Hope has been getting 'naughty emails' from her employer, and tells Bo, who is a recovering alcoholic in a rehab program, that she is resigning from her job rather than reporting her boss to the authorities. Suddenly little Timmy barges into the scene and confides to Bo that a priest has touched him inappropriately, but not to tell Mimi because she is running for political office. Seeing this scene unfold live rather than on a soap opera is outrageous.
In a normal soap opera, it would take the entire cast of "As the World Turns" to cover the part of Rep. Mark Foley in his series of events and political stunts; for Foley it's a piece of cake.
The infamous man of the hour was accused of "inappropriate behavior" with high school Congressional pages working for his office. After the sexually explicit instant messages and e-mails were exposed, he was pushed to resign. Congressman Tom Reynolds' former chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, is the latest victim of the investigation and slander. Investigators accuse Fordham of ignoring a complaint from a page one year ago.
Foley's behavior was a ticking time bomb. Now that it's blown, those who surrounded him are suffocating in the smoke and haze.
In the aftermath of his resignation, Foley pulled out all the stops in excuse-making and blaming, turning his questionable decisions into a live-action soap opera. With his resignation he claimed to be a closet alcoholic and is seeking help through a rehab program, and later on in the week he claimed that he had an adolescent encounter with a priest. When will politicians learn that certain excuses cross a line into the realm of distaste? How many politicians, after they are caught, blame their mistakes on their alcoholic father or on parental abuse? The finger-pointing and overly dramatic behavior must come to an end, and Republicans need to start patching the holes left by Foley.
The good news coming out of all this? When your soap goes for commercial break and you need just a little more drama, flip over to MSNBC or CSPAN to see the makings of a juicy scandal.
Watch out daytime television, here comes (former) Representative Mark Foley.
The game is back on
Buffalonians should embrace the ice this winter season
Last season's heartbreaker in the conference final ended the Sabres' run for the Lord Stanley Cup, but support and spirit are just as strong as ever. A city suffering from much more than a Bills playoff drought needs to have an economic spark and a spirit jump-start occasionally, and the electricity at HSBC Arena is the tune-up Buffalo called for.
Buffalo was in need of a reliable professional sports team, and they skated into town last year - giving Buffalonians something to watch, and something to be proud of. With a dramatic season opening win against last year's cup champions, the Sabres have already proven to be a show-stopping commodity for the season-to-come.
It's becoming popular to be a Sabres fan, and that's fantastic. Many diehard Sabres fans may not like the bandwagon fans that have emerged due to their recent success, but why not take all the support we can get? With HSBC effortlessly selling out seats, and game viewership skyrocketing, the Sabres are the team to beat this 2006-2007 season and now is the time more than ever to take notice.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
