Does your Senator love (shielding government contractors from prosecution for abetting) rape?

[jpoon]

I had heard about this about a year or two ago on the Alex Jones and Jack Blood radio shows. This is no shock coming from a defense contractor like KBR, they are nothing but a criminal organization working for this government. KBR needs to go down in flames like almost every other defense contractor, in truth we don't need them.

 

[HT_Black]

This...This is...This is beyond insanity. I live in Alabama, so it's bad, but it's worse because we're supposed to be one of those backwoods Oakie-infested shitholes who despise Goverment, big Industry, and criminals! Yet Both of our senators voted 'nea'!

In short, WTF.

At least Buddy Ebson lives down the street...

 

[theshadavid]

Sorry, failed quote. Apparently I clicked the wrong thing, my bad.

 

[theshadavid]

same as above

 

[theshadavid]

This OP reminds me of any news station.

Just a warning, if you say anything along the lines of "except Fox News" in a later post your entire arguement will be undermined.

Although it is obvious that the OP has strong opinions on this subject, and it's not necessarily true that a vote for nay is a vote for rape, he's just trying to associate the two. I'll admit I was just venting toward my senator because he's been in office for 20 fucking years and people are starting to get their kids to vote for him.

I was never going to say "except Fox news", I may be republican but I don't hate democrats. They played scary opera music when went to a topic about Obama's first 100 days. Those guys are creeps.

 

[Rokar333]

I was never going to say "except Fox news", I may be republican but I don't hate democrats. They played scary opera music when went to a topic about Obama's first 100 days. Those guys are creeps.

I never said you were, but I have seen people do that. They talk about how horrible it is that the mean, nasty left media is ruining the news and that the only news source they can trust is now Fox News, arguably the most biased news source on the planet. Some people now that Fox is a propaganda network and it's still better than that damn liberal propaganda. Propaganda is propaganda.

Sorry that my post began to ramble a bit, but there is a special place in hell reserved for the people who run these networks, that is only shared by the makers of docugandas (assuming of course that there is a hell, not even all Christians believe in hell).

 

[theshadavid]

I was never going to say "except Fox news", I may be republican but I don't hate democrats. They played scary opera music when went to a topic about Obama's first 100 days. Those guys are creeps.

I never said you were, but I have seen people do that. They talk about how horrible it is that the mean, nasty left media is ruining the news and that the only news source they can trust is now Fox News, arguably the most biased news source on the planet. Some people now that Fox is a propaganda network and it's still better than that damn liberal propaganda. Propaganda is propaganda.

Sorry that my post began to ramble a bit, but there is a special place in hell reserved for the people who run these networks, that is only shared by the makers of docugandas (assuming of course that there is a hell, not even all Christians believe in hell).

Yeah, I think we can agree pretty much all media sucks right now, and probably wont get better.

I know you had a few comments about my heavy editing. I ended up replying instead of quoting so I didn't feel like fixing my mistake. I don't have those in my quote box anymore and, again, don't feel like fixing my mistake so I'll just say this. I always edit my posts. I think of one thing, I submit, then I reread and notice I mixed something up or felt I needed to expand. I never, ever, ever, submit, then see someone call me on a mistake, then edit my post, that is a douchebag move.

 

[yrogerg]

Companies can put what they want on their contracts, and people have a right to sign away their rights.

And the government has an obligation to subsidize this abuse?

-- Alex

No...? what are you talking about? They don't have to support it. They should ignore it.

But. They. Are. Paying. Them. That's what being a "contractor" means. They (we) are paying them, and consequentially, subsidizing the abuse.


This should actually be pretty uncontroversial: the government is paying them to do a thing. Being as the government is cutting a big fat check to them, the government gets a say in how the thing is done. This is actually the government playing the role of a business, with the Senate, in this particular case, not doing anything that a board of directors or body of shareholders couldn't do in the case of a private company- setting the terms under which contracts may be made or renewed.

Honestly, the only case I can see that could be made against this is if one were to argue that the government has a fiduciary responsibility to efficiently spend tax dollars that supersedes its responsibility to set public policy in opposition to violent crime and gross violation of civil rights. However, I'd argue that any stewardship of tax moneys proceeds from the government's policy-making responsibilities, rather than vice versa, so I'd still regard this argument as bunk. Also, conversations with my corporate law friends has left me with the impression that arbitration does not save money as viewed from the outside perspective of a contracting third-party such as the Government, and that the main reasons companies prefer arbitration is a) there exists a significant bias towards the defendants (i.e, the companies) and b)the details do not enter the public record, thus protecting the company's reputation. Those are good reasons for the company to favor them, but they're not reasons for the government to favor companys' favor of them.

 

[Valate_v1legacy]

Looks like BOTH of my senators are clear.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

This story got a class-A treatment on The Daily Show last night. Video isn't linkable yet, but can be found on the front page at TheDailyShow.com entitled "Rape-Nuts". Although, according to them (and their quoted clips from MSNBC) the nay votes totaled 30 and the amendment was proposed by Al Franken.

Arise, dead thread! ARISE!!!

 

[Shoqiyqa]

Oh thank goodness at least some republicans voted Yea.

Yes. Well done them. I note Maine and Utah both got double Yay from double (R)s.

"It takes a certain amount of courage to get up in a coffee house or a college auditorium and come out in favour of the things that everybody else in the audience is against, like peace and justice and brotherhood and so on ... " - Tom Lehrer.

Arise, dead thread! ARISE!!!

If nothing else, it ought to be closer to the top of the front page than that ******* balloon story. It's a trick to get your mind off the war. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ6Nkx86ePA]

 

[vampirekid.13]

(Clarified by request.)

So, in 2005, a woman working for Haliburton / KBR (Kellogg, Brown, Root -- an engineering/construction company) was gang-raped by her co-workers in Baghdad. The company rather mishandled the situation, stuffing her in a cargo container and mishandling the rape kit performed by an Army doctor. Her contract included a clause stipulating that the sexual assault claim would be settled in out-of-court arbitration. As far as I can tell, the arbitration pretty much just strung her along for a year and then she filed a court case to get her claim moved to court. The Department of Justice, pathetically, did nothing about the case -- despite the fact that it's the government's responsibility to bring forward criminal cases, not the victim's.

Yesterday, the Senate voted on an defense spending amendment that would bar awarding contracts to companies that require their employees sign away the right to pursue sexual assault, battery, and discrimination cases in court.

30 Senators voted against it. That's thirty people who aren't even pretending to make a good-faith effort to stand up for the basic rights of their voters or hold government contractors up to any scrutiny whatsoever.

I made you this little chart.
A "Nay" vote is a vote for doing business with companies that make their employees sign away their right to seek redress for rape in court.

Alabama:Sessions (R-AL), NayShelby (R-AL), Nay
Alaska:Begich (D-AK), YeaMurkowski (R-AK), Yea
Arizona:Kyl (R-AZ), NayMcCain (R-AZ), Nay
Arkansas:Lincoln (D-AR), YeaPryor (D-AR), Yea
California:Boxer (D-CA), YeaFeinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado:Bennet (D-CO), YeaUdall (D-CO), Yea
Connecticutodd (D-CT), YeaLieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware:Carper (D-DE), YeaKaufman (D-DE), Yea
Florida:LeMieux (R-FL), YeaNelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia:Chambliss (R-GA), NayIsakson (R-GA), Nay
Hawaii:Akaka (D-HI), YeaInouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho:Crapo (R-ID), NayRisch (R-ID), Nay
Illinois:Burris (D-IL), YeaDurbin (D-IL), Yea
Indiana:Bayh (D-IN), YeaLugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa:Grassley (R-IA), YeaHarkin (D-IA), Yea
Kansas:Brownback (R-KS), NayRoberts (R-KS), Nay
Kentucky:Bunning (R-KY), NayMcConnell (R-KY), Nay
Louisiana:Landrieu (D-LA), YeaVitter (R-LA), Nay
Maine:Collins (R-ME), YeaSnowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland:Cardin (D-MD), YeaMikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts:Kerry (D-MA), YeaKirk (D-MA), Yea
Michigan:Levin (D-MI), YeaStabenow (D-MI), Yea
Minnesota:Franken (D-MN), YeaKlobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Mississippi:Cochran (R-MS), NayWicker (R-MS), Nay
Missouri:Bond (R-MO), NayMcCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana:Baucus (D-MT), YeaTester (D-MT), Yea
Nebraska:Johanns (R-NE), NayNelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada:Ensign (R-NV), NayReid (D-NV), Yea
New Hampshire:Gregg (R-NH), NayShaheen (D-NH), Yea
New Jersey:Lautenberg (D-NJ), YeaMenendez (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico:Bingaman (D-NM), YeaUdall (D-NM), Yea
New York:Gillibrand (D-NY), YeaSchumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina:Burr (R-NC), NayHagan (D-NC), Yea
North Dakota:Conrad (D-ND), YeaDorgan (D-ND), Yea
Ohio:Brown (D-OH), YeaVoinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma:Coburn (R-OK), NayInhofe (R-OK), Nay
Oregon:Merkley (D-OR), YeaWyden (D-OR), Yea
Pennsylvania:Casey (D-PA), YeaSpecter (D-PA), Not Voting
Rhode Island:Reed (D-RI), YeaWhitehouse (D-RI), Yea
South CarolinaeMint (R-SC), NayGraham (R-SC), Nay
South Dakota:Johnson (D-SD), YeaThune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee:Alexander (R-TN), NayCorker (R-TN), Nay
Texas:Cornyn (R-TX), NayHutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah:Bennett (R-UT), YeaHatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont:Leahy (D-VT), YeaSanders (I-VT), Yea
Virginia:Warner (D-VA), YeaWebb (D-VA), Yea
Washington:Cantwell (D-WA), YeaMurray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia:Byrd (D-WV), Not VotingRockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin:Feingold (D-WI), YeaKohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming:Barrasso (R-WY), NayEnzi (R-WY), Nay

(data source [http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00308])

Does one of the Senators who voted "Nay" represent you? Maybe you ought to give him a call.

-- Alex

lol, silly republicans and their silly campaign against human rights, now i remember why im not republican.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

I'm a complete moderate. Let me clarify: I'm equally sick of the uber-partisan, biased, careless behavior of many people in both parties. In other words, I regard both organizations with equal disdain. Call me a snob, that's just how I feel.

The whole country's got a ******-up mentality. We['ve] all got a gang mentality. Republicans are ******* idiots and Democrats are ******* idiots and conservatives are idiots and liberals are idiots. Anyone that makes up [their] mind before they hear the issue is a ******* fool, okay? Everybody's so busy wanting to be down with the gang: "I'm a conservative;" "I'm a liberal;" "I'm a conservative." That's bull****! Be a ******* person! LISTEN!

I have the right to agree with him without liking him, right?