There's a funny item up now on Talking Points Memo about Nevada's governor Jim Gibbons. Confronted with this Nevada Appeal photo of him embracing the Playboy-model ex-wife of a former Reno mayor, he insisted he was just comforting a friend.

Gibbons told the Las Vegas Sun: "You know what, I've know Leslie for 20 plus years. In fact, Leslie is a wonderful dear friend and if they are implying there is anything romantic there, they are wrong."

He could have stopped there, but instead he offered what may be the most unique defense ever against sexual impropriety:

We haven't given you an absurd new story in awhile, so let's have some fun. Though arm-pit sniffing is no joke, especially in Singapore apparently. Look at the punishment this sniffer got:





Watch The Young Turks Here and TYT on You Tube

Jeanne Sager wrote an essay for Babble.com this week called "No Sex Please; We're Parents," about how since she had her daughter two years ago she feels so "touched out" from mothering all day that she no longer wants to be intimate with her husband.

She writes: "Not wanting sex isn't the problem. The problem is that, after a long day as a human jungle gym, I can hardly stomach the idea of going to first base."

Lauren Hutton, bless her crazy, crazy heart, is on another morning-show rampage. Three years ago, she went on the Early Show and blindsided the anchor with a bisexual confession. Here's our transcript of that exchange:

Hutton: "Governments everywhere are men, and it is ancient and insane and shameful."
Syler: "But let me-"
Hutton: "We've got to have half and half. That's how God made us, otherwise there's only one of us and probably us. But God knows we wouldn't have come up with bridges or airplanes or lots of stuff. You know, boys have great vision and they're fun in bed. But, so there's certain, fine things for them. It's true. I've been both places. I prefer men."

Now she goes on the Today Show and complains to Kathie Lee that men are all sluts (wha?) and that slutty gay men wrote Sex and the City (which is not exactly true . . . ) thereby encouraging women to be sluts too (um . . .). Here's the money quote:

William Saletan has an odd, fuddy-duddyish article on Slate today about how oral sex has become normalized. He seems rather horrified by this news, and couches the article as a wake-up call to parents who may be unaware that their teenage children know about such outlandish things. He repeatedly refers to oral sex as "advanced" and to intercourse as "basic." Here's an excerpt:

The raw numbers indicate that 50 percent of teenagers aged 15 to 19 have had vaginal sex. Fifty-five percent have had heterosexual oral sex. Are kids substituting oral for vaginal?

R&B artist Robert Kelly is currently on trial for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with an under-aged girl. A video released by the Chicago Sun-Times in February of 2002 displays a man who resembles R. Kelly taking part in vile sex acts with a 13 year old. Prosecutors finally played the tape for the jury, and reports claim the identity of the man on the tape is questionable. Watch the following video for more details on the R. Kelly tape scandal.
Watch TYT!

The New York Times today has a story about father-daughter purity balls, parties at which fathers vow to protect their daughters' virginity and/or their daughters vow to stay pure until marriage. They are formal affairs, with dress clothes and dancing and ceremonies like the laying of white flowers at the foot of a cross or the forming of swords into a V.

Such events have been around for at least a decade, and they continue to inspire celebration within the evangelical world as well as cries of revulsion from those outside it. Opponents mistrust the concept of a father "owning" his daughter's sexuality and they wonder why boys' virginity isn't so prized. (They are also icked out by some of the ceremonies' clunky, graphic key-and-lock metaphors.)

But a nuanced critique from within the evangelical community appeared last year in the Chicago Sun-Times. (It doesn't seem to be available on the Sun-Times site, but is available, ironically, in full on Opie and Anthony's blog.) In the measured piece, Betsy Hart writes:

Look, I'm an evangelical Christian who firmly believes that sex should be reserved for marriage. But I just can't imagine going about it this way with any of my four kids, son or daughters.

One in three women in America admits to having an extramarital affair. A new survey done by Cookie Magazine and AOL Body titled "Sex and the American Mom" questioned 30 thousand women about their marriage and sex life. The results of the survey revealed that 34 percent of married women with children have either had, or are currently having an affair. In addition, the study found that 77 percent of the women polled wish they had more sex.

Men have always been stereotyped to be the ones who stray in search of a little action on the side. But now there are actual studies done to prove that women are just as accountable for having affairs. Is cheating inevitable when sex is lacking in a marriage? Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty outright announced to the world that he and his wife don't have sex. Does that make him more inclined to give into extramarital temptations? The Young Turks weigh in on relationships and cheating in the following clip.

Marche Taylor was convinced her custom-made dress would not only turn heads, but also serve as a big hit at her senior prom. However, school officials were not amused when she showed up to the dance wearing a little more than a swimsuit with heels. After Taylor was confronted and asked to leave due to her scandalous dress code violation, she reluctantly did so...wearing handcuffs. Should she have been kicked out of prom? Watch the video and tell us what you think.

The Smoking Gun has all the icky details of a sexual harassment suit against The Weather Channel.

A former anchorwoman, Hillary Andrews, claims her co-anchor, Bob Stokes, repeatedly propositioned her with classy lines like, "Will you lick my swizzle stick?"

Then, says TSG: When she rebuffed his advances, Andrews charged, Stokes's "hostility and volatility became a constant" and he sought to "sabotage" her on-air performance and even resorted to insulting her during live shows.

The "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey, facing an almost certain jail term, hanged herself last week. She left behind two suicide notes, which have been published by The Washington Post. You can see them in their entirety here.

They are full of bitterness. Even her attempts to be nice come off as deeply angry. Here's part of the one to her sister: "I am very happy to have seen for myself the special person you have become. I envy your happy-go-lucky attitude and the bounty of friends which constantly have surrounded you throughout your life. Fortunate, fortunate you!"

Have you heard this terrible story yet? This 73-year-old monster in Austria locked his 18-year-old daughter in the basement and kept her there for 24 years. During that time, he repeatedly raped her and fathered seven children by her, one of whom died.

The daughter and her kids (now aged five to 19) lived in the windowless cellar until recently. Three of them never saw sunlight. The mother was upstairs the whole time, but didn't know about the soundproof rooms below the house.

The only reason they found the kids at all was that the eldest child was found unconscious and sick in the building and taken to a hospital and the secret room was discovered.

Here are the top five sexiest women according to the 14 million votes registered by FHM (including pictures):





Here is the full Top Ten list. We're just here to brighten up your Sunday. Consider it a public service.

Young Turks on You Tube

Tricia Walsh Smith made a YouTube video complaining about her husband's attempt to throw her out of their apartment (and about their sex life, among other things). It got three million viewers and has now scored her an interview on Good Morning America.

On the show, she explains her reason for posting the video: "I wanted attention to my plight . . . basically for me it was a life or death situation." She paints herself as the most wronged woman in history, saying, "What was I going to do? Go live in the park?" and "I did it for survival," and "I'm hurt and nobody cared!"

MSN today has an item on its homepage that appears to be vying for the Guinness World Record for Most Clichés in a Lifestyle Post. It's called the Wife's Bill of Rights, and here's a sample:

Amendment I
We have the right to dislike your buddies.
We know it's important for you to have your guy friends, but you should know by now that we're not turned on by your stories of the good old days at college, your sexual exploits, or which relief pitcher the Red Sox should trade. Disappear for a while and be boys-it's OK, go chug beer and high-five-but please don't expect us to be happy when your friends come over and put their feet on our coffee tables or leave their beer cans on the floor.