Afternoon Roundup: Salon on Why the Ethnicity and Race of an Arizona Shooting Hero Matters

One year after the earthquake in Haiti: what does it look like for women and girls in the camps?; Kanye West's disturbing new music video; why exactly the ethnicity and sexuality of the Arizona shootings hero does matter and more.

One year after the earthquake in Haiti: what does it look like for women and girls in the camps?; Kanye West’s disturbing new music video; why exactly the ethnicity and sexuality of the Arizona shootings hero does matter and more.

  • Almost one year after the earthquake in Haiti, and conditions are bleak. The organization, Madre, released a report six months post-earthquake detailing the sexual violence women in the displacement camps experienced, called Our Bodies Are Still Trembling. They’ve released the one-year report today. And though the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) just accepted a host of recommendations, to pass onto the Haitian government, outlining the security measures that must be implemented to protect women from “shocking levels” of sexual violence, not much else has changed. 
  • Adios Barbie is highlighting their effort, along with partners, to prevent the official release of Kanye West’s newest music video for his song”Monster.” The 30-second teaser for the video features West in bed with the dead bodies of two women and “image after image of eroticized violence against women” according to the petition
  • At the risk of starting another online war over homebirth, I wanted to post a follow-up to the Illinois Home Birth Safety Act. It was voted on in the Illinois House last week but did not pass by a vote of 46-71. Advocates say, however, that they are thrilled that 46 representatives voted in favor of legalizing certified professional midwifery as it is legalized in 27 states around the country.
  • Mary Elizabeth William’s moving piece on Salon.com about one of the heroes in this weekend’s horrific shooting in Arizona, Daniel Hernandez is a must-read. She highlights exactly why the ethnicity and sexuality – he’s Gay and Hispanic-American –  of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s intern is important to discuss. In light of discussions on immigration and gay rights in the military as of late, and the move to severely limit the rights of both groups, Hernandez puts a human face on these issues. 
  • Maryland is calculating the disastrous effects a repeal of the health care law would have just on its state alone. According to the the health blog of the Baltimore Sun, a new report by Maryland PIRG reveals that “Repealing the law would mean $9.1 billion less in federal Medicaid and put the state’s 126 community health centers in peril.”