The Men Who Stare at Boobies

Here's a tip for all the legislators out there: when you're in the midst of a debate over a bill requiring women to pay for an ultrasound before they can get an abortion, and especially when you're in favor of said bill, it's probably a good idea to not indulge in a little of the old pr0n. And if you can't follow that advice, at least make sure that news cameras don't catch you doing it right as an opponent describes the abortion bill as being disrespectful to women. Seriously:

On Thursday morning, Sunshine State News captured exclusive video of Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, looking at pornographic material on his state-issued computer on the Senate floor.

Ironically, as Bennett is viewing the material, you can hear a Senator Dan Gelber's voice in the background debating a controversial abortion bill.

"I'm against this bill," said Gelber, "because it disrespects too many women in the state of Florida."

...

Sunshine State News could not verify how long the image of four bikini-clad women with their tops exposed was open before our cameras started rolling on it, but it was up for at least three seconds before it disappeared from the screen.

Senate spokesperson Jaryn Emhof explained further on Bennett's behalf.

"There was some confusion about an email he received," said Emhof. "He thought it was an email about an item being debated on the Senate floor. As soon as he realized it wasn't he closed the page."

But the one image we caught on camera wasn't the only thing Bennett had viewed. It appears other files, including at least two videos, may have been downloaded, too. He was also caught on camera watching a video of a dog running out of the water and shaking itself off. It is unclear if he also thought that was an email about a bill being debated on the floor.

And yes, we can in fact go to the video tape:



Stay classy, guys.


Hat-tip to Jezebel for this.