goes to prove once again that the hubris and utter fecklessness of male political figures know no bounds when it comes to sex. They all think they are God's gift to women - or men, as the case may be.

Maybe you just have to be a man to understand.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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