On a recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., saw young girls who had been gang-raped on the journey to America.
In one case, Cammack says, a Border Patrol agent "pointed out a 9-year-old girl" at a processing facility in Donna, Texas.
The girl "came up to me and she had tears in her eyes," the Florida Republican recalls, adding:
She looked extremely distraught and I was asking her her name. She was really struggling to tell me her name. I asked her where she was from, and I kept hearing this really broken crackle. And I asked the Border Patrol agent. I said, "Is she just very upset? What's going on?"And he pulled me aside and he said, "Ma'am, we found this young girl in the fields. She was being gang-raped by cartel members. And she had been screaming so loud for so long that her vocal cords have given out."This is a 9-year-old girl who had been recycled by the cartels, meaning they are children that are sent along to escort single adults to the border so that they can get through the processing, because they don't run biometrics on children under the age of 12.
Cammack joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to describe this encounter as well as share her perspective on the situation at the border.
We also cover these stories:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he opposes Democrats' “slanted” bill to create a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
President Joe Biden speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about his nation's latest conflict with the terrorist group Hamas.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appears to be granting interviews only to black or Hispanic journalists.
Racism, exclusion, and unchecked corporate growth have trapped an entire class of people in poverty, no matter how hard they work. We call them the “working poor.” This week, workers’ rights advocate Ai-jen Poo shows Baratunde how it’s possible to work several jobs and still struggle to make ends meet — and how domestic workers are fighting for a future where all workers receive the dignity and fairness they deserve.
Guest: Ai-jen Poo - Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
Twitter: @aijenpoo
Bio: Ai-jen Poo is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, a non-profit organization working to bring quality work, dignity, and fairness to the growing numbers of workers who care and clean in our homes, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color.
SHOW NOTES + LINKS
Go to howtocitizen.com to sign up for show news, AND to start your How to Citizen Practice.
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We are grateful to Ai-jen Poo for joining us! Follow her at @aijenpoo on Twitter, or find more of her work at domesticworkers.org.
ACTIONS
PERSONALLY REFLECT
Who’s cared for you?
Think about someone in your life who's cared for you. Think about the value of that relationship. It could be a family member, a neighbor, a childcare provider, or some other caregiver in your life. What role did they play in your life? Bonus points: Give them a shout out, call them, and just let them know that you appreciate them.
BECOME INFORMED
Be an Ethical Employer, even at home.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance’s sister organization, Hand in Hand, offers support to employers of domestic workers (housekeepers, nannies, care givers). Also, their new app Alia allows you to provide insurance and time-off for people you employ in your home. Check out the resources on their website, domesticemployers.org, to learn how you can ethically employ someone in your home.
PUBLICLY PARTICIPATE
Benefits for all, no matter the job.
New platforms are working to address the need for portable benefits. Two that we found promising are: Opolis, a new membership-owned digital employment platform, and the Portable Benefit Network, another new platform focused on attaching healthcare to the worker no matter their job. Share these options with others in your network, so many more people can vote with their dollars and push for portable benefits as a part of a more equitable working future.
Support the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
After winning Domestic Workers Bills of Rights in nine states and two cities, the National Domestic Workers Alliance is leading an effort to pass a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Follow the link below to add your name in support! https://actionnetwork.org/forms/domestic-workers-make-all-other-work-possible
If you take any of these actions, share that with us - action@howtocitizen.com. Mention Working 5 to 9 in the subject line. And share about your citizening on social media using #howtocitizen.
Visit the show's homepage - www.howtocitizen.com - to sign up for news about the show, to learn about upcoming guests, live tapings, and more for your citizen journey.
How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Dustlight Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston, Elizabeth Stewart and Misha Euceph. Stephanie Cohnis our Senior Producer and Alie Kilts is our Producer. Kelly Prime is our Editor. Original Music by Andrew Eapen. Valentino Rivera is our Engineer. Sam Paulson is our Apprentice. This episode was produced and sound designed by Sam Paulson. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio.
Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick. Reporter Edie Rubinowitz has her story.
Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick. Reporter Edie Rubinowitz has her story.
Felix is joined by journalist for AJ+ Mohammad Alsaafin for a wide ranging discussion on Palestinian resistance and the future of Zionism and the Palestinian cause.
Sorry for the slightly abrupt outro, we lost the last few seconds of Mohammad’s audio, but please follow him at @malsaafin and check out and share this concise video explainer on Israeli apartheid he produced for AJ+:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MknerYjob0w
And follow @ajplus on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The CDC recently made a surprise announcement that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks, with only a few exceptions. This was greeted with some excitement, but also with vigorous pushback by people on the left. So what's the science behind this decision, and what are the practical concerns? We break it down! Then, we talk about a very premature victory lap taken by Bret Weinstein over the lab-leak hypothesis being confir... I mean not quite technically disproven. ***FACTUAL CORRECTION*** I said that 27 states never had mask mandates. I misread that. 27 didn't have them in place at the time of the CDC's announcement. 11 states never had mandates. Links: CDC Updates To Recommendations, CDC Science Brief, KFF Report on Vaccine Hesitancy/Enthusiasm, Science Letter, "Investigate the origins of COVID-19", NYT Article on Science Letter
The White House is courting influential Democratic senators and making a public relations push for President Biden's infrastructure proposal, while Republicans draw a red line around corporate tax increases.
Biden also spent part of this week test-driving Ford's new electric F-150 Lightning. But for all the talk of energy innovation and electric cars, one part of Biden's infrastructure plan is based on a pretty old idea — one from another era when millions of Americans were out of work. NPR's Scott Detrow and Nathan Rott report on Biden's proposal to revamp the nearly 100-year-old Civilian Conservation Corps — with a new focus on climate change. Read more from their reporting here.
The Jones Act keeps private sector actors from responding nimbly when economic disruptions occur, like a ransomware attack on a pipeline. Colin Grabow explains why.
In one of the bloodiest days in recent crypto history, NLW looks at the reasons behind the wild market crash and explores whether it means an end to the bull market. As part of this, he explores five different categories of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD):
Elon energy FUD
Resurgent tether FUD
China ban FUD
Used for crime FUD
Regulatory FUD
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