and power privilege, and money privilege, and just about any privilege you can think of!
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Was Hastert ever charged for the original molestation crimes?
Staute of limitations on the real crimes ran years ago. Structuring isnāt a trivial crime, but the sentencing was within guidelines for a first offense.
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Because it could be used to charge him with perjury, or revisit his sentencing, when they find out he was lying? 
He will if a superior court agrees to hear an appeal of the sentence and orders he remain free pending further adjudication. See: McDonnell, Robert.
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Rot in jail, you hypocritical scum bag! Nice āFamily Values,ā A-Hole.
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I had gay friends back in that day, and witnessed their heartrending angst and shame and guilt and frustration. Some tried to repress it, some just cruised the gay underground, some sank to using the highway rest stop and other restrooms to seek partners. But every one of them was horrified at the notion of touching a child, even a teenager. Itās not Teh Gay thatās the problem here, but the lust for children below any reasonable age of consent. Iām sure he was bright enough to have been able to teach something less āhands-onā than wrestling; he put himself in that position of constant temptation/gratification, with kids too young to deal with him. NO sympathy here. Iām just POād that the judge was too tenderhearted to let this child-abusing criminal cope with a real prison setting. He might die there? So effing what? Anyone with an empty pocketbook would have been consigned there without a momentās hesitation. Or black, Iām sure. Rich white privilege, and nothing butā¦ bought and paid for by his wheeling and dealing on the citizenryās dime.
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It was like when overnight Bob McDonnell all of the sudden turned old and gray (he was blonde until the trial even if it was dyed) when he had to first go to court in his trial in Virginia. Classic GOP faker for sympathy. And the media bought it completely. I will never forget a reporter saying, āThe Governor looks weary and worn.ā His lawyers had to be chortling inside when they heard that. Didnāt work in the court fortunately.
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Apparently not, obviating the need to structure funds to pay the hush money. Wish he had though.
About as many GOP State AGs as are currently under indictment?
Future-speaker Boehner also should have been indicted for handing out checks from big tobacco during a floor vote, which would have made him unavailable for that āhonorā he so richly deserved but never receivedā¦ The only reason that more of them arenāt in jail, or at least censured, is because the ethically challenged Boehner made sure the House ethics committee was/is stocked with members that will never, ever see, hear or speak truth about any Repuli-crooks, no matter how egregious their behavior. Itās no wonder that even the rank and file of their own party want to burn their house down. Metaphorically, of course. (Or is it?)
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Ok - you send the wheel chair back to the costume rental store.
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McDonnell was convicted of public corruption charges on Sept 14th, 2014. He was sentenced to two years in jail 4 months later. Heās yet to be confined. SCOTUS has heard his appeal. Court observers report arguments appear to have leaned heavily in his favor. Heāll never serve a day. I think his lawyersā work has been very effective.
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Since Hastert admitted it can we STOP calling them āallegedā victims and āallegedā crimes. PLEASE stop it.
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Come on, as dismal and as disgusting Hastertās original crime was: the statute of limitation has passed, the guy is 74 years old, no criminal record and he had a stroke recently. You are not advocating for justice but for revenge, which is neither a pretty sight nor the hallmark of a civilized society. I am amazed and pleasantly surprised that he had to serve any time at all. It doesnāt really matter at this stage how long his sentence is.
Discussing the hallmarks of a civilized society in conjunction with the United States makes no sense, nor does denying revenge is a motive in our criminal justice system. In some states you can steal a car in 2001, sell a rock of crack in 2008 and shoplift a candy bar in 2014 and be sentenced to life in prison. Justice, or revenge?
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How many months before heās in the slammer? I imagine heāll do a āKenLayā and die before he hears the clang of a prison gate.
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Itās not just the original crime, though I detest the statutes of limitations on child abuse. He also led a life of exploitation for gain throughout his career in Congress, that he (like many others have done and are doing) got away with. He lived high on the hog off white collar crime, charged or not, and then when he got caught, he suffered only the usual white privileged light-slap punishment. Wishing him to do without those privileged protections is simply wishing the law for once to be even handed and not kowtowing to fortune and fame. Compare this to life sentences for getting caught carrying a personal amount of MJ, for example. Thereās no comparison in these incredible imbalances in our justice system, based on the harm done to persons and society.
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It was like when overnight Bob McDonnell all of the sudden turned old and grayā¦
But it worked so well for Cosby! (In the way everything GOP āworksā - trickle-down economics, the bell curve, tax cuts increase revenues, deficits donāt matterā¦ Letās hope their plan all end the same way - discredited and disgraced.
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Agreed with your whole post. To my knowledge, Iāve never known a gay pedophile. Iāve certainly known men who preferred their guys young but none of them liked prepubescent or even the few short years thereafter. And thanks for pointing this out. Years ago, I had a very heart-to-heart with a guy I met at a bar. Iām a small guy and for many years always got confused for a teenager or a young college kid. My whole life, even kids will stop to look at me, quizzically trying to discern if Iām a boy or a man. LOL. This was in my mid-20s, the man was probably in his late-30s or so. I could tell he was nervous even after weād chatted for over an hour. When we left and were able to talk more privately, he said he had something to tell and hoped it didnāt turn me off. He told me he liked young guys, really young guys. At first, I wasnāt sure what he might mean so I asked, āDo you mean little kids?ā āNo!ā was his answer. I said, āwhat?ā He said he liked small, boyish guys but not hairy, burly men. Once I discerned it was the looks and not the age he was after, I felt better ā but I also tried to convince him he had nothing to worry about, that it was just a type, per se, and not pedophilia. There was a lot more discussed, but this is the gist. I guess, part of my point is even this man was confusing his desires with possibly being a bad person ā granted, this was still a time when the AIDS epidemic was in full swing and the LGBTQ community has mostly only the big cities as somewhat safe havens to go.
Hastert forced himself on (what appears to be) post-pubescent young high school kids which, given the time and region, might have been what he considered his only outlet. Iām absolutely not attempting to excuse him ā Iāve been one of his biggest critics. What he did to those guys (some repeatedly) was horrible and he needs to atone for it Iām just saying that, if a young Denny Hastert were put in todayās world, would he take the same route?
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In this case the criminal justice system seems to be quite fair and nuanced; it is the comment that demands revengeā¦ Seeking revenge is a natural impulse in human beings, but a terrible way to organize a criminal justice system. And yes, I am aware of the death penalty, the āthree strikes lawsā and other abominations. As much as I have always despised Hastert, there is no need to descend to his level. BTW, if you commit a crime with revenge as a motive, that motive can lead to a harsher sentence. And rightly so.