December 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us

PUBLISHED 12/6/2022 by

Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

I want to do my part in the disruption of the “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male—and to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities. You know … the rest of us.

Federal Funding Is Necessary to Sustain Election Workers

PUBLISHED 12/6/2022 by

Ahead of the midterms, many were concerned that election workers and voters would face intimidation or threats at polling places. By and large, though, the push to recruit an “army” of poll watchers and observers didn’t amount to much.

How was it that this election, conducted in the midst of grave threats to our democracy, went so smoothly? In short, because many of the people who needed to step up did so.

Now, longer-term, consistent and adequate funding from the federal government is necessary to ensure election workers have the support they need to continually improve at their jobs without worrying for their own safety and that of their families.

Supreme Court Rejects ‘Independent State Legislature Theory,’ Putting Limits on Lawmakers’ Powers

PUBLISHED 12/6/2022 by and

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court rejected the “independent state legislature” theory in a case about North Carolina’s congressional map. The theory would have emboldened state lawmakers and restricted the power of state courts to review certain election laws.

“Today, the Supreme Court rejected the fringe independent state legislature theory that threatened to upend our democracy and dismantle our system of checks and balances,” tweeted former President Barack Obama. “This ruling rejects the far-right theory that threatened to undermine our democracy, and makes clear that courts can continue defending voters’ rights—in North Carolina and in every state.”

Trump-Appointed EEOC Commissioner Goes After Employers’ Abortion Travel Benefit Policies

PUBLISHED 12/5/2022 by

Employers around the country announced that they would assist their employees to travel out of state to access abortion healthcare. But a Trump-appointed member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is working from inside the civil rights agency to attack these employer benefits, claiming they are favoring workers seeking abortions while discriminating against pregnant workers and disabled workers.

This attempt to redirect the government’s limited civil rights resources to attacking women’s rights is evidence of the continuing harms caused by the Trump administration to women.

After Alito’s Hobby Lobby Leak, It’s Official—The Supreme Court Has Been Compromised

PUBLISHED 12/5/2022 by

In 2014, Justice Samuel Alito allegedly leaked the impending decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby to anti-choice lobbyists weeks before the Court publicly issued it. This revelation suggests something more sinister: Some of the justices are acting in concert with conservative movement leaders, leaking opinions, signaling outcomes, and backchanneling. This is disturbing and devastating. The rule of law cannot survive if the judiciary ceases to be independent.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: ‘We Are Meeting Because We Are Prime Ministers,’ Jacinda Ardern Tells Reporter; Ukrainian Women Are Vital in Fight Against Russia

PUBLISHED 12/2/2022 by

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern makes a male reporter shrink into a ball of shame; a new school is training women to fly drones—a key component to Ukraine’s resistance against Russian forces; an all-women referee trio for the first time at the World Cup;