The accidental home schooler
Today…
Got a little hectic when DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced schools will close through March 31.
Betty White wants us to know she’s okay. With good news in short supply, I will take this.
every “national _____ day” feels appropriate on levels. It is Blame Someone Else Day – check. Good Samaritan Day – yes please. World Sleep Day – would help. Coconut Torte Day – would really help.
Every part of this headline appeals: New Orleans author uncovers the recipes of drag brunch
Abortion
Paid sick leave, abortion debate delaying coronavirus aid approval
Katy Tur | MSNBC
Two issues are emerging as sticking points in negotiations between the White House and Speaker Pelosi on the Coronavirus aid bill: paid sick leave and abortion.
GOP delays coronavirus bill in part over complaints that it doesn't bar federal funds for abortion
Igor Derysh | Salon
The White House and congressional Republicans refused to support House Democrats' coronavirus relief bill, in part over claims that it does not safeguard against federal funds being used to provide abortions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Thursday that the Senate will not go on its scheduled recess next week to continue negotiations on the legislation.
One upside to doing my own newsletter is not having to mind anyone c(3) status when I want to say things like McConnell is
The Trump Administration Is a Culmination of the Right's Efforts to End "Roe"
Jessica Mason Pieklo & Robin Marty | Truthout
The religious right has long awaited a president like Donald Trump who could potentially give them control within his administration. In this excerpt The End of Roe v. Wade: Inside the Right’s Plan to Destroy Legal Abortion, Robin Marty and Jessica Mason Pieklo describe how Trump’s dedication to anti-abortion views has made an opening for overturning Roe.
Idaho bill outlaws abortion if Roe v. Wade is reversed
Associated Press
The Idaho Senate on Thursday approved legislation making abortion a crime should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide. The Senate voted 27-7 Thursday to approve the measure that includes exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Under the measure, criminal punishment would apply to the person performing the abortion, not the woman. The measure now goes to the House.
What It's Like to Get an Abortion in Louisiana
Claire Lampen | VICE
Louisiana is notoriously hostile to reproductive rights, and has now become the first state in the Trump era to escalate a legal battle over abortion restrictions to the Supreme Court.
Part of Vice’s ongoing series on what it’s like to get an abortion in states across the country. Highly recommend.
As Missouri Clinic Awaits Its Legal Fate, Abortions In State Have Virtually Halted
Sarah McCammon | NPR
Missouri could soon become the first state in the nation without a clinic providing abortions, but Planned Parenthood officials say the last remaining one there has already all but ceased performing the procedure.
Oklahoma Senate votes to ban abortions after 6 weeks
Associated Press
The Oklahoma Senate approved legislation Thursday to essentially prohibit abortions in Oklahoma after six weeks of pregnancy. The Senate voted 36-8 for the bill, which now heads to the House for consideration. The bill by Sen. Paul Scott (R) would prohibit doctors from performing an abortion, beginning at six weeks of pregnancy, if a fetal heartbeat or brain waves are detected.
Utah House OKs ban on elective abortions; Senate must concur for passage
Sahalie Donaldson | Deseret News
House lawmakers swiftly passed a bill that would ban elective abortions in the state of Utah with a few exceptions, but not before shooting down proposed amendments from two Democrats. As a third technical change was approved, the bill will go before the Senate for a final vote.
More from AP: Utah passes new abortion rules as Legislature wraps up
LGBTQ
Disney CEO shuts down anti-LGBTQ critic
Gwen Aviles | Aol
Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek shut down an LGBTQ critic who claimed the company is losing money because its products "promote LGBT ideology." "We believe we want to tell stories that our audience wants to hear that reflects their lives," Chapek said. As for why Disney's stock has recently decreased, he attributes the financial loss to coronavirus, which has caused global markets to drop, not LGBTQ content.
Advocacy Groups Warn Of Specific Vulnerabilities Among LGBTQ People
Randy Slovacek | Instinct Magazine
An open letter to health care providers and media outlets signed by over 100 LGBTQ or LGBTQ supportive organizations asks media outlets and health care providers to be aware that LGBTQ people have particular vulnerabilities in regard to the coronavirus.
Nebraska supporters of LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill say time is now to pass it
JoAnne Young | Fremont Tribune
Nebraska supporters of LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill say time is now to pass it. About 100 people rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday evening to stop LGBTQ workplace discrimination and to support a bill prioritized by Sen. Pansing Brooks.
How a 14-year-old boy got New York to let trans youth to update their legal gender
Bil Browning | LGBTQ Nation
A 14-year-old boy is responsible for a dramatic update to New York’s policy on changing the legal gender of a minor. The state AG announced the change and credited the teen for the new policy. The state will no longer require medical confirmation for gender recognition and will allow minors to change the legal gender on state documents like birth certificates.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Landmark Legislation Seeks to Reduce Black Maternal Health Risks
Cassandra Stone | Courier
The Black Maternal Health Caucus unveiled a package of bills this week that aims to comprehensively improve health outcomes for Black mothers.
THEY’RE CALLING IT THE MOMNIBUS MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT.
Opponents will seek statewide referendum on sex education in Washington
Joel Connelly | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Opponents will press for a statewide referendum on legislation mandating sexual health education in the state's public schools, if Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs the bill into law. The Democratic-run Legislature passed the measure, which would begin sex ed this September in grades 6-12, and in September 2021 for kindergarten through the fifth grade.
Workplace Equality
U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro Resigns
Kevin Draper | New York Times
The resignation, days after a legal filing widely condemned as misogynistic, threw the federation’s leadership into turmoil only weeks before it heads to court to face its women’s team. Carlos Cordeiro was elected U.S. Soccer’s president in 2018.
CBS: U.S. Soccer president resigns after court filing argued women players did not deserve equal pay
L.A. Times: US Soccer Federation president resigns amid uproar over gender discrimination suit
NPR: Head Of U.S. Soccer Resigns Amid Pay Dispute With Women's National Team
USA Today: US Soccer president bows to pressure, resigns after federation demeans USWNT in court filing
Carlos Cordeiro's Resignation First Step Toward USWNT Resolution
Grant Wahl | Sports Illustrated
Carlos Cordeiro resigned as U.S. Soccer president late Thursday night, culminating a historically traumatic week for American soccer in which the sport’s governing body had argued in writing that “indisputable science” meant the world champion U.S. women’s national team was inherently inferior in skill, ability and responsibility to the U.S. men’s team simply because of its gender.
U.S. Soccer’s lawyers learn the hard way that legal arguments can be terrible P.R.
Alison Frankel | Reuters
Cordeiro issued a truly extraordinary statement Wednesday, apologizing for the federation’s most recent filing in the women’s team’s equal pay and gender discrimination suit. The filing, he said "did not reflect the values of our federation or our tremendous admiration of our women’s national team.”
An abject apology for a routine legal brief? If ever there were an object lesson in the consequences of asserting a legally justified – but utterly tone-deaf – argument, this is it.
Megan Rapinoe and U.S. women’s soccer reply in equal pay fight, on and off the field
Steven Goff | The Washington Post
Since the women’s fight against the federation began several years ago — over playing on artificial turf, financial compensation and other issues — Rapinoe has shown her mettle on the field and away from it.
New Hampshire Senate Democrats Pass Paid Family Leave; Veto Expected
Todd Bookman | New Hampshire Public Radio
On a party line vote, Senate Democrats passed a paid family medical leave bill Thursday despite a near certain veto by Gov. Chris Sununu. The measure, HB 712, is similar to a proposal Sununu vetoed last year. Under the plan, workers would be able to take up to 12 weeks off to take care of a sick family member or themselves following the birth or adoption of a child. Republican say the funding mechanism for the program--a 0.5 percent payroll deduction--amounts to an income tax.
Gender inequality can be fixed: New University of Houston study details local pay gaps
Elizabeth Gregory | Houston Chronicle
For decades we’ve talked about moving women up to equity in business and society, but structural problems have intervened — specifically the lack of affordable good childcare, wage inequities and the underrepresentation of women in policymaking roles. These are so entrenched they’ve seemed inevitable. But the wind is changing, nationally and locally.
What the Utah State Legislature did to your life this year
Ben Winslow | KSTU-TV (Salt Lake City, UT)
Rep. Suzanne Harrison’s bill to provide tax credits to businesses that provided paid family leave, on-site child care and other family friendly initiatives, was introduced but did not advance very far. A bill to expand sick leave in Utah to care for an immediate family member also didn’t get too far.