Sen. Al Franken Stands Up to Support KBR Rape Victim and Others Like Her
By Susie Madrak Thursday Oct 08, 2009 12:00pm
(h/t CSPANJunkie)
Rookie Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) passed an amendment to a defense bill this week that would withhold government contracts from organizations like KBR if they restrict employees from taking rape and sexual assault cases to court.
Thirty Republican senators voted against Al Franken's amendment, thus showing their support for gang rape by government contractors. And may I say, I'm not surprised:
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. She was detained in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” (Jones was not an isolated case.) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would withhold defense contracts from companies like KBR “if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.” Speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, Franken said:
The constitution gives everybody the right to due process of law … And today, defense contractors are using fine print in their contracts do deny women like Jamie Leigh Jones their day in court. … The victims of rape and discrimination deserve their day in court [and] Congress plainly has the constitutional power to make that happen.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) spoke against the amendment, calling it “a political attack directed at Halliburton.” Franken responded, “This amendment does not single out a single contractor. This amendment would defund any contractor that refuses to give a victim of rape their day in court.”
In the end, Franken won the debate. His amendment passed by a 68-30 vote, earning the support of 10 Republican senators including that of newly-minted Florida Sen. George LeMieux. “He did what a senator should do, which was he was working it,” LeMieux said in praise of Franken. “He was working for his amendment.”
Appearing with Franken after the vote, an elated Jones expressed her deep appreciation. “It means the world to me,” she said of the amendment’s passage. “It means that every tear shed to go public and repeat my story over and over again to make a difference for other women was worth it.”
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All Dem Senators do not suck corporate teat.
So Sessions not only acknowledges that Halliburton has a problem with covering up the rape of its employees, he also thinks it would be bad to do something about it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the modern republican party
*slow-clap*
So the subject of rape is nothing more than a "political attack"? That says one hell of a lot about that little mouse faced bastard.
It seems that Sessions is saying that doing something about rape is a political attack. Presumably by his opposition, I think he's saying the subject of rape is merely business.
of always referring to Sen. Sessions with his full, given name, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III-it will convey a much more accurate sense of who he is as compared with just using Jeff Sessions.
;o}
How in the hell do these types of assholes go home at night to their wives and daughters and keep a straight face?
isn't one of the brighter bulbs in Congress's lamp. His intellectual wattage is at about 30 or 40 if that. Not only is he stupid, he's a sexist asshat. Sessions hasn't contributed one useful thing to the national dialogue or to his hillbilly state.
It comes as no surprise to me that Sessions has no feeling for anything or anyone except corporations. The man is utterly useless. For someone to equate a rape case with a political attack reveals a heartless ignorance. The man deserves nothing but derisive laughter from all quarters.
He's definitely a disgrace to his race.*
You stay classy sir. God forbid something like this happens to someone in his family or friends. Would he still call it a "political attack"?
He should have put in "This even applies to ACORN". Sessions would have voted for it without even looking at it.
So was this directed at Halliburton because they're the only contractor that attempts to cover-up rape cases or because they're the only contractor who gets these sorts of contracts? Either way: boo hoo.
campaign literature point out that Repug Senator X voted against allowing gang-rape victims to take their rapists to court.
..if it were his daughter? Just askin' 'cuz I know how I'd feel if it were mine.
For each and every one of them, along with phone numbers and office locations.
It's about time something was done on that front! I am impressed with Senator Franken, who in his own way similar to Alan Grayson, is showing the Democratic party what true guts and true government service is. Go Al Go!
Al Franken needs to put one of these amendments into the health care bill so that people can sue insurance companies if they do something like they did to Nataline Sarkisyan.
..you can get away with torture, murder, invasion of other countries, all with impunity. And now, rape. What's next?
.
What's left? :(
It's going to be politically difficult to vote no to this one. All it needs is a snappy name, and no poison pills.
Women's Safe Work Act.
Keep Rape Illegal (KRI)
Help me out here, guys and gals.
Nice job, Al.
..The "raping a woman is illegal" bill!
How about The "look you disgusting pos, you allowed a rape to happen to one of your employees and did nothing to prevent it" bill!
as long as men can still be safely raped, then I guess it's okay.
Americans Against Rape bill. Would you vote against that?
This will make BillO's head explode because he and Bachmann had a circle jerk last night talking about Al and how ACORN probably played some part in getting him elected. He assigned Bachmann the job of looking into it. He wants to know if anyone named Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck voted for Al. So how is he going to after Al in this situation? How can he tie Acorn to this rape charge?
.
Acorn! (dogs barking)
Republicans are so predictable.
30 republicans who support gang rape.
All nays are thugs and mostly Southern thugs.
Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Johanns (R-NE), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Risch (R-ID), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Specter (D-PA), Not Voting
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Wicker (R-MS), Nay
Did you list Spector and not Byrd....both didn't vote. Not sure why Byrd didn't...but Spector probably didn't because he's a cowardly little asswipe.
everyone knew that. I think Spector didn't vote so as to not go against his GOP masters.
Here's the correct list...You left a few out:
Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Gregg (R-NH), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Johanns (R-NE), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Risch (R-ID), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Wicker (R-MS), Nay
Those men didn't vote with their conscience. Something caused them to vote against everything they know is right. There was something in it for them. I hope their wives send them to the woodshed when they get home tonight and I also hope they suffer a long term of horniness as a result.
Wives don't get much say in authoritarian households. Authoritarians view themselves as the masters of their households.
I don't see any female senators on there. Am I right?
I believe you are correct. Only a certified crazy woman would vote against something like this.
Bachmann?
I know she's a Rep, but you know she would've voted Nay.
*fake cough* MICHELLE BACHMANN *fake cough*
I waqs just looking that up. No Female Dems or Rethugs voted nay.
Interestingly in Texas:
Cornyn - Nay
Hutchinson - Yea
Those Rethug ladies sure will side with the Dems when they look out for themselves.
.
All 4 female Repug Senators supported Al.
They kinda had to, didn't they? Although I admit Kay Bailey Hutchinson surprised me.
Cornyn - Nay
Hutchinson - Yea
I guess she's no fool when it comes to her coochie. No Offense. ;)
I could've gone all day without that picture.
was no picnic typing that out either.
Are you OK? I'm recovering.
but I won't.
They should be confronted, ON CAMERA, to explain why they support rapists.
Given the GOP's history of twisted logic, supporting rapists means they support pedophiles as well.
It should be noted that, not only were all of the "no" votes cast by Republicans, they were all men.
if one of O'Reilly's producers showed up with camera and crew to ambush the assholes who voted Nay? I know, never happen. Heads would literally roll.
in favor of rape. And I'm not a bit surprised.
..Limp-Dick-Pricks!
"Good God, man, have you no decency?"
Really makes one wonder how these people
reason?
.
Spector is also a "Dem".
(Note the "")
He isn't fooling me.
To paraphrase a former CEO of Halliburton -
"These guys can go f*** themselves!"
.
I see your misogyny, and raise you blasphemy and racism.
http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=3088
Anyone have the names of the thirty who voted against it?
68-30 vote
Thank you for that link. I see McCain voted against it as did interestingly, Ensign. The rest are pretty much the usual suspects.
surprised at all.
Vitter also voted against it. I would like to hear his rationale.
probably an anti-diapers clause written in.
Can you believe there is a Senator Crapo? I love irony.
.
because both Utards voted yea.
Imagine being pro gang-rape. Would this be the new GOP platform?
Now they are pro life and pro rape?
Don't rape a fetus.
More rape, more possibilities of pregnancy. Then they can go after the mother if she tries to get an abortion. It all ties in together, you see.
Anything that creates more cannon fodder is a good thing to the repugs.
It's the Great Circle of
DeathLife!Isn't pregnancy a preexisting condition? And so is domestic violence? It follows that so is rape. Right?
dental work isn't real?
Well, they do make invisible braces now.
have in the title of you comment?
Thank you.
. . . but is it retroactive? Does the KBR gang-rape victim get her day in court?
If not, it's bittersweet for her.
A judge ruled in May that her lawsuit could go forward. KBR appealed and last month her right to sue was upheld.
Jamie has a facebook group.
Thanks.
If KBR collectively has a brain cell, they will settle with her - a shipping container of cash would be appropriate.
I can't even begin to comprehend what she went through.
But if I were her, I would not settle, and insist on my day in court. Make sure everyone knows every sordid detail of what KBR and their employees did to her.
She's strong enough to handle it.
I guess Sessions would feel the same way if members of ACORN were accused of gang raping one of their own. I'm sure he would just see that as a political attack on that organization too.
So much for Franken not being a "serious" Senator. It's going to be so fantastic watching him mop up the floor with all the Repugs.
that circulating the roll call vote on this one would be a most excellent idea.
has been posted above.
it anywhere.
Use Liberalicious' list. I dropped a few names.
Isn't it amazing how a Republican scumbag like Jeff Sessions would only see this as an attack on Halliburton? I guess for some Republicans there is no limit to their moral bankruptcy.
Sessions is an unbelievable idiot. Maybe he can have it put up with his 10 commandments display: "thout shall commit rape in the name of Haliburton and KBR."
Why haven't Obama and the dems ended this unconstitutional practice of private mercenaries?
how popular that was last time?
At this point I don't think the military can afford to get rid of them. Thanks to cheney and rumsfeld, the military has become so dependent on them that they couldn't complete their mission without them.
I wish I could remember who was on washington journal, I believe it was last week, explaining how so many jobs the military used to do are now being done by private contractors. Cheney came up with the idea to use more private contractors some years back and Rumsfeld went along with the plan when he became Sec of Defense.
We used to do our own cooking, cleaning, building, etc. But that was helped by the draft. Just because a guy had a "specialty" didn't mean he couldn't swing a hammer, etc.
Yes, once the draft was gone I guess there just weren't as many warm bodies to spread around. So since Cheney was with a company who could fill in the blanks, he pushed for private contractors. I think Clinton used them to some extent, but when cheney and rumsfeld got in control, they pushed the envelope even farther. What a hell of a deal for Cheney. Create a need and just happen to have a company who can fill it.
Worked out for them, didn't it? That Rove and Cheney collaboration. Pure genius. No, I'm sorry. I meant to say, pure psychosis. Their planning makes it premeditated murder. I can't wait for the trials.
"The comedian" is going be a thorn in the side of the bigoted, homophobic, misogynist, racists Rushthugliklans.
Go Al!!
What the hell kind of company is Haliburton that they would want to stop a rape case from going forward? I don't care who the employer of the accused rapists was, this is an act that is against the law. Rape is a crime and no one should stand between the victim and the court. Fu*k withholding payments from any company like this, if the employees are found guilty any contract with them should immediately be found to be null and void.
"What the hell kind of company is Haliburton that they would want to stop a rape case from going forward?"
Darth Cheney's former company that's who. Surprised?
A Dick Cheney company. The have liscense to murder Iraqis, and rape American's. And steal from taxpayers.
The ultimate gift from the "small government" people.
Rape American's what? I'm truly interested.
;)
What kind of company? The criminal kind of course.
In honor of our new Senator from Minnesota, may I say, Al Franken took that bill and he Wellstoned it -- that is, he took an important, principle-based bill and he got it to the floor and he got it passed! Way to go, Senator Al!
Was this the first bill Al has sponsored? If it is, he sure as hell came off the block running. He gets my best person in the world award for this.
it was an amendment attached to the 2010 Defense Appropriation Bill.
But still, big props to AL!
For those thirty GOP Senators who voted AGAINST basic legal recourse for a rape, what else are would they be against? Would they prohibit a bill that didn't allow corporate CEO's from torturing kittens to death in front schoolchildren? Oh Jeebus H....
when the head of Bank of America came to speak at a nearby elementary school, he didn't torture the kittens. He just merely bit off their heads as a demonstration of corporate takeover.
So lay off.
And to all those little 5-year-olds that wet themselves...you're all a bunch of big crybaby wusses!
CEOs NEED that daily dose of kitten blood and children's tears.
with hair dye. Then they kill them. If school children want to watch, it will be good preparation for the lack of health care they will have to endure. Nothing like a little dose of reality to make one grow up.
That was a quote from a female Soldier I work with. She never went anywhere unescorted after dark.
1) Juanita McCain
2) Leslie and Lindy Graham....suckers
1) I'd just like to underscore that of the 36 male Republican Senators, 30 do not support the right of a rape victim to do process. Yes, 83% of Republican male Senators voted against this. Together with the Derbyshire Doctrine of overturning women's suffrage, you wonder why the Republican party has a gender gap. 80% of the Republican party is more conservative than the two Senators from Utah (Orrin Hatch, ferkrissake).
2) Republicans voted for gang rape solely because Democrats are against it. These obstinate, obstructionist pigs have no principles whatsoever.
stood up for law!
KBR
It's finger-licking good.
ALL 30 of the Nay votes came from the GOP... WHY was I NOT shocked ?
Class. Act.
As a rape survivor myself, I'm very pleased that Sen. Franken has gotten this amendment passed. It's about damn time somebody did something about this. I hope that all of the contractors' victims, American, Iraqi, or otherwise, can somehow one day have justice...
I am pleased about the victory, especially because any progressive political win is extremely rare these days. But take a step back and think about the fact that before this amendment, rape was technically considered LEGAL. How depressing that this is what counts for progress these days: making rape illegal, and 30 senators still voted to keep rape legal! It makes me want to cry :(
The strength that Jones possesses after what she has been though is truly inspiring . ...
To the no voters....
How do you sleep at night? Don't you feel stupid ? Don't you feel guilty ? WTF is wrong with you heartless F*****??? .
Halliburton -political contributions of $1.2m, overwhelmingly went to Republican candidates.
Bought-and-paid-for republicans …..
You are nothing more than just a bunch of greedy pigs.
You are shameless, disgusting and corrupt as hell.
: - [```
FrankenCheney helped to create the Halliburtonmonster…..
Pick up the torches and storm the castle……. Take the prisoners and bring them to the village square for trial… hmmmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBvu_kijo
Frankenstein - 1931 - "It's Alive!"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/...
... with clips of former Air America hosts who've progressed to higher levels. Way to go, Al & Rachel.
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