Posted on 10/02/2006 1:27:37 PM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON - At least one former congressional page is disputing another former page's claims that pages were warned five years ago to beware of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fort Pierce.
Matthew Loraditch, a page in the 2001-2002 class, told ABC News he and other pages were warned about Foley by a supervisor in the House Clerk's office. Loraditch, the president of the Page Alumni Association, said the pages were told "don't get too wrapped up in him being too nice to you and all that kind of stuff."
But another page, who asked not to be named told The Palm Beach Post, "The program in no official capacity warned us about it," and he said that Loraditch had posted an explanation for his comments to ABC on the college social network, Facebook.com.
Loraditch's Facebook.com statement said: "I have received several heated responses from my fellow pages about media involvement in the current situation. I want to respond with a few points and thoughts.
"Firstly, as to the ABC "Warned" story, while I may have inadvertently used the word, "warned," in communication, I can assure you it was not intended. The fact of the matter is in an informal situation a supervisor mentioned that Foley was a bit odd or flaky and did not connote by tone or otherwise that he should be avoided.
"Secondly as to talking out in general, . . . I don't think anyone can argue that protecting kids, pages, or whomever from sexual predators is anything but the most important of this whole saga. Nothing comes in front of the safety of the page program, not the page program, a member of congress, no one.
"Thirdly, I have stressed several key points in my contact with media that all situations with Mr. Foley occurred after we had finished our service as pages. That if anything had happed while we were in Washington, it would have been dealt with. That I have full faith and trust that any of the supervisors and staff we worked with would have properly dealt with any situation like the current one. That the page program is one of the most wonderful and educational experiences a youth can have.
"Fourthly, although not all of you know people who have had these horrible conversation with Foley, I do. And frankly that gives me all the more reason to speak out. . . .
"Finally, if i have hurt or offended anyone, I am sorry. And I love my page friends and I cherish my relationships with the page program staff, however fracture some of this may have made them. I want you all to know that I truly believe that I'm doing the best that I can do."
The other page said most pages are angry at Loraditch's comments and that the page program did its best to ensure the safety of pages, with strict rules and curfews.
Also Monday, the placard that once designated Foley's office was gone early this morning, two days after he resigned amid allegations of inappropriate communications with a minor.
Around 10:30 a.m., a congressional employee put up a new sign reading, "Office of the 16th Congressional District of Florida.
-PJ
Let's add Murtha to your list. If you have seen the FBI tape from the ABSCAM investigation, it is obvious the man is an arrogant, filthy mouthed crook. It sounds like 3 mob guys talking.
Yes, indeed. Thank you!
:)
-PJ
What do you think he meant by this? It just seems to be worded strangely, like the page that got these IM's may be suspect, or am I reading this totally wrong.
How about we stop electing people with sexual pathologies?
Pathology: any deviation from a healthy, normal, or efficient condition. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.)
Why not? She certainly has been doing unspeakable things to her readers for years.
Honestly couldn't they at least have come up with at least one angry jilted homosexual to attack Foley directly?
Of Course not, because that would involve proving Foley is gay and attack him for it.
This way to so much easier, you don't have to prove anything.
Of course.
Think about this:
Democrats are in an uproar about Foley and pages....
but they have NO PROBLEM with homosexuals serving as BOY SCOUT leaders.
I am against homsexuals having close contact with boys, period!
Did he cop to sending the messages to 'the page in question,' or to 'a person who used to be a page, who gave him his email and IM ID when he left the program?'
It's still creepy, but a whole different ball of wax if Foley was trolling 'of age' young men who were responding to his overtures.
I don't like the current ideas of what is acceptable behavior among consenting 'adults,' but that's what society is today...
Good job! You caught that ommission, too.
"Ironically, Foley, who is 52 and single, could be found to have violated a law that he helped to write as co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus."
I think he's saying that he knows the page that participated in the IM's.
Page Alumni Association? Ugh.
I think it means he knows a page who got one or more offensive IM messages. Remember, a lot of pages were attacking him for going after Foley and raising questions about the page system, so he's just saying that maybe they don't really believe the stories but he does because he knows somebody who got a bad IM.
Young Matthew strikes me as another Bill Clinton in the making. He's star struck and making his way up the political ladder.
Good question:
What exactly does a page do (officially, that is)?
What IS a "page"?
Bump. Good observation.
Sex positive teachers also are encouraging discussions of masturbation and sexual experimentation at all ages.
The left is just smiling with glee over what they percive to be hypocrisy. They could care less about morals.
Ever see a lib denounce the legacy of Allen Ginsberg?
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