Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Another Man Released From Jail After He Is Proven To Have Been Falsely Accused

This article is profoundly troubling to me on a number of levels. It is far from the first time I’ve seen it reported that a convicted rapist is released after service a substantial chunk of his sentence when it comes out that the accusation was false. I use the pronoun “his” deliberately, as a woman going to jail for rape if the crime hasn’t been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt is Loch-Ness-Monster-rare. It may happen, but I certain don’t remember hearing anything about it.

This man was thrown in prison and kept there for over six years of a ten-year sentence after being convicted of attacking two adolescent sisters. Ok, that sounds fair so far. Real rape is a horrible crime. But


“David Carrington-Jones was locked up for attacking a girl who went on to accuse her brother, step father, fiancee, a boyfriend and even a customer at work. None of these cases were prosecuted and the girl was eventually cautioned by officers for wasting police time.”

She established herself as a liar, he has always denied committing any offense against either her or her sister, and yet he was denied parole twice because he wouldn’t admit that he did it. What happened to the girl who went on to accuse “her brother, a customer at work, a boyfriend, her fiance and her step father” of rape? After she admitted she accused her stepfather because she didn’t like him, the police issued her a “caution for wasting police time”.

It’s lucky for Mr. Carrington-Jones that the police finally had enough of her false accusations. It led him to ask for his case to be reviewed, and he was finally released. The judges found the case “profoundly troubling”. I’m glad to hear that, I really am. The only problem I have with it, though, is that it appears that the judges were more concerned about the fact that her credibility has been damaged beyond repair than the fact that a man lost six years and eight months of his life.

I can’t imagine that prison was a pleasant experience for him. It’s never a fun place, but rapists are above only child-molesters in terms of prison hierarchy. From what I understand, they are generally kept in isolation for their own safety, or they are beaten and raped themselves by their fellow inmates. The article mentions none of this, and I really wish it had. It would show much more clearly the shocking disparity between how he was punished, and how his accuser was punished.

The other major problem I have with this whole situation is that even now, we are told the man’s name. It’s routine to issue the name and photo of accused criminals before there is even a trial. And now we are reminded again of his identity. Good luck getting a job, Mr. Carrington-Jones.

So, who is the woman who received a warning for wasting police time? Maybe it was even a severe warning. Poor thing.

“Sir Igor however stopped short of naming and shaming the girl, in order that the identity of her sister - against whom no evidence of falsehood was produced - should be protected.”

I’m too disgusted to go on. Read the article.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

A fair punishement for her would be to put her in jail for the exact time that man was in jail.

6 years and 8 months.

Anything less is encouraging women to make false accusations of rape.

Anonymous said...

FYI: Someone on Masculinist Man's comment section is impostoring luke skywalker, mikeusa, was impostoring khatacrunbuguler, bob, and might be impostoring you, feminist_scum, and yohan.

None of the above were logged in. Mikeusa posted a logged in post once he saw an imposter was posing as him and luke, and then attacked "feminist scum" "yohan" and "kelly mac" who may have also been imposters (you log in when you post for instance and the impostor is thought to be connected to robin steele, a blog who has criticized you along with the rest).

Is this an attempt at divide and conqure?

Anonymous said...

The Truly appalling spectacle of the Attention Whoring behavior, is that real victims of Rape. Are not believed by the Police. And when the innocent are punished for a crime they did not commit, the truly guilty party got away with it. And is free to Rape others.

It also erodes the very concept of respect for the Criminal Justice System. DNA evidence has cleared over 200+ Men now. This because of the Innocence Project. There is no telling how many are rotting in prison for a Crime they did not commit.

DA Nifong is proving to be a more common issue that we have been led to believe. Sadly Feminists are proving they have no concern for Justice only for revenge.

Khankrumthebulgar

Injustice against Men is not going to make past injustices against Women right.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect Khankrum...I believe the real issue here is that A GUY DID OVER 6 YEARS FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT DO....

Frankly, I could give a rats ass if real rape victims feel more or less comfortable reporting based on this type of thing. I care about the people having their lives torn apart on the flimsiest of evidence (to the point of "he said, she said" actually convicting). And while it likely sucks to be raped, nothing will convince me encouragement in reporting is worth the cost of these men's lives. Sorry, just can't agree with that.

As well, I can't abide by notions of some possible "chilling effect" being the big issue here. These are men destroyed on the whim of a woman, with the State's full compliance and support - often convicted with laughable evidence.

THAT is the real issue if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO, a Severe Warning! That'll stop the liars in their tracks.

Anonymous said...

If any woman reading this is wondering why she can't get asked out no matter how provocatively she dresses, this is the reason right here.

Anonymous said...

And don't imagine for a second that the authorities involved DIDN'T know he was innocent. Prosecutors love nothing more than the smell of their own shit, and when forced to choose between hubris and common sense you know what they'll pick every time.

Anonymous said...

I am not disputing that an Innocent Man has been sent to Prison. We just had three boys accused of Rape. A 9 year old and two 8 year olds. By an 11 year old Girl. Who is two feet taller and 45 lbs. heavier. And the accused Perp has a Broken Wrist to boot. Something smells fishy here. Like some Sexual Experimentation that is elevated to Rape to protect the Reputation of the Girl. Who had another 11 year old Girl there as well.

She could not say No? Could not have pushed away a two foot shorter younger Boy? Who has not entered Puberty yet?

Rape is a tool to intimidate Men in the US. It is a scam. It is a fact that up to half of the Rape Allegations are fraudulent. Half.

Khankrumthebulgar

Anonymous said...

The local paper just featured a story about a hometown man released from prison after serving 6 years of a 10 year rape sentence. Turns out DNA proved him innocent.

Just how common has this become? I know I refuse to be alone with any woman at work, and I make no attempt to meet women socially. I've become a little paranoid, I guess. I'm kinda broke; I don't have the resources the Duke Lacrosse players did to defend myself against PATENTLY FALSE rape charges. Justice is dead and stinking in this country. The Founding Fathers would spit on what we have become. The people are legally plundered through extortionary taxation, and the innocent are flung into jail by a system that has far more in common with a meat grinder than a court of Law. I have a dream that one day Americans will turn off their televisions and begin reading and thinking again.

No matter how cynical and disillusioned I become, I can't keep up.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/

Anonymous said...

The American justice is strange for any outsider, regardless if seen from Europe, from Arab countries or from Far East.

A 4 y.o. boy might be accused for sexual harassment, an 8 y.o. boy accused for rape and considered to be an adult, and a 17 y.o. boy be sent to prison for 10 years because of consenting oral sex with a 15 y.o. girl.

Legal fees are a horror, and if you have no wallet full of money, better enter a guilty plea-bargain, regardless if you are guilty or innocent.

Nowhere in this world are more men in jail than in the USA.

No surprise to read, that also innocent men are in jail, even for decades, often out of false allegations...

Anonymous said...

And no matter what the result is, even if the police state publically that you were innocent, most people will continue to believe you did it no matter what. That's how fucked this society is.

Anonymous said...

The article has been moved. Here is the new url:

http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2007/10/16/243848.html

viamrec said...

Revealing the truth about the feminism and some
> kinds
> of negative and androphobic discrimination including
> health
>
>
> The feminist is a hypocrisy in all sides that
> already
> manipulated the humanism and the society to destroy
> and kill men The feminism is a androphobic or
>
androginophobic intellectual movement that is based
> by
> unilateral victimization and unilateral rights
> violating the humanist rights,
nature rights
and
> balance and men's rights creating the legal
> discrimination vs men negative and by negligence or
> not equal to men's benefits in their life condition.
> The men is in extinction in reason by
the feminism
> and
> by the all side effects that those creates.
> Feminist is the worst ting in Earth that corrupts
>
all
> the sciences but denies to male movements that are
> weaker or inexistent to defend men's rights and do
> the
> same things as feminism. the women take men's
> life’s, health, money, freedom and rights in many
> ways
> directly or indirectly specially by policies by the
> UN, COE and may international organizations that
> have
> feminist corporations
and associations connected.
>
> men would be better if live alone from women and
> establish contact not permanently whit
pure and fair
>
women that respect them and loves them and needs
> them
> sexually and psychologically instead of being
> passive
> or not passive and unsociable androphobics and or
> androginophobics. men's don't
have male only
> institutions to solve, study and defends their
> problems even to make them realize their
problems
> that
> destroys them and put them dependent from women
> specially sexually by the natural determinism of
> sexual desire and female affectivity appealing
> sadism
> vs men even hidden under policies. Feminist coerce
> and retaliate intellectual attacks and truths vs the
> feminism giving a feedback illegally or legally when
> not possible illegally by crime vs the persons
that
> want to say the truth and reveal the philosophically
> thoughts as happened vs the catholic church and as
>
the
> victimizations vs
the catholic church in feminist
> stereotype crimes as sexual crimes that are not well
> evidenced and truth or without any relevant physical
> contact specially in the countries where’s feminism
> was devised as UK,
USA but also another feminist
> countries potencies. Feminism attacks men in all
> society by
the legislation production, by the
> politics, by all intellectual ways and female
> appealing institutions and events. Men are
> discriminated in health as example the papilovirus
> that can creates male cancer and warts as does for
> women. The chemicals that affects men in the
> metabolism as somatomedine and sexual hormones that
> derivate sexual hormones as the DTT
>
(diidrostestorone)
> that comes from the phethalates or Phthalates and
> biphenol-A,denounced by Greenpeace but another
>
androphobic substances devised by the
feminists
> scientist and many more unknown to the society yet
> that feminist hides.
> There are many products and medications that are
> discriminated to men negatively and are unknown the
> effect in men but if it was for
women would probably
> be already studied as for example the Viagra that
>
one
> German woman and the universities in USA. This
> should
> be sanded to the authorities, universities and many
> institutions that are corrupted whit feminists
> inside
> and feminist departments as the universities and
> language and literature departments or many human
> and
> even scientific sciences.
>
> Men is affected in androgenetic alopecy men is
>
affected in androgenetic alopecia, psychological and
> neurological problems, sexual-endocrine and
>
metabolic
> diseases, problems from prostate, testicles,
male
> acne, seborrhea, ninfomanism, nervosity,
> hipearctivity
> and some typical neuro illness, cancers in
> testicles,
> prostate, epididime, scrotum (HPV) and testicles
> tramatology as aggression and many unknown
illness.
>
>
>
>
> VIAMREC
> VIRTUAL
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEN'S RIGHTS
> AND EQUALITY CONDITION
>
>
>
>


VIAMREC
VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEN'S RIGHTS AND EQUALITY CONDITION

Anonymous said...

CHERS MS.


Concerne:
ÉLUCIDATION D'HYPOCRISIE FÉMINISTE ET FÉMININ DE
VICTIMISATION ET DEMAGOGY.
L'hypocrisie du féminisme et des femmes androfobistes,
féministes et lesbiennes.



Pourquoi qu'il y n'a pas de gentlemen's day, pour
entre gratuit en droit d'égalité. parce que le
féminisme manipule les monde
et s'il y a de
hommes que dit sans femmes ne sont pas
riens avec leurs sont plus moins que riens.

LORSQUE A HOMME EST AVEC UNE FEMME PUTE (désignation
populaire de dire une femme con, hypocrite e sans
bonne personnalité) il fine ou mort, ou dans le
prison.

le féminisme et grand numéro de femme sont
androfobiste et anti-égalitaire en défendre les mêmes
droits
et privilèges pour les hommes, respectivement
en laissaient les hommes se défendre de violences de
femmes et d'agir violentement comme leurs et comme
elles actes avec les hommes faibles et les enfants.



menrights-europe@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
le hypocrisy de la victimization feminine et
feminist-comment d'une femme (the feminist
androginophoby and or androphoby)



Women are never EVER satisfied..And I'm female!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2007-03-07,
8:06AM PST


As usual, I was cruising the internet looking for
something to read when I came across my latest target.
A “women’s only” website posted the list below. Now,
normally I’m all for debunking myths. For example I am
glad to know that not all Mexicans work as gardeners.
It also makes me happy to see that not all black
people are in gangs and that
all white people are not
preppy annoying penis holes. Those myths are
a
pleasure to debunk. Now, the myths below perplex me.
Why you might ask? Well, because I don’t think they’re
myths at all. Being a female, I can say with a
decent degree of certainty that numbers 1-7 are indeed
true.

I know an assload of you women out there swear you
are the perfect girlfriend and you’re probably cursing
in the general direction of your monitor right about
now. Well fuck you, you’re not perfect and neither is
anyone else. Lets
get on with it shall we?

The Seven Myths Men Believe about Women

Women are never satisfied
Women are high maintenance
Women want to control men
Women are jealous and possessive
Women are too emotional
Women who appear to be strong and competent don’t
need to be taken care of
Women want to rob men of their freedom

Ok let’s take this slowly and
one step at a time…

Women
are never satisfied. Correct!


No, women are never satisfied. If you get a better
job, she’ll want you to get a nicer car or a
bigger apartment or a larger house. If you have the
more
desirable accommodations, she’ll then expect you to
take her on better (read: more expensive) dates. Oh
and don’t forget, the more you make the more expensive

your fucking Christmas and Valentine’s Day gifts
should be. God help you if you show up with some
shitty valentine and a box of
chocolates. Hell hath no
fury like a woman jipped, trust me. Fuck being
scorned; we’re scorned every week when we get a
smaller paycheck for doing the same job as the dude in
the next cube. Scorn we can deal with, cheap gifts we
cannot.

Women are high maintenance. Bingo!

Of course we’re high maintenance. An individual who
makes you call them before you go out,
expecting a
briefing on the activities for the night, is high
maintenance. A person who expects yet another call the
moment you cross the threshold of your dwelling to let
them know you’ve gotten home, is high maintenance. A
woman, who makes you plan every date you go on because
you are the guy, is high maintenance. A lady that
expects you to buy her flowers EVERY time some street
vendor comes along to offer his wilted flora is high
maintenance. A chick who makes you wait an hour before
you can leave the house because she
must first paint
her face and do her hair and pick out seven different
outfits, until she finds the one that makes her look
desirable, but not slutty is high maintenance.

Women want to control men. ¡Sí!

If you hadn’t realized by now that a woman who buys
you the clothes she wants you to wear, as opposed to
the clothes that you want to wear, is attempting to
control
you, you’re hopeless and you should jump off a
tall building. Splat bitch, you’re clueless.

Women are jealous and possessive. True!

What? You don’t think
you’re jealous?
You’re seriously going to sit there and tell me that,
if you
and your man were in a bar and some pretty, young
thing were sending him drinks or winking at him, you
wouldn’t get jealous? Fuck off, Mother Theresa,
I don’t buy it.
The next time his cell phone rings at
3:00 AM I don’t want to see you flinch or scramble
to
grab it before he does so you can get a peek at the
incoming call. As a matter of fact strike the phrase
“that’s my man” from your vocabulary while you’re at
it, since you’re not possessive either.

Women are too emotional. You got it!

I don’t see a whole lot of men crying at the
movies. I also don’t see a lot of men that break down
into tears when a particularly
sappy commercial comes
on the
television. I’ve led a pretty diverse and
interesting life and I’ve
had the privilege/carry the
bane of, having seen a lot of things. I’ve seen a lot
and I can report to you, dear reader that I’ve seen
ten times as many women throwing hissy fits in the
street directed at their significant others than I
have seen men doing the same. I also don’t know of
too many men that get together and rent movies
that are meant to be emotional roller coasters so they
can cry
in
unison. I do though, know a shit load of women that
do.

Women who appear to be strong and competent don’t
need to be taken care of. [yes I know of is
preposition, fuck off] Right!

Well, well, well, you only “appear” to be strong
and competent, but really you’re neither. So, in
essence you’re deceiving in order to manipulate.
Hmmmm, that sounds pretty fucking female to me,
but I
digress. Women who appear to be strong and competent
don’t need to be taken care of. What they need is
therapy so they can stop pretending to be something
they’re not.

Women want to rob men of their freedom. Oui!

Freedom (n.) - A right or the power to engage in
certain actions without control or interference.

-The preceding definition kind of infers
independence then doesn’t it?


Independence (n.) - freedom from control or
influence of another or others.

Now that
we’ve gotten an idea of what freedom
actually entails lets continue with our deconstruction
of number six.

I’m assuming here that the bullshit website that
posted this list of “myths” meant that these are seven
“untruths” men believe about women they’re dating not
just every woman under the sun. With this in mind, I’d
like to delve a little deeper into the meaning
and
ultimately, the purpose of dating.

Dating (v. tr.) - An engagement to go out socially
with another person,often out of romantic interest.

Ok so now that we know the definition of
dating we can continue. When we date we
go out with someone we like because we’re
romantically interested in them and
would like to spend more time getting to know this
person intimately. So what exactly is the
purpose of dating in the long run?
Do people intend on dating
forever? Not the people I know.
Most of those
that call themselves my friends
tell me that they’re dating to weed out the
freaks and find someone they wouldn’t
mind sharing a life with. Now, this doesn’t
necessarily mean that they want to be married. It just
means that they’re dating in an effort to elect the
most appropriate life partner. Now, what I hear when
they tell me this is: “I’m dating around to find
someone
I can live with and who I won’t want to
choke the life out while they lay sleeping next to me
a
month or two into the relationship.”


Ok well that’s all well and good, but when you’re
in a relationship (married or not) then you have to
begin thinking for two (NO boys, you’re not already
halfway there, thinking for your trouser snake does
not count). What I’m saying is that in a relationship
you have to compromise. I’m sure you’ll all agree with
me there. Here’s the kicker though: there is
no
mention of compromise in the definitions of freedom or
independence. I’m guessing it’s because if you want to
be free and independent then it would be
counterproductive to begin compromising. So, if you
want to be in a relationship with a woman than you
better learn to fucking compromise now. If you’re
looking for freedom and independence, go read the
Declaration at the National
Archives because you’re
not going to find it in a woman who’s ass-deep in a
“relationship.”

That’s right I said it, as women we’re all of the
above. I’m not excluding myself because I already know
I’m crazy and deranged, but guess who got me this way?
Yup, a man, so don’t be so quick to high five each
other you misogynistic fucks. You dudes are just as
fucked as we are. Remember, in Penguin Territory, no
one is safe.


Bitchesssssssssssssssss.


it's NOT ok to
contact
this poster with services
or
other commercial interests


PostingID: 289904131






VIAMREC
VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEN'S RIGHTS AND EQUALITY CONDITION

Anonymous said...

I want to see if you can assist me. I am a highly educated white male in my early sixties. I have, until recent years, been clearly left of center when it came to various human causes ( I am not a republican).
When I was a teenager, I was on the mall, here in DC with Dr. King. After college, I worked in the inner city of Pittsburgh as community organizer and was frequently the only white face seen after dark. I watched as my black wife was run down and killed by street thugs.

As a HR Officer in several companies, I worked tirelessly (and often putting my career in jeopardy) to support the rights of qualified minorities and women.

NO MORE!!

Six years ago, I moved back to my hometown in suburban VA.
Shortly thereafter, I was arrested for allegedly threatening a black postal supervisor. I did, with his job, not his life. My mail had been lost for two months and union workers refused to allow supervisors to find the lost mail.
I was charged with a misdemeanor which remains on my record and I have not found a job since.

A single month after that, a black female temporary switchboard operator from the county government failed to connect me properly seven times. I did not abuse her but said I would find her boss. She called back and said she would kill me. She never showed up in court and of course the charges were dismissed. We also learned afterwards, that she gave a wrong address and phone number to the police and she had a history of doing this before.

It happened again several weeks ago. I sued my local hospital for failing to clear their property and I fell and was badly injured.
Attempts to obtain medical records were ignored. I later found out that the females (all four of them from different depts) had been instructed to not take my calls as a result of the suit. They had violated the HIPAA law by not sending me my medical records.

The common denominator in all this-- A hierarchy of three female prosecutors in the local prosecutors office who made the decisions in all these cases.

Can you write an amicus letter for me to take to court or do you have research to support my position that women now think that it is open season on men. THAT MY RIGHTS ARE NOW BEING VIOLATED.

Thank you,
JW
703-533-8763

Anonymous said...

Another classical example of the gross misuse of Dowry Act (498A) is the case of television celebrity, Suhaib Ilyasi. India's Most Wanted television host was in controversy after the dispute over his daughter Aaliya's custody rose soon after Ilyasi's wife Anju committed suicide on January 10, 2000 in Delhi. While his mother–in-law, Rukma Singh wanted custody of the child on the ground that she had the right under Muslim law, Ilyasi had taken the plea that his marriage with Anju was not solemnized as per the Muslim law but had been a civil affair. His sister-in-law Rashmi Singh came from Canada after six months of her sister's death and filed a complaint with the police against Ilyasi, alleging that he used to torture his wife Anju for dowry.

The case took bizarre turn when Anju's brother Prashant Singh and father Prof K P Singh took a diametrically opposite stand and described the allegations against Ilyasi as ``rubbish.'' Prashant told Express Newsline:`whatever my mother and sister Rashmi are stating against Suhaib Ilyasi is a lot of rubbish. There is no truth in their statement or in the charges filed by the police against Suhaib. If you are holding Suhaib responsible for Anju's suicide, then my mother and sister are also to blame, as they unduly interfered in their family matters.

K P Singh, a retired IIT professor, agreed with Prashant. “My wife and daughter are breaking up my family”. Both Anju's father and brother allege that Rukma and Rashmi have given statements against Suhaib as `they wanted custody of baby Aaliya. When Ilyasi delayed that, they put him in trouble.'

Anju's mother Rukma Singh had changed her earlier statement given in January, 2000, in which she had stated that she did not suspect any foul play by Suhaib Ilyasi. However when Ilyasi refused to give custody of his daughter, she change her statement and alleged dowry harassment against Ilyasi.

It has been alleged for long that Dowry Act (498a) in India is being consistently misused by clever women for extortion and blackmailing. The NCRB records suggest that during 2005-2006, 94% of the 498A, 304B cases filed by women or by her relatives were primarily to settle scores.

Section 498A in itself is, however, not meant to deal specifically with dowry -- it is commonly considered to be a 'dowry law' because domestic violence against a wife related to dowry demands is considered to be within the scope of 'cruelty' envisaged by the Section.

Bonnie said...

I'm with you to the point that this is horrible and that women who falsely accuse men of rape are some of the lowest, most vile people. I also think that the sex offender registry needs to be re-evaluated and some modifications need to be made (classic example, of course, being a 19 year old kid having consensual sex with a 17 year old and getting caught by her daddy, convicted, and added to the registry that will haunt him forever).

But false rape accusations are not a product of feminism. No true feminist would EVER say, "Oh yeah, I think it's great. Women should totally have the right to falsely accuse men of rape!" No true feminist would ever do such a thing, because a truly empowered, enlightened, and self-assured feminist woman can handle their differences with people without resorting to cheap shots like that. Feminists don't use sex as a weapon - weak little girls who have nothing going for them except the ability to spread their legs do.

Many rape activists are appalled by law enforcement's unwillingness to investigate rape, courts' reluctance to prosecute it, and juries' hesitation to convict. As a result, they try to eliminate the things that might dissuade real rape victims from reporting real rapes, like publication of their names and the tendency of defense attorneys to put the victims on trial by digging up irrelevant history that makes them look unstable or like a "slut." They worry about prosecuting those vile women who make deliberate false accusations because, as much as they hate them, there's a real risk that any woman who loses her rape case - even a valid case based on a true accusation - might be subject to prosecution and punishment. That is NOT okay. Accusing someone of murder or embezzlement or virtually any other crime can be life ruining for the accused, too, but you don't see Nicole's family on trial because OJ was acquitted. And if rape victims had to worry that they would be prosecuted and punished if they lost their case, even fewer women would prosecute than currently do.

This issue really isn't a problem of feminism so much as it is a problem of protecting real victims right to prosecute without fear of retribution while protecting the falsely accused from the bad apples out there.

siccarii said...

No, no, NO! A fair punishment, as you suggested, would merely be an equation of his time spent! She should not only serve his ENTIRE sentence, not just time served. Further, after completing her time, he should bring a CIVIL suit against her AND the County or State for Unlawful imprisonment, pain and suffering, defamation of character, loss of life experieences and income and finally monetary and punitive damages!!! justice is not as simple as 'Anonymous' suggests. perhaps this will give him/her some cause for thought. The days or even hours of life have a value far beyond money!

Anonymous said...

If Robin Morgan is still alive, If I was her, I would publicly apologize for saying that "man-hating" is a "honourable" and "viable" "political" "act".