With Great Power Part 2

Time is truly wastin’,
there’s no guarantee,
Smile is in the makin’,
We got to fight the powers that be,
I don’t understand it,
People wanna say,
Those that got the answers,
Red tape in the way.

Richie Cunningham stands between
his sister Joanie and the powers that be.

Sadly, there is too much red tape in our military and political justice system these days. It used to be as simple as see something and saying, "That's wrong! You can't do that."  We used to be willing to step in and stand our ground against crime and perpetrators, like a big brother protecting a family member. I remember having a seat during a live shooting of Happy Days the 1950's parody. The scene was a dark gym and a bunch of hoods were going to have their own private "party" with Joanie. The lights of the gym flip on and it's Richie telling the gang to back off. As much as Fonzie was the one everyone applauded for, the audience cheered for Richie because he stepped in and yelled "get away from my sister!" As much as he was in over his head against a bunch of toughs, he wasn't going to back away. Of course, with audience laughter, and the Fonz on hand to help dispatch the thugs, it all turned out okay.

The Powers That Be

But as I look at our society and even our government today, when we have an issue of sexual assault in the military happening, there is not much bravado happening these days. Only a very few react, such as Kirsten Glibrand (D-NY) and remark "This breaks my heart. I want to do something about it."

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

"I think what changed for me personally was when I actually heard stories from victims directly ---and  those stories so went to the core of my soul in terms of injustice--- the outrage in me just continued to grow with every victim's story about how she was brutalized, he was brutalized and raped, but then had to endure the second failure within the military to not even listen to their stories to--- to say it's your fault or you know you were the one drinking or I'm going to prosecute you. To say 'I'm not gonna do anything---' Those stories make me still angry because again these men and women are best and brightest; they deserve military justice system where the up their sacrifices and we don't have that today."

Senator Gillibrand has been accused of trying to wage an impossible war against the military; trying to make a name for herself on this issue. Many of us who have watched her come before the cameras have heard her express the feelings of survivors who have shared their stories of sexual abuse and betrayal at the hands of the their commands; only to be ejected from the ranks, and discarded back into civilian life. Some are survivors, while others could not overcome their circumstances, and chose to end their lives. Many have said "If my case didn't get stuck in the chain of command, but was judged by a separate judicial system, this might have been different for me."

Faces Full Of Pain

Armando says that he was a young man originally from the Philippines. He came to the US when he was 20 years old with a dream of serving as a US Marine. One night he was sexually assaulted by six Marines from his own platoon who sodomized him with a broom handle, until he was unconscious. He did not report the assault because he was proud to serve as a Marine.

"What happened to me was very sad and horrible. And I know there's still a lot of people out there that has experienced what I have gone through and are scared to come forward--- and doing the behalf with those people.--- If the military have reporting system that is safe for military service members-- its going benefit them because not only it's going to prevent rape from happening it will also increase then that chance of people who's gonna seek help right away--- but the time and ask for help is a full-blown PTSD---I've been suicidal many times, so it's very important that you know a person who get raped receive help right away."

Armando came to America, as a proud young man who wanted to served our country. And after being brutally attacked by members of his own platoon he had little or nothing left except a nightmare and a life struggling with PTSD. Stories like these have continued for decades. Men who were targets perhaps because they were not alpha-crazed males or someone's idea of what a bad-ass soldier should be, and women just in general because there is some sort of feminist conspiracy to dumb down the system. The men who did that to Armando, did it out of racist hate, and attempting strip him of his dignity, while the Military and Congress does very little to nothing to resolve this issue.

Got So Many Voices

So now it's basically thumbs up on the McCaskill Bill and thumbs down on the Gillibrand MJIA bill. (No doubt many were poised to vote this way form the start.) Basically this new law keeps some of the Congressmen including Ms. McCaskill in their comfort zones, by not doing the unthinkable, of removing the decision of conviction for rape and other high crimes from commanders.

"On a vote of 97-0, the Senate rallied behind a bipartisan plan crafted by three female senators - Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Republicans Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Deb Fischer of Nebraska - that would impose a half-dozen changes to combat the pervasive problem of rape and sexual offenses that Pentagon leaders have likened to a cancer within the ranks. Unanimous agreement in the U.S. Senate is pretty rare - but rarer still is the kind of sweeping, historic change we've achieved over the past year in the military justice system," McCaskill said after the vote." -DONNA CASSATA Published: Mar 10, 2014 Associated Press

While I'm all for partisan unity, it can't be done for less than effective measures. This bill has great intentions like many other paved roads to disaster, but still leaves some people of questionable character in charge of a overseeing a process that some of them have abused. As Senator Gillibrand has stated over and over again, we need a system that gives us qualified professionals who are unbiased in dealing with sexual assault and rape cases. The problem with commanders convening over such cases is their inherent biased over the accused or even the system.

 "Not all commanders are objective-- not every single commander necessarily wants women in the force not every single commander believes what is sexual assault is-- Not every single commander can distinguish between a slap on the ass and a rape--- because they've merged all these crimes together. So my point to you is this has been done before by our allies too great effect and in fact in Israel in the last five years because they prosecute high-level cases-- Do you know this increased by eighty percent? Reporting-" 

I'll give Senator McCaskill points for attacking some of the problems within her bill that would keep accusers from using the "good-guy" defense as leverage in his or her defense. Which means:
"please look at my sterling record of military service." But the new McCaskill bill comes up short because the convicted can still use the "good guy defense" in his sentencing phase. Such as in the case of  Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, who was on trial on sexual assault charges. In his court-martial, which began last week, the 51-year-old former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division was accused of twice forcing a female Captain to perform oral sex in Afghanistan in 2011 during a three-year extramarital affair. He has admitted to the affair but denied assaulting the woman.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair

The General painted his relationship with his subordinate as a plot right out of "Fatal Attraction" where she continually was throwing herself at him, while always seeming to play the gentleman. The female Captain paints a different picture of a man who forced her into an affair and would not take no for an answer, including using his powers of command to redline her orders, causing the female Captain to remain under his command. Sinclair faced 8 charges including sexual assault, sodomy, lewd behavior. All but 3 of the charges were dismissed in a plea deal with Sinclair pleading guilty to only the lesser military infractions. Now in truth, if Sinclair was guilty of the most heinous charges, the present convening Judge, Col. James C. Pohl, has offered up a sentence that amounts to no more than a mosquito bite: $20,000 fine and no jail time. While Jackie Speier (D-CA) called the sentence laughable and a mockery of justice. Don't tell me the good soldier defense doesn't work along with a "Get out of jail free card."


The most troublesome part of allowing an old system to stay in place with a few tweaks, is that we still get a trickle down justice system, that erodes a victim's chance for justice and vindication. My guess is that there is a class system going on here. Most lower ranking service persons would be looking at some type of hard time. But stone-walling the process, allowing some of the old process in with the new, is about as effect as trying to make water using Hydrogen, Oxygen plus dirt. You will always get mud. Congress refuses to come up with the right formula to deal with this issue. It's sad because my gut tells me that there is political division even on non-partisan committees.

Kirsten Gillibrand held a Q&A session with reporters about the failed vote. The most reassuring thing is the MJIA is not going away, and neither will it be modified for an easier vote.
Hopefully, if things don't get better, the Senator says, there are those who will be with us next time.

Bobbie  Moulder fights for justice: Next issue

I had the privilege of having an exclusive interview with a young civilian woman who was a victim of sexual assault and domestic battery for about 5 years. She is still fighting the powers that be. Her case is still waiting to go to a military trial. It's been a situation of hurry up and wait. Bobbie Moulder needs to share with everyone, how slow the wheels of military justice are turning; and perhaps they're coming to a grinding halt. Some of you have been there. You will have ask yourself if the new reforms in place are going to help? or are they as effective as a car with 3 wheels.




And so the fight continues against those who have the power and no responsibility!
Thanks  to Twitter friends: Vera Santa Clara, Rosie Palfry, and others 4 keeping me in the loop.

News and Information sources:
Associated Press
 LA Times