court

March 18, 2013April 18, 2020

Even Some Liberals Defend A Rape Culture

Sometimes I repost blog entries on the Daily Kos website. I like to try to get a lot of comments and recommendations that might help in promoting my blog. I get nervous waiting for comments over there but I like the rush no matter what the response is. However, I really wasn’t prepared for the comments after posting my entry about the Steubenville Ohio rape case. The comments showed how ingrained the rape culture is in this country as even some liberals play into it.

If you don’t know Daily Kos is a big blog that tends to express and support liberal political views. It also allows members to post blogs called diaries that are listed on the front page. Members who read the posts can comment and recommend the article. If enough people recommend a post it will be promoted as a featured post on the front page of the site. That is a goal of mine when I post entries there.

March 17, 2013April 18, 2020

Guys, If The Girl Is Drunk It Is Rape – Period

The Steubenville, Ohio rape trial is over and a verdict might be known by the time this post is published. No matter the result the news reports of some of the testimony really ticked me off. It is real simple guys, if the girl is shitfaced drunk she can’t give consent for sex – period. Taking advantage of a woman who is drunk is rape. It also makes you a coward since you have to have her intoxicated to get your jollies.

Here’s a bit of the report that pissed me off:

October 29, 2012April 18, 2020

Hidden Scout Files Show More Interest In Preventing Bad Publicity

A few weeks ago, as the result of a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), files with names of people excluded from the Boy Scouts from 1965-1985 was released to the public. These “perversion files” list names and details of adults who were kicked out either because they abused the boys they were in charge of or were accused of abusing boys. The BSA attempted to keep these files hidden. One file for a man in my area illustrates why BSA and similar groups are on the wrong side of the child abuse reporting issue. Identifying abusers and protecting children is FAR more important than any bad public relations for doing so.

When the files were released I was interested in checking them out. I was a Boy Scout from the mid 70’s to 1985. Although I never experienced any abuse, I wanted to see if any leaders I might have known back then was on the list. Luckily there was no one from my area in the files.

January 8, 2009April 18, 2020

Findlay loses free speech suit to anti-abortion group

The City of Findlay lost a federal lawsuit to the anti-abortion group Missionaries to the Preborn that had been asked to stop a protest held near a busy intersection in July 2007. The judge found the city’s permit requirements to be unconstitutional. The group, which numbered about 60 people, showed photographs of aborted fetuses.

After many complaints the police department told the group to disperse saying they didn’t have an event permit. At the time it was said the permit had to be obtained 30 days in advance and could only be approved by the Mayor or safety director. Reports noted in the Courier in its reporting on August 7th said:

[Mayor] Iriti said the decision to ask the group to leave was related to public safety only. “Folks were in the right of way, bringing harm to themselves and others,” Iriti said Monday. “It has nothing to do with content. It was simply related to the time, place and manner (in which the message was delivered),” Iriti said.
[Assistant Law Director Donald] Rasmussen said no federal laws have been broken. “The issue was a violation of local law,” he said. “It had nothing to do with the First Amendment at all. It was about blocking ingress and egress to businesses, blocking traffic … walking out into the street, and we’re always concerned with those things.”
Pro-life group files suit against city after being told to disperse last week (published 08/07/2007)

Rasmussen also noted to the Courier that there was no permit requirement in place and the group was allowed to protest on August 11th.

Missionaries to the Preborn however kept the lawsuit going after the city refused to pay attorney fees related to the filing.

I wanted to read the text of the court decision because I am interested in these kinds of cases, but the court doesn’t release them electronically for 90 days. The reason I want to read the transcript is because the reporting in the Courier of the city side of the case seems a bit unbelievable. Either there was an informal permit policy in place or Findlay Police Chief Bill Spraw lied to the group. Cities can and do have a need to regulate actions when those actions can cause issues of safety but those policies have to be applied equally to all groups or events and be content neutral (although I will note that some content is not allowed – like sex acts for example).

I really don’t care about the group’s message, even if I don’t agree with it, but they should have the right to express that message as long as they aren’t causing safety issues – like a riot or something like that.

September 23, 2007April 18, 2020

Some thoughts on the Jena 6 protests

The Jena 6 are a group of black teens who were arrested and charged in the beating of a white student at the local high school in Jena Louisiana. It was the climax of several incidents of a racial nature that started with nooses hanging from a shade tree the day after two black students had sat under it.

The white students who were responsible for what was described as a “prank” were recommended to be expelled (as they should have) but the school board overturned the decision. The students were given 3 day in-school suspensions.

Then other incidents happened:

During the Thanksgiving holiday, someone set fire to the school, reducing the main academic wing to rubble (no one has been arrested, and though a link between what was ruled an arson and the racial discord hasn’t been proved, many suspect there is one). The following day, Bailey was punched and beaten with beer bottles when he tried to enter a mostly white party in town. The white kid who threw the first punch was later charged with simple battery and given probation. The next day, Bailey ran into a young white man who was at the party. Bailey and parents of the Jena Six say that when the man pulled a gun on him, he tangled with him and stripped it away. He was later charged with theft of a firearm.
The tension culminated back at school the following Monday. Justin Barker, a white student who says he is friends with the kids who hung the nooses, reportedly taunted Bailey at lunch (Barker denies this). A while later, an African-American student allegedly punched Barker from behind, knocking him unconscious. Then, say white witnesses, a group of black students that included Bailey continued to assault Barker, kicking and stomping on him. (Jena High student Justin Purvis and other black witnesses dispute this.) Barker, who was treated for injuries at a nearby hospital, was released later that day, apparently in strong enough shape to attend a class-ring ceremony that evening.
A Town In Turmoil

I agree with many who are protesting the unequal justice being applied (the whites involved getting less punishment than the blacks). I just don’t agree with one of the bumper sticker slogans I saw that said “Free the Jena 6”.

The teens have been accused of a crime so just because they may not get a fair shake doesn’t mean we should look the other way in the name of good race relations. The person they are accused of beating was hurt so the event did happen.

Protest the justice system and fight to get them all a fair hearing and see what happens.