Former doctor who sexually abused well over a hundred young female gymnasts sentenced to 40 to 175 years.

This GIF of Judge Aquilina throwing away the letter Larry Nassar wrote the court about how hard it is for him to listen to victim testimonies PRETTY MUCH SAYS IT ALL. pic.twitter.com/5HB9WMaPqU

— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) January 24, 2018

Courtesy of the New York Times:

After an extraordinary seven-day hearing that drew more than 150 young women to speak out publicly about sexual abuse they said was committed by Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor for the American gymnastics team, a judge sentenced him on Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison. 

He had faced a minimum term of 25 to 40 years. 

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who had opened her courtroom to all the young women who wanted to address Dr. Nassar directly, and forced him to listen when he pleaded to make it stop, handed down the sentence, saying to him, “You’ve done nothing to deserve to walk outside a prison again.” 

“It is my honor and privilege to sentence you,” she said, and noting the length of the sentence, added, “I just signed your death warrant.” 

Given an opportunity to address the court before sentencing, Dr. Nassar apologized and, occasionally turning to the young women in the courtroom, said: “Your words these past several days have had a significant effect on myself and have shaken me to my core. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.” Several women sobbed in the gallery as he spoke.

Just before sentencing Dr. Nassar, the judge read parts of a letter he submitted to the court last week. In the letter, he complained about his treatment in a separate federal child pornography case and wrote that his accusers in this case were seeking news media attention and money. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” he wrote in the letter. There were audible gasps from the gallery when the judge read the line.

I'm guessing that did not help him with his sentencing.

Obviously this guy is a pig.

The impact of this case has also rippled through the world of USA Gymnastics, which just saw an Olympic coach suspended and three members of their board resign under pressure.

As you know I was at one time a gymnastics coach, but certainly not at this level.

My concern during my years coaching was not sexual abuse, which I never saw, but the ever present danger of eating disorders which were quite prevalent with female gymnasts in their teens and early twenties.

I think pound for pound gymnasts are the strongest, most coordinated athletes in the world.

But they are often pressured to slim down, or bulk up depending on their body type, and the risk of developing a poor body image is a constant danger that can have lifelong repercussions.

That same insecurity also makes them vulnerable to predators like Dr. Nassar.

For decades these young women suffered in silence, feeling that they had no voice, that nobody wanted to listen.

But for these last seven days they certainly found that voice and have been speaking out loud and clear, and I have no doubt that they have inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of others to do the same.

In my opinion what happened today is right up there with the Women's March, the #MeToo movement, and the outing of powerful predators like Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, and Bill O'Reilly.

This is another example of women standing up for themselves, saying that they are tired of the status quo, and declaring that they are taking charge of their lives and putting those who would minimize, victimize, of disenfranchise them on notice.

I for one think it is about time.

Both Bretibart news and James O'Keefe believed Roy Moore's accusers, and yet they attacked them anyway in the name of politics.

Breitbart editor in chief explains that he believed Moore accuser Leigh Corfman but that they had to discredit her to protect Trump. https://t.co/ACeAGaFpd5

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 22, 2017

Courtesy of CNN Money: 

Though Marlow concedes that Breitbart made coverage decisions around protecting Trump, before the sexual misconduct allegations against Moore, Breitbart had been hammering the news media and Hollywood for supposedly protecting individuals like Harvey Weinstein. Asked about the view from critics that Breitbart had done exactly that with Moore, Marlow claimed the website has been "much more careful" than other outlets when covering ongoing allegations of sexual harassment and assault, saying the website looks for "certain factors," such as "a certain level of detail" in allegations. 

Marlow also stressed that he was personally uncomfortable with the behavior attributed by The Post to Moore, and noted that he did believe the accusations from Leigh Corfman, who said Moore assaulted her while she was 14 -- they were "not perfect," he said, but had "a lot of credibility." He also noted that he, and much of the Breitbart audience, initially supported Mo Brooks in the Republican primary, and only shifted support to Moore because of his opposition to Strange as the establishment candidate. But he said he saw political motivations behind The Post's reporting on Moore and wanted to home in on the "coverage of the coverage."

So the editor-in-chief of Breitbart actually believed at least one of Moore's accusers, but because the Washington Post was accurately reporting on the allegations, and it hurt the conservative candidate, he thought it was appropriate to attack their credibility?

Now does somebody justify that while arguing that they should be taken seriously as a news outlet?

And it should come as no surprise to any of you that James O'Keefe, who you may remember had a woman pretend to be one of Roy Moore's victims in order to discredit the Washington Post reporting,  had essentially the same attitude.

I spoke with James O'Keefe and he said he *actually believes* Roy Moore's accusers, even though he payed a woman to pretend to be a rape victim in a failed effort to discredit the allegations https://t.co/86E4WonAzJ

— Caleb Ecarma (@calebecarma) December 22, 2017

Courtesy of Mediaite:

After initially dodging questions regarding the credibility of the at least nine women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior, O’Keefe admitted to believing these claims during a sit-down interview with Mediaite. 

“Yes [I believe them], but it’s not my subject matter,” said O’Keefe. “That’s not what my investigation was about. It wasn’t about the victims, it was about the bias in the media.” 

Just let the irony that these two outlets justify these tactics because they are convinced that the MSM reports "fake news" sink in a little.

Do you feel that wave of nausea?

I inoculated myself against it by purchasing subscriptions to both the Washington Post and then New York Times.

We need to support factual reporting at every opportunity.

That is the only way we get our country back. 

Victims of Donald Trump's sexual misconduct call for a Congressional investigation.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

As the country grapples with a national reckoning over sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men, three women who accused the most high-profile man in America again questioned Monday why their claims did nothing to stop him from winning the presidency. 

It was “heartbreaking” for women to go public with their claims against President Trump last year, only to see him ascend to the Oval Office, said Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant who in October 2016 said Trump inappropriately inspected pageant participants. 

“I put myself out there for the entire world, and nobody cared,” Holvey said Monday on NBC's “Megyn Kelly Today” show.

During the television appearance and a news conference, Holvey sat alongside Jessica Leeds, a New York woman who said Trump groped her on a plane, and Rachel Crooks, who said he kissed her on the lips at Trump Tower, to renew their allegations against the president. 

The women also called for Congress to investigate these allegations amid the dramatic shift happening nationwide in response to charges of sexual misconduct against men from Hollywood to Capitol Hill. Claims have erupted across industry after industry, against lawmakers and movie stars alike, as the country has shown a sudden, newfound willingness to take such accusations seriously.

In response to the pleas of these women Kristen Gillibrand called for Trump's resignation.

Democratic US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says President Donald Trump should resign over allegations of sexual misconduct: "These allegations are credible; they are numerous" https://t.co/XNPhM9obx2 pic.twitter.com/KRiPAoxkle

— CNN International (@cnni) December 11, 2017

And she is not the only one calling for an investigation, or his immediate resignation.

Even his own Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said these women deserve to be heard.

That apparently pissed off Donald Trump according to the AP:

Haley’s comments infuriated the president, according to two people who are familiar with his views but who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. Trump has grown increasingly angry in recent days that the accusations against him have resurfaced, telling associates that the charges are false and drawing parallels to the accusations facing Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. 

Poor baby. 

Today Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempts to change the subject seemed especially strained and ineffective.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders addresses allegations of sexual conduct against President Trump:

"The American people knew this and voted for the president, and we feel like we're ready to move forward" pic.twitter.com/Oj7NHOcV9o

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) December 11, 2017

Things even got a little testy.

Question on accusations of sexual misconduct against Trump: “You said he has denied them. Can you say whether or not they are false?”
Sarah Sanders: “I'm not going to respond.” pic.twitter.com/BTOvF82yQ1

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 11, 2017

Let's face it, as this #MeToo revolution continues moving forward the fact that Donald Trump, a man accused by at least 16 women of sexually abusing or harassing them, remains in the White House becomes more and more conspicuous.

At some point soon it may simply be impossible for him to continue in that job as more and more people demand an investigation, or that he simply be removed from office.

The most common victim of sexual assault in Alaska is a 14 year old girl.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

Alaska's sex crime victims mainly are young — just children, really. They most often are targeted in someone's home. And they usually know their attacker. 

A new state report provides a detailed and disturbing snapshot of serious sex crimes in Alaska. It's the second year the state Department of Public Safety has produced an analysis of felony sex offenses, an effort that took many more years to bring together, according to Walt Monegan, public safety commissioner. 

Reports of felony sex offenses – which include rape, sex abuse of children, child pornography and sex with incapacitated individuals — rose 14 percent from 2015 to 2016, the new document says. The data is based on initial reports to law enforcement.

Here were the other findings of the report:

- More than half of the victims – 54 percent – are Alaska Native, far bigger than the overall 20 percent share of the population that is Alaska Native. 

 — Alaska Native girls and women are the most at risk of being sexually assaulted or abused in almost every part of Alaska. Only in Southcentral with Anchorage excluded – an area that includes the Kenai Peninsula and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough — are white people the most often victimized. 

— The problem of sex assault and abuse is magnified in Western Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Dillingham and surrounding villages. The rate of sexual offenses in that region is 446 incidents per 100,000 people compared to 262 per 100,000 in Anchorage and 66 in Southcentral, the report said. 

 — While the most common victim is a 14-year-old girl, the most common suspect is a 19-year-old male. But in the cases of the youngest victims, from infants up to 10-year-olds, suspects are young too, most often just 14 years old, the report said. For victims age 18 on up, the suspects are older too, most commonly 31. 

— When the victim is male, it's most often a young boy just 5 years old, the report said. 

— Some 47 percent of suspects are Alaska Native. About one-third are white. Some 97 percent are male. Suspects and victims tend to be the same race, except for black suspects, whose victims most often are white, the analysis found. 

— Almost all the victims and suspects knew each other. Just 4 percent of the attackers were strangers, and for the youngest children, only 1 percent were targeted by someone unknown, the analysis found. Most suspects were acquaintances. Some were relatives. A few were boyfriends or girlfriends. In five instances, the suspect was the baby sitter. 

— Almost three-quarters of reported sex offenses happened in a residence, the report said. Others occurred on tribal lands and in woods, in motels or at school and college, in bars and alleys, jails and parks. One was reported in a grocery store and one in a church. 

 — Some 15 percent of sex offenses involved weapons, mainly fists and feet. Guns and knives were reported in just seven incidents.

Alaska is a beautiful place to live by almost any standard, but we have a deep vein of ugliness that runs through our state, and sadly it just seems to get uglier all of the time.

Politicians promise to do something, but nothing ever seems to change.

When we elected our first female governor I allowed myself to imagine that things like sexual abuse and pedophilia would surely be one of her foremost concerns, after all wouldn't a woman be far more sensitive to those victims than a man?

But sadly she actually may have done the very least to address this problem, and it's a problem that seems to have no end in sight.

New defense for Roy Moore courtesy of Rush Limbaugh. "Did you know that before 1992 when a lot of this was going on that Judge Moore was a Democrat? "

Courtesy of the Daily Rushbo: 

RUSH: So no matter what the real stories are here and no matter what the evidence is, these guys, these people on the Republican side are making it clear they’re going to prevent this guy from ever being seated in the United States Senate. 

Did you know that before 1992 when a lot of this was going on that Judge Moore was a Democrat? You didn’t know that? How about all these people now saying, “Oh, yeah, yeah, everybody here knew about Judge Moore. Oh-ho-ho, yeah, good old boy we’ve known about Judge Moore for a long time.” While he was a Democrat. Nobody said a word. When he supposedly was attracted to inappropriately aged girls, he was a Democrat. For what it’s worth.

I guess I'm supposed to have a response to this, but words fail me.

In other news apparently Roy Moore has removed a list of endorsement from his website:

Roy Moore's campaign website no longer contains a list of endorsements. 

A message on www.roymoore.org said the list of endorsements "is currently being updated." A list of names was on the site as recently as yesterday. 

The change comes after a host of Republicans have pulled their support from Moore in the wake of allegations he had improper sexual contact with two teen girls when he was in his 30s. 

Yeah I think that list of endorsements is being updated to zero.

Also yesterday two new accusers stepped forward to point the finger at Moore:

Gena Richardson says she was a high school senior working in the men’s department of Sears at the Gadsden Mall when a man approached her and introduced himself as Roy Moore. 

“He said, ‘You can just call me Roy,’ ” says Richardson, who says this first encounter happened in the fall of 1977, just before or after her 18th birthday, as Moore, then a 30-year-old local attorney, was gaining a reputation for pursuing young women at the mall in Gadsden, Ala. His overtures caused one store manager to tell new hires to “watch out for this guy,” another young woman to complain to her supervisor and Richardson to eventually hide from him when he came in Sears, the women say. 

Richardson says Moore — now a candidate for U.S. Senate — asked her where she went to school, and then for her phone number, which she says she declined to give, telling him that her father, a Southern Baptist preacher, would never approve.


A few days later, she says, she was in trigonometry class at Gadsden High when she was summoned to the principal’s office over the intercom in her classroom. She had a phone call. 

“I said ‘Hello?’” Richardson recalls. “And the male on the other line said, ‘Gena, this is Roy Moore.’ I was like, ‘What?!’ He said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m in trig class.’ ” 

Jesus, he actually had her paged at her high school. Damn that is some aggressive stalking right there.

The other woman says that the teenage girls at the mall all talked about how to avoid Moore, and were told “just make yourself scarce when Roy’s in here, he’s just here to bother you, don’t pay attention to him and he’ll go away.’”

The next story to pop up concerned not a teenage girl and an unmarried stalker, but a woman in the beginnings of divorce proceedings and an already married Roy Moore.

Courtesy of Al.com:

Once the papers were signed, she and her mother got up to leave. After her mother walked through the door first, she said, Moore came up behind her. 

It was at that point, she recalled, he grabbed her buttocks. 

"He didn't pinch it; he grabbed it," said Johnson. She was so surprised she didn't say anything. She didn't tell her mother.

She did however tell her sister who confirmed her story.

For their part Moore's legal team is focused on the yearbook he signed, because they are pretty sure that suckers a forgery. Never mind all of these other stories that confirm Moore's behaviors.

And that is good enough for Sean Hannity who, based on a letter Moore sent him, is back on the Roy Moore for Senator bandwagon.

Okay so was Rush implying that the only reason that Moore used to be a pedophile is because he was a Democrat, and once he switched parties he was cured?

Is that argument?

Damn, that much stupidity just makes my head hurt.

Donald Trump does not want you to forget the hardest hit victim of the hurricane in Puerto Rico. Donald Trump.

Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work! pic.twitter.com/k2jAkIpfjI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017

You guys remember all of the actual work that Trump did for the people of Puerto Rico, right?

President Trump throws paper towels into the crowd at a Hurricane Maria relief event in Puerto Rico https://t.co/FLHYyPsaLD

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 3, 2017

Yeah, that was pretty much it.

Oh but how this poor orange snowflake was suffered.

Can't you just feel his pain.

Sadly there are many in Puerto Rico who simply cannot.

Increasingly painful to undestand the american people want to help and US Gov does not want to help. WE NEED WATER! @UN @washingtonpost

— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) October 8, 2017

So ungrateful.

The father of son murdered in UCSB shooting rampage asks the question that we all should be asking.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Speaking about his 20-year-old deceased son, Richard Martinez told the press: “Our son Chris Martinez and six others are dead. Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don’t think it will happen to your child until it does.” 

After explaining how beloved his son was, and how hurtful his loss is for the family, Martinez took aim at those he believes should be held responsible for the mass shooting: 

"Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, “Stop this madness!” Too many have died. We should say to ourselves, “Not one more!”

I feel this father's pain, and share his frustration with a political system that seems unwilling to stand up to an organization that is pushing policies that put us ALL at risk.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, Cleveland kidnapping victims, offer thanks for all of the support they have received.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

Stylish and smiling, three women allegedly held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade offered thanks on YouTube for emotional and financial backing they've received since going "through hell and back." 

From Amanda Berry, 27: "I want everyone to know how happy I am to be home, with my family, my friends," she said. 

"I would say `thank you' for the support," said a soft-spoken Gina DeJesus, 23, in response to prompting from a narrator. 

And from Michelle Knight, 32, who wasn't a familiar face on a milk carton around town like the other two, came a sometimes halting yet defiant reading of a statement. "I may have been through hell and back, but I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face and with my head held high," she said. "I will not let the situation define who I am. I will define the situation. I don't want to be consumed by hatred." 

The 3 1/2-minute video, produced last week and posted at midnight Monday, was filmed in a Cleveland law firm overlooking treetops, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Lake Erie. 

DeJesus' parents, Felix DeJesus and Nancy Ruiz, joined the heartfelt statements of gratitude, thanking the public for donations to a fund set up to help the women. More than $1 million has been donated. 

Ruiz encouraged parents with missing loved ones to reach out for assistance. "Count on your neighbors," she said. "Don't be afraid to ask for the help because help is available."

I surprisingly found watching this video a little emotional, not only for the terrible pain they were subjected to, but also how their mannerism indicate how it deeply it impacted them.

I have worked with the victims of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse and I can see it written all over these three. Especially the last one, Michele Knight.

I hope that they will fully recover and learn to overcome the nightmares, flashbacks, and difficulties learning to trust that often incapacitate women who have suffered similar violations..

Senator sent personal letter to a shooting victim's parent claiming to support background checks just days before he voted against them. Douchebag level: Senator.

Courtesy of Think Progress:

Shortly before the a crucial Senate vote to expand background checks in gun transactions, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) sent a letter to the mother of a shooting victim claiming that he was “truly sorry” for her son’s death and that “strengthening background checks is something we agree on.” A few days later, he voted to kill the background checks bill. 

Caren Teves’ son Alex died during the Aurora theater mass shooting while shielding his girlfriend from the gun man’s bullets. She wrote a letter to Sen. Flake, in which she “invited him to our home to sit in our son’s chair, his empty chair” and “feel the emptiness and have dinner with us and discuss” guns. In response, Flake sent Teves a hand-written letter claiming that he supported one of the most important steps Congress could take to improve gun safety — expanding background checks.

It's true! Here is the actual letter:

Flake used the excuse that the bill “would expand background checks far beyond commercial sales to include almost all private transfers — including between friends and neighbors.”

This pissed Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords husband, off and he responded thusly:

Kelly said Flake is mistaken and the bill would not do what the senator says. 

“It appears he hasn’t read the bill,” Kelly said.

You know here is what I think,

If your last name is "Flake" you would think that you would do EVERYTHING in your power to be anything but a flake.  Good thing his last name wasn't "Rapist."

I have heard murmuring that perhaps Kelly might challenge Flake during his next bid for reelection. My only question is, can I donate money now?

Mothers of victims of gun violence escorted away from NRA headquarters by armed guards. Pretty much sums up the debate in a nutshell, don't you think?

Courtesy of Crooks and Liars:  

The National Rifle Organization (NRA) on Thursday used armed security to force mothers of victims of gun violence to leave the organization's headquarters. 

The groups MomsRising.org and the Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence traveled to NRA headquarters in Virginia on Thursday to deliver a petition with over 150,000 signatures calling for universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines, a ban on military-style assault rifles and new laws to crack down on gun trafficking. 

Included in the group were mothers like Lori Haas, whose daughter was wounded in the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech, and Louisa Davis, whose nephew was killed by a gun in North Carolina. 

But in video captured by WUSA, a plainclothes security guard and an armed uniformed guard are seen refusing to accept the large stack of signatures and then shooing the gun safety advocates off NRA property. 

"They're not willing to listen to all members," one NRA member who was in the group told WUSA. "We're in a democracy, we need to have a conversation. And the NRA likes to shut down conversation."

Such manly men these NRA people. Cowering behind their armed security in order to protect them from a bunch of moms.

Gabby Giffords stars in new gun control ad.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) stars in an ad released Monday by the gun control group she launched with her husband, Mark Kelly, who also appears in the ad. 

"We have a problem: where we shop, where we pray, where our children go to school," Giffords said in the Americans For Responsible Solutions ad. "But there are solutions we can agree on, even gun owners like us. Take it from me, Congress must act. Let's get this done."

I still think that Giffords, is the NRA biggest problem.

Every time you hear her speak in that halting voice, knowing that it was caused by a bullet fired into her head, it drives home the devastation that can be caused by allowing guns to fall into the hands of the wrong people, and the importance of limiting their ability to use them to gun down dozens of innocent Americans.

In short she is the perfect spokesperson to push forward responsible gun control policies that do not infringe on the basic rights of the 2nd Amendment but DO limit access to extended clips, assault weapons, and the type of ammo used to penetrate a police officers bullet resistant clothing.