The Young Turks Need To Correct Their Story On Ginger Lee

Ben Mankiewicz of The Young Turks mocked Ginger Lee in a Young Turks segment during the height of the Anthony Weiner scandal. Mankiewicz cklaimed that Ginger Lee was looking for a payday. Mankiewicz kept asking during the segment why Ginger Lee would hire Gloria Allred. Mankiewicz kept asking "what wrong" happened to Ginger Lee. Mankiewicz was extremely snarky during the segment.

I asked Mankiewicz on Twitter if he was so curious why didn't he do the due diligence as a journalist and Ginger Lee himself.

.@BenMank77 Perhaps this video clip will help you remember. http://t.co/pwdVzgli8C You could have asked @gingerlee why she hired Alfred.

— Michael Hussey (@pushingrope) December 19, 2013

I expressed a long-term problem I have with The Young Turks.

.@BenMank77 I worked with Tina Dupuy. So we have a connection. What kills me about TYT is you never reseaech anything. Contact @gingerlee.

— Michael Hussey (@pushingrope) December 19, 2013

Politically, I agree with The Young Turks on 95 percent of political issues. I can't take The Young Turks seriously because they perform a lazy form of journalism.

Ginger Lee chimed in and explained why she hired Allred.

@pushingrope @BenMank77 That moment that you need Gloria is when people are camping in front of your home for days at a time. When you're

— Ginger (@gingerlee) December 19, 2013

@pushingrope @BenMank77 having a nervous breakdown because you want to be left alone because there were NEVER any pics, sexts, or ANYTHING.

— Ginger (@gingerlee) December 19, 2013

That is a good reason to hire Allred. Nancy Pelosi was discussing a House investigation into Weiner. If Ginger Lee is called to testify she would most certainly need an attorney.

Ginger Lee answers Mankiewicz's question about a big payday.

@pushingrope @BenMank77 And I never made a single dime. No interviews on Inside Edition. No ABC, NBC, CNN. NONE. I didn't get a 'payday'.

— Ginger (@gingerlee) December 19, 2013

Ginger Lee is making a living in real estate and selling antiques at flea markets. Ginger Lee has very expensive medical bills due to lupus. She hasn't gone back to porn and a bad foot has kept her from stripping. Ginger Lee is hardly raking in the money.

One thing to note about the Twitter exchange is Mankiewicz never answered the question about why he didn't contact Ginger Lee. If Mankiewicz wanted to know why she hired Allred he could have asked her. I got quotes from Ginger Lee for a post written on this blog. She isn't hard to get in contact with.

I think Mankiewicz and the team at The Young Turks mean well and are passionate progressives. However, they are not journalists.

Families Recovering From Domestic Violence and the Shutdown

Our pal Ginger Lee is a must-read post on how the federal government shutdown is effecting women and children trying to escape domestic violence. These people will have a problem feeding themselves thanks to the shutdown.

When they got some of the fabled ‘government cheese’ (yes, it was a real thing) it was like a damn celebration, because FOOD. They were happy to sleep on people’s floors as long as they knew there would be some damn food every day. Bread. Bread was amazing. There were a million things that could be done with bread.

And it went this way for a while, because back then victim ‘services’ for people trying to escape domestic violence situations didn’t exist. It took a court order from a judge to tell the abusive person to GTFO out the residence so the abused person & her children could stop sleeping on random floors. Once that happened, the ‘food assistance’ was only needed a few more months before that parent could buy the groceries with no ‘help’. Having a kitchen along with a place to sleep at night was a magical thing.

The situation for mothers and children during the Reagan years was very bad. Due to the shutdown these families will have a hard time feeding themselves. Ginger Lee correctly points out that if people think churches are going to come to the rescue then they are living in fantasy land.

The Huffington Post's Horrible Reporting on Ginger Lee

Candace Raines (aka Ginger Lee) is the victim of a lazy piece of journalism by Huffingington Post pop culture blogger David Moye. The article gave the impression that Ginger Lee was going to appear in a Anthony Weiner porn parody movie produced by Mike Kulich. The charming Mr. Kulich's Twitter posts (NSFW) are filled with nude images and links relating to his Weiner porn movie. Kulich told Moye that Ginger Lee would be in his Weiner porn movie.

Sex scandals like Weiner’s make it easier for my business,” Kulich told The Huffington Post. “Everyone wants to think politicians are so clean, but they sext and watch porn just like normal people.” The DVD, scheduled for a Sept. 1 release, is in the early stages of production, but Kulich promises at least one scene will feature Ginger Lee, one of Weiner’s sexting partners. Kulich promises to donate 15 percent of sales to Weiner’s campaign.

One interesting problem. I asked Ginger Lee on Twitter if Moye interviewed her to find out if Kulich's claim was true.

@pushingrope Nope. He didn't.

— Ginger (@gingerlee) July 30, 2013

My next question was if she had ever met Kulich. She has no memory of ever meeting Kulich

@pushingrope Nope 2.0. A pair of nopes, even.

— Ginger (@gingerlee) July 30, 2013

I tweeted Kulich. Unlike Moye, he did answer my questions. He claimed he met Ginger Lee in 2006.

@pushingrope Yes. On the set of 1 Lucky Fuck #3 back in 06.

— Mike Kulich (@xxxmonarchy) July 30, 2013

According to Kulich, there will be an old Ginger Lee scenes. Raines has been out of the porn movie industry for five years.

@pushingrope stated that the Ginger Lee scenes appearing in the movie were old and would be bonus scenes for the DVD.

— Mike Kulich (@xxxmonarchy) July 30, 2013

Kulich even sent out a press release stating the there would be no new Ginger Lee scenes. There press release describes Ginger Lee as "a adult porn star."

The movie features seven scenes including Haley Sweet, Asa Akira, Brooklyn Lee, Lexi Love, Pressley Carter and appropriately, two older bonus scenes of the infamous Ginger Lee, the former adult star who gained notoriety in Weiner's first sex scandal, which forced him to resign from the United States Congress.

The problem was Moye's article made it appear that Candace Raines was coming back to the porn industry. Due to pressure I can't take credit for, The Huffington Post was forced to post a correction.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that Ginger Lee is filming a new scene for the DVD. The DVD is a compilation of existing scenes, except for one new scene.

I give credit for Kulich giving me a quick and honest response. It is interesting that I could get a straight answer from a porn producer but not a Huffington Post reporter. Moye never bothered to respond to me.

Raines/Lee will receive no profits from any old scenes that might appear in Kulich's movie. Porn performers to not profit sharing with producers or receive residuals from previous work. The porn industry does not have their version of the Screen Actors Guild union. Moye's sloppy reporting gave people the impression that Ginger Lee was returning to porn. Moye owes Candace Raines an apology.

David Moye responds to me via Twitter.

@QuiVideoTrusit @pushingrope @gingerlee The original story mentioned that the Don't Pull Out video was a compilation video of old scenes.

— david moye (@dmoyeweirdnews) July 30, 2013

@QuiVideoTrusit @pushingrope @gingerlee This was edited out of my story and I didn't notice it. My bad.

— david moye (@dmoyeweirdnews) July 30, 2013

It is amazing how everyone wants to clear the record when you are writing a blog post. I do appreciate Kulich and Moye responding. Unfortunately, Raines was damaged by needless gossip.

Male Republican Hypocrisy

Via Ginger Lee: male Republicans taking a courageous stand on on having the right to choose whether or not they want to personally pleasure themselves. This is the kind of less government that would make the Founding Fathers proud.

Anti-Stalking Laws in VAWA

Pushing Rope pal Ginger Lee wrote about how Republicans delaying passage of the Violence Against Women Act were endangering from that are being stalked.

Without VAWA, most states won’t recognize a protective order from another state. As it currently stands, attempting to cross state lines safely, and doing so in a way that will allow a protective order to be used if something occurs outside of the jurisdiction of the original order, is a complicated process. The laws vary so greatly from state to state that what may “protect” a person in TN won’t protect a person in SD unless an ‘out of state’ registration is applied for. When applying for an out of state recognition, there are states that will contact the person the protective order is against. For victims trying to “disappear” or get to a safe place outside of the state the order was written, complying with the laws correctly can put them in danger.

Go and read her post.

Crisis Resources

Ginger Lee, an online pal of Litbrit and I (so be nice to her) has posted a list of crisis center hotlines. We want to spread the word and get people the help they need. So feel free to pass this list along.

IMAlive: An Online Crisis Network: IMAlive is an online suicide prevention hotline where you can chat live, one-on-one, with trained volunteers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

RAINN: the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network: RAINN provides live, one-on-one chat with trained volunteers for victims of sexual violence, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their website also offers extensive, compassionate information that may help you to understand and come to terms with what has happened to you.

The GLBT National Help Center: This organization offers live, one-on-one chat with trained volunteers for people struggling with GLBT issues. Their chat service is available from 4 PM to 12 AM EST Mondays through Fridays, and 12 PM to 5 PM EST on the weekends. This site is also a wonderful source of information, so if you are in pain because of,or confused by, something to do with your sexual orientation or gender identity, this site may offer you something that you need.

Veterans Crisis Line: This organization provides special services for veterans, including live, one-on-one chat with trained counselors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,regardless of whether or not you are enrolled in Veterans Affairs health care. The Veterans Crisis Line is run by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Befrienders Worldwide: Befrienders offers e-mail based crisis support, organized by country, in many different languages. Befrienders is owned and organized by the Samaritans, a UK/Ireland-based humanitarian organization. Their site has compassionate information and first-hand stories relating to suicidal feelings and warning signs, depression, self-harm, and bullying.

Suicide Forum: This is a peer-to-peer support forum for people in crisis. You must be a member in order to post, but membership is free, instant, and asks for no personal information. Every effort is taken to ensure that this is a positive, supportive, non-triggering environment, but the staff of Suicide Forum are not actually trained in suicide prevention. This forum is for meeting and talking to other people who share and understand your pain in a supportive, safe environment. Suicide Forum is not a substitute for professional help,so if you are currently in a state of crisis, please, try one of the other sites on this list first.

Nashville Feminist Activist

A rather well-known Nashville resident marched in the local SlutWalk. She had this to say about women who had been sexually violated or taunted.

"The person that is victimized should not feel guilty. There should not be a stigma attached to them, and they should be okay raising their head and saying, ‘That was not right. I want to do something about it," said Candice Raines.

I have written about Candice Raines several times before. It is the real name of Ginger Lee. Remember when people were saying that Raines was seeking fame her her online involvement with Anthony Weiner. There is no mention of Raines' stage name in the article. Raines gave her real name. Most likely not to have the media have another Ginger Lee story.

People didn't believe Raines was serious when she said progressive and feminist issues were important to her. Yet she marches in SlutWalk. I wrote that the media was unfair in its coverage of Raines. There is zero chance that the media will revise their coverage. And it is a damn shame.

Ginger Lee's First Interview

Candice Raines (aka Ginger Lee) gave her first interview after the Anthony Weiner scandal. Journalist Richard Lawson gives the fairest media treatment of Raines that I have seen. I have blogged that the media treatment of Raines was unfair. Raines explained that part of her support was Weiner being one of the few male politicians to speak at the pro-choice Walk for Choice rally.

“He was one of the only male politicians to attend one of the rallies and spoke during it,” she said. “And when he did so, he was very adamant about the fact that women have a right to choose what women do and it’s not really up to other men to legislate what a woman does with her own body because they are not the ones in possession of said uterus.”

This part of the fascinating contradiction with Raines. She can sound like Amanda Marcotte when talking about progressive women's issues. Raines can then rant about her love of Hello Kitty and Britney Spears. A person can be pro-choice and collect Hello Kitty merchandise. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just rather unexpected.

Raines told Lawson that she has needed health care since she was a teenager because of a mental illness. Raines would not disclose the illness to Lawson. It is well-known that Raines suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The illness is treatable but requires constant medication. Raines also has lupus, which affects her body's immune system. Raines financially falls into the bracket of making too much for Medicaid to buy private health insurance.

Raines isn't being quite candid about her obsession with Weiner.

“I have said I love and want to have babies with Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper and Keith Olbermann,” Raines said of her blog, adding that no one has mentioned that.

Raines posted on her blog about what she wanted to do with Weiner.

Oh my god. Yes. He can get buck wild anytime I’m around. Did I just type that out? I think that was supposed to stay inside my head. Oh well, fuck it.

Raines has a personal history of getting involved with older and immature men. Two of the relationships were with employees that her and the men involved were trying to keep secret. The relationships were eventually discovered. In Raines, defense, there is no evidence that she ever tried to hook up with Weiner. It may have well been just an online crush.

Raines has a grounded outlook on the Weiner scandal. She is self-aware enough to know the scandal is not the most imporatant event in the big scheme of things. Raines also plans to keep on being a progressive activist.

“This whole fiasco is a drop in the bucket,” she said. “And it was over something so inconsequential and so insignificant that it doesn’t really make a giant difference. … I’m still going to talk about the things I care about.”

Good for her. I hope Raines keeps blogging about the things is cares about. Whether it is health care or getting Britney Spears tickets.

Quote of the Day

"For every single one of you that has sent a kind/caring/concerned message to me the past few weeks-thank you. I've read each and every one of them. On the worst, most stressful days, some of those messages were the only things that let me know there were still halfway decent human beings out there in the world.

"To... the other dancers/strippers/sex workers, I need to say that while we may never be 'accepted' by most of society, we cannot let 'them' define us. We know who we are, and while all of us have different stories, we do not need to hang our head simply because of the job we do."

Ginger Lee, on her Tumbler blog.

Candice Raines shouldn't have to hang her head. There are many progressives that support making prostitution legal. Many feminists Many feminists are rightfully angry when attractive women are called sluts. Sadly, these voices were silent when Raines was under the media miscroscope. I understand the outrage progressives have at conservatives going after Anthony Weiner. Raines wasn't the problem. She is on the same side as progressives.

How the Media Has Been Unfair to Ginger Lee

The media has been trying to figure out who Ginger Lee is? The Daily Beast ran the story "Weiner Porn Star’s Mystery Past." People in the porn industry tended not to remember Lee. Her former manager, who goes by the moniker Bad Ass Frank declined to be interviewed. Lee's former agency Adult Talent Managers would not grant an interview. Another former female adult actress who worked with Lee defended Lee keeping the adult film industry at arm's length.

One former performer, whose credits indicate that she appeared with Lee in a 2007 film, explained: “I no longer want people to know the name of that porn star. I am sure [Lee] felt the same way.” Yet she did not remember meeting Lee either.

Another performer that worked with Lee said, "“I never saw her hanging out or at industry parties." The gossipy porn industry loves talking trash about their former talent. Porn entertainers crave attention and usually do not hesitate to dish dirt to the media. It seems that the few people that remember Lee are extremely loyal to her. That is unheard of in the porn industry. No one is looking to catch their 15 minutes of fame from Lee and Weinergate.

Lee was born Candice Raines on November 25th 1983 in Macon, Georgia. Raines briefly went to college to train as a nurse. Raines also briefly worked as a real estate agent before becoming a stripper in Nashville, Tennessee. Her mother is a doctor. Raines got into stripping for financial reasons.

I was married to a person in the Marine Corps at the time that I started dancing and we were broke as all hell, so I needed a job that brought in actual cash more than once every 2 weeks. The town we lived in didn’t have many job opportunities worth a damn for women that didn’t want to work in call centers or be waitresses.

I’d never even been in a strip club until the day I started working in one.

Raines then became a feature dancer. The strip club laws in Tennessee were restrictive. Raines decided to tour the strip circuit. The best way to become a name as a feature dancer is to make porn movies. By industry standards, Raines wasn't in many porn movies. It was enough to give her feature dancing career a boost.

Raines on getting into adult movies.

No classifieds in the paper or anything like that. I was actually a dancer first. Nashville changed all the strip club laws, (yay for crazy religious nuts making sure strippers couldn’t make money!) and when they did that it pretty much killed all the money being made in Nashville. It was all part of an effort to ‘save’ girls from stripping, by regulating us until we were so miserable we quit. Little did they realize, more than half the girls just left town, a quarter of them started escorting after work to make up for the lost income, and the final quarter stuck around and got a little bit more bitter and a lot more poor as the months passed. I didn’t want to quit dancing. I knew if I did some magazines, movies, and stuff like that I could be a feature dancer and get paid to travel and dance all over the country, so I got my butt on a plane and went to LA to work so I’d have enough ‘cred’ to be a feature dancer full time.

Long story short, crazy Christians trying to ‘save’ me and other Nashville dancers from stripping helped me onto the path to other adult work. <—-I didn’t burst into flame typing that.

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