franken kicks de bernardo’s ass

 

 

---

*a big thank you to jamie leigh jones who fought for four years to make this public and change the outcome for for future sisters daughters and mothers

 

---

*this has given new meaning to the :::arbitration my ass::: t-shirt on :::celluloid dog:::

 

meet the senators who voted pro gang rape

 

In 2005 —

Twenty year old American Jamie Leigh Jones was drugged and gang-raped by KBR co-workers in Iraq. [That attack was so violent, her breasts are permanently disfigured.] After her attack she was locked in a shipping container without food or water, and after release warned not to leave her post. Jamie was a long way from anywhere with no help in sight. She stuck it out. [Jones is not an isolated case.] And, after Jamie made it back to U.S. soil, where there should have been help in sight, she was prevented from bringing charges in court. Her KBR contract stipulated sexual assault allegations could not be made in court. Sexual assault allegations could only be heard in arbitration.

In response to abuses of the “arbitration” contract clause used by military contractors like KBR, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) recently proposed an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would withhold defense contracts from companies that contractually block employees from taking workplace sexual assault and battery cases to court. The Amendment passed. You would think something like this would pass unanimously too. Surely our Senators in Congress do not want to employ and protect companies that sanction gang rape? But it did not pass unanimously.

Thirty Senators voted against the Franken amendment. They all have four things in common. They are all Republicans. They are all white. They are all male. And judging by their votes, they all think gang rape is just a little horseplay among friends. Here are their names. And if you didn’t vote McCain/Palin be glad. McCain is on the list.

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

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied against the Franken amendment as well. I guess being opposed to co-worker gang rape is not good for business?

 

---

*see your senator on that list contact him and :::tell him he sucks:::

---

*sources :
:::think progress:::
:::huffington post:::
:::minnesota idependent:::
:::npr:::

 

where the art work comes from:
that is from yves

so there’s this town in montana

 

I am cruising Facebook hanging out with my Lefty friends — and a few Libertarians who are totally trying to recruit me. I do not get why Libertarians like me so much. Or maybe I do. My ex one time looked at me really hard and said, You are NOT a Democrat. And I said, Do not be silly, I am totally a Democrat. And he said, No you’re not. I don’t know what you are, but it is not a Democrat. You’re a militant!

I actually thought that was petty funny.

But anyway this town in Montana. I see this link on Dan’s page titled WTF! And it’s this article on infowars about Hardin Montana being policed by this private paramilitary force that has just taken over.

I think, WTF? But I am not okay with just one link. Not on something like this [especially from Alex Jones who does not exactly have a reputation for being even keeled delicate cough]. But I do an internet hunt and apparently yes there are several stories there are several youtubes this is really going down. WTF?

 

 

---

Okay. Do not go too crazy. There is a lot more to this story. See apparently Hardin built a prison. I mean it. A real prison. I guess sort of with the thought, Hey what does America really need more of? Prisons! Yay! And the philosophy, If we build it, they will come.

Only nobody came.

Hardin must so have the wrong friends because with one out of every one hundred adult Americans incarcerated and the news yelling every day about prison overcrowding you would think someone would share. But no. No prisoners for Hardin. Until —

This guy Michael Hilton from American Police Force shows with a great big plan for the prison. And the Hardin town leaders leap into bed with him immediately. He has Mercedes. He has automatic weapons. He has big dreams. And he is also going to purchase five hundred acres for training grounds and firing ranges. That just spells cash. Yay!

[Did anybody ask what anyone would need with five hundred acres of training grounds and firing ranges? Um, no.]

So they roll out the red carpet. This is jobs. This is income. This will put prisoners in the prison!

[Did anybody ask what prisoners? Um, no.]

And then the nice American Police Force man slapped nice police labels on the nice Mercedes and started patrolling Hardin. [Which doesn't have a police force of its own, it is too tiny so it depends on PD from a bigger town a few miles away.] And that got some attention. And, ultimately, press attention. From people like Alex Jones [delicate cough] and then from mainstream press.

Um. Oops.

Turns out the nice man with the nice Mercedes and the big dreams? Is a total con man. And now the police stickers are off the nice Mercedes and everyone is looking pretty hard at Michael Hilton, American Police Force, and that prison in Hardin. But that is not really the issue here.

 

---

When Michael Hilton slapped police stickers on his cars and started patrolling Hardin Montana?

Nobody.

Did.

Anything.

Not the police who actually were supposed to look after Hardin. Not the town hall people who had climbed into bed with Michael Hilton. Not the residents of Hardin. Nobody. Not till press showed up and started asking questions.

What happens if press does not show up?

 

land of the free

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

*that is not iran that is pittsburgh

:::police pose with beaten student:::
:::police assemble in plaza:::
:::military abducts protester:::
:::gas those students:::
:::police seize university:::
:::more clips:::

 

memories

 

I remember being a little kid looking at the TV and some fringe crazies on the screen and saying, Those people are going to be serious trouble. And my mother and her friends laughing and saying, Oh no, those are just some crazy people, No one will ever threaten Roe versus Wade.

I did not know what Roe versus Wade was.

But I knew my mother and her friends were wrong.

 

war

 

 

where i nabbed that photo :
i nabbed that from alex ryking

fire

 

If you have missed it [I am not sure how you could these fires can be seen from space and Colorado is choking on our smoke] California is burning. But talking about it doesn’t really tell you what we are seeing here I am just going to post the photos they do.

[Also I am in Hollywood so not in harm's way --- unless the fire marches through Glendale and Burbank. It is trying. North Glendale is singed but holding.]

 

 

---

*at the time of this posting the fire has burned 121,000 acres and two firefighters have lost their lives — my thoughts are with the families and friends of the lost firemen and with their fellow firemen still on the line

 

---

*wildlife waystation 14831 lil tujunga canyon road sylmar needs help evacuating animals especially flatbed trucks call 818.899.5021

*update, 8 pm sept 1, word is wildlife waystation has enough trucks but still needs crates

 

---

:::la times fire map:::
:::mt. wilson observatory webcam:::

*update, sept 2, the observatory webcam is down, fires burned out its internet connections, the observatory is still standing

:::more fire photos:::

 

 

where the photos come from :
those are from dailymail.co.uk

the power of lolcats compels you!

 

free max!

 

---

The movement to free max continues. Yay! This was posted by Rane. The power of Cheezeburger Kitteh is strong — the facebook block got lifted today. Yay!

 

dear psycho batshit crazy helicopter guy

 

Dear Psycho Batshit Crazy Helicopter Guy :

I am not sure whether you are aware of this or not but West Hollywood is not a war zone.

I am trying to work with you here. I shut all my windows to block your noise out.

But —

You are flying so low to ground and so close to my building that just results in me being smoked out by my own cigs while my windows and walls still shake from your batshit crazy flight plan.

And —

IT HAS BEEN THREE FUCKING HOURS NOW OF YOUR GOD DAMN ROTARS SHAKING MY WINDOWS AND WALLS.

It is not just tonight either Batshit Crazy Pilot Guy. You do this every night. That is a pattern. A rut. It is not good for you. Don’t you want to get out of that pattern? Don’t you want to get out of that rut? Don’t you have family? A home? A girlfriend? Somewhere, ANYWHERE else to be but here?

Please go raptor another neighborhood for a little while. Just a little while off would allow me to recollect my composure and maybe even delicately overlook YOUR GOD DAMN ABERRANT FLIGHT PATTERN.


Love and Kisses,

Your Please Stop It Adams Girl

 

---

*By the way, just a reminder, hello, homosexuals are not terrorists. Also I am not even homosexual so how wrong is it I have to bring that up?

 

---

*By by the way, am I unsane or did Channel 2 News just say President Clinton was impeached? [Hint, I am not unsane, Channel 2 News just did say that. Wrong Again Channel 2 News.]

 

where the art work comes from :
that is from alsay

the crest of the wave

 

So the building manager —

Called yesterday and left a message he needed to come over today.

With most tenants that just means letting someone know you are coming and need access. With me it means I need to be sort of presentable. The time he said he would show was between 10 am and 12 noon. I left him a message, I will be here.

My work is when I have it and when I do it, and when I have and need to do a lot of work I do a lot. [When I have no work I play a lot of Tetrizz. Oops.] Right now I have a lot to do. Enough to do so that I did not actually break off till 8 am. At which point, what was I going to do, sleep 2 hours and stumble up for the manager guy?

So, I just went and did other work. 10 am rolled around. No manager guy. So I went and did other work. 12 noon. No manager guy. At which point I thought maybe I was too brain dead to do more work and I went and spoofed on facebook.

At 1 pm I called and said, Hey manager guy, I just pulled an all nighter and you are an hour late and I am about to keel.

He said, Be there in 5 minutes. And he was. And he and a savvy technician guy showed and did something to the garbage disposal with myriad fancy tools only manager and savvy technican guys with myriad fancy tools can do.

The problem is.

It is now 2 pm. And I am beyond sleep. Insomnicacs know this place. Where you keep going and keep going and hit the sleep wall and if you keep going past that? You are out of luck till the next crest. It is like you just crested a huge wave at sea body surfing head on into that you had no business making it through but somehow you did make it through and now you are on the other side and not going anywhere till another big wave comes?

That crest.

I did two of those crests last night.

And one this morning.

And am not going anywhere till another one hits.

Wow tonight is not going to be pretty.

 

---

[also, aj, where is the green curl? damn, no other photo is that good and you pulled it you are in so much trouble]

[also if there are mad cap typos in here i have mad sleep deprivation that is not my fault :::grrr:::]

 

where the art work comes from :
that is from r and b