Hot Babes and Hot Mikes

One of the interesting features of the public disgrace of conservative state legislator Michael Duvall, whose official website is already down, is that it was a sex scandal that involved electronic mediation and remote transfers of information but didn't involve the Internet. He wasn't brought down by traditional means such as an attempted dalliance with an undercover police officer or betrayal by dubious financial records or a madam's black book. But it wasn't a bad e-mail, text message, or YouTube moment either. Instead, earlier this summer, Duvall was bragging about his extramarital sexual conquests to another lawmaker while his microphone for the in-house television station of the state assembly was "live" right below him. Soon a local Southern California news station was running with the sleazy story involving spanking and pirate underwear, as well as improper conduct with at least one female lobbyist. Because the station has been enforcing takedown notices on YouTube, there haven't been many remixes with the Duvall audio track.