Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau: Accountability for Thee, Not For Me UPDATE: Senator Brazeau in Jail, Removed From Tory Caucus

Update: Holy shit:

Senator Patrick Brazeau is in jail following an alleged domestic assault, sources tell CBC News, and has been removed from the Conservative Party’s caucus.

Brazeau, who has weathered several controversies since his appointment in 2009, will continue to sit in the Senate as an Independent.

It’s not clear whether any charges have been laid. Brazeau was arrested at 9:10 a.m. ET Thursday at his residence in Gatineau, just across the river from Ottawa.

Marjory LeBreton, the government Senate leader, sent a letter to Brazeau’s office and caucus members in the morning informing them of his removal.

“In light of the serious nature of the events reported today, Senator Brazeau has been removed from the Conservative caucus. As this is a legal matter, I cannot comment further,” LeBreton said in a statement.

A senior government source says Prime Minister Stephen Harper was saddened and shocked by the latest Brazeau developments, and took action immediately.

Developing…

Original post:

CTV News:

Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau used his former father-in-law’s address in a First Nations community when he claimed an aboriginal income tax exemption from 2004 to 2008, CTV News has learned.

Brazeau, who has publicly called on aboriginal leaders to be more financially accountable, listed the residence on the Kitigan Zibi First Nation in Quebec as his mailing address for four years, unbeknownst to his ex-wife’s father.

“I was not aware of that,” Daryl Tenasoco told CTV News.

Neighbours said it did not appear that Brazeau lived in the community.

“I’ve never seen him,” Jean Guy Whiteduck said. “It’s right across from my place. I’ve never seen him there. He may have visited. That’s about it.”

But documents show that income tax exemptions were applied to Brazeau from 2004 to 2008 when he listed the Kitigan Zibi home as his address.

DJ rewind:

Brazeau, who has publicly called on aboriginal leaders to be more financially accountable, listed the residence on the Kitigan Zibi First Nation in Quebec as his mailing address for four years… .

[…]

Neighbours said it did not appear that Brazeau lived in the community.

Hypocrisy is a real B, huh Senator?

(h/t)

Kyle Payne: Douchebasket

by mattttbastard

Re: the unwelcome return of Kyle Payne, pseudofeminist sex predator (y’all remember Kyle Payne, right?  Mr. Sensitive Male Sex Predator? Yes, that Kyle Payne), what Ren said:

You need to stop talking about sexism, violence against women, and rape, because you, Kyle, are a sexual predator. You need to stop linking to any sort of feminist or rape survivor blog, because you are part of the very reason such things are even needed. You should still be in jail, and the fact that you gloss over all this and still write as if you are a good little feminist man with credibility and actual concern is a fucking affront not even I can leave unchallenged. I may not be a big fan of radical anti porn feminism, but you are a fucking slap in the face to everything they stand for and you do not deserve to be in such company or even associated in the most tangent of ways with those women. And I promise you this…anyone who ever Googles your name- well, I will make it my personal mission to see that they know what you have done and what you really are. The first amendment allows me to do exactly that. All the self aggrandizing bullshit in the world will never change your actions: actions that you and you alone are responsible for, and the fact that you pretend like none of it ever happened, show no real remorse or responsibility, and go on with your life and writing like you give a crap about women, rape and feminism is nauseating. Do you get it, Kyle? You are a sex offender, you have no place in rape crisis situations, feminism, or around women at all.

Also, what he said:

(Now, now–don’t get any funny ideas, Kyle.)

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Dear Kyle Payne: Fuck. You.

by matttbastard

More on this tomorrow (maybe). I’m still getting over the WTF effect. And, yeah, that infinite tape loop of shitfuckgoddammitfuckingwhatthefuckyoufuckingasswipefuckheadedfuck?

Still going.

So, for now, what Cara said (h/t Caroline).

Oh, and In what is I’m sure totally unrelated news, Lynda Waddington of The Iowa Independent also reports that Payne’s attorney has filed a motion to delay sentencing, orignally scheduled for August 11th:

Defendant is in the process of continued counseling, the results of which will be presented at sentencing in this matter and may bear upon the Court’s determination of the appropriate sentences in the above-entitled matter.

Counsel for Defendant is in the continued process of acquiring letters of support to support to the Court (sic) at sentencing and reasonably believes that additional time is need (sic) to acquire additional letters.

From Payne’s…post:

My actions have been terrible and tremendously hypocritical, and they have caused harm not only to the victim, but to women generally, who deserve nothing less than an end to rape and all other forms of male domination. Recognizing what I feel to be my responsibility as a male ally to feminism, as well as a decent human being, I ask that any women reading this letter who wish to share their responses contact me via email at kyle.d.payne@gmail.com. I welcome your questions, concerns, feelings, and anything else you would like to share. And I would especially welcome your thoughts on how I might move forward in my life with respect and compassion toward women. As I mentioned, practicing this posture of listening is vital to any notion of justice, and furthermore, it represents, I feel, a way forward through which some good can come of this situation. [emphasis in original]

And, y’know, while you’re helping Kyle be a better ally/human being, you can also pass along a letter of support for the poor duck–if you feel so inclined. Not that I’m suggesting that his heavily-promoted ‘cry for help’ ain’t nothing but a desperate, cynical ploy to save his ass from getting what it deserves.

Of course not.

P.S.: Fuck you, Kyle.

Update: Or, as Renegade Evolution puts it:

Listen, you fucking moron asshole, YOU VIOLATED that woman. Period. End game. Who is to blame? YOU! Got it, jerk? YOU. I hope to ALL that is sane or holy YOU pay for it. You have NO place in feminist spaces, no place where victimized women might be, no place speaking for or with us, you stain. YOU are a predator, got it?

Right the fuck on.

Update 2: Go read Debi Crow’s fisking of Payne’s statement. Go. (Also via Caroline.)

Update 3: Practical advice from belle:

Seriously, WTF? Who is the genius legal counsel who thought this was a good idea? I can’t even wrap my head around the REST of it. Just…die.

egh, never mind, sorry folks, better things to talk about here, just…wow.

–oh yeah, you CAN still write a letter to the judge to request that he get a -harsher- sentence (presumably this little heartfelt plea was meant to inspire the opposite response, God knows how). Details at Eleanor’s Trousers:

An “open sentencing” in the state of Iowa means that the public can attend, but not that the public can speak. While it always looks good to have people show up in support of the prosecution — and I’d personally really like to see some strong support in the courtroom — the fact is that not everyone is going to be able to speak.

For those who have a unique interest in the case… for instance, have served as advocates or can somehow speak with authority as to how horrible Payne’s actions were… get in touch with me. lynda@essentialestrogen.com

If you want to share your (civil) thoughts about this incident prior to sentencing, your best bet is to write to the judge that will preside over the sentencing:

District Court Judge Don E. Courtney
Buena Vista County Courthouse
215 E Fifth St.
Storm Lake, IA 50588

As a final note, there has been some discussion about Payne being charged with child pornography. This is not a charge he faces from the state of Iowa.

– Lynda Waddington
email: lynda@essentialestrogen.com

Update 4: Yeah, about the whole ‘more on this tomorrow’ thing–fuck that noise.

Bastante Kim nails it:

I could do a long, well-thought out response to his statement, picking my way through his words paragraph by paragraph. I could explain how I feel after reading this statement and include in-depth reasoning why I feel as I do.

I could, and I’d do it well.

I don’t wanna, tho.
Don’t wanna talk about Kyle Payne no more!

If one is going to waste any more words on Kyle Payne, I would humbly suggest that one should do so in a letter to District Court Judge Don E. Courtney (which I plan on writing tomorrow).

Also see jfpbookworm (h/t) for, er, a long, well-thought out response to Payne’s statement (along with a link round up of various blog reactions).

Update 5 08/03: Speaking of well-thought out responses, here’s Hysperia upending Payne’s abuse excuse (h/t Ren):

There is surely no question that male (and some female – but we’re talking about a man here) victims of childhood sexual abuse very often go on to become predators. That doesn’t make them insane adults who are neither morally nor criminally responsible:

Statistics involving men in New Jersey prisons convicted of sexual abuse, found that over 95% of the men, were in fact abused themselves. And we don’t know, but it could be that the 5% of non-abused men in that case don’t remember being abused as children; they may have amnesia or a traumatic dissociation.. Some abuse may be the attempt to relive one’s own abuse, with power roles reversed. Another reason may be these people have learned that abuse is a way of feeling in control. Fundamentally, in all cases of abuse, it certainly is about power and control. […] It’s a complex and still unclear set of issues that drives childhood sexual abuse. However, it is up to adults to control their own behaviors.

Once again, here’s how Payne describes what he did:

While caring for the female student, I felt a sudden impulse to expose her breast. Not knowing how to deal with this feeling at the time – and to put it more clearly, not knowing how to make sense of such an urge, given my personal values and my politics – I acted upon it. With a digital camera I kept with me regularly, I briefly photographed and took a few seconds of video of the woman’s breast. She did not consent to this act, nor did she have any knowledge of it at the time. This event ended as quickly as it began, leaving me in a state of disbelief at what I had done.

That’s the excuse of a child with his hand in a cookie jar: woops, my hand slipped. Give that one a rest, Kyle. You say you didn’t know what to do with the urge? That suggests you thought about what to do with it. You know what the answer ought to have been. You had time to think about it. You had time to erase the photographs you took. You had time to find treatment and confess what you’d done. Apparently, you did none of that until, thankfully, you were caught and stopped. I hope your therapist tells you what to do with that urge the next time you have it. If not, check back here.

Also, Hysperia digs deeper into Payne’s purported work as an on-campus rape counsellor.

Update 6: Also via Ren, my future potty-mouth wife (assuming his current marriage disintegrates) PhysioProf drives the nail home with this foul-mouthed hammer of a post:

One hopes that parties involved in the sentencing priceedings will make all of this very clear to the judge. His actions continue to demonstrate an absence of willingness to take responsibility for his actions, and his delusions about the significance of his participation in FEMINISM and his self-attributed stature as a WOMEN’S ALLY are a scary sign that he deserves the harshest possible sentence to wake his ass the fuck up.

How do them cookies taste, Kyle?

Update 7: Purtek has a hammer, too:

The thing about “making amends” is first that you have to have actually changed in order for it to matter, at least enough for you to recognize when your so-called amends are causing harm. One of the first questions male “allies” to feminism ask – and here I mean real allies, which you can tell because I identify them as the ones who ask – is what they can do as men to help women. To help women deal with male violence, with pressure and double-standards and past traumas and current fears, to help end “rape culture” and the ubiquity of sexual violence. In your case, there’s a really simple answer to this question: stop violating women.

Update 8: It’s already been said, but it deserves to be repeated ad nauseam:

A true ally doesn’t feel the need to assault women in this manner.  If you were even a half way decent human being, what you would have done is gotten up and left the room…but personal responsibility does not apply to you, does it?

Werd.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Re: Kyle Payne – What the Shit?!

by matttbastard

I can’t really wrap my head around uber-hypocritical faux-feminist Kyle Payne. Over the past 24+ hours I’ve been vacillating between rank disgust, random profanity, and coming to terms with the fact that way too many people these days seem determined to dance a merry jig on irony’s already well-trampled grave. So for the real 411 on BVU’s “Male Leader of the Year” (retch), go read Ren, belle (h/t), Cara, Renee, Caroline, purtek, GallingGalla (again) Jeff Fecke and the many others who have more to say about this (as opposed to the infinite tape loop of shitfuckgoddammitfuckingwhatthefuckyoufuckingasswipefuckheadedfuck that’s been running through my brain since this all came to light).

Oh, and as for Mr. Sensitive Male Sex Predator,

say hello to my little friend:

Asshole.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

The Rules: John Hagee on an Anti-Semitic Remix Tip

by matttbastard

The NY Times:

The Rev. John C. Hagee, whose anti-Catholic remarks created a controversy when Senator John McCain received his endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination with fanfare, has issued a letter expressing regret for “any comments that Catholics have found hurtful.”

The letter was issued after weeks of conversations between Mr. Hagee and Roman Catholic Republicans about repairing the damage to Mr. McCain’s campaign and the alliance built over many years between conservative Catholics and evangelicals.

[…]

“In my zeal to oppose anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its ugly forms,” he wrote, “I have often emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews.

“In the process, I may have contributed to the mistaken impression that the anti-Jewish violence of the Crusades and the Inquisition defines the Catholic Church. It does not.”

Mr. Hagee’s letter, dated May 12, was addressed to William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, who drew attention to Mr. Hagee’s remarks after he endorsed Mr. McCain in February.

Mr. Donohue said of Mr. Hagee’s letter: “Well, miracles do happen. If I wasn’t a believer before, I sure am now.

“Republican activists have been working with him over the last several weeks, giving him books and articles and getting him up to speed and away from the black legends about the Catholic Church. I have to assume he’s acting sincerely, and now understands” that he has been recycling conspiracy theories.

At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon in North Bend, Wash., outside Seattle, Mr. McCain praised Mr. Hagee’s letter. “The fact that he has made an apology I think is very helpful,” Mr. McCain said. “Whenever someone apologizes for something they did wrong, then I think that that’s a laudable thing.”

Well, Hagee has apologized, Billy D. is happy (miraculous!), and good ol’ McCain is still smelling rosy (as far as the jerks in the MSM are concerned).  Guess that just about wraps things up, right?  Not so fast, says Talk 2 Action cofounder Bruce Wilson (via The Revealer):

Yesterday I discovered an astonishing audio recording of a sermon, by controversial McCain endorser Pastor John Hagee, in which Hagee elaborates on his view that Hitler and the Nazis were divine agents, sent by God to (with gruesome inefficiency it would seem) chase Europe’s Jews towards Palestine.

Check it out:

As Wilson further notes:

In his 2006 book “Jerusalem Countdown”, Hagee proposed that anti-Semitism, and thus the Holocaust, was the fault of Jews themselves – the result of an age old divine curse incurred by the ancient Hebrews through worshiping idols and passed, down the ages, to all Jews now alive.

Gee, damn good thing Pastor Hagee is a conservative white Republican, eh?

Background:

Yes, Virginia, People Actually Get Paid For This Horseshit

The Rules.

The Rules: Hagee Rewind

The Rules: Coda

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers