Domestic Violence Update - an email from Columbus!

When me and my brother started telling my mom's story (see previous victim blog), I emailed the Speaker of the House in Columbus. Last week, I received an email from Sarah Cherry, Legal Council for the Majority Caucus. She wrote me a personal, sincere email and explained some of the hang-ups with domestic abuse laws. Here's an excerpt:

One thing we want to be cautious about moving forward, is not changing the law so that it inadvertently traps the victims and prevents them from collecting deserved alimony. Often, a victim can also be convicted of domestic violence for participating in one instance of fighting with the chronic abuser. We want to be very careful not to create a system that encourages a true victim to stay in an abusive relationship by denying them alimony if they leave.

I am encouraged by this response and by the consideration that the Majority Caucus is giving this issue. Please send our Speaker of the House an email thanking him for the work they are doing on Domestic Abuse laws and urging them to push ahead, to make a difference for victims. Every email or phone call helps!

Armond Budish district08@ohr.state.oh.us

(614) 466-5441

Do Republicans Hate Women? Part 1

Ok so that title was to get you attention, though sometimes it does feel like the Grand Ole Party has it out for women. Take these guys, for example. They all voted against Franken's Anti-rape bill.

http://www.republicansforrape.org/legislators/

Sheesh these guys make being a Slactivist easy! Roll-over or click on the picture for contact info.

Here's an excerpt from Jaime Lee Jones' story: my comments in italics

Her employers [KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary] response to her claim was to lock her in a sparsely furnished shipping container with guards and no communication, food, or water. [This was after she was gang raped and beaten] Jones eventually convinced a guard to loan her a cell phone where she call her Dad who contacted his congressman who contacted the US Embassy in Baghdad who freed her. She was examined by army doctors who photographed her bruises and believed her wounds suggested vaginal and anal rape. They treated her with a rape kit and turned it over to private KBR security forces. The rape kit was later lost.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977203863

http://www.jamiesfoundation.org/

Here's some info on Franken's Amendment

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/franken-gets-first-amendm_n_312399.html

What I'm hoping for is a legitimate conversation on why these men think it's ok for the government to do business with companies that don't protect rape victims. Besides the fact that they are owned by Halliburton.

What's wrong with my junk? Part 2

I have received an e-mail from Cornell regarding Dix Poppas and his disgusting practice. It is below. I hope you will take a second to email the president of Cornell.(see what's wrong with my junk part 1) It might be a form letter, but at least they are responding.

Dear Ms. Delgado,

President Skorton has asked me to thank you for your email and to follow up.

While it is too early to provide a meaningful response to your comments, please be assured that we take your concerns seriously and are looking into the matter thoroughly.

Cornell University and its Weill Cornell Medical College are committed to providing the highest quality education, research and clinical care.

Sincerely,

Tommy Bruce

Vice President for University Communications

Cornell University

Rant #2: Finally! A blog about Sarah Palin!

Here's why I'm not worried about 2012: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/21/palin-barton-philsophy/#comments

The Republican Party is so splintered, so obsessed with fear tactics and talking heads, and so eager to tweet/facebook/talkshow that they aren't paying attention to each other and the real issues here. Sarah Palin, you need to quit trying to be a celebrity and read the constitution you continually claim you are trying to protect. In fact, why don't you take a class or get a tutor...I know someone who used to teach constitutional law...maybe he'll give you a call *wink*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannyn-moore/palins-phoney-call-me-off_b_605940.html

What's wrong with my junk? Part 1

This post is explicit. And gut-wrenching. It is about Dix Poppas, a pediatric urologist at Cornell University who routinely removes sensitive tissue from girls genitalia if he believes it is too large or "not normal." Not only are his motives completely wacked, his annual follow-up exams are disgusting and degrading, to say the absolute least. I've posted an excerpt below, as well as two links to articles about him, a few email addresses and the email I sent. Feel free to use it, if, like I was when I first read this, you are too shocked to even form a sentence.

Dix Poppas

dpoppas@med.cornell.edu the President of Cornell University

president-mailbox@cornell.edu

From Alice Dreger and Ellen Feder via Dan Savage's report "Female Genital Mutilation at Cornell University":

At annual visits after the

surgery, while a parent watches, Poppas touches the daughter’s surgically shortened clitoris with a cotton-tip applicator and/or with a “vibratory device,” and the girl is asked to report to Poppas how strongly she feels him touching her clitoris. Using the vibrator, he also touches her on her inner thigh, her labia minora, and the introitus of her vagina, asking her to report, on a scale of 0 (no sensation) to 5 (maximum), how strongly she feels the touch.... Poppas has indicated in this article and elsewhere that ideally he seeks to conduct annual exams with these girls....

Dear Dix Poppas,

You should be ashamed of yourself, you disgusting excuse for a doctor. If carving up the genitalia of 6-years olds because of your bizarre notions of what a "normal" clitoris is supposed to look like, which is influenced in part by a study that suggests larger genitalia indicates a propensity towards lesbianism, wasn't a tragedy in itself, the way you "prove" that your procedure works is morally outrageous. You are a horrible, horrible man who should not only be stripped of your license to practice medicine, but also your freedom. You should be in jail for the crimes you are committing against these girls.

You are repugnant, and I mean that sincerely,

http://www.ivygateblog.com/2010/06/cornell-researchers-performing-female-genital-mutilation-and-abusing-young-girls-slips-through-the-cracks/

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/06/16/female-genital-mutilation-at-cornell-university

File this under: Rant

Reporter Sara Carbonero is being blamed for Spain’s loss against Switzerland. She’s the goalie’s girlfriend and apparently, her presence on the sideline distracted him so much that he missed a crucial goal. Distracted, huh? I bet she was trying to get his attention to tell him about these cute shoes she bought, right? No? Maybe she was texting him their after game date-night plans? No? She was “so close to the field before and during the crucial match.” Oh, ok. I get it. You’re mad at her for DOING HER JOB.

You know, it seems pretty unfair for an industry to insist upon the aesthetic appeal of its female newscasters then berate them for it. And to her boyfriend/goalie Iker Casillas and all those outraged fans looking for a scapegoat: put on your big boy pants, keep your mind off “other things,” and do your job. From what I’ve read, Casillas was an inconsistent goalie at best. Regardless of where his girlfriend stands.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1287343/WORLD-CUP-2010-How-did-muck-Iker-Casillas-WAG-presenter-berates-Spain-captain-live-TV-shock-World-Cup-defeat.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/sara-carbonero-iker-casil_n_615832.html

Update: I need your help!

Please email K. Chandler (D-Ohio) and tell her to support legislation that prevents domestic abusers from getting alimony from their victims! She'll be in Columbus today. Let's swamp her inbox!

district68@ohr.state.oh.us

Victim of domestic abuse pays alimony to abuser?

Those of you who know me know that I take politics very personally. Well, I’m going to start out this political blog by getting very, very personal. Last Christmas Eve my step-father attacked and threatened my mother. She walked out, went door to door until she found someone who was home, and called the Police. She was lucky, I know, that he didn’t pursue her, that he didn’t fight the police when they came. She was lucky that she had a place to go, and family close by to help her move while he spent Christmas in jail. I thank God that the situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been, which is an odd thing to be thankful for. It was enough to get my mom out of a marriage to him.

This post isn’t about him, though, or his pattern of verbal abuse, or everything my mom did to help him and support him for the ten and a half years they were married. This post is about divorce, and more specifically, divorce laws in the state of Ohio. See, my mom is a hard worker. She’s worked very hard for the last eleven years at a company that pays decently and has excellent benefits. They’ve helped her pay for school and they have a great retirement plan. My soon-to-be ex-step-father has no retirement, has no education, and has no job. Can you see where this is going?

That’s right. His lawyers are requesting that he get alimony. And the kicker is that even though he pled guilty to domestic violence charges, and there are civil protection orders in place, in the state of Ohio, he’s entitled to it.

Oh, that’s after he gets HALF of my mom’s retirement.

Of course, my mom is going to fight this. Part of fighting this is knowing where to start. And part of fighting this is raising awareness.

So if you have any info that could help us, please share.

If you have a similar story, please share.

If you are upset and outraged that an abuser can legally demand alimony from their victim, please, please contact your state representatives.

In Ohio, http://www.house.state.oh.us/index.php?option=com_displaymembers&Itemid=52

The rest of the U.S. https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Thanks.