Tell your Senators: Stand with survivors to prevent sexual assault in the military.
Fox News host Andrea Tantaros attacked MSNBC for covering the Senate’s hearing last week on the scourge of tens of thousands of sexual assaults in the military. She said, “What baffles me though is the way they prioritize these issues… Why is MSNBC devoting so much time to this issue?”
Why? Maybe we should instead be asking why isn’t everyone trying to fix this egregious injustice? Tell your Senators: Stand strong for survivors of sexual assault in the military.
Sexual assault and sexual harassment have been persistent problems in the military for decades. As soon as tomorrow, Congress will have the opportunity to do something about it, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee begin making changes to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014. They can do the right thing by improving the military justice system in ways that will deter perpetrators and send a strong message that sexual assault will not be tolerated. This can be accomplished by moving decision-making on whether and how to prosecute serious offenses like sexual assault out of the chain of command — and by giving decisions to prosecute to trained, experienced military prosecutors, creating a specialized office to convene courts and appoint judges and juries, and prohibiting commanders from overturning guilty verdicts.
Separating military justice decision-making from the chain of command will put decision-making into the hands of those who have legal expertise and make it possible for commanders to concentrate on the areas in which they have expertise, including improving the climate in their commands to prevent sexual assault. It’s time to fix this broken system. Take action and stand up for survivors of sexual assault in the military.
Congress has a responsibility to members of the military and survivors everywhere to ensure that perpetrators of sexual assault are held accountable for their actions and not allowed back into the ranks. We must work together to make sure that happens.
Sincerely,
Have you signed our letter asking ABC News to make an on air correction for their faulty Benghazi reporting yet? We’re about to send it to the network, so sign before it is too late. Here are some of the stories from the past week, from the lunatic world of gun radio to sexism on Fox.John Whitehouse Twitter: @existentialfish
Lunatic Gun Radio
There’s a lot of fringe radio and media figures who engage in wild conspiracy theories that are best to ignore most of the time. But in recent months as America has engaged in a debate about gun violence, these fringe hosts have attracted prominent gun activists to give them validation and attention. Matt Gertz and Ben Dimiero venture into the lunatic world of gun rights radio. http://mm4a.org/19mpWdK
Cable News Misses Economic News
The housing sector recently grew significantly, a good prospect for the economy as a whole. But cable news in total spent less than 10 minutes covering that news. Instead, they’re focused on covering the nonstop D.C. scandal machine. Media Matters‘ senior economics researcher Albert Kleine looks at media coverage of the economy. http://mm4a.org/ZtFJ8P
Blatant Sexism On Fox
It started bad enough, with a panel of four men and zero women on Fox to discuss the rise in the number of female breadwinners in families. It managed to get even worse, with one Fox contributor even saying that “the male typically is the dominant role” in nature. Emily Arrowood dissects the segment. http://mm4a.org/12PUhML
FEATURED VIDEO
Even as the conservative Wall Street Journal called the idea “dumb,” Fox News really wants a special prosecutor. In fact, they can’t stop mentioning it. Whatever you do, do not actually play this drinking game (seriously). http://youtu.be/QKdAezLYvwA
ARMED MARCH COMING TO A STATE CAPITOL NEAR YOU?
Adam Kokesh has replaced his previously announced armed march on Washington D.C. with planned armed marches on state capitols – and he plans on calling for the overthrow of the federal government. http://mm4a.org/ZeU7Q2
Ilyse G. Hogue President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Every 11 hours we move closer and closer to a world without the rights we’ve fought so hard to preserve.
That’s because every 11 hours, another piece of anti-choicelegislation is introduced somewhere in America. Nearly 300 anti-choice legislative attacks have been introduced in Congress and in states across the country this year — and the year isn’t even half over. That’s more than two anti-choice bills for every single day of the year so far.
But, before the next anti-choice legislative attack is introduced, you have time to make a difference by helping NARAL Pro-Choice America track and defeat anti-choice legislation — protecting women’s reproductive rights across the country.
Please make an urgent contribution to NARAL Pro-Choice America before another 11 hours pass.
We’re watching every single one of these legislative attacks. We’re fighting them in Congress. We’re fighting them in the states. We’re fighting for women. But the clock is ticking.
Before extreme anti-choice politicians have time to make another move, please stand with us.
Together, we can make choice real for all women. Are you with us? Tick, tock, tick, tock …
Ilyse G. Hogue President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
What to do if you are charged a co-pay, deductible, or co-insurance for preventive services.
We’ve been working hard to make sure you and your families know about the preventive coverage provided through Obamacare. We’ve heard from many women about how much this coverage has helped them!
But we’ve also heard about some women encountering problems while trying to get these services without cost-sharing. Have you gone to the pharmacy to get your birth control thinking you wouldn’t have a co-pay — only to find out that you did? Or have you gone to the doctor thinking your annual visit would be covered without a co-pay — but it wasn’t? When your insurance company isn’t working for you, we’re here to help. Check out our newest resource: “Getting the Coverage You Deserve: What to Do If You Are Charged a Co-Pay, Deductible, or Co-Insurance for a Preventive Service.”
Thanks to Obamacare, health care plans under the reach of the law must cover women’s preventive health services like mammograms, birth control, and breast feeding supplies without imposing deductibles, co-insurance or co-payments. But some insurance companies are still, incorrectly, making us pay for these services. So we’ve created an easy-to-use resource for you to make an appeal to your insurance company when you’re incorrectly told to pay for your preventive care. Check out our resource today and make sure you’re getting the health care you deserve!
Want to learn more? Visit www.nwlc.org/preventiveservices.
Sincerely,
P.S. If you have a question about using the toolkit, or you have trouble getting a preventive service covered and you’re unsure why, let us know! We might be able to help. Please contact us at 1-866-PILL4US or via email at pill4us@nwlc.org.
Thirty-six. That’s how many times some leaders in Congress have forced a vote on repealing the health care law. But there’s nothing like lucky 37. Yep, you heard me right — this week, the House of Representatives is poised to vote for the 37th time to repeal the health care law. Tell your Representative to oppose the repeal of the health care law.
They know this is the law of the land, but they have decided to waste time and taxpayer dollars by holding this vote to play to their political base. Here are three reasons why repealing the health care law would hurt Americans:
Nearly 27 million women would stop getting preventive services without co-pays.
More than 3 million young adults would lose the health coverage they get from their parents’ health plans.
129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions would continue to be at the mercy of the insurance industry.
Enough already! Congress needs to stop the politics and get back to the people’s work. Tell your Representative to oppose the repeal of the health care law.
Thank you for all you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,
Be a Seed for Change 
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