Required reading from around the web of the best, most interesting, or most though provoking things we’ve read:
Republican Leader McCarthy Files a ‘Build the Wall’ Bill, But No Action Until December
“Just weeks before the midterm election, House Republican leaders finally have gotten around to one of the most popular planks of President Trump’s presidential campaign — building a wall on the Southwest border.[…] McCarthy is not the first Republican to introduce such legislation. […] ‘We must keep our promises to the American people,’ Biggs said at the time. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Biggs and other Republican conservatives have been pushing for full funding of the border wall for two years, so leadership is late to the game: . . .”
McAllister: Victims of False Accusations of Rape Need to Be Heard, Too
“False accusations ruin lives and bring indescribable heartache. We hear a lot about rape and sexual assault victims, but rarely do we hear of the injustices and pain endured by those falsely accused of such crimes, the silent sufferers of cruelty and malice. After America was subjected to the insanity surrounding the Kavanaugh hearings, I posted on Twitter a call to hear the stories of the falsely accused, voices that are rarely heard or respected. You can scan the many responses I received in the thread to that tweet. […] The greatest gift America can give the Kavanaugh family is to stop saying Ford is credible and to remove all shame by believing his innocence because he was never even remotely found guilty. Ford’s allegations might be a case of simply not being able to prove something that actually happened, but given the orchestration, conflicting testimonies, contact with senators and the press instead of law enforcement, political game-playing, zero corroborating evidence, and emotional display that reeked of fakery and inauthenticity, it seems more like false accusation than failure to prove. This possibility should be further investigated to find out if she lied.”
Bulut: How an Extremist Government Treats Girls and Women
“Turkey’s Human Rights Association (IHD) has issued a chilling report about children’s rights abuses in Turkey. According to it, “since 2002, under the AKP [Justice and Development Party] rule, 440,000 children under the age of 18 have given birth.” “One in every four marriage in Turkey is a child marriage,” said Selen Doğan, a member of Ankara-based Flying Broom Women’s Communication and Research Association. […]These abusive acts take place in many parts of the world, but in Muslim societies the practice of underage marriages is warmly tolerated by many; in some instances, the perpetrators are protected by the authorities. That Islamic scriptures encourage early marriages — for girls as young as nine — also seems to be used to normalize abusive acts, including child marriages and underage mothers. ”