contracting
GRITtv: The F Word: Step Toward Justice for Jamie Leigh Jones
Score one for Senator Al Franken. Thanks to him, Jamie Leigh Jones, a former KBR employee who alleges she was gang raped by her coworkers will get her day in court. I think we call that equal protection. In Jones' case, it took an amendment to the 2010 defense appropriations bill. That's right, freshman Franken had to get up and suggest that government shouldn't be in the business of giving rewards -- or government contracts -- to companies that strip their workers of basic Constitutional rights, like the right to a jury trial. Jones, lest we forget, has testified that she was raped and battered so badly by a group of her co-workers in Iraq that she required reconstructive surgery. Her assailants locked her in a shipping container for 24 hours without food, water, and she has testified before Congress that the company “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job." Nice, huh? The Department of Justice brought no criminal charges and Jones had to battle her case in arbitration before taking it to court, because, well, for all these many years, KBR (formerly a division of Halliburton) has a clause in its contracts that calls on prospective hires to sign away their right to court trials on sexual assault, discrimination and harassment charges. Also lest we forget, THIRTY Republican Senators voted against Franken's amendment. Thirty. Gotta love those family values. Now, thanks to big Al, Jones will at last get to press her suit because KBR's dropped their appeal and a company spokesman said Franken's amendment made them do it. “She’s one of the most courageous women I have ever met and any role played in helping her seek justice was my honor,” Franken said of Jones. No doubt those thirty no-voters think they're courageous too; big, brave men, voting against a rape victim's right to prosecute in court. Go for it guys. Good luck with that. And with impressing your daughters.
The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.
Email this pageGRITtv: Mar. 25 2010
After the passage of the health care bill, windows shattered in the offices of Congress members across the country, and Congressmen like Bart Stupak received death threats. Meanwhile, Sarah Palin and others encouraged opponents of the bill to "reload" and "take aim" at health care supporters. Where is the violent rhetoric headed? We ask David Neiwert, author of The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, what it all means, and why we should take it seriously. Last weekend's 200,000-person-strong march on Washington for justice on immigration was spared from too much violence and anger because the press was largely focused on health care reform. But as that bill was signed into law Monday, immigration will again find itself at the top of the list for political action--and the passions that it inspires are certain to flare. Joining us to talk about whether the Obama administration and this Congress will have the will, vision, and political capital to get anything done on immigration--and whether the legislation being considered at the moment will do more harm than good--are Seth Freed Wessler of the Applied Research Center and ColorLines, and Roberto Lovato of New America Media. Finally, Laura has some thoughts about justice, maybe, for Jamie Leigh Jones.
GRITtv: GRITtv Goes to the Oscars!
Well, not really. Instead, we invited three of our favorite film critics and pop culture queens to talk about the Academy Awards: will Kathryn Bigelow break the Best Director glass ceiling? Is Sandra Bullock going to take home a statuette? Was Avatar all that it was cracked up to be? And why was that Vanity Fair Hollywood issue cover so darn white? Courtney Young, blogger and author of From Madea To Michelle, Maryann Johanson, the FlickFilosopher, and Alison Willmore of the IFC's Indie Eye blog join us in studio to talk about all that and more.
GRITtv: The F Word: Challenging "High Road" Contracting
This is what must make it hard for people working inside the Obama administration. No sooner does the White House start talking up something good, than it does something bad. Take contracting. As reported here on GRITtv, the Obama's administration's been talking up "High Road Contracting." That's the using of the power of the government's $500 billion purse to reward companies that offer better wages and benefits and disqualify from federal contracts those that violate labor and environmental law. Sounds good right? The debate was just heating up when the second shoe dropped. Listen to the rest of Laura Flanders' opinion on GRITtv.
GRITtv: Mar. 4, 2010
The Academy Awards are this weekend, so we invited three of our favorite film critics and pop culture queens to talk: Will Kathryn Bigelow break the Best Director glass ceiling? Is Sandra Bullock going to take home a statuette? Was Avatar all that it was cracked up to be? And why was that Vanity Fair Hollywood issue cover so darn white? Kate Clinton is back with some thoughts on Tiger Woods' image rehabilitation, sports fever, women's history month, and the Oscars, as well as Jim Bunning's singlehanded choice to deny unemployment benefits to over 400,000 people. The second part of our conversation with Daniel Ellsberg. This week's featured documentary, Sweet Crude, looks at the consequences of oil extraction for the people and environment of Nigeria. And Laura has some words for the U.S. government's supposed "high road" contracting plan.
