Category: Chick Stuff,

Shana Grice: Sussex police to face discipline after stalking case

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Europe,Leave a comment

Shana Grice, 19, was killed in August 2016 by an ex-boyfriend, Michael Lane, who was convicted of murder a year later and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Grice went to Sussex Police five times in six months to report Lane but, in most incidents, little to no action was taken against the man, an independent review found.

In one instance, Grice was “fined for wasting police time” after officers learned she and Lane had previously been in a relationship, the review by England and Wales’ Independent Office for Police Conduct found.

Shana Grice: Sussex police to face discipline after stalking case

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Meet the First Woman to Receive a 4-Year College Football Scholarship

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

While enrolled at Golden West College, she entered East Los Angeles College to be able to play free safety with the community college team.

After two years in college football, she has received dozens of scholarship offers to play. Most recently, she marked history as the first woman to sign a letter of intent for a four-year college football scholarship. She accepted the scholarship with Central Methodist University to continue her studies and play football in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Meet the First Woman to Receive a 4-Year College Football Scholarship

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Maine GOP rep. says access to menstrual products would make jails like ‘country clubs’

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

During debate, Pickett, who currently serves as Dixfield Police Chief and who voted against the bill, argued that detainees already had access to menstrual products such as pads and tampons.

“Quite frankly, and I don’t mean this in any disrespect, the jail system and the correctional system was never meant to be a country club,” he said, according to Bangor Daily News reporter Alex Acquisto. 

Maine GOP rep. says access to menstrual products would make jails like ‘country clubs’ | Beacon

Jeezus…

Equal Pay Day Poll: Nearly Half of Men Believe the Pay Gap Is ‘Made Up’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

It [is] hard to argue for remedies to a problem when there’s still a debate about whether that problem exists. 

…[Research] shows that when women enter a field in large numbers, wages tend to go down, and that men are paid higher salaries even in fields that women tend to dominate, such as nursing.

…Asked what they saw as major reasons for the pay gap. …Women were more likely to cite unconscious bias and sexism, while men were more likely to say it was because women work fewer hours than men and are “generally in careers that don’t pay as much.”

When asked what they thought of the fact that women were paid less than men for similar types of work, 71% of women characterized it as “very unfair,” compared to 48% of men. While a majority of women (62%) said that there are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead, a majority of men (58%) said that obstacles that may have made it harder for women to get ahead in past are now “largely gone.”

…Another culprit that researchers have pointed to is the “expectation gap.” …What she found is that women tended to ask for less money than similarly qualified male peers. “Women expect less and therefore get less,” she says.

…When asked about the sizable chunk of the population who thinks that equal pay is a non-issue, Patel suggests that it may come from a lack of first-hand experience.

“If you’re not living it,” he says, “maybe you’re blissfully unaware.”

Equal Pay Day Poll: Nearly Half of Men Believe the Pay Gap Is ‘Made Up’ | Time

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How Barbara Bush Decided She Was Pro-Choice

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Barbara Bush had no reservations about embracing her husband’s positions on the economy and foreign affairs, and most of all about extolling his virtues as a person and a leader. But on cultural and social issues, she often found herself at odds with the GOP and its increasingly conservative tilt. “In all our years of campaigning, abortion was the toughest issue for me,” she said later.

…After negotiations with former President Gerald Ford to join the ticket collapsed and Reagan tapped Bush, her pro-choice button disappeared. She didn’t change her views, but she did stop talking about them, saying that only the opinion of those on the ballot mattered. 

…“Both George and I felt strongly about our positions but respected each other’s views; there was no point in discussing it every time it came up,” she wrote in 1994, in Barbara Bush: A Memoir. 

…I vividly remember that split second, that thin line between breathing and not breathing, the complete knowledge that her soul had left and only the body remained.

How Barbara Bush Decided She Was Pro-Choice – The Atlantic

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Ireland Imprisoned ‘Fallen Women’ In Religious Run Work Camps for over two hundred years

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Europe,, Media and Culture,, Religion,Leave a comment

For more than two centuries, women in Ireland were sent to institutions like Donnybrook as a punishment for having sex outside of marriage. Unwed mothers, flirtatious women and others deemed unfit for society were forced to labor under the strict supervision of nuns for months or years, sometimes even for life.

…When the Magdalene Movement first took hold in the mid-18th century, the campaign to put “fallen women” to work was supported by both the Catholic and Protestant churches, with women serving short terms inside the asylums with the goal of rehabilitation. Over the years, however, the Magdalene laundries—named for the Biblical figure Mary Magdalene—became primarily Catholic institutions, and the stints grew longer and longer. Women sent there were often charged with “redeeming themselves” through lace-making, needlework or doing laundry.

Though most residents had not been convicted of any crime, conditions inside were prison-like. “Redemption might sometimes involve a variety of coercive measures, including shaven heads, institutional uniforms, bread and water diets, restricted visiting, supervised correspondence, solitary confinement and even flogging.”

…Initially, a majority of women entered the institutions voluntarily and served out multi-year terms in which they learned a “respectable” profession. The idea was that they’d employ these skills to earn money after being released; their work supported the institution while they were there.

But over time, the institutions became more like prisons, with many different groups of women being routed through the system, sometimes by the Irish government. There were inmates imported from psychiatric institutions and jails, women with special needs, victims of rape and sexual assault, pregnant teenagers sent there by their parents, and girls deemed too flirtatious or tempting to men. Others were there for no obvious reason. 

…Often, women’s names were stripped from them; they were referred to by numbers or as “child” or “penitent.” Some inmates—often orphans or victims of rape or abuse—stayed there for a lifetime; others escaped and were brought back to the institutions.

…Babies were usually taken from their mothers and handed over to other families. In one of the most notorious homes, the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, scores of babies died. In 2014, remains of at least 796 babies were found in a septic tank in the home’s yard; the facility is still being investigated to reconstruct the story of what happened there.

…Estimates of the number of women who went through Irish Magdalene laundries vary, and most religious orders have refused to provide archival information for investigators and historians. Up to 300,000 women are thought to have passed through the laundries in total, at least 10,000 of them since 1922. But despite a large number of survivors, the laundries went unchallenged until the 1990s.

…the last Magdalene laundry finally closed in 1996. Known as the Gloucester Street Laundry, it was home to 40 women, most of them elderly and many with developmental disabilities. 

How Ireland Turned ‘Fallen Women’ Into Slaves – HISTORY

Jeezus…

America’s Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,Leave a comment

Margaret Hennessey’s experience was far from unusual. She had been detained under a program she likely had never heard of: the “American Plan.” From the 1910s through the 1950s, and in some places into the 1960s and 1970s, tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of American women were detained and forcibly examined for STIs.

…If the women tested positive, U.S. officials locked them away in penal institutions with no due process. While many records of the program have since been lost or destroyed, women’s forced internment could range from a few days to many months. Inside these institutions, records show, the women were often injected with mercury and forced to ingest arsenic-based drugs, the most common treatments for syphilis in the early part of the century. If they misbehaved, or if they failed to show “proper” ladylike deference, these women could be beaten, doused with cold water, thrown into solitary confinement—or even sterilized.

…Beginning in 1918, federal officials began pushing every state in the nation to pass a “model law,” which enabled officials to forcibly examine any person “reasonably suspected” of having an STI. Under this statute, those who tested positive for an STI could be held in detention for as long as it took to render him or her noninfectious. (On paper, the law was gender-neutral; in practice, it almost exclusively focused on regulating women and their bodies.)

…Records exist in archives that document women being detained and examined for sitting at a restaurant alone; for changing jobs; for being with a man; for walking down a street in a way a male official found suspicious.

…Contemporaneous exposés reveal [, that] in the late 1940s, San Francisco police officers sometimes threatened to have women “vagged”—vaginally examined—if they didn’t accede to sexual demands. Women of color and immigrant women, in particular, were targeted—and subjected to a higher degree of abuse once they were locked up.

…“In other words,” the [Sacramento] Bee reported, “out of twenty-two suspects subjected to an examination [in the single day sweep in 1919,] the police were justified in arresting but one woman.”

…Enforcement of the American Plan ended by the 1970s, amid the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, the women’s lib movement and the sex-workers-rights movement.

America’s Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral – HISTORY

Jeezus Krrrreyst

Federal judge ends North Carolina ban on abortions after 20 weeks

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 A U.S. federal court struck down North Carolina’s decades-old ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying any “week- or event-specific” abortion ban is unconstitutional.

…U.S. District Judge William Osteen in Greensboro overturned the ban on Monday, allowing an abortion to take place at any point before the fetus is viable, or able to potentially live outside the womb, as determined by a doctor.

Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Osteen wrote “a state is never allowed to prohibit any swath of pre-viability abortions outright, no matter how strenuously it may believe that such a ban is in the best interests of its citizens or how minimal it may find the burden to women seeking an abortion.”

Federal judge ends North Carolina ban on abortions after 20 weeks | Reuters

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Last-minute NASA decision to cancel all-female spacewalk spotlights spacesuit problem

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

NASA’s last-minute decision to cancel what would have been an historic all-female spacewalk triggered a swift and sardonic reaction on social media — and cast a harsh spotlight on a problem that has long bedeviled the space agency: It doesn’t have enough spacesuits.

…Former NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who is now a professor of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, said in an email that NASA had “painted itself into a corner by all the public announcements about the two-female EVA,” or extravehicular activity. He said the agency “probably should have delayed the spacewalk” to prepare the other suit.

“Obviously, the work took priority over the accomplishment of a two-female EVA and now NASA has to endure the public backlash instead of the enthusiasm they hoped for,” he said. “A shame.”

Last-minute NASA decision to cancel all-female spacewalk spotlights spacesuit problem

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‘Abortion Reversal’ With Progesterone Is Being Tested In Study

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,Leave a comment

Legislators in Arkansas, Idaho, South Dakota and Utah have made it a legal requirement in recent years that doctors who provide medical abortions must tell their patients that “reversal” is an option, although they are not prevented from also telling patients if they think the treatment doesn’t work.

Medical researchers such as Creinin and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology are concerned by that trend.

“[This is] a law based on no science — absolutely zero science,” Creinin says.

…Already in 2019, legislators in several states — Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota and Nebraska — have been considering bills that would require abortion providers to tell their patients about abortion reversal. Back in 2017, Delgado testified in support of similar legislation in Colorado, although the proposal never made it into law.

Grossman says he’s furious that states are forcing abortion providers to give their patients inaccurate information related to abortion care.

What’s more, Grossman says, “these laws take an extra step … and essentially are encouraging patients to be a part of clinical research that isn’t really being appropriately monitored. … This is really an experimental treatment.”

‘Abortion Reversal’ With Progesterone Is Being Tested In Study : Shots – Health News : NPR

sigh…

Muslims and Jewish Men in Ilhan Omar’s district Frustrated with her

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Religion,Leave a comment

“I don’t think we were looking into her heart and accusing her of being an anti-Semite,” said Hunegs, who is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC).

…”We wanted to show her how what she had said was consistent with the statements of anti-Semites and anti-Semitism over time,” Hunegs said.

…Ahmed dismissed the argument that Omar was merely criticizing the Israeli government — something all the men [emphasis: peanut gallery. Why did CNN only interview men for this story?] interviewed by CNN said was her prerogative and not the problem.

…Halverson says all of the circling around Omar over this issue has become a distraction.

But many are worried the distraction will keep Omar from being able to do her job. 

These Muslims and Jews in Ilhan Omar’s district are united in frustration at her – CNNPolitics

Distraction? Really? How many men would have the same things said about them in a similar situation? The peanut gallery cannot think of an article whose author worries that a man in Congress could not do his job because they might be distracted…

And yes, clearly, when David Duke agrees with you you aren’t on the correct track.

Still though…. The peanut gallery cannot un-see the fact that she is being treated differently than a male colleague would be in the same situation.

Reaching White Women

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

Simple mathematics dictates that if we care about Democratic majorities, we should start by winning back white women. If white women are moved either to vote or switch party affiliation by 8 percent in some places, that could secure victory when combined with an already reliable multiethnic coalition.

…First, let’s examine some truths about all women. From food to health care to cars, women make up 85 percent of purchasing decisions in the United States. Most women with kids under the age of 18 are in the workforce. Moms are twice as likely as dads to handle the cooking, and working mothers handle most of the childcare, even women who are primary breadwinners. 

…Anecdotes from this demographic show that most political jargon makes them feel alienated, and even phrases like “economic security” can invoke a sense of insecurity—that they need to be policy experts to participate in the conversation—when nothing could be further from the truth. Women are usually the ones who can calculate to the penny what they need to run the household, and they know intimately what one missed paycheck means in terms of family sacrifice. Until we acknowledge this as valued expertise, we will never be able to set up effective dialogue that draws these women into engaged progressive politics.

…White women report a desire to study and make well-researched decisions about their politics. Our job is to provide easily accessible and digestible information that fits into their daily lives, that they don’t have to venture too far to find.

Reaching White Women : Democracy Journal

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Georgia state lawmaker proposes ‘testicular bill of rights’ in response to anti-abortion legislation

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

Kendrick’s tweet included an image of her proposed legislation, which would require men to obtain permission from their sex partner before obtaining erectile dysfunction medication and ban vasectomy procedures. 

…The legislation also includes stipulations that would require DNA testing once a woman is six weeks and one day pregnant to “determine the father of the child who shall IMMEDIATELY start paying child support.”

The bill also would make it an aggravated assault crime for a man to have sex without a condom. The final stipulation on Kendrick’s list proposes a 24-hour waiting period for men to purchase any porn or sex toys in Georgia. 

Georgia state lawmaker proposes ‘testicular bill of rights’ in response to anti-abortion legislation | TheHill

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Cash from N.Y., feds tests 100K rape kits, leads to 1K arrests

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials said Tuesday.

…Financed with $38 million from settlements in banking-related cases, [NY] dispatched more than 55,000 rape kits to testing labs.

…Meanwhile, another nearly 45,000 rape kits have been sent to labs through the Justice Department program — and it’s produced nearly 899 prosecutions and 498 convictions and plea bargains, according to data the agency provided Monday to The Associated Press.

…It’s estimated that another 155,000 or more sex assault evidence kits still await testing, and thousands of results have yet to be linked to suspects. Many who have been identified can’t be prosecuted because of legal time limits and other factors.

…The backlog built up over decades, partly due to the cost of tests that can run $1,000 or more.

But victims’ advocates also say many sex assault cases simply got sidelined over the years by police and prosecutors who unduly disbelieved or downplayed victims’ allegations.

Cash from N.Y., feds tests 100K rape kits, leads to 1K arrests

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What a staffer’s sexual harassment scandal means for Kirsten Gillibrand

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

According to Politico, a young female aide accused Abbas Malik, the male aide, of harassment, then complained about the response by the senator’s office and ultimately resigned. Malik was kept on, but he was later dismissed after Politico reached out with additional instances of alleged misconduct. Gillibrand declined to speak with Politico.

Jeanne Zaino: The problem for Senator Gillibrand is that she has made a name for herself as the #MeToo senator and as someone who has been has taken a no-holds-barred approach to allegations, including those made against members of her own party (Al Franken and Bill Clinton). And now she is facing her own criticism that her public persona does not match up with her private actions when it comes to how her office handles harassment allegations.

…Bob Liff: Writing as someone who is an admirer of the work Sen. Gillibrand has done, the story appears to be a fair recounting of the incident in her office, and is relevant both because of the incident itself and because of her apparent no-tolerance policy when it came to Sen. Franken.

…Democrats have a tendency to organize a firing squad in a circle when we should be firing out rather than inward, especially facing a grotesque lying, sexist, xenophobic, bigoted and economically illiterate administration headed by you know who.

…Doug Forand: First and foremost, she should have had an outside entity conduct a full and independent investigation. She has proposed this as the standard in Congress and she should have voluntarily adhered to it when it involved her office. 

What a staffer’s sexual harassment scandal means for Kirsten Gillibrand | CSNY

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