The most compelling stories from our favorite sources.
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Carly Fiorina Both Repels and Enthralls Liberal Feminists
Carly Fiorina’s ridden the coattails of the Planned Parenthood controversy to the horror of non-conservatives. But as Amy Chozick asserts in the New York Times, we can’t help but be drawn to the lone woman amid the GOP sausage fest. (Featuring a quote from our own Robin Marty!)
Obama Condemns ‘Routine’ of Mass Shootings, Says U.S. Has Become Numb
“I’d ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save these lives and let these people grow up.” Obama’s speech in the wake of yesterday’s school shooting was a powerful one.
Forget Oregon’s Gunman. Remember the Hero Who Charged Straight at Him
As Michael Daly writes at the Daily Beast, we should put our effort into remembering the heroes of these all-too-frequent shootings, rather than the gunmen who wreak terror and destruction. Because apparently that limelight is what the Umpqua Community College shooter was seeking.
The Police Told Her to Report Her Rape Then Arrested Her for Lying
If ever there were a botched sexual assault case that screamed “rape culture,” it’s this one, as reported by Katie J.M. Baker at BuzzFeed. When Lara McLeod was raped by the father of her sister’s baby, she didn’t want to report it. After police convinced her to, they jailed her for false reporting and charged her sister with obstruction of justice. Caution: Reading will induce rage.
The GOP’s Big, White Lie: On Planned Parenthood, Racism, and Convenient Christians
“If Republicans cared so much about saving the lives of children, they would support Planned Parenthood as it serves at-risk communities so that children are born into healthy, stable and loving environments strengthened by the dismantling of intergenerational poverty.” At the Root, Kirsten West Savali takes the cracks in Republican rhetoric, and blows them wide open.
I Don’t Act Like an “Angry Black Woman”—But I’m Read That Way if I Broach Race
Rebecca Carroll is angry. And not only because she’s pigeonholed that way by a White supremacist society, as she writes in this strikingly honest piece at the Guardian.
It’s Impossible to Have an Honest Conversation About Weight
How often do we whip out our “Body-Language-Decoder-Ring” when talking about weight? At the Cut, DAME contrib Lily Burana examines “the crazy” with which women address body size, and helps us all feel a little bit more sane.
Secrets of “Saturday Night Live’s” Writers Room: “The Pressure Was Intense, But it was Incredible
DAME’s executive editor Kera Bolonik continues her deep dive into the annals of SNL for Salon, with a Q&A with Christine Zander, one of the only women in the sketch show’s writers room during the late-’80s/early-’90s reign of Mike Myers, Nora Dunn, Julia Sweeney, and Jan Hooks.
Bill Nye to Anti-Abortionists: ‘You Literally Don’t Know What You’re Talking About’
A must-WATCH link, one that secures our love for Bill Nye the Science Guy, who shuts down abortion opponents with a little thing called fact.
Planned Parenthood Means Fewer Abortions
“If only we could find an organization that educates young girls, and boys, about the dangers of early and unwanted pregnancies; a group that distributes contraceptives but also stresses the fact that sexual abstinence is safe, free, and, when used continuously, always prevents pregnancy. That group could really lower the abortion and teen-age pregnancy rates in this country. Oh. Wait. We have that organization. It’s called Planned Parenthood.” At The New Yorker, Michael Specter leaves little doubt that the GOP is fighting against its very own cause.
Guess What? Americans Love Planned Parenthood
Rebecca Traister proves the Republican’s attack on the women’s health org is losing the popularity contest, by systematically running through NBC/Wall Street Journal’s positivity poll. Can you guess which org came out on top?
COMIC BONUS:
Drunk History: Harriet Tubman Leads an Army of Bad Bitches
Okay, true, there’s no reading involved here but if you haven’t seen Octavia Spencer act out Crissle West’s wasted re-telling of Harriet Tubman’s Combahee River plantation raid during the Civil War, you haven’t laughed enough this week.