This has been a personal and nostalgic week for the Obama and the Biden families. JAC, whose office is based in the Chicago area, has had a front row seat to watch state Sen. Barack Obama become U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and ultimately President Obama. Vice President Joe Biden has been a friend to JAC since its early days, welcoming us to his office. We were honored to have him speak at our meetings.
One of the core rights as an American is the right to vote. Your vote is your choice in how the government works, what direction you wish the city, state, and country to take. Collectively, all Americans make their choices at the voting booth. Interfering with that right, restricting access of the voice of the citizenry can result in lopsided representation and an imbalance in our society affecting everything from education, access to clean water and food, health care, equality, business egulations, taxation, foreign policy, and so much more.
by Andrea Grimes, Senior Political Reporter, RH Reality Check
A federal judge once again advised counsel to keep their arguments focused on legal reasoning, rather than emotional pleas, on the last day of arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Lakey, the latest challenge to a Texas’ omnibus anti-abortion law expected to shutter all but seven existing abortion providers in the state come September 1, barring judicial intervention.
Judge Lee Yeakel pushed lawyers both for the plaintiffs—a group of independent Texas abortion providers from across the state who say they have been forced to close clinic doors in the wake of HB 2‘s passage—and the State of Texas, which is defending the law, to answer the key question posed in practically every abortion case since Roe v. Wade: “Exactly what is an undue burden?”
"[T]he United States has an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security. No country has done more to support their security than the United States. Just last week, the President signed a bill providing Israel an additional $225 million in Iron Dome funding during the Gaza crisis. We will continue to provide additional security assistance to Israel going forward. And let me be clear: There has been no change in policy, period." Marie Harf, Deputy Spokesperson for US State Department.
Guttmacher Institute, September 19, 2014
The proportion of privately insured U.S. women who paid zero dollars out of pocket for oral contraceptive pills increased sharply, from 15% to 67%, between the fall of 2012 (before the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirement took effect for most women) and the spring of 2014, according to a new Guttmacher study published in the journal Contraception. The study found that the proportion of women who paid nothing out of pocket also increased among those using the vaginal ring (from 20% to 74%) and among those using injectable contraceptives (from 27% to 59%). For women using the IUD, the proportion increased from 45% in the fall of 2012 to 62% in the three subsequent waves of the study combined.
"You Don't Own Me" PSA - Upworthy from The Department of Peace on Vimeo.
In 2013, there were more laws passed to limit women’s reproductive rights than in the entire previous DECADE.
Ten million more women than men voted in the last election. In fact 53% of voters were women. That is not a voting block it's a majority. Women have decided literally every election in our lifetimes, yet, midterm turnout is historically low. LET'S CHANGE THAT!
JEFFREY GOLDBERG, NOV 18 2014
One of the most shocking aspects of the murderous attack on a Jerusalem synagogue this morning by men with guns and axes is not the attack itself—we've seen, from time to time, this sort of sectarian barbarism take place in places like Jerusalem, and Hebron. The most shocking aspect is the wholesale endorsement of this slaughter by Hamas, a group that, during this summer's war in Gaza, half-succeeded in convincing the world that it wasn't what it actually is: a group with actual genocidal intentions.
More details are coming to light about the potential final deal regarding Iran's nuclear enrichment program.
A final deal with Iran could include a capacity for uranium enrichment, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday, seeking to clarify some of the terms of the interim deal signed between Tehran and world powers.
In announcing it will hear these two cases, the Supreme Court will ultimately determine whether corporations are people and if for-profit companies may impose the religious beliefs of the owners on the employees.
The Supreme Court made it official Tuesday: it will have the final say on whether Obamacare's birth control mandate is constitutional. And progressives are worried.
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