Voice Shaking, Michelle Obama Calls Trump Comments on Women ‘Intolerable’

Is the wrong woman running for president?

Michelle Obama is the best political speaker in America today

Michelle Obama Denounces Trump’s Words on Women

By REUTERS 1:45 Video The first lady, Michelle Obama, on Thursday spoke out against Donald J. Trump’s comments about women. “This is not something that we can ignore,” she said, while campaigning in New Hampshire for Hillary Clinton.

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, NYTimes

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Michelle Obama issued a deeply personal denunciation of Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his lewd comments about women, exhorting voters in scathing terms to reject his candidacy and the campaign’s increasingly vulgar tenor by backing Hillary Clinton as a matter of conscience.

“This is not normal. This is not politics as usual,” Mrs. Obama said in a 25-minute speech here during which her voice at times quavered with emotion. “This is disgraceful, it is intolerable, and it doesn’t matter what party you belong to,” she added. “No woman deserves to be treated this way — none of us deserves this kind of abuse.”

In remarks that were among the most outspoken by a first lady in modern history, Mrs. Obama, who has mostly avoided the political limelight, positioned herself at the center of a campaign she characterized as having devolved into “madness.” (Theatre of the absurd?). She implored voters to “stand up and say enough is enough.”

“I can’t believe that I’m saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women,” the first lady told several hundred voters at a university here.

“I can’t stop thinking about this — it has shaken me to my core,” Mrs. Obama said, reacting to the emergence last week of a recording in which Mr. Trump was heard coarsely boasting about kissing and groping women without their consent.

What followed from the first lady, who has styled herself America’s “mom in chief,” was a message about empowering women to rise up against sexual abuse and harassment in every context. The speech was all the more striking because it was delivered on behalf of Mrs. Clinton, whose experience with her husband’s infidelity all but disqualifies her from speaking in similarly vivid terms.

Aides said Mrs. Obama had always planned to reshape her stump speech as Election Day neared to focus more on women and the significance of electing the first female president. But when Mr. Trump’s remarks surfaced on Friday, she ripped up that speech, ultimately settling on one that was all the more biting for its intimate tone.

“I feel it so personally,” Mrs. Obama said on Thursday, placing her hand against her heart for emphasis as she spoke about Mr. Trump’s treatment of women. “It’s like that sick, sinking feeling you get when you’re walking down the street minding your own business and some guy yells out vulgar words about your body, or when you see that guy at work that stands just a little too close, stares a little too long so you feel uncomfortable in your own skin.”


Women listening to Michelle Obama speak during a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton on Thursday in Manchester, N.H. “This is disgraceful, it is intolerable, and it doesn’t matter what party you belong to,” Mrs. Obama said of Donald J. Trump’s lewd comments about women. JIM COLE / ASSOCIATED PRESS

“I can tell you that the men in my life do not talk about women this way,” Mrs. Obama added. “To dismiss this as everyday locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.”

The speech was a riveting moment in an already remarkable campaign, coming just before Mr. Trump appeared in West Palm Beach, Fla., to angrily denounce as “false smears” news reports in which several women said he had made unwanted advances on them.

The New Hampshire rally was Mrs. Obama’s sixth campaign appearance for Mrs. Clinton in a month, and the first lady broke from her usual approach and did not speak about Mrs. Clinton’s qualifications for the presidency until halfway through her speech. She said the former secretary of state “embodies so many of the values that we try hard to teach our young people,” and ticked off highlights from Mrs. Clinton’s résumé, saying that any parent would be proud to raise a daughter like her.

But she also sought to appeal to those unenthusiastic about Mrs. Clinton or politics itself, issuing a call to voters across the political spectrum who have been alienated by a contest dominated by outrageous statements and partisan rage.

“We simply cannot endure this, or expose our children to this any longer — not for another minute, and let alone for four years,” Mrs. Obama said. “This has got to stop right now.”

She argued that even voters repulsed by the tone of the campaign — “we are drowning in it,” she said at one point — must consider the norms of behavior they wanted to instill in their children.

“In our hearts, we all know that if we let Hillary’s opponent win this election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they’re seeing and hearing is perfectly O.K. We are validating it. We are endorsing it,” Mrs. Obama said. “We’re telling our sons that it’s O.K. to humiliate women. We’re telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We’re telling all our kids that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable in the leader of their country.”

I have been saying for months now that Trump talks, acts, and thinks like an adolescent. I would prefer someone with at least a semblance of maturity running the biggest military in the world.

Instead, she framed the decision to vote for Mrs. Clinton as akin to a woman’s choice to speak out in the face of sexual mistreatment or violence.

“We need to recover from our shock and depression and do what women have always done in this country,” Mrs. Obama said. “We need you to roll up your sleeves. We need to get to work.”

Penn State Fraternity Banned for Three Years

Penn State fraternity Kappa Delta Rho will lose its charter until May 2018 amid misconduct charges

The fraternity house is in State College, Pennsylvania

Penn State needs this scandal like a hole in the head. It has spent the last few years dealing with the outfall from the number one pervert in American Universities, Jerry Sandusky. Now, this frat scandal tarnishes the old universities reputation even further and helps cement the belief that a culture of rape does indeed exist in western universities. But, at least, Penn State dealt with it firmly and decisively, er, eventually.

A US fraternity has been banned from operating for three years after Penn State University officials accused the chapter of hazing, drug use and harassment by its members.

The university attributed the ban to "a persistent series of deeply troubling activities", according to a news release.

The fraternity's national organisation had only banned the group for one year.

Fraternities are social organisations that college students, usually male, are given the option to join at many universities across the US. Sororities are a similar option for female students.

"Not every member of the chapter was equally culpable for violation of the university's expectations for recognised student organisations," said Damon Sims, vice president for student affairs at Penn State University, wrote in a letter to the Interfraternity Council, the group that oversees fraternities at the university.

Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity, in State College, Pennsylvania
Female Penn State University students protest in front of fraternity this spring

"Even so, the sum of the organisational misbehaviours is far more than the university can tolerate from a student organization that seeks its imprimatur."

The university began investigating the fraternity in March after reports surfaced of a private Facebook page that contained photos of nude women, some unconscious. The Facebook page also included images of fraternity brothers forcing those wishing to join the group being forced to do draining physical activity.

Pornographic images and embarrassing photos of women were regularly shared on the Facebook page.

Mr Sims said the fraternity's actions required a stronger response from the university than the punishment originally doled out by the Interfraternity Council.

Members will not have to move out of the fraternity house, because it is privately owned.

So, what does 'losing their charter' actually mean? How will it affect their daily lives? I'm thoroughly disgusted with the culture of rape and the adolescent behaviour of 'men' in North American universities. 

The future of American and Canadian leadership is truly frightening, not just because of their stupid, insensitive tricks, but because they are so stupid to think they could post stuff like that to Facebook and get away with it.

UK ISP Sky to Block All Pornography By Default

Previously Sky had to tweak filters after it blocked a legitimate news website

Broadband provider Sky will block adult content by default, unless users opt out, it has revealed.

The decision was announced in a blog post and will be phased in over coming weeks.

In 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron put pressure on internet service provider [ISPs] to make online filtering mandatory, saying it was the best way to protect children.

His request caused controversy among politicians and the internet industry.

Since then most of the UK's ISPs have offered filtering software for parents concerned about what their children may be able to access online but few have offered this by default, opting instead to allow parents or other customers to turn the filters on if they want them.

Sky's Broadband Shield is designed to filter out content deemed to be unsuitable for children aged under 13. It has been offered as default to new customers for a year.

But now the firm has decided to also offer it to all its existing customers, some 5.3 million in total.

In her blog post, Lyssa McGowan, Sky's brand director, explained why it was changing its policy.

"What we're doing now is simply making sure that the automatic position of Sky Broadband Shield is the safest one for all - that's 'on', unless customers choose otherwise," she said.

Censorship
In the next few weeks Sky customers who have not chosen to either activate or disable its Broadband Shield would be emailed "giving them the opportunity to make a decision one way or the other", she said.

Once activated, users will not be able to access a filtered site without altering their settings.

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group (ORG), was dismayed by the news.

"Censorship should never be turned on by default," he said.

"ORG's Blocked project (www.blocked.org.uk) has shown that filters block all kinds of websites, including some that provide useful advice to children and young people. Customers need to understand the implications of filters before deciding whether or not they want them."

How many children go on the internet to look for 'useful advice'? I'm certain that we are talking an extremely small sacrifice for an extremely good thing. As mentioned here many times, I believe the easy availability of pornography to adolescent boys is largely responsible for the 'culture of rape' that is rampant in western universities and many other institutions. We should encourage all ISPs to follow Sky's example.

Sky deserves a huge commendation for this, especially if they withstand the backlash from people like Jim Killock who should probably find a day-job.

All the UK's big four ISPs - BT, Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk - offer filtering systems to help parents prevent their children viewing inappropriate material online although few have decided to oblige users to adopt the system.

They have said that they will make sure all customers are aware of the filters.

In October, BT started using interrupting browsing sessions for customers who had not set up the parental controls asking them whether they wished to activate them but not obliging them to.

Most of the systems used by ISPs work at a network level, which means that all devices that connect to a home router will be subject to the same filtering system.

Andrew Ferguson, founder of broadband news site ThinkBroadband, said that parents should not rely solely on filters to protect their children from online nasties.

"As ever the filters don't block all unsavoury material so are not a replacement for parenting and the embarrassing questions all parents have to face," he said.

Indiana's Stupid Laws Don't Protect Children Conceived in Rape, or their Mothers

Two years ago we brought you a story about an amazing young 13-year- old girl named Ashley from Elwood, Indiana, who was raped by her brother’s friend and became pregnant. Ashley prosecuted her rapist, and he was charged and convicted on three counts as Ashley wasn’t his only victim.

This story tugged on the heart strings of millions of Americans as this young girl chose to carry her child to term and gave birth to a beautiful little boy she named Aiden.

Ashley and son, Aiden

Planned Parenthood of Indiana even weighed in on Ashley’s tragic story via their official Facebook page by posting a link to an article written in the Indianapolis Star by saying the following: “As this article notes, heartbreaking stories like this are all too common in Indiana, which ranks second in the number of teen sexual assaults. Comprehensive sex ed can make a difference in preventing sexual assaults.”  It seems as if Planned Parenthood feels that giving rapist more sexual education will keep them from raping women.

Ashley, now 15, is a freshman in high school and has adapted to her new role as student and young mother. After the birth of Aiden, Ashley returned to school, and much to her shock, discovered that the boy who was convicted of raping her was allowed to attend the same school. Her rapist, who was also a minor when the crime occurred, was protected as a juvenile and his identity was never released. Now, how stupid is that? Putting a rapist in the same school as his victim. I think Indiana needs a new Attorney General.

Ashley was quickly taken out of the main school by her parents and put into an alternate school, so she could continue her studies without incident.  Ashley is excelling in her classes and is a straight A student.

Last August, Ashley’s family faced another devastating tragedy. Her brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike not far from the family home. The perpetrator still hasn’t been identified. This tragic event has devastated this family, but through prayer and the assistance of family and friends, they are putting their lives back together once again.

Aiden

Although this road hasn’t been easy, Aiden is now 18 months old and has brought his young mother love and healing from a situation that once felt unbearable.   Ashley will be attending the March for Life this year with the organization Living Exceptions, as Aiden is a true “Living Exception” and his and Ashley’s story epitomizes the mission of this life-saving organization. Stop by the Living Exceptions booth and give Ashley words of encouragement as she continues to embrace life by raising her son and doing the right thing.

If you would like to donate to Ashley and Aiden, you can do so at www.LivingExceptions.com. All donations to Ashley and Aiden go directly to help the family to buy diapers, wipes, and clothing, or you can choose to help defray Ashley’s expenses when she is out in Washington attending the March for Life.

Currently, Ashley does not receive support from the State of Indiana. Unfortunately, the state of Indiana is one of 31 states that has no law protecting a  child conceived through rape from his biological father.

If Ashley files for any kind of government assistance, the state must go after Aiden’s biological father for repayment. In return, he can demand visitation rights.  We are encouraging legislators to pass legislation protecting these children and their mothers from being victimized once again by terminating any rights that father might have. But until Indiana changes its law regarding children conceived in rape, Ashley’s parents must bear the financial burden of caring for Aiden. If you would like to read more on the states that have no laws protecting children who are conceived through rape you can go to www.31states.com for more info.

As individuals committed to the pro-life cause, we must be willing to step up and support young girls, such as Ashley. If you are financially able, please consider helping this young mother. To follow Ashley and Aiden’s story visit my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/mkprolife.

Dalhousie Professor's Request for Discipline of DDS Imbeciles Rejected by University

Dalhousie University has notified four professors their complaint against misogynistic and sexually explicit Facebook posts by a group of male dentistry students is not eligible for consideration under the Student Code of Conduct.

The professors wanted action under the university's formal discipline process. The complaint urged the university to suspend students who actively participated in any of the offensive posts on the 2015 DDS Gentlemen's Club Facebook group.

In a letter emailed Saturday by the vice-provost for student affairs, Dalhousie says it will not proceed with the complaint because the students' conduct is under review by the professional standards committee within the dental school.

Vice-provost Anne Forrestall says that makes the complaint ineligible.

In a written response, the four professors say they are "distressed" the only disciplinary process will now be handled inside the school of dentistry.

"We are sad that our actions have not resulted in a formal discipline process, as this would have served the goal of protecting and promoting the interests of those harmed by the conduct of the 'Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen,'" reads their response.

Francois Baylis
Bioethics Chair who headed Complaint

However, they say they are "comforted" by the university's decision Friday to launch an outside task force into misogyny and homophobia at the Faculty of Dentistry. This is the first time homophobia has been mentioned.

"It is our hope that through these and other steps, the harms caused by and associated with this  incident will not be repeated."

 'I respect them for their courage'

In a release, Dalhousie President Richard Florizone says the decision was made Jan. 7 and he received legal confirmation two days later.

"I sincerely appreciate the efforts of our four faculty members. I respect them for their courage to take a public stand on behalf of others," he said. Hmmm. Almost sounds like a veiled threat.

"This complaint has highlighted a need for careful review of our policies to ensure we have a respectful, inclusive community."

Florizone says the task force launched Friday will review the school's policies with recommendations on how they can be improved.

The dentistry faculty at Dalhousie came under fire after CBC News received screenshots of sexually explicit posts on the Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen's Club Facebook page.

In one of the posts, male students in the group voted on which woman they'd like to have "hate sex" with and joked about using chloroform on women.

Some people are upset about the restorative justice process that has been chosen, instead calling for harsher penalties for those alleged to have made the comments.

It's curious that the university has suspended the 13 from attending classes with the rest of the students because the girls might be very uncomfortable with those adolescent-minded boys in the room. However, they seem to think that 'restorative justice' is the way to go, even though it requires face-to-face communication between the girls and the idiot boys.

Foster Parent Sentenced to 55 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children in His Care

Having spent many years as a foster parent, I hate it when I see something like this. We become foster parents to save children from this kind of abuse. Someone in the child welfare system failed these kids.

Was Mark O'Brien single? Is it reasonable to have single men as foster parents? I'm sure there are some fine ones but the opportunity for abuse would seem to be much higher. At the very least they need more diligent vetting and monitoring.

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri – A former foster father found guilty of sexually abusing three children in his care will spend over five decades in prison for the crimes.

Mark D. O’Brien, 43, of Republic, Mo., was sentenced Friday to 55 years in prison for the charges of abuse of a child and six counts of first-degree statutory sodomy.

O’Brien was convicted on Aug. 13, 2014 after a four-day bench trial of sexually abusing three of his foster children between 2007 and 2010.

According to Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson, two of the victims were under the age of 12 and the third was 14 years old.

During the trial, the judge heard from three of O’Brien’s victims.

One victim described being forced to sleep outside at night without blankets or shelter after certain incidents of abuse. The other two said they were offered bribes or rewards in exchange for the abuse.

Patterson says none of the victims told anyone about the abuse until they were out of O’Brien’s home.

In 2010, the abuse was reported after O’Brien tried to make contact with one of the victims, despite the child’s parents’ attempts to sever contact. The victim then told his parents about the abuse. The other two victims came forward during the investigation.

At the sentencing hearing, the victims spoke out and their families detailed the negative effects the victims suffered from the abuse.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Calvin Holden sentenced O’Brien to a total of 55 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and denied probation.

God bless you Judge Holden.

Pornography Promotes Adolescent Sex Addiction Which can Affect Brain Development

If you have read any of my blog postings on the 'culture of rape', you may recall that I have attempted to associate availability of pornography in adolescence to the rape culture in older teens and young adults. This study from Indonesia, and an American child psychologist make that connection. 

They also introduce us to a condition I have never heard discussed about adolescents or young teens - sex addiction - something parents really need to be familiar with.

Two thirds of elementary students surveyed in the Greater Jakarta area have been exposed to pornography, thus increasing their vulnerability to sex addiction, a survey shows. 

The survey of 2,818 fourth, fifth and sixth grade elementary school students in Jakarta, Depok and Bekasi conducted between January 2008 and February 2010 showed that 67 percent had seen pornographic material through computer games, comics and websites. 

“Most of the children accessed pornography from gadgets given to them by their parents, who only gave them the devices as symbols of prestige,” survey team psychologist Elly Risman said.

Dr Elly Risman

There were many ways for children to access pornography in the information technology era, she said, adding that for this reason there should also be a corresponding revolution in methods of parenting.

“The older methods of parenting are no longer applicable. Parents have to be aware of the dangers of sex addiction, which is sometimes caused by exposure to pornography,” she said.

Sex addiction could affect the development of the brain’s frontal lobe, which controls a person’s reason and rational, their ability to set goals and maintain self-discipline, American child and family psychologist Randy Hyde said, adding that bright, sensitive, spiritual and tender-hearted children are also vulnerable to sex addiction.

Dr. Randy Hyde

“They actually feel guilty about what they do and want to quit. But at the same time they are becoming more and more addicted to the things they are trying to avoid. It’s human nature,” he said.

Instead of blaming children, parents should influence their kids by appreciating their honesty, Randy said.

There are certain steps that can be taken to prevent children from becoming sex addicts, Elly said. Parents have to be aware of the information their children have access to, and they also should have knowledge on sex addiction, she added.

Parents should be able to practice their knowledge on how to restrict their children from having sex and masturbating. 

“Sex addiction among children is actually not new, but parents are not fully aware. There are no therapists in Indonesia to help children escape from sex addiction,” Elly said, adding that children who are addicted to sex tend to do poorly in school, describe their sexual fantasies, tell dirty jokes and avoid eye contact because of guilty feelings.

Child Prostitution Statistics

UNICEF estimates that 2 million children are involved in child prostitution globally. I'm inclined to believe that that number is grossly underestimated. Brazil had a half million child prostitutes itself for the World Cup. I doubt that they went back to doing nothing for a living.

Some statistics on child prostitution around the world, from Wikipedia:

Statistics 

Past surveys indicate that 30 to 35 percent of all prostitutes in the Mekong sub-region of Southeast Asia are between 12 and 17 years of age.[6] 

Thailand’s Health System Research Institute reports that children in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes in Thailand.[7] 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimate that 2 million children are exploited in prostitution or pornography every year.[1] 

An estimated 12,000 Nepalese children, mainly girls, are trafficked for sexual commercial exploitation each year within Nepalor to brothels in India and other countries.[4] 

Some 84% of girls in prostitution interviewed in Tanzania reported having been battered, raped or tortured by police officers and sungu sungu (local community guards). At least 60% had no permanent place to live. Some of these girls started out aschild domestic workers.[4] 

UNICEF estimates that there are 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines and many of the 200 brothels in the notorious Angeles City offer children for sex.[8] 

In Brazil, UNICEF estimates that there are 250,000 children working in the child prostitution industry.[9] See link at top of page

In El Salvador, one-third of the sexually exploited children between 14 and 17 years of age are boys. The median age for entering into prostitution among all children interviewed was 13 years. They worked on average five days per week, although nearly 10% reported that they worked seven days a week.[4] 

In Malaysia, an estimated 150 children enter the child sex trade each year.[10] 

In Vietnam, family poverty, low family education and family dysfunction were found to be primary causes for CSEC*. Sixteen per cent of the children interviewed were illiterate, 38% had only primary-level schooling. Sixty-six per cent said that tuition and school fees were beyond the means of their families.[4] 

In Sri Lanka, children often become the prey of sexual exploiters through friends and relatives. The prevalence of boys in prostitution here is strongly related to foreign tourism.[4] 

Experts indicate that there are currently at least 100,000 child victims of sex trafficking in the United States while upwards of 325,000 remain at risk [11] 

*CSEC - commercial sexual exploitation of children