Ben Stein Jumps The Shark

May 17th, 2011

Ben Stein's arguments that the long term unemployed smell (literally) or that Arabs don't deserve democracy were one thing. But this? This is unforgivable. Today, Stein addressed the shocking tale of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn as rape and assault allegations unfold against him. While Stein purports to be defending the principle of the presumption of innocence, what he reveals is anger that New York's judicial system is treating someone so very wealthy with the same standards that it would, as he calls them, the "have-nots."

He writes in The American Spectator:
"1.) If he is such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn't he ever get charged until now? If he has a long history of sexual abuse, how can it have remained no more than gossip this long? France is a nation of vicious political rivalries. Why didn't his opponents get him years ago?"

Amazing. A vast majority of sexual assault is unreported. Most countries do not treat victims of rape as well as we do in the U.S and that's not saying much. It is generally understood in law enforcement that for every successful rape prosecution there are far more victims of the convicted who simply aren't known to the authorities. One doesn't suddenly just start raping women. Does Stein honestly believe that a man who is arguably the most powerful banker in the world could not get away with intimidating witnesses? This is, incidentally, exactly what allegedly happened a decade ago to French journalist Tristane Banon.

Stark County, Ohio's Very Own Abu Ghraib

Jan 2nd, 2011

Torture is torture. It's not something you can spin. Regrettably, we live in a culture that has been doing just that for the past 9 years. That the tactics of brutalization and sexual humiliation we've visited on other countries are now perpetrated in our own communities was merely a matter of time.

Four years ago, a woman in rural Ohio named Hope Steffey was assaulted by a family member. She did what citizens are supposed to do and called the police. She had been knocked unconscious in the initial attack and was disoriented. After some confusion resulting from her state of shock, it was she who was arrested instead of the assailant. The arresting officer injured her back and her face and cracked her teeth. She was later violently stripped naked by both female and male officers. There are many questions surrounding the behavior of all the officials involved. Dash-cam footage does "not exist" prior to Steffey being placed in the cruiser.

We continue to tolerate this at our peril.