Actress Ashley Judd spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on June 9th discussing, as what she sees, to be the horrors of strip mining. During this speech Judd, a self-described 'hillbilly' from Kentucky,  made quite the comparison, suggesting strip mining is akin to spousal rape.

"In '88 by a margin of 4 to 1, Kentucky had spoke at the ballot box. They voted in favor of the homestead amendment which restricted strip mining by the minerals rights owner- they- which restricted strip mining by the minerals rights owner without the consent of the land owner.Five years later, the ruling was appealed." "I used the word 'rape' earlier. When I was a student at the University of Kentucky in 1988 I remember clearly sitting in the Kappa house kitchen drinking my morning cup of coffee and discovering that spousal rape was still legal in my state. "Oh my Gosh", I thought. If I were married it would be legal for my husband to rape me. I felt horrible shame. Kentucky's gender laws have come far since that time. In fact, Governor brashear just signed a progressive policy requiring that men who beat women and against whom an order of protection has been taken out, must be monitored with GPS . I salute Gov. Brashear and the legislature for passing and enacting this law. Kentucky's environmental laws monitoring evaluation and enforcement need to move apace."

Ashley, I'd venture out to say there really is no comparison that could be make equating strip mining to raping a woman, and this coming from a woman herself? Of course, I realize the whole 'raping the environment' aspect she's coming from, I just don't necessarily believe the cons outweigh the pros. She failed to mention how people who are 'raping the environment' are providing resources and putting food on the table for their families, when they may not have a job otherwise depending upon the region they're from. Maybe she should make that statement to a woman who has been raped, and then ask if they agree...