sexual assault Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

More bad news for the NFL (Update)

Oh, my.

I think that it is important for me to say that I’m a huge NFL fan. I love the Cowboys no matter how bad they are and they are really bad this year. I love the competition and the athleticism in the NFL. I watched the Steelers get back-slapped last night against the Ravens. I love the NFL.

Greg Hardy, defensive line for the Carolina Panthers, has been convicted of domestic abuse of a girlfriend. For some reason, he is being allowed to play for the Panthers this weekend. Is the difference between Hardy and Ray Rice a video? The fact that we have a video showing Ray Rice punching out his then girlfriend means that his offense was worse? I don’t think so. Greg Hardy should be given the week off.

Adrian Peterson, possibly the 2nd best running back I have ever seen, has been indicted for reckless injury of a child. I have no idea what this really means. Did he leave a child in a hot car while he ran into a 7/11 for a Big Gulp? Did he leave a kid at home while he went to Vegas?

No matter what, this doesn’t look good for the NFL.

Update: So, Adrian Peterson thought that it was okay to go and get a switch from a tree in the backyard and hit a 4-year- old child. That was acceptable behavior in the 1960s. This ain’t the 1960s!!! It might be why so many of us from the ’60s are so screwed up.

I didn’t even mention Jerry Jones. Someone is accusing him of sexual assault. I was surprised that a woman would let him get that close. Yuck.

Finally, some good news from the NFL. Devon Still was cut from the Bengals. The team found out that his daughter has cancer and the Bengals hired Devon on to the practice squad. This move allows him to keep his insurance. The New Orleans Saints bought 100 Devon Still jerseys! I’m thinking about buying one also. The profits will benefit the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

By ecthompsonmd|2014-09-15T21:18:03-04:00September 12th, 2014|NFL|Comments Off

News Roundup – domestic spying, gun violence and more

The news media erupted yesterday with the news that the United States government, our government, is spying on its own citizens. Domestic Spying. I had a distinct sense of déjà vu. Weren’t we just talking about this a couple years ago? It was just six or seven years ago when we found out that the Bush administration, through the NSA and other agencies, was listening in on our conversations. We were told that this was necessary in order to combat terrorism. Since the initial revelation, we came to understand that the Bush administration was mischaracterizing (or lying, depending upon your perspective) about the extent of the domestic spying program. Initially, we were told that the domestic spying program only involved overseas switches in which the NSA would scan American foreign calls. Slowly but surely we found out that this program was far more extensive. Conservatives told us not to worry. Now, when conservatives find out that the Obama administration has been continuing this exact same program, there is outrage. From my standpoint, I have no idea whether this program is helping to keep Americans safe or if it is an unnecessary violation of our privacy. As I understand the program the NSA is allowed to collect a bunch of data, but they’re not able to look at individual calls or listen to individual calls unless they go back to the FISA court and ask for permission.

I must admit I have not been following the case of a man who asked for an escort and then shot that woman for not performing sexual acts. Somehow, the accused man was able to convince a jury that it was okay to kill a prostitute because under Texas law you can use deadly force to retrieve stolen property. Yep, I don’t understand it either.

Our whole culture around sexual assault and rape seems to be completely backwards to American ideals. A Fox News host was “baffled” that MSNBC was covering the military sexual assault hearings. She said, “Sex crimes in a military, they are a real issue. There’s no doubt about that. I’m not going to poo poo it and say it’s not. What baffles me though is the way they prioritize these issues. The timing and the tone of them. If these were liberal groups targeted by George W. Bush, they would not be covering sex assault in the military. … Why is MSNBC devoting so much time to this issue when, as David Axelrod points out, there are so many other issues to deal with?” First of all, I find the statement mind-boggling. Why isn’t this a big story? Why shouldn’t this be promoted? Should the military be forced to change their ways? Shouldn’t Americans be informed about this issue that has been swept under the carpet for way too long?

What stories are you following today?

By ecthompsonmd|2013-06-09T10:26:24-04:00June 7th, 2013|Domestic Spying, Mass Shooting|Comments Off

News Roundup – education, fracking and more

Over one trillion dollars in student loan debt

I’ve talked about this before, but one of the things that is going completely wrong in our society has to do with education and the cost of education. Yes, I’ll go ahead and say it, “back in my day…,” getting an education was a no-brainer. The cost of education was relatively miniscule compared to the rewards. College was expensive but affordable. The average middle-class family could afford to send their son or daughter to almost any school in the United States. Although some families had to take out loans, the loans weren’t overwhelming, crushing and never-ending. Today it is different. With the median income of the middle class stagnant or falling and the cost of higher education continuing to skyrocket, making the decision to go to college can place the average American family into a debt spiral that they can never get out of. The honest truth is that there was a time when states thought that they had a responsibility to educate the population. States and the national government subsidized student education. Over the years that subsidy has lapsed. This requires the student to take on more and more of the burden.

Yesterday, I briefly talked about rape and sexual assault in the military. What I forgot to mention was the pitiful excuses that are being thrown around. For lack of better phrasing, I will just say the “they are young men with raging hormones” excuse is possibly the worst. Where in the world are we supposed to find young men that are more disciplined and more trained to follow orders than the US military? Rape and sexual assault in the military must stop and must stop now.