You can talk to me

Today…

• I discovered the Substack setting that turns on a commenting section. Maybe it wasn’t available when I started? Who knows. Either way, everything old is new again, so welcome back to my 2000s-era blog.

• is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (#EndHumanTrafficking).

• is National Cheesecake Day, and a quick Rachel Classic I can’t believe I haven’t already told you. Big Nana adored a good cheesecake, and was especially fond of cheesecake from Downtown Bakery – and it is awfully good, it’s whipped, very light and fluffy, not at all your traditional NY-style. But she always said it was expensive, so we didn’t have it very often.
  
  So, one day I was driving in for a visit, and decided to surprise Nana with some of her favorites. I bought a dozen smiley face cookies and one of those expensive cheesecakes and girl my total was $12. For both. First words out of her mouth, “Thank you, honey, you didn’t have to do that! Their cheesecakes are expensive.” Please. I wish I could get a slice of good bakery cheesecake for $8 in DC are you kidding.
  
  Now we buy ‘em two at a time like we’re made of money.

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Abortion

• CNN | 228 GOP lawmakers call on Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade | Ariane de Vogue

  • More from AP, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Bust Magazine, The Hill, HuffPost, Mic

  • Los Angeles Times | Mississippi's abortion brief dynamites standing law and 'super duper' precedents | Harry Litman 

  • New York Magazine | Anti-Abortion Movement Lets the Mask Slip in Plea to Supreme Court | Ed Kilgore 

  • New York Times | Mississippi Explains All on Abortion | Linda Greenhouse

  • USA Today | Mike Pence joins conservative groups in jumping into abortion debate at Supreme Court | John Fritze

Aw, Mike Pence trying to get back in with the old gang…

• Slate | Why Did a Republican Senator Ask a Biden Nominee if He Believes in God? | Mark Joseph Stern

  • More from AlterNet, LGBTQ Nation, Mediaite, RawStory

• Time | The House Just Passed Federal Spending Bills Without Abortion Restrictions for the First Time in Decades | Abigail Abrams

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LGBTQ

• The Advocate | Respected News Magazine The Economist Publishes Anti-Trans Screed | Trudy Ring

• The American Independent | Nonbinary people are making headway in politics, new report shows | Casey Quinlan 

• NBC | Nearly 1,000 LGBTQ officials elected nationwide, report says | Jo Yurcaba  

Colorado

• CNN | Colorado web designer who refused to make same-sex wedding websites loses appeal in court | Leah Asmelash 

Illinois

• them. | Illinois Becomes First State in 27 Years to Fully Decriminalize HIV Transmission | Nico Lang

• Daily Herald | 'A relic': Des Plaines to repeal opposite-sex clothing ban | Russell Lissau

Maryland

• Bloomberg | Transgender Man Proceeds in Obamacare Bias Suit Against Hospital | Mary Anne Pazanowski

Nebraska

• Omaha World-Herald | Gender identity references 'largely stricken' from 2nd draft of Nebraska health-ed standards | Joe Dejka

  • More from  AP, Lincoln Journal Star, News Channel Nebraska

Virginia

• Richmond Times-Dispatch | Lynchburg judge throws out lawsuit that threatened Virginia's transgender students' protections | Jessica Nocera 

  • More from AP, Courthouse News Service, Newsweek, Washington Blade

Wyoming

• Casper Star-Tribune | More to be done to make Casper safe for all, LGBTQ committee says | Ellen Gerst 

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Pregnancy & Parenting

New Jersey

• NJ.com | Just had a baby in N.J.? You can soon get a free house call from a nurse under new law. | Susan K. Livio

  • More from Becker's Hospital Review, The Hill, MyCentralJersey.com, NJ Spotlight, Patch

Virginia

• The Dogwood | ‘It’s a Moral Issue’: Virginia Families Need Affordable Child Care and Paid Leave | Keya Vakil 

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Work & Money

• Bloomberg | ABA Lawyer Profile Shows Few Women, Minority Gains Over Decade | Ruiqi Chen 

• CNBC | MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates donate $40 million to gender equality projects | Annie Palmer

  • More from AP, Business Insider, Chronicle of Philanthropy, CNN, Forbes, Fortune, New York Times, UPI, U.S. News & World Report

• New York Times | Who Discriminates in Hiring? A New Study Can Tell. | Eduardo Porter

• New York Times | No Loans, No Credit, No Funding: Why More Women Aren’t Millionaires | Ruchika Tulshyan

• The 19th | What is the future of prostitution and sex work? Two states preview diverging paths | Barbara Rodriguez 

• VICE | What Can Activision's Own Investigation of Harassment Actually Accomplish? | Lauren Kaori Gurley

• Washington Post | Female teen lifeguard questions why male teen guards are being paid more for the same job | Karla Miller 

Olympics

• The Cut | A Show of Strength | Ashley Stoney

• The Lily | It’s the first Summer Olympics since #MeToo – and athletes are speaking out. Survivors say it’s ‘a reckoning.’ | Caroline Kitchener, Anne Branigin 

• Outsports | For first time, LGBTQ athletes ask to be put on list of out OIympians | Jim Buzinski 

• USA Today | This is America: True patriotism is supporting Black women of the Olympics | Analis Bailey 

North Carolina

• The Charlotte Observer | Boss told NC 911 operator to take off shirt — and she’s fired for complaining, feds say | Hayley Fowler 

Vermont 

• WVNY-TV | Vermont lawmakers and businesses call for universal paid family and medical leave act | Courtney Smith Kramer