For me it's coming down to what we are preserving- or attempting to preserve- I think the bad far outweighs the good here- and I believe that if Obama sidesteps this it will be his downfall.
President Obama will forever be linked to the Bush Torture Coverup and our great victory over the establishment will be torn down.
"It's a trap are you blind?" (Hamish) ~Braveheart
On April 10, 2009, Constable Jesse Schroeder closed my rape complaint case. He stated that there was "no male DNA" anywhere on any of my evidence.
I know this to inaccurate. I posted two messages, today, on Facebook in response to this BS.
In my first message, I posted the movie "American Violet" stating that: she was a victim, of authorities, and was forced to take a stand. My situation is similar, only I was raped, not arrested. The police are my business now. What "goes around", my Dear (personal message; recipient knows to whom I am speaking), IS coming around to you. That's a promise. I'm a woman of my word. " This was posted in English and in French.
The second message stated: "Now you are all phoning & saying look what (I) did on FB. Know this, I have not even broken into a sweat, yet. You do what you have to; I'll do what I have to."
Yesterday, I found that three sets of pictures were deleted, from my computer, without my knowledge or consent. As a result, I forwarded all three sets of copies to International Country Leaders, International Human Rights groups, and International media. One set was forwarded by cellphone.
Today, I received a text message with a veiled threat & forwarded that to Country Leaders!
I AM NOT AFRAID OF ANYONE! WHEN THEY TOOK THAT FOSTER BABY & CRUSHED ALL HOPE OF HAVING A FAMILY, EVERYTHING THAT MATTERED (ABOUT ME) DIED THAT DAY. You can't kill a dead woman...you still threaten me, even though I continue to report all of you.
I want all the people, associated with my rape on August 7 2008, arrested; INCLUDING THE FIVE RCMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm tired. I've been violated on so many levels that it just feels like a bad dream. NONE OF THIS IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afghanistan 'rape' law puts women's rights front and center
Obama called the law abhorrent. Would Bush have? Obama appears to be trying to change things in Afghanistan? Was Bush, really?
If you're a feminist, you can't sanction the cultural relativism that says that "it's part of their tradition, so who are we to say that it's wrong."
Misogyny was part of many societies’ history, including most religions and regions. Women only started to gain rights in the USA 100 years ago. Until then, and for many, even now, their disenfranchisement was traditional and believed to be dictated by their god. If that change was good, and helping women worldwide is required of a nation with the global power/influence of the USA, then the academic posturing of cultural relativism is deservedly dead.
Henry M
I wake up each day, hoping things are different. As each minute passes, I am reminded that it’s still the same. Thinking it’s over, wishing I can feel joy, but as each minute passes, I am reminded that it’s still the same. The anger, the need to see someone cringe, the desire to watch as you are in pain. You speak, but no one listens. You scream, but no one listens. You cry, but no one listens. You are beaten down, You are shamed. You stand up with your head held high and fight for what is right. He will crush you and make others watch. He is fooling everyone, he cries he’s the victim. You watch as he takes the only thing that matters to you the most and you want to die. The others who watched, they are shamed, they didn’t listen when you screamed, they couldn’t see the truth, he fooled everyone.
I was no longer protected and felt numb. Every other weekend, I watch as he picks up my daughter for his visit. My stomach aches, I know he will do the same to her. She returns, the damage is painfully obvious. He has no boundaries, he feels for no one. His only desire, is to seek revenge on me. He sat with the court appointed therapist and he fooled her, he fooled everyone, the charm, the deceit, but I know the truth. He threatens, he blames, he defames, he fooled them all. He protests, ”I can have custody of my daughter when ever I want, I will take her, you are the worst mom ever. ” “Tell her to shut up” “She owes me money, I will see to it she pays.” “That’s a fact.” “I will punish her, it’s payback time.” “This will follow her for the rest of her life.“ “She will want to kill herself.“
This is what reunification therapy has done.
It’s February 20, 2004, I am driving with Peyton, my husband to the Ventura County Superior Court for a restraining order hearing. My lawyer requested the hearing because of Peyton’s arrest for domestic violence last month. My lawyer was less than patient with me this time, pointing out that “you need to stop bringing him back, do you want to end up in a body bag.?” I know my lawyer will be displeased when we arrive to court.
As we pick up speed on the 101 freeway, I notice the clouds have lifted and the sun is creeping out, there is a calmness in the air which feels odd to me. I light up a cigarette and take a long drag and slowly let it out. Without thinking, I blurt out, “I always get nervous on the way to court.” Peyton turns to me and says, “just drop the restraining order and everything will be okay.” I hear his words and at the same time I feel a terrible pain in my stomach. I look out the window watching cars slowing down and mutter, “traffic!” Peyton reaches for his cigarettes and says, “did you say something?” I shook my head and replied, “no.” Without looking at him, I take another drag off my cigarette and exhale slowly, turning to look out the window, all the cars appear to be in slow motion. Gazing up at the sky a thought runs through my mind, “something is wrong, something bad is going to happen.”
We reach the court house parking lot, which is always full with people scrambling to make their court appearances. I motion to Peyton that I see a parking spot, he slows down to a complete stop and waits for the car to pull out. The driver of the car takes a while to pull out and Peyton, with his stern voice says, “I have no tolerance for loser’s”
“Finally,” he says. I light up another cigarette to sooth my nerves and get out of the car. We walk to the entrance of the court house in silence. A line is forming to go through security and we get in line. I am familiar with the routine, I place my purse through the security ex-ray machine and I walk through. The sheriff’s deputy motions me through with an approving smile. I grab my purse and wait for Peyton. As he walks through the security detector, a sound goes off and I turn to see what the problem is. The expression on his face is pure annoyance and I watch his face as he curtly states to the sheriff’s deputy, “it’s my belt buckle.” They let him pass through and as he walks toward me, under his breath calls them “a dumb ass.” My stomach starts to ache.
The family law court is on the third floor. The floors are carpeted which are stained and they always look dirty. As a kid, I imagined court houses to be either tile or marble, grey and cold. There are benches lined up against the walls for people to sit and wait always with disturbed expressions on their faces. I walk over to a bench, Peyton behind me, I sit down and he follows. I cross my legs and sit in silence, waiting for my attorney to arrive and not looking forward to what she will say to me when she sees Peyton sitting with me. What excuse am I going to give her now? I am in deep thought, almost a daydream state. “Do I tell her to drop the restraining order?” “Do I say nothing and just walk into the court room with her?” “Do I tell her to stop judging me?”
Then immediately, I snap out of it. I hear the elevator, I look up as the doors open, anticipating my lawyer to walk out, instead four men in suits walk out and the doors close behind them. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would burst out of my chest. I look up at them and say to myself, lawyer’s are back from lunch. The four men walked past Peyton and I and as they are walking by us, the four of them are staring at us. It felt like they were glaring at me. I noticed that they weren’t carrying brief cases, which I thought was strange. I turned and looked out the window, the line outside was bigger and court starts in ten minutes, now I want my lawyer to get here.
Not even three minutes passed and the four men are walking back toward us. I figured they were lost and looked as though they were going to ask for directions. One of the three men stood out, he was shorter then the others and has light hair and he approached Peyton first, the other three behind him. He asked my husband his name, and he replied, “Warren Holden” (Peyton is a family name) the light haired detective boldly with confidence states, “Warren Holden, stand up sir, you are under arrest for violation of section 187 of the penal code, Murder.” All four men, who by now have announced they are Homicide Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department, surrounded Peyton and placed him in handcuffs.
It happened so fast, I stood up, all I remember is that I started shaking and felt a wave of nausea. The light haired detective walks over to me, pulls me aside and introduces himself to me as, Detective Morgan. I was in shock. My thoughts are spinning so fast, I thought I would pass out.
He continued with his questions, “Do you think he was capable of threatening someone like that?” I replied, “Yes, I do think he is capable of doing something like that, he has an abusive personality, I believe he is a sociopath. Peyton has been abusing me for the past five years, I really don’t know who he is.” Morgan with a soft voice asks, “In what way does Warren (Peyton) abuse you?” I took a long breath. You mean, what has he done to me? Morgan responds gently, yes. Well detective, I stated, “When I was three months pregnant he decided to throw me up against a wall because he was mad about getting bologna sandwiches for lunch.” Detective? I said without giving him a chance to respond, “He wasn’t a bit concerned if he hurt our child.” LAPD were called, they took pictures of the bruises underneath my arms and arrested him. My sister, Lisa, who at the time lived in the same apartment complex went to the police station to bring Peyton his shoes. The booking officer escorted Peyton to the visitor area and sat him down so he could talk with her. The only thing he said to her was, “get me out of here or I will kill you and your whole entire family in front of the officer, who rushed to remind him why he was arrested.”
Morgan was silent for a minute, before he was able to express his thought, I asked Detective Morgan what he wanted me to do? “Do you want me to have Peyton call you if I should see him?” Morgan replied, “no, don’t say anything to him, don’t mention my call, I don’t want to spook him, however, Mrs. Holden, please call me if you feel you or your daughter are in danger and he gave me his number.” Before the call ended, I told Detective Morgan that I gave Peyton my car a couple of months ago and I got a notice saying it’s being sold at auction for impounding fees. “Can you find out what happened to it?” Morgan replied, “sure”.
Detective Morgan said something to me and I didn’t hear him. My hearing was gone. He shook my arm, Mrs. Holden? I looked at him and I was angry. I shrugged my arm out of his grip and said, “how dare you? I have a baby at home, why didn’t you tell me the truth?” “Did you know I was in danger?” I felt so sick. Morgan raises his voice and says, “I couldn’t tell you because you could have compromised the case and we couldn’t take that chance. We think your car maybe involved.” Morgan walks away with Peyton in tow, as another detective walks up to me and hands me Morgan’s card with his cell phone number and tells me to call him later. As quickly as they arrived, as quickly as they were gone with Peyton, in handcuffs.
I stood before Judge Manual Covarrubias as I was sworn in to give my testimony for the restraining order, Judge Covarrubias continued for the record stating, “It appears, the Respondent, Warren Holden has been remanded into custody by the Los Angeles Police Department and I hereby grant the Petitioner, Randi Holden the restraining order for a period of three years. Custody of the parties child are as follows: Physical Custody is to remain with the Petitioner, Legal Custody is to remain with the Petitioner. The Respondent is not to have visitation with parties child while incarcerated. Should the Respondent be released from incarceration, visitation will commence as follows: Monitored and Supervised visits to be arranged by the Petitioner and may be utilized through the Court Supervised Monitoring Program at the Respondents expense.”
All I could do was cry. I could barely speak.
excerpts from a Desperate Struggle(c) by author Randi Rosen
This is my story. It's not the American Dream nor is this considered that of American Hope.
It is my life, I live in fear on a daily basis. I am a domestic violence survivor who created Womens Legal Resource to provide help to women nation wide who suffer from not having adequate access to legal advise or counsel. As a result of starting this website, I will become a lobbyist to change the laws of Domestic Violence, take it out of the states hands, and have Domestic Violence be controlled by the Ferderal Government for stronger jail sentences, protection of women and children and from stalking victims while in prision.
I have spoke to many women who are suffering at the hand of their abuser in the legal system. Women who have been raped, children who have been thrown out of a three story building and when taken to the hospital, the hospital refused to file child abuse charges against the abusive father, excuse, no obvious signs of abuse. The child was thrown from a third story window, no signs of abuse?</p><p> A women who was raped by her abusive husband and was allowed to plead down to a lessor charge of domestic battery and was allowed visitation of the children who he abused most of their lives. This somehow doesn't seem legally correct. This is currently going on in the same county as Drew Peterson. So how do we fix this?
by Rick Westhead @ thestar.com (Canadian)
The International Criminal Court should probe allegations some Canadian officers serving in Afghanistan told subordinates to look the other way when Afghan soldiers and local interpreters sodomized young boys, says one of Canada's leading human-rights lawyers.
In a story published yesterday in the Star, former Canadian soldier Tyrel Braaten said that during his tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006, he witnessed Afghan interpreters bringing young boys inside buildings at Forward Operating Base Wilson, a remote Canadian base outside Kandahar. The boys were then sodomized by the interpreters and Afghan soldiers, Braaten said............
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/article/553770
Former soldier Tyrel Braaten says some Canadian officers turned a blind eye to the sexual abuses of boys by Afghan interpreters at his base.University of British Columbia international law and politics expert Michael Byers, who was among a group of academics who sought to have former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet detained as a war criminal, said he plans to ask the ICC to begin its own inquiry into the charges.
Obama talks about change, but not all of his "changes" are good. I am going to touch on a sore subject...Abortion, Obama wants to make changes in this subject but, not for the good.
Let me just say that while I am PRO-Life, I do not believe that ALL abortion should be banned....In such cases of the mother's health i.e. her life is at risk to continue the pregnancy...I believe she should have a choice...I do however believe that we also need to put a finner point on "health reasons". In addition we also MUST find more humane & painless ways to acomplish this in these cases......Most people do not understand just what happends to an aborted child, they are literally dismemberd ALIVE...their little bodies ripped apart & seperated from the head....the skull is then crushed & pulled out a peice at a time, there is EVERYTHING wrong with these methods no matter the reason for the abortion.
Obama not only agrees with this, he wants to take it further...he wants to bring back partial birth abortion! For those of you who dont know.....partial birth abortion can be had almost to the 9th mo. Labor is brought on early, the Dr. delivers the baby feet first...everything but the head is delivered. The "Dr." then uses a tool to punch a hole in the base of the childs skull, then incerts a tube & suctions the brain untill the baby is dead & then delivers it completely. If you dont beleive me please educate yourself on it & look it up.
There is absolutely NO reason for this....if a pregnancy has gone so far that this method is needed & you dont want the child, simply give it up for adoption....As if this was NOT bad enough of Obama...he also voted against a bill that would give a child medical care, who had servived an abortion attempt & was born alive. babies born as early as 27 weeks survive & do just fine in this country on a daily basis, partial birth abortion is NOTHING more than murder of a child that could servive otherwise...& so is denying these children medical care.
Please also look up the stats for abortion in this country...1% rape & incest...Thats rape & incest lumped together only making 1% of the abortions in this country. ...6% health reasons...& an unreasonable 93% of abortions are that the child was unwanted.
I have 3 kids so I KNOW that in this country they start sex ED. in the 5th grade......We all know that no matter the method used, NO birth control is 100% effective. FACT.
Women today are useing abortion as birth control.....(It's my body..It's my choice) If you know nothing is 100% effective...then you also know that no matter what you use, you could become pregnant....If you then choose to have sex anyway...you just made a CHOICE with your BODY.
Mr. Obama...
I beleive in change, but not change simply for the sake of change, Why not make a change for the better? Why not make women responsible for their own actions? Why not make them responsible for their choices & bodies? Instead of giving them a way out.
If you dont want or cant afford a child, dont have sex. Why shouldnt a grown woman be expected to make a responsile choice? To me its common sense, why should we be allowed to feed our desires no matter the cost? 93% of abortions could have been prevented if these women had taken RESPONSIBILITY for their actions & BODIES, & made a CHOICE not to have sex.
If you want my vote, make abortions legal ONLY for women in health crisis ( & Im not talking mental i.e. I just cant handle this....its called for thought...no sex, or there is adoption) or for rape victims? I also think there should be guidlines for that as well, if you were raped you have 24hrs to have a rape kit done & report it...if you havent done that...sorry no abortion.
There is also the morning after pill...if we dont change the rape "clause" as well than EVERYONE would be claiming rape.
There are a lot of other issues I dont like about you Mr. Obama...but I only have some much time in a day. I will NOT vote for a man..or anyone else, who doesnt beleive in accountability.
Watching the recent McCain/Palin rallies reminds me of the Jodie Foster movie "The Accused" where the attorney charges a group of men for contributing to the commission of a crime (rape) by yelling, chanting, and creating an atmosphere of peer pressure and mob mentality… but in this case, McCain and Palin are the ones guilty of deliberately leading people to form false conclusions (implying Obama is a terrorist), creating a frenzy of hate, and when the words “terrorist” and “kill him” are yelled, they smile with great pride at their achievement and continue to work the crowd; however, this is not a movie, and the people screaming these comments are not actors.
I understand neither McCain nor Palin graduated at the top of their class, and while they might try to pass this off as "politics as usual," they can't be THAT stupid. I'm sure they both know exactly what this sort of thing can lead to. This is irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous behavior. Unfortunately, I don't expect either of them to stop. Like many in the Bush Administration, Palin behaves like she's above the law (refusing to testify in Trooper-Gate), but her recent campaign trail stunts are beginning to lead me to the conclusion that this "Good Christian Hockey Mom" has convinced herself she’s above God’s law as well: The 9th Commandment (Thou shalt not bear false witness). For everyone's sake, I hope these stunts just alert voters as to how low these two will sink to win an election, as the other outcome that I fear and dare not say is completely unacceptable in a civilized society, yet if it were to happen, I will always remember McCain and Palin's participation in that crime.
McCain will have to reward the fundamtalists that Palin and his evangelist preacher supporters are bringing into the Republicans ever-narrowing tent if McPalin win in November. Number one on their list is "states rights," which is their shield for banning abortion (see "Pro-Life isn't).
Federal law, enacted by the Congress, executed by the administration, and upheld by the Supreme Court is neccessary to support the rights of the individual, as well as classes of people, e.g. women and gay, that transcend state borders.
If we don't defeat McPalin, the harm done to women will be practically irreperable.
A Rape Victim Speaks
Women are half the population. Imagine what they have in store for the rights of minority groups!
One of the few things I disagree with most democrats about is Gun Control. I am against gun bans, and overly ristricting gun laws. I, and my family own guns and use them safely and wisely. I refuse to give up my guns because there are those out there who use them for evil. Just because they can be used as a weapon, doesn't make it so. If the government takes away guns how long before they start taking away knives, axes, scissors, or even gardening tools because they can be used as weapons. If someone breaks into my house it is my responsibility to do whatever necissary to protect my property, my family, and myself. Those who choose to break into houses lose the right to their safety when they make the choice to put my family in danger.
The other big thing I disagree with democrats about is Capitol Punishment. I believe in using the death penalty in 3 types of criminal cases. Murder, Serial Rape, and Child Molestation. First of all those who choose to take someone elses life deserve to lose theirs. To say that a murderer still deserves life, is to give moral equivalence to the lives of The Innocent, and to that of The Guilty. All humans are born with four unalienable rights that should never be violated. Life, Liberty, The Ownership of Property, and The Pursuit of Happiness. Murder violates the first right most of all but violates all the others too. For the safety of the innocent, and the proper use of taxpayers dollars Murderers deserve death by the quickest and cheapest means. Serial Rape; The only reason rapists dont deserve The Death Penalty is because they can change, and the likelyhood of them escaping is so small. Rape by it's very nature changes the victim. They will never be the same, allways inside of them is a madness that stays in the back of their mind for the rest of their life, allways it will eat at them untill they face it. If they win they become a better person with a new outlook on life. If they lose then it gains more control over them. The reason Serial Rapists deserve The Death Penalty is because they by once again commiting that horrible crime have shown the rest of the world that they will never change. For the safety of our women, and the proper use of taxpayers dollars Serial Rapists deserve death. Child Molesters deserve death because rape has worse psychological effects on children then it does to adults. Molestation to a child can have such horrifically profound changes to their minds that those who commit these acts deserve death. Those who do these things to children are not people. They are monsters who though they may look like us they are not. They have shown the rest of the world that they will do these things and most likely will not change. For the safety of our children, the safety of the future of the world, and the proper use of taxpayers dollars Child Molesters deserve death. Some of those who are agianst the death penalty like to say "How can we stop the killing, by killing? The answer to that question is a simple yet terribly sad one. The killing will never stop. No matter how advanced society gets, no matter how advanced religion gets, no matter how advanced technology gets, no matter how advanced our concept of right and wrong becomes, there will always be those who oppose it. There will always be those who take rather than earn, there will always be rapist, there will always be murderers, there will always be molesters, and there will always be evil. To allow evil to live is to put those of us who oppose it in danger. We must never give up fighting for they never will.
Since the appointment of Ms. Palin as the Republican Candidate for Vice President Women’s issues have been brought to the forefront of the race. As many of you are probably aware, the NOW (National Organization for Women) have decided to support Obama/Biden for president.
http://www.now.org/press/09-08/09-16.html
Although this may seem contrary to a female rights organization to NOT back the ticket with a female candidate, they made the decision to back the ticket with the history of consistently advocating women’s rights. I think that this is a very important time for Gender Egalitarians. It shows that women are capable of seeing past gender in order to further equal rights and that men can be, and ARE, proponents of women’s rights. As the web cast with Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton highlighted, Biden has a long history of civil and women’s’ rights behind his belt.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid900881681/bclid900480414/bctid1801254871
Many worried that he was "old government" but the truth is, even though he has been in politics since the 1970s he has consistently shown compassion for his fellow Americans by supporting and writing laws that focused on equality. A particular act that speaks very dearly to my heart is his writing of and continual support of the VAWA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act
It is important to note that this act helps fund domestic violence shelters and create an environment where victims feel safe to turn to and to escape the trappings of abuse. As a survivor of such instances, and a witness to my own mother’s entrapment for years, this strikes a chord within me.
In the same vein, I am also struck by a news article I read on CNN today. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/21/palin.rape.exams/index.html
I am so sickened by this article. This coupled with her staunch stance against abortion in rape and incest cases disturb me to the very core.
How can I, a young mother, a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse stand by and let Senator Palin become the voice and face of American women? I can’t.
I want everyone to know. Senator Palin does not represent me. She may be an impressive woman with the strength to raise a large family and hold a high profile job, but she does not have the love and respect for women that is needed to claim to be our voice.
Over the past few weeks, I have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of Governor Sarah Palin becoming the next Vice President of the United States. Certainly, the idea of Sen. John McCain serving as commander-in-chief is indeed a frightening prospect, but with his advanced age and numerous bouts with melanoma, he is quite likely not to survive four years in office if elected, thus allowing Palin to become President.
The prospect of a Palin presidency (or vice presidency for that matter) is troubling for many reasons. Besides her obvious lack of experience, abuses of power as governor, and apparent ignorance concerning national and international issues, Palin also is a far-right extremist. I have decided to list my Top Ten Reasons why I am convinced that Palin is an ultra-conservative fanatic that makes Pat Robertson or maybe even David Duke look moderate.
1. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd are former associates and long-time supporters of the anti-American, secessionist-based, Alaskan Independence Party (AIP). Supporting a statewide “vote” for Alaskan secession from the U.S., the fringe AIP touts itself as a “states rights party.” As one AIP leader states, the party has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law." AIP’s founder, Joe Vogler, has repeatedly professed his "hatred" for the American government. As reported by ABC News, AIP leaders have claimed that the Palins are former members of the party and attended statewide conferences in 1994 and 2000. Though official records indicate that Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982, nothing has disproved the AIP claim that Palin was an active supporter of this rabidly anti-American party. Besides, one can certainly be a “member” of more than one party simultaneously. More telling is the fact that Gov. Palin sent an official videotaped message to the AIP’s annual convention in early 2008, in which she endorsed their “party’s vision” and referred to AIP as “inspiring:”
2. Palin is a Christian fundamentalist extremist who endorses a church that condones modern-day witch-hunts. For years, she was a member of a Pentecostal church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, which not only speaks in tongues and conducts faith healing, but also believes in exorcisms and witch-hunts. In fact, her former preacher and spiritual mentor, Pastor Thomas Muthee, purposively incited violent mobs in Kenya that physically drove alleged “witches” from various towns and villages. Such activities are clearly sexist and are a centuries-old form of “spiritual warfare” directed against influential women living in traditional communities.
3. Palin is a theocratic extremist who believes that God actively supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and even the construction of oil pipelines in Alaska. As she told the Wasilla Assembly of God in June 2008, the Iraq war and the Alaskan pipeline were part of "God's Plan." She also takes pride in the fact that her minister, the witch-hunting Pastor Thomas Muthee, beseeched God to help get her elected governor.
4. Palin is an apocalyptic survivalist who currently attends a church whose main tenet is the belief that Alaska has a “special role” in God’s divine plan for the “last days.” The Wasilla Bible Church, of which she and her family have been members since 2002, actively promotes the radical survivalist view that Alaska will provide a “shelter” as a “refuge state” in the aftermath of the impending apocalypse.
5. Governor Palin has an extreme position on abortion rights. For years, she has advocated the nationwide criminalization of abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Going beyond the primary conservative approach of calling for the overturn of Roe v. Wade (which would return the issue back to the states), Palin favors national legislation and a constitutional amendment that would criminalize abortion in all states, with only one exception: If the mother’s life is in imminent obvious danger. In fact, she stated as a gubernatorial candidate in 2006 that she would oppose abortion “even if her own daughter was raped.” So if Palin has her way, she would legally force a 16-year old girl who was raped by her uncle to carry the fetus to term.
6. Palin is a rabid homophobic extremist. For starters, her current church clearly advocates the “conversion” of gay men and lesbians into “heterosexual Christians.” As reported by the AP, one of her church’s major theological tenets is known as “pray away the gay,” which Palin apparently supports, judging from her active support of Wasilla Bible Church’s programs and philosophy. More importantly, at the beginning of her administration, Palin actively supported a bill that would have denied state benefits for gay partners of public employees. As governor, she also sought to remove books from public libraries that were gay-tolerant. Like other far-right extremists, she supports a constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage nationwide. She also opposes hate crime legislation that includes provisions for sexual orientation. So, this supposedly “Christian church lady” apparently does not think that the law should offer any legal protection to the victims of hate crimes whose attackers were motivated by anti-gay bigotry.
7. Palin is an anti-environmental extremist. She not only constantly demeans science, but also decries mainstream scientific theories of climate change. Disagreeing with her running mate on this position, Palin has repeatedly argued that global warming is not man-made, but rather a “natural” phenomenon. Moreover, she favors opening up Alaska’s entire protected wilderness areas (including ANWAR) to oil exploration and development. In a recent interview, as reported on ABC News, Palin stated, “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”
8. Palin is a jingoistic bellicose extremist in foreign policy. Like Bush and McCain, she favors rash military action as a substitute for genuine diplomacy and careful negotiations with other countries. Though her ignorance about the Bush Doctrine was revealed in a recent ABC News interview with Charlie Gibson, she nonetheless reaffirmed her belief in American unilateralism and preemptive military attacks on sovereign nations. Moreover, when asked about her response to alleged Russian aggression in Georgia, she indicated that the U.S should consider going to war with Russia if further “unprovoked” incursions occur. If Palin indeed welcomes Alaska’s role in the Apocalypse, then she may get her wish if a U.S.-Russian war is ignited over a small obscure former member of the Soviet Union.
9. Palin is a major “gun nut” who believes that the Second Amendment is absolutely sacrosanct. Like the most extreme members of the NRA, Palin is opposed to virtually all forms of gun control – including waiting periods for gun purchases and bans on assault weapons. As a gubernatorial candidate, she even argued that gun control was “as much of a threat to families as drugs and gangs.” Talk about right-wing erroneous hyperbole. No wonder Palin received the NRA’s “highest possible rating” while running for governor in Alaska. Palin recently claimed that she would be one of the most pro-gun vice-presidents in American history.”
10. Palin has taken numerous other extremist positions on a whole range of issues. For example, she actively supports and promotes “abstinence only” sex education in public schools. She favors the teaching of religious-based creationism in biology classrooms, including the “young earth” theory that promotes the ardently unscientific idea that dinosaurs coexisted with mankind literally thousands of years ago. As one commentator noted recently: “It is quite scary that someone who rejects the fundamentals of basic science, and who shows such a shocking inability to engage in rational thought, could wind up being a heartbeat away from the presidency.”
Sarah Palin does. When she was mayor of Wasilla, she forced rape victims to pay for forensic examinations and for the special medical kits required for such exams, which are routine parts of rape investiagations. It's all right here:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/sarah_palin_rape_kit_wasilla.html
If you'd like to donate to my grass roots fundraising drive for Barack Obama, you can do so here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/ivanrichmond
NOTE: I tried to create a Google Adwords ad for this post, but they wouldn't let me put either the word "rape" or the phrase "sexual assault" in the ad. At the time of this writing, I plan to change the ad to say, simply, "assault", since I'm out of options.
John McCain is unfit to be president. His heroic resistance to torture has been amply awarded with more medals than he ever flew missions and the fact remains he lost 5 aircraft and graduated 5th from the bottom of his class at Annapolis.
Interesting article from Jonathan Alter in Newsweek recently:
Happy birthday, Johnny Mac! You're 72 now, a cancer survivor, and a presidential candidate who has said on many occasions that the most important criteria for picking a vice president is whether he or she could immediately step in if something happened to the president. Your campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy. Oh, and she's being probed in her state for lying and abuse of power....Reporters are already winging their way to Alaska to probe what Alaskans call "Wootengate," the story of the dismissal of former Public Safety commissioner Walt Monegan, who says he was pressured to dismiss state trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten was engaged in a nasty custody fight with his ex-wife, who is Palin's sister. As soon as Palin was selected, the Web was already buzzing with Monegan's claims that Palin is lying about her role in the personnel matter. And the beautifully named Steve Branchflower, the special counsel appointed by the state legislature to probe the mess, has opened a tip line for Alaskans who might know if the governor and possible vice president of the United States abused her power....It's hard to know how many women will flock to the GOP ticket because of Palin. She is a far-right conservative who supported Pat Buchanan over George W. Bush in 2000. She thinks global warming is a hoax and backs the teaching of creationism in public schools. Women are not likely to be impressed by her opposition to abortion even in the case of rape and incest. In 1984, Ronald Reagan carried 56 percent of female voters, despite Ferraro's candidacy on the Democratic side. The balance between work and family, always a ticklish issue, will be brought into bold relief by the fact that the Palins' fifth child, Trig, was born with Down syndrome in April. Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, may shoulder the bulk of the child-rearing duties in their family. But many voters will nonetheless wonder whether Palin should undertake the rigors of the vice presidency (and perhaps the presidency) while caring for a disabled infant. The subject will no doubt arise on "Oprah" and in other venues.
Happy birthday, Johnny Mac! You're 72 now, a cancer survivor, and a presidential candidate who has said on many occasions that the most important criteria for picking a vice president is whether he or she could immediately step in if something happened to the president. Your campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy. Oh, and she's being probed in her state for lying and abuse of power.
...
Reporters are already winging their way to Alaska to probe what Alaskans call "Wootengate," the story of the dismissal of former Public Safety commissioner Walt Monegan, who says he was pressured to dismiss state trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten was engaged in a nasty custody fight with his ex-wife, who is Palin's sister. As soon as Palin was selected, the Web was already buzzing with Monegan's claims that Palin is lying about her role in the personnel matter. And the beautifully named Steve Branchflower, the special counsel appointed by the state legislature to probe the mess, has opened a tip line for Alaskans who might know if the governor and possible vice president of the United States abused her power.
It's hard to know how many women will flock to the GOP ticket because of Palin. She is a far-right conservative who supported Pat Buchanan over George W. Bush in 2000. She thinks global warming is a hoax and backs the teaching of creationism in public schools. Women are not likely to be impressed by her opposition to abortion even in the case of rape and incest. In 1984, Ronald Reagan carried 56 percent of female voters, despite Ferraro's candidacy on the Democratic side. The balance between work and family, always a ticklish issue, will be brought into bold relief by the fact that the Palins' fifth child, Trig, was born with Down syndrome in April. Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, may shoulder the bulk of the child-rearing duties in their family. But many voters will nonetheless wonder whether Palin should undertake the rigors of the vice presidency (and perhaps the presidency) while caring for a disabled infant. The subject will no doubt arise on "Oprah" and in other venues.
The Obama campaign has released clips from Alaska newspapers in a missive titled "How's It Playing?"
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (EDITORIAL): She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?…Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance.Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Lately her reputation within the state has been bit by allegations of mixing political and family business, and by mistreating one of the state’s premier marine mammals. Palin’s catch-phrase of “openness and transparency” has been tarnished by revelations that staff members tried to have Palin’s former brother-in-law fired from his job as an Alaska state trooper. Also, the governor of the only state with polar bears has adamantly opposed listing the animals as a threatened species, despite strong evidence that global warming has devastated their sea ice environment off Alaska’s coast. Dermot Cole, a longtime columnist for Alaska’s second largest newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, called McCain’s choice of Palin “reckless” and questioned her credentials. “Sarah Palin’s chief qualification for being elected governor was that she was not Frank Murkowski,” Cole said of her enormously unpopular predecessor, who lost favor with Alaskans in part because of unpopular budget cuts. “She was not elected because she was a conservative. She was not elected because of her grasp of issues or because of her track record as the mayor of Wasilla.”
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (EDITORIAL): She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?…Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Lately her reputation within the state has been bit by allegations of mixing political and family business, and by mistreating one of the state’s premier marine mammals. Palin’s catch-phrase of “openness and transparency” has been tarnished by revelations that staff members tried to have Palin’s former brother-in-law fired from his job as an Alaska state trooper. Also, the governor of the only state with polar bears has adamantly opposed listing the animals as a threatened species, despite strong evidence that global warming has devastated their sea ice environment off Alaska’s coast. Dermot Cole, a longtime columnist for Alaska’s second largest newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, called McCain’s choice of Palin “reckless” and questioned her credentials. “Sarah Palin’s chief qualification for being elected governor was that she was not Frank Murkowski,” Cole said of her enormously unpopular predecessor, who lost favor with Alaskans in part because of unpopular budget cuts. “She was not elected because she was a conservative. She was not elected because of her grasp of issues or because of her track record as the mayor of Wasilla.”
colorofchange.org has a petition to Henry Waxman.
Dear Friend,
LaVena Johnson was 19 years old, serving in Iraq as a private in the Army, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned--by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called it a suicide and closed the case.[1]
For three years, LaVena's parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they've been met with closed doors or lies. But together we can help achieve justice for LaVena and other families who have suffered similar tragedies.[2]
Will you join me in standing with the Johnsons and calling on Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to investigate the Army's cover-up of Lavena's death?
http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1587-642162
Thanks.
1. "The cover-up of a soldier's death?" LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html
2. "Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?" CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/
![[Former soldier Tyrel Braaten says some Canadian officers turned a blind eye to the sexual abuses of boys by Afghan interpreters at his base.]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/afghan-1215.jpg "afghan-1215.jpg")
