How Clueless is Chris Matthews?
Posted: April 4, 2013 Filed under: Surreality, Violence against women, War on Women, Women's Rights | Tags: Andrea Mitchell, Chris Matthews, domestic violence, Hardball, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, MSNBC, Vital Voices 25 Comments »
This clueless man is a danger to women.
I realize Chris Matthews is famous for coming out with bizarre remarks, but this one just might take the cake. On Wednesday night’s edition of Hardball, Matthews was interviewing Andrea Mitchell about Hillary Clinton’s political prospects. This was in the context of a discussion about Hillary’s speech at the Vital Voices Awards on Tuesday night. Vital Voices is an organization that Hillary co-founded with Madeline Albright in 1997.
Matthews’ blunders began when he welcomed Mitchell by saying, “You’re one of the great feminists of your time, but you don’t push it.”
Mitchell said that many women, including her 95-year-old mother want to see Hillary win the presidency–want to see a woman in the White House. Nevertheless she noted that Joe Biden was also on-stage with Hillary at the event and got a very good reception.
Mitchell said that Biden, in particular, has “street cred” with women because of his advocacy for women on many fronts, including the Violence Against Women Act. In his speech on Tuesday, Biden called it the “ultimate abuse of power” for a man to strike a woman or a child.
At this point Matthew went completely off the rails. He actually asked Mitchell if “wife beating” is “something women really worry about.”
Here’s the transcript of the interaction from Real Clear Politics.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Is that close to the bone, the idea of wife beating some old — or beaters?
ANDREA MITCHELL: That was part of it.
MATTHEWS: Yeah, but is that something that women really worry about –
MITCHELL: Yes
MATTHEWS: — men being brutal?
MITCHELL: The Violence Against Women Act –
MATTHEWS: At home? In the home?
MITCHELL: Yes, domestic violence.
You have to listen to Matthews’ tone of voice to understand how outrageous this was. He sounded incredulous. Unfortunately I couldn’t embed the video, but you can watch it at RCP. How Andrea Mitchell remained calm through all this, I can’t imagine. I really have to hand it to her. I think I would have been tempted to start screaming and keep screaming until NBC security dragged me off the set.
I hope someone sits Matthews down and forces him to read some of the statistics on violence against women–most of which takes place within families or romantic relationships. Here is some basic stats from DomesticViolenceStatistics.org:
Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.Men who as children witnessed their parents’ domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.
And here is some more in-depth information from the American Bar Association.
Is Chris Matthews getting senile? Either that or he is so completely ignorant that he should retire immediately or be fired.
The Jeffrey MacDonald Case, Domestic Violence, and Media Gullibility
Posted: December 9, 2012 Filed under: Crime, Criminal Justice System, The Media SUCKS | Tags: abusive husbands, Brian Murtagh, Colette MacDonald, domestic violence, Errol Morris, Helena Stoeckley, Jeffrey MacDonald, Joe McGinniss, Kimberly MacDonald, Kristin MacDonald, Lynn Stuart Parramore, murder, murder as risk of pregnancy 17 Comments »
Colette, Kristin, and Kimberly MacDonald
A couple of weeks ago, I read an article at Alternet by Lynn Stuart Parramore called: How I Changed My Mind About the Jeffrey MacDonald Murder Case. Parramore announced that she had read a new book on the MacDonald case by Errol Morris, A Wilderness of Error, and that
After traveling a months-long journey that has led me from certainty to doubt to horror at a grave injustice, I’m going to turn in this article and then go run some errands and make myself a bite to eat. Mundane things that Jeffrey MacDonald has not been able to do for over 30 years. The simple acts of coming and going as I please and caring for my own basic needs have been denied him. His wife Colette and his children have also been forever denied these things — but not, I have come to believe, by the man who is currently serving three consecutive life sentences.
A little background…
Jeffrey MacDonald
MacDonald was accused of murdering his wife Colette and their two little girls, Kimberly, age 5, and Kristin, age 2, in their home at Ft. Bragg military base in North Carolina on February 17, 1970. Colette was five months pregnant when she was murdered.
MacDonald claimed he had been sleeping on the couch in the living room, because his daughter Kristin had gotten into bed with his wife and had wet the bed. His story was that he had awakened suddenly to see these four people standing over him, and at the same time he had heard his wife and two daughters calling for him. He claimed that the woman was saying “Acid is groovy, kill the pigs,” and that the three men attacked him with a club and an ice pick, that somehow his pajama top was pulled over his head and he had used it to protect himself.
(It’s important to note here that these events took place only a few months after it was revealed that the Tate LaBianca murders in Los Angeles had been committed by so-called “hippies,” who were part of the “Manson family.” In addition, MacDonald had recently read a copy of the latest Esquire Magazine, which included a number of articles about the Manson murders and about hippies, drugs, and “witchcraft.”)
MacDonald said that he had eventually been knocked unconscious and when he came to he was lying in the hallway near the couch. He then went into the master bedroom and found his wife covered in blood–she had been bludgeoned repeatedly, and both her arms were broken. She had been stabbed 21 times with an ice pick and 16 times with a kitchen knife. The two girls were in their bedrooms. Kimberly had also– been bludgeoned–so badly that a bone protruded from her face. She had also been stabbed repeatedly in the neck. Kristin had been stabbed in the chest and back, 33 times with a knife and 15 times with an ice pick.
In contrast, MacDonald’s injuries were relatively minor. He had a bruise on his forehead, some small puncture wounds, and a wound in his right chest that partially punctured his lung. He did not even require any stitches. He was, however emotionally overwrought and his doctors were concerned about that.
MacDonald was initially released after an Army hearing, but after a thorough re-investigation, the Justice Department indicted him in 1975. In 1979 he was found guilty by a jury. He has had eight appeals, including two that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Back to the Parramore piece… Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday Morning Reads: Egypt, Lego and 1.6 Trillion Suns
Posted: December 5, 2012 Filed under: Bailout Blues, Banksters, Big Pharma, Corporate Crime, corporate greed, Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Policy, Egypt, FBI raids, Foreign Affairs, Gaza, home foreclosure fraud, Israel, morning reads, science, Violence against women | Tags: Bank of America, Bryan Moynihan, domestic violence, Jovan Belcher, Kasandra Perkins, Merck, Milky Way, Voyager 1 33 Comments »
Morning Y’all!
After spending last night watching Lost in America...it made me think about Skippy, the manager at the Der Wienerschnitzel and those frozen fries, you know, the importance of details that make you great at your job. (If you forgot the scene I am talking about, the manager of the hot dog joint tells Albert Brooks just how wonderful his wife, Julie Hagerty, is…because of her attention to details, she noticed he had served “frozen” fries…with bits of ice inside of them.)
I wonder if Bank of America’s Bryan Moynihan, had such an attention to detail, but according to this article by Matt Taibbi, it looks like attention to detail is obviously not essential to a CEO…snark. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan Apparently Can’t Remember Anything | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
Thank God for Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. If you’re a court junkie, or have the misfortune (as some of us poor reporters do) of being forced professionally to spend a lot of time reading legal documents, the just-released Moynihan deposition in MBIA v. Bank of America, Countrywide, and a Buttload of Other Shameless Mortgage Fraudsters will go down as one of the great Nixonian-stonewalling efforts ever, and one of the more entertaining reads of the year.
In this long-awaited interrogation – Bank of America has been fighting to keep Moynihan from being deposed in this case for some time – Moynihan does a full Star Trek special, boldly going where no deponent has ever gone before, breaking out the “I don’t recall” line more often and perhaps more ridiculously than was previously thought possible. Moynihan seems to remember his own name, and perhaps his current job title, but beyond that, he’ll have to get back to you.
Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Mursi’s palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.
Officers fired teargas at up to 10,000 demonstrators angered by Mursi’s drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and protested next to the perimeter wall.
The crowds had gathered nearby in what organizers had dubbed “last warning” protests against Mursi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. “The people want the downfall of the regime,” the demonstrators chanted.
“The president left the palace,” a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed.
Building Lego towers is a competitive business – this one in Prague, at 32.5m, may be the tallest to dateIt’s not just children who like to build towers with Lego – the internet is alive with discussion on how many Lego bricks, stacked one on top of the other, it would take to destroy the bottom brick. So what’s the answer?
There has been a burning debate on the social news website Reddit.
It’s a trivial question you might think, but one the Open University’s engineering department has – at the request of the BBC’s More or Less programme – fired up its labs to try to answer.
“It’s an exciting thing to do because it’s an entirely new question and new questions are always interesting,” says Dr Ian Johnston, an applied mathematician and lecturer in engineering.
The average maximum force the bricks can stand is 4,240N. That’s equivalent to a mass of 432kg (950lbs). If you divide that by the mass of a single brick, which is 1.152g, then you get the grand total of bricks a single piece of Lego could support: 375,000.
So, 375,000 bricks towering 3.5km (2.17 miles) high is what it would take to break a Lego brick.
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has encountered a “magnetic highway” at the edge of the solar system, a surprising discovery 35 years after its launch, the experts behind the pioneering craft said Monday.
Earlier this year a surge in a key indicator fueled hopes that the craft was nearing the so-called heliopause, which marks the boundary between our solar system and outer space.
But instead of slipping away from the bubble of charged particles the Sun blows around itself, Voyager encountered something completely unexpected.
This is amazing…think about how far Voyager has gone.
The craft’s daily radio reports sent back evidence that the Sun’s magnetic field lines was connected to interstellar magnetic fields. Lower-energy charged particles were zooming out and higher-energy particles from outside were streaming in.
They called it a magnetic highway because charged particles outside this region bounced around in all directions, as if trapped on local roads inside the bubble, or heliosphere.
“Although Voyager 1 still is inside the Sun’s environment, we now can taste what it’s like on the outside because the particles are zipping in and out on this magnetic highway,” said Edward Stone, a Voyager project scientist based at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
We got ourselves all excited for NASA’s Mars press conference today, even though we already knew it wasn’t about life on the red planet, but what we should have been paying attention to was happening nearly 11.5 billion miles away in the heliosphere. The Voyager 1 spacecraft has encountered a new region of our solar system. What’s even more exciting is that NASA scientists believe this region is the final barrier between Voyager and interstellar space. That’s so much more impressive than chlorine on Mars.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft is now so far out into space that light from the Sun takes over 34 hours to reach it. NASA debated whether this new region should still be considered part of our solar system, but project scientist Edward Stone makes the call by saying, “Although Voyager 1 still is inside the sun’s environment, we now can taste what it’s like on the outside because the particles are zipping in and out on this magnetic highway.”
The scientists believe that Voyager will pass out of the solar system within the next two months or so. I’ve got one more space link for you this morning, it is about our Galaxy the Milky Way, New estimate suggests Milky Way mass of 1.6 trillion suns
Panorama of Milky Way from the inside: a mosaic of multiple shots on large-format film, comprising all 360 degrees of the galaxy from our vantage point. More about this image here. Image Credit: Digital Sky LLC via Wikimedia Commons
Our home galaxy the Milky Way is thought to be approximately 100,000 light-years wide and about 1,000 light-years thick. You often hear the estimate that the mass of our galaxy is equal to several billion suns, but some estimates have ranged up to twice that high, or even higher. Now some astronomers are suggesting a mass for the Milky Way of 1.6 trillion suns. The estimate isn’t just for stars but also includes the mass of our Milky Way’s invisible dark halo. It’s based on the first-ever measurement of the proper motion, or sideways motion along our line of sight, of a small galaxy satellite galaxy to our Milky Way. Ken Croswell reported on the role of this small galaxy – called Leo I – yesterday (December 3, 2012) in Scientific American.
There is a lot of information in that article, be sure to go and read the whole thing.
The rest of today’s post will be in link dump fashion…
An Amazing New Use for Ecstasy- Helping women deal with PTSD after rape.
Big Pharma Company Mocked Patients Who Got “Jawbone Death” from Drug: “Ma Toot Hurts So Bad” – Merck couldn’t care less about the patients…as long as they could make more money.
Noam Chomsky: What the American Media Won’t Tell You About Israel -Decades of hell in Gaza.
New research shows corrosion may accelerate failures at Fukushima Daiichi- Great…and guess what? There is nothing that can be done about it.
Be sure you read these couple of links on the NFL murder suicide this past weekend:
Jovan Belcher: Murder is Domestic Violence [by @QuadCityPat] | Angry Black Lady Chronicles
If you only read one thing about the Kasandra Perkins murder- Feministe
Regarding privacy in America…Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear | Glenn Greenwald
And lastly, a bit of history…. Disability history month: Was Tamerlane disabled?
Tamerlane – derived from his nickname Timur the Lame – rose from obscurity to become a 14th Century conqueror of nations, who piled high the skulls of his enemies. It was quite a feat at a time when physical prowess was prized, writes Justin Marozzi.
Think of the greatest conquerors of all time and chances are you’ll quickly list Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. It is rather less likely, unless you come from Central Asia or the Muslim world more widely, that you’d spare a thought for Tamerlane.
Yet in many ways this Tartar warlord, born near Samarkand in 1336 in what is now Uzbekistan, outshone both the Macedonian king and the Mongol warlord.
Lots of links, I know…but it is a busy time of the year, and if you can’t take it all in one shot…come back during the day when you have the time. And be sure to share the things you are reading about today…
Spending on Domestic Violence becomes a Pawn in the Culture Wars
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Violence against women, War on Women, Women's Rights | Tags: domestic violence 13 Comments »The Purity Police that are now omnipresent in the Republican Party are now balking at refunding programs aimed at helping victims of domestic violence because those victims include illegal 
immigrants and the GLBT community. Just when I think my outrage may diminish, yet another item that primarily benefits women becomes a pawn in their culture wars. Are they appealing to their base or just trying to get our minds off the slightly improving job situation and US economy?
The NYT scathing op ed has been lost in the war on women’s access to birth control waged by the Catholic Bishops. This is something we should not overlook.
Even in the ultrapolarized atmosphere of Capitol Hill, it should be possible to secure broad bipartisan agreement on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the 1994 law at the center of the nation’s efforts to combat domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The law’s renewal has strong backing from law enforcement and groups that work with victims, and earlier reauthorizations of the law, in 2000 and 2005, passed Congress with strong support from both sides of the aisle.
Yet not a single Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor last week when the committee approved a well-crafted reauthorization bill introduced by its chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, and Senator Michael Crapo, a Republican of Idaho, who is not on the committee.
The bill includes smart improvements aimed, for example, at encouraging effective enforcement of protective orders and reducing the national backlog of untested rape kits. The Republican opposition seems driven largely by an antigay, anti-immigrant agenda. The main sticking points seemed to be language in the bill to ensure that victims are not denied services because they are gay or transgender and a provision that would modestly expand the availability of special visas for undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence — a necessary step to encourage those victims to come forward.
Did you read that? Every, single Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voting against the reauthorization. Did you notice that it was reintroduced by a Republican and a Democrat? How have we arrived at this point when every single bill is gone over with a microscope to ensure that select right wing single issue groups are appeased?
A lot of this effort seems to be due to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. Frankly, I wonder what he’s trying to hide.
Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, not only wants to eliminate those provisions, but has his own version of the bill that contains “a huge reduction in authorized financing, and elimination of the Justice Department office devoted to administering the law and coordinating the nation’s response to domestic violence and sexual assaults.” Grassley’s funding cuts are above and beyond the $135 million reduction in funding from 2005 levels already contained in the bill the Judiciary Committee Republicans unanimously rejected.
This Act has served us well and deserves to be refunded, renewed and strengthened.
One-third of violent felons in state criminal courts are charged with domestic violence; 50 percent of these offenders have killed their victims. Many of these murders occur during the time when couples are waiting to go to trial, highlighting the critical need for efficiency in court proceedings. Similarly, providing special domestic violence courts and court-appointed advocates can save foster children nearly 7 and a half months in the court system; that means they will experience fewer out of home placements and have significantly improved educational performance.
The programs reauthorized in the Domestic Violence Judicial Support Act do just this, allowing courts to specialize, thereby making them more efficient, consistent and able to incorporate a stronger focus on rehabilitation of offenders and deterrence of repeat offenses. These programs are not only the right thing to do, they also save states money. For example, training judges in effective case oversight resulted in significant foster care savings for several states. A 2009 Department of Justice Study found that Kentucky saved $85 million in one year alone through the issuance of protection orders and the reduction in violence resulting from the issuance of such orders.
Sexual Orientation and immigration status should not be issues in criminal investigations involving violent crimes. Please take time to ask your Senator to re-authorize funding of this very important Act that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 that was strengthened during his administration and during the George W. Bush years. It’s ridiculous to see that very important public health and safety issues have been plagued by attempts to appease angry, right wing ideological thugs.
Wednesday Reads: Austerity, Headlights, Pontoons, Tetons and Knockers
Posted: October 12, 2011 Filed under: Barack Obama, Capital Punishment aka Death Penalty, children, Human Rights, legislation, morning reads, physical abuse, PLUB Pro-Life-Until-Birth, Republican politics, Violence against women, Women's Rights | Tags: Austerity "Basturds", breast cancer, domestic violence, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Topeka 35 Comments »
Good Wednesday Morning
Today I am going to focus on a few states and the crazy things the governors, mayors, council members and lawmakers are doing. It is going to get you fired up! Well, at least the article about Topeka, Kansas will.
Lets start out with Obama’s latest “heartbroken” moment, Obama ‘heartbroken’ NBA season will be delayed – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room
President Obama said Tuesday that he’s “a little heartbroken that the NBA season is getting delayed” at a fundraiser in Orlando with Magic star Dwight Howard.
NBA commissioner David Stern announced Monday that at least the first two weeks of the basketball season would be cancelled after players and owners were unable to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Obama said he had discussed the situation backstage with Howard, and hopes to see players back on the court “soon.”
The president is an unabashed basketball fan, often playing pickup games with staff and friends. The president attended an NBA game between the Washington Wizards and his hometown Chicago Bulls. Last August, Obama invited a dream team of NBA greats to play basketball with him on his birthday.
Oh, give me a freaking break! The man has this to say about the NBA lockout, but is silent when it comes to Georgia executing a man on eye-witness testimony alone, which I might add in Troy Davis case…was clearly a matter of coerced witnesses…that recanted their testimony.
Here is the latest crazy ass scheme out of Georgia…Georgia Considers Replacing Firefighters With Free Prison Laborers | ThinkProgress
Forcing prison inmates to work as unpaid laborers is not a new practice, but GOP-controlled states are increasing taking the idea to extremes as they face budget shortfalls and refuse to raise taxes. Under Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) anti-collective bargaining law, at least one Wisconsin county replaced some union workers with prison labor. Inmates are not paid for their work, but may receive time off of their sentences.
Now Camden County in Georgia is considering tasking prisoners to take on one of the most dangerous jobs there is: fighting fires. Using prisoners as firefighters is a cost-cutting measure that’s expected to save the county a bundle:
A select group of inmates may be exchanging their prison jumpsuits for firefighting gear in Camden County.
The inmates-to-firefighters program is one of several money-saving options the Board of County Commissioners is looking into to stop residents’ fire insurance costs from more than doubling. [...] The inmate firefighter program would be the most cost-effective choice, saving the county more than $500,000 a year by some estimates. But that option is already controversial, drawing criticism from the firefighters who would have to work alongside – and supervise – the prisoners.
The Camden program would put two inmates in each of three existing firehouses, and they would respond to all emergencies – including residential – alongside traditional firefighters. The inmates would have no guard, but would be monitored by a surveillance system and by the traditional firefighters, who would undergo training to guard the inmates.
The inmates are not going to get paid to put their lives in danger fighting fires…but in the same realm of slave labor i.e. the Georgia Works program, they are eligible to get jobs as firefighters, five years after their conviction dates…instead of the usual ten.
Naturally, many are questioning the wisdom of asking prisoners to put their own lives at risk in a dangerous job they don’t necessarily want to do. Not only would the program jeopardize inmates’ safety, but their potential lack of enthusiasm and training could jeopardize the lives of fire victims they are supposed to be saving. Firefighter Stuart Sullivan told the Florida Times-Union that firefighters choose the profession because they have a passion for serving the public and helping people, while the inmates would only be there as an alternate way to serve their sentences.
Many firefighters are speaking out against the idea, and don’t relish the additional responsibility of having to guard and worry about inmates as they are trying to put out fires and save lives. This distraction could be another life-threatening consequence of the measure. The program also runs the risk of inmates escaping — all in all a very dangerous proposition for public safety just to save money.
California is already using 4,000 firefighting inmates throughout the state…
On to Florida, and Voldemort’s, I mean Rick Scott’s vision for higher education.
Rick Scott to Liberal Arts Majors: Drop Dead | Mother Jones
Florida’s unpopular tea party governor, Rick Scott, wants more of the state’s youths to pick up college degrees… but only if the degrees are useful to corporations and don’t teach students to question social norms. “You know what? They need to get education in areas where they can get jobs,” Scott told a right-wing radio host Monday morning. He continued:
“You know, we don’t need a lot more anthropologists in the state. It’s a great degree if people want to get it, but we don’t need them here. I want to spend our dollars giving people science, technology, engineering, math degrees. That’s what our kids need to focus all their time and attention on. Those type of degrees. So when they get out of school, they can get a job.”
It’s no idle sound bite. The governor, an ex-corporate CEO with a checkered business past, is pushing a plan that would all but kill liberal arts and social sciences at the Sunshine State’s public universities—and he’s got support from the Legislature’s psychology-hatin’ GOP majority.
Read the whole article, I can’t believe this guy is Governor! It makes me even more frightened about a possible Cain presidency…it can happen.
The next link I have for you is one I’ve mentioned before, only now the thing is a reality…not a proposal. Domestic Violence Law Repealed By Lawmakers In Topeka, Kansas
Leaders in Kansas’ capital city repealed a local law against domestic violence late Tuesday as part of a controversial plan that supporters blamed on budget concerns but victims’ advocates chastised as austerity run amok.
Topeka’s city council and mayor voted 7-3 to approve the repeal, saying such cases are better handled by county or state courts. They also said retaining the ordinance would muddy the debate over the county prosecutor’s recent decision to stop prosecuting domestic battery cases.
Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor stopped pursuing domestic battery cases and other misdemeanors in September, citing deep cuts to his office’s budget. Topeka, the largest city in the county, responded by proposing to repeal its domestic violence ordinance, saying it didn’t want to be stuck with the bill for picking up those cases.
Advocates for abuse victims were outraged by both plans, saying they went too far.
“I just asked everybody to consider the message we’re sending,” said City Councilwoman Denise Everhart, who voted against the repeal.
But interim City Manager Dan Stanley said Tuesday’s vote puts Topeka in a better position to negotiate with county officials.
“It removes the ambiguity,” he said after the vote.
Oh sure it does…It just means that if you are a resident of Topeka, your domestic violence case gets ignored transferred to a county or state court. (Not guaranteeing the DA, Chad Taylor will pursue the matter…because he won’t.) As this post at RH Reality Check points out:
Domestic violence abusers will continue to roam free within Topeka city limits, now making Topeka, Kansas the homophobia and domestic violence capitol of the world. A vote by the Topeka City Council tonight to repeal their municipal city ordinance allowing domestic abusers to leave jail to save money–defeated 7 to 3–leaves the women of Topeka with no recourse against abuse within the city. If they wish for justice to be served, they will have to be geographically located outside of the city limits, within Shawnee County.
Mayor Bunten, who has made numerous promises of working toward a compromise, admitted tonight that he hasn’t even talked to Shawnee County DA Chad Taylor in ten days. Ten days of batterers being let free to repeat their abuse.
Mayor Bunten also stated that the Shawnee County DA would be forced into the position of prosecuting domestic violence crimes with the repeal of the city ordinance. That statement was incorrect, in fact, the DA’s prosecutorial power is discretionary. This leaves the women of Topeka without any recourse against their abusers.
Going back to the HuffPo article, Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, had this to say about the repeal…
“I can guarantee that people who are abusing are using this as a way to say, `See, I told you that nobody cares’,” she said.
And she is right! Taylor said his “hand was forced” because of budget cuts, he considered things like employee furloughs and laying off staff, but instead decided to go with putting women and children’s lives on the chopping block. Okay now look at this:
Topeka has had at least 35 reported incidents of domestic battery or assault since early September. Those cases are not being pursued, and as of last Friday, 18 people jailed have been released without facing charges, according to Topeka police. Prosecutors and police have refused to discuss details of the cases out of concern for victims’ privacy, making it difficult to assess in what situations suspects aren’t being prosecuted.
Can you believe this shit! It is unbelievable and sick!
“It can’t continue like this. They have to be prosecuted,” said County Commissioner Ted Ensley, a Democrat. “Supposing they’re charged and they’re not prosecuted and it ends up they go back and cause a death of a woman or a child.”
Hey Ted, news flash here…it doesn’t matter if this asinine repeal causes the death of a woman or child, they don’t count has human beings, they are only chattel. It is obvious that most of the politicians in your state don’t give a fuck what happens to former fetus women and children.
So, what kind of man is DA Taylor?
Chad Taylor grew up on his family’s farm as the youngest of three boys. Chad attended Topeka Public Schools through 5th grade and graduated from Silver Lake High School. Chad was active in sports and debate competition while at Silver Lake.
Chad graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelors in Accounting and Business Administration. He then attended Chicago-Kent College of Law where he received his law degree.
After graduating from law school, Chad worked in the Public Power Industry. In December of 2001, Chad opened his private practice in Topeka, Kansas. The Law Offices of Chadwick J. Taylor argued a broad range of cases in both federal and state courts.
Chad has served the City of Topeka as a Municipal Court Judge ProTem, and as an administrative hearing officer. Additionally, he serves the State of Kansas as an Administrative Hearing officers for State Worker’s Compensation Fraud and Abuse Unit. Chad has served as Chairman of the Shawnee County Civil Service Board and as a member of the Shawnee County Planning Commission.
Chad is a member of the Active 20/30 club, volunteering time for the betterment of children in Shawnee County. He is a member of the 25th Anniversary Class of Leadership Topeka.
His spare time and hobbies consist of riding motorcycles and working on the family farm.
Chad and his wife Karily share their Topeka home with two dogs, Farley and Reagan.
No sisters and no kids, my guess is he made sure to check Karily’s teeth before he said “I Do.” How else can you explain the callous attitude toward women and children from a man like Taylor. (Did you get the crap about being a member of a club for the betterment of children?How hypocritical is that?)
Here is his contact info:
sncoda@snco.us • 785.233.8200×4330 • Fax: 785.291.4909
200 SE 7th Street, Room 214, Topeka, KS, 66603
But we can’t put it all on Taylor, after all he only stopped reviewing and enforcing the domestic violence cases…the Mayor of Topeka and 7 of 10 council members voted for the repeal, which insures the city won’t get the cases dumped on them.
The vote came after interim city manager Dan Stanley recommended the governing body approve the repeal to make it clear that only the district attorney’s office is legally empowered to prosecute domestic batteries committed in Topeka and can’t “dump” that responsibility on the city.
[…]
Taylor said Sept. 8 he would no longer prosecute misdemeanors committed in Topeka, including domestic battery, because his office could no longer do so after county commissioners cut his budget by 10 percent. Taylor said the move would require the city attorney’s office to prosecute those cases, an obligation Stanley said the city was unprepared to execute.
I tried to get the names of the members who voted for the repeal, but there is nothing on the city’s government site…however, they had the info here:
City repeals ordinance banning domestic battery | Cjonline.com Mobile
Mayor Bill Bunten and council members Karen Hiller, John Alcala, Sylvia Ortiz, Chad Manspeaker, Bob Archer and Andrew Gray voted in favor of the repeal, while council members Denise Everhart, Larry Wolgast and Richard Harmon voted against it.
Here is the contact info for the City of Topeka – City Council
Austerity Basturds!
Give those folks an earful or an email full…according to the RH Reality article,
Kansas NOW was told that as of this morning the City Council had received 3,000 emails, almost causing a crash to their system. I challenge those infuriated by the action of this Council to send more emails, make more calls and hold them accountable for this action of dangerous consequence.
Kansas NOW thanks council members Denise Everhart, Larry Wolgast and Richard Harmon for standing up for the women of Topeka and not letting petty political fights interrupt the pursuit of justice.
Sigh…oh that made me mad…if that part of the post seems a bit convoluted, sorry. I found that RH Reality Check article after I wrote this post. It just made my point more clearer. And since my headache is bursting, and I am pissed off, I tend to go off on tangents, and just wanted to make that clear.
Okay moving on…
This past week my daughter broke up with her “boyfriend.” She has always had little boys after her, even in kindergarten…but she has the attitude that she can take ‘em or leave ‘em. I am very fortunate she is not “boy crazy” like her best friend. This recent breakup was one she kept to herself. It was a boy who was playing football for the first time and from all accounts, was a bit of a “dumb” jock who has a reputation for being cocky and something of a jerk.
Since most of the boys on the football team are kids she has known from a time when she was just out of diapers, they are a lot like an extended family of brothers. It was great to see all these “brothers” taking care of her by staring the jock down and making reference to the fact that they had their eyes on him.
So why do I bring this little story up? It relates to the last link I want to share with you…My daughter found out that the only reason this kid was “going out” with her was because of her “headlights” and by headlights we are talking about her boobs. (Lets just say she is…blessed.) She did the right thing when she found out he had ulterior motives, she told him to fuck off, in those exact words…what can I say, the girl is just like her Mama. It makes me think of the Seinfeld episode were Jerry sends Elaine to find out if his girlfriend’s breast were “real.” You may remember the line, “They’re real, and they are spectacular!”
Here she is, 13 years old and already has experienced the male agenda when it comes to the subject of breast, she is going to be dealing with this kind of stuff from here on out right?
So the headlight break-up is fresh in my mind when I see this article over at Huffo: Lee Woodruff: The Many Splendors of Boobs
By the time a woman reaches the age of 50 in America, she has heard just about every loveable, awful, demeaning, eye-rolling, cute and hysterical term for those two globs of fat that sit on her chest.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so it’s a good time to take stock of how to take care of our breasts, ourselves and our sisters who are battling this insidious disease.
In honor of those brave Warriors in Pink whom I know and those I have never met, this is for you. Laughter is the best medicine and hope cannot be prescribed in CCs and IVs. No one ever has the right to take your ability to hope away. So, what’s in a name? Well, I’ll tell you…
Woodruff then begins the funny breakdown of what terms of endearment those “globs” are referred to…and sarcastically explains what is wrong with it.
HOOTERS – If breasts made noises, men must imagine they would hoot like a horn with joy. Perhaps that’s how this mystifying nickname came into vogue. But alas, like the giraffe on the Serengeti, breasts are silent creatures. The fact that an entire adult restaurant franchise is named Hooters (and their logo is an owl whose eyes are two boobs with nipples) lets you know just how fun AND wise-like-an-owl this slang word is. Hooters connote the sexy librarian who takes off her glasses, lets her bun down and unbuttons her shirt. You go in for chicken wings and beer and end up with a face full of hooters! This is party city baby. If you’re hootin’ and hollerin’ around, this is the term for you. No AA cups need apply.
BREASTS - An anatomically correct term for those globs of fat that sit on our chests. It’s more delicate, like a wide champagne glass. “Breast” says classy, manageable. You can say breast in public. Hell you can ORDER chicken breast in a restaurant. It’s acceptable without being clinical or denigrating. Breasts are the Limoges demitasse cups of the coffee world.
TITS – This is farm animal territory. It’s two steps away from teats, a word that makes me shudder. I picture a cow’s udders hooked up to hoses. Tit is a rough and service oriented term. It might also apply to that stage of motherhood where nursing Moms under extreme sleep deprivation believe they may actually now BE Bessie the Cow. And for the men who are too lazy to make their women feel loved and respected, this is the term for you. Good luck getting a home-cooked meal.
BOOBS - This word says sorority girl collegial and locker room cheerful. Boob just sounds fun, bouncy, no strings attached. Boobs don’t have brains; they are ninnies, all harmless window dressing. It’s a word you can write and say backwards or forwards. And fun, fun — yes, even men can have boobs too! (Increasingly known as “moobs” which is short for man-boobs) The ambiguously ambidextrous quality of the word makes it a very safe and PC term in public.
She then goes on to describe Bosoms, Knockers, Rack, TaTas and The Girls…making a point to explain why she left out the other various terms like, melons, cans, fun bags, jugs and gazongas. She also neglected to include my Nana’s pet name for them, eggplants. Woodruff then turns it back to the reason she wrote the piece…ending with this:
So for every friend- sister- mother- daughter- wife- lover- partner- woman who has removed a lump, gotten a scare, lost a breast, had a mastectomy, taken care of and nurtured someone who has brushed up against the evil of “The Big C” – I salute you. Stay in the race, and keep fighting.
I salute all of us, who have been touched by breast cancer, so this month give your balloons a voice…and speak out for breast cancer, wear something “pink” or give to the Susan G Komen for a Cure.
That is my PSA for the day, what are you all reading and writing about today?
Sima
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