Al Franken // Current

The Punk Patriot - Politics and Ethics Part 2

Why For-Profit Healthinsurance is a bigger threat than terrorism.

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Senator Franken announces bill to keep foreign interests out of elections

Senator Franken is turning out to be what we knew he was, one of us!

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Air America: Why liberal radio’s answer to Rush Limbaugh failed and why it matters…

Progressive radio network Air America’s whole life was like the Perils of... more

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Air America Radio closing, filing for bankruptcy

LOS ANGELES – Air America Radio, a radio network that was launched in 2004 as a... more

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Obama signs Franken’s anti-rape amendment into law

The White House Press Office sent out a statement today announcing that President... more

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Al Franken's Anti-Rape Bill Passes: Infuriates Male Republicans

FRANKEN AMENDMENT BECOMES LAW.... In October, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) proposed a key... more

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31 comments

Franken’s anti-rape amendment becomes law

Over the unexplained objections of 30 Republican Senators, an anti-rape amendment... more

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Al Franken Slams Joe Lieberman On Senate Floor (VIDEO)

Al Franken continues to show he's not afraid to step on the toes of the... more

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Al Franken's anti-rape amendment survives in Senate

An amendment that would prevent the government from working with contractors who deny victims of sexual assault the right to bring their case in court has survived attempts to dull its impact and seems poised to become law.

The Senate Committee on Appropriation passed, on Tuesday, a defense appropriations bill that included the "anti-rape" amendment introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). The legislation was intended to address and prevent a reoccurrence of the assault and rape that Jamie Leigh Jones, a defense contractor for the company KBR, alleged was committed by her fellow employees. But the amendment became a subject of debate after the Department of Defense, Republicans in the Senate, and even the committee chairman, Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii) raised concerns that it would leave contractors over exposed to lawsuits.

The final product, in the end, proved remarkably strong. According to a Franken aide, the substance of the language "is unchanged." Under the amendment the government would not be able to do business with companies that deny court hearings for victims of either assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress or negligent hiring practice. The controversial Title VII provision, which would allow victims of assault to sue the employers of the alleged perpetrator and not just the perpetrator himself or herself, remains in the bill. Meanwhile, the threshold at which companies will be subjected to the legislation is set at those who have contracts totaling $1 million or more.

All told, the legislation would affect all major and many minor contractors, forcing them to choose between allowing litigation for their employees or forfeiting the hundreds of millions in dollars that are doled out annually in contracts by the federal government.

The Franken amendment includes a national security waiver, meaning that the Department of Defense could circumvent the law if it is deemed dangerous to U.S. safety. But, for that to happen, the Secretary of Defense would have to "personally explain why the waiver was used to Congress and at that point make it public," the Franken aide explained.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/frankens-anti-rape-amendm_n_394171.htmlAn amendment that would prevent the government from working with contractors who deny... more

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Video:Franken slams GOP lies on Senate floor: ‘You’re not entitled to your own facts’

In a few moments of heated but controlled anger on the Senate floor Monday evening,... more

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Senate Republicans played politics with rape and lost

Senate Republicans played politics with rape and lost. Now they are crying foul, and... more

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Franken Talks Down Angry Mob

I got to witness something really special. About a dozen tea party activists had... more

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The US Has 5% Of The World's Population And 25% Of The World's Prisoners!

Senator Al Franken, discussing the issue of rape-kit backlogs, drug courts, and more... more

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Republicans Shocked That Public Is Mad At Them For Voting Against Anti-Rape Amendment

Last month, 30 Republican senators voted against Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) amendment that would punish defense contractors “if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.” His amendment was inspired by Jamie Leigh Jones, who was gang-raped by her co-workers while working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad in 2005, and then had to fight her employer for justice.

The GOP senators who sided with defense contractors at the expense of women — such as John Thune (SD) — have been facing an intense backlash. David Vitter (LA) refused to give a rape victim a straight answer when she confronted him about his vote, claiming that he is “absolutely supportive of any [rape] case like that being prosecuted criminally to the full extent of the law.”

Politico reports that Republicans are now scratching their heads at why the public is so incensed about their “no” votes:

Privately, GOP sources acknowledge that they failed to anticipate the political consequences of a “no” vote on the amendment. And several aides said that Republicans are engaged in an internal blame game about why they agreed to a roll-call vote on the measure, rather than a simple voice vote that would have allowed the opposing senators to duck criticism.

As BarbinMD writes, “Seriously? They voted against an amendment that was prompted by the brutal gang-rape of a young woman by her co-workers while she was working for a company under contract for the United States government, after which she was locked in a shipping container without food or water, threatened if she left to seek medical treatment, and was then prevented from bringing criminal charges against her assailants. And they failed to anticipate the political consequences?”

Thune is also claiming that Franken doesn’t really care about Jones and other rape victims whose employers have blocked them from seeking justice; he and other Democrats just wanted to “create a vote which they could use to attack Republicans.”

So basically, the only lesson they learned is that next time, they have to hide their votes when they decide to screw over women’s rights. That way, they can support their allies in the contracting business and the public will never find out.Last month, 30 Republican senators voted against Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN)... more

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Senator Thad Cochran on his vote against the Franken anti-rape amendment

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Rape victim calls out Sen. Vitter for siding with gang rape

A rape victim in Baton Rouge asks David Vitter why he supported big corporations over... more

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Sergio's Scary Spooky Halloween Special!

This week Sergio looks at his favorite videos to watch on Halloween. On the list: Ozzy... more

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Al Franken Rips Conservative in Public

Senator Franken shows Republicans are idiots. This particular idiot even tries to... more

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Franken Amendment may be stripped from final bill

Remember Senator Al Franken's amendment to the Defense Bill? The one that would... more

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Defense Department Opposed Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment

30 members of the GOP opposed an amendment, earlier this month, to the 2010 Defense... more

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TAGS

tagged w/ Al Franken

The Punk Patriot - Politics and Ethics Part 2

Senator Franken announces bill to keep foreign interests out of elections

Air America: Why liberal radio’s answer to Rush Limbaugh failed and why it matters…

Air America Radio closing, filing for bankruptcy

Obama signs Franken’s anti-rape amendment into law

Al Franken's Anti-Rape Bill Passes: Infuriates Male Republicans

Franken’s anti-rape amendment becomes law

Al Franken Slams Joe Lieberman On Senate Floor (VIDEO)

Al Franken's anti-rape amendment survives in Senate

Video:Franken slams GOP lies on Senate floor: ‘You’re not entitled to your own facts’

Senate Republicans played politics with rape and lost

Franken Talks Down Angry Mob

The US Has 5% Of The World's Population And 25% Of The World's Prisoners!

Republicans Shocked That Public Is Mad At Them For Voting Against Anti-Rape Amendment

Senator Thad Cochran on his vote against the Franken anti-rape amendment

Rape victim calls out Sen. Vitter for siding with gang rape

Sergio's Scary Spooky Halloween Special!

Al Franken Rips Conservative in Public

Franken Amendment may be stripped from final bill

Defense Department Opposed Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment

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