Mike Rounds, Governor of SD, is pondering and thinking about the Rapist Rights Bill the SD Legislature just passed. The wingnut loons answered prayers are putting Mikey in a bind. Does he eat everything they shovel his way or not?
Well, He just has to find out if God raped the Virgin Mary. That will provide the theological basis for SD supporting Rapist Rights and treating women as nearly worthless chattle, good only as reproduction machines betting on hitting the Jesus bonus on the reproductive powerball lottery. Speaking of lotteries, how about that Million dollar bribe the anti-women's righters are promising to pony up to fight for their lunatic legislation? Ok, Mike, I wanta buy a vowel and a subsection of a new law. Umm . talk to the lawyers, they are looking for another lawyer's subsidy law. Hey, guess what? Wild Bill Janklow is back in the legal saddle. Whooopppeeee!
Another pop song comes to mind. "Son, Don't take your gun to town". For legislatures, it might be "Don't take your God to Town". The founders of this country had a lot of knowledge of the problems with mixing god and government. Right now, the marchers in the streets of Baghdad busy shooting each other in the head and blowing up each others holy sites indicate the problems with mixing gods and government. Onward Moslem soldiers marching as to war. With the sword....oops Martin Luther would not approve.
Keywords to remember with "South Dakota", "Legislative Bribes", "Legislative Lunacy", "Rapist Rights", "Theocracy" And, holding that god-awful mixture together is the fundamental principle, "No matter how egregious the governing error, It's OK if you are Republican."
***Stay tuned even if "follow the money" is not your favorite game---Doug Wiken
Hi Mr. Wiken, I got here from Firedoglake. Great post. I love your term for the bill, Rapist Rights. lol Sorta payback for the death tax. We really need to spread that around.
Posted by: mpower1952 | Feb 24, 2006 at 10:54 PM
Outstanding blog.
Posted by: have skunk | Feb 24, 2006 at 11:00 PM
I just read your post to my grown son. He agrees 100% with calling it the Rapist Rights Bill. Nice to see you guy's sticking it to the idiots.
Posted by: Kewalo | Feb 24, 2006 at 11:58 PM
Loved your take on the NeoConJobs of South Dakota.
You're a Big hit over at FireDogLake.
Now that Mike Rounds is pondering, to the best of his modest abililty, whether to sign the South Dakota Rapist Bill of Rights, can you ask him, for me, if he thinks Mary was also underage, you know, jailbait.
She always seems so young looking in all those paintings to be holding her 33 year old crucified son of questionable conception.
I know, she probably has some divine beauty tips.
Posted by: WoofWoof | Feb 24, 2006 at 11:59 PM
It's so reassuring to meet a real South Dakotan. Keep up the good fight, please!
Posted by: DeeLuzon | Feb 25, 2006 at 12:33 AM
The South Dakota legislature Friday endorsed President George W. Bush's plan for an "Ownership Society." From now on, in South Dakota, all men--including rapists--will own the uteruses, and any inhabitants thereof, of any women they have sex with.
Posted by: neurophius | Feb 25, 2006 at 12:54 AM
Is this juss going to lead to a mass exodus of people OUT of So Dakota? I mean are the only ones that remain going to be some strange cultists who have no respect for the independence of women?
Posted by: robbymack | Feb 25, 2006 at 01:36 AM
Firedoglake recommended this website with good reason: fresh commentary, sharp attitude, no pretense.
Posted by: Jon Koppenhoefer | Feb 25, 2006 at 04:17 AM
Thank you for this. Many of us outside of South Dakota wonder how the promise of 1 million dollars is not illegal. Also, doesn't the legislature's reliance on that money in passing the bill mean that it is a sham law -- like in Muskrat v. United States (1911)?
Finally, I lookaed at your constitution and there is a provision that says that South Dakota is an indivisable part of the United States and that the Federal Constitution is the Supreme Law of SD. Doesn't that mean that by passing this law (which everyone agrees is currently illegal) that the legislators have violated their oaths to uphold both the Constitution of the United States AND the South Dakota Constitution?
Jes sayin'
Please keep us all informed!
Posted by: Immanentize | Feb 25, 2006 at 06:50 AM
Abortion isue aside, just why is OK for one individiual, who has money, to dictate the legislature and over the lives of this State's citizens? WHy aren't more folks in revolt over that?
Posted by: ruffian | Feb 25, 2006 at 06:53 AM
Don't you think rapists want their children
to come to fruition just like everyone else?
When you think of it, a woman's ovum is just
a passive receptor. The sperm is the
god-given life in action. Those little
wigglies inchin' their way to the bulls-eye
egg all want a chance to live. They don't
know their host is a depraved deviant
who hates women in general. Come on.
Give the little buggers a chance!
Posted by: Semanticleo | Feb 25, 2006 at 08:36 AM
The fabulous Jane at FDL sent me, and I'm glad she did. Good luck with this. I have a friend who grew up on a SD farm, and I think she must be very embarrassed right now.
Posted by: Davis | Feb 25, 2006 at 09:38 AM
If I keep adding reading material, I'll never be able to get anything done.
"Rapists Rights". God Almighty. I'm a woman, and you have no idea how disgusting and scary that is. My granddaughter is not chattel or cattle for sexual predators who can't even make it with goats. The legislature of your state needs to pass a law that castrates rapists, since we're talking personal responsibility.
Posted by: LindyH | Feb 25, 2006 at 09:51 AM
Rapists rights? Well said. Although I'm sure our opponents would frame the situation as the rights of the "poor sad fetus", it's really their own rights (or wrongs) over women that drive the train.
Funny, how it all comes down to religion in the end. If one ... and I use the word carefully ... believes that this is not the only life we have, missing a free ticket to a lifetime as a child of rape or neglect doesn't seem like such an awful omission. Perhaps our christians are forgetting to put the Christ in Christmas.
On second thought, strike that perhaps. Materialists masquerading as people of spirit to advance their material interests. Ugly.
Posted by: Heraclitus | Feb 25, 2006 at 10:31 AM
A visitor from Firedoglake~~
What the hell is going on in S. Dakota that such a restrictive bill would so rapidly get through both houses of the state legislature?? Did you all know that you had a bunch of myopic, misogynistic, back-assward politicians just waiting for this moment, to shine in Karl Rove's game??
What help can people from other states provide? At least you guys have Ed Schultz raising a ruckus on Air America from N. Dakota!! Good luck, and if you need to leave the state, go west and help us protect against the Red Tide!!
Styve
-------------------
Misogyny ( mĭ-sŏj ' ə-nē )
The hatred of, or strong prejudice against women. Compared with anti-woman sexism or misandry (hatred of or strong prejudice against men), misogyny is usually regarded as directed against women by some men, though women can also hold misogynistic views. In feminist theory, misogyny is recognized as a political ideology - similar to racism or anti-Semitism - that justifies and maintains the subordination of women by men. The word comes from the Greek misos "hatred" + gyne "woman".
Posted by: Styve | Feb 25, 2006 at 10:55 AM
great blog.
I hope your governor understands that rape and incest, in addition to the physical, medical, and emotional impact, cause greater poverty and strain on the family and the state budget and will be a cause of people refusing to travel through S Dakota, or buy beef or other products if this bill becomes law. How many other ways can we demonstrate the our rejection and disapproval of this legilation?
This is a godless, inhumane piece of law-making.
Posted by: leslie | Feb 25, 2006 at 11:47 AM
A visitor from Firedoglake~~
What the hell is going on in S. Dakota that such a restrictive bill would so rapidly get through both houses of the state legislature?? Did you all know that you had a bunch of myopic, misogynistic, back-assward politicians just waiting for this moment to shine in Karl Rove's game??
What help can people from other states provide? At least you guys have Ed Schultz raising a ruckus on Air America from N. Dakota!! Good luck, and if you need to leave the state, go west and help us protect against the Red Tide!!
Styve
-------------------
Misogyny ( mĭ-sŏj ' ə-nē )
The hatred of, or strong prejudice against women. Compared with anti-woman sexism or misandry (hatred of or strong prejudice against men), misogyny is usually regarded as directed against women by some men, though women can also hold misogynistic views. In feminist theory, [b]misogyny is recognized as a political ideology - similar to racism or anti-Semitism - that justifies and maintains the subordination of women by men.[/b] The word comes from the Greek misos "hatred" + gyne "woman".
Posted by: Styve | Feb 25, 2006 at 12:53 PM
A visitor from Firedoglake also. I just sent e mails to citibank and sd certified beef. I think the $1m to defend the bill is illegal and I would be willing to contribute what I could to fight this bill because it has to be a netroots fight because I don't see another option Keep up the good work, will visit your site often.
Posted by: aggy p | Feb 25, 2006 at 01:13 PM
So SD can take disgraceful comfort in knowing that its crass, backward and dark, dark legislature may be the catalyst for making abortions illegal in America. Between the Bush regime and the SD legislature...how low can this country go?
Posted by: Richard Braun | Feb 25, 2006 at 01:49 PM
Wll, let's give those macho, aggressive, sociopathic, psychopathic genes a chance to multiply in the gene pool.
As for the raped? Get 'em pregnant, cut off welfare, keep 'em out of school, make 'em suffer for attracting the rapists, shore up the market for coat hangers and emergency medical services.
Then give the private prison lobby what it wants -- another generation of criminals whose parents didn't want them, who can fill jails and create more low-paid jobs for prison guards so stockholders can reap bigger profits. The possibilities are endless. Bring'em on!
Posted by: Marg | Feb 25, 2006 at 02:12 PM
"Rapist's Righs Bill" is a triumph of framing.
Posted by: Me from NYC | Feb 25, 2006 at 03:00 PM
As a southerner and a Christian I take a lot of heat from people here on the left coast who believe that we are the enemy. I'm always looking for evidence of light in the darkness and I thank you, sir, for providing it!
And to the previous poster, not only is this law unconstitutional, but if the Gov had any balls he'd arrest the whole legislature on sedition charges right now. Hang 'em High!
Posted by: Stephen Jones | Feb 25, 2006 at 03:29 PM
I'm a physician and previously used a lab in South Dakota for specialty testing. As I have an alternative to sending business to SD, my patients will no longer be sending samples to SD until this issue is satisfactorily resolved.
Posted by: mperloe | Feb 25, 2006 at 03:59 PM
Hi Mike -
Brilliant bit of work here, "Rapist Rights" has a lot of impact, and I predict will work its way into the debate. Good job!
In my upbringing, no one could explain exactly who/how Mary got pregnant. One side of the family said it was the "Holy Ghost" -- i.e., "The Bird," which brings up a whole host of beastial problems, like Santorum's "Man on dog" statement. The other side said simply, "Women in occupied countries always find themselves in trouble."
I don't know if either of those items help you or hurt you, but that is all I have to offer.
Posted by: Tengrain | Feb 25, 2006 at 05:26 PM
My maternal ancestors were homesteaders in South Dakota. They eventually became farmers and merchants in Groton. As I child, I loved to visit there and in the last few years have been talking up a trip to Groton to show my husband where some of my roots are found.
The recent move by the S.D. legislature to assault the rights of their women citizens is so repugnant to me that I will certainly NOT be visiting this state. I am appalled by this medieval action.
Posted by: Radiowalla | Feb 25, 2006 at 05:28 PM