Joy Comes With Justice As Bland, Mallory and Sarsour Step Down From The Women's March

The January 21, 2017 Women’s March was the largest single-day march in US history, coming the day after Trump’s inauguration.

Justice has come to The Women’s March, an organization launched with the unified, anti-Trump passions of millions of women and men worldwide on January 21, 2017, the day after Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration . The Women’s March was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

After that breathtaking launch, The Women’s March devolved into recriminations against Jewish women, in particular, and white women generally. The Women’s Marches scheduled in many cities for 2019 were either cancelled or were held after public rejections of the Women’s March National Board led by original march organizers Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist; Tamika Mallory, an African-American gun control activist; Bob Bland, a white fashion designer, and Carmen Perez-Jordan.

The pervasive attitude that The Women’s March team was focused — not on building a large network of pro-women’s rights women and men nationwide — but their own New York activists short list of priorities that prioritized racial, Palestinian and sexual minority issues over women’s issues was wide-spread. White women, in particular, had little place in The Women’s March group as it evolved.

Women's March Co-Chairs Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory speak during the Power to the Polls voter-registration tour last year in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The organizers preferred to remind Hillary supporters and Democratic women that the majority of America’s white women voted for Trump, as Tamika Mallory did during the Power to the Polls voter-registration tour last year in Las Vegas. It was staggeringly depressing in the time of Trump to listen to Mallory use her platform not to rally the Hillary supporters, but denounce white women as pro-Trump.

College-educated white women voted for Hillary, but they were shunned and charged with not being true feminists, especially as Jewish women not being willing to denounce Israel over the Palestinian conflict.

Mallory, in particular, refused to criticize Nation of Islam black nationalist Louis Farrakhan, who made incendiary remarks about Jews, at an event in which she sat in the front row. Mallory is passionate in her support for Farrakhan, calling him a GOAT. Sarsour also refused to criticize Farakhan for his virulently anti-Semitic comments.

Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland and Carmen Perez. Perez will stay on with The Women’s March group.

On Monday, The Women’s March announced that co-Chairs Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour stepped down from the board July 15, though the organization has been slow to announce their departures. ,reports The Washington Post.

A diverse cast of 16 new board members that includes three Jewish women, a transgender woman, a former legislator, two religious leaders and a member of the Oglala tribe of the Lakota nation will inherit an organization recovering from a failed attempt to trademark the Women’s March name and fractured relationships with local activist groups and the Jewish community.

A new operating structure will be put in place shortly, which is a good thing because in its totally destructive state, the national Women March leadership was a total threat in telling white suburban women — an important voting block in the success of Democrats in the 2018 midterms — to go to hell. After Mallory’s speech in Las Vegas, I simply can’t imagine what she would have said to white women in the presidential election campaign. .

The three members who have resigned — Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour — are avid Bernie Sanders supporters, which is a key reason why they refused to allow Hillary Clinton to be one of about 20 women honored at the maiden Women’s March launch on January 21, 2019. Despite their protestations to the contrary, the founders never sought unity with Hillary supporters, all but accusing us of electing Trump.

Words do not express my job at seeing these three women — especially Mallory and Sarsour — step down from The Women’s March organization. Now — let us rise in unity! We’ll cover the responses to this news in a followup article. Few will be as candid as my commentary, but these women totally crushed the Trumped-down spirits of so many women all over America .~ Anne

Nicolas Valois Snaps Military Fashion As Madame Figaro France Inspires Delayed 9/11 Reflections

Nicolas Valois Snaps Military Fashion As Madame Figaro France Inspires Delayed 9/11 Reflections

Model Loane Normand suits up in utilitarian military looks so fancied in Europe. Cecile Martin styles Normand in images by Nicolas Valois for Madame Figaro France August 31, 2019.

Speaking of taking a fancy to bad-ass military women, it’s Madame Figaro France who just introduced me to the new Valerie Plame Campaign video. Plame is a well-known CIA agent who was outed in the Bush administration and had to leave the service. She’s now running for Congress (the House of Representatives) as a Democrat from New Mexico. We have multiple new military and CIA women in Congress elected in November 2018 — and I love them.

Now that Madame Figaro has set up this nod to America’s women , let me share more of my favs. Next up, Amy McGrath running in Kentucky to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Amy narrowly lost her House election in November 2018.

Bernie Sanders Campaign Should Stop The White Women's Privilege Lectures

Bernie Sanders Campaign Should Stop The White Women's Privilege Lectures

Last February Jennifer Wright addressed Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders’ problem with women, writing Bernie Sanders’ Sexism Problem for Harper’s Bazaar.

“We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age. I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for.” Vermont Public Radio, Feb. 2019

Many women and people of color view that statement as a reaffirmation of the “let white men rule, we’re better at it” theory of political governance. Wright perfects her roast of Sanders, and I encourage to read her piece, while I pull out a few highlights that still simmer in my conscious as a super active person in the Hillary Clinton campaign.

There was a bit of poetic justice when women who worked for Bernie in his 2016 primary campaign came forward to discuss how they were paid less and experienced sexual harassment. You see, with rare exceptions — finally hiring Symone Sanders who served as his national press secretary until late June 2016 — Bernie couldn’t really find many good women of any skin color to hire at a high level. His campaign was run by white men — a feature that he has fixed in his current 2020 run for the Democratic nomination.

Still, when women working in the field and as organizers complained about both wages and fending off sexual advances from male staffers, Bernie grabbed his mop of white hair and defended his inaction saying initially “I was a little bit busy running around the country”. After all, Bernie Sanders said that “women’s issues were a distraction” and Planned Parenthood — who is getting the crap kicked out of them by the Trump administration — is “the establishment”.

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D) Introduces Bill To Standardize Health Care Screenings At US Border

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D) Introduces Bill To Standardize Health Care Screenings At US Border

In the cage match between Trump and the Squad, it's easy to miss enlightened comments about the Mexico border migrant crisis like the one Democratic Congresswoman Lauren Underwood just delivered on 'Morning Joe'.

Congresswoman Underwood introduced The U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening and Standards Act, which would standardized processes and training to ensure consistent medical screenings for migrants in US custody at the Mexico border, according to a news release.

"We progressive women aren't going anywhere," was her final statement. Underwood never embraced all of the Squad's positions or style; not did she try to separate herself from them. But as a Democratic woman of color who defeated a Republican in Illinois’s 14th congressional district in 2018, she's in that camp derided by our most left-wing voices. As if 'she' is the problem in executing the Democratic agenda and not Republicans!

Trump’s Reelection Support is 50-50 in Texas, Biden and O’Rourke Lead the Democrats, UT/TT Poll Says

Trump’s Reelection Support is 50-50 in Texas, Biden and O’Rourke Lead the Democrats, UT/TT Poll Says

Half of the registered voters in Texas would vote to reelect President Donald Trump, but half of them would not, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

Few of those voters were wishy-washy about it: 39% said they would “definitely” vote to reelect Trump; 43% said they would “definitely not” vote for him. The remaining 18% said they would “probably” (11%) or “probably not” (7%) vote to give Trump a second term.

“That 50-50 number encapsulates how divisive Trump is,” said James Henson, who runs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin and co-directs the poll. But, he added, the number is not necessarily “a useful prediction for an election that’s 16 months away.”

Among Republicans, 73% would “definitely” vote for Trump; among Democrats, 85% were “definitely not” voting for another term.

“This squarely focuses on Trump,” said Daron Shaw, professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin and co-director of the poll. However, he said, “it isn’t a matchup with a flesh-and-blood Democrat. It shows Trump’s relative weakness, compared to a generic Democrat in this state.”

Independents were less emphatic than either the Republicans or the Democrats, but 60% said they wouldn’t vote for the president in an election held today, including 45% who would “definitely not” vote for him.

Women Activists Form SuperMajority.com, Led By Cecile Richards, Alicia Garza + Al-jen Poo

Women Activists Form SuperMajority.com, Led By Cecile Richards, Alicia Garza + Al-jen Poo

Three very prominent women activists: Cecile Richards, the former head of Planned Parenthood; Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter; and Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance have formed Super Majority. The group, which describes itself as multiracial and intergenerational, has a goal of training and mobilizing 2 million women over the next year to become organizers and political leaders in their communities, reports TIME.

A community for women who want to use our power to transform this country-for good. http://bit.ly/2Was7P3


Did Cindy Crawford's George Magazine Cover Portend America's Struggle With A Female President?

Did Cindy Crawford's George Magazine Cover Portend America's Struggle With A Female President?

Supermodel Cindy Crawford graced the first cover of ‘George’, a crucial decision in making it clear that the magazine was’t the “John Kennedy magazine” but a publication that stood on its own. Kennedy invited fashion photographer Herb Ritts and his creative director Matt Berman over to his TriBeCa loft, where they joined Kennedy’s wife Carolyn Bessette.

(Kate) Story writes that Bassette loved the Crawford idea, calling it “perfect”. Bessette listed the supermodel’s attributes: “She’s all-American, a self-made woman, sexy, strong, and smart.”

For a moment, there was more to the story — a move that would have been sensational for ‘George’ and also for America’s always on its knees women’s movement, as exemplified by Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump two decades later.

Story writes: “It wasn’t just the wig. After studying old paintings on the set of the photo shoot, the team decided to stuff Crawford’s skintight breeches with a sock.

Straight-Talkin', Fully Informed Amy McGrath Wins Upset In Kentucky 6th District Democrat Primary

Straight-Talkin', Fully Informed Amy McGrath Wins Upset In Kentucky 6th District Democrat Primary

AOC has been all-in with Kentucky District 6 House candidate Amy McGrath, jumping for joy over her stunning Tuesday night victory over Jim Gray, Lexington's well-liked and Democratic-party backed former mayor. 

The New York Times writes that Republicans immediately tried to paint the Marine fighter pilot and mother of three as a far left candidate, while the very national Dems who backed her opponent Gray rallied quickly around her. AOC has no such torn allegiances, as we have been for McGrath all the way. 

"I have never heard someone so persistent," her campaign's highly-credentialed ad maker Mark Putnam told the Times. 

Amy McGrath has a story about refusing to accept the word "no": No, you cannot compete against the boys in sports. No, you cannot serve in combat or fly fighter jets. And no, you certainly cannot defeat the popular mayor of the largest city in your congressional district as a first-time candidate.

What I personally love deeply about Amy is not only her feminism, but her willingness to stand up to Trump. Of all the candidates running for office -- female or male -- McGrath won my heart with her second campaign video by Putnam. 

Her third one about taking her kids to the doctor was pretty good, too. 

Dem Kentucky House Candidate Amy McGrath Delivers Progressive Power Punch Campaign Video

I was jazzed last night, seeing that Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath's story was front page landing photo and story at The Huffington Post.

The retired Marine colonel, wife and mother of three who has been teaching political science at the US Naval Academy, is one of more than 11,000 women pursuing public office after Trump's 2016 election win.

Many of us saw McGrath's incredible campaign ad as a triumph that motivated women in despair over Hillary's loss and Trump's arrival. We forgot in two-minutes of blazing determination to fight for true women's equality the DNC's decision that protecting women's body autonomy is no longer a core Democratic value. Instead, working-class, white men will rule, suggests the DNC, because we must cater again to them.

McGrath has a different vision of how Democrats can win, from the male-dominated DNC, now sounding a bit Republican on women's rights.

Speaking of Trump’s recent decision to ban transgender people from the military, McGrath doesn't waver.

“These people are patriotic Americans who stepped up to the plate,” she explains. “Do you have my back when I’m getting shot at, are you competent, are you someone of integrity? That’s what we really care about.”

Trump’s attempt to ban immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries “is a terrible policy” that amounts to “a strategic win” for the enemies she spent years fighting. This position puts her toe-to-toe with a Trump family that has NEVER served in the American military or even run for public office.

“They want to pit America and Americans against their religion (Islam), and he just handed them the Powerball lottery,” McGrath said. “This is not a war that can be won by more bombs being dropped on people. It’s a war that’s going to be won ... in people’s minds. When you hand the enemy exactly what they want in order to make more propaganda, you’re creating more fighters. This ban does not get to the root of the problem, and it does not protect Americans.”

More tough talk from progressive Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath could prove to be formidable in a Democratic race for one of 24 wins to put the party in control of the House in the 2018 elections. ~ Anne