Breaking: The X-Rated Picture Has Been Leaked (Update: Breitbart Violated the Flounder Principle) (Further Update: Opie Says He Accidentally Did What He Tried To Do)
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here. Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]
Update: In twitter, Opie explains how he got it. Jump to the end for details.
Update (III): Breitbart talks to Fox News about it:
“I’m mortified,” Breitbart told Fox News.
The image of what are said to be Weiner’s genitals was posted online after Breitbart appeared on the satellite radio show of shock jocks Opie and Anthony Wednesday.
Breitbart said that while he was in the studio, Opie — real name, Gregg Hughes — snapped a photo of the graphic image “without my permission.” Breitbart said he’s shown the image to other members of the media as proof of his claims, but until now nobody has made that image public.
“This is the first time that someone surreptitiously grabbed a photo of it. This is a complete breach of our arrangement that the photo would not be made public,” Breitbart told Fox News. “It was a complete violation of trust.”
Breitbart claimed Opie’s co-host Anthony Cumia will issue a statement saying he’s “horrified” by the development.
Maybe Cumia will claim to be horrified, but then how does he explain this?
That is a screencap of a tweet he sent, with the address of the pic blocked out. It’s not hard to find, but I am not posting a link here.
That all being said, I think Breitbart violated the Flounder principle.
He screwed up. He trusted them.
Update (IV): You can read Breitbart’s statement, here. Its about what I understood it as. Breitbart asserts he didn’t know they were taking that pic. Still, he violated the Flounder Principle.
Update (V): At Mediaite Opie tries to make an apology that sounds sincere. This is his version. Opie tried to take a pic of it, Anthony stopped him because of his conscience. But little did they know it was going out anyway because the live feed camera captured it. An audience member saw it, captured it and sent it to them and then they felt the overwhelming need to tweet it themselves.
Eh, probably close to the truth, but I am underwhelmed with that defense.
We now resume our original post.
—————————–
Now this is just breaking but the masters of taste (note: sarcasm), Opie and Anthony, have released a picture of a cell phone with the infamous previously unreleased photograph of Congressman Weiner’s um… pelvic area. My prediction on what the content was pretty close. My only question was whether we would see Weiner’s face in it, and no, we don’t. So technically we can’t be sure it is him in the picture.
Now, you might reasonably wonder if it is really the picture Breitbart had. Ace says he heard through the grapevine that the pic is not really the one Breitbart was holding back. But this is a rare case of me actually having a source myself, and yes, this is the pic Breitbart had but wasn’t releasing (intentionally). I want to be very precise here. My source (and I trust this person) says this is one of the pics that Meagan Broussard gave to Breitbart asserting that it was of the Congressman.
Mediaite has one version of the story:
What we can only assume is the worst couple weeks of Rep. Anthony Weiner’s life continues.Andrew Breitbart appeared on The Opie and Anthony Show on Sirius Radio this morning as the latest stop on his “I Told You So” Tour and showed the hosts, Anthony Cumia and Gregg “Opie” Hughes a picture that he said he wouldn’t release; a fully uncensored photo that purports to be of Weiner’s genitals. Breitbart showed the picture on his cell phone which he passed around. Unsurprisingly, the hosts quickly snapped a shot of the screen and tweeted the image out to numerous news outlets.
There hasn’t been any reaction from Congressman Weiner, or Breitbart. My spider sense tells me that Breitbart is going to be pissed, too, because I think he genuinely felt that since Weiner ‘fessed up it wasn’t necessary to show it.
And for true ridiculousness, Mediaite shows us the picture. Now if I had the real, graphic picture, I wouldn’t show it to you. I don’t think Patrick wants his blog to be like that and I don’t want to be like that. But I feel comfortable showing you the Mediaite pic because as you are about to see, you don’t really see anything. And that fact makes it kind of worth talking about:
As I said to co-guest-blogger Lee on the Twitter, if you are going to pixelate a picture that much, why even bother showing us the pic? This has to be the most ridiculous pixilation since the Danish cartoon controversy when CNN decided to air pixilated copies of the cartoons, thus amounting to pieces of paper with unrecognizable blurs on them. (I’ll try to update this with video of that other ridiculous pixilation later.)
Update: And here is that video:
There is another image I have seen of the alleged Weinerpic. Its also pixilated, but it leaves less to the imagination. I know where to find it and a little sleuthing on your part would have you find it, too. But I won’t be posting it here because it is graphic and, well… what does it add? Its pretty much what we all knew it would be. As of this moment there is no room for verifying that it actually is the Congressman’s pelvic area, so all it is, is a pic of that body part.
On Twitter, Lee said that Opie and Anthony crossed a line. I am personally not sure if those idiots even know there is a line.
And please Breitbart, tell us you didn’t think you could trust these guys with the secret… I wouldn’t have.
Update: Here’s what Opie is saying about how he got it:
We had @ AndrewBreitbart on the show today and we prodded him to see the “pic” that was rumored to be out there. He finally passed his phone around to show a pic of @repweiner ‘s well “weiner”.I believe it was not @AndrewBreitbart ‘s intention to get the pic out there at this time. As the phone made the rounds around the room to @jimnorton @anthonycumia and myself the picture was captured by a video camera that was on! I did try to take a pic of @AndrewBreitbart ‘s phone but it came out blurry because @anthonycumia grabbed the phone. Wasn’t until @AndrewBreitbart left the studio that we realized what was captured on our video camera.
That is several tweets strung together. All the links are to the individual tweets, and the only modification I made was to cut out the “(cont)” indicators.
I like Breitbart, but if that is true, that sounds negligent at the very least. As they say the best way to keep a secret is no to tell anyone. And with the ubiquity of cameras in our culture, the way to keep a picture is not to show it to anyone.
Update (II): Let me hasten to add that the person who screwed up the most was Weiner himself for taking the pics and sending them to strange women in the first place. He bears primary responsibility for this debacle.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Two comments:
1) Breitbart carries around a picture of Weiner’s dick on his phone? Nobody thinks this is weird?
2) This blog has become a sausagefest. Nobody thinks this is weird?
Oscar Mayer (d882be) — 6/8/2011 @ 10:54 amThe wiener the world awaited?
Mitch (890cbf) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:10 amoscar
1) if it was my insurance policy i would keep it with me at all times, too.
2) are you saying this isn’t news?
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:11 amAW, you mean “bears” not “bares” in the final line of Update III, but if there ever were an understandable reason for getting a sound-alike word wrong, THIS case sure presents it. 🙂
Mitch (890cbf) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:12 amOops. I meant update II, not III. Damned LASIK guy must have slipped … (At least it wasn’t my mohel.)
Mitch (890cbf) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:20 amDo you mean she gave the pic to Breitbart?
“one of the pics that Meagan Broussard gave to Weiner”
Do you suppose that Rep. Weiner will “know with certitude” whether it’s one of those he sent her?
Sue (24e46b) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:24 ammitch @5
typical guy valuing your Anthony Weiner more than your eyes.
Still thanks for the correction.
sue
yes, the pic she sent to breitbart, allegedly sent by him.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:29 am“I shall scream if I get another face-full of man-root.” – Ace of Spades
I’m with Ace on this.
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:34 amhaving trouble typing now.
have gome blind from seeing unpixelated weinerpic.
Typing by touch only.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:36 amToo late, I already screamed.
SarahW (af7312) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:52 amMaybe big is a relative term to wiener.
JD (7b97b3) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:57 amHmmm . . . turns out that Weiner’s left-wing defenders were correct, after all.
No big deal. Nothing to see here.
Move along.
Icy Texan (566f1b) — 6/8/2011 @ 11:58 amI’m not surprised that Breitbart had the photo on his phone and would show it to other journalists as I have no doubt the the next defensive line for Weiner would have been the media saying Breitbart was lying about Weiner exchanging x-rated pics.
scr_north (c4396e) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:09 pmOddly enough, Breitbart was on RedEye last night (or this morning) with Anthony Cumia and I would think that he showed the pic to him. I wonder whether that’s the point that Opie and Anthony figured that they could get a snap of the image the next day. In any event, I don’t think that you’ll be seeing either Anthony or Opie on RedEye for a little while.
btw, old but good video of lars vilks brave stand on freedom of speech added. and idiotic pixilization of mohammed cartoons in the video (hense why it is relevant, here).
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:10 pmscr
certainly breitbart will not go on opie and anthony’s show, that is for sure.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:11 pmI guess I’m kind of sorry that this exposure happened in the way it did. I always assumed the x-rated Weiner pic would be published eventually, but I did think it would be because the woman who received it would get an offer, and would sell it to a tabloid for a bunch of money. Fine.
Breitbart’s public statements that he did not intend to release the pic, and why, I thought was serving him and his reputation very well. I hope his use of the word “intend” was not a word game he was playing.
Still, there is only one person to blame for all of this and that guy is still apparently a congressman from the state of New York.
elissa (cbe76f) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:30 pmWe all saw Breitbart on Red Eye, man. The guy’s been sleep walking for the better part of three days.
Then Anthony and Opie pull a crap move like this.
That’s just low down and dirty.
They knew the score. They knew he was holding for a reserve and future leverage.
Worse then dirty, it’s just stupid, blowing the goods before Weiner and the congressional democrats have made any real moves.
Why do you think the sound bite today is of Senator Harry Reid.
You effen bone heads. Odie and Opie act like they don’t have to live in the country that results like the rest of us.
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:30 pmhell if it was my insurance policy I’d have a copy in the hands of my lawyer with instructions on what to do with it if i didn’t check in every day. that said, we all knew it was only a matter of time until it came out. I’m not even surprised on how fast it came out.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:31 pmBreitbart lost some credibility with me with this.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:38 pmSoooo … Weiner shaves his junk? Do a lot of guys (who are not professional porn actors) do that these days? Didn’t Huma notice, and wonder why?
gp (72be5d) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:38 pmHey Aaron, can I do just one more with the bold all-caps?
Feeling that scream bubbling to the surface.
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:41 pmwe don’t stop you from doing it… just appreciate the feelings of other commenters…
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:48 pmWhy would anyone with something important to say appear on Opie’s program?
Why would Breitbart show people with that kind of audience, in a room full of their gear, a photo he promised to keep secret? He broke his word.
It’s easy to blame Opie, but those guys are what they are. You might as well tell Howard Stern a secret, or trust Michelle Obama with your tamales. Breitbart pulling that photo up broke his promise.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:48 pmdustin
i don’t get mad at breitbart.
But if was with him, i would say, “for future reference, next time you want to keep a pic secret, don’t show it to anyone, especially not a bunch of crass shock jocks.”
i also wonder if this is going to be the final end. i mean schultz and many others felt that if the pic were released, he has to resign.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:53 pmIt’s alright – the feeling passed.Mostly due to the giggle.
The Animal House reference got me through.
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:55 pmI have tremendous respect for Breitbart.
This was a serious breach of his promise. Perhaps he didn’t mean to. Perhaps a secret condition of his agreement was broken, so he’s actually retaliating. I have no idea.
I do know he said he wouldn’t release it before showing it to a major media outlet.
My friend, I have given up hope that this story will ever end.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:56 pmOpie and Anthony got hired as Howard Stern wannabes but without the cleverness or humor. Breitbart should have looked into the background of these two clowns before showing them anything.
Their schtick was all about trying to out-crude Howard Stern and one of their antics would up getting them canned from New York local radio. Here’s how I remember it:
They ran a contest with two couples to see which one could have sex in the most unusual place. The had the couples live-mic’d. Anyway one of the couples was arrested for having sex in a side chapel of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue of all places.
This is supposed to funny. I guess if you standard of humor is “Family Guy”, it’s probably hysterical.
Count de Money (055bea) — 6/8/2011 @ 12:58 pmI don’t really think you can call that a weiner.
Isn’t there a minimum size limit?
Whose got the peter meter this week?
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:03 pmDon’t care. Young Ant’ny deserves every bit of abuse and ridicule he shall receive.
LowKey (8096f2) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:10 pmSaying that this is a serious breach of a promise is a serious overstatement.
JD (306f5d) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:13 pmI also admire Breitbart, but it seems with every coup he also commits a boner that he has to either apologize for or explain.
Also, FWIW — I am considering who would star in a Weinergate movie. Here’s the cast so far:
Anthony Weiner …………………………………………………….DUSTIN DIAMOND (Saved By The Bell)
Huma Abedin Weiner ……………………………………………..ARCHIE PANJABI (The Good Wife)
Charles Schumer…………………………………………………….KEVIN SPACEY (American Beauty)
Hillary Rodham Clinton………………………………………….. LAURIE METCALF (Roseanne)
Bill Clinton ……………………………………………………………BARRY BOSTWICK (Spin City)
Nancy Pelosi ………………………………………………………… SUSAN LUCCI (All My Children)
Barney Frank……………………………………………………….. NATHAN LANE (The Producers)
Glenn Beck…………………………………………………………… DAVE COULIER (Full House)
and as Andrew Breitbart …………………………………………. CHRISTIAN CLEMENSON (Boston Legal).
It is tentatively titled From Importance to Impotence: The Rise and Fall of Weiner.
L.N. Smithee (e9b2f5) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:16 pmLN
there will never be a hollywood weinergate movie.
it hurts republicans. on the other hand the valarie plame non-event got a whole lying movie.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:22 pmHe said he’s keep that photo to himself, as leverage, and once he got what he wanted, he pulled up the picture and showed it to sleazy programmers.
Am I upset Weiner got screwed? Not at all. He has no one to blame but himself.
But if I were a democrat and Breitbart promised me he’d keep a secret, I wouldn’t believe him after this. Would you? When he said he’d keep the photo secret, what did he mean? That he would show it to people in the media?
The only way this isn’t a serious breach is that it’s just a stupid photo of an idiot. Breitbart has been damn honest for a long time, in the face of being calling him a liar, about much more serious issues. Given that, I guess perhaps he just screwed up, but I wish he hadn’t.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:23 pmI’m with those who think this is a shabby incident. Breitbart has played his hand so well, it’s distressing to him lose this trick.
He should have known that he was sitting down at the table with cheaters. You can’t tell me he thought these two jokers would play fairly.
That being said, sure we all figured that the picture would be made public eventually. I just thought it was Breitbart’s Ace to play, and he flubbed it.
(I thought an extended card-playing metaphor would be welcome after a week of sausage- and dick jokes.)
Pious Agnostic (6048a8) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:29 pmYeah, I know, Aaron. The “bad guys” win (presuming Weiner’s resignation is inevitable). Even in the silly HBO movie Recount, even though the villains (the Bush 43 campaign) won in the end, the point of the movie was for Dems to get out the vote in 2008. Only a couple of million saw Recount — a monumental flop for an HBO original movie — but if it inspired many hundreds or thousands of Democrats to register and vote, the desired effect occurred.
L.N. Smithee (e9b2f5) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:30 pmDustin
well, look i am starting to be connected here and i have a source that i trust (yeah, that again) who says that Breitbart had already been showing the photo around to legit news sources before even the weiner press conference on monday. and he was developing this story in conjunction with ABC news. so i always understood his promise to be to avoid broadcasting it to the world. Not to not show it to anyone else.
still he shouldn’t have even shown it to opie and anthony.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:32 pmBreitbart’s statement:
http://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2011/06/08/statement-on-opie-anthonys-illicit-capture-and-release-of-photograph/
Pious Agnostic (6048a8) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:34 pmI am thoroughly disgusted that Breitbart would even appear on Opie and Anthony show. They are the ones who had people have sex in Catholic churches for money. I didn’t think Breitbart was a media whore, but going on their show and showing these lowlives the photos, was really very lowball for Andrew. He will have to take some serious corrective measures before I will credit him again as a solid source.
eaglewingz08 (74f660) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:41 pmAnthony Cumia posted the picture Tuesday morning of Ann Coulter reacting to a cell phone picture of someone/something outside a bar after she, Cumia, Breitbart and the Red Eye crew went out drinking. The person holding the phone was not Breitbart, so it’s safe to assume the photo already was slowly seeping out 36 hours before Opie’s tweet this morning.
That doesn’t excuse it, but it does explain why Anthony C said the X-rated Anthony W photo was going to get out onto the Internet, because it already was on more than just Breitbart’s phone (and Opie was already wanting to see the picture after being told about it on Tuesday, so it’s not a big shock that as soon as he got a chance, he would re-tweet it on his own account).
John (598ddb) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:42 pmI didn’t think Breitbart was a media whore
Comment by eaglewingz08 — 6/8/2011 @ 1:41 pm
Then you haven’t been paying attention, pal.
L.N. Smithee (e9b2f5) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:44 pmHe will have to take some serious corrective measures before I will credit him again as a solid source.
Comment by eaglewingz08 — 6/8/2011 @ 1:41 pm
OK, that sounds eminently trollish.
Why would appearing on a sleazeball radio show effect Breitbart’s credibility as a “solid source”? The reason he was on the show was to crow about how right he was on the Weiner story when people were saying he either was full of it or perpetrated a hoax on Weiner and the entire nation from beginning to end!
Are you such an idiot that you are forgetting that his exposure of the evidence of his credibility is the reason we’re even having this discussion? Or is your job to try to erode support for Breitbart by feigning social conservative disgust? For your sake, I hope the latter is the case, or else you’re brain-damaged!
L.N. Smithee (e9b2f5) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:53 pmI sincerely think Breitbart is better than that.
There is no practical difference between ‘avoiding broadcasting it’ and pulling the photo out in s recording studio while denying knowledge it would be broadcast.
furthermore, what going to happen? Opie and Anthony were going to graphically describe the photo for giggles? Breitbart explained himself as interested in saving Weiner’s family, releasing only the photos needed to resolve this mess.
I sincerely believe he meant that, and I think he contradicted that.
Ultimately, he could have kept the photo from bring broadcast by not showing it to people.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:55 pmDid kman get shown the door? I’ve been away for nearly a month and could use a good laugh.
∅ (e7577d) — 6/8/2011 @ 1:58 pmDustin
note the update. opie tries to defend it. oy.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:01 pmYeah, Opie tried to take a photo, and then he captured it ‘accidentally’ with a video camera?
I think most of these studios have a pretty obvious camera in them, and they have a light to indicate they are on. When you’re trying to keep a photo from being broadcast, do not enter recording studios and display that photo without looking around to see if you’re on video.
That said, Breitbart is a hero. He’s practically indispensable. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s managed to overcome unbelievably unfair media bias.
He screwed up this time, but I suspect he was a little less than overly worried about Weiner’s privacy. But it was merely a screw up. I don’t think he conspired to publicize the photo, and it sucks that he trusted Opie at all.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:07 pmYou FINAL update is the correct story, who cares who put it out there to be seen, the pervert who sent it to the young woman is the one who did it first, period!
JadedByPolitics (91e088) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:12 pmDustin – you are not being rational. There is a fundamental difference between not broadcasting something and showing a picture on an iphone to someone, who videos that and the pulls a screenshot from same, or takes a photo of the photo on your phone. Now, maybe some people should not be trusted to not be dishonest, but to state that there is no difference betwwen his stated intentions and what happened is silly.
JD (85b089) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:14 pmNot if you show it to someone in their recording studio without checking to see if there is a camera on.
Breitbart gave his word, and should have gone out of his way to make sure when he’s displaying the photo in a recording studio, it’s not being recorded.
He promised to keep it private, and he failed to do so. He’s a smart guy capable of avoiding getting a photo out there. He knew this was a very serious photo with implications, and then he pulled it up and showed it to Opie in his studio. It’s not the end of the world, but he screwed up, and while this is better than if he posted it to his website, that doesn’t mean he kept his promise.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:40 pmThe secret x-rated photo is erroneously released to the public. Is Larry David writing this story?
Birdbath (19803d) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:49 pmI’m not seeing any clear stipulation that justifies sharing the photo with Opie. I’ve heard Opie’s program. The plan was to laugh about the graphic photo. There was no other reason to share it with them. Weiner already as much as admitted this photo existed.
How is this in line with Breitbart’s claim to be preserving Weiner’s family (he has a baby on the way) if Weiner just stop fighting? Didn’t Weiner live up to his end in the quote above?
I just think Breitbart screwed up. Pretty regrettable. Granted, the left is going to make a huge deal out of what a horrible ‘vile’ person Breitbart is, and that will be as unfair as the rest of their crap, but that’s not where I’m coming from.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 2:54 pm_______________________________________________
But I won’t be posting it here because it is graphic and, well… what does it add? Its pretty much what we all knew it would be.
His freaky, extreme, risky behavior comes closer to verifying that he and his wife probably are in a peculiar semi-sexless type of relationship. Why else would he be so pathetically, desperately horny? Or why else would he have been trying to sabotage his marriage, not to mention destroy his reputation?
Moreover, when it comes to sexuality, since women aren’t as visually oriented as guys, and since females are generally known not to be as fascinated with (or aren’t interested at all in) seeing a guy’s junk as guys are interested in seeing a woman’s breasts and beaver, isn’t it more of a homosexual thing for a guy to be running around brazenly showing pics of his penis to complete strangers, male or female? If so, that, in turn, suggests talk about the bisexuality of Mr & Mrs Weiner is likely close to the truth.
Mark (3e3a7c) — 6/8/2011 @ 3:18 pmBig sigh….
Janetoo (84c5f6) — 6/8/2011 @ 3:33 pmActually this gave Breibart the cover to release the pic without releasing it (wink, nod).
Jay S. (79f341) — 6/8/2011 @ 3:48 pmMasterful! Kudos!
Not something I’m gonna lose much sleep about, lol.
Jay S. (79f341) — 6/8/2011 @ 3:50 pmColonel express shock
ColonelHaiku (8fa4f9) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:11 pmthe full frontal noodlety
Tony al dente
protocol ruined
ColonelHaiku (8fa4f9) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:16 pmeveryone must yield the floor
when Tony show up
bahney fwank last seen
ColonelHaiku (8fa4f9) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:21 pm“caucusing” with The Weiner
just fooling around
who take more ballz to
the chin? Yogi Berra Rock
Hudson or Bahney?
Not that there anything wrong with that.
ColonelHaiku (8fa4f9) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:25 pm“The Greatest Day Ever
Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:39 pm”
Yep.
Once upon a time there was a kid named Andy. He was a precocious child and yearned to play with the big boys in Media City. But they never took him seriously. Then one day young Andy got hold of a live grenade. He carried it around with him all the time. For insurance. No need for a safe deposit box. The grenade made him feel strong. And assertive. And powerful. And vindicated. And above all, credible– just like the big boys who worked and played in Media City. Andy was cocksure they’d take him seriously now. So Andy went to school them; lecture them; and took his grenade out for a show-and-tell with some of the fellas. He’d show’em. Then some class clowns asked to see it. So Andy passed it around to impress them. And surprise: BOOM. The grenade blew up in Andy’s face, shredding any loose threads of credibility he had. The class clowns laughed. Then went back to work and play in Media City. And Andy learned what happens when a child plays with explosives with the big boys.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:29 pm#59???
that’s the lesson you
ColonelHaiku (8fa4f9) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:34 pmlearned? you liberal gimps don’t
embarrass easy
Who is sock pupating DSCSAZOMFGBBQIMP? You are supposed to be funny. Not pathetic.
JD (318f81) — 6/8/2011 @ 4:58 pmMark, I like you a lot as a commenter, so don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re being pretty unreasonable.
You don’t know that Huma is a sexless wife. She’s pregnant, after all. Or perhaps that’s just another level of conspiracy? A lot of sad rumors have floated around this marriage, and I don’t think they are fair.
In fact, Weiner was probably sleeping with lots of women and also engaging in this lame online sex behavior for ages.
Sure, to you, a mentally healthy guy, this sounds completely like Weiner is incredibly desperate and pathetic for sex. In reality, women throw themselves are young liberal politicians.
Weiner’s sexting wasn’t really about sex. It was about how awesome Weiner is. How women everywhere think he’s awesome. Myriad details about his penis, over and over, and novel camera angles to describe just how awesome Weiner thinks he is.
The void Weiner is trying to fill is not his libido, but rather his need to be assured that he is awesome.
And that is very easy to understand. after all, he’s got a seat at the big table. He could be a statesman who made America better. But he hasn’t. He’s just played the game of making futile stunts and then being famous for them. Once the rush of having power fades, he probably has looked over the complete lack of any accomplishment, aside from getting a decent amount of pork, and Weiner isn’t so sure he’s awesome.
Anyway, I mean no disrespect. I just don’t think we can assume much about his marriage. Yeah, his wife married him, and that reflect poorly on her, but I honestly feel very sorry for her.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:00 pmBTW, if I’m really “unreasonable” and “silly” for assuming that Breitbart meant he would keep this photo completely private, than I guess I’m unreasonable and silly. I think Breitbart is a great person, but I also think he screwed up this time.
It is literally the worst thing that has happened in the history of the country. OK… it’s not even in the top million worst things that happened today.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:03 pmThat seems to be so, Dustin, in the messages between him and Lisa Weiss, who is really of the
ian cormac (72470d) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:10 pmnet roots persuasion, even admitting knowing of friends who vandalized Sharon Angle signs, taking
Colbert and Stewart as gospel.
He never said he would keep it completely private. He said he wouldn’t publish it. There are about 9843578627 miles between the two positions.
JD (318f81) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:13 pmThat’s abusing the distinction, given that he ‘didn’t keep it private’ in a studio with two loudmouth media guys and many cameras.
Seriously, pretend you didn’t know this happened. You have Quantum Leaped into Andrew Breitbart’s body. You’re in a studio, and the dickhead interviewing you asks to see the photo you promised you wouldn’t release because you wanted to save Weiner’s family. Dean Stockwell is telling you to do what Breitbart could have done.
Do you pull out the iphone and pull up the picture? I honestly don’t think I’m being unreasonable to have expected Breitbart to keep this photo away from the media. There was no controversy as to the existence of the photos, so if someone asked if they really existed, Breitbart could have referred to Weiner saying he would not deny X rated photos. The only purpose of that program seeing the photos was obviously in contradiction to Breitbart’s (sincere, I add) intention to save the family from further humiliation and vulgarity, as an act of charity and compassion.
So I say he screwed up. No, it’s not a very big deal, but it’s regrettable.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:28 pmOr just pretend James Carville promised he wouldn’t “release the photo” of some GOP scandal, and then pulls the photo out and passes it around on Air America, which leads to the internet seeing it.
I would say he broke his word.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:30 pmWe are going to agree to disagree. You are holding people responsible for other people’s actions, and for not being clairvoyant.
JD (318f81) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:32 pmWell decorum and Opie and Anthony don’t go together, they are two barrels under Howard Stern,given that, we drove us to these circumstances, if he hadn’t stonewalled, we wouldn’t be in this circumstance, now.
ian cormac (72470d) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:35 pmian
yeah, seriously, i don’t think howard stern would have published that. he’s not very classy, but he has more class than that.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:41 pmComment by DCSCA — 6/8/2011 @ 4:29 pm
Lamer than normal.
SPQR (26be8b) — 6/8/2011 @ 5:56 pmAB, you screwed the pooch.
The last person in the world you want to trust to keep their word is someone in the Media.
“Well, it’s not true, but it’s accurate!”
AD-RtR/OS! (0ef745) — 6/8/2011 @ 6:38 pmFair enough, and I understand what you’re saying. If I were Breitbart, I would only have shared the image if there was a damn good reason. It certainly wouldn’t have been passed around like that to those jackasses, whom I think quite predictably took advantage, rather than requiring psychic powers to see this coming.
I don’t feel sorry for Weiner. Frankly, I don’t even think the photo is a big deal at all. Who cares? Once he admitted they existed, it didn’t really matter.
I think Breitbart screwed up… and to be honest, I’d think that no matter how the picture in his control managed to leak out. He didn’t have to go out of his way to explain why he didn’t want this released, and what Weiner had to do to make sure that didn’t happen.
Hopefully people see this the way you do, as Breitbart being pretty blameless, and Opie and Weiner being more at fault (that part I agree with anyway). Breitbart has earned his reputation as an honorable journalist in a practically epic fashion.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/8/2011 @ 8:17 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9itMNwHIWIc&feature=player_embedded
Breitbart didn’t seem too terribly worried about the family’s privacy in this clip…
vor2 (853c83) — 6/8/2011 @ 9:20 pmbtw, notice the update. cordova talks to the NY Times, doesn’t share all her interactions and the Times… doesn’t really challenge her on that. wow.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 6/8/2011 @ 9:24 pmah, crap, i mean the update to the newest weiner thread.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 6/8/2011 @ 9:26 pmJD
I agree there is miles away difference between a stolen picture and a promise to publish
SPQR,
I have always been skeptical of ABB, but in THIS case – he has been one of the very few to be considerate of the parties involved – remember – he didnt create the crisis and in spite of the venom showed to him on this issue has been regretful of the harm to the wife and others – compassionate is the term I guess – I dont think he’s taking joy in it. Look having naked self portraits of a powerful congressman, is a first is it not? the pressure on ABB to publish the picture has got to be immense
EricPWJohnson (1cb805) — 6/9/2011 @ 12:14 am^ the concern troll is trying to rebuild credibility to burn on concern trolling later
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/9/2011 @ 1:15 amDustin,
Yawwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
EricPWJohnson (1cb805) — 6/9/2011 @ 2:26 amAgree with Dustin, AB being a hypocrite.
If you really meant what you were saying, then don’t show the picture or create the conditions where the picture would be syndicated.
Sponge Bob Square Pants (fccc6f) — 6/9/2011 @ 5:42 am“Hypocrite” is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but it doesn’t apply here. He said he wouldn’t release the photo. He didn’t release the photo. You can say he used poor judgement by showing the photo to Opie and Anthony. You can say it was a boneheaded move to show it in a studio equipped with cameras without first checking to ensure there were no cameras pointed his way.
But he never said he wouldn’t show the picture to anybody. He’s pretty upfront about the fact the had to show the picture to at least certain people to get on certain shows. And he never said he would only show it to just that limited group of individuals.
But that’s not at all the same thing as releasing the photo. That would involve releasing it to the general public via some sort of media. And it was Opie and Anthony who did that.
Steve (cabe23) — 6/9/2011 @ 8:30 pm