Sarah Palin hates women

So you may or may not have heard the Sarah Palin rape kit story, but whether you have or haven't, you should take a few minutes to do this.

I've been following the rape kit story for a couple of weeks now. At first, I was horrified, but then I thought, "Well, she wasn't the one who actually cut them from the budget..." Trying to be reasonable, you know. Then I learned that she spoke out specifically against the Alaska Legislature when it passed its bill to make her town's practice illegal, angry with them for interfering with her decisions. (The fact that the Legislature passed the bill specifically to address a single city in their state -- Wasilla was the only place this horrible practice was done -- was lost on her.)

And then I learned something else.

Alaska has the highest reported sexual assault rate in the country. Not "one of" the highest. THE highest. More than 2.5x the national average, in fact. And Wasilla has consistently been at or near the top for the state. Childhood sexual assault and incest in Alaska is also one of the highest in the country. Alaska continuously ranks in the top five for the highest domestic violence rate in the country. It has the highest homicide rate of women in the country. (stats here: http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/ipems/injury_prevention/akfvpp/bkgnd.htm)

And of course, she fired the guy who was leading the charge in protecting all those women and children and who was trying to make things better for them. Because he wouldn't fire her ex brother-in-law. (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/16/11402/8612/999/600050)

But why would she make women pay for their own rape kits? I mean, sure, she needed the money for herself to get paid for living at home, but the rape kit thing seems sorta like a gimme...surely she knew it would open her up to criticism? Well, turns out her scary religious views may have played a role:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/17/175430/636/888/601186

Speculation, of course, but entirely in line with the particular brand of Christian dominionism she belongs to. They just love cramming their beliefs down everyone else's throats.

But get this: did you know Joe Biden is one of the leading proponents of legislation against domestic violence? That he is, in fact, a crusader on this issue? That one of his highest achievements was the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which gave the feds the authority to enforce domestic violence laws and flooded local police departments with funds specifically earmarked for combating domestic violence? He's one of the good guys, you guys. Literally.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/9/17/163633/273