Over Time with Bill Maher, July 15, 2016

Bill Maher and his guests – Frank Luntz, S.E. Cupp, Jelani Cobb, Eliot Spitzer, and Viggo Mortensen – answer viewer questions after the show.

Eliot Spitzer Caught by USA PATRIOT Act?

Photo from source, Newsweek

Exsqueeze me? Are you kiddin' me, man? The Orwellian-named USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001--I wish I was kidding) was created after 9/11, and enacted by a Congress that didn't read it. It allegedly was enacted to "protect" us from terrorists by relaxing some of our "freedoms." The freedoms we're supposedly fighting for, but I'm getting off on a tangent (I do that a lot).

But now it comes out that Eliot Spitzer's little sex scandal was uncovered because of these new surveillance methods? Is Eliot Spitzer a terrorist, or was it the hooker?

[Excerpt]

Unintended Consequences
Spitzer got snagged by the fine print of the Patriot Act.

When Congress passed the Patriot Act in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, law-enforcement agencies hailed it as a powerful tool to help track down the confederates of Osama bin Laden. No one expected it would end up helping to snag the likes of Eliot Spitzer. The odd connection between the antiterror law and Spitzer's trysts with call girls illustrates how laws enacted for one purpose often end up being used very differently once they're on the books. . .

Read more at: Newsweek

Daily Show: Sex Scandals, Sam Bee & Jason Jones

While the Spitzer story leaves me rather cold, leave it to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to provide the funny. Here, correspondants Samantha Bee and Jason Jones (married in real life) confront the cameras with a scandal of their own. Be sure to take note of Jason's clothes.

Eliot Spitzer Resigns as Governor of New York

Am I the only one finding all of this boring? Yeah, a politician caught with a hooker is news, no doubt about it. But after Larry Craig and David Vitter, and many others, this one just doesn't spike my give a crap meter. He's caught, he's out. Good. Hopefully it's over.

Now, if we could put the Democratic Nomination to bed as well, to pull the news out of the what the Hillary Clinton campaign did today rut. I'm just finding myself bored.

[Excerpt]

New York Governor Resigns in Sex Scandal

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has resigned following a sex scandal that rocked the state and stunned political observers across the country. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports the resignation takes effect next Monday in order to give Lieutenant Governor David Paterson time for an orderly transition. Paterson will become the state's first African-American leader. . .

Read more at: VOA

Seven States Suing the US Government

I've got to say, this one is interesting. . .

[Excerpt]

Governor Spitzer Along With Seven Other States Suing Bush Administration

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer says he's taking President Bush to court.

Spitzer says New York and seven other states are suing the Bush Administration over new rules that block them from expanding health insurance programs for poor children. . .

Read it all at: WIVB.com