ProgressWomen

Image via @ New York Times - The Caucus

Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman, Anna Palmer & Kenneth P. Vogel – POLITICO

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.

The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints. …

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an excellent editorial recently. Echoing Shark-Fu’s previous ProgressWomen post, the editorial board called on abortion-restriction-happy Missouri legislators to pay at least as much attention to protecting infants and young children:

“Should it be the public policy of the state of Missouri to do as much to protect the lives of young children as it does for unborn children?…

“The questions are prompted by Post-Dispatch reporter Nancy Cambria’s emotional roller-coaster of a three-part series last week examining the tragic deaths of infants while under the supervision of child-care providers.

“Missouri lawmakers… over the over the past few years, have refused to pass very basic child-care regulations that would allow state or local officials to shut down illegal facilities or homes. …

“But if regulation is a necessary and good thing to save the lives of the unborn, why is regulation not a good thing to save living, breathing infants who are dying in unregulated day-care facilities all across our state every single year?

Read the full editorial HERE

Source: womensmagazine.net

In Miss Representation, a new documentary airing tonight on OWN, Jennifer Seibel Newsom probes the distorted way the media portrays women—and how it affects girls.The director (who happens to be married to CA Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom)  tells Daily Beast such depictions damage self-image.

Don’t worry if you miss it tonight because of  the STL Cardinals in the World Series – the St. Louis International Film Festival will be featuring it on November 12 (details to be announced soon).

Sadly, this is not a headline stolen from The Onion. The City of Topeka, Kansas has repealed the law making domestic violence a crime. Why?

Image via ncmbts.blogspot.com

The short answer: money and politics. This was the result of a repulsive game of chicken with victims’ lives at stake.

Also note that this occurred during national domestic violence awareness month, no less. For shame.

Here’s how the New York Times explains it:

The startling vote came up at a City Council meeting here on Tuesday, provoked by a run-of-the-mill budget dispute over services that had spun out of control: decriminalize domestic violence.

Three arms of government, all ostensibly representing the same people, have been at an impasse over who should be responsible for — and pay for — prosecuting people accused of misdemeanor cases of domestic violence.

City leaders had blamed the Shawnee County district attorney for handing off such cases to the city without warning. The district attorney, in turn, said he was forced to not prosecute any misdemeanors and to focus on felonies because the County Commission cut his budget. And county leaders accused the district attorney of using abused women as pawns to negotiate more money for his office.

After both sides dug in, the dispute came to a head Tuesday night.

By a vote of 7 to 3, the City Council repealed the local law that makes domestic violence a crime. …

Eighteen people have been arrested on domestic violence charges since September and released without charges because no agency is accepting new cases. That has raised concerns among advocates for victims of domestic violence, some of whom gathered Tuesday outside government buildings to express outrage over the gamesmanship.

“To have public officials pointing fingers while victims of domestic violence are trying to figure out who will protect them is just stunning,” said Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

Some critics pointed out that even as local governments are cutting deeper into important services, Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, is preparing a sweeping tax cut plan. [emphases added] 

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by State Rep. Stacey Newman

I met Christine Jahnke, the author of The Well-Spoken Woman at the WiLL/WAND “Women at the Table of Power” conference in D.C. several week ago and HIGHLY RECOMMEND her new book.

Written just for women who take leadership seriously, Christine’s new manual is what every woman speaker should memorize.  Dedicated to “Madam President” (whoever she shall be), Christine has worked as an advisor to Hilllary Clinton’s presidential campaign and most recently taught Michelle Obama how to use a teleprompter for her Olympics presentation.

I was so impressed with her tips at the conference that I was first in line to purchase her book and read most of it on the flight home.  Now I’m rereading it with a highlighter!

Whether you’re a candidate or not, you will be speaking at some time – in class, your board meeting or in front of a jury.  Please order this right away so you’ll be prepared to look, sound your absolute best and be taken seriously.  It’s much more economical than hiring Christine in person yourself….although I’m truly considering it.

Source: NYT and Celia Dugger

Celia W. Dugger – New York Times

SARE HAROUNA, Senegal — When Aissatou Kande was a little girl, her family followed a tradition considered essential to her suitability to marry. Her clitoris was sliced off with nothing to dull the pain.

But on her wedding day, Ms. Kande, her head modestly covered in a plain white shawl, vowed to protect her own daughters from the same ancient custom. Days later, her village declared it would abandon female genital cutting for good.

Across the continent, an estimated 92 million girls and women have undergone it. But like more than 5,000 other Senegalese villages, Sare Harouna has joined a growing movement to end the practice.  GO TO STORY