# Is Harry Reid a pederast? It seems the burden of proof is on him. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331 "2012-08-03T18:25:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/161 "2012-08-05T21:21:21Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Apology? A demand for an apology from someone who, earlier today said:No-one ever said you lacked a sense of humor. Unbelievable. To justify _you_ coming after _me_ you offer an instance of me calling _someone else_ a name. M-kay. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/162 "2012-08-05T21:24:18Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Unbelievable. To justify _you_ coming after _me_ you offer an instance of me calling _someone else_ a name. > > M-kay. :rolleyes: It’s not a matter of justification. I called your interpretation “dishonest” because that’s what i believe it was. That stands, irrespective of your other activities. I was simply pointing out that someone who’s happy to throw around insults in a debate like this shouldn’t then cry and demand apologies when someone insults him. **Elvis** made an argument about Romney, and in response you called him “monumentally stupid” and a jackass. You’re asking me to apologize for exactly the sort of behavior that you engage in. There’s a word for that. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/163 "2012-08-05T21:39:12Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s not a matter of justification. I called your interpretation “dishonest” because that’s what i believe it was. That stands, irrespective of your other activities. > > I was simply pointing out that someone who’s happy to throw around insults in a debate like this shouldn’t then cry and demand apologies when someone insults him. **Elvis** made an argument about Romney, and in response you called him a jackass. You’re asking me to apologize for exactly the sort of behavior that you engage in. There’s a word for that. Wow. Now I feel safe to say that you’re either completely full of shit or you really are (amazingly) as stupid as that other imbecile. But if in your moral universe you treat people the way they treat others—not _you_, _others_—when you have no idea of the history between those two people, that’s a new world for me, rock on you dumb fuck. Hey, that guy you work next to, he punched a guy in a bar once, go punch him in the face tomorrow. YEESH! And you are full of shit. You weren’t _merely_ pointing out my attitude toward Elvis, _you offered it as justification_ for coming after me. Really, go back and read it. The words are still there. And when you do go back, go back a little further. What will you find? You’ll find that the discussion between us started with me complimenting you on your long post. And your first words to me after that compliment? > [@](#): > > This is incredibly stupid,… Pretty strange, I admit. But, again, you could look it up. Really! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/164 "2012-08-05T21:46:38Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > And when you do go back, go back a little further. What will you find? You’ll find that the discussion between us started with me complimenting you on your long post. And your first words to me after that compliment? My first words to you after the compliment were “This is incredibly stupid…” because the thing i was responding to was, in fact, incredibly stupid. To be honest, your compliment had me looking over my post again to make sure i hadn’t made a mistake, because you’ve proven yourself such a fucking dipshit on multiple issues (including your ridiculous Pit thread about the NBPP, which you never even had the courage to return to) that it’s actually somewhat embarrassing to have you agree with something that i’ve written. And it was not “justification” for coming after you. I would have come after you whether or not you went after **Elvis** , so i needed no justification. The reason i pointed to it was because, as i’ve already made clear, it’s retarded of you whine about insults when you’re so ready to throw them about yourself. Anyway, i’m done with this hijack. You’re not worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/165 "2012-08-05T22:04:47Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > My first words to you after the compliment were “This is incredibly stupid…” because the thing i was responding to was, in fact, incredibly stupid. > > To be honest, your compliment had me looking over my post again to make sure i hadn’t made a mistake, because you’ve proven yourself such a fucking dipshit on multiple issues (including your ridiculous Pit thread about the NBPP, which you never even had the courage to return to) that it’s actually somewhat embarrassing to have you agree with something that i’ve written. > > And it was not “justification” for coming after you. I would have come after you whether or not you went after **Elvis** , so i needed no justification. The reason i pointed to it was because, as i’ve already made clear, it’s retarded of you whine about insults when you’re so ready to throw them about yourself. > > Anyway, i’m done with this hijack. You’re not worth the effort. Wise decision on your part. Because now you’re just lying. You did offer it up as justification. The post is still there chum. And I love how you go in your head from “FUCK, he’s right. I was rude to him right after he complimented me and he is right that I offered up that assholish justification. FUCK!!!” to Um…let’s see…I, uh…oh, I know: “Anyway, i’m done with this hijack. You’re not worth the effort.” Stay classy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/166 "2012-08-05T22:10:43Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > And I love how you go in your head from “FUCK, he’s right. I was rude to him right after he complimented me and he is right that I offered up that assholish justification. FUCK!!!” That’s in your head, moron. it was never in mine. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/167 "2012-08-05T22:13:22Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s in your head, moron. it was never in mine. You know what? I don’t believe you. You’ve proven yourself to be a liar already. Stay classy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/168 "2012-08-06T01:06:34Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > But that’s not quite what you said, is it, **John.** Here, let me help with that… > > Now, I’m just a country boy, but seems to me you are strongly suggesting a level of expertise here. You know what deductions he takes, you know what deductions he is entitled to, and that’s how you arrive at your conclusion, of knowing that he doesn’t pay any more than he has to. Eh. If you prefer, consider that he takes deductions he doesn’t have to. He could give all that dough to charity and not tell Uncle Sam a thing about it! It could just between him and the baby Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/169 "2012-08-06T01:30:19Z")
Those that know don’t talk and those that talk don’t know. So here I am talking… I think it’s quite plausible that Romney ran around the office bragging about how little taxes he paid. I’m sure he paid a lot, but when you make a metric shitload of money then even a lot of money can be a tiny percentage. In Romney’s circle at Bain, bragging about how little one pays in taxes is probably as commonplace as guys on the loading dock bragging about the size of their dicks. I think it’s quite plausible that one of the Bain boys who heard Romney do such boasting thinks he’s a world class asshole, so he went to Reid with the story. I find it highly unlikely that McCain looked at Romney’s taxes. If anyone did, it would have been a staffer. McCain had a personal disgust for Romney and was not considering him anyway, having him go through the vetting process was likely just a formality done as a courtesy to soothe Romney’s ego. I sincerely doubt we’ll see any passionate defense of Romney from McCain. I think McCain would sooner donate to a fund to build a statue of Jane Fonda than he would do anything to pull Romney off the roasting spit that he’s on. For Romney to hide behind McCain’s skirt and say he was following his precedent in releasing only two years (eventually) of returns is about as bad as saying his dog ate the tax forms. His own fucking father set the precedent, not McCain. Besides, he and McCain can’t fucking stand each other. This is like Bette Davis giving Joan Crawford as a character reference. Yes, it is important that Romney release his records. If he’s going to say that we can’t raise rates on the _Job Creators, hallowed be thy name_, then it would blow that argument to hell if he only paid say 3% of his income in taxes. This isn’t going away for Romney. He thinks he can stonewall it but I don’t think he’s figured out that he’s no longer trying to win over voters who already hate Obama. He’s going for that 5% in the middle and being such a dick about this is costing him. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/170 "2012-08-06T02:49:16Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > You know what? I don’t believe you. You’ve proven yourself to be a liar already. > > Stay classy. As much as I hate to admit it, magellan is totally in the right about this one. About the insult war. I make no claims about his opinions on taxes. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/171 "2012-08-06T04:17:47Z")
> [@Trepa\_Mayfield](#): > > As much as I hate to admit it, magellan is totally in the right about this one. > > About the insult war. No, he’s not. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/172 "2012-08-06T04:23:39Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > No, he’s not. You might have some bias in the matter. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/173 "2012-08-06T04:33:43Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > You might have some bias in the matter. Sure; that’s probably true. I’m still not really sure what the douchebag (aka **magellan** ) is actually arguing here. It seems that he’s arguing (a) that i shouldn’t have insulted him, and (b)that i then used his insult of **Elvis** as a justification for my own insult. As for (a), he’s welcome to his opinion, but he said something stupid, so i called it stupid, and he said something dishonest, so i called it dishonest. And this is the Pit, so he can bite me. As for (b), he’s completely wrong. If i had said, “You insulted **Elvis** , so it’s OK for me to insult you,” that would be an attempted justification for my own insult. But that’s not what happened. I wasn’t interested in justifying my own insult; only in pointing out how idiotic it was for **magellan** to whine about it. The only reason i brought up his words to **Elvis** at all is because he whined like a bitch when i insulted him, and i was merely pointing out that a person who throws insults around should probably not be such a baby when he gets insulted himself. Fairly simple really. I didn’t, and i don’t, claim that his insult of **Elvis** justifies my insult of him. My insult of him stands by itself. I insulted him because he said stupid and dishonest shit. For **magellan** , that usually only happens on days that end in the letter “y”. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/174 "2012-08-06T04:44:48Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Sure; that’s probably true. > > I’m still not really sure what the douchebag (aka **magellan** ) is actually arguing here. It seems that he’s arguing (a) that i shouldn’t have insulted him, and (b)that i then used his insult of **Elvis** as a justification for my own insult. > > As for (a), he’s welcome to his opinion, but he said something stupid, so i called it stupid, and he said something dishonest, so i called it dishonest. And this is the Pit, so he can bite me. > > As for (b), he’s completely wrong. > > If i had said, “You insulted **Elvis** , so it’s OK for me to insult you,” that would be an attempted justification for my own insult. But that’s not what happened. I wasn’t interested in justifying my own insult; only in pointing out how idiotic it was for **magellan** to whine about it. The only reason i brought up his words to **Elvis** at all is because he whined like a bitch when i insulted him, and i was merely pointing out that a person who throws insults around should probably not be such a baby when he gets insulted himself. Fairly simple really. > > I didn’t, and i don’t, claim that his insult of **Elvis** justifies my insult of him. My insult of him stands by itself. I insulted him because he said stupid and dishonest shit. For **magellan** , that usually only happens on days that end in the letter “y”. Still lying, huh? You seem to think that the words you typed are no longer there. You’re right, everyone else is wrong. The words are wrong. They don’t say what the English language says they say. Whatever you say, liar. Stay classy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/175 "2012-08-06T04:53:23Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Still lying, huh? You seem to think that the words you typed are no longer there. You’re right, everyone else is wrong. The words are wrong. They don’t say what the English language says they say. Whatever you say, liar. > > Stay classy. What’s the lie? You haven’t actually identified one. And being told to stay classy by you is quite a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/176 "2012-08-06T06:11:56Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > What’s the lie? You haven’t actually identified one. Stop lying. And, oh, don’t forget to punch that guy in the office in the face tomorrow. The nerve of him, hitting that other guy like that. You know, it’s bad enough having to put up with stupid posters, but liars make them look good. You are a liar. And I have better things to do than argue with liars and then grab them by the back of their necks and stick their eyeballs onto their lies only to have them blubber that they don’t see it. Get someone else to grab you by the scruff of your neck and go through the exercise, liar. I have better things to do. We are done. Stay classy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/177 "2012-08-06T06:13:56Z")
:shrug: Don’t bother to support your lies then. Having my class questioned by a guy who opposes SSM is a cross i’ll have to bear, i guess. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/178 "2012-08-06T06:28:12Z")
Looks like we’ve invented a new sig line, though: “Stay classy” by a fellow with zero class. Sort of like “Regards” by a fellow without regards for the species he nominally belongs to. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/179 "2012-08-06T15:14:40Z")
What’s with all you people with uncapitalized user names? It looks so wrong ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/180 "2012-08-06T16:04:28Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > They demand they pay “their fair share”, but have no principled stance on fair. If you think I’m wrong, let’s here it. It’s always framed as “more fair” or a step in the right direction", but there is no endpoint. What’s a fair wage? What’s fair executive remuneration? These things are relative and should be tied to purchasing power. Any other answer is of the slippery slope/appeal to absurdity variety. As for actually discussing policy matters, Romney seems particularly concerned about [government debt](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/mitt-romney-debt-speech-inferno_n_1519253.html). The one thing he could have done as a private citizen outside of government is contribute to the government coffers in order to reduce that debt. He was apparently unwilling to do so, but is happy to call for austerity measures for everyone else. > [@John Mace](#): > > You would be stupid not to, if you could. Gain wealth, forget all but self. Unless the wealth derives from social security (from John Galt’s tax payments!), in which case you’re a selfish unpatriotic bastard willing to lead America to collapse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331.md?page=10)