Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), issued the following statement.
"There is no doubt that we have made tremendous progress battling domestic violence in the past decade - *we took what was once a dirty little secret no one talked about out of the closet and made its eradication a national priority*. But we cannot let our attention lapse or allow our spending priorities to become misplaced. Everyday women, children and *sometimes men*, in Delaware and across the nation live in fear in their own homes." [*emphasis added*]
Senator Biden needs to get his facts straight. On May 19, 2006 the Center for Disease Control confirmed that over 150 studies have found females are equally likely as males to engage in domestic violence and dating violence[1]. The Senator is helping to continue to hide the other half of that "dirty little secret." This is that adult and teenage women are the perpetrators of domestic and dating violence at least as often as men are. However, there is not one cent in funding to help male victims or their children.
The Senator goes on to say; "...Unfortunately, the President's plan to restructure funding for domestic violence programs puts all of our hard work in serious jeopardy.
Under the President's new budget, those on the front lines of this battle will now have to fight for resources to continue their work."
Senator Biden seems to be preying on the ignorance most Americans have on the structure and operation of federal funding systems. All Federal grants and program funding have fix amounts appropriated. So no matter what the funding is appropriated for the states have and always will be competing to grab the biggest pile from the pot as they can. This is nothing new; it is the way it has always been done.
So what has the Senator's pet project really accomplished with the billions of dollars the taxpayers have spent since 1994?
Over the past two years, True Equality Network in concert with other notable organizations and writers, have exposed the failures[2] and abuses[3] of our domestic violence systems to the victims they profess to serve. We have also tried to reveal the abuses of the system and acts of violence and physical torture that they have inflicted on innocent victims of false allegations of abuse.
What are the results of our efforts? Nearly a year after filing a complaint against Legal Services Corporation (LSC)[4] for ignoring complaints by victims of abuses of the abuse systems, currently co-signed by over one hundred concerned organizations, attorneys, members of the media, and thousands of its victims, not one co-signer or victim has been contacted.
Following the LSC complaint was a broad disclosure[5] and notices to members of Congress[6] detailing the use of physical torture in our own jails to coerce agreements from victims of false allegations of domestic abuses. The methods of torture discovered include, but are not limited to, hypothermic shock and genital electrocution.
Almost paradoxically this discovery, lodged with numerous members of Congress, was followed by a heated but successful effort to legalize many of these methods of torture for use on foreign detainees. Sadly, every member of Congress notified of the use of torture on U.S. citizens voted to support its use on foreign detainees. This is a sickening example of a flawed premise that what seems to work at home should be good for foreigners too.
Among the most ridiculous contradictions in our abuse systems witnessed by several investigative companies and organizations are abuse shelters forcing victims of domestic violence to use money provided to them, via grants to aid victims of crime, to purchase "dating clothes" and attend "socials" with men, hosted by the shelters.
Every abuse advocate and professional knows that codependency is the leading reason abuse victims fall back into abusive relationships. The last thing we should be doing to recent escapees of abuse suffering with codependency issues is force them to start dating. This practice, in effect, has forced the American taxpayer to fund the outright re-victimization of the abused to the tune of a billion dollars a year.
The ideology, legislation, and federal funding used to support and finance the abuses and torture of our own citizens comes largely from the array of systems created by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The mastermind and architect of VAWA is Senator Biden.
Senator Biden, a Constitutional Professor with decades of legislative experience may very well be the most enlightened Constitutional Law scholar today. Rather than working to see to its protection the Senator has used his vast knowledge and experience to construct a system of laws that have done more to undermine our natural rights as acknowledged by our Constitution than all other federal law combined. Moreover, this Senator cannot plead ignorance for his actions.
To add insult to injury, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports in Byrne Program and Violence Against Women Office Grant Monitoring Should Be Better Documented[7], Problems with Grant Monitoring and Concerns About Evaluation Studies[8], and One Byrne Evaluation Was Rigorous; All Reviewed Violence Against Women Office Evaluations Were Problematic[9]. that the vast majority of funding for VAWA cannot be accounted for.
Terri Lynn Tersak is a Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of True Equality Network. She is presently on an extended maternity and family leave from her work as a commercial photographer and her positions as President of True Equality Network, and those with the Maryland based think-tank RADAR - Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting. She lives at home with her husband Terry, son, and pets.
It seems to me that you overeact to one word within Joe Biden's attempts to publicize and help end the violence within our society. You are throwing the baby out with the bath water, at least in my opinion. How many Senators or Congresspersons are even talking about this, he is at least.
I can understand and sympathise with any who try to work and make progress inside our bureaucracy, it is a thankless and very, very frustrating task, to be certain. But to call Biden a "wolf in sheeps clothing" because of his use of one descriptor, well, sorry, no.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 9:39:09 AM
Tones of great outrage should be reserved for the most
truly outrageous crimes of an era. While you are focusing on something that is objectionable, it is *** nowhere near *** the top of the current list. There is nothing about this issue that remotely compares with stolen federal elections, illegal wars, a corrupt media, & having a pack of ruthless criminals in high office. It's absurd to even be thinking about this when we may be within a month or two of an attack on Iran.
It's quite true that Biden is a wolf in sheep's clothing, like most prominent Democrats. But what you're talking about is not the main reason for this. It's not even one of the top 5 dozen reasons.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1026 comments)
on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 1:40:35 PM
Biden choosing these inappropriate words, is just one example of the misinformation we hear on a daily basis demeaning men.
Most of America, and many of our government representatives have been under the impression that men abuse women in 95% of domestic violence cases. They've also been told that fathers who want physical custody of their children are abusers who only want the children to sexually abuse them, and/or to punish their ex-wives.
The way domestic violence laws are written and enforced, an angry mother can easily limit dad's time with the kids as a way to punish him. With no evidence, just her word, she can get sole custody and a restraining order. Many innocent fathers are forced to see their kids in supervized visitation centers and to attend anger management classes.
The Family Law and Domestic Violence Systems currently in place are contributing to Fatherlessness and the breakdown of the American Family. Without a strong and stable citizen base, what kind of country do you think we're going to have?
Will it be one worth defending?
by
Teri Stoddard (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 11 comments)
on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 5:43:45 PM
but it is not the whole truth. I went to court, obtained custody of my two children, aged 5 and 6. They are now 37 and 38. Despite the judge not knowing whether to sh*t or go blind I got my kids. I later remarried and was blessed with two more, but I digress.
My case is far from uncommon and the point of my objection to the article is not to deny that misconceptions exist or that most if not all legislators know little or nothing about these important issues it is that we must educate and not insult those who are trying to help.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 7:32:58 PM
