30 Senators Disagree With Al Franken That Rape Is A Crime

The proper job of the comedian is to say controversial or unpleasant truths to those in power. This is why Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was able to stand up to Senate Republicans who don't mind so much when women get gang-raped to tell them that no, wait guys, that is a very bad thing and we shouldn't pay people to do this. Franken's controversial assertion--that gang-rape is a vicious crime and those who engage it in shouldn't be rewarded with lucrative defense contracts--found substantial resistance in the rape-loving Senate though. ThinkProgress reports:

"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.”
...
His amendment passed by a 68-30 vote..."

That's right folks! Thirty, count 'em, THIRTY Republican senators voted against that amendment. Thirty people, with mothers, and sisters, and daughters, who think contractors should be allowed to "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."

One would expect that major media outlets would cover this story and report on the fact that 30 elected officials voted not to punish contractors who practice gang rape. Ha! Wrong! As of right now, neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post have informed their readers that 30 elected officials voted not to punish contractors who practice gang rape. (Yes, I just cut and pasted a sentence fragment I used earlier in the paragraph. It's worth repeating.) That, apparently, is not "news worthy," which is too bad, because this story is certainly something I--and, you know, I'm just guessing here--many, many readers would find news worthy.

Also worth noting is that we're in Afghanistan to protect women's rights! I'm sure--in fact I'm positive--that every Republican who voted against Franken's amendment is very, very concerned about the rights of women in Afghanistan. Look, people, the occupation of Afghanistan is just and necessary, just like--according to 30 GOP senators--the rape of women contractors. It's almost like, and call me crazy if I'm wrong here, it's almost like the GOP is simply siding with defense contractors no matter what the issue. I know, I know, shocking. Maybe that's an issue that a reporter could write about for a newspaper.

If this shows up in the MSM, I'll try to catch it and analyze their coverage here. Until then, I don't recommend thinking to much about the vile hypocrisy on display here by the GOP unless you want to be crippled with rage. NO! Stop thinking about it before it's too late!