On Our Minds: July/August 2019 – Feminists for Liberty

What’s on our minds this July and early August? Declaring independence from Republicans and Democrats, the 2020 election, what criminal justice reform means for women girls, making gov-issued identification gender neutral, “unschooling,” fighting back against police profiling, the cruelty of current immigration policy, how Tulsi Gabbard is kind of a badass, how silly it is to call capitalism incompatible with feminism, Cyntoia Brown’s release (hell yeah) and Chelsea Manning’s continued imprisonment (grrrr), the amazing U.S. Women’s Soccer team, bad tech laws, free speech as a feminist issue, #MAGA Socialism (aka “national conservatism”), sex worker rights activism in D.C. and New York, how to make libertarianism more welcoming, all the great panels and events coming up this fall, and more…

must …

listen:

https://twitter.com/pharmaqt/status/1144869318955417600

https://twitter.com/ARossP/status/1157795038858027008

read:

I am beyond excited to write the lead essay in this month's #CatoUnbound conversation on #unschooling. Even better, I will be joined in the discussion by @DeAngelisCorey, @flowidealism and @DrKevinCK
https://t.co/0pkVmWrixZ via @CatoUnbound @CatoInstitute
— Kerry McDonald (@Kerry_edu) July 8, 2019

watch:

Molly Davis of the Libertas Institute & Young Voices talks about Kamala Harris’ criminal justice record:

.@CathyReisenwitz outlines the dangers of bulking together voluntary sex workers and human trafficking victims pic.twitter.com/BsP68e7slN
— AM2DM by BuzzFeed News (@AM2DM) July 31, 2019

thread(s):

https://twitter.com/Butterncoffee1/status/1159030640664293381

The WHOLE thread: how “anti trafficking” orgs don’t produce reliable data oh and they also don’t really help anyone who may actually be trafficked. https://t.co/iU7sHWjq7d
— Mistress Matisse (@mistressmatisse) July 11, 2019

September 9:

[EVENT] Author @ProfEmilyOster and @IWF's @JGunlock discuss how to make parenting decisions in the face of an alarmist parenting culture.

Moderated by @chellivia, @CatoInstitute

🗓️ September 9
📍 Washington, DC
⤵️ Register to attendhttps://t.co/241tlApVIp
— Independent Women's Forum (@IWF) August 2, 2019

September 10:

We're excited to welcome @kmanguward, editor-in-chief of @reason, for #IdeasAtWork on September 10! You won't want to miss this LIVE online discussion about political journalism today, social media, threats to the free press, and more.

Sign up: https://t.co/DrsfCWgpo0 pic.twitter.com/Rwgcp9uoEU
— Civil Squared (@CivilSquared) August 6, 2019

September 16:

One criticism of capitalism that one often hears is the idea that capitalism harms women. Consider attending the debate we're holding on that important topic on September 16th: https://t.co/RUXCABRmrS #WomenDebateMarkets @CatoEvents
— Chelsea Olivia Follett (@chellivia) July 23, 2019

October 25-27th:

Announcing the 2019 #LOLAleadership retreat!

Apply today… https://t.co/pSALPM5hcb #IamLOLA pic.twitter.com/AP61YdE5Kp
— Ladies of Liberty (@ladiesofliberty) July 1, 2019

More Libertarian Feminist News & Commentary

Rep. Justin Amash is declaring independence from the Republicans and the Democrats. Lucy Steigerwald profiles Amash here …

"Most Americans have rather libertarian tendencies or classical liberal tendencies — the spirit of this country is very much libertarian or classical liberal" @justinamash tells @voxdotcom https://t.co/PmECNZtnVz
— Feminists for Liberty (@FeministLiberty) July 3, 2019

Usually, I tell good men to quit politics. This one, I hope sticks around. @justinamash please find a path forward outside this horrid duopoly! "Our politics is in a partisan death spiral. That’s why I’m leaving the GOP." https://t.co/lNDvL0K4rg
— shikha sood dalmia (@shikhadalmia) July 5, 2019

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is wrong about a lot of things, but we’re loving seeing her speak out about ending Forever War in the U.S. and slamming fellow candidate Sen. Kamala Harris for the former prosecutor’s excessively tough-on-crime record and rhetoric…

Kamala’s entire campaign is based on a lie — that as AG of California, she was a fighter for the oppressed and for criminal justice reform. But her criminal justice record shows that her policies exemplified the worst aspects of our criminal justice system. pic.twitter.com/VlIe4ZXKIC
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) August 6, 2019

https://twitter.com/ResethO/status/1157150417882472451

I wrote for @SpectatorUSA about how Kamala Harris doesn’t actually support prostitution decriminalization, she supports the “Nordic Model” of sex work (aka “End Demand”) https://t.co/DrfoH34h7h

What’s wrong w/this model? Here’s a good place to start: https://t.co/oMg5OEj0Ws
— Elizabeth Nolan Brown (@ENBrown) August 7, 2019

Tulsi Gabbard looking at high-fiving all these warmongers & dirty cops like 😒😗🙅🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/9MkEmEMoye
— Feminists for Liberty (@FeministLiberty) July 3, 2019

If you're interested in a deeper dive into Harris's record as a prosecutor, I highly recommend @ENBrown's great feature for the great @reason magazine:https://t.co/ike6c6Ccpn

(Full disclosure: my great spouse, @petersuderman, works there)
— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) August 1, 2019

More Democratic Debate and presidential candidate chatter:

“Open borders is a right wing talking point. No one is saying that.” — @JulianCastro at #DemDebate

Libertarians: pic.twitter.com/WDG6Za8JQw
— Kat Murti (@KatMurti) August 1, 2019

It’s a little silly they can argue about abortion for this long with nobody saying the word “abortion."
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) August 1, 2019

Kamala Harris explicitly fought for the death penalty when she was AG of California https://t.co/K0I38kxYER pic.twitter.com/TMawN8uG9L
— Elizabeth Nolan Brown (@ENBrown) August 1, 2019

When politicians like Biden say "get in line" remind them that there is no line https://t.co/2CgT13DJ7B
— Katherine Mangu-Ward (@kmanguward) August 1, 2019

If you're curious about who this Marianne Williamson person is and what currents of American society produced her, here's a 4300-word profile I wrote earlier this month. https://t.co/T1Sd71lP7k
— Jesse Walker (@notjessewalker) July 31, 2019

And here's video of me asking Tulsi Gabbard if Walmart should stop selling firearms. She told me, "That's up to Walmart." pic.twitter.com/wc8raETXWZ
— Francesca Chambers (@fran_chambers) August 10, 2019

Chelsea Manning is still being detained:

116 DAYS IN JAIL & $11,000 IN FINES for @xychelsea (July 7 2019) 😟

Read Chelsea's letter to Judge Anthony Trenga, which explains a bit about the history of grand juries & why she cannot, in good conscience, participate: https://t.co/kpktJ2Kijo pic.twitter.com/2svy68LSEr
— Chelsea Manning (@SaveManning) July 7, 2019

**Judge Anthony Trenga has denied Chelsea's Motion to Reconsider & ruled that she be incarcerated for another 400 days & be fined $441,000 when she is released. https://t.co/Zwf9wyzzTk pic.twitter.com/aTFuelO6uB
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) August 7, 2019

https://twitter.com/anarchakelly/status/1151816704026128385

Free speech is a feminist issue. If you don’t know what Section 230 is – and why it’s under attack (alas) — read up:

Great new piece by @M_Feeney "It’s bad enough to get the facts of Section 230 wrong. Spreading falsehoods in pursuit of an agenda that isn’t supported by what the facts reveal is worse." https://t.co/WAztocBv91 via @CatoInstitute
— Jennifer Huddleston (@jrhuddles) August 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/ENBrown/status/1159487933683908608

Blog Post: Some Much-Needed Pushback on the Anti-Section 230 Craziness (Linkwrap) https://t.co/tW2uPpTxG6

Including @daphnehk @sivavaid @ENBrown
— Eric Goldman (he/him) (@ericgoldman) August 2, 2019

Guys I'm obsessive and I'm going to do a thread on why Hawley's new legislation on social media is SO BAD. I tried to resist. Sorry. Get ready
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair 🦥 (@senatorshoshana) August 1, 2019

For the eight-thousandth time, Section 230 does not require internet companies to be “neutral” in how they moderate third-party content. https://t.co/RODg1uZBqZ
— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) July 12, 2019

More of this, please:

Maryland won't make voters identify as either male or female in order to vote https://t.co/WKTiOpnqQZ
— Feminists for Liberty (@FeministLiberty) July 8, 2019

This is an important step to ensure that non-binary Americans are seen and respected. Way to go, New Hampshire. All states should do the same. https://t.co/uV8PxW00Xz
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 25, 2019

An “astonishing number of women are in city or county jails not because they’ve been convicted but because they are too poor to post bail,” explains Piper Kerman.
We need prison reform now:

This was so painful to read. Incredible reporting by @laurenk_gill on the death of Madison Jody Jensen, who died of dehydration at the Duchesne County jail. A jail nurse has been charged with negligent homicide. https://t.co/40IbNBrE3Y
— Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg 🇵🇸 (@elizabethweill) August 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/NTBaszynski/status/1158848832433790976

#BREAKING: We found shocking data about 30+ youth being transferred from the Juvenile Detention Cntr to the dangerous Cuyahoga Co Jail (where 9 people died since June 2018). We requested answers & a sit-down meeting; as of today no info has been provided. https://t.co/QyApLePqdu pic.twitter.com/BKS8nkPYPK
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) August 6, 2019

When Lauren was arrested as part of a prostitution sting, she told police finances were tight & she needed to buy diapers for her child. She’s one of many women doing sex work arrested in raids police claim rescue victims of human trafficking. https://t.co/rakcZSl3l2
— The Appeal (@theappeal) July 25, 2019

Free markets help women:

Do free markets help or hurt women? Proponents of both sides want more freedom and higher material living standards for women. But they disagree on how to achieve that goal. Yet the data sides overwhelmingly with the free market. https://t.co/9KtqWyLL1D
— Human Progress (@HumanProgress) June 30, 2019

https://twitter.com/vnbateman/status/1149702800324079618

It's time to liberate women from the paternalistic policy that makes them pay a toll—a doctor’s office visit—to obtain contraception. https://t.co/BvWVeFA9eu #CatoHealth pic.twitter.com/JAGulQ4o1q
— Cato Institute (@CatoInstitute) June 23, 2019

Progress report:

Billie Jean King was the first female athlete to admit to being gay, but only after being outed in a 1981 lawsuit. It hurt her image. Yesterday, after winning the world cup, Kelley O’Hara—who wasn’t previously out—ran to the sideline & kissed her girlfriend. How far we’ve come. pic.twitter.com/E2Bl9gXuXS
— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) July 8, 2019

Human Rights Watch supports prostitution decriminalization.

“Sex workers in South Africa face arrest, detention, harassment, and abuse from police, which also deters them from reporting rape or other brutal attacks against them,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, from Human Rights Watchhttps://t.co/59g1LiORAU
— 𝙙00𝙙 (@just_some_d00d) August 7, 2019

Human trafficking panic and immigration cruelty combine:

A 14-year-old being accused of "sex trafficking" his 9-year-old sister for walking her to school. This is where your hysteria leads; had enough yet? https://t.co/obwCpcyAzs
— Maggie McNeill (@Maggie_McNeill) July 27, 2019

A 9 year old held for two days and an attempt to coerce her into making a false statement

A 14 year old coerced to sign a false statement on threat of arrest for trafficking

With CBP and ICE free to detain at will this will not be the last time you see this https://t.co/zmOmKAu56k
— Jen Monroe (@thatjenmonroe) July 27, 2019

Yet again, a @BlueAshPD informant gets a handjob from a woman and then they throw her in a cage & tell her she must pay $27,000 to get out. https://t.co/kcIsYDrk3F
— Elizabeth Nolan Brown (@ENBrown) July 26, 2019

One message that @ButterflyCSW puts at the forefront of their activism in Canada:

Migrant sex work == Trafficking

Not all migrant sex workers are trafficking victims. By FAR, most are not.

Protecting all migrants from labor exploitation requires rights not rescue. pic.twitter.com/jAt4MhxMyv
— Red Canary Song (@RedCanarySong) July 10, 2019

Good news:

Alabama will drop the manslaughter charges against a woman who lost her pregnancy to a gunshot wound after picking a fight with the shooter https://t.co/JP2wOctH4e
— reason (@reason) July 3, 2019

Arkansas’ strict new anti-abortion law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge https://t.co/3Hyv7hjJdA
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 24, 2019

BREAKING: Cyntoia Brown has been released from prison.

The sex trafficking victim served 15 years for killing a man she says hired her as a prostitute when she was 16.

Now 31, she says she'll use her experiences "to help other women and girls suffering abuse and exploitation." pic.twitter.com/gChbnk7ar3
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 7, 2019

.@AyannaPressley's set to introduce a bill to end AG Barr's reinstatement of capital punishment at the federal level. It's about 70 words. pic.twitter.com/7uBRCNN5Ie
— Darren Sands (@darrensands) July 25, 2019

Bad news:

Stigma against #sexworkers & substance users & lack of access to resources means instances of exploitation which are not been identified or addressed properly. Instead of dealing with those issues, @SenSherrodBrown is criminalizing more ppl https://t.co/zAhrIRfibP @reason
— Kate (@KateDAdamo) August 6, 2019

Expectation: L.A. is arresting human traffickers and rescuing victims; Reality: Sex workers – many of them women – are arrested far more often than traffickers, which leaves them with “severe consequences for their lives.” https://t.co/ELNym5TQUo
— Elizabeth Chou (@reporterliz) August 7, 2019

Landlords already exploit sex workers and most of the calls we get in SWAI are from workers who are being threatened/exploited by their landlords. Laws already exist around coerced sex work. Landlords should not be given more power to harass sex workers.https://t.co/F7sV5Kqjh2
— Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) (@SWAIIreland) August 2, 2019

https://twitter.com/walterolson/status/1157024114886041601

One more time for those in the back…

Libertarianism refuses to make a place for white nationalism, racism, and collectivist treatment of people https://t.co/6yk9ycvZ3i
— reason (@reason) August 7, 2019

And a bit more on this new “national conservatism” business:

“National conservatism” is just collectivism rebranded for the right. It’s a form of socialism built upon fear of the new and different. https://t.co/cJR6S5L0yt
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 19, 2019

(Seriously though you should read @sladesr's piece)https://t.co/XMulVAxRIr
— Alex Muresianu (@ahardtospell) July 18, 2019

This is the @willwilkinson piece you've been waiting for, skewering the new "conservative nationalism."

"Its animating principle is contempt for the actually existing United States of America, and the nation it proposes is not ours."https://t.co/uRsQNJTIWc
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) August 2, 2019

“The Problem with Nationalism” by @bernybelvedere is one of the best essays I’ve read on this subject. It’s an especially great analysis of the current debates around what nationalism actually is (and isn’t). https://t.co/2nVsm4La4v pic.twitter.com/862OfSRaOn
— Corie Whalen (@CorieWhalen) July 26, 2019

This op-ed perfectly sums up the main issue with TPUSA – they’re a “youth conservative” group that teaches absolutely nothing about conservative ideology as historically understood https://t.co/O2jE5FwWvp
— Jen Monroe (@thatjenmonroe) July 29, 2019

Sex workers in D.C. and N.Y. face misinformation and hostile “feminist” opposition in their fights to decriminalize prostitution between consenting adults.

This bill does nothing to change the current laws for folx under 18. But even sothe current law criminalized the people you say you want to protect &your own stats back up the idea that criminalization doesn’t work. How about housing & resources and limiting police interactions? https://t.co/ISxUasLJje
— DECRIMNOW DC (@DecrimNowDC) July 24, 2019

I respect them for trying to protect children but I have a duty to say this is false. The fight is to decriminalize ADULT Consensual Sex Work. Laws protecting children & trafficking victims still exist & Police will still investigate & arrest traffickers#Debunked #DecrimNowDC https://t.co/jzOSkzStGQ
— Tamika (@tamikahs66) July 25, 2019

We ended our circle reciting a poem by Maya Angelou:

“You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.“

STILL, WE RISE:https://t.co/BCer2pvtJI
— Red Canary Song (@RedCanarySong) July 24, 2019

On yesterday's panel at @IncarnationNY: a lot has been said, so we'll just add this: @TS_Candii, Black trans sex worker & @VOCALNewYork leader, was dragged out of event by police for simply showing up. You can see in video she tries to grab onto the doorframe but is pushed over pic.twitter.com/WJPnFudeQ9
— Decrim NY #decrimNY (@DecrimNY) July 24, 2019

More sex policy news:

California lawmakers passed a bill that protects sex workers from arrest when they report serious and violent crimes. The bill also ensures that the possession of condoms may not be used as probable cause to arrest or prosecute someone for sex work. https://t.co/3RiPrABbU6
— Veronica Valenta (@VeronicaValenta) July 11, 2019

A federal appeals court accepts Everett’s argument that bikinis cause rape: https://t.co/6L8PzVSWGi
— Maggie McNeill (@Maggie_McNeill) July 17, 2019

States across the country are passing resolutions declaring porn a public health crisis.

This is what we're up against.https://t.co/l8COUo01sh
— Woodhull Freedom Foundation (@WoodhullFreedom) July 19, 2019

RIP:

“You wanna fly, you got to give up the sh*t that weighs you down.” – Tony Morrison pic.twitter.com/3LCqa2rPu0
— Luke Lawal Jr. (@lukelawal) August 6, 2019

https://twitter.com/ProperlyZuri/status/1154438418522415105

“Self-managed abortion is going to play a bigger role, no matter what happens with Roe,” report Anna North at Vox.
Kat talks to Tatiana Moraz:

It was a real treat to have @KatMurti of @FeministLiberty on #TheTatianaShow. Check out our in-depth chat about #abortion, #feminism, classical liberalism & more. TY to our sponsors @Vaultoro @blocktapio @ProofofLovecast https://t.co/r3TSPuBkuJ #libertarian #liberty pic.twitter.com/ZluvsBXhzd
— Tatiana Moroz (QueenTatiana) (@queentatiana) July 3, 2019

PSAs:

CEI's @michelleminton shares that recommendations in the Dietary Guideline for Americans may promote malnutrition in certain people. Learn more https://t.co/IMU5SCYWMG
— Competitive Enterprise Institute (@ceidotorg) August 6, 2019

I am living my dream. Over the last 10 years, I’ve built a career as a policy expert in Washington, DC. Here’s my advice for those eager to launch the career of their dreams. #realtalk #careeradvice @AFF https://t.co/TumbfhFFzW
— Romina Boccia (@RominaBoccia) August 8, 2019

Fighting words? 😉

Cats are neoliberals (probably full-fledged libertarians tbh). https://t.co/KUy1A3jYEo
— Kate Andrews (@KateAndrs) August 9, 2019

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Awwww.

One month from today, we’ll be married, which, considering it’s #NationalInternDay and we met as #CatoInterns, feels really fitting and auspicious. I’m super excited! 🙀😻🎉 pic.twitter.com/f9yZHLvYVO
— Kat Murti (@KatMurti) July 25, 2019