Seldom have I read an article (on Salon or elsewhere) where I could just say, 'amen'.

Dennis K. couldn't be elected. The Senator from Wisconsin didn't run. Obama was the best of the rest... He's taken on a stack of problems with few good solutions and even fewer politically viable ones. He' been neither as principled nor as progressive as I would have liked. Bu he is still light years ahead of McCain/Palin.

Let's support Obama where we can and push him to come closer to fulfilling the hopes he once stoked in us.

Happy Thanksgiving.

"why not design similarly asinine advice for men in order to advise them how NOT to rape?"

For the record, I have done that too. I try to educate men and boys on what rape is and on the devastating impact rape has on the victim. Sex should only take place with the explicit consent of one's partner (Too many rapes occur because the man assumed implied consent.) Too be safer yet, men (and women) should consider only having sexual contact within the context of a loving long term relationships...

A friend of mine was raped by a man she was dating a number of years ago. The level of intimacy went beyond where she was ready to go at that time. She initially resisted, and then went limp.(She had been a prior victim and felt powerless.) He continued on assuming she had consented because she was not saying no... She was later able to explain to him what had happened and how it made her feel. He was sick with guilt, shame, remorse and embarrassment. He realized he had done something to hurt someone her cared about out of his selfish thoughtless actions. He realized he had raped her. Thankfully, some years later they were able to repair their relationship to where they for a time had a mutually fulfilling sexual relationship.

Many otherwise good men do need to be taught how not to be rapist. Nevertheless, it still makes sense to me to encourage behavior that reduces one's chances of becoming a victim. It's not about blame. It's about rape reduction.

period. End of story. The people who did this to her need to go away for a long long time. There is no excuse for rape no matter if the girl was a drunk hooker wearing only a thong. No one has rape coming to them.

Nevertheless, there are some things a person can do to reduce the chances of being assaulted. A person's failure to to take precaution makes them no less a victim or the attackers any less blame worthy. I try to teach both my son and daughter to be careful where they go, when they go, and with whom they go. In some cases it still doesn't matter. Still, it is not blaming the victim to reflect on how to reduce their chances of becoming one.

Stuff like this absurd article just make her more of a sympathetic figure. There are so many legit ways to dislike Palin's positions, cheap shots are not needed.

Of course the traditional notions of marriage (to the extent the can be defined in the first place & to the extent that they have largely been defined by the non minority upper middle class folk) need to be broadened and updated to account for the realities and cultural changes of our times. All: women and men, gay and straight, rich middle class and poor need to be liberated from strict gender constraints that poorly serve. Families of all stripes should be embraced and supported. All but the most far right could agree with that.

But the tone of this post and so many similar is so sneering and accusatory that it's almost enough to make one reflexively recoil from that which we would otherwise embrace. The idea that the very concept of marriage so far gone it needs to be demolished... That's a bridge too far for me (a progressive). I suspect for many others too.

You have made the case, that the mother used the daughter as bait to set up Mr. Polanski. (I find that far fetched given the facts). But let's say Mom set her daughter over with a permission slip saying please take her sexually. Mr. Polanski knew she was under 14. Would that in your view give Mr. Polanski a get out of jail free card? 42 days of therapy would be sufficient?

Eagle,

you mentioned that most teen age girls are knocked up by their teen aged boy friends... I'm not sure of that. I've heard some stats that suggest a large percentage if not a majority of teen preg's are to men over 24 (exploitation in my view)... Nevertheless my questions

Is it ever ok for a grown man or woman (over thirty) to have sex with a 13 year old? You don't suspect that in most/all cases the older more powerful has manipulated the younger person into a situation that he or she is not prepared to deal with on multiple levels. (Most states don't even allow a 13 yo to drive).

Is it ever ok for an adult to give said 13 year old booze and drugs for the purpose of making him or her more compliant for sex?

These two facts are not in dispute. That's enough for Polanski to have earned jail time in my world. One more.

Now if a 13 year old says no to an adult's sexual advance, is it ever ok for that adult to rape that child? Does such a person deserve jail?