Subscribe for free to the America First Report newsletter.
Let me first state for the record I think it’s a really, really bad idea for anyone to take nude pictures of themselves and send them to anyone other than a spouse (and even then it’s probably ill advised). With that said, I also believe that anyone who chooses to take nude pictures of themselves and send them to anyone who explicitly wants them has that right.
Now, let’s talk about Congressman Joe Barton. He’s in a very touchy situation with a nude photo of himself circulating around social media. Many are calling for him to step down, including one of my fellow contributors at NOQ Report:
Congressman Joe Barton apologizes for leaked nude selfies
While there was nothing illegal about the photo itself, there are moral implications. He’s a grown man who was separated at the time and sending nude images supposedly to people who wanted them, but we’re talking about a U.S. Congressman. Shouldn’t the standards for decency be higher?
It is still unclear how the photo got onto social media, who put it there, or whether its posting would constitute revenge porn, which is illegal under Texas law.
The author of the piece above asks whether we should hold a U.S. Congressman to a higher standard of decency? I think we should… as it pertains to representing their constituents and defending the Constitution. As for their private lives, no. If they’re not doing anything illegal or unethical, then they should be allowed to be just as human as anyone else.
I’m adamantly against smoking. Former Speaker of the House John Boehner smoked like a chimney. Does that mean I wanted him to step down because of that poor personal choice? No. I did want him to step down because he was a horrible Speaker, but his personal bad judgment did not affect his ability to represent the people who elected him nor hamper his ability to fulfill his pledge of defense for the Constitution.
All of these calls for Barton to step down are silly. He may be an idiot for doing what he did, but he also may be the victim of a crime:
Joe Barton warned woman not to release explicit photos that are now under police investigation
She told the newspaper that she did not publish the explicit image, though it’s unclear whether she willingly provided it to someone else.
Barton confirmed late Wednesday that he warned the woman he might seek help from police to ensure that she didn’t expose private photos to retaliate for his ending their relationship, and he believes he’s the victim of a crime from this week’s exposure of the lewd material.
I have never played any of the social justice cards such as the “race card” or the “sexism card,” but this may be a sexist situation. Why? Because if it was a woman who sent a nude image of herself to a man she was having a relationship with and that image was leaked, nobody would be calling for her to step down. Instead, they’d be hunting down the guy who released the image and demanding he be put in jail with Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein, and Bill Clin… okay, so maybe they wouldn’t go that far.
The point is this: women are not the only victims of sexual misconduct. This seems to be a variation of “revenge porn” which happens to be illegal in the state of Texas. To me, Joe Barton is a moron for sending anyone nude selfies and if he wants to step down out of shame, so be it. He shouldn’t step down out of a sense of guilt. It may be hard to get reelected at this point, but there’s no reason for him to be bullied out by the press or activists.
Covid variant BA.5 is spreading. It appears milder but much more contagious and evades natural immunity. Best to boost your immune system with new Z-Dtox and Z-Stack nutraceuticals from our dear friend, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.