# Paula Poundstone - not funny and now this... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402 "2001-06-28T01:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/61 "2001-07-10T02:23:53Z")
People get confused by this– For example, Jack Ruby was given a trial, and was “innocent until proven guilty.” But the whole nation saw him kill Lee Oswald on network TV, there wasn’t any question that he did the crime… And that’s completely apart from the being tried in the court of public opinion. I’m not saying that it’s fair, that’s just the way it is. As far as the “orientation” of child molesters, one could rightly argue that if a male prefers little boys, he’s not heterosexual, but a pervert of the worst kind. Good try, though. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/62 "2001-07-10T03:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tedster \* > As far as the “orientation” of child molesters, one could rightly argue that if a male prefers little boys, he’s not heterosexual, but a pervert of the worst kind. Good try, though. So do so. ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/63 "2001-07-10T14:28:13Z")
Simple- The very fact one is attracted to little boys in a precludes one from being heterosexual. Case in point, the Boy Scout leader who is now facing 29 counts of molestation, (Reardon) I doubt the mainstream media will mention his affiliation with Scouting, though. Gee, I wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/64 "2001-07-20T05:35:24Z")
Oh-- I forgot to mention/ask-- Can anyone explain to me why it’s so vital to allow Gay Scoutmasters? Does this pass the common sense test? Forgive me for not being “tolerant” (Another word who’s meaning has been hijacked, never mind) I can only infer that it’s quite allright for males to accompany Girl Scouts on overnighters as well… Correct? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/65 "2001-07-20T06:23:21Z")
Huh, wish I’d seen this thread weeks ago when this would’ve been more relevant, but better late than never, right? Courtesy of [The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com), here is the [complaint filed by the LA district attorney against Paula Poundstone](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/poundstone1.shtml). The statute she’s being prosecuted under, Cal. Penal Code 288(a), says: > [@](#): > > 1. (a) Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for in Part 1, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/66 "2001-07-20T07:10:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tedster \* > \*\*Oh-- I forgot to mention/ask-- Can anyone explain to me why > it’s so vital to allow Gay Scoutmasters? Does this pass > the common sense test? Forgive me for not being “tolerant” (Another word who’s meaning has been hijacked, never mind) > > I can only infer that it’s quite allright for males to > accompany Girl Scouts on overnighters as well… Correct? > > \*\* First: The Boy Scouts are not in any way related to the Girl Scouts; they are entirely separate entities. Second: There are male Girl Scout Masters, and they do accompany Girl Scots on overnight campouts. But, by golly, I think you’re on to something here. If we keep all heterosexual men away from young girls, and all homosexual men away from young boys, we can eliminate all child molestation. Of course this would mean no male elementary school teachers, hell no male teachers at all. And of course, we can’t have Priests molesting young boys, so we’ll have to have an all female clergy. But why limit it to men? Women occasionally molest children also, so to be safe, let’s keep lesbians away from girls, and heterosexuals away from boys. And for God’s sake, this idea of letting paretns be alone with their opposite sex children has got to stop. Marriage is the cause of this accident waiting to happen. Obviously we must do away with Marriage, and parents raising children together. The ultimate solution, of course, would be to seperate all people into two groups. All of the hetero men, gay women, and boys in one, and the hetero women, gay men, and girls in the other, and not allow any contact whatsoever between them. We have the technology to do this now, sexual contact between people can be eliminated altogether. If you want to open a can of worms like this, I’d be glad to meet you in GD in a thread devoted to this topic. Maybe we can win some converts to our way of thinking! ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/67 "2001-07-20T07:50:31Z")
Not so much a hi-jack as a point of order. The great strength of this joint is that all these witty, smart, funny, perceptive people are bound together on a principle of fighting ignorance. Meaning: provide evidence, separate opinion from fact, listen to the other side, etc. I’m annoid with stoid. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \*\*\* > I know she’s gay the way I knew Ellen DeGeneres was gay about 12 years before she came out, the way i always knew Rosie was gay, the way I knew Rock Hudson was gay from the moment I knew who Rock Hudson was, the way I know lots of people in Hollywood are gay: osmosis. I live here. It’s in the air. \*\* ie, “oh everybody said so…” Oh really? [insert rolling eyes smiley] > [@](#): > > \*\*Tom Cruise. The rumours are SO friggin’ persistent, it makes one wonder. \*\* Which means the gerbil story MUST be true, of course. Despite Snopes. Stoid, I’m wagging my finger at you. Be careful, or I’ll give you the cross look! And to **Searching for Truth** - very cool handle old bean, but could I point out to you that when you bear that kind of stirring name, and say things such as: > [@](#): > > **Don’t know who Paula Poundstone (grrreat name) is and didn’t bother to read the article, but dude, _shrug_ half the charges brought against people nowadays aren’t true.** can you see that you are tempting people to make sarcastic remarks about you, involving not searching VERY hard? Not that I would myself… [/point of order] You can all get back to tearing up some poor media victim now. Redcross ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/68 "2001-07-20T10:03:36Z")
Sophistry gets one nowhere… Of course the Girl Scouts are a “different entity” than the Boy Scouts. I didn’t suppose I’d have to spell it out, but some enjoy splitting hairs over grotesque details any rational person wouldn’t quibble over. My point still stands-- Nobody has any problem, then, with sending men who lust after Pre-Teen and Teen girls out overnight to sleep in the same tent? I trust and hope that’s not the case. I guess I’m just an “intolerant” and “bigoted” bastard. PC at its finest. They aren’t heterosexuals-- Again, Good Try. They are Pedophiles/Pedarests And they don’t belong anywhere near our children, “NAMBLA” notwithstanding. It’s the same sort of nonsensical logic by which we are told “Rape isn’t about Sex, it’s about Power” Oh? And I suppose Robbery isn’t about stealing my Television, either. Who _are_ these people, that come up with this? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/69 "2001-07-20T10:37:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Tedster:** _ > > **They are Pedophiles/_Pedarests_…** They’re footstools?? 😛 Pederast, I think, is what you’re looking for (I know, I know, very likely a typo–just joshin’). The thing that really makes me agree with several posters here is that despite the fact we’ve gotten the charge reported, there has been (at least as far as I’ve heard) _no report of what actually prompted the charges_. Even after this long, I haven’t heard anyone say what she did (and no, my prurient interests are just fine, thanks for caring). Even when we had the case several months ago about the mother nursing her five year old, we were at least told why she was charged. I haven’t heard anything about Ms. Poundstone’s actions. So what does “lewd conduct” tell us? Did she kiss her daughter goodnight, and someone who is offended by her rumored sexuality (or possibly her alcohol problem) take it upon themselves to decide she did it for gratificational purposes? Was she sodomising her with vegetables? Did they shower together to save on hot water, talk about birth control, make a porn flick, what? Wouldn’t the public (or those of the higher IQ measurements) be more likely to agree the charges were justified if they could say, “Aha! That sure is ‘lewd’, all right!”? But we can’t. Almost makes me wonder if the people bringing the charges are afraid the rest of us won’t agree with them, so we’re just supposed to jump to the assumption that they’re called for without any evidence. “Trust us” activates my radar. Something’s amiss. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/70 "2001-07-20T17:23:02Z")
**Tedster:** The only reason your perverse theories aren’t getting the spanking they deserve is that they’re in MPSIMS, where nobody is paying attention. If you really want to defend the notion that gay men sent out on scouting trips wouldn’t be able to resist cornholing every fresh-faced straight boy in the campground, go over to Great Debates and start a new thread there. Unless you’re chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/71 "2001-07-20T18:59:14Z")
I guess you are… that’s enough for me. Thank You. yeah, right. _I’m_ the perverse one. what a crock. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402/72 "2001-07-21T05:15:02Z")
Tedster: Since you seem not to understand the proper forum for posting your views, I’ve done you a favor and posted them in the proper forum for you. Come join us if you feel you can reasonably defend your position. The thread is in Great Debates, and is titled [Tedster explains child molestation, sexual orientation, and scoutmasters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=78873). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paula-poundstone-not-funny-and-now-this/70402.md?page=3)