Some Guys Don't Like Getting Rejected..

Louis C.K. said that dating takes a lot of courage. For the guy it takes a lot of courage just to ask the woman out, while for the woman it takes a lot of courage to say yes. Of course sometimes the guy in question is a total creep. And sometimes the guy is a Judge who had a bit of a power trip and is a total scumbag.

Ex-Judge Bryant Cochran

The woman in question in this case is one Angela Garmley from Chatsworth, Georgia. She had been in court regarding an incident in which she had been assaulted by three men. Judge Bryant Cochran who was presiding over the case then requested to hear Ms. Garmley side of the story in private in his chambers.

Angela Garmley

While alone together Judge Cochran informed Ms. Garmley that he needed a mistress and had “a real boner for her” (Da Fuq?) He then told her to send him a “seductive photo” of her so that he could get a “sneak peak.” And people say romance is dead..#Gross

If it takes courage to ask a woman on a date you could also say that it took a lot of balls to approach a plaintiff in a case and ask them to be your mistress. Or he just might be a disgusting asshole..yep that seems more likely. And has he never heard of Snapchat? That's a lot less of a hassle.

Unfortunately for the Judge Ms. Garmley didn't find his advances charming at all. She didn't reject his kind offer right there and then; instead she filed a complaint against him as well as giving an interview to a newspaper. Several days after the interview appeared in the paper Ms. Garmley was arrested by the police for drug possession.

Some of you might say that the timing was more than convenient and that her arrest was a little bit suspicious. And you would be right. The charges against Ms. Garmley were dropped after an investigation revealed that Judge Cochran had enlisted the help of several people to frame Ms. Garmley for drug possession. The two former police officers involved have both plead guilty to charges brought against them in federal court and are now awaiting sentencing.

Bryant Cochran resigned as judge (about damn time) though he has continued to deny any involvement in the arrest of Ms. Garmley. She currently has a civil suit pending against him. I still don't understand why he hasn't been charged with a crime; I'm no lawyer but I'm pretty sure planting drugs in someone's car is against the law. Or maybe his friends in the police force felt bad for him. Who knows..

Talk about handling rejection badly. Some people just don't take it well. We've all been rejected at least once in our life. And we've learnt how to move on. Well apparently Bryant never learnt that lesson.

Clearly in Georgia the requirements to be a Judge are pretty low. Morals or proper judgement are not required for the job; or intelligence. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of websites to help you find a mistress. You don't have to sexually harass a woman that walk into your courtroom. Of course this isn't the first Judge to upset me this week.

But for not taking any bullshit from this particular Judge, Ms Garmley is a BAMF. And now I hope she can get some monies off him. Then it might finally sink into his thick skull to stop behaving like a dick. Gawd men are stupid..

Don't take my word for it here are some links:

Cops plead guilty to planting drugs

Angela Garmley: How she stood up to a corrupt court

A little respect please

My Ramblings Tumblr

What Would It Be Like To Live As A Woman?

“How do women still go out with guys? When you consider the fact that there is no greater threat to women than men. We're the number one threat..to women.

Globally and historically, we're the number one cause of injury and mayhem to women. We're the worst thing that ever happens to them”

Louis C.K.

I'm a man. Most of the time I like being a man; but sometimes I wonder what life would be like as a woman. That might have sounded a little strange. This is not me having a gender identity crisis. I'm very comfortable with my gender. Maybe on some level I don't like being me; but that's a whole other long and complicated story. I think I'm just angry at men in general at this moment.

What has made me so angry at MANkind? The story of a former teacher, Stacey Dean Rambold who had admitted to repeatedly raping his student who was 14 years old at the time and was sentenced to just 30 days in prison. The victim, Cherice Moralez committed suicide just before her 17^th birthday. Her mother who had testified that the rape was a major factor in her daughters suicide repeatedly screamed “you people suck!” in the courtroom after hearing the sentence.

Stacey Rambold - Sentenced 30 days

Judge Todd Baugh who was presiding over the case initially sentenced the teacher to 15 years in prison but suspended the sentence to just 30 days. I don't know what makes me angrier, the verdict or what the judge later said in court; Judge Baugh said that the victim was was “older than her chronological age" and "as much in control of the situation" as her teacher (WTF?).

The Victim - Cherice Moralez

When did it become even remotely okay to blame the VICTIM for being raped? I must have missed that memo. Rambold's attorney, had also argued that Rambold had "already suffered as a result of his conduct," losing his career and his standing in the community. 

Judge Baugh - The Eejit

 

Poor man..I feel really “sorry” that a rapist lost his job; the respect of the people in his community and will have to be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life. What about Cherice Moralez? Didn't she suffer as well? She took her own life! I'm guessing he doesn't feel responsible about that as well? And in less than a month he will be back on the streets living his life.

Unfortunately many cases of rape go unreported in the United States. The fear and stigma associated with being a rape victim is overwhelming. For those that do find the courage to come forward it doesn't mean that they will get justice. The irony is that by even serving the 30 days Rambold will be facing some “justice.”

According to the RAINN, a anti-sexual abuse network 97 out of every 100 rapists never go to jail. RAINN studied Justice Department data and concluded that “only about one out of four reported rapes leads to an arrest, and only about one out of four arrests leads to a felony conviction and incarceration.” Sigh..no justice, no peace.

The quote at the top was made by Louis C.K. from his show “Oh My God.” And he does make a good point. WE are the worst thing that ever happens to them; maybe not so much now. Sure, things have improved over the centuries and men are a lot more civilized and gentrified. But not always; sometimes our behaviour leaves a lot to be desired.

I was listening to the Runaway Thoughts podcast and someone asked the question “How often do you think that men are unaware of how degrading/disrespectful men are being to women.” And the unequivocal answer was “men don't realize they're being sexist 100% of the time.”

Well Judge Baugh realized his mistake a little too late. He later apologized for what he had said; though I think he was more worried about his re-election next year. Dear Montanans, please elect someone else instead of that fucking idiot. If you decided to re-elect him you'll only have yourselves to blame.

I can't remember who exactly said this; I think it might have been Joe Rogan on his podcast (I listen to a lot of podcasts). He made the point that men should have to experience want women go through on a daily basis; all the harassment and sexism from men. And I understand what he's trying to say. There are a lot of things I will never have to experience as a man. Like harassment in public by other men.

As a man, I can take a bus or train without another man behaving like a creep towards me. As a man, I have the privilege to walk anywhere I want and have my personal space be respected. As a man, I never have to experience what it feels like when I'm walking down a street alone and a group of men start making disgusting comments. As a man, I'm able to pass by a construction site and I'm pretty sure I will not be disrespected with comments about how I'm dressed or how my body looks.

Of course some guys actually think they are giving women a compliment, they think that women like being treated like a piece of meat by strangers. It is absolutely a form of harassment and any guy in this day and age should just know better. It is a big deal and it's not funny. So for all the guys out there who maybe have never considered this before, please watch what you say and how you behave. Sexual harassment of anyone is terrible and should not be accepted. Treat people with respect.

And I don't want to give the impression that all construction workers or men are pigs. After all I'm a man and I hope I'm not considered one as well. Generally speaking the overwhelming majority of men and women are decent human beings. Not all construction workers and men are creeps. Just the creepy ones.

Here are some links:

Prosecutors vowto appeal 30 day sentence

Student shareshorrific expreriences

RAINN website

Runaway ThoughtsPodcast

My RamblingsTumblr

You Probably Didn't Know This About Any Of This..

I can understand why people hate watching and/or reading the news. I mean have you seen the news lately? It's HORRIBLE! The World can be such a depressing place sometimes.

No wonder people like to spend their time distracting themselves with their phones; watching Youtube videos; maybe reading this blog (hmm?); while ignoring what's going on around them. And I can't blame them. It's easier to concentrate on the trivial things in life.

You're probably not going to turn on CNN any time soon and the Breaking News is that “Today was a good day.” Nope..the good news is few and far between I'm afraid, it's usually filled with stories about conflict in various parts of the world; occasionally we're treated to the spectacle of a Royal Baby being born. And as nice as that is, sometimes I can't help get the impression that there's a lot of injustice in the World.

I'm not naïve; I've watched “The Wire.” I know that things don't always work out according to plan. Sometimes the good guys are the bad guys and vice versa. Sometimes they get away with crimes they committed. Of course when justice does prevail it doesn't seem enough somehow. But that doesn't mean we just sit quietly and let the injustice continue. My small contribution is to offer you my snarky opinion on certain topics. Let's begin.

Halliburton recently pleaded guilty to destroying evidence relating to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And for lying the company will have to pay the government the grand sum of $200,000. That's not a typo, that was the actual amount they were fined; of course, Halliburton will also be donating $55 Million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

While I commend the executives for donating out of their good “conscience” the “punishment” feels like a slap on the wrist; especially when you find out that Halliburton made $7.3 Billion in total revenue in the second quarter of 2013. That'll teach em' a lesson.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government was more than happy to make an example out of Chelsea Manning; the soldier was recently sentenced to 35 years in prison. If you're slightly confused and wondering why I didn't mention Bradley Manning, then you definitely haven't been paying attention to the news (check the links below).

In a statement read by Chelsea Manning's lawyer she said that "When I chose to disclose classified information... I did so out of love for our country and a sense of duty for others. If you deny my request for a pardon I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society."

While I'm aware that she broke the law and is therefore considered a criminal I can't help feel sorry for her; when a government or a soldier does something that is morally wrong and if you ignore what's happening then you are part of that moral wrongdoing. It must have been difficult to have that burden on your shoulders. I don't know what I would've done if I had been in that same position. I will say that I admire Chelsea Manning for having the courage for doing what she did. Btw, good luck trying to get Edward Snowden now.

I wonder what ever happened to those Apache pilots in the “Collateral Murder” video. I get it, war is Hell; and in war mistakes happen. But I'm pretty sure that those men are spending time with their families and getting to sleep in their own beds at night. Chelsea Manning on the other hand will be spending her time in a cell for at least the next 7 years, which is when she will be eligible for parole.

Chelsea Manning's supporters have called on President Obama to give her a pardon. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen. Especially now that the President is busy with the issue of Syria and the governments alleged use of chemical weapon on it's own people.

In a recent interview with CNN, President Obama said that what has happened in Syria is “very troublesome”; in a separate interview the Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-Moon said that “Clearly this was a major and terrible incident. We owe it to the families of the victims to act.” The UN estimates that there have been over 100,000 deaths in Syria as well as over 2 Million Syrians made refugees from the fighting.

You won't catch me disagreeing with either of those two opinions, but why all of the sudden is there a rush to act now? Wasn't it “very troublesome” when there were 10,000 deaths? How about at 50,000 deaths? Why are governments so focused on the “red line” when it comes to chemical weapons? So basically you can kill 100,000 of your own citizens but make sure to keep using bullets and bombs? “We” owed the families of victims to act a really long time ago. But hey, international politics is complicated.

And in Japan the news isn't great as well. The Japanese government has criticized Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) ; the Japanese electric utility company which is operating the Fukushima power plant over it's handling of highly radioactive water which is leaking at the site from a storage tank.

“We’ve allowed Tokyo Electric to deal with the contaminated water situation on its own and they’ve essentially turned it into a game of ‘Whack-a-Mole,’” Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters. “From now on, the government will move to the forefront.”

Tepco still has to deal with over 330,000 metric tons of water (enough to fill 132 Olympic-size swimming pools) with varying levels of toxicity that is stored in pits, basements and hundreds of tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

On top of the leaking tank, Tepco admitted that irradiated water is flowing into the Pacific Ocean (from underground tunnels); which the government estimates at 300 tons a day. I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure that can't be good for you. But what do I know? It seemed to work fine for Spiderman. But maybe as a precaution stay away from Japanese Sushi for now. At least until Tepco gets its shit together.

Of course what everyone seems to care about this week is what Taylor Swift whispered at the VMAs; or how much the new Nintendo 2DS sucks; and that Ben Affleck would not make a great Batman. There's even a petition on change.org to “Remove Ben Affleck as Batman.” As of writing this post it has over 80,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, the online petition sent to the White House to free Chelsea Manning has about 6,619 signatures. I saw another petition on change.org asking to have all charges dropped against Chelsea Manning that has 102 signatures. And no, that's not a typo. Like I said earlier, it's a lot easier to focus on all the trivial stuff. Ignorance is bliss..

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Don't take my word for it; here are some links for you:

A long list of what we know thanks to Pvt Manning

I am Chelsea Manning

Fukushima Leak

 Image Credit

No Justice No Peace