The Military Is Clearly Not Serious About Stopping Sexual Assault and Abuse of Power

Now that Brig. General Jeffrey Sinclair has been "sentenced" to a $20,000 fine and a reprimand for serial abuse of power in his relations with female subordinates in the military, it is quite clear that the military is anything but serious about stopping rampant sexual assault and abuse of power within its ranks.

Sinclair didn't lose his rank, pension, or even his ability to stay in the military. He was originally looking at a possible sentence of life in prison. Earlier in the week, he was considering a plea deal of 18 months in prison. 

However, he had a good friend on the military bench. Col. James L. Pohl, the military judge in the case, gave Gen. Sinclair an extremely soft landing.

"The system worked," Sinclair stated as he left the court room.

The system worked? For whom?

I would not encourage my son or my daughter, least of all my daughter, to join the military, not as rights for women in the military stand right now.

I will, however, continue to support Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who is fighting a lonely fight to take the rights away from guys like Gen. Sinclair to overturn the verdict of a military court in a rape case where a victim actually won her case. Right now, vermin like Sinclair can say, "Well, I got away with it. Why shouldn't he?" and overturn a military verdict in a rape case when Sinclair's the rapist's commanding officer. It shouldn't be that way.

Would that the U.S. Senate realized that it shouldn't be that way. Even among women senators, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), would keep Gen. Sinclair in command of the right to overturn a military verdict in a rape case.

There is no justice when high-ranking military officers, rich farmers (Rodney Heemstra in Iowa), and wealthy CEOs on Wall Street who commit fraud and other crimes are able to escape justice while the poor and the middle class take it on the chin.