How could anyone be against this?

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.”
[…]
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.”

Franken has turned out to be quite an intelligent and reasoned voice on many issues in a sea of idiots.




  1. Dr Dodd says:

    Not an unreasonable amendment if the facts prove to be as Jamie Lee Jones says. Too bad Franken forgot to extend his amendment to include the Congress, Senators and Presidents who prey on congressional pages and interns.

    A much more target rich environment.

  2. LibertyLover says:

    Arbitration is for contract breaches, not crime cover up. Why do we need a law to enforce what is clearly something that is against the law in the first place? Any judge with a pair would have looked KBR in the eye and laughed when they brought up the arbitration angle.

    That being said, I am surprised someone signed a contract with a clause stipulating that “sexual assault allegations” would be handled via arbitration. That should have been a warning flag.

    What a mess.

  3. bobbo, most things are plain to see says:

    #3–LL–when you get raped by fellow employees there are potential civil remedies in addition to potential criminal charges. This thread is about the civil side of things. Are you this confused?

  4. Enimajoy says:

    That part of the contract is invalid so what Franken is doing is grandstanding, just as all politicians do.

  5. bobbo, most things are plain to see says:

    #5–Enemajoy==how do you know that? I certainly don’t “know” so I’m asking instead of assuming. Is your enema based on knowing the law of contracts to be performed in foreign lands, or just a knee jerk reaction to anything else?

  6. smartalix says:

    Nice to see the dittoheads parrot the company line. Defending Rape. Losers.

  7. Improbus says:

    Sad to say that a clown like Al is a better person than the majority of people in Congress … not to mention smarter, better informed and dammit … people like him.

  8. qb says:

    He’s transparent and honest. Even if you don’t agree with him, you’ll listen to him. Why? He listens carefully to other people, especially those he doesn’t agree. Also, he has a genuine, non-corrosive sense of humor. Those qualities remind me a lot of Reagan, and whether you liked him or not, he was tremendously successful.

    It’s rare. It’s very, very rare.

  9. LDA says:

    Good on him.

  10. Not so sure says:

    Enimajoy #5
    You seem like the type of person who thinks there are not people in the world who actually care and do things because they are trying to right wrongs.

    What this is, is a classic case of transference, which is where you transfer your ideology and personality onto someone else and assume they are acting the same way you would. Just because you have never done anything in your life to help someone else, doesn’t mean other people don’t. Thankfully there are people like Franken and not everyone is like you.

  11. qb says:

    Watch Franken having it out with Mark de Bernardo, executive director of the Council for Employment Law Equity lobbying for unlimited binding arbitration.

  12. stuartc says:

    I’m not sure how an employer could hold a clause like that up.

    Surely reporting this to the authorities would render that contract irrelevant, how is a company contract able to override the process of that kind of offense.

    Maybe my understanding of the law isn’t deep enough.

  13. bobbo, the evangelical anti-theist says:

    #12–gb==interesting link but Franken really didn’t do that good a job. His issue wasn’t focused and the questions often miscued.

    #13–stuart==as long as the arbitration requirement meets certain standards, they are universally enforced against employees. It removes cases from civil court dockets–who wouldn’t uphold “less work for me?”

    No, the REAL issue here is the bias of the arbitration system==Franken trying to get to it with imcomplete facts about “prevailing party”, AND–the privacy provisions that ought to be struck down, AND the failure of our government to enforce CRIMINAL LAW against private contractors.

    All pretty plain to see.

  14. Mr. Fusion says:

    #3, Loser,

    That being said, I am surprised someone signed a contract with a clause stipulating that “sexual assault allegations” would be handled via arbitration. That should have been a warning flag.

    Simple. There was no clause that suggested “sexual assault allegations” would be handled through arbitration. It was ALL disputes would handled through arbitration. People do not enter into contracts thinking they will be victims of a crime by the company. Only a Liebertarian could think that way.

  15. billabong says:

    Good luck Repubs defending this vote…..2010 looks like a 3 senator gain for the Dems.Thanks Al but I still think Tom Davis is funnier than you.

  16. Fr33fall says:

    To answer Uncle Dave’s question “How could anyone be against this?” It would be partisan lemmings that will vote against the opposite party no matter what it is about.

    It is the same as the example when Chicago lost the Olympics. Now I don’t care one way or the other is the USA wins the Olympics but when Conservatives cheer when Chicago got voted out it shows their hypocrisy. Jon Stewart it best, “I guess Republicans hate Obama more than they love their country.”

  17. qb says:

    billabong, 30 Republican Senators voted against it.

  18. LibertyLover says:

    #16, Once again, you have forgotten you are not allowed to talk to me until you answer why you would let 10 strangers die to save your wife.

  19. bob says:

    it’s true. Franken is a grinning jackass but that doesn’t make this bill a bad idea- I don’t see how anyone can oppose it. Shame on those who do.

  20. Angel H. Wong says:

    It’s her fault that she got raped. Instead of working overseas she should have stayed home and give birth to as many soldiers in the war against Satan as she can.

  21. MikeN says:

    Franken’s a partisan idiot, but it’s nice to see some interesting questions. Someone should ask him about Roman Polanski.

  22. Thinker says:

    Way to go Al! I’m frequently on the opposite side of the aisle from him, but I can’t agree more.

    If its sexual assualt, thats a criminal offense. No one should be protecting those who would act like this.

  23. pedro's (very embarrased) daddy says:

    pedro,

    your mudder is crying because her son is an idiot. she raised you to be a goat herder but no, you were too stuupid to know only make the girl goats give milk. and you don’t drink the milk straight from the goat.

    stuupid stuupid little boy.

  24. pedro,

    your mudder is crying because her son is an idiot. she raised you to be a goat herder but no, you were too stuupid to know only make the girl goats give milk. and you don’t drink the milk straight from the goat.

    stuupid stuupid little boy.

  25. KarmaBaby says:

    #16, Mr. Fusion, you’re the loser. The article plainly states:

    “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.”

    Rape is a criminal offense, no matter what the fuck contract gets signed. The law doesn’t allow a person to sign away their right not to get raped or murdered. So you can’t commit a crime then produce a contract showing the victim agreed not to squeal.

  26. Phydeau says:

    #21 Franken is a grinning jackass…

    #23 Franken’s a partisan idiot…

    The guy’s been in office, what, a couple months? The wingnuts are already bashing him, just like they pronounced Obama’s administration “failed” after a couple months. Even as they grudgingly admit he’s doing a good thing.

    I guess if they had to admit a Democrat was a good politician, their heads would explode. 🙂

  27. bobbo, an international pastry Chef and Constitutional Scholar says:

    #28–phydeau==heads explode? As in “if brains were dynamite?”===I don’t think so. But they could then have a decent bowel movement.

    #27–Karma==can you read? Do you read? Just the header and then you post because you don’t need to read or learn or understand a thing?

    Why yes, thats about it.

  28. GigG says:

    Saying KBR supports rape in that headline is pretty close to the line between editorial content and libel.

  29. jealousmonk says:

    Meet The Senators Who Voted Against The Franken Amendment

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/meet-the-senators-who-vot_n_312976.html

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

  30. LibertyLover says:

    #32, Yep, business as usual in D.C.


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