March 9, 2023

Thursday, March 9, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

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Kamala is always busy.

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Jill is always busy.

Jill Biden calls on men to support women fighting for rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden on Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including those who have been protesting against Iran’s leaders, for showing courage while fighting for their rights and called on men to “be partners” with women and support them in their cause.

“As much as we need women who are willing to speak up, we need more men who are willing to listen and act,” the first lady said.

“We need more men to hold each other accountable when their sisters are being hurt or left behind,” she said at a White House ceremony for the 2023 recipients of the International Women of Courage Awards. “We need more men who nurture families, who feed and teach and mentor, who build safer communities. We need more men who know that caring, collaboration and kindness are signs of strength, not weakness.

“Men, we need you to support the women who are fighting for their rights and to lift up those who have been silenced,” she continued. “Be partners, be partners with women. Become the ‘men of courage’ we need. Only then will we be able to build a world where men and women are equal and all people are free.”

At the ceremony, held on International Women’s Day, Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented awards to 11 recipients from Afghanistan, Argentina, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Poland and Ukraine. (Associated Press).

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In Texas, Women Denied Abortions File Landmark Lawsuit.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/03/07/texas-women-abortion-lawsuit/

Zurawski v. Texas, a new lawsuit announced Tuesday, March 7, marks the first time patients directly affected by abortion laws have sought to challenge them in court. Filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) on behalf of five Texans directly harmed by bans and two Texas ob-gyns, the lawsuit aims to hold the state of Texas accountable for the consequences of the state’s multiple anti-abortion laws.

Currently, three dueling abortion bans are in effect in the state:

House Bill 1280, a “trigger” law passed in 2021 prohibiting all abortion if and when Roe v. Wade is overturned, which took effect in June 2022

a criminal ban dating back to the creation of the state’s penal code in 1857, often called the “pre-Roe statutes”

Senate Bill 8, a ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, which contains the infamous “vigilante” provision incentivizing private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion, resulting in at least $10,000 in damages

All three bans have no exceptions for rape or incest. While the laws do contain “medical emergency” exceptions, doctors and healthcare providers—who face up to 99 years in prison for providing an abortion under the trigger ban alone—have reported widespread confusion over what qualifies as an exception.

“Since Texas’ abortion bans took effect, my hands are tied in many situations,” said Dr. Damla Karsan, a plaintiff in the case. “I’ve had to send patients to other states for abortion care that I could have easily given them right across the street at the hospital. I know most Texas doctors are scared to provide abortions in any circumstances or even say the word ‘abortion.’ We need clarity on what kinds of patients we can help without losing our license or ending up in jail.”

The CRR lawsuit argues the three laws violate the pregnant women’s fundamental human rights and the Texas constitution’s guarantees to life, liberty and equality and the rights of physicians—namely, their rights to pursue their profession without risking loss of liberty.

The five women named in the lawsuit—Amanda Zurawski, Lauren Miller, Lauren Hall, Anna Zargarian and Ashley Brandt—say they were denied medically necessary abortions, even though their conditions should have qualified under the state’s abortion ban exceptions. Instead, all of their conditions worsened, posing risks to their fertility, health and lives.

According to the lawsuit,

• The lead plaintiff in the case, Zurawski “was forced to wait until she was septic to receive abortion care, causing one of her fallopian tubes to become permanently closed.”

• “When [Miller] learned one of her twins was not viable, she was forced to travel out of state for the abortion she needed to save her and her other baby’s life, who is due in several weeks.”

• Hall “received a devastating fetal diagnosis two weeks after Roe was overturned, and in the chaos that followed, she was forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. Pregnant again now, [Hall] fears that Texas is not safe for her or her family.”

• Zargarian “was forced to fly across multiple states after her water broke, risking that she would go into labor or septic shock on the journey.”

• Brandt “had to travel out of state to for an abortion to save the life of one of her twins, and afterwards, fearful of documenting [Brandt’s] abortion, her Texas physician instead described her condition as ‘vanishing twin syndrome.'”

“Texas officials claim the bans they passed protect ‘life,’ but there’s nothing pro-life about them. I nearly died as a direct result of the anti-abortion restrictions in Texas,” said Zurawski. “What’s more, they put the lives of my potential future children at risk, as the damage done to my body has already had a negative impact on my reproductive health.”

In Texas, Republicans hold a trifecta in the state’s two legislative bodies and in the governor’s mansion. In the legislature, several bills have been filed that would create exceptions for abortion in cases of rape or incest, or anomalies that make a fetus incompatible with life—but they are not expected to advance.

The CRR lawsuit’s novel legal approach is growing more urgent, as bans begin to pop up in states that previously allowed abortion, such as Florida—where the Republican-led legislature on Tuesday filed bills that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—and Wyoming—where two anti-abortion bills await the signature of Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who is historically anti-abortion.

“What’s happening here in Texas is happening throughout the nation,” said Northup at a Tuesday press conference. “Perhaps the strength of the five women who have come forward today will help give others strength, so they too can hold their states to account.” (Ms. Magazine)

Touch to watch 👇the full press conference below:

Center for Reproductive Rights was live. | By Center for Reproductive Rights

Center for Reproductive Rights was live.

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The Tucker Carlson Texts.

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.” — Tucker Carlson text to Fox News producer, January 4, 2021

"That's the last four years. We're all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest. But come on. There isn't really an upside to Trump." —Also Tucker on January 4, 2021. (Source. Dominion lawsuit against Fox News)

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The Tucker Carlson Tapes.

But in the fact-based universe, where Americans remember what actually happened, the blowback was intense.

The family of Brian Sicknick, the officer who died the day after defending the Capitol, issued a scathing statement after Carlson tried to downplay the injuries Sicknick suffered at the hands of pro-Trump rioters.

The Sicknick family is outraged at the ongoing attack on our family by the unscrupulous and outright sleazy so-called ‘news’ network of Fox News who will do the bidding of Trump or any of his sycophant followers, no matter what damage is done to the families of the fallen, the officers who put their lives on the line, and all who suffered on Jan 6th due to the lies started by Trump and spread by sleaze slinging outlets like Fox.

Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger also issued a rare statement ripping what he called “offensive” and “misleading” conclusions about the attack.

“Last night an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack,” Manger wrote in an internal department memo obtained by CNN, adding that Carlson’s show didn’t reach out to the police department “to provide accurate context.”

Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans were quick to distance themselves from the Tucker/McCarthy goatf*ck. Via NBC: “'Bulls---': GOP senators rebuke Tucker Carlson for downplaying Jan. 6 as 'mostly peaceful'.”

“I think it’s bullshit,” Tillis told reporters in the Capitol.

“I was here. I was down there, and I saw maybe a few tourists, a few people who got caught up in things,” he added. “But when you see police barricades breached, when you see police officers assaulted, all of that ... if you were just a tourist you should’ve probably lined up at the visitors’ center and came in on an orderly basis.”

McConnell explicitly endorsed the letter from the Capitol police chief.

"I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief and the Capitol Police about what happened on January 6," McConnell said as he held up a copy of the letter. "It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.”

Some of the other reax (via Aaron Blake):

• Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) summarized Carlson’s version as “some rowdy peaceful protest of Boy Scouts” and said to put what happened “in the same category as … permitted peaceful protest is just a lie.”

• Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said he was concerned about the House Jan. 6 committee’s work, but added, “I’m not interested in whitewashing Jan. 6.”

• Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called it “dangerous and disgusting” and compared it to Alex Jones’s portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre.

• Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said, “I thought it was an insurrection at that time. I still think it was an insurrection today.”

• Senate Republicans’ No. 2 John Thune (S.D.) said, “I think it was an attack on the Capitol. … There were a lot of people in the Capitol at the time that were scared for their lives.”

**

The fact-checkers were brutal, because there was so much to check, and the deceptions so numerous and blatant. Via NBC:

Video that Carlson didn’t air shows police and rioters engaged in hours of violent combat. Nearly 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack. About 140 officers were assaulted that day, and about 326 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, including 106 assaults that happened with deadly or dangerous weapons. About 60 people pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement. Two pipe bombs were also planted nearby but were not detonated.

Via CBS:

The narrative last night ignores the tens of thousands of pages of court filings we’ve read and the tonnage of footage already released by the Justice Department and shown in open court…

And it ignores the powerful and at times tearful accounts of injured officers who are testifying under oath. Carlson called January 6th, quote, ‘mostly peaceful and meek with a small percent that was violent.’

**

How bad is it?

Other Fox shows seem to have launched Operation CYA. Via Mediaite: “Bret Baier Airs Report Questioning Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 Coverage, Features McConnell Saying Fox News Made ‘A Mistake’.”

**

Tom Nichols thinks the whole thing will backfire.

As Sonny Bunch from The Bulwark wryly observed this morning: “Going to be kind of funny to watch GOP candidates dance around acknowledging that the presidential frontrunner and the party’s semi-official media organ are more or less pro-storming-the-Capitol at this point.”

As counterintuitive as it might be, perhaps the best thing for American democracy would be for Carlson to keep bumbling his way through more January 6 footage and to keep images of the insurrection in front of millions of viewers for as long as possible.

If that’s how McCarthy and Carlson intend to restore the image of the GOP as a normal political party, who are any of us to argue with such public-relations geniuses? (The Bulwark).

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Republicans treat Drag Queens like fungible trash. What is Ru Paul to do?

RuPaul Speaks Out on Anti-Drag Bills: 'Classic Distraction Technique.’

RuPaul, the face of the “Drag Race” franchise, has responded to the recent wave of anti-drag and anti-trans legislation introduced by Republican lawmakers in the U.S.

In an Instagram video on Wednesday, the Emmy winner called the bills “a classic distraction technique” and urged Americans to register to vote.

“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school,” RuPaul said. “But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength.”

RuPaul continued, “Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government. And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote.”

The response comes as many conservative legislators around the country attempt to ban children from drag performances, bar drag shows from occurring in public places and brand them as adult-oriented businesses. Tennessee, Kentucky and Montana are three of the states moving forward with bills banning public drag performances.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill that goes into effect on July 1 that bans gender-affirming health care for minors. He also signed a bill limiting drag show performances in Tennessee. While it doesn’t implicitly say the word “drag,” the bill forbids drag performances by male or female impersonators who, as the law defines it, provide entertainment that is “harmful to minors.”

The attacks don’t stop there. At least 11 state legislatures are threatening to restrict or prohibit drag show performances as the GOP continues to ramp up efforts to spread the narrative that drag queens are predators. (Variety).

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This all female ensemble will be broadcasting, not singing.

All-female ensemble set for broadcast of National Basketball Association (NBA) game on ESPN.

Malika Andrews broadcasts occasionally on ESPN.
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On the court, it will be the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans. Taking center stage, an all-female ensemble that will produce the broadcast.

It’s the second straight year ESPN has orchestrated an NBA game led by an all-female broadcast crew, with this version being held on International Women’s Day. Beth Mowins and Doris Burke will call the action, with more than 70 women taking part in Wednesday’s pregame and game coverage.

They’ll fill the roles of analyst, commentators, producers, directors, graphic designers, statisticians and social media operators. (Associated Press).
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Toni Morrison on a Stamp. I ordered mine. Have you ordered yours?

Toni Morrison is memorialized on a USPS Forever Stamp.

The US Postal Service is honoring the late author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison with her own Forever stamp.

"It's a privilege to represent the 650,000 men and women of the Postal Service, as we honor Toni Morrison with one more tribute — our new stamp that will be seen by millions and forever remind us of the power of her words and the ideas she brought to the world," Pritha Mehra, USPS chief information officer and executive vice president, said in a statement.

Morrison, who died in 2019 at 88, explored Black American life in her work with a signature imagination and lyricism. She penned numerous novels over her decades-long career, including "The Bluest Eye," "Song of Solomon" and the Pulitzer-Prize winning "Beloved." In 1993, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first African American woman to receive the honor. (AP).