Women’s History Month starts March 1. And this year’s is likely to be politically charged.
As Martha Burk writes this week, in recent decades the politics of gender, feminism, and health care have been characterized to a significant extent by a long-running conservative backlash to the gains of the movement for gender equality. But in a post-Roe world, she explains, with the cruel realities of abortion bans becoming clearer, the new backlash is from Americans who reject this assault on each other’s basic rights. It’s a must-read for Women’s History Month.
Also this week, Matthew Rosing shares a deeply personal story about the inter-related cycles of poverty, mental illness, and incarceration — and how ordinary people can win policies that will disentangle them. Phyllis Bennis calls on the U.S. to restore funding for Gaza’s leading relief group, or else risk complicity in genocide. And Jim Hightower mourns the loss of his local newspaper to a hedge-fund-backed ownership chain.
New This Week…
Backlash: Women’s History Month in a Post-Roe World | Martha Burk
Hell hath no fury like a woman deprived of her basic rights.
We Can Break The Cycle of Poverty, Mental Illness, and Prison | Matthew Rosing
I spent 9 years in prison when what I really needed was mental health care. Now I organize poor and low-income people like me across to demand more from our system.
Gazans Are Starving — Don’t Cut Aid Now | Phyllis Bennis
To feed children, treat the wounded, and save innocent lives, the U.S. must restore UNRWA’s funding.
Where Did Our Local Newspapers Go? | Jim Hightower
Non-local, profit-chasing hedge funders have gutted America’s newspapers. But reporters aren’t giving up that easily.
Cartoon: Enemies of the State | Khalil Bendib
The U.S. has condemned the death in custody of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. But its own treatment of dissidents is often little better.
In Case You Missed It…
The Rent Is Still Too High | Farrah Hassen
Housing prices are spiraling alongside homelessness. To solve this crisis, we need to recognize housing as a human right.
Free Tax Filing: A Crucial Step Toward Unrigging Our Economy | Susan Harley
This spring, filers in 12 states will get to use a question and answer-based software to file their taxes online, at no cost, through the IRS’s new Direct File tool.
Abortion Ban Extremists Are Using a Slave Law to Repress Women | Jim Hightower
Texas is trying to ban the use of its roads by people seeking care outside the state — and even dispatching right-wing vigilante groups to chase them.
Poor and Low-Income Voters Are a Sleeping Giant | Sarah Anderson
Politicians pay next to no attention to the concerns of low-income Americans. Advocates want to change that — and maybe the next election, too.
