Settle in and roll up your sleeves -- it's going to be a bumpy night. I had to stop with what's here, because there's so much here, and yet there's so much more out there that I was overwhelmed. Please feel free to add what you know. We are all in this fight together!
Special Thanks to Ramara for the links to the Amnesty International petition to Save Her Life, #breakthesilence, ultraviolet's healthcare petition, and the threat to healthcare providers at clinics.
INTERNATIONAL (AND TRIBAL) NEWS:
10 Year Old Pregnant Rape Victim in Paraguay Held Captive By Her Government
Her mother's in jail while her stepfather, the rapist, flees. This is an epic travesty of justice.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
Please Sign Amnesty International Petition to Save Her Life:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/...
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Violence Against Women, Action Opportunities and "Maze of Injustice" for Native American Women
Amnesty International Round-Up of Bad News for Women, Especially Native Americans
http://www.amnestyusa.org/...
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Just SOME of the Worst Anti-Women Laws in the World
Old Laws and Bad New Ones Too - We Still Have a L-o-n-g Way to Go Baby
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
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NATIONAL NEWS:
The Marilyn Thomas Letter - Should This Man Be Governor of Kentucky?
A letter no woman should have to write -- I Propose an Anita Hill Award for Courage Under Siege and Nominate Marilyn Thomas
http://juryverdicts.net/...
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War on Women Still Heating Up - Some of the Abortion Bills Introduced in 2015
New Bills Almost Daily. Don't These Wing Nuts Know Abortion Is Legal Under Federal Law?
http://thinkprogress.org/...
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#breakthesilence - A Campaign by Improving Birth
to tell the stories of OB/Gyns ignoring the wishes of women in labor, failing to give them the information they need for informed consent, or causing physical damage to speed the birth process.
http://improvingbirth.org/...
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Petition for Women's Reproductive Healthcare
Some Insurers Are Trying to Cheat
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/....
And Here Are Other Petitions From UltraViolet
Free Purvi Patel, Reverse Google/YouTube/Hulu Rejection of UltraViolet Ads and more
http://www.weareultraviolet.org/
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Let's Call This What It IS: Terrorism
Targeting Healthcare Providers at Women's Clinics
http://www.salon.com/...
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This Just In: Expelled Rapist Allowed Back on Campus for Graduation
Letter from Michigan State Rape Survivor
http://statenews.com/...
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BETTER NEWS:
BREAKING: Florida Trans-Bathroom Bill FAILS
A Brief Moment of Sanity: HB 583, the “Single-Sex Public Facilities” bill is flushed
http://www.advocate.com/...
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Brave Resourceful Woman Saves Herself and Her Kids - By Ordering Pizza
http://www.aol.com/...
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China FINALLY Releases Women's Rights Activists
The Beijing Five Are Out on Bail, Yet No Official Charges Have Been Filed.
http://mashable.com/...
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WOMEN CHANGING THEIR LIVES
culled from a review by Janet Jones in “World Ark,” the magazine of Heifer International, Spring 2015 issue:
Becca Stevens, the Chaplain of St. Augustine’s at Vanderbilt University, is the founder of Magdalene, residential communities of women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction in Nashville, Tennessee. She also started Thistle Farms, which employs almost 50 Magdalene residents and graduates. Thistle Farms has a natural body care line, a paper and sewing studio, and the Thistle Stop Cafè.
Becca Stevens has written a book “The Way of Tea and Justice: Rescuing the World’s Favorite Beverage from Its Violent History,” (Faith Words, Imprint: Jericho Books) which tells both the story of the Thistle Stop Cafè, and the mixed history of tea: how women were exploited to produce it, and the use of tea in contemplative and spiritual rituals.
Kevin Bacon visiting with workers at the Thistle Stop Cafè
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Honor These TRAILBLAZERS Born in May:
May 1, 1844? - Mary Harris Jones, “Mother Jones” - Labor Leader, Hellraiser
May 1, 1852 - Martha Jane Canary, “Calamity Jane” - Professional Frontier Scout
May 3, 1898 - Septima Clark - Civil Rights Activist, "Grandmother" of the Movement
May 3, 1898 - Golda Meir -American-Educated Israeli Prime Minister
May 5, 1864 - Nellie Bly - Fearless Investigative Reporter and World Traveler
May 8, 1753 - Phyllis Wheatley - 1st African-American Woman Published Poet
May 11, 1875 - Harriet Quimby - 1st American Woman Licensed Airplane Pilot
May 11, 1906 - Jacqueline Cochran - WWII U.S. Women’s Air Force Service Pilots Leader
May 16, 1929 - Adrienne Rich - Feminist Writer
May 19, 1930 - Lorraine Hansberry - African-American Playwright, "A Raisin in the Sun"
May 26, 1951 - Sally Ride - Physicist, NASA Astronaut, 1st American Woman in Space
May 27, 1907 - Rachel Carson - Marine Biologist, Author of “Silent Spring”
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For Mothers' Day:
The Notorious RBG -- Get out your tissue box
http://features.aol.com/...
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