Herschel Walker faces abortion allegation from 2nd accuser
A woman came forward Wednesday to accuse Herschel Walker, the anti-abortion Republican running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, of encouraging and paying for her 1993 abortion — an accusation that came just weeks after a former girlfriend said he did the same for her in 2009. Walker dismissed the newest allegation as “foolishness” and “a lie,” similar to his vehement denials earlier this month of the abortion alleged to have happened 13 years ago. “I’m done with all this foolishness. This is all a lie, and I will not entertain any of it. I also did not kill JFK,” Walker said in a statement later Wednesday. The second accuser, identified only as “Jane Doe,” spoke to reporters via an audio Zoom call arranged by her lawyer, Gloria Allred. The woman alleged that Walker, a former college and professional football star making his first bid for public office, pressured her into an abortion and paid for one after she became pregnant during their six-year relationship while he was married to his first wife. “The reason I am here today is because he has publicly taken the position that he is ‘about life’ and against abortion under any circumstances when, in fact, he pressured me to have an abortion and personally ensured that it occurred by driving me to the clinic and paying for it,” the woman said. She said she was not revealing her identity because she fears “reprisals against myself, my family and my livelihood.” “I do not believe that Herschel is morally fit to be a U.S. senator, and that is the reason why I am speaking up and providing proof,” she said. She said partisan allegiances were not a factor in her decision to come forward. She called herself a registered independent and said she voted twice for Donald Trump, the former Republican president who has endorsed Walker. The second round of abortion allegations against Walker returned the issue to the forefront of the campaign in the final two weeks before the November 8 elections. Walker is competing against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a tight race that could help determine party control of the Senate. Walker, campaigning Wednesday in north Georgia, seemed to blame Democrats for the latest accusation, much as he did the first, saying in a written statement that they “will say and do anything to hang on to power.” “Well, I’m Herschel Walker, and they picked the wrong Georgian to mess with,” Walker wrote. Allred, speaking to reporters in her Los Angeles office, detailed, among other items, cards that she said Walker gave her client and a hotel receipt from Minnesota. Allred played audio of what she described as a telephone message that Walker allegedly left her client in 1992 after he had arrived in Europe as part of the U.S. Olympic bobsled team. A notable women’s rights lawyer, Allred has represented several clients who have accused powerful men, including Trump and Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, of sexual assault and harassment. When The Daily Beast broke the story this month of the first abortion allegation, Walker insisted he had no idea who could make such a claim, but that was undermined by a follow-up report in which the woman identified herself as the mother of one of his children. The child was born two years after the 2009 abortion. Her evidence included a $575 receipt for an abortion, along with a get-well card signed by Walker and a personal check for $700 from the multimillionaire celebrity athlete. The check is dated five days after her abortion receipt. On Wednesday, Jane Doe said Walker gave her cash to have an abortion after she told him she was pregnant. She alleged that she first went to a clinic alone but was unable to go through with an abortion. She said Walker was “upset” when she told him, and he insisted they return the following day. She said he drove her to the clinic that day, waited in the car while the procedure occurred, and then took her to fill prescriptions. Allred declined to discuss the cost or any records of the alleged abortion, “at least at this time.” Walker’s responses to The Daily Beast’s stories evolved from absolute denials to suggesting the signature on a get-well card wasn’t his to suggesting he did send the woman money but that he didn’t know it was to cover an abortion. Doe said she heard Walker’s denial that he ever signed anything with a lone initial “H,” as the get-well card was signed. She said she knew that wasn’t true because he had signed cards to her that way. The first woman has not been identified publicly, asking that her name not be used out of concern for her privacy. She said she is a registered Democrat who is speaking out because of what she called Walker’s hypocrisy over abortion rights. She has spoken to multiple media outlets, revealing herself to be the same woman who filed a paternity suit for child support in New York family court. She has also alleged that Walker encouraged her to end their second pregnancy, though she refused, and that Walker has seen their son only a handful of times. Walker’s campaign has since shared with NBC News texts between his current wife and the woman acknowledging his relationship to the child. Walker promised to sue The Daily Beast after its initial story on the abortion claim was published on October 3. As of Wednesday afternoon, Walker had not confirmed that he has taken any legal action against the outlet. The reporting has put Walker on the defensive both about his claims of being a family man and his previous support for a national abortion ban, without any exceptions. That’s a notable position because the Supreme Court in June ended a constitutional right to an abortion, and Congress has been discussing federal legislation to set a national regulation. During the primary campaign, Walker was consistent about his absolute opposition to abortion. He repeated that approach after winning the nomination but has
Mike Bloomberg struggles to respond to politics of #MeToo era
Mike Bloomberg was caught flat-footed during much of Wednesday night’s debate.
Alabama activist takes on Harvey Weinstein’s billionaire friend Paul Tudor Jones
A newly established group, Women United, has released local digital and TV ads in the Charlottesville, Va. in an effort to hold Harvey Weinstein’s billionaire friends accountable for aiding and abetting his pattern of abuse. The visionary behind the group is Birmingham’s own Catrena Norris Carter. The 30-year veteran of both the civil rights and women’s movements in America is seeking to take on one of the longtime members of The Weinstein Company board of directors, the billionaire Paul Tudor Jones. Women United describe him as “untouchable” saying he has “shown a pattern of belittling and disregarding women.” They continued, “Paul Tudor Jones was an enabler to his personal friend, Weinstein. As a long term and supportive board member, Jones aided and assisted Weinstein, allowing him to continue preying on woman after woman and making himself an accessory to the abuse and harassment.” Which is why Women United will be attending Wednesday night’s University of Virginia (UVA) vs. Louisville basketball game with petitions asking the public to join them in requesting the removal of the Jones name from all UVA buildings. Along with volunteers, Carter will be walking around UVA throughout the week to have the Jones name removed. In October 2017, the Harvey Weinstein scandal arose when over 100 women came forward with claims of sexual assault and abuse against Weinstein. These allegations go as far back as the 1970’s. Even after the allegations against Weinstein went public, Jones maintained a direct relationship with him both as a business partner and as a personal friend. Following the allegations he emailed Weinstein, proclaiming, “I love you,” and telling him that “everyone would soon forget about the allegations.” But his personal support of Weinstein isn’t the only reason Women United are taking a stand against him. They also say he has an outdated, sexist view on modern day women in the workplace. When asked at a UVA function why industrial trading was mostly men, he said when women have children, it becomes a “focus killer.” Specifically, Jones told an audience of University of Virginia students, alumni and others that it is difficult for mothers to be successful traders because connecting with a child is a focus “killer.” As long as women continue having children, he said, the industry is likely to be dominated by men. “As soon as that baby’s lips touched that girl’s bosom, forget it,” Jones said, motioning to his chest. In the video of the event Jones says, “every single investment idea . . . every desire to understand what is going to make this go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience . . . which a man will never share.” As the video goes on, he says, “You will never see as many great women investors or traders as men — period, end of story.” But in the ad released by Women United, Founder Catrena Carter states, “No has always meant no. Now, we have to go further. No more excusing inexcusable behavior toward women. No more allowing those who protect monsters like Harvey Weinstein to go unnamed. No more looking the other way when billionaires choose predators over victims. It’s time to stand together and fight.” According to a press release, Women United is a next phase of the #MeToo movement. In addition to releasing ads, the group will also be launching grassroots efforts to shine a light on the structure of powerful and successful men that allow abuse to go unchecked and unreported. “Until these men are exposed, the culture of tolerating assaults on women will continue,” said Carter. Watch Women United’s video ad below: Learn more about Women United, watch the newly released ad, and sign the petition here: https://www.womenunitednow.org/
#MeToo: Why it’s past time for men to be men again
Reality check: Liberal feminism and the idea of gender fluidity is nonsense. Worse, it is ruining our country by disrupting the very roles that make society function well. Men are by nature protectors and providers. They have been from the earliest days of human civilization. Don’t blame the messenger here, but despite what recent generations have told you there are actual differences in the minds and bodies of men and women. Neither are better per se, they are just different. Who or what is responsible for this? Science. Genetics. God. Does that mean that a woman cannot hold her own and take care of herself? As a single mother, I’m responsible for protecting and providing for my children so clearly it’s not an either or proposition. I’m not talking about individual cases I’m talking about society as a whole. We need more men. Real men. Strong men. Courageous men. We are better off as a society when boys/men were taught and encouraged to be strong mentally and physically and to stand up against injustices against women. Yes, I know, I know what you’re thinking the modern feminist movement was all about empowering women to stand up for ourselves. Yes, we can do that too but being able to is not the same as having to. Note: There’s a big difference between the liberal feminist movement and the original. The current feminist movement at it’s core challenges or devalues masculinity and gender norms. These are the feminist that say our boys can’t play with toy guns but they can wear dresses. These are the individuals who love science until science says life begins at conception and that chromosomes determine ones sex. Those feminist want us to believe that allowing someone to decide their gender or heck letting them decide they don’t have a gender at all then providing them safe spaces and trigger warnings can solve our problems. I watched my Facebook feed yesterday as women of all ages, races and backgrounds from around the nation posted “Me, too,” to signal that they had been sexually assaulted or harassed in their lifetime. What struck me was not only the sheer volume of women I know who have experienced trauma in their lifetime but also the reactions of the men who said that they stood with us. I wonder how many men would be committing these atrocious acts against women if more fathers, brothers, boyfriends and males in general took to standing up to them and telling them it wouldn’t be tolerated anymore. I’m talking toe-to-toe in-your-face confrontations. Am I supporting vigilante justice? Well, maybe. In the sense that boys and men can police one another’s behavior and words in school or a fraternity house, on sporting teams or in the office. Imagine if every man took to protecting the women in their midst, treating them with respect and not allowing others any room for get away with anything less than the gold standard. Imagine a world where predators like Harvey Weinstein don’t get second, third or fourth chances. Where those in a position of power don’t turn a blind eye towards their deeds or the gossip about them. Our fathers, our brothers, our husbands are suppose to be ready, willing and able to stand up and go to war, literally and figuratively, to make sure we women and our children are safe. It’s time we women look to them to do so again. Laws, rules and human resources guides aren’t cutting it when it comes to protecting women. Statistics show that. What we need now is real empowerment; not the type that comes on a tee shirt of bumper sticker but women feeling empowered to speak out and men who will have their back when they do. Here’s the thing that gets me about most harassment and the behavior that leads to sexual assault. It can be recognized early on in most men. While we can never predict with 100% certainty who will be a harasser or assailant. We know the type those who don’t respect boundaries, feel as though the rules don’t apply to them and crave attention and power. Remember sexual assault is more about power than sex. Men used to be raised to rise up against injustice not run to safe spaces and cower in the fetal position. Boys used to be taught that they have a responsibility to stand up to the bully, the aggressor, the bad guy. Not always, but frequently there’s tell-tale signs of the guy who says things he shouldn’t, touches women in ways he shouldn’t, acts aggressively and those men need to be shut down with a quickness by the men (and women) around them. A big part of getting us back to where we need to be, is to stop acting like the real world is a gender neutral place. Let’s encourage little boys to rough house, play cops and robbers and line up their GI Joes for war at home and in classrooms. I want boys to play games of saving the damsel in distress and I want girls to know that while they can save themselves it’s okay to need help and to ask for it. It’s okay to trust men. Boys need to develop their intuitive sense of protector without fear of some overzealous liberal saying it poses a threat to their delusional version of Utopia. Teaching a boy to be a man doesn’t mean we don’t teach them that girls are incapable of taking care of themselves, it just means that we teach them that they shouldn’t have to. The fact is all of the victims of Harvey have brothers, fathers, male friends and colleagues. And in a different day and time this wouldn’t have lasted decades because the men around Harvey and his victims would not have allowed it.
Joe Biden: New campus sex assault guidelines not an improvement
Former Vice President Joe Biden, speaking to students at Rutgers University on Thursday, defended college sexual assault guidelines he helped champion that recently were relaxed by the Trump administration. During a 45-minute speech to about 2,000 students on combating sexual violence, Biden also took shots at disgraced film executive Harvey Weinstein over recent sexual assault revelations and at President Donald Trump. Last month, the Trump administration replaced Obama-era guidance on investigating campus sexual assault that allows universities to require higher standards of evidence. The original guidance, released in 2011 and updated in 2014, instructed universities to use a “preponderance of the evidence” standard when assessing and investigating a claim of sexual assault. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos‘ new interim guidelines let colleges choose between that standard and a “clear and convincing evidence” standard, which is harder to meet. Biden, a Democrat who was behind domestic violence legislation as a senator in the 1990s, said DeVos considers the old guidelines “unfair to men.” He said she and others are trying to confuse the issue. “It’s a civil proceeding,” he said. “To say ‘You were engaged in this behavior and the preponderance of evidence demonstrates it, and that’s why you are being penalized in the following way.’ They make it sound like what it’s not – putting the violator in jail. Don’t let them confuse you.” Biden called Weinstein’s conduct “disgusting” and “immoral” and said, “It is my hope there are more consequences, that the statute hasn’t run out. This man deserves more than to lose his company.” Rutgers said this week it won’t return a $100,000 donation from Weinstein that’s being used to help fund the Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies. After several students recalled their own personal experiences of sexual assault, Biden praised Rutgers for its efforts in support of victims of sexual assault and dating violence. On Trump, Biden said, “I know our president talks about locker room talk,” referring to the Republican president’s explanation for derogatory comments he made about women during last year’s campaign. “They didn’t talk that way in my locker room,” Biden said and noted, “usually the guy who starts that conversation is the ugliest SOB in the room.” Biden, who had campaigned for the Democrat running for governor in New Jersey before the speech, spent nearly an hour shaking hands and taking selfies with students, who greeted him with thunderous cheers when he first took the stage. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
