I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you about the hot water that one Mr. Mark Foley has gotten his Republican self into. And I assume you know I don't mean hot water like fun, relaxing, Jacuzzi hot water. I mean hot water like... well, the bad kind of hot water.

And not only is Mr. Foley's reputation gutted and turned inside out thanks to his inability to stay away from young, handsome, conservative boys, but his big boss, Mr. House Speaker Hastert, is in trouble for letting Mr. Foley slide with this shit. Big trouble. There is all kinds of big trouble in Republican-land at the moment, and this isn't even the headline of that story. And that is not my point.

Here's what is completely baffling me, though: explicit messages over email to underage male pages? Dirty instant messages to young boys? WTF? We are living in the age of the internet, aren't we? A time where everything is available at your fingertips and you leave footprints and documentation every single time you log on.

I would think, being in politics, or just being over the age of eleven, that Mr. Foley would have had the common sense not to dirty talk with kids in writing over the internet. In a totally provable, print-outtable, time-stamped and traceable way of communicating. I'm not encouraging sexual predators to be more stealth and avoid getting caught for their behavior, but COME ON. Even I know what to say and not say on IM. Especially if it is directed to an intern or anyone connected with my job. Seriously, Mr. Foley.

It's inexcusable to try to get with young boys, especially when your relationship involves a power differential, and apparently this is an experience Mr. Foley had in his own adolescence, involving a priest and a super-heavy power differential. And I am sorry for him that he had that event in his life. But it is more than inexcusable to be so stupidly bold as to try to get with young boys over IM,and really think you can get away with it. OMG.