“He Was Nothing”
Last week a jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $83,000,000 $65,000 000 of which was punitive damages, in her second defamation civil case against Donald Trump. Her first interview was with Rachel Maddow on Monday. She talks openly, among other things, about how it felt to be in the same room with her abuser for the first time since her assault and how different her feelings were seeing him from her feelings beforehand: He is nothing. You don’t have to be afraid of him.
Before this exerpt, Maddow details Carroll’s remarkable career before Donald Trump raped her. She deserves every penny of those damages.
In this election year, when it seems the whole Republican party (with a few notable exceptions) has capitulated — where they will not pass a bill about the border that they demanded because Trump said it would be bad for his election — let us remember that he only gets his power from other people. That makes what is happening even more dangerous.
As always, this diary would not have been possible without the WoW crew, this week especially Angmar and mettle fatigue.
Abortion And Reproductive Health
Seven women are suing Tennessee because of it’s anti-abortion law and how it affected them personally. One of those women, K. Monica Kelly tells her story here.
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150 members of Congress, led by the Congressional Women’s Caucus, have sent a letter to President Biden and the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Justice asking for action regarding women who are charged with crimes related to pregnancy or pregnancy outcomes.
We urge you to use your authority, and all existing remedies at your Departments' disposal, to provide direct public educational, financial, and legal services support to any person who experiences or is threatened with pregnancy criminalization, and to interrupt that criminalization before it occurs and remedy its aftermath by taking these additional steps:
● Investigating any prosecutions of people with pregnancy-related conditions as unlawful under federal statutes that prohibit discrimination by law enforcement on the basis of sex, including on the basis of pregnancy;
● Reiterating hospital and medical staff obligations to maintain patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, investigating when there is evidence that patient privacy has been breached, and pursuing appropriate legal remedies against violators; and
● Enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in health care on the basis of sex, including on the basis of pregnancy, against federally- funded health care entities whose personnel improperly report to law enforcement when patients miscarry, terminate a pregnancy, or seek other pregnancy-related care.
www.npr.org/...
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Meanwhile in Ohio, where voters passed an abortion rights measure:
The state asked a Hamilton County judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Ohio's ban on abortions after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks gestation. The position confused attorney Jessie Hill, who represents abortion clinics challenging the law.
Hill said there's no question that the entire law is unconstitutional after voters approved Issue 1 in November. "It's disappointing that they couldn't just come out and say that," Hill said.
Yost all but said it in a legal analysis his office distributed before the November election: "Some of Ohio’s laws may be defensible, but the Heartbeat Act would not exist if Issue 1 passes."
www.cincinnati.com/...
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Research: Access to telehealth abortion care can determine whether a person can obtain an abortion in the United States. People of color, young people and those with low incomes tend to benefit most from telehealth abortion.
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Violence Against Women
Scotland Yard is hunting a “significantly injured” suspected chemical attacker who allegedly left a “vulnerable” young woman and her toddler with potentially life-changing wounds after throwing a corrosive substance over them.
Detectives shared a new photo of Abdul Ezedi on Thursday, calling him “dangerous” and highlighting the maimed right side of his face while appealing for witnesses to come forward. But they warned: “If you see him, do not approach him.”
. . .
The suspect was granted asylum by the UK government after his conviction in 2018 for a sex offence, after completing his sentence imposed at Newcastle crown court. He was believed by British government officials to be an Afghan national who arrived by lorry in 2016.
www.theguardian.com/...
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Simon Danczuk, the former Labour MP who was suspended from the party for sending explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl, is standing in the Rochdale byelection for the Reform party.
The final straw for Labour high command came in 2016 when he was exposed as having sexted about teenage dominatrix who “sold her toenail clippings for £10”. The teenager in question had apparently contacted Danczuk about a job in his office as she was interested in a career in politics
https://www.theguardian.com/…
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Is There Hope for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women?
A hashtag and a political campaign have brought attention to the epidemic of violence, but a New Mexico woman is fighting case by case. Rachel Monroe reports.
https://www.newyorker.com/...
Other News
As shown in the section on abortion and reproductive health, Republican women are still supporting Donald Trump. He was recently found liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll, he is blatantly misogynistic, his Supreme Court appointments made the Dobbs decision possible, but women, even those who support abortion at least in some cases, continue loyal. It’s especially interesting considering that his only remaining opponent in the primaries is a woman. Here is an interesting article about it in The 19th.
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Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has unveiled a new program— “Women Forward NYC” —that will support investments for women, including transgender and gender-fluid individuals. The initiative will spend more than $43 million to address gender disparities in professional development, health care, gender-based violence, and housing. ... In New York, women continue to be paid 86 cents for every dollar a man makes, with even more discrepancies for women of color.
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An endorsement from influential Rep. Jim Clyburn in addition to support from South Carolina’s Black voters revived Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. For the next cycle, Biden and the Democratic National Committee rearranged the Democratic primary calendar to reflect the diversity of the Democratic electorate, putting South Carolina first, followed by Nevada on Tuesday and Michigan on February 27.
And for the first time, Black women are leading all three of these Democratic state parties as polls offer warning signs of Biden’s standing among Black voters. Christale Spain in South Carolina, Daniele Monroe-Moreno in Nevada and Lavora Barnes in Michigan are all the first Black women to be party chairs in their states — raising money and serving as the Democrats’ public face.
thnews.org/...
Humanitarian Aid Plea
Senator Merkley addresses the Senate about his visit to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza where he saw how aid is not being allowed into Gaza. A medical kit for childbirth was not allowed in because it included scalpels.
www.youtube.com/…
If you want to contribute for humanitarian aid to Gaza, check here.