Thursday, September 11, 2008

Biden vs. Palin

I know the big dogs are gettin' ready to scrap tonight, and I'm really really hoping that Obama has just been doin' a little rope a dope, letting McCain throw a few punches, even land a few, while waiting for the opening to level that fucker. Hopefully thats what happens tonight, unfortunately I'll be sitting in psych class at that time. So I'll know about that long after most folks.

But now I'm really looking forward to the VP debates. Why well because Sarah Palin's town of Wasilla had this lovely little law that said that a rape victim had to pay for the medical procedure to verify the rape, aka a rape kit. Wow, well I'm sure they had a good reason right? I mean you had better have a really good reason for coming up with such a cold heartless law as that right? It would save the tax payers between $5,000 - 14,000 a year. Ok fiscal responsibility is a good thing but seriously? Sending a bill to rape victims? Another thing to note, Alaska has three times as many rapes as the national average. George Carlin can explain why. Ok so far, its a pretty fucked up story right? But why should this make for a great debate between Biden and Palin? Well theres more to the story, it turns out that this little law on the books called The Violence Against Women Act that made it illegal for a municipality to bill women for being raped, assuming they wanted any federal money. What makes this an interesting point for a debate is the fact that Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act. Now you see why I think that could get interesting.

And no I don't think this is politicizing rape, this should be a legitimate issue. If we were talking about using a specific rape case that would be different, but to ask a person who was the mayor of a town that may have broken the law in order to save money by charging sex crime victims a fee, any fee let alone an expensive fee is absolutely fair game. The fact that the other nominee wrote the law that was broken simply means that the other person is in real trouble, but if you're looking for sympathy, well I could show you some, but then I'll send you a bill.

Hat tip to the D. Kos

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Women Want Safety, not Biden's Abuse of Power

Senator Joe Biden proudly proclaims that he was beaten with impunity by his sister as a youth. This is the same sister that raised his two sons after his wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident.

Biden has often claimed that the Violence against Women Act is the greatest achievement of his career. Yet he fails to recognize the role women play as  perpetrators of domestic violence. 
Hundreds of studies show that women commit acts of domestic violence as often as, or more often than men. Many studies also show that lesbian women physically attack their intimate partners at least as often as heterosexual men.

As a result of Biden's Violence against Women Act, the federal government pays states to create laws effectively requiring that men be removed from their homes and families without even an allegation of violence, with no legitimate standards of evidence, when a woman makes a claim that she is afraid.

Elaine Epstein, president of the Massachusetts Bar Association (1999), has said "the facts have become irrelevant... restraining orders are granted to virtually all who apply. Regarding divorce cases, she states "allegations of abuse are now used for tactical advantage". According to Epstein, who is also a former president of the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association, restraining orders are doled out "like candy" and "in virtually all cases, no notice, meaningful hearing, or impartial weighing of evidence is to be had."

State restraining order laws are starting to fall because they're unconstitutional. The federal law behind them, written by Joe Biden, is likely to fall as well, not because it isn’t popular, but because it is clearly unconstitutional.

Supporting Documentation

Here are some of the facts regarding Biden's abuse at the hand of his sister. During senate hearings held on December 11, 1990, Biden testified to the abuse.

www.ifeminists.net

Senate Hearing Transcript (see p. 171-172)


This recent CDC study indicates that women between the ages of 18 and 28 initiate reciprocal violence against their intimate partners about as often as men. It also indicates that women initiate non-reciprocal violence against their intimate partners more than twice as often as men.

pn.psychiatryonline.org


Here is a link to a bibliography of over 200 studies indicating that women are as violent as men in their intimate relationships:

www.csulb.edu

According to the US Department of Justice, women also abuse, neglect and kill their children at significantly higher rates than men. Here’s some of the data on child homicides.

www.acf.hhs.gov


Research clearly indicates that lesbian battery is at least as common as heterosexual battery.

www.musc.edu/vawprevention


lesbianlife.about.com


Cathy Young reports on the Elaine Epstein quote and the broader issue at Salon.com here:

www.salon.com


and provides in depth analysis here:

www.iwf.org

Kilgore Trout said...

My sister and I used to kick each others asses too, whats that got to do with anything? Are you trying to suggest that he shouldn't have trusted allowed his sister to help raise his kid because of things she did as a kid? Are you serious? Like I said my sister and I fought pretty nasty, she had three years on me so at first I always lost but over the years the balance of power shifted, but by the time I was really more than equal we were too old for childish shit like that.

As for women being violent, yeah it happens, and the exact numbers aren't known because men are much less likely to report it. So we need to work on the laws. But over all I think it's fair to say that the Violence Against Women Act has been a good thing, not perfect obviously but a good start.