Bernhard Gets the Boot After Gang Rape Joke About Palin

Frontrunner spot draws close scrutiny of his record

(NEWSER) - As candidate Mike Huckabee pushes to the front of the GOP contender crowd, he is coming under fire for his record as Arkansas governor. Critics point to both Huckabee's push for the parole of a convicted rapist who murdered after being released and his call for people with AIDS to be quarantined, the New York Times reports. More»

And Liz Trotta is not happy with how much money we're spending on the issue

(NEWSER) - The military's easing of the ban on women in combat came just a few weeks after news that sexual violence in the military has risen sharply —and in a recent segment on Fox News, contributor Liz Trotta (who has seen her share of gaffes in the past) found a way to combine the two news items in quite possibly the most controversial way possible. "Women once more, the feminists, [want] to be warriors and victims at the same time," she said in a clip picked up by Media Matters . Noting the 64% increase in violent sexual assaults since 2006, she asked, "Now, what did they expect? These people are in close contact." More»

Minnesota principal ordered teachers to put an end to game

(NEWSER) - Shocked officials in Minnesota have stepped in to stop disturbing games of "rape tag" on an elementary school playground in New Ulm. The game operated like freeze tag, but before a target could become "unfrozen" another player would have to rub up against them in a way simulating sex. Washington Elementary School Principal Bill Sprung was informed of the game by a concerned parent. He immediately notified teachers and playground monitors to stop the game and discuss it with students—and informed parents. "We addressed it as an inappropriate game," Sprung told MSNBC . He praised the school's handling of the matter, but added that he has been contacted by some 20 parents concerned about how to approach the issue with their children. More»

Video scrubbed from UCTV following protests

(NEWSER) - What is it with New England universities? Just days after news broke that a sex assault accusation may have scuttled a Yale quarterback's chance at a Rhodes Scholarship comes word of a "joke" rape video aired on the University of Connecticut's student broadcast network. The "comedy sketch," part of UCTV's "Shenanigans" series, reveals a crying female—called a "stinky bitch"—who is "crying rape." The sketch ends with the character being strangled by her attacker. The short was aired twice, but scrubbed after howls of protest, and UCTV administrators apologized . The campus Women's Center held a protest last night. Gawker has the film here . More»

And Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin is still pretty scary: reactions

(NEWSER) - If you thought Julianne Moore's Sarah Palin was terrifying in the first Game Change teaser , wait until you see her in the full trailer, where she utters lines such as, "We have to win this thing. I so don’t want to go back to Alaska." Watch below, then read on for some reactions:

• This will clearly be "a Frankenstein-esque story about McCain’s staffers coming to regret the choice they made in bringing a little-known governor into the limelight," writes Jon Bershad at Mediaite . "The full trailer ... gives us even more famous actors getting their turn to stare in horror at the 'monster' they’ve created."