I'll make it right for you
Today…
…is September 11, but you knew that. When my 6th grade science teacher showed us the news of the Challenger explosion, he talked about the Kennedy assassination being the big “where were you when” moment for his generation – and wondered if this would be ours. Morning of 9/11, one of my first thoughts was, “Yeah, I think this might be it, Mr. Soly.”
Though to be fair, thanks to him I’ve never forgotten where I was when the Challenger exploded.…is the day before this one’s 13th birthday.
This boy. In his words, “I’m quirky. I’m not like the other girls,” hashtag facts. He is clever, and funny, and far smarter than he gets credit for. He is every bit the obnoxious tween boy, but he is fundamentally kind. He loves animals, enjoys gummy candy, and recently got hooked on Welcome To Nightvale. He enjoys staying in bed but not going to bed.
Oh, and he really dislikes it when I sing this to him on the street. I, of course, sing this to him on the street constantly.Ooooh Joseph, when you smile I am undone
My son
Look at my son
Pride is not the word I'm looking for
Abortion
🠲 The Supreme Court Could Rule Soon on This Popular Abortion Pill. Here's What You Need to Know.
Carter Sherman | VICE
The Supreme Court could rule any day now on a case that could slash access to a very popular and safe method of abortion in the United States — right in the middle of a global pandemic.
Assclown Alert: Ted Cruz Claims Pregnancy Isn't Life Threatening As He Tries to Ban Abortion Pill
Sanford Nowlin | San Antonio Current
In addition to shutting down the U.S. government to make a point and engaging in pointless Twitter snits with celebrities, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz likes to consider himself an expert on women’s health.
A Divine Abortion Story
Phillip Picardi | Unholier Than Thou
Phill hears a personal story of how one woman’s relationship to religion changed (for the better!) after her decision to have an abortion. As a young Hindu woman in a pro-life group at her Catholic school, Shivana Jorawar panicked when she found out she was pregnant. What happened next brought her a feminist approach to Hinduism that she carries with her today.
From 'Unpregnant' to 'Obvious Child,' 'Abortion Comedies' Are Here to Stay
Jenny Singer | Glamour
There’s a moment in Unpregnant, a buddy comedy movie about abortion now streaming on HBO Max, that is so magical, so dead on in its rendering of the fearful joy of being alive that it will stay with you far longer than any headline spelling the doom of legal abortion.
BuzzFeed News | The Director Behind HBO Max’s “Unpregnant” Wants To Destigmatize Abortion At A Time When Reproductive Rights Are “Under Attack”
ELLE | Unpregnant Normalizes Abortion Stories for the Booksmart Generation
Colorado
Over 130 Faith Leaders Voice Opposition to Colorado's Anti-Abortion Ballot Measure
Madeleine Schmidt | Colorado Times Recorder
A multi-denominational coalition of faith leaders in Colorado is taking a stand against Proposition 115, a ballot measure that would ban later abortion care in Colorado.
Tennessee
Tennessee city will allow abortion clinic, pay legal bill
Travis Loller | Associated Press
A Tennessee city that tried to outlaw surgical abortions has agreed to pay $225,000 in legal fees to attorneys representing an abortion clinic, according to an order entered in federal court in Nashville on Thursday. As part of the order, the city of Mt. Juliet also has agreed to let the carafem abortion clinic operate anywhere in the city that is zoned for professional medical services or physicians offices.
LGBTQ
US Marine who murdered a transgender woman was just pardoned
Juwan Holmes | LGBTQ Nation
Joseph Scott Pemberton, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marines, has been pardoned in the murder of a transgender woman by Rodrigo Duterte, the leader of the Philippines.
Indianapolis Catholic school should be able to fire gay teacher, Trump admin says
Wilson Wong | NBC News
The Trump administration is siding with religious leaders who ordered a Catholic school in Indiana to fire a teacher in a same-sex marriage, saying the church’s actions are protected by the First Amendment.
Department of Education sends mixed messages to schools on LGBT issues
Dawn Ennis | Outsports
The Trump Administration is sending a mixed message to America’s schools as to how it views the rights of LGBTQ students and student athletes, following this summer’s landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
Could the parents of LGBTQ+ kids decide the presidential election? Advocates are putting money on it.
Kate Sosin | The 19th
On Super Tuesday, 10% of voters identified as queer, a marked jump from the 6% recorded in the 2018 midterms. But it isn’t just queer voters that LGBTQ+ rights groups want to activate in November. Advocates are targeting “equality voters,” or people who will likely back candidates that are supportive of LGBTQ+ rights and vote against candidates who aren’t.
Trump Is Denying Citizenship to Kids of LGBTQ+ Parents. They’re Fighting Back
Nico Lang | them.
Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said these cases show that the State Department is treating “married, same-sex parents differently from the children of other married parents.” “No family should have to face the fear and uncertainty of having their child’s citizenship status be held in limbo,” he said in a statement.
Watch Jane Fonda Show Herself as LGBTQ+ Ally in 1970s Video
Donald Padgett | Out Magazine
I did, and you should too.
My Fight for Trans Rights
Vandy Beth Glenn | Georgia Voice
There remains much work to do in the project toward full LGBTQ equality. We continue to suffer discrimination in housing, in parental rights, and even in marriage, and of course the Trump ban on transgender people serving in the military still stands. But we’ve taken great strides in recent years, and Georgia has been at the epicenter of several of these efforts.
Arizona
Scottsdale group pitches improved nondiscrimination protections
Melissa Rosequist | Daily News-Sun
Seven city volunteers are not standing for Scottsdale to flash its dirty underbelly of hate — especially by elected officials — as the Human Relations Commission has developed, and is asking for City Council’s blessing on, two recommended non-discrimination ordinances.
Texas
Employers Can Still Ban LGBT Workers, Religious Group Says
Vin Gurrieri | Law360
Employers can still refuse to employ people based on their LGBTQ status so long as both men and women are barred equally, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that such individuals are protected under federal anti-discrimination law, a religious coalition told a Texas federal court.
Pregnancy & Parenting
The largely remote school year will hurt working families that were already struggling the most
Allana Akhtar | Business Insider
As many K-12 schools start either fully or partially online this year, data suggests that 3 groups will have the hardest time adjusting to at-home schooling technology: low-income households, those run by working families, and Black and Hispanic homes.
The Childcare Crisis, By the Numbers
Byrne Hobart | Marker
As remote school grips the country, women are quitting their jobs in droves. 21%: That’s how many companies have experienced workers quitting to focus on childcare demands, according to a survey from nonprofit WorldatWork.
A reminder as schools reopen - federal law now gives some parents paid time off to help their kids with remote learning
Andrew Keshner | MarketWatch
The good news is there’s a range of employee leave laws that could conceivably kick in to protect parents, separate and apart from an employer’s own paid time off policies. The tricky part, however, is that there’s a complicated mix of rules. And the worrying note, some say, is that the laws don’t do enough to help parents who are trying to make it all work right now.
Courier | New Guidelines Exclude Paid Leave for Parents Who Keep Their Kids Out of In-Person Schooling
WashU study confirms what some working moms already know
Marianne Martinez | KSDK-TV (St. Louis, MO)
Among telecommuting-capable parents with children 1 to 5 years old, the study found the reduction in hours worked per week was 4.5 times larger for mothers than fathers during the early weeks of the pandemic, in February and April.
And a few more…
Side Effects Public Media | Working Parents And Closed Schools: The Childcare Struggle During COVID-19
Forbes | How To Ease Parental Stress & Burnout During The Pandemic
Pennsylvania
Your View: Child care imperative for Pa.’s economy recovery
Judy Schwank | The Morning Call
We need to pay more attention to child care centers, and we need to do it now.
Reproductive Health & Justice
The Pandemic Baby Meme Is a Knife to the Heart of Every Person Experiencing Infertility
Kelly Jensen | BUST Magazine
Every joke and off-handed comment about the swell of December quarantine babies has been an utter gut punch.
Missed Vaccines, Skipped Colonoscopies: Preventive Care Plummets
Sarah Kliff | New York Times
But one preventive service stayed relatively steady through the pandemic: pregnancy-related ultrasounds. Those declined slightly in March and April but never fell more than 20% below 2019 levels. Insertions of IUDs, one of the most effective birth control methods, declined like other preventive care — raising the possibility of an increase in pregnancies in coming months.
Black immigrants don’t get the maternal care they need, and COVID-19 has made it worse
Khadija Gurnah | Prism
The effects of the long-standing maternal health epidemic on our nation are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States ranks 55th in maternal mortality in comparison to other countries, and race has an outsized impact on maternal health outcomes in this country.
Alaska
Anchorage Planned Parenthood graffitied with threatening messages
Kavitha George | Alaska Public Media
Anchorage Planned Parenthood staff arrived to work Wednesday morning to find the outside of the building graffitied with threatening messages.
North Carolina
Pandemic-driven shame and suffering
Kelley E. Massengale, Anna E. Austin | NC Policy Watch
“Diaper need” and “period poverty” are among the hidden and destructive impacts of the COVID-19 recession.
Tennessee
Black women voters in Tennessee show strong support for reproductive rights
Cherisse Scott, Marcela Howell | The Tennessean
Over-policing, poverty, housing and food insecurity, low-resourced schools and disparate healthcare access impacts are all barriers to reproductive freedom for Black and pregnant women.
Work & Money
Bloomberg Equality: Citi’s Pick for CEO Is a Win for Women
Philip Gray | Bloomberg News
It's finally happened: One of the biggest U.S. banks has appointed a female chief executive officer, Jane Fraser, to lead Citigroup.Mission accomplished, right? Well, no. The industry has a long way to go on gender equality.
New York Post | Citi names Jane Fraser as first female CEO of major US bank
Working Women Hit Worse Than Men in First Months of Pandemic
Mark Bustos | Science Times
The global coronavirus pandemic has already taken jobs from millions of Americans, but new data suggests that women might've been hit harder than their male counterparts.
New USC diversity study shows paltry progress for inclusion in a dozen years of Hollywood movies
Maria Puente | USA Today
A new study shows Hollywood movies continue to lack inclusive representation of racial and ethnic groups, girls and women, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities, according to the University of Southern California.
Deadline Hollywood | USC Annenberg Comprehensive Study Shines Glaring Spotlight On Slow Progress Toward Inclusion In Hollywood
Salon | Latest inclusion study shows Hollywood still in a state of "apathy and ambivalence"
Variety | Film Industry Experts Gather in Venice to Debate Sexism in the Sector
The Wrap | Black Women Not in a Third of 2019's Top Grossing Films, Report Shows
Colorado
The Coloradoan | Colorado paid family leave is on the ballot. Here's a look at programs in other states
More, More, More
The El Dorado fire still burns, but the pandemic has made 'gender reveals' hotter than ever
Sonja Sharp | Los Angeles Times
Pyrotechnics from a gender reveal party sparked a wildfire and ignited an international firestorm of criticism and fierce cultural debate over a custom many say is toxic and dangerous — not least because the fire continues to rage.
What is invisible labor? It's real and it hurts. Here's what to know.
Natasha Piñon | Mashable
It's not in your head: Women do three out of every four hours of unpaid labor, according to the U.N.
These Black Women Were Roller-Skating Way Before TikTok
Tiana Reid | Teen Vogue
In roller rinks and parking lots, on basketball courts and the beach, skating provides respite, however brief, from a world that does not often allow Black women to take up space and live free, to move with pleasure, and refuse being closed in by forces intent on taming them.
Also, how fun does this look. I love roller skating.
One more, why not. It’s Friday and these are wonderful. How even are they skating so smoothly on regular asphalt??