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‘The Good Type of Mexican’: Ohio GOP Latina Aide Accuses Three Republican Lawmakers of Racism and Sexism

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‘Degrading Comments and Harassment’

Latina legislative aide in Ohio over the weekend accused three Republican state lawmakers of racism and sexism ahead of a vote for speaker of the House.

In a letter sent to Democratic lawmakers and posted to Twitter, Marissa Reyes detailed racist and sexist comments made by her former boss, Republican state Rep. Scott Wiggam, Cincinnati.com reported. Former state Rep. Wes Retherford and Rep. Derek Merrin were also accused of inappropriate remarks.

Reyes argued that Democratic lawmakers should not throw their support for speaker behind Republican Rep. Larry Householder. Democrats have reportedly agreed to back Householder’s bid for speaker.

“I have suffered degrading comments and harassment by the very people that the Democratic caucus may choose to empower on January 7th, 2019,” Reyes said in the letter. “I urge you not (to) support a leadership team that promises to solve problems that they themselves are perpetuating.”

Reyes described in the letter how Retherford made sexist remarks following a House Christmas party.

“He caused a scene by screaming and threatening myself and other female House aides not to discuss events from that night and remarked to me at a different point that he would ‘prefer to see me with my dress off,’” she explained.

Reyes, who now works for Republican state Rep. Bob Cupp, said that her former boss, Rep. Scott Wiggam, made remarks about her gender and ethnicity.

“During my time as a staffer in this office, I had to endure months of unacceptable treatment and was forced to listen to the Representative’s opinions that painted myself, my family and other Hispanics in a demeaning light,” she wrote. “When I respectfully disagreed with the Representative about an issue, I was told that ‘women do not think logically, they think with their hearts not with their brains.’”

At one point, Wiggan called her “the good type of Mexican,” she said.

Democratic state Rep. Kristin Boggs, who received Reyes’ letter, said that she was disturbed by the allegations. But it was not immediately clear if the accusations would impact Monday’s vote for speaker.

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HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE

Five Men Punished for the Death of WaPo Journalist Jamal Khashoggi

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Jamal Khashoggi, Pictured in March of this year

Five people were sentenced to death Monday as punishment for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. A public prosecutor said another 10 defendants were released due to insufficient evidence.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered on October 2, 2018 near the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His criticism of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies were said to be the reason for the punishment. The men behind the act were thought to have been working for or in support of the highest levels of the Saudi government and bin Salman.

On November 2, 2018 the CIA revealed a recording of bin Salman ordering Khashoggi to be “silenced.”

“The Central Intelligence Agency is in possession of a phone call recording of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in which he is heard giving an instruction to ‘silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible,’ Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote on November 22,” according to a report in Mediaite.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump said at the time, “King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

Responses ran the gamut on Twitter following the ruling Monday.

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Homeland Security Secretary Blasted for Response to Death of 7 Year Old Girl Who Died in Border Patrol Custody

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Offers Condolences to Family of 7 Year Old Who Died in Custody – and ‘All of DHS’?

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen is sending her condolences to the family of the 7-year old girl who died while in custody of dehydration and exhaustion. But in the same breath Secretary Nielsen, whose department is responsible for separating thousands of children at the U.S.-Mexico border from their parents, also appears to offer condolences to the entire Dept. of Homeland Security.

“Yeah, it’s heart-wrenching,” Sec. Nielsen told “Fox & Friends” Friday morning, a week after the young child’s death.

“My heart goes out to the family – all of DHS,” she said. It’s unclear if she meant she was speaking for all of DHS or if she was sending condolences to all of DHS.

Meanwhile, the embattled Homeland Security chief didn’t stop there. She then pivoted, blaming the family who “chose” to flee dangerous Central America to seek refuge in the U.S.

“You know, this is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey. The family chose to cross illegally. What happened here was they were 90 miles away from where we could process them.”

“They came in such a large crowd, it took our Border Patrol folks a couple of times to get them all,” she insisted.

“We gave immediate care, we’ll continue to look into the situation, but again I cannot stress how dangerous this journey is when migrants choose to come here illegally.”

In truth, the girl was held for 8 hours before being taken to a hospital. Some have noted that is not “immediate care.”

Vox adds that “DHS hasn’t said if she was given water.”

Secretary Nielsen is being chastised on social media for the death of the child and for what many see as an offensive response.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes blasted the statement released by DHS on the child’s death:

Hillary Clinton just weighed in, calling this a “humanitarian crisis.”

Others are calling Sec. Nielsen a criminal:

More responses:

RELATED STORIES:

‘YOU’RE A MODERN DAY NAZI’: PROTESTORS CATCH KIRSTJEN NIELSEN LEAVING HER HOUSE (VIDEO)

DHS SECRETARY NIELSEN CLAIMS GASSED CARAVAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE BEING USED AS ‘HUMAN SHIELDS’

‘I DON’T KNOW’: HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF KIRSTJEN NIELSEN IS ASKED WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?

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Mika Brzezinski Blasts Kellyanne Conway for Using Her Sexual Assault to Protect ‘Predator of a President’

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‘That Was as Low as It Gets’

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski called out White House adviser Kellyanne Conway for trying to have it both ways on Christine Blasey Ford.

Conway revealed that she, too, had been a victim of sexual assault after Ford came forward with her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, but the “Morning Joe” co-host said that admission shouldn’t let her get away with defending personal attacks against the accuser.

“I was really struck by Kellyanne Conway saying that (Ford)’s been treated like a Fabergé egg,” Brzezinski said. “That’s interesting.”

“I find that fascinating,” she continued, “actually, because Kellyanne Conway went on a Sunday show and, in the middle of making her point, she announced she’s a victim of sexual assault. Really? Oh, my gosh — okay.”

She challenged Conway to reveal the details of her attack to see if she would be treated like a Fabergé egg.

“So tell us your story,” Brzezinski said. “Who is your attacker? Who broke the law? Who hurt you? You seemed really uncomfortable when you let that slip out. Your voice got small, your voice cracked, you had to clear your throat.”

“You were really uncomfortable just saying, ‘I am a victim of sexual assault,’” she continued. “And you know what? I say that as a victim of sexual assault myself. So I want to ask why can’t you be the egg, Kellyanne Conway, the Fabergé egg and tell your story?”

She called out Conway as a hypocrite for claiming victim status to attack other victims.

“You say women should be heard,” Brzezinski said. “You talk out of both sides of your mouth. You say women should be heard, their stories are credible and compelling — let’s hear yours. It’s very convenient to drop that. I want to know your story, I want to know what happened. You should have justice, shouldn’t you?”

Host Joe Scarborough tried to cut in, but Brzezinski held him off.

“Hold on, I’m not done,” she said. “Know your value. You can’t just throw that out as a political dagger to protect this reprehensible predator of a president, and make an announcement that you’re the victim of sexual assault which, therefore, for some reason makes everybody not ask you about it?”

“If women are being treated like Fabergé eggs when they announce their stories, then you go ahead and tell yours and see how easy it is, okay?” Brzezinski continued. “That was as low as it gets.”

Brzezinski said Conway should resign in shame if she was unwilling to back up her own claims of sexual assault.

“You have such great, tight, little points that you want to throw out there,” Brzezinski said. “This one is not going to fly. You can’t use being a victim of sexual assault, throw it out there, and then literally dirty, sully the name of someone who has stepped in front of the cameras before the United States of America and told her story.”

 

 

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