WeinerGate: Best. Press Conference. EVER
Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?
Hey, nothing like being upstaged at your own press conference. Andrew Breitbart was at the press conference, and if I understand correctly from the zillion-tweets-a-minute going on during the conference, reporters asked Andrew to answer questions. Naturally, he took the podium, achieving a moment of New Media Awesomeness:
“I want to hear the truth. I want to hear the truth from Congressman Weiner and I would like an apology for him being complicit in a blame-the-messenger strategy,” Andrew Breitbart said at a presser before Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) took the podium — at the same place.
“I am accused of being a hacker. He said nothing. He allowed for that to go. The minions perpetuated that false, maliciousness and he went on to CNN to attack me and I feel he was complicity. You can talk. The girl’s story, I believe, will be on “World News Tonight,” and she can talk to you more specifically. I have seen a lot of this Congressman’s body and he is in very good shape and it appears to be his body. So … okay, everything that I have said so far has come to be true.”
If you thought the legacy media and the left (but I repeat myself) hated Breitbart before this, well…
Oh, and what of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)? He came clean, sorta, kinda. Naturally, he’s not resigning. At least as of now:
Embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted to posting lewd photos of himself on Twitter at a Monday afternoon press conference.While addressing the media at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Weiner made the following statement: “Last Friday night I tweeted a photograph of myself that I intended to send as direct message as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle. Once I realized I posted it to Twitter, I panicked, I took it down and said that I had been hacked. I then continued with that story to stick to that story which was a hugely regrettable mistake.”
“I am so sorry to have disrupted her life in this way. To be clear, the picture was of me and I sent it. I am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife Huma and our family, and my constituents, my friends, supporters and staff,” Weiner said.
In addition, the congressman said that “over the past few years I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, email, and occasionally on the phone with women I have met online.”
Fausta has a good timeline of the press conference, which she live-blogged:
4:50PM Says he also misled his Congressional staff.
4:48PM Says did not violate the rules of the House, or violates the Constitution.
Dan Blatt’s also liveblogging.
4:40PM Accepts full responsibility. “My constituents will have to make the determination to vote [him out of office]“. He’s not quitting, alright.
The WaPo is carrying this story in their LIFESTYLE section, along with the decorating and parties.
4:35PM Weiner apologizes to Andrew Breitbart.
He says he never had any physical relationship with any of the women but does not deny phone sex, and “won’t rebut anything” the women are saying.Earlier in the press conference,
Anthony Weiner states during this afternoon press conference: “To be clear, the picture was of me, and I sent it.”Would have saved himself a world of trouble if he had just said it in the first place.
He’s not resigning.
He also initially claimed that his account was hacked, a serious allegation for a congressman to make. I wonder if there will be any repercussions for that?
Conspicuously absent at the press conference? Mrs. Weiner, Hillary Clinton’s former aide-de-camp. Make of that what you will.
Say, does anyone know which reporter shouted at the very end of the press conference as Weiner was dismounting the podium, “Were you fully erect or are you capable of more!?” You stay classy, MSM Howard Stern Show.
At Hot Air: “Weiner admits to sending photo, not resigning; Update: Apologizes to Breitbart; Update: Woman who received Weiner pics speaks to ABC.”
As somebody said on Twitter, the left will forgive Weiner of anything. But not apologizing to Breitbart.
Mickey Kaus adds:
I thought Weiner did almost as well as he could possibly do. He had the requisite L.A. Confidential bare honesty. … But if he isn’t addicted to sex, he’s clearly addicted to air time. He couldn’t get off the podium until he’d said at least one obnoxious thing, which is that he had “not much desire” to actually meet the women he was tweeting with (and that he was now supposedly apologizing to). …
And as Ace (who has owned this story almost as much as Breitbart) notes, “So, in ‘coming clean,’ [Weiner] lied a whole bunch of times, and continued to evade.”
Will the GOP Congress let him off the hook?
Of course they will.
Jennifer Rubin adds, “Will he survive? I suppose if he wants to tough it out and there is no evidence of illegality, he can try. But he’s ruined himself and disgraced his office. That, I suppose, is where things stand.”
Worked pretty well for Teddy and Bill, didn’t it?
Update: I’d embed the video from the press conference here, but for technical reasons, it would prohibit me from easily updating this post. So click here to watch, and then come back for more reaction and updates.
I’ve also added video of Andrew Breitbart’s incredible warm-up act at the same link. As Allahpundit asks:
If you’re wondering what the left’s next move will be after this, you haven’t been reading blogs for very long. Exit question: If Breitbart hadn’t asked for an apology from Weiner, would the press ever have thought to ask for one on his behalf? A rhetorical question, of course.
Meanwhile, back in old media, the Weiner rehabilitation tour begins: Reuters editor “Chrystia Freeland Blown Away by Weiner’s ‘Classy Touch’”
Well that’s one way to put it.
Astonishingly, Congressional Minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Palomino) says she’s calling for an investigation, according to CNN:
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called Monday for an ethics committee investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner to determine if government resources were used or House rules were violated in Weiner’s online relationships with women through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Perhaps headlines such as this at the Washington Examiner are spurring Pelosi on: “Weiner didn’t communicate with underage girls — but only to the best of his knowledge:”
Of all the things he said, none of them were more destructive than when he was asked whether he knew for sure that all of the females he was communicating with were adults. He would only say they were, “to the best of my knowledge.”
Even if you take him at his word (and this is the guy who claimed that he couldn’t with “certitude” identify a photo of him in his underwear), it’s extra sleazy that he would engage in these sort of relationships without even knowing for sure whether he was swapping photos with underage girls.
Ultimately, Weiner declined to resign. Whether or not he survives this episode, at the very minimum, his chances of being elected mayor of New York City have taken a severe hit.
Over to you, GOP.
Update: I started to write this as an update, but figured I’d spin it off into its own post on what a landmark day today was for new media, no matter what happens to Weiner.
And barring anything groundbreaking, I think that’s the last of the updates to this post. As always, the rest of the blog is open 24 hours a day for your dining and dancing pleasure, to paraphrase M*A*S*H.
Kudos to Andrew on this one. Wiener shouldn’t cry, he will probably end up with his own show on CNN along side Elliot Sptizer.
He not only snivelled, he slung snot.
That was incredible.
Denial by Spitz’ & Weiner?
I think that show will have a fantastic initial viewership. And if they don’t do well on CNN, they’ll have a great career as Saturday Night Comedy.
Now, the part I dislike sitting through, every member of the Congressional Black Caucus will be on CSPAN to make a speech that tells us the Weiner’s actions “…do not rise to the level…” that should cause him to resign.
We really begin to start asking all the Clinton’s questions that start with, “how dos it make you feel that you have such a close, personal relationship with with Weiner, now that he…?”
Gag. Who didn’t see this coming?
Of course Weiner’s career won’t be ruined. Only Republican political careers are ruined by scandals and corruption. Democratic careers are just put on hold.
“Of course Weiner’s career won’t be ruined. Only Republican political careers are ruined by scandals and corruption. Democratic careers are just put on hold”
Actually, Dem scumbags usually get promoted. Look out Pelosi!
It’s not like he killed anyone. Then he’d “have” to resign. Oh wait……. Never Mind.
If he had a prostitution ring running out of his offices he’d definitely be out of office. Wait, never mind.
Can someone explain when this happens to Repubs, they resign and when it happens to the Dems, they refuse to resign and cling to their positions of power as a child to a security blanket. This incident would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic. These people are in charge of running the country. Turns out Weiner is a weiner. How sweet it is!
Because when this happens to Republicans, they are immediately and constantly branded “hypocrites” for preaching or talking about morality, and then dismissing it if they want to remain in office. When this happens to Democrats, they can all stare into the camera with a straight face and say, “I’m not going to resign – there’s no reason to” because for them there IS no reason – if you’re immoral and accept it, you expect your supporters to accept it, too. So, why resign?
If Anthony Weiner had resigned, he would have sent the message – whether it was stated or not – that he at least understood and acknowledged morality as a presence in his life. Because a sense of morality would have prompted him to resign. Knowing the emptiness of his party, his supporters, and his own heart provided him with an “out” and a justification in his own mind about staying in office.
Resigning would also have implied he was WRONG – and that word isn’t in the Democratic lexicon.
You are giving GOP politicians too much credit. They would all stay in if they could. The difference is the voters. Conservative voters will not re-elect them. That is where the big difference in morals plays out.
It’s simple, really: Serving While Republican is itself an indictable offense, at least in the minds of the Left and the Legacy Media.
Always ends up the same. I’m innocent — or words to that effect or My client wants to prove his innocence — or words to that effect. Note: in future, get them in any forum which requires the person of interest to first be under oath.
If twitter never existed, Weiner would still be a putz.
@RebeccaH,
No, they are not put on hold, they are sent to a special center where the perpetrator is reframed into a hero of the people and someone who should be hailed for his refusal to bow to conservative pressure and a special commendation for delay tactics. He will be returned to congress until he decides to leave of his own accord. The voters will send him back, again and again. Remember Gerry Studds from Mass. who had an affair with a 17 year old page, turned his back on the House when he was being censured and received two standing ovations from his constituents back home? He went on to serve 14 more years in the House.
Republicans are publically humiliated, denegrated, ostracized, and removed from office. Democrats are glorified, decorated, and reelected.
I have known Anthony Weiners all my life. They start out as secondary-school politicians full of phony charm with a total willingness to relentlessly kiss up to any set of buttocks that can help them get ahead. In college they pretend to be “everyone’s friend” while coldly calculating who can help them and who can’t. They join some local legislators staff (usually a Democrat) and compete with the other staffers to see who can bring the coffee the fastest.
By some mysterious alchemy the most selfish, self-centered, arrogant, egomaniacal and servile of this loathsome group attains elected office where they grandly claim to act for “the people.” All the while they are planning their next move up the greasy pole. Like W.S. Gilbert’s Ruler of the Queen’s Navy they “Never thought of thinking for themselves at all.” They think so little that they are rewarded with lifelong access to power and office.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this but doesn’t Mr. Weiner resemble everyone’s high-school Student Council president – the guy whose every other word was “me” or “I”? Is this the best our nation can do when it comes to elected “leaders?”
Rep. Weiner makes Eddie Haskell look like a pillar of virtue. One of the most irritating personalities in Congress and now this.
Masturbation can indeed be fun – that’s why this loathsome group joined the holy orgy of public service for the people.
Personal favorite moment: When asked would he be getting therapy, Weiner replied, “I might see someone.”
That rather hit the ground with a wet thud and laid there.
I’m afraid I said something rude, about a discreet and expensive…escort. But I’m pretty sure others thought it.
Personal favorite moment: When asked would he be getting therapy, Weiner replied, “I might see someone.”
It’ll NEVER happen…how many female therapists under 18 can there be?
Don’t ask, because the answer might send you (and me!) screaming into the night.
So his wife’s name is actually … Huma Weiner? Now that’s too funny!
That would count as one of the best examples of a reason not to change from your maiden name.
And so the story of “Weinergate” concludes. Wonder who gets to play the role of “deepthroat” in the forthcoming movie.
Heh. But I’m not quite sure it’s over-over, as Whoopi would say.
Rep. Wiener: remember…
Be careful of the words you say
Keep them soft and sweet
You never know from day to day
Which ones you’ll have to eat.
Let there be no doubt who should play Weiner, though. It’s gotta be this guy:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/Doyle/screech.jpg
If you want to see vicious hatred of Breitbart, check out this thread at Metafilter:
http://www.metafilter.com/104274/Weinergate
Left-wing hatred of Breitbart is only to be expected:
1. He’s conservative;
2. He’s effective;
3. He’s relentless.
Corollary: You’ll never see vitriol of that magnitude directed at John McCain.
If you’re a conservative and the rabid left don’t hate you, you’re nothing but a pet.
Can I just say it appears that the counter revolution to the cultural revolution that the left have been waging for the last 30 years, seems to be gathering steam all over the world?
They thought they had it won. They’ve got the media, the schools, the language, the bureaucracy and most of the establishment. Then they got complacent and sloppy.
Now decent people are starting to stir and become a little militant themselves. Do the left have it in them to put up a long fight?
“If you’re a conservative and the rabid left don’t hate you, you’re nothing but a pet.” Yea!
As for the counter-counterrevolution to the 1960s-to-present destruction of society, the fight is clearly on, but a very very long way from winning. Today we saw a victory in the effort to re-take journalism. (Way to go and take the podium!) But this is just a good day in a tough effort.
Whenever I think that the media really may be close to dead, I meet people who rely on CNN, NPR, the NYT, for all of their news. The monopoly on reporting is not broken. It is just struggling. We would need a lot more days like today, and a real journalist who will get Obama off of the teleprompter and showing his true colors.
Academia will probably be the toughest to change, but perhaps the higher education bubble will pop and force some substantial reform.
As a Member of his district I am happy. We republicans got within 20 points last time with Turner. This is the closest republicans ever got in this district in decades. Now with this we have a chance in 2012
The panelists on last night’s Hannity show came up with a more plausible scenario: Since NY is doomed to lose a House seat or two as a result of the last census, the Dems will get rid of Weiner by simply abolishing his district.
As for Weiner himself, Neal Boortz argued against resignation demands on today’s show. Let him stay, Neal says, as another textbook example of a Democrat dirtbag. As an added bonus, he will no longer have any influence in the House other than his one vote.
It is absolutely disgraceful that some of the media (but not the good guys) are treating Mr. Weiner as though he were a Republican.
Mr Weiner raises in the Democrat party today – Can his own talk show be far away at CNN . Scum floats to the top and The New Yorkers who voted this guy in are complete fools.
pelosi wants to investigate the weiner
>>>MUST>>>RESIST>>>TEMPTATION>>>
I won’t:
“Pelosi Demands Weiner Probe”
As well she might.
Wow, I think I need to go into politics…more time for golf, ditto on keeping up with friends and making new ones, I could become an amateur photographer, and while my spouse thought I was working all day I could try out some new pick up lines…oh heck no. Don’t think I have the (low) morals for it. What a loser. Heckuva press conference though.
You mean Breitbart’s? Really excellent, I must agree!
I suppose the cynic in me says if Ted Kennedy can quite literally get away with murder and Bill Clinton can get away with serial sexual harassment and lying to Congress under oath, Weiner will get a pass.
You just have to have that little (D) next to your name. If Chris Lee and Tom Foley had to go, then surely Weiner should have been forced out. But that’s life. I hope Breitbart has more pictures to roll out.
The guy shouting out inappropriate questions at the end was Benjy Brink of the Howard Stern show. Well done Benjy!
Bronk.
Can’t wait to see how the apologists will spin this one.
“Hey it was all a joke! We all send stupid texts to people at one time or another!”
It will only be a matter of time before more girls that Weiner has been texting and messaging will come forward. Then things will get real interesting.
Nancy Pelosi heading up an ethics investigation against a fellow leftist Democrat.
Well, I for one expect transparency and full accountability based upon the history so far.
Congressman Weiner just admitted to sexual talk and photo swapping with six young women. I wonder if, like John Edwards, he is only admitting to what he knows somebody can prove? And then when more evidence comes in, such as an additional 25 young women, then he’ll admit to that. And when yet another 20 young women speak up…..and so on.
People with tastes and a lifestyle like his have usually done that kind of thing most of their lives. That can add up to a lot of women, and possibly some illegitimate children.
Now, how are we to believe anything he says in the future, on any topic what-so-ever?
This really messes up the menu at the DNC 4th of July picnic.
This would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. Weiner’s weiner could get Weiner blackmailed and Weiner is carrying around highly classified government information along with his pictures of his little weiner. What a tool, as it were. I really hate that Democrats can even get away with exposing themselves. I will never vote for another Democrat. They can even corrupt the cesspool cleaning department. Here is to living among fools and somehow getting through it.
Hey he is just practicing “transparent governing” to others(mostly young women)! See he is open and honest about how he behaves to them! He goes all out to show graphically how honest he is!
Seeing as Weiner’s a Democrat golden boy and seeing as he’s married to a former personal aide to Hillary Clinton whose husband knew how to oil his way around the … well, never mind, he’s probably still in the running for mayor of NYC.
On The News Hour with Jim Lehrer tonight, the idiot who was interviewed about the Congressman’s apology said that “at base” Weiner’s weiner on Twitter is basically a story about “social media.”
Uh huh. Sure.
But, that’s the way it’s going to run: Boys will be boys, he apologized, didn’t he?, we’re all human, don’t you feel a little sorry for him?, etc. He’s a Democrat, he’s excused.
Now, what his wife thinks may be a different matter …
All of the comments I’ve read by Weiner’s apologists on facebook and twitter completely ignore the wife.
They’re all too busy shrugging this off as “no big deal.”
Would it be a big deal to them if their husband or wife was caught doing what Anthony did?
Breitbart is fearless and cool. Weiner and the MSM come across as corrupt and cynical. I think young people will notice the difference and gravitate towards Breitbart’s example. The tea party movement should feel heartened, libertarianism has somehow become cool.
A few years ago the ultimate in cyberspace gaffes was to accidently hit “reply all” when a private inside joke was intended for one of your buds, with your boss then seeing what a jerk you were. I live and vote in New York. I am this guy’s boss, footing the bill for his work-time “pranks” when he accidetally sends a private “perv bomb” to all his loyal following. Though it has not really taught me anything new, I now realize what a jerk this boner is. Would that I had the clout of a Donald Trump so I could now end his days on “The Congressman Apprentice.”
Too bad he’s a hetero degenerate. If he was a homo degenerate like Barney Frank he’d get a lot more sympathy.
Chalk another one up to Andrew Breitbart. The man is a national resource. He deserves a medal.
A touching display puts a tear in Wiener’s eye…
Bosh er needs to come down on Wiener.
Sorry – iPhone keeps “correcting”. Attempted joke was prematurely redacted. Should read:
“Boehner needs to come down on Weiner”.
Excellent!
News flash: Palosi to take a close look at Mr Weiner. How better to drain the swamp than by the swamp mistress herself. Be afraid Mr Weiner.
We need much more of Breitbart’s fearless, in your face, unapologetic, dog eat dog style instead of the wimpy GOP response in the face of the never ending Leftist onslaught of lies and vicious attacks. We need to give as hard as they do.
Absolutely!! So many people have the same sentiments as you but the GOP just doesn’t get it. Too many McCains who refuse to take the gloves off. People are fed up and want someone to echo their thoughts and not be “politically correct”.
“direct message as part of a joke” – and we are supposed to believe this ? He was lying as he came clean……
He was visibly lying while answering questions from the press. He squirmed, he avoided eye contact, eyes darting madly, while asserting that he never used government resources for his habitual quasi-adultery.
It’s almost funny. “Coming clean” about his revolting personal tastes (which are weirdly impersonal if you start thinking about it, to say nothing of promiscuous and disconnected), and lying about the when and where.
While ABC puts up the interviews that make the lie obvious.
Is anyone else watching this with incredulous delight? Or am I alone in this?
Liberals Exposed, In Every Way
Liberals are a sorry bunch. Since you can’t shoot ‘em, ya gotta love ‘em, sort of, and, it must be admitted they provide a much-needed entertainment factor, sort of.
You have to wonder what’s wrong with them, though. Lib politicians, especially, seem to have a screw loose somewhere when it comes to their aberrant sexual proclivities.
Whether it be the smarminess of Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner, a story still growing, so to speak, the lustiness of Democrat Sen. Jumping Johnny Edwards or of hooker-loving Democrat Governor Eliot Spitzer, or the midnight truck-stopping of Democrat Governor Jim McGreevey, they appear unable to control themselves which, I guess, is what makes them Dem liberals.
The good news is that those pervs all reside in the New York area. The bad news is that there are any number of lib “celebs” out there with widespread audiences to whom they spew vile liberal opinion.
Demonstrating that a lack of decorum and class isn’t confined to lib-men, one member of the distaff side, Time reporterette, Nina Burleigh, famously said back in 1998, “I would be happy to give [Bill Clinton] a blowjob just to thank him for keeping abortion legal. I think American women should be lining up with their presidential kneepads on to show their gratitude for keeping the theocracy off our backs.”
Like I said, classy. (It’s not known whether Bubba collected his reward.)
Pols and oral sex aside, among the sorriest of all liberal celebrities, of sorts, is Bill Maher.
Sam Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, was once asked if he could punch someone famous who would he pick and quickly answered, “Bill Maher. It would be fun to lay that boy out. But I’d look like a bully because he’s so much smaller than I am. ” Joe/Sam’s sentiments are entirely understandable.
Maher, the least funny comedian on the planet who took up political commentary after a failed career as a stand-up comic, is notable in a variety of ways, none of them flattering. However, being an arch-liberal he gets away with doing and saying the most reprehensible things such as when he opined on Obama and the Gulf oil disaster.
Demeaning all African-Americans, the consistently foul-mouthed Maher ranted, “I thought when we elected a black president, we were going to get a black president. . . a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt where you can see the gun in his pants. That’s — (in black man voice) ‘we’ve got a motherfu**ing problem here?’ Shoot somebody in the foot.”
Racism is just fine when articulated by a lib. So, too, is misogyny, when the targets are conservative women. Grossly illiberal, intemperate, hypocritical slurs hurled at former Governor Sarah Palin and Rep. Michelle Bachmann are perfectly acceptable in Liberal World. Maher called them “two bimbos,” characterized Palin as “a t*at,” and Bachmann a “c*nt.”
Not a peep emanated from the nation’s preeminent liberal women’s spokeswomen at the National Organization for Women.
The déclassé Maher . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4749)
We may need to start a Lewd Public Figure Hall of Fame. That would create a few jobs. Of course it will have to be in San Francisco…
I think Frank Zappa summed it up many years ago:
I’ve got the thing you need
I am endowed beyond your wildest
Clearasil-spattered fantasies, oh oh oh..
Girls from all over the world
Love to write my name on the toilet walls
At the whisky a go go
For I am bwana dik
I am bwana dik
Me bwana dik
Me bwana dik
My dick is a monster
Give me your heart
My dick is a harley
You kick it to start
(chorus line)
When bwana dik speaks
The heavens will part
My dick is a dagger
I’ll force it to fit
My dick is a reamer, baby
To scream up your slit
Steam it!
Ream it!
Cream it!
P.S., insert Howard Dean scream at close.
From the volume of pictures and tweets and phone conversations that Weiner is supposed to have authored in just these couple of incidents alone, and the rumors of many, many more such incidents over the years, you have to wonder just exactly how often Weiner was ever spending any substantial amount of time conducting the “public’s business”?
It seems to me he ought to be booted out just on the basis of him defrauding his constituents, the Congress and the citizens of the U.S. because, from the evidence, his election campaigns were apparently just gigantic “bait and switch” cons.
It was “elect me and I will be hard at work pursuing the public’s business” but it was really “elect me so that I can get a hard on, and spend practically every waking minute chasing women and using my vaunted computer/social media skills to send salacious pictures and messages to the army of women and young girls I am pursing and hope to bed.
not funny, though. the fellow is a pervert. and he’s not the only one in washington d.c. with sexual proclivities. we need better leadership in the USA.
Subpenis…I mean subpoena…all the perv’s records.
Liar Chris Cuomo on the legacy media leftist [but this is redundant] ABC Nightline lead-in accused Andrew of “hijacking” the news conference when Weiner’s entrance was delayed. I guess the twisted liar Chris Cuomo [whose lying brother succeeded Schpritzer as Gov in the sex-obsessed left-wing state of New Dork] thinks that fifty reporters asking one of their outlier colleagues like Breitbart by acclamation to step to the podium is “hijacking” the presser.
Except for Jake Tapper, ABCNews is a nest of DNC agitpreppies, from Jonathan Karl through Terry Moran & George Stephanoops-olos, the entire cast is an armada of lefties, waiting somehow to rescue the Obungler from Demonrat mindless socialism’s inevitable potholes in the road.
For many years I lived in the district of Schumer’s sucessor, Weiner. He is a married man sending smut to women half his age, and doing it under his Rep name and the peoples time.He always thought he was too slick to be caught at anything nasty.I now live in the neighboring district. I think my rep (Clarke), is wrong on everything but I don’t think she’s a liar and a slut.
Does anyone believe his answer to the “did you do it to minors” question?