Tag Archive for "Military"

Posts Tagged Military

What We Missed

Amanda Marcotte recounts an evening of feminist writing, and the sort of vitriol we put up with doing this work.

A same-sex spouse was excluded from a military spouse group despite DADT repeal.

Elizabeth Warren was appointed to the Banking committee, as well as Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which is a BFD.

The Senate finally dedicated some time to thinking about the school-to-prison pipeline.

In 2012 “absurd comments about rape almost became the equivalent of political suicide.”

Jill Filipovic on the Good Men Project and their recent e-fight.

Infographics explain how opinion trends on same-sex marriage vary regionally.

From Editor Emeritus Ann Friedman: “To succeed, [Hillary Clinton] needs to be liked, but to be liked, she needs to temper her ...

Amanda Marcotte recounts an evening of feminist writing, and the sort of vitriol we put up with doing this work.

A same-sex spouse was excluded from a military spouse group despite DADT repeal.

Elizabeth Warren was appointed to ...

By Syreeta McFadden • 11 years ago

Are all job programs created equal?

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a sexual descrimination suit against Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) of Asheville, North Carolina. The SPLC alleges that women veterans were given unequal access to job training classes, as well as, resident support in comparison to men.

The SPLC filed the complaint on behalf of Bagby, an Army veteran, and other female veterans. It details how female veterans are excluded from job training and educational programs provided to male veterans that include truck driving and culinary arts skills. Women have access to classes such as knitting, art therapy, yoga, meditation, how to declutter your room, self-esteem and Bible study, according to the filing.

We’ll have yet to see what the findings will determine. ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Stand With Servicewomen: Support access to abortion in the military

While all federal employees are denied coverage for abortion in most circumstances thanks to the unjust and discriminatory Hyde amendment, the more than 400,000 women who serve in our military are uniquely screwed over. Military hospitals are prohibited from providing abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment–even if the woman pays with her own funds. And the ban on military insurance coverage of abortion doesn’t even include an exception for rape and incest.

This is especially shameful considering the military’s got a pretty major problem with rape. Last year, the Pentagon estimated there were about 19,000 sexual assaults. The servicewomen who get pregnant from these attacks–which are usually at the hands of their ...

By zerlina • 11 years ago

Air Force Academy graduates first openly gay cadets

Yesterday was an historic day. The President spoke at the commencement ceremony of the Air Force Academy, and nearly eight months after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” the Academy graduated its first openly gay cadets. The cadets were not identified but school officials confirmed that since repeal of the policy at least four cadets from the graduating class are openly gay.

In his commencement address, President Obama said the graduation marked “a new feeling in America.” The cadets are graduating into a world without Osama Bin Laden, a world where we have ended the war in Iraq, and where we have finally begun the process of drawing the war in Afghanistan to a close. The President also highlighted ...

By Katie Halper • 12 years ago

Rep. Joe Walsh on “female, wounded veteran”: “Let’s move on. What else has she done?”

Whether he’s refusing to pay his child support so he can afford to fund his campaign and go on luxury vacations, lying about not being able to afford it, calling President Obama a liar, or yelling at constituents, Illinois congressman and Tea Party darling Joe Walsh knows how to keep it classy. So, I shouldn’t be surprised by his most recent disgusting comments about Tammy Duckworth, who is running against him in Illinois’s 8th congressional district. Duckworth served as Assistant Operations Officer and a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in Iraq. After her helicopter was ambushed and hit by a grenade, she successfully landed the helicopter, but lost her legs and her right arm in the blast.

In an ...

Whether he’s refusing to pay his child support so he can afford to fund his campaign and go on luxury vacations, lying about not being able to afford it, calling President Obama a ...

By Miriam • 12 years ago

Fox pundit says women in the military should “expect” to be raped

Think Progress has the scoop on what Fox News Contributor Liz Trotta said about rape in the military:

TROTTA: But while all of this is going on, just a few weeks ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on a new Pentagon report on sexual abuse in the military. I think they have actually discovered there is a difference between men and women. And the sexual abuse report says that there has been, since 2006, a 64% increase in violent sexual assaults. Now, what did they expect? These people are in close contact, the whole airing of this issue has never been done by Congress, it’s strictly been a question of pressure from the feminist.

And the feminists have also directed them, really, to ...

Think Progress has the scoop on what Fox News Contributor Liz Trotta said about rape in the military:

TROTTA: But while all of this is going on, just a few weeks ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on ...

By Eesha Pandit • 12 years ago

Egyptian women’s orgs can’t join 16 Days Against Gender Violence campaign

November 25th was the International Day for The Elimination of Violence Against Women, and it launched the the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign which culminates on December 10th, International Human Rights Day.

This year’s 16 Days theme is “Militarism and Ending Violence against Women, ” which offers the chance for us to address the challenges faced by many women living in increasingly militarized zones. As we know, wars escalate violence against women.

In Egypt, we have seen beautiful and powerful participation by women, and an increasing prominence of women as Egyptians fight for their freedoms. The escalation of violence in Egypt over the past few weeks however (discussed in the video below), demonstrated ...

By Vanessa • 12 years ago

New bill takes military sexual assault cases out of high-ranking officers’ power

Via Ms. Blog, we find a new bill was introduced late last week regarding sexual assault in the military with a specific focus: to take the responsibility of handling sexual assault reports away from the chain of command.

The bill is called the STOP Act: The Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act – Helen Benedict gives us examples of why this bill matters:

Most assailants are of higher rank than their victims, which means some victims are forced to report their rapes to the rapist. Victims who report a sexual assault to commanders can never remain truly anonymous, despite a policy to the contrary, because military platoons are closed, gossipy units in which everyone knows everyone ...