More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The Senate is feverishly debating the president’s $106 billion supplemental budget, which includes requests for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel, measures to counter China’s influence, significant humanitarian assistance funds, and border security.
Republican negotiators have chosen to use the urgency of the foreign aid requests to squeeze concessions from the administration and Democratic senators around the asylum process itself.
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
This week: Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women shuttered after years of documented physical and sexual abuses by guards; a new White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research; Trump-appointed judges deal blow to Voting Rights Act; and more.
The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has allowed Saifullah Kahn, a student accused of sexual assault, to sue his accuser for defamation, relying on a Connecticut Supreme Court opinion finding that the accuser was not entitled to absolute immunity for statements she made during a Title IX proceeding.
This decision will have a chilling effect on sexual assault survivors’ willingness to come forward, as they are now vulnerable to defamation and other civil suits, which are increasingly used to silence and intimidate victims. But the ruling also could impact how schools conduct future Title IX proceedings, and influence proposed new Title IX regulations, which the Biden administration has been working on since 2020.
On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court will hear Moore v. United States, which could dramatically limit the government’s ability to raise revenue for critical priorities, including childcare, disability care, affordable housing and paid leave. It could also widen an already gaping wealth gap for women and people of color, particularly single Black women and Latinas.
The case is being brought by Charles and Kathleen Moore, who own a small stake in an Indian manufacturing firm. Due to a provision in the 2017 Trump tax law, the couple was directed to pay a one-time tax of $15,000 on the profits of their investments. Rather than do so, they are challenging the law. Unless you’re a tax lawyer, this technical legal question may not only seem dry, but also irrelevant. So why should women care about this case?Even a narrow ruling in favor of the Moores could upend our existing tax code.
On Oct. 25, 2023, Anne McElvaine was sending a message to a friend in response to House Republicans unanimously electing Rep. Mike Johnson as speaker. She was saying that he appears to be an idiot and a nut. A typo combined those words into the wonderfully appropriate neologism “idionut.” It is a word for our times.
If our election officials are not safe, neither are our elections. As election officials are leaving at an alarming rate, we must step up to protect the security of our democracy.
Tuesday, Nov. 7, is the last day for voters in several states to head to the polls to vote in a number of off-year elections. While they may be lower-profile, some of these races are still deeply consequential.
We’ll be watching: Ohio’s pro-abortion ballot measure; Virginia’s state legislature; the Pennsylvania supreme court race; and the Kentucky and Mississippi governors’ races.
The threats women candidates face on the campaign trail are intentional, especially towards women of color and those serving at the state and local level who rarely receive media attention.
Attacks on women candidates and elected officials are attacks on democracy. Full stop.
It’s a bittersweet time to reflect on President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s legacy for our federal courts.
On one hand, this administration and Senate majority are unrivaled in adding diversity to the federal bench. On the other hand, Biden and Schumer are now falling behind Trump and McConnell’s pace of confirmations.
Let’s confirm the president’s nominees and fill the vacancies where obstruction is impossible.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has succeeded in getting Donald Trump’s co-conspirators—especially key insiders Sydney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro—to plead guilty and testify against the former president and others.
This move is the latest example of Black women leading the way in defense of our endangered democracy.
