home / subscribe / donate / tower / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events / faq
|
STEPHEN GREEN reports on the real motivations behind Israel's MISSILE STRIKE on SYRIA. PETER MONTAGUE on the NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE or How the Nuke Industry is using Gore's Prize and Global Warming to Plot Its Big Comeback. WILLIAM BLUM on the DEVALUING of "ANTI-SEMITE" or How to Make a Term Meaningless. Get your copy today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Remember contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now
|
|
October 20 / 21, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn October 19, 2007 John
Ross Sheldon
Rampton Rahul
Mahajan Devra
Davis Christopher
Brauchli Wadner
Pierre Bill
Quigley Website
of the Day
October 18, 2007 Saree
Makdisi Meg
Dwyer Alevtina
Rea Norman
Solomon Kristoffer
Larsson Harvey
Wasserman Website
of the Day
October 17, 2007 Steve
Niva Andy
Worthington Alan
Farago Russell
Mokhiber Sharon
Smith Mike
Whitney Robert
Fantina Chris
Irwin Website
of the Day October 16, 2007 Peter
Linebaugh Paul
Findley Robert
Bryce Uri
Avnery Paul
Craig Roberts Ray
McGovern Norman
Solomon Martha
Rosenberg William
S. Lind Joel
S. Hirschborn Website
of the Day
October 15, 2007 Gary
Leupp Andy
Worthington Heather
Gray John
Walsh Joshua
Frank Dave
Lindorff Matt
Vidal Ali
Khan Sen.
Russ Feingold Johnny
Barber Website
of the Day October 13 / 14, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Wajahat
Ali Jeffrey
St. Clair Ralph
Nader David Heleniak Laura Carlsen Brian Cloughley Richard Rhames Ron Jacobs Fred Gardner John Ross Russell Hoffman Missy Beattie Poets' Basement Website of the Day
Cindy
Sheehan Brendan
Cooney Alan
Farago Jan
Oberg M.
Shahid Alam David
Macaray Julia
Kendlbacher Peter
Rost, MD Website
of the Day
Al
Giordano Saul
Landau Jacob
G. Hornberger William
S. Lind Joshua
Frank Josh
Mahan Pat
Williams
October 10, 2007 Michael
Yates Gary
Leupp David
Macaray Alan
Farago Tom
Clifford Col.
Douglas MacGregor Sunsara
Taylor George
Wuerthner Roxanne
Dunbar-Ortiz Michael
Dickinson Website
of the Day
October 9, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Andy
Worthington Alan
Farago Brian
Eno David
Rovics Farzana
Versey Andrew
Buncombe Website
of the Day
October 8, 2007 David
Macaray Jeff
Ballinger Brian
Eno Christopher
Brauchli Louay
Safi Matt
Reichel Dave
Lindorff Thomas
P. Healy Martha
Rosenberg Richard
Rhames Website
of the Day
October 6 / 7, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Norman
Finkelstein James
Bovard Patrick
Cockburn Jeffrey
St. Clair Ralph
Nader Ray
McGovern Saul
Landau Ben
Tripp Terry
Lodge Seth
Sandronsky Kevin
Funk / Steve Fake Missy
Beattie Website
of the Weekend
October 5, 2007 Andy
Worthington David
Macaray Lee
Sustar Dan
La Botz Aaron
Hess William
A. Cook Website
of the Day
October 4, 2007 Uri
Avnery Dave
Marsh Valerio
Volpi Cecilie
Surasky Dave
Lindorff Norman
Solomon Laura
Carlsen Walter
Brasch Ben
Terrall William
S. Lind Website
of the Day
October 3, 2007 Vijay
Prashad Anita
Sinha Winslow
T. Wheeler Sharon
Smith Jeff
Leys Sen.
Russ Feingold Mohamad
Bazzi Brenda
Norrell Robert
Weissman Website
of the Day
October 2, 2007 Ibrahim
Warde Gary
Leupp David
Macaray Conn
Hallinan John
Ross Alan
Farago Sonja
Karkar Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Website
of the Day
October 1, 2007 Al
Giordano Paul
Craig Roberts Moshe Adler Ingmar Lee John V. Walsh Norman Solomon Roger Burbach Ramzy Baroud Stephen Lendman Susie Day Website of the Day
September 29 / 30, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Uri
Avnery Andrew
Cockburn Jeffrey
St. Clair Wajahat
Ali Andy
Worthington Don
Santina Ralph
Nader Fred
Gardner Seth
Sandronsky Gideon
Levy William
S. Lind Reza
Fiyouzat Richard
Rhames David
Michael Green Zach
Mason Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
September 28, 2007 Kathleen
and Bill Christison Roberto
J. González / Saul
Landau Tom
Clifford Christopher
Brauchli Martha
Rosenberg Dave
Zirin Laray
Polk Binoy
Kampmark James
McEnteer Website
of the Day
September 27, 2007 Alan
Farago Andy
Worthington Jonathan
Cook William
Hughes Ray
McGovern Ron
Jacobs Dave
Lindorff Joshua
Frank Anne
Dachel Website
of the Day
Bill
Quigley Paul
Craig Roberts Jeff
Kisseloff China
Hand Behzad
Yaghmaian Sonja
Karkar Mike
Ferner Col.
Dan Smith Clifton
Ross Brenda
Norrell Website
of the Day
September 25, 2007 Nicole
Colson Uri
Avnery Brendan
Cooney Harry
Browne Marjorie
Cohn David
Macaray Ralph
Nader Dan
Bacher Anthony
Papa Christopher
Ketcham Website
of the Day
September 24, 2007 George
Ciccariello-Maher Saree Makdisi David
Keen Sherwood
Ross Ron
Jacobs Donna
Saggia Mike
Ferner Malini
Johar Schueller Monique
Dols Website
of the Day
Alexander
Cockburn Jennifer
Loewenstein Linn
Washington, Jr. Jeffrey
St. Clair Alan
Farago Brian
Cloughley Robert
Fantina Roxanne
Dunbar-Ortiz Jason
Hribal David
Rosen Mike
Whitney John
V. Walsh Dave
Lindorff David
Michael Green Fred
Gardner Cassandra
Jones Roger
van Zwanenberg Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
September 21, 2007 Karim
Makdisi M.
Shahid Alam Alan
Farago Joshua
Frank Dave
Zirin Kenneth
Couesbouc Dr.
Steffie Woolhandler and Dr. David Himmelstein Ben
Terrall Steve
Fournier Frederico
Fuentes, et al Website
of the Day
September 20, 2007 Kathleen
Christison Zoltan
Grossman Paul
Craig Roberts Stan
Cox Russell
Mokhiber Charles
Modiano Raymond
J. Lawrence Brendan
Cooney Website
of the Day
September 19, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Paul
Krassner Sgt.
Martin Smith Seth
Sandronsky Claud
Cockburn Victoria
Buch Robert
Weissman Mike
Ferner Dan
Bacher Website
of the Day
September 18, 2007 Mike
Whitney Alan
Farago John
Ross Ron
Jacobs Alex
Doherty September 17, 2007 Marjorie
Cohn Paul
Craig Roberts Ricardo
Alarcón Marc
Levy Eva
Liddell Website
of the Day Sept. 15-16, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Vicente
Navarro Mike
Whitney Herman
Mindshaftgap Ellen
Cantarow Jordan
Flaherty Zachary
Hurwitz September 14, 2007 Debbie
Nathan Franklin
Lamb Patrick
Cockburn Farzana
Versey Alan
Farago Hank
Edson September 13, 2007 Patrick
Cockburn Scott
Vest, former Air Force Captain at Minot Andy
Worthington Michael
Baney Dr.
Susan Block September 12, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Stan
Goff William
Blum Manuel
Garcia Debbie
Nathan
![]()
![]()
Subscribe Online
|
Weekend
Edition The Granting of Domestic Violence OrdersErring on the Side of Hidden HarmBy DAVID HELENIAK On September 19, 2005, Yvette Cade went before Judge Richard A. Palumbo seeking an extension of a domestic violence restraining order against her husband, Roger Hargrave. Palumbo, whether from confusion, clerical error, or a genuine belief that the extension was unwarranted, dismissed the restraining order. One month later, Hargrave walked into the cell phone store where Cade worked, doused her with gasoline, and set her on fire. Two weeks after the attack, Palumbo was removed from all domestic violence cases and placed on administrative duty. On July 20, 2006, Cade was interviewed by Nancy Grace on CNN's Headline Prime. Grace, emblematic of the media reaction, introduced the interview with: "Tonight, a primetime exclusive. She went before a trial judge and begged for help, begged for protection. He refused to hear her pleas for help. And then her nightmare came true. Her estranged husband came to her office and set her on fire. But against all odds, she lived, and tonight she wants justice. And PS, to the judge that sentenced her to being burned alive, Maryland judge Richard Palumbo, you are in contempt!" Adding to this, one of Grace's other guests, Congressman Ted Poe, commented: "Well, Nancy, you know I believe that judges need to be accountable for their actions just like we make criminals accountable. And this judge, whether it's a mistake or incompetence on his part, he needs to leave the bench." A judicial misconduct hearing scheduled for the end of August 2006 was cancelled when Palumbo announced he planned to retire on August 4 because of health problems. Whether or not the horrific
criminal act committed by Hargrave would have been prevented
had Palumbo extended the restraining order, the Yvette Cade tragedy
and the ensuing backlash against Palumbo is likely to have just
one result. As if things weren't bad enough already in the family
courts, judges are going to be even more likely to grant restraining
orders, regardless of the facts, rather than risk being held
responsible for a similar tragedy. A classic example of type I error, given by former FDA official Henry I. Miller, M.D., is the FDA's approval in 1976 of the swine flu vaccine. "Although the vaccine was effective at preventing influenza, it had a major side effect that was unknown at the time of approval: temporary paralysis from Guilain-Barré Syndrome in a small number of patients. This kind of mistake is highly visible and has immediate consequences--the media pounces, the public denounces, and Congress pronounces. Both the developers of the product and the regulators who allowed it to be marketed are excoriated and punished in modern-day pillories: congressional hearings, television news magazines, and newspaper editorials." A classic example of Type II error, given by economist Walter E. Williams, is the FDA's failure to approve the use of beta-blockers, available in Europe since 1967, until 1976. "In 1979, Dr. William Wardell, a professor of pharmacology, toxicology and medicine at the University of Rochester, estimated that a single beta-blocker, alprenolol, which had already been sold for three years in Europe, but not approved for use in the U.S., could have saved more than 10,000 lives a year. Grieving survivors of those 10,000 people who unnecessarily died each year don't know why their loved one died, and surely they don't connect the death to FDA over-caution. For FDA officials, these are the best kind of victims--invisible ones." Economist Thomas W. Hazlett sums it up this way: "Type I deaths result in headlines reading, 'FDA-Approved Drug Kills Pregnant Mother, Congressional Hearings Slated.' Type II deaths don't generate headlines, or even little blurbs. There are no visible victims to lay on the regulator's doorstep when potential beneficiaries are only statistical probabilities." As Miller confides, "Because a regulatory official's career might be damaged irreparably by his good faith but mistaken approval of a high-profile product, decisions are often made defensively--in other words, to avoid type 1 errors at any cost." Although it is not politically correct to say so, women can and do use false allegations of domestic violence to gain sole custody and to get their children to hate and fear their fathers. Even when a restraining order doesn't snowball into complete parental alienation, a judge's declaration that a father is an abuser can permanently tarnish his image in his child's eyes. The damage to father/child relationships and to children's mental health caused by the overzealous entering of restraining orders, however, is seldom if ever reported, while the harm caused by overtly violent acts following the failure to enter restraining orders most certainly is. Just like FDA officials worrying about the headlines, judges deciding whether to enter domestic violence restraining orders have their careers to think about in addition to the merits of the particular cases before them. When in doubt, they err on the side of hidden harm. Facts should be determined by several fresh, open minds, not one with a career on the line. Jurors, relatively anonymous one-time actors in the judicial system, are far less concerned with extraneous matters than are judges. In the wake of the Yvette Cade tragedy, it is more critical than ever that juries, not judges, be used to decide when domestic violence restraining orders are warranted. David Heleniak is a civil litigation attorney in New Jersey and Senior Legal Analyst for the True Equality Network. He can be reached at david-heleniak-esq@verizon.net
![]()
|
How the Press Led the US into War ![]() Buy End Times Now! CounterPunch Books of the Crossroads: HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG By Daniel Cassidy AMERICAN BOOK AWARD! ![]() Click Here to Buy! Click Here for Dates & Venues Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz ![]() Click Here to Buy! Saul Landau's Bush and Botox World with a Foreword by Gore Vidal ![]() Click Here to Order! How They Made a Killing on the War on Terrorism ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Occupation by Patrick Cockburn ![]() ![]() ![]() Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Bruce Springsteen On Tour By Dave Marsh ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |