February, 12 2018, 12:15pm EDT
Hold the Abuser in Chief Accountable
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt.
WASHINGTON
In public, Donald Trump has nothing but praise for Rob Porter, calling him "wonderful," "strong" and "innocent." This is Donald Trump's pattern. From Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly to Roy Moore and Mike Tyson, Trump ignores the accuser and portrays the accused as the real victim.
Donald Trump needs to know the consequences of his words and actions. Women and men around the nation who are in the throes of relationship violence cannot/must not be ignored or demeaned by anyone, and certainly not by the President of the United States. He has inexcusably defended the batterers and questioned the veracity of the victims in order to cater to his base. Polls show that even women in his "base" have just about had it with his disdain and misogyny. The elections this November will send the message.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline estimates that one in three women are abused in their lifetimes. We know that intimate partner violence can be a precursor to acts of murderous rage--the Boston Marathon bomber, the Pulse nightclub shooter, and the Sutherland Springs shooter all had histories of relationship violence.
Donald Trump's White House is riven by a cover-up culture of men protecting men and disbelieving women. At least 19 women have come forward accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, but the White House calls their accounts "false claims" and Kellyanne Conway said over the weekend they have "had their day." In essence, "He won, you lost, so shut up."
NOW supports Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's call for Congressional hearings to give Donald Trump's accusers the "due process" Trump claims to uphold. What's more, we need to hold the enabler-in-chief accountable for an upside-down culture where women who unmask sexual predators and perpetrators of domestic violence see their careers ruined, their livelihood threatened and their health compromised, while men get huge paydays for leaving the spotlight.
Furthermore, NOW renews our call for John Kelly to resign or be fired as Chief of Staff. And instead of appointing a crony like Mick Mulvaney or Chris Christie to replace him, NOW proposes that a strong, capable woman with a record that includes standing up for victims of domestic violence and abuse be selected to replace him.
View this statement online by clicking here.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. NOW has 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
Mr. Siri declined to be interviewed, but said all of his petitions were filed on behalf of clients. Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy, said Mr. Siri has been advising Mr. Kennedy but has not discussed his petitions with any of the health nominees. She added, "Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice."
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The Times pointed out that experts consider placebo-controlled trials that would deny some children polio shots unethical, because "you're substituting a theoretical risk for a real risk," as Dr. Paul A. Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, explained. "The real risks are the diseases."
Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, told the newspaper that development of the vaccine began in 1977, over 280 million people worldwide have received it, and there have been more than 300 studies, some with up to six months of follow-up.
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Both comments generated concern—like the Friday reporting in the Times, which University of Alabama law professor and MSNBC columnist Joyce White Vance called "absolutely terrifying."
She was far from alone. HuffPost senior front page editor Philip Lewis said that "this is just so dangerous and ridiculous" while Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan declared, "We are so—and I use this word advisedly—fucked."
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Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
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Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
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Others have called on Biden—who earlier this month pardoned his son Hunter Biden after promising he wouldn't—to grant clemency to people including Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier and environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.
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