“When are u leaving an where u staying"

When your tawdry scandals move from the New York Post to the New York Times, you know they're going to stick like glue. So it went last week with the ongoing soap opera known as Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the ex-Happy Valley mayor who's currently the United States Secretary of Labor. Before last week's revelations, we were already gawking at these accusations:

• That she billed the taxpayers for personal travel.
• That she drank on the job.
• That she was having sex with her government-employee bodyguard.
• That her attendance at the office was spotty.
• That her husband had sexually assaulted staff members in the Labor Department offices, and was banned from the department headquarters as a result.
• That she had staff members running personal errands for her.

But just when you thought it couldn't get worse, along comes the Times with a report that Chavez-DeRemer's father, Richard Chavez, had allegedly sent one or more inappropriate text messages to one or more young women on Chavez-DeRemer's staff (as had her husband).

According to the Times:

Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband exchanged text messages with young female staff members, as did her father. Some of the young women were instructed by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and the former deputy chief of staff to “pay attention” to the men, according to people familiar with the investigation....

In an April 2025 exchange provided to investigators, Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s father, Richard Chavez, wrote to a young female staff member: “Hearing u/r in town. Wishing you would let me know. I could have made some excuses to get out and show u around. Please keep this private.”

The staff member responded: “Will do, no need to worry!” She apologized for not reaching out, and said she would be back in Oregon soon.... “When are u leaving an where u staying,” he responded.

Mr. Chavez has not been accused of wrongdoing.... 

 Oh, dear, Daddy's in on the action, too?

A few weeks later, the same staff member messaged Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, and apologized for not being in touch. “I’ve been having so much fun traveling with LCD and being in the moment for everything!! I promise from now on I’ll check in.”

He responded: “You better. I was feeling forgotten. I figured you were still in church repenting after your exposure to the demon state of Oregon.”

You know, this sort of thing would be despicable if it happened in any workplace, but for heaven's sake, this particular workplace is the central command for the federal agency that's supposed to make workplaces safe. It's quite the sacrilege. All in keeping with the ongoing ruination of America's institutions. Putin's done a masterful job.

But if you thought you were as disgusted as you can get, you were wrong. The Oregonian chirps up to cause further revulsion. Here was their headline on the latest news: 

That's the takeaway, folks. Not the alleged abuse of authority, not the alleged sexual harassment, not the alleged hostile work environment. No, to the Oregonian the lead of the story is that an accused sexual assailant made a joke. Ha! Ha! What a poor excuse for journalism.

Anyway, as the sun came up on another week in the Mudface Caligula horror show, Lori the Dragon Lady still had her job as Secretary of Labor. She certainly fits right in.