Video: Jon Stewart Debunks Ben Stein's Dominique Strauss-Kahn Defense

As ex-IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn awaits release on $1 million cash bail, the Daily Show and Jon Stewart looked at the leading French economist and politician's passionate supporters. Like Ben Stein, the lawyer, Nixon speechwriter, actor, joke-teller, who wondered earlier this week, "The prosecutors say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn 'forced' the complainant to have oral and other sex with him. How? Did he have a gun? Did he have a knife? He's a short fat old man," and "Can anyone tell me any economists who have been convicted of violent sex crimes?" Well, Stewart managed to find some examples, leading him to declare, "Economists are the rapiest profession going. It turns out the invisible hand of the market is very f***ing touchy feely... Yes, it's a redistribution of rape."

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Stewart also looked at French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy's essay on The Daily Beast. (Lévy espoused a distaste for American justice and hotel cleaning standards: "I do not know—but, on the other hand, it would be nice to know, and without delay—how a chambermaid could have walked in alone, contrary to the habitual practice of most of New York’s grand hotels of sending a 'cleaning brigade' of two people, into the room of one of the most closely watched figures on the planet... I am troubled by a system of justice modestly termed “accusatory,” meaning that anyone can come along and accuse another fellow of any crime—and it will be up to the accused to prove that the accusation is false and without basis in fact.")

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By Jen Chung in News on May 20, 2011 11:11 AM

Comments [rss]

Kris Haynes

Haven't heard anyone say they think the maid made it up. They think either he attempted to rape her, or she was willing and then cried rape. If the former is true, the facts of how he did it will come out. If the latter is true, he will have his day in court. Blaming the victim lacks integrity. Prejudging him lacks justice. Let's just wait and see.

masterjarvis

the old man defense is atrocious but whats even more offensive on stein's part is the argument that no other economists have commited this sort of crime so why would this one? I have never agreed with ben steins politics but i also never considered him to be a piece of shit. that has suddenly changed

Eric

Stewart did not in any way refute Ben Stein's logic concerning the mechanics involved. Without some kind of weapon or the woman being drug impaired in some way I fail to see how an old man could force himself orally on an able bodied woman.

Anyone who has a penis should be able to figure this out. Tellingly, the press has changed the story to make it more feasable, it is now "attempted rape".

Sinchy

Wow, you got your ass handed to you with logic in response to an earlier Ben Stein idiotic comment and you are still pulling this crap.
I guess this is how you justify all your weponless raping and molesting. I'll just copy and paste from my previous response:It works something like this:
Crazy naked homunculus corners weaker woman, he grabs her head with two hands and forcefully pulls her down to groinal area where stiffy is waiting to poke her in the face.
See that isn't too difficult to imagine.
Or maybe:
Twisted Frenchy throws woman onto bed and mounts her 69 style poking his baguette into her lips.

Innocent until proven guilty, but stop making lame excuses.
Ben Stein is an idiotOh, I have a penis, BTW.

Politburo

Everyone pursuing this absurd line of argument goes, "old man! old man!" as if old men are weaker than babies.

Reality is that a 62 year-old man is still strong.

Joshua Bardwell

The reality is that physical force is not required for rape to have occurred. There are a million ways to coerce someone into non-consensual sex.