Political Retaliation: Cuomo Proposes Kicking Third Parties Off the NY Ballot

Zephyr Teachout ran against Andrew Cuomo in 2014. Working Families Party endorsed Cuomo then, but not in 2018.

by Thomas Neuburger

A Very Short Story in Three Short Acts

Act I. Monica Klein tweeted this on April 1, 2020:

"No other state in America has ballot requirements as strict as @NYGovCuomo is proposing.

While some Democrats push for fair & open elections, NY's Gov is kicking 3rd parties off the ballot."

Act II. Klein's tweet was in response to this, from Jimmy Vielkind, also on April 1, 2020:

"Minor parties including the @NYWFP [Working Families Party] have been screaming for days that lawmakers would revive the recommendations (which they loathed) of a commission that increased ballot access requirements.

It’s in one of the #nybudget bills, as, Bill Hammond notes"

Here's what Bill Hammond noted:

Found in the newly amended Transportation and Economic Development bill.

Nothing improves public confidence in the state's democratic process like jamming through major changes to the democratic process in the last-minute budget rush. https://t.co/VaYiyGBlpv pic.twitter.com/86aultx6ju

— Bill Hammond (@NYHammond) April 1, 2020

I guess making it harder to get on the ballot and squashing third parties is all part of improving public confidence in the democratic process. pic.twitter.com/nhbJIHFitj

— Bill Hammond (@NYHammond) April 1, 2020

Act III. Would it surprise you to learn that the WFP endorsed Andrew Cuomo in 2010 and 2014, but not in 2018?

New York politics got a lot more interesting over the weekend. The left-wing Working Families Party (WFP) endorsed Cynthia Nixon in the governor’s race rather than siding with Andrew Cuomo, the powerful incumbent. The WFP’s defection from Cuomo, who the organization supported in 2010 and 2014, means the contest is going to be more competitive than observers originally thought. How it develops over the next six and a half months will reveal fundamental truths about our state’s most powerful interests—and ourselves.

In an effort to minimize the WFP’s endorsement of Cynthia Nixon, two major unions—SEIU 32BJ and the Communications Workers of America—left the organization in protest. Other labor leaders aligned with Cuomo are likely to either follow suit in deed or in action.

Note the retaliation of labor unions "aligned with Cuomo" who started withholding support (and most likely funding as well) from the WFP.

One of Trump's worst qualities is his rapey-ness. It seems the Democrats are offering one of those as well, but the country may not be buying.

Another is retaliation. Is there any question that Andrew Cuomo, if he gets national executive power, will rule with an iron fist?

Will Cuomo be the next Daddy mainstream Democrats offer to voters to "save" them? If so, look out.
 

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

I thought I'd offer tonight's meme because I think it's good to know a little something about the cretins who vote to take away a woman's right to choose. Tennessee's Rep. Scott DesJarlais is your classic, typical hypocritical republican these days. We've all heard of Missouri's Todd Aiken, the "If it's a legitimate rape" guy, a former member of the House Of Representatives that the Republican Party proudly put up as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012. And, Alabama seems to have a whole mob of state legislators who, judging by their legislative handiwork, don't think that incest and rape are necessarily bad things. Some of these knuckle-draggers don't even seem to have much of an understanding of how babies even happen, but, keep in mind that people actually voted for these people because they feel they represent what they think about these things. We now even have another jackass in Missouri who has just introduced the concept of "consensual rape" to the world. Here he is. Here's Missouri Republican State Rep Barry Hovis, a former law enforcement official, as he spoke during the debate on his state's abortion ban-

Most of my rapes were not the gentleman jumping out of the bushes that nobody had ever met. That was one or two times out of 100. Most of them were date rapes or consensual rapes.

"Gentlemen" rapists? "Consensual rapes?" "My rapes?" Hovis and his republican defenders now claim that he "misspoke" but who, short of meth heads and stroke victims, misspeaks three times in such a short statement?

But, hey, let's not forget poor ol' Scott DesJarlais! He's the star of this meme. Although the news about him is a bit old, I'd feel bad for him if he was forgotten in all of the current examples of Republikookery. You can see all you really need to know about this assclown above, but here's a few more details: He's a doctor. And, surprise, surprise, he's also a Christian. According to his divorce papers, his affairs included 3 co-workers, 2 patients, and (say no more!) a drug representative. Not to worry, though, DesJarlais tells people that "God has forgiven him." Whew! That's a good thing! I mean ya just can't imagine those wacko voters in Tennessee voting for him if God hadn't forgiven him. All of this leaves me with only one question and I ask it not out of jealousy but incredulity: How is it possible that at least six women wanted to have sex with this prime example of human physical (That smile reminds me of Eric Trump) and mental deformity? Maybe it's all some sort of Tennessee thing. I guess if they think he'd be good enough to vote for, then he's appealing enough to fuck. it's all about low local standards.

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

Republican Quality Control: Best People-No Consent Division.

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

Dear Not So Dear Brett Kavanaugh,

If you are the accused and you refuse to take a lie detector test and refuse to call for the FBI to investigate the new developments in your situation, and your accusers ask that they themselves be investigated and given the test... you just might be a guilty asshole.

If your supporters are playing hide the documents (evidence) and trying to ram you through the approval process before even more information comes out... you might just be a guilty asshole.

If you need 65 or more character witnesses to persuade people that you are an OK guy... you just might be an asshole.

If Mitch McConnell is one of your chief defenders and feels the need to stand before the country on national TV and dismiss the severity of the accusations against you and you encourage him to do so... then you are both assholes.

If you belong to a political party that thinks sexual assault is just having a little fun... you are definitely an asshole.

If you feel that you have to go on FOX "News" to propagandize your case, with "the good wife" by your side so you can continue to humiliate her by not even letting her answer questions... you are an asshole.

If you were nominated by Señor Trumpanzee and he whines that you are being treated unfairly, you are definitely an asshole. In fact, by being one of Trump's best people, you were already an asshole by definition.

If you take a seat on the Supreme Court and any more filth surfaces about you, you risk being impeached and removed from the court... because you are... an unbelievable asshole. If you are not impeached and removed... then we the people are assholes.

Read Julie Swetnick's Charges Against Brett Kavanaugh

Does this seem cruel? Perhaps, but not nearly as cruel as what three credible witnesses have now alleged. Are there even more crimes in the wings? In cases like these, there are almost always more more crimes.

by Gaius Publius

Since this is a primary source, and I don't think most people have read it in full, I want to offer an opportunity to read in toto what Julie Swetnick alleges about Brett Kavanaugh and his behavior in the early 1980s.

Her sworn declaration is printed in full below. I could only find image files, but these are good ones. Click each to enlarge it to original size. It should be easy to get through this; there are only three pages.

But it should also be hard to get through this; the content is horrifying. She details multiple instances in which Kavanaugh was complicit in felony gang-rape. He was also likely a rapist as well — he was one of the men lined up outside the doors where drugged women were serially assaulted.

She also details her own drugging and gang-rape at a party attended by Kavanaugh. (She doesn't name Kavanaugh as one of her own rapists, but she says she was drugged against her will at the time.)

Read on:

The self-styled long-suffering virgin of Georgetown Prep.

I still don't know if he'll be confirmed, though if I were betting I'd say yes. Odds are Chuck Schumer will let Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly vote yes, allowing Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski to vote a cosmetic no, though things could change quickly.

After that, we'll have to see.

GP
 

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

I woke up this morning to find that the above meme about republican attitudes toward rape had been removed from my personal facebook page. I guess someone at fb objected to people knowing this particular reality of what it means to be a republican in 2018. Not that I wasn't going to eventually use if as a Midnight Meme, but, I am retaliating right now by using the meme as a Midnight Meme in order to help give it a bigger platform than my fb page has. I'd love it if others did the same. Feel free to share away! Considering the Republican Party's disregard of the growing accusations against Brett Kvanaugh, there may never be a more appropriate time than today. As NIKE says: Just Do It!

Given the attitude of most republicans towards issues of rape, it was inevitable that they would nominate and vote for a serial sexual predator who would in turn nominate a suspect character such as Brett Kavanaugh. The Repug Party's misogyny is not just about Roe v. Wade. It is a complete philosophy of dominance and gleeful misuse of power. It's also worth noting that democrats dumped Al Franken in a heartbeat for far less serious accusations. The difference in the Kavanaugh situation is that Republicans see nothing wrong with the accusations leveled at their guy. For them, it's a lifestyle choice which they obviously embrace.

And here's a special bonus meme about Republican attitudes towards rape. I wouldn't want Mr. Donahue and his armada of raping priests to feel neglected in any way.

UPDATE: Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby just got his sentence today: Jail for 3 to 10 years. He denied all of the accusations against him but the truth came out eventually. Imagine if Cosby's case went to a Supreme Court that included a Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the accusations now directed at Kavanaugh prove true? How would Kavanaugh vote? Would the usual inner Republican racist lead him to decide against Cosby, or, would his sex predator self rule in Cosby's favor? Meanwhile, the entire Republican Party, from Trump and McConnell down, smirk at us all.

Midnight Meme Of The Day

-by Noah

Now hiring. Looking for the best people. This is your golden opportunity to join a team of experienced experts in the field of rape culture. Are you a serial abuser? Do you fear women and treat them like dirt? Do you pack a punch? If so, the new United States Institute For Rape Culture is the place for you! Co-founded by the RNC and the administration of President Donald J. Trump, the USIRC is dedicated to finding new and innovative ways to ignore and coverup all infestations and manifestations rape culture, not only in Washington but throughout our entire country. Interested? Please send examples of your work in plain brown wrapper addressed to: Chief of Staff, U.S. Institute For Rape Culture, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, 20500. We're looking for a few good men.

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

-by Noah

The scandal of Republican Senate Candidate Judge Roy Moore didn't happen in a vacuum. Politicians of all stripes have all too often felt entitled when it comes to depravity. But, one party, the Republican Party, has perfected it. That Moore has openly acted as he has for decades and been continually rewarded with the backing of his party is no mistake. Nothing about Moore slipped through the cracks. That, sooner or later, a high profile Republican would implode in a scandal of sexual deviance before our eyes was inevitable. The general Republican attitude towards rape provided the environmental conditions that gave us Judge Roy Moore. Call it what it is: Republican Rape Culture. When Republicans say "If True," that's their new "Thoughts & Prayers,"  "Fake News," and "Legitimate Rape;" all of which are tools of avoidance used by depraved sleazebags and cowards as cover.

As today's meme points out, there is no shortage when it comes to Republican apologists for rape. Just as Alabama's Republicans today are loudly defending their candidate, and today's Republican National Committee supports him with on the ground operatives and money, national Republicans had no problem with rape during the Iraq war. No, I'm not talking about soldiers raping women; I'm talking about what happened when employees of Dick Cheney's Halliburton/KBR gang raped a fellow female employee and then locked her in a shipping container to cover up their crime and, probably, in hopes that she would just die. The reaction to the news of this was swift. Decent Americans wanted justice for the victim. The problem was that she had no rights when it came to filing charges against her assailants and her employer. The perps needn't have worried about the consequences of their heinous actions. Why? Because a republican president, George W. Bush had signed an order prohibiting such charges being filed against war contractors like Halliburton/KBR. I'll let you wonder just whose idea that might have been but, it being a Republican administration, it could have been lots of people.

I wrote about this back in 2009 as part of my annual year end review. I did so to throw a spotlight on what I called the Senate's Republican Pro-Rape Caucus of 30 beyond despicable senators. The 30 senators, listed below, voted against a bill put forward by Democratic Senator Al Franken. The bill was designed to give people such as the Halliburton/KBR rape victim the right to justice. The 30 member pro-rape caucus voted against it but it passed anyway when a minority of remaining Republican senators voted along with the Democrats to pass it. Not surprisingly, both Alabama senators of the time voted in favor of rapists. One of them was KKK boy Jeff Sessions who is now the Attorney General. Scum rises to the top. Here's the complete list, many of whom are still in office. As I said at the time, if I had a daughter working for one of these knuckle-draggers, she'd be carrying a Glock and starting to look for a better job.

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-ID)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Speaker Denny Hastert-- Another Republican Party Child Rapist

In 2006 Blue America was backing progressive John Laesch's campaign against Speaker Denny Hastert. Rumors of Hastert's predatory behavior towards underage boys were rampant, including more than one letter from boys who claimed to have had sex with him, including a male prostitute who kept saying he would testify and then that he didn't want his name used. It went back and forth for almost the entire campaign. But, in the end, he refused to let us use his name and the Laesch campaign had no way of confirming if there was any truth behind the allegations. I spoke to several guys who said they had had sex with Hastert over the course over several decades... but no one wanted to go public; everyone was afraid.

Yesterday Good Morning America scooped the world with the story of one of Hastert's victims, Steve Reinboldt, who later died of AIDS. When Hastert raped him, he had never had sex with another male.

Jolene Burdge said Friday on ABC's Good Morning America that her late brother, Steve Reinboldt, was sexually abused by Dennis Hastert when the former Republican speaker of the House was an Illinois high school teacher and wrestling coach in the 1970s.

Burdge said she tried getting the word out to the media long before Hastert's indictment last week for lying to the FBI and evading banking laws in an effort to cover up alleged abuse.

ABC News acknowledged that Burdge had approached the network about Hastert in 2006 after former Republican Congressman Mark Foley was caught sending sexually explicit messages to a 16-year-old male page. In Friday's report, ABC noted that it "could not corroborate Jolene's allegation and Hastert denied the claim."

On Friday's GMA, chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross said Burdge had contacted them "off the record" nine years ago, but had only been willing to go public with the allegations more recently.

Burdge also approached The Associated Press in 2006, the news organization disclosed Friday. The AP reported Burdge "ultimately decided against coming forward with a statement at that time."

Brian Ross referred to the serial statutory rapes that Hastert was paying millions of dollars to cover up as sordid. The FBI was aware that Steve Reinboldt was one of the high school boys Hastert had been raping.

In an emotional interview, Steve Reinboldt’s sister Jolene said she first learned of her late brother’s purported years-long sexual abuse at the hands of the future Speaker of the House back in 1979 when her brother revealed to her that he was gay and had been out of high school for eight years.

“I asked him, when was your first same sex experience. He looked at me and said, ‘It was with Dennis Hastert,’” Jolene said. “I was stunned."

Jolene said she asked her brother why he never told anyone. “And he just turned around and kind of looked at me and said, ‘Who is ever going to believe me?’”

Jolene said that Steve told her the abuse lasted throughout Steve’s four years of high school as he served as team student manager. “Mr. Hastert had plenty of opportunities to be alone with Steve, because he was there before the meets,” she said. “He was there after everything because he did the laundry, the uniforms. So he was there by himself with him,” she added.

Her brother also spent time with Hastert as a member of an Explorers troop, which Hastert ran. Photos taken by her brother show Hastert with a group of boys on a diving trip to the Bahamas.

Reinboldt’s sister says she has no doubts about the veracity of what her brother told her 36 years ago.

“[Steve] just told me the basics. I believed him 100 percent. But he never went into any details-- where it happened, or what the sexual experiences were like, anything like that,” Jolene said.

Jolene said she believes the abuse ended when Steve moved away after his high school graduation in 1971. Reinboldt died of AIDS in 1995. She believes Hastert’s alleged actions irrevocably changed Steve's life for the worse.

“He took his belief in himself and his kind of right to be a normal person,” Jolene said. “Here was the mentor, the man who was, you know, basically his friend and stepped into that parental role, who was the one who was abusing him… He damaged Steve I think more than any of us will ever know.”

...In the two decades after Steve’s death, Jolene said that she tried to expose Hastert, even writing to ABC News and another news organization as well as some advocacy groups in 2006 after another congressman, Rep. Mark Foley, was discovered having sexually explicit message exchanges with an underage male page.

At the time ABC News could not corroborate Jolene's allegation and Hastert denied the claim... [J]ust two weeks ago, Jolene said she got a message from the FBI. They wanted to talk about Hastert.

Hastert, who is laying low, is scheduled to be arraigned next week. So far Boehner has refused to respond to requests that Hastert's official Speaker portrait be removed from the House of Representatives. Other Republican closet cases who have been fooling around with boys as well-- like North Carolina's Patrick McHenry-- are ducking questions about Hastert. One congressman who served with Hastert told me that they had heard rumors that Hastert was a closet case but not that he was preying on under-age boys. Hastert is facing the justice system on charges stemming from banking irregularities as he withdrew money to pay for covering up his assaults against numerous children. The statute of limitations seems to preclude prosecuting him for the child rapes. And Congress... they routinely cover up this kind of ugliness. It wasn't just Hastert and Boehner and the GOP that covered up Mark Foley's criminal activities with under-age pages. Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi allowed Foley to walk away claiming he was guilty of nothing more than some inappropriate "naughty" emails.

Rape Isn't Romantic-- Or Sexual-- What About When The Victim In A Man?

Gary Jones, Army, 1984-'86:

At first I thought he was playing around. He managed to wrestle me onto my back, and I started freaking out. He pinned my arm above my head and my knee in the crook of his arm and covered my mouth with his right hand and looked at me and said, 'You will not make a noise.'

This week a friend pointed me to a twitter hashtag, #WhyIStayed, that illustrates why women stay in abusive relationships. The arguments on it, many of which are pretty universal, work for men who stay in abusive relationships too. You know the old saw about how if men could get pregnant, abortion and birth control wouldn't be controversial? Many people have also said that if men could be raped, rape would be treated different-- far more seriously-- by the legal system. Of our men are raped-- and not infrequently-- but it's a crime generally hidden from society. The new issue of GQ focuses in on sexual assault in the military and makes it clear that "more than half of the victims are men." Writer Nathaniel Penn: "According to the Pentagon, thirty-eight military men are sexually assaulted every single day. These are the stories you never hear-- because the culprits almost always go free, the survivors rarely speak, and no one in the military or Congress has done enough to stop it."

The moment a man enlists in the United States armed forces, his chances of being sexually assaulted increase by a factor of ten. Women, of course, are much more likely to be victims of military sexual trauma (MST), but far fewer of them enlist. In fact, more military men are assaulted than women-- nearly 14,000 in 2012 alone. Prior to the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" in 2011, male-on-male-rape victims could actually be discharged for having engaged in homosexual conduct. That's no longer the case-- but the numbers show that men are still afraid to report being sexually assaulted.

Military culture is built upon a tenuous balance of aggression and obedience. The potential for sexual violence exists whenever there is too much of either. New recruits, stripped of their free will, cannot question authority. A certain kind of officer demands sex from underlings in the same way he demands they pick up his laundry. A certain kind of recruit rapes his peer in a sick mimicry of the power structure: I own you totally. "One of the myths is that the perpetrators identify as gay, which is by and large not the case," says James Asbrand, a psychologist with the Salt Lake City VA's PTSD clinical team. "It's not about the sex. It's about power and control."

To understand this problem and why it persists twenty-two years after the Tailhook scandal, GQ interviewed military officials, mental-health professionals, and policy-makers, as well as twenty-three men who are survivors not only of MST but also of a bureaucracy that has failed to protect them.

…Terry Neal, Navy, 1975-'77: "The part that I remember before I passed out was somebody saying they were going to teach me a lesson… One of the doctors said to me afterward, 'Son, men don't get raped.'"Asbrand, the Salt Lake City V.A. psychologist explained one of the prevalent dynamics to GQ: "There's the fear that 'if other people know this about me, well, then, my life is over. No one's gonna want to be around me. They'll know that I'm less of a man.'… I was starting to hallucinate that people were coming to get me. I barricaded myself in my room in the barracks because I heard a key in the lock and thought they were coming in. It was my roommate, but I was screaming, 'Don't hurt me!' They took me to the hospital, and that's where I finally told the psychiatrist what had happened. It was a huge mistake. I was put into a mental ward out of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. The doctor would say, 'You enjoyed it, didn't you? Come on, tell me the truth.'"

…An overpowering shame prevents many enlisted men from reporting an assault-- a sense that they must somehow be complicit in what has happened to them. Straight men often question their own sexual orientation, while gay men may struggle to find intimacy in relationships because they don't trust other men (or their own judgment). Telling the secret ruptures families and friendships. So does not telling.

The rape of a male soldier has a particular symbolism. "In a hypermasculine culture, what's the worst thing you can do to another man? Force him into what the culture perceives as a feminine role," says Asbrand of the Salt Lake City VA. "Completely dominate and rape him."

But shame isn't the only reason these men so often say nothing. Another is fear-- of physical retaliation, professional ruin, social stigma. Research suggests that the military brass may have conspired to illegally discharge MST victims by falsely diagnosing them with personality disorders. "The military has a systemic personality disorder discharge problem," write the authors of a 2012 Yale Law School white paper. Between 2001 and 2010, some 31,000 servicepersons were involuntarily discharged for personality disorders. It is likely that in many cases these were sham diagnoses meant to rid the ranks of MST victims. "If they want you to be schizophrenic," says Trent Smith, an MST survivor currently fighting his discharge from the Air Force, "you're schizophrenic." These diagnoses also spare the government the costs of aftercare: The VA considers a personality disorder to be a pre-existing condition, so it won't cover the expense of treatment for PTSD caused by a sexual assault.

Above all, MST victims keep quiet because they do not believe their attackers will be punished. And they're almost certainly right. The conviction rate in MST cases that go to trial is just 7 percent. An estimated 81 percent of male MST victims never report being attacked. Perhaps it should astonish us that any of them do.

…Heath Phillips, Navy, 1988-'89: "The two main guys-- their nickname was the Twin Towers. They held themselves like they were God and untouchable. They were both six feet five or above, 250 pounds. I weighed maybe 120 pounds soaking wet. As soon as the Twin Towers came near you, you instantly wanted to pee yourself.

"The main attacks were at night. When you're being dragged out of your bunk literally by your ear, you can't fight, because they're doing these funky things with your fingers, twisting them, and they're ripping your mouth open, and then they got another guy that has his fingers in your nose or in your eyes to make you open your mouth. That's what always used to bother me: I'm screaming, yelling, fighting, and nobody is even moving their curtains to look.

"I went AWOL; I couldn't take it no more. I tried hanging myself. I was living in the streets, and I got arrested shoplifting, and they sent me to the brig. Then I got sent back to the same berthing area, where they started terrorizing me again. The final straw was, I was taking a shower and these guys beat me up and raped me with a toilet brush. Medical told me I probably had a hemorrhoid. I went AWOL again, then turned myself in a couple of days later. Finally my executive officer came back [proposing] I take an other-than-honorable discharge.

"To this day I don't know why they did it, because they had beautiful girlfriends. I just happened to be one of their victims."

I guess most normal people would be horrified by what happens to men in the U.S. military who undergo this terror. Probably less so to men in prison:

Vive la libération: St. Louisans celebrate as their city is declared a George F. Will-free zone

"Indignation is the default position of certain people in civic discourse. They go from a standing start to fury in about 30 seconds."

-- George F. Will, responding to the public furor in response
to his syndicated column in defense of college rapeboys

"The change has been under consideration for several months, but a column published June 5, in which Mr. Will suggested that sexual assault victims on college campuses enjoy a privileged status, made the decision easier. The column was offensive and inaccurate; we apologize for publishing it."

-- from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's editor's note announcing
the shitcanning of our George F.'s syndicated column

by Ken

Earlier this week, as you've no doubt heard, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dumped our George F.'s stinking butt. Here's how Politico reported the story (links onsite):

After uproar, St. Louis paper drops Will column

By KENDALL BREITMAN

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has dropped columnist George Will and told readers that his provocative column on sexual assault on college campuses was a factor in the decision.

“The change has been under consideration for several months, but a column published June 5, in which Mr. Will suggested that sexual assault victims on college campuses enjoy a privileged status, made the decision easier,” the editor’s note read. “The column was offensive and inaccurate; we apologize for publishing it.”

The newspaper also used the note to announce that it will be replacing Will’s spot with Michael Gerson, a Washington Post columnist and former speechwriter and top aide to former President George W. Bush.

“We have heard from both conservative and liberal readers asking for new conservative voices,” the note said. “We believe Mr. Gerson’s addition to our op-ed page will be a refreshing and revitalizing change.”

Will’s column caused an uproar with its reference to the “supposed campus epidemic of rape, a.k.a. ‘sexual assault’” and that universities “make victimhood a coveted status” that “confers privileges.”

Groups such as The National Organization for Women slammed the columnist for his opinions and a hashtag, #SurvivorPrivilege, began as a result where people would tweet sarcastically on privileges they were given for experiencing sexual assault.

The Washington Post defended Will, calling his column “well within bounds of legitimate debate.”

Our George F. thinks the column was "well within bounds" too. As Erik Wemple reports on his washingtonpost.com blog, in a taped CNN interview "Will argued that writing about sexual assault on campus makes sense for him as a columnist: "This is my job, is when dubious statistics become the basis of dubious and dangerous abandonment of due process, to step in and say, 'Take a deep breath, everybody.' "

And we've already seen, at the top of this post (again courtesy of Erik Wemple), our George F.'s response to the furor unleashed by his idiotic column: "Indignation is the default position of certain people in civic discourse. They go from a standing start to fury in about 30 seconds."

He's kidding, right? Does he really not see the irony? This is a man who lives, at least publicly, in a permanent state of indignation. Just to be clear, and hard as it may be to believe, our George F. was not speaking into a mirror when he made his comment about the "default position" of indigation. So it's not like J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, whom you may remember we watched and heard just a short while ago, in the person of Bobby Morse, singing:

You have the cool, clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth.
Yet there's that up-turned chin and the grin of impetuous youth.
I believe in you!
I believe in you!

And so on. The kicker here is that Ponty is singing to himself in a mirror. Whereas our George F. really does seem to think of himself as a cool, clear seeker of wisdom and truth -- the wisdoms and truths not even sought let alone found by rival, merely mortal scribes. It's a delusion of a piece with Bill O'Reilly's that he's a "journalist" -- the very thing he isn't, being merely the purveyor of imbecilic and/or insane propaganda points he gets from . . . well, as far as I can tell it's all blown out of his stinky butt.

As best I can puzzle our George F. out, his career is based on the premise that in the Kingdom of the Zero-Functional-Brain-Cells Life Forms, the single-functional-brain-cell life form is yo mama. Unfortunately, the only uses to which he puts that single functional brain cell are: (1) self-promotion and (2) spreading poison via whatever obfuscation and lies the situation calls for.

I think the timing was unfortunate for our George F., coming so soon after the public spectacle of lunatic gun-blasting woman-loather Elliot Rodger. There is undoubtedly something to be said about unjust accusations of rape, but that can't even begin to be discussed by a lying scumbag who, in the heat of his ever-burning indignation, has just let the world glimpse his inner Elliot Rodger.

One interesting thing about the Post-Dispatch's "So long, George F.!" editorial note is the information that "the change has been under consideration for several months." Several months? Well, I suppose better late than never, P-D.

Meanwhile, as so often in life, you win some and you lose some. The price Post-Dispatch readers get for being spared our George F. is the arrival of another blind horse from the WaPo syndication stable, Michael Gerson. But at least Gerson is merely a pathetic stooge of the oligarchy, and as we've noted, there are even occasions when his ties to the oligarchy lead him to try to spread some sense. Unlike our George F., whose goal is always to spread poison.

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The Nature Of Conservatism-- A Sick And Deranged War Against Women

The stories coming out of India and Pakistan about the murders of women last week have been gut-wrenching. Both were primitive and barbaric acts within the context of conservative and patriarchal culture that deem women less than human. Mulayam Singh Yadav, from Uttar Pradesh's governing party, was widely quoted in the media as saying "Boys will be boys" in response to the brutal gang rapes and murders of two girls from a poor family. The police tried covering the whole incident up. When I heard about it on the radio, I nearly threw up.

And, make no mistake, this kind of brutality and terrorism against women is very much a part of sick conservative politics. Ramsevak Paikra, a minister from the new far right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party has said rapes happen "accidentally."

"Such incidents (rapes) do not happen deliberately. These kind of incidents happen accidentally," Paikra, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which also rules at the national level, told reporters.

Paikra, who was asked for his thoughts on the gang-rape and lynching of two girls in a neighbouring state, later said he had been misquoted. His original remarks were broadcast on television networks.

The remarks come just days after the home minister of the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh state said rapes were "sometimes right, sometimes wrong."

The minister, Babulal Gaur, gave the remarks on Thursday amid growing anger over the gang-rape and murder of the girls, aged 12 and 14, in northern Uttar Pradesh state late last month.

Modi, whose party came to power in a landslide election victory, has so far stayed silent over the rapes.

…Several politicians have sought to blame tight jeans, short skirts and other Western influences for the country's rise in rapes, while the head of a village council pointed to chowmein which he claimed led to hormone imbalances among men.

This isn't about Hinduism or the Muslim religion. This is about a primitive, patriarchal, conservative worldview-- one shared, if usually tempered-- by conservatives in our own country as well. Friday, Racine billionaire and sociopath, Samuel Curtis Johnson III, pleaded guilt to sexually assaulting-- for years-- his young stepdaughter. He got off with a slap on the wrist. He'll serve a few weeks in jail and pay a $6,000 fine.

His daughter was 15 in 2011 when she accused Johnson of being a sex addict.

The girl says Johnson would enter her bedroom at night and fondle her breasts, buttocks and vaginal area, the court documents state. According to the documents, the girl told investigators that Johnson "used his mouth to molest her," exposing himself through his pajama pants and frequently asking her for intercourse.

According to court documents the girl told her mother about the abuse in November in an effort to protect her younger sister.

Johnson's company manufactures household cleaning products like Fantastik, Windex and Draino and his personal net worth is $2.2 billion. Aviva Shen, writing for Think Progress digs into how Johnson got off so easy. The felony he was originally charged with could have led to 40 years in prison, Billionaires don't get 40 years in prison, so the prosecutor downgraded the charges to a misdemeanor, claiming the girl and her mother would not cooperate.

Johnson’s lawyers insisted the girl’s medical records be released to see if she had reported the abuse to her therapist, and a court held that the girl could not testify unless she released the records. The girl and her mother refused to release them, so the girl was barred from taking the stand. The case essentially fell apart without her as a witness, the prosecution said.

“Refusal to cooperate” is a common reason rapists go free, and obscures the difficult situations and complex power dynamics victims face when they come forward. Victims, especially children, are often traumatized and unable to navigate the rigid legal maze. They are penalized harshly if their stories change or if they don’t seem emotional enough. Sometimes they are even arrested if they try to back out. When the abuser is a family member, victims often feel conflicted about exposing them to a legal battle and face more pressure to back down. Indeed, prosecutors say the girl and her mother did not want to press charges against Johnson, whom they are likely dependent on financially and socially.

When the accused rapist is a powerful community leader, like Johnson, the costs to “cooperating” are even higher. In the now infamous Maryville case, prosecutors said they initially dropped charges against a football star because the victim refused to cooperate. That justification didn’t address that the victim had been ruthlessly bullied for months, her mother was fired from her job, and that the family ultimately felt the need to leave town.

Johnson is the latest symbol of how the justice system works differently for the super-rich. One wealthy heir who raped his 3-year-old daughter was recently sentenced to probation because the judge decided he “will not fare well” in prison. In another high profile case, a wealthy teenager successfully avoided jail time for killing four people in a drunk driving incident by arguing he had “affluenza”-- that his rich parents had never taught him how to make moral choices.

Is this is a good time to mention that it is the official policy of DWT that, while rapists should be castrated, all billionaires should be taxed out of existence?



UPDATE: Legal Notice

This e-mail, reasonable enough, came from someone representing SC Johnson (the company) who seems quite eager to disassociate the company from the billionaire/child sex predator, SC Johnson.

Hi Howie,

Wanted to reach out to you and kindly request a minor correction on your June 8 blog, “The Nature Of Conservatism-- A Sick And Deranged War Against Women.”

Specifically, where it notes that “Johnson's company manufactures household cleaning products like Fantastik, Windex and Draino and his personal net worth is $2.2 billion,” we’d like to request the underlined here/first half of this sentence is updated to “Johnson is an heir to the Johnson family fortune”-- removing the part that suggests he owns the company.

Curt Johnson has no formal relationship to SC Johnson; he has not worked for or served SC Johnson in any capacity for more than 18 years.

Thanks very much for your help-- please let me know of any questions.

Conservatives Have Always Had A Problem With Women

Boehner was so proud yesterday that he picked a girl to give one of the god-knows-how-many "official" Republican responses to the State of the Union message. He seems delusional enough to think that women voters will flock to the GOP because he named some obscure woman congressmember from rural northeast Washington who votes with the Republican patriarchs on everything. I guess he had no choice after Huckabee's idiotic statements betraying the fear conservative men have and have always had about the depravity of runaway lady libidos. Meanwhile, this morning President Obama was doing what he could without congressional cooperation to move the ball forward to end sexual assault on college campuses. So while Cathy McMorris Rodgers tries to figure out how to explain this ghastly voting record against women's equality if any reporters question her about it, Obama used his weekly address to explain how his latest step to protect women at college is to establish the White House Task Force on Protecting Students from Sexual Assault. Here, in part, is what he said:

This week, I called members of my Cabinet to the White House to deal with a challenge that affects so many families and communities-- the crime, the outrage, of sexual violence.

Sexual assault is an affront to our basic decency and humanity. And it’s about all of us-- the safety of those we love most: our moms, our wives, our daughters and our sons.

Because when a child starts to question their self-worth after being abused, and maybe starts withdrawing… or a young woman drops out of school after being attacked… or a mother struggles to hold down a job and support her kids after an assault… it’s not just these individuals and their families who suffer. Our communities-- our whole country-- is held back.

Over the past five years, we’ve stepped up our efforts stop these crimes. And this week, we took another important step to protect young women at college. An estimated 1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted at college-- and that’s totally unacceptable. So I’ve created the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. We’re going to help schools do a better job of preventing and responding to sexual assault on their campuses. Because college should be a place where our young people feel secure and confident, so they can go as far as their talents will take them.

And we’re going to keep working to stop sexual assaults wherever they occur. We’ll keep strengthening our criminal justice system, so police and prosecutors have the tools and training to prevent these crimes and bring perpetrators to justice. We’ll keep reaching out to survivors, to make sure they’re getting all the support they need to heal. We’re going to keep combating sexual assault in our armed forces, because when a member of our military is attacked by the very people he or she trusts and serves with, that’s an injustice that no one who volunteers to protect our nation should ever endure.

Some of this is a job for government. But really, it’s up to all of us. We’ve got to teach young people-- men and women-- to be brave enough to stand up and help put an end to these crimes. We’ve especially got to teach young men to show women the respect they deserve. I want every young man in America to know that real men don’t hurt women. And those of us who are fathers have a special obligation to make sure every young man out there understands that being a man means recognizing sexual violence and being outraged by it, and doing their part to stop it.

Perhaps most important, we need to keep saying to anyone out there who has ever been assaulted: you are not alone. We have your back. I’ve got your back.

I’m going to keep pushing for others to step up-- across my administration, in Congress, in state capitals, college campuses and military bases all across our country. This is a priority for me, not only as President and Commander-in-Chief, but as a husband and a father of two extraordinary girls. And I hope it’s a priority for you. Because here in the United States of America, every man and woman, every girl and boy, has the right to be safe and protected and to pursue their own piece of the American dream.

What a contrast to what we heard from the GOP this week between Huckabee's problem with women's libidos and Steve Pearce (R-NM) writing in his book that "the wife is to voluntarily submit" to her husband. Where to they come up with these ancient notions of male dominance? I'm finishing up a book I never expected to write about at DWT, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, a 2002 Pulitzer-Prize winner that has sold around 4 million copies. This one paragraph isn't what the book is about, but it stuck with me. The paragraph is ostensibly about an actual event that took place-- a week of riots in Detroit-- in the summer of 1967. I was struck by it for a reason I doubt Eugenides had in mind-- how our society treated women.

[A]s the police arrive, there are girls lined along the street, girls in miniskirts, thigh-highs, and halter tops. (The sea wrack Milton hoses from the sidewalk every morning includes the dead jellyfish of prophylactics and the occasional hermit crab of a lost high heel.) The girls stand at the curbs as cars cruise by. Key-lime Cadillacs, fire-red Toronados, wide- mouthed, trolling Lincolns, all in perfect shape. Chrome glints. Hubcaps shine. Not a single rust spot anywhere. (Which is something that always amazes Milton about black people, the contradiction between the perfection of their automobiles and the disrepair of their houses.) . . . But now the gleaming cars are slowing. Windows are rolling down and girls are bending to chat with the drivers. There are calls back and forth, the lifting of already minuscule skirts, and sometimes a flash of breast or an obscene gesture, the girls working it, laughing, high enough by 5 a.m. to be numb to the rawness between their legs and the residues of men no amount of perfume can get rid of. It isn’t easy to keep yourself clean on the street, and by this hour each of those young women smells in the places that count like a very ripe, soft French cheese . . . They’re numb, too, to thoughts of babies left at home, six- month-olds with bad colds lying in used cribs, sucking on pacifiers, and having a hard time breathing . . . numb to the lingering taste of semen in their mouths along with peppermint gum, most of these girls no more than eighteen, this curb on Twelfth Street their first real place of employment, the most the country has to offer in the way of a vocation. Where are they going to go from here? They’re numb to that, too, except for a couple who have dreams of singing backup or opening up a hair shop . . . But this is all part of what happened that night, what’s about to happen (the police are getting out of their cars now, they are breaking in the door of the blind pig) . . . as a window opens and someone yells, “It’s the fuzz! Out the back way!” At the curb the girls recognize the cops because they have to do them for free. But something is different tonight, something is happening . . . the girls don’t disappear as usual when the cops show up. They stand and watch as the clients of the blind pig are led out in handcuffs, and a few girls even begin to grumble . . . and now other doors are opening and cars are stopping and suddenly everyone is out on the street . . . people stream out of other blind pigs and from houses and from street corners and you can feel it in the air, the way the air has somehow been keeping score, and how at this moment in July of 1967 the tally of abuses has reached a point so that the imperative flies out from Watts and Newark to Twelfth Street in Detroit, as one girl shouts, “Get yo’ hands offa them, motherfucking pigs!” . . . and then there are other shouts, and pushing, and a bottle just misses a policeman and shatters a squad car window behind . . . and back on Seminole my father is sleeping on a gun that has just been recom-missioned, because the riots have begun . . .

Yes, where are they going to go from here?

Seriously now, is there any reason why Senator McCranky should be taken seriously about military matters -- or anything else?

Is Young Johnny McCranky explaining to NY Senators Gillibrand and Schumer about his superior background and experience?

"The strongest argument for Senator Gillibrand's approach [to curbing sexual abuse in the military] is that the military's been saying the right things for about thirty years on this, and the problem hasn't been fixed."

-- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by
The New Yorker's Evan Osnos

by Ken

One of the many reasons I'm grateful for Paul Krugman's years of intrepid op-ed service is his ongoing crusade against the concept of "seriousness" as applied to allegedly serious people in government and its support systems, the technocracy and the media. It is, of course, mutually reinforcing: The pundits anoint "serious" pols and bureaucratic stooges, who in turn bless the seriousness of their media brethren. And if you attempt to find out why any one of these people should actually be taken seriously, it always turns out to be because other "serious" people say so.

Which brings me to the impossible case of Arizona Sen. Young John McCranky, who somehow developed a reputation for "integrity" based on pretty much nothing and to go with it a legend of expertise in subjects for no more apparent reason than his long-standing membership in the Insiders' Boys' Club. I'm the toughness and endurance he demonstrated during his Vietnam POW captivity, there's nothing of distinction in his personal record, allowing for the likely boosts it got from his family naval history. And in his post-military years, has he done anything to qualify himself as an expert beyond playing buddy-buddy with the reigning powers-that-be? And in the military, perhaps even more than in many other institutions, though it applies to most of them too, the powers-that-be are notably mostly for an unshakable conviction that their way of doing things is one true right and proper way to do things.

I go into this with reference to the Crankyman's guest appearance in Evan Osnos's recent New Yorker profile of New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand ("Strong Vanilla," Dec. 16; only an abstract available free online). Probably everyone recalls that one cause the senator has made personal is doing something about the frightening growth in incidences of sexual assault in the military, and the military's singularly low interest in doing anything about it -- like, you know, investigating and prosecuting reported incidences, which presumably has led to an equally striking growth in unreported incidences, given the significantly greater likelihood that the victim will pay a substantially higher price than the perpetrator. The indications are that the worse the problem grows, the less inclination the military shows to do anything about it.

It's hardly a new thought that there's a built-in conflict of interest in the military's reliance on chain of command, when decisions about investigations and prosecutions are made by people who have an institutional, or often even personal, reason to look the other way. Which led Senator Gillibrand to craft her proposal that this authority be switched from the relevant military commander to professional military prosecutors.

Here's Evan Osnos quoting Young Johnny touting his own expertise:

Gillibrand has proposed a radical solution. Commanders have always had the power to decide which sexual-assault cases to try; she would give that power to military prosecutors instead. The Pentagon has warned that the move would undermine commanders' authority, and many senators agree. One of them is John McCain, of Arizona, a Navy veteran. He told reporters, "I respect Senator Gillibrand's view and her advocacy, but I do not believe that she has the background or experience on this issue. I do."

One senator whose support Gillibrand has secured is Kentucky's libertarian Rand Paul. Now I don't have much truck with those on the left who imagine that we have much common ground with the libertarian right, but there are unquestionably issues where libertarians "get it right" while a lot of folks in the famous "center" and "left of center" don't. The way I look at it is, if even the libertarians in their crackpot ideology can get it right, how difficult can it be to understand?

More from Evan Osnos:

When Gillibrand asked Rand Paul for his vote, he asked her to change some language to clarify which crimes are covered. Then he signed on. Paul told me that his coöperation with Gillibrand is "an argument for having new fresh faces around," and he added, "The strongest argument for Senator Gillibrand's approach is that the military's been saying the right things for about thirty years on this, and the problem hasn't been fixed."

Not only hasn't the problem been fixed, it has grown significantly worse -- and on the political side, that's notwithstanding the "background" and "experience" of Young Johnny McCranky. I don't doubt that Young Johnny has done way more background and experience in drinking with his military pals than has Senator Gillibrand, but in the matter of curbing sexual abuse, it might help if, instead of bragging about his background and experience, he told us how he and his drinking buddies propose finally to get a handle on the problem.


THERE COULD BE ANOTHER POSSIBILITY --

Maybe it isn't necessarily that Young Johnny and his pals are fools or incompetents. Maybe they just don't see sexual abuse as a problem.

It's folk wisdom that in war behavior which would be intolerable in any other walk of life is not only tolerated but perhaps encouraged. When we hear accounts of our supposedly elite military squads in Afghanistan, we get a window into a culture of hyper-manly-manness which always leaves me feeling more than a little queasy.

What if Young Johnny and his drinking buddies are firm believers in the notion that "boys will be boys," and what's more, the best fighters are thoseeled by the hightest-octane testosterone. Sure, their behavior may overstep the prissy limits of polite society, but our national security depends on their manly-mannish ability to rise to whatever level of manliness situations may require.

Would it be scurrilous to sugggest that we have a military command, and a corps of political protectors, who believe that sexual assault is just part of the price we pay to keep America, you know, American?

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McKeon's Sleazy Son David-- A Chip Off The Corrupt-- And Crumbling-- Old Block

Sometimes I feel like I'm preaching to the choir-- but then I get an e-mail from a Republican wanting to talk about something at DWT. A few weeks ago a Nevada Republican contacted me about Buck McKeon's shady son David, who's running for the chair of the Clark County Republican Party. David was banished to Las Vegas so his very un-Mormon behavior would stop embarrassing the family-- and so he could watch over Buck's extensive interests there. He mentioned that the reason McKeon has persistently covered up military rapes was because his own son is a known rapist. Republicans in Nevada don't want McKeon's brand of corruption tainting their party but the Mormons tend to be-- to put it mildly-- "clannish," and will always lean towards electing one of their own in a state where they have inordinate power inside the local GOP.

A few days ago a self-identified Tea Party activist tweeted that concern about David McKeon's character was spreading among Nevada Republicans. She was referring to this Nevada Politics post by Steve Sanson.

David Owen McKeon is son of controversial Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and is currently seeking to be Chairman of the Republican Party for Clark  County, the largest county in Nevada.  David McKeon's checkered history  is yet another troubling story in Buck McKeon's career narrative.

David Owen McKeon came to Nevada in 2009. In 2012, he was race shopping for political office. At the end of 2012, while at an organizational meeting to take over the county party from Ron Paul supporters. McKeon  was encouraged to run for Chairman of the county party. He has created a slate of officers to run along side him, has reportedly spent $10,000  to run for this position, and has taken advice from a team of political  consultants.

Since that time, McKeon has gathered support and endorsement from various coalitions. McKeon has taken out numerous radio ads, created  the NRP Voter Registration PAC with local consultant Dan Burdish (Nevada PAC of which he reports he is paying people to do registration work  with his own money and has not yet filed a contribution report), and  repeatedly states he is  spending his own money on his campaign for  county chairman.

Below is a timeline of a few of the events that can be found in McKeon’s past that, should McKeon be elected, would diminish the Republican  brand and destroy efforts of numerous political campaigns from the  Governor on down. More research is being done into further cases I have  knowledge of, but the details below are from information that was able  to be physically secure for review at this date.  You may be able to use your resources to dig deeper and make sure this man does not poison  Nevada and hurt others as he has done in California.

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS for Reference

• 08/98 - David Owen McKeon, DOM, Married to Monica Wallace McKeon, MWM. Child 1 born in 2000, Child 2 born in 2001.

• 09/99 - First incident of Domestic Violence (hit/push) occurred and DOM  disappeared for two weeks (Custody Petition, page 7, line 2 of  Respondent Declaration)

• 02/00 - Domestic violence incident, hands around neck of MWM while pouring  water over her to compel her to do what DOM says while 9 months pregnant (Custody Petition report page 7, line 3 of Respondent Declaration)

• 8/10/03 – MWM told DOM she wanted to leave the marriage so DOM “locked me in  our bedroom and choked me for 45 minutes, saying he wanted to kill me. I screamed and plead for my life, often feeling that I was on the brink of death. He finally stopped only after I went limp and urinated on  myself. While I was trying to recover my breath, DOM demanded that I have intercourse with him; I conceded only because I was so weak and  terrified…. Children were in the hallway banging on our door and  screaming.”  (Custody Petition, page 7, line 5 of Respondent  Declaration)

• 09/2004 – while MWM was attempting to take her child to the ER, DOM “refused to let me out the door. While Child 2 was in my arms, DOM pinned me against a glass door and slapped me five times across my  face. …. With the support of my family, I obtained a Temporary  Restraining Order against him.” (Custody Petition, page 7, line 17 of  Respondent Declaration)

• Frequent occurrence in time period of marriage– “DOM would  cover their (children) mouth and nose, so they couldn’t breathe, to stop the crying.” (Custody Petition, page 7, line 27 of Respondent  Declaration)

• 06/03 – on a road trip, DOM “shoved a sock in Child 2’s  mouth. The harder Child 2 cried, the deeper DOM shoved the sock. He  would not stop until I had managed to pull the car over and remove Child 2 from the car seat. (Custody Petition, page 8, line 2 of Respondent  Declaration)

• Frequent occurrence in time period of 2007 – 2010 – DOM threatens he will kidnap children and take them away from MWM if she does not cooperate with  DOM’s demands. (Custody Petition, page 8, line 5 of Respondent  Declaration)  Goes on with examples.

• DOM failed to identify significant change of circumstances. (Custody Petition, page 18, line 7 of Respondent Declaration)

• 08/7/04 – Request for protective order, description of battery (TRO DV McKeon, Page 8)

• 08/7/04 – Description of abuse (TRO DV McKeon, Page 20, 21)

• 03/1/07 Court made finding that DM was a perpetrator of Domestic Violence (Custody Petition, page 1, line 23 & Page 2 line 4.  Also on Page 2, line 14 states that “… custody to a perpetrator of Domestic Violence is detrimental to the best interest of the child.” In order to overcome  the designation, perpetrator must complete batterer’s treatment  program. On Page 3, the record will show no evidence of his completing  any batterer’s intervention or treatment program, alcohol nor drug abuse treatment program, nor parental counseling.

• 2009 – Contract Fraud, ordered to pay to plaintiff