Religious leaflet: Blame the rape victim

By GottaLaff

Bristol Herald Courier-Andre Teague

Keshia Cantor, left, talks to her mom, Pam Yates, about a religious pamphlet that was given to her by a Hi-Lo Burger customer that takes issue with women’s clothing.

A 19-year-old girl was handed a pamphlet through a drive-thru window at the fast food restaurant where she works. She was dressed pretty much as you see in the photo above. “Women & Girls” was written across the top of the pamphlet.

Here's what was inside:

“You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed,” it begins. “Have you thought about standing before the true and living God to be judged?”

It continues with one essential theme: The sins of men are, in part, the fault of women, specifically women in tight-fitting clothing. [...]

“Scripture tells us that when a man looks on a woman to lust for her he has already committed adultery in his heart. If you are dressed in a way that tempts a men to do this secret (or not so secret) sin, you are a participant in the sin,” the leaflet states. “By the way, some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly. So can we really say they were innocent victims?”

The hand-out is signed “anonymous.”

So all those elderly women and toddlers who have been raped asked for it?

Sandra G. Rasnake, the sexual assault program director at Bristol’s Crisis Center:

Victim blaming is the most prominent reason rapes are so rarely reported and even more rarely taken to trial. [...] It’s become a societal defense mechanism for dealing with issues of sexual assault. [...]

“Blaming victims is the way we who have not been victimized feel safer,” Rasnake said. “If it’s their fault then I’m safer because I wouldn’t do that. If someone steals your purse, can you imagine someone asking why you had a purse? If you are sexually assaulted, it is not because you come with breasts.”

Nothing like perpetuating the worst kind of message, huh? Lives are destroyed because of a selfish desire to feel more secure and blameless. Or to justify some religious belief. Hey, she asked for it! Slut! Okay, time to get back into my safe little cocoon... reality be damned... until I'm the rape victim.

“It’s insulting to men,” she said. “The men that I know and associate with are not so lust-driven that they cannot control their urges. By this person’s argument, everyone working at Hooters deserves to be raped.”

That last part reminds me of the controversy over Don't Ask Don't Tell. I've said this in the past, but it bears repeating: The implication is that gay men and women have so little control over their sexual urges that they have to be treated differently from straight men and women. Discrimination is justified.

So what about all those military rapes by straight men that have been reported?

To paint any group with a broad brush is absurd.

To blame women for being brutalized, both mentally and physically, is equally absurd.

To spread sick, destructive lies by way of religious literature is, well, a sin.


H/t: Mark Karlin at BuzzFlash

KBR calls Jamie Leigh Jones a liar. She was raped by their employees... allegedly.

By GottaLaff

I got an e-mail from Jamie Hammon, the Press Secretary for the American Association for Justice.

It's about a subject I've posted about over and over again. And I will again.

Leave it to Halliburton to try to prevent a rape victim... of theirs... to have her day in court. Leave it to them to smear her after they've already destroyed her life.

Leave it to them to confirm what cowards they are:

Halliburton Asks High Court to Block Trial

Halliburton asks Supreme Court to block trial over claim of rape in Iraq

WASHINGTON January 25, 2010 (AP)

The Associated Press

Halliburton Co. is asking the Supreme Court to block a Texas woman's lawsuit alleging she was raped by military contractor co-workers in Iraq. The company wants the justices to reverse a lower court ruling that Jamie Leigh Jones' case can go to trial. Jones sued Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR, saying she was raped while working for KBR at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005.

KBR Calls Jamie Leigh Jones A Liar

By Stephanie Mencimer | Mon Jan. 25, 2010

Ever since its contract employee Jamie Leigh Jones [1]went public with allegations that in 2005, she was drugged and gang raped by some of her co-workers in Iraq and then detained in a storage container, KBR/Halliburton has fought her efforts to sue in a public courtroom. Jones had been forced to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement as part of her employment contract, which required her to bring any work-related claims before a private arbitrator hired by KBR rather than a jury. [...]

But last week, KBR signaled its intention to continue fighting Jones, no matter how bad it makes the company look. [...] Among its many arguments in favor of a high court hearing: that Jones is a relentless self-promoter who has "sensationalize[d] her allegations against the KBR Defendants in the media, before the courts, and before Congress." In its petition, KBR is clearly miffed about the Franken Amendment, which it credits Jones with getting passed. KBR also suggests that much of Jones' story is fabricated. [...]

[W]ouldn't it be better off fighting the charges someplace it could be publicly vindicated? And if Jones' story is really false, why has KBR waited five years to respond? KBR must be pretty worried that lots of other women are getting in line to sue now that Jones has made it easier for them, a potentially expensive disaster. [...] At this point, even if it wins the court battle, the company is going to lose the PR fight.

Blame the victim. Good tactic. This is a disaster for them and they know it.

So what do they do? Rape her all over again.

Al Franken’s amendment on rape included in appropriations bill

By GottaLaff

Thank you Senator Al Franken:

An amendment offered by Sen. Al Franken that would withhold defense contracts from contractors if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court has been included in the final Defense Department appropriations bill, which is scheduled for a floor vote in the House today. [...]

[Laffy Note: It just passed in the House 395-30]

If the Defense appropriations bill is approved as expected, the inclusion would be a major win for Franken, given the political firestorm that erupted shortly after the amendment passed in the Senate.

Yes, the Rushpublics erupted, because they were caught with their pants down. Okay, bad analogy, but here is the post that explains what happened.

Here is my original post in which I was bursting with pride over our new senator's proposed amendment.

And here is the video:

Republicans Shocked Over Anger at Voting Against Franken’s Anti-Rape Amendment

By GottaLaff



I've posted over and over again about Jamie Leigh Jones' horrific ordeal, and how proud I was of Al Franken for his amendment aimed at punishing rapists like Jamie's.

I also listed the 30 GOP accessories to the defense contractors' rape.

True to form, the Rushpublics just don't get it... at all:

Politico reports that Republicans are now scratching their heads at why the public is so incensed about their “no” votes:

Privately, GOP sources acknowledge that they failed to anticipate the political consequences of a “no” vote on the amendment. And several aides said that Republicans are engaged in an internal blame game about why they agreed to a roll-call vote on the measure, rather than a simple voice vote that would have allowed the opposing senators to duck criticism.

[...]

Thune is also claiming that Franken doesn’t really care about Jones and other rape victims whose employers have blocked them from seeking justice; he and other Democrats just wanted to “create a vote which they could use to attack Republicans.”

So basically, the only lesson they learned is that next time, they have to hide their votes when they decide to screw over women’s rights. That way, they can support their allies in the contracting business and the public will never find out.

Yes, it's Franken who is the villain. What an insensitive schmuck he is, trying to protect women from disgusting, brutal predators (including 30 GOP senators)! Who does he think he is, exposing them like that!?

It's always about their self-servitude. They care nothing about their voters, they care nothing (or very little) about their country. They do, however, have a love affair with power and money.

Have consciences and ethics been completely phased out of their party's genetic make-up? Who are these people, and why did anyone vote for them?

Anyone?

VIDEO: Rape Victim Faces Off with Senator Vitter over Vote on Franken Amendment

By GottaLaff

Who are these cretins? If this were their own daughter, would they respond the same way?

A rape victim in Baton Rouge asks David Vitter why he supported big corporations over sexual assault victims when he was one of only 30 senators who opposed a Senate amendment to make sure assault victims get their day in court.

If you want to know who the 30 Rushpublic senators who opposed the Franken amendment are, here you go:

NAYs ---30

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Yes, this is the same fine, upstanding group who rails against ACORN because of entrapment by some video guy disguised as a pimp, but when it comes to a real crime, a brutal crime, nada... zilch... zippo.

Feel free to thank these accessories with a phone call or by dropping them a neighborly e-mail.

My previous posts on this subject here and here.

H/t: DKos

VIDEO: Rep. Alan Grayson Schools Republican Congressman in Debate

By GottaLaff

"Enough is enough" indeed. Go Rep. Grayson! He made the Rushpublic side of the aisle look like the ineptitudees that they are:



H/t: Hippie_Cyndi

Here are the 30 Republican Senators Who Voted to Enable Rape

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, via my buddy Mark Karlin (please also see yesterday's prequel):

Rape is a horrific crime. So is the American corporate news media, which so skews the news between entertainment and GOP hit jobs that serious public policy discussions, with real information, are largely missing from public discourse.

And the names of 30 GOP Senators who stood up for rape remain largely unknown to anyone who wasn't in the Senate chamber at the time of the vote.

Much more here.

30 Republican Senators Voted to Sanction Rape

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, via my pal Mark Karlin:

Last week, Senator Al Franken proposed an amendment that would prohibit the Pentagon from contracting with firms that force women employees to agree not to sue companies if they are raped as a result of their employment. [...]

So, as [Jon] Stewart caustically noted, 30 Republican Senators -- 30 -- voted in favor of denying recourse to rape victims in order to protect corporate America.

It, simply put, is beyond belief in a civilized society that 30 Senators -- all Republicans -- voted in favor of rape, gang rape, in the precipitating case that caused Franken to try and end governmental sanctioning of this outrage.

As Stewart, once again, did the work that corporate media should be doing, he showed the hypocrisy of the Republican Senators, many of them who just the week before went on a successful partisan rampage to revoke government funding of ACORN, an organization that had been entrapped by a right wing wannabe pimp, but did not have any employees raped on the job. [...]

That is unspeakably horrifying, and yet the mainstream media was more absorbed with right wing attacks on Obama [...]

That's 30 Republican Senators who voted for gang rape.

The Franken amendment passed because every Democrat voted for it and a few Republicans who haven't yet descended into Dante's Inferno. [...]

It's beyond disgraceful. It's 30 U.S. Senators who are accessories to a brutal crime.

More here, including the Daily Show video.

My previous posts on this subject here and here.

VIDEOS: Franken's for protecting women v. 30 Republican Senators who aren't

By GottaLaff

Remember this post about how proud we were of Al Franken's legislation reining in KBR's treatment of sexual assault? That's because it would be unthinkable to ignore such a horrific crime... unless you're a Rushpublic senator.

So. Who would you rather be associated with? Al...



... or these schmucks, who would apparently prefer to pal around with rapists:



Oof! That hurt.

Good.

Bill O’Reilly to speak at fundraiser for rape victims

By GottaLaff

No. Wrong:

In the past, however, O’Reilly has made controversial comments about an 18-year-old woman, Jennifer Moore, who was raped and murdered, implying that it was partially her fault. O’Reilly called her “moronic,” adding:

Now Moore, Jennifer Moore, 18, on her way to college. She was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds, wearing a miniskirt and a halter top with a bare midriff. Now, again, there you go. So every predator in the world is gonna pick that up at two in the morning. She’s walking by herself on the West Side Highway, and she gets picked up by a thug. All right. Now she’s out of her mind, drunk.

News Hounds has more:

Bill O'Reilly's comment that Shawn Hornbeck, who was kidnapped and raped, enjoyed certain aspects of his captivity is another example of a lack of sensitivity towards those who have been victims of sexual assault. It should be noted that O'Reilly was unapologetic regarding his statement.

The Perennial Worst Person in the World has no business getting anywhere near that fundraiser. Why on earth would they let that unprincipled, slugtastic sewer-mouth on the premises?