+
upworthy
More

People have raised over $100,000 to cover Brett Kavanaugh accuser’s security costs.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has put her reputation and her personal safety on the line to speak out against sexual assault.

The former classmate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says the judge sexually assaulted her at a party when the two were in high-school. Kavanaugh has denied the charge, leading up to what had seemed like an inevitable showdown between the two, as his nomination hangs in the balance.

Supporters of Kavanaugh say an accusation has threatened his career and reputation though most people have supported Ford’s right ot be heard - pointing out she has nothing to gain by speaking out against him.


In fact, she is risking everything - far more than one man’s ambitions to have a seat on the nation’s highest court.

That’s because Ford says she and her family have received numerous death threats, forcing them to leave their private home and take on a professional security detail.

Aside from the incalcuable emotional costs, private security details are expensive.

So, Georgetown Law Professor Heidi Li Feldman created a GoFundMe account to help pay for Ford’s security costs and in less than 24 hours, it has already raised more than $100,000 from more than 4,000 individual donors.

Feldman says she hopes the campaign will bolster other women to speak out.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

“Let’s create a fund to cover her security expenses, to do just a bit to make it easier for women in her position to come forward despite great risks,” Feldman writes in a letter on the GoFundMe page. “If we raise more than Dr. Blasey needs,  extra funds will go to women’s organizations and/or into an account to cover similar costs incurred in comparable situations.”

Feldman’s campaign quickly went viral, far exceeding its original funding goal. She agreed to raise the goal one final time on Wednesday to $175,000 and promised in her update to donate any funds in excess of Ford’s security costs to women’s organizations and similar efforts.

Ford remains in the spotlight in part because of a disagreement over how the Senate should handle her accusation. Republican Senator have offered her the chance to testify but she has asked the FBI to investigate her claim first, something her lawyer says is necessary to ensure fairness.

Her action isn’t explicitly an indictment of Kavanaugh himself but rather a system that still makes it not only difficult, but oftentimes dangerous, for women to speak out after surviving incidents of sexual assault and harassment.

Still, the more Americans learn about Kavanaugh and the allegation against him, the less supportive of his nomination they become, which has only amplified the attacks on her personal character and the threats against her family:

Creating a safe space for women to come forward is essential to addressing the larger problems of sexual misconduct in our society.

Even if you believe in Brett Kavanaugh’s innocence, ensuring people have the right to have their voices, and their evidence, heard in the court of public opinion is better for democracy, better for decency and better for the rule of law, the very thing Kavanaugh has built his career on protecting.

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Mom’s blistering rant on how men are responsible for all unwanted pregnancies is on the nose

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

Mom has something to say... strongly say.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, are a conservative group who aren't known for being vocal about sex.

But best selling author, blogger, and mother of six, Gabrielle Blair, has kicked that stereotype to the curb with a pointed thread on reducing unwanted pregnancies. And her sights are set directly at men.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids. It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons, confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

Keep ReadingShow less
Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

Keep ReadingShow less
Images via Alan Taylor/Flickr, used with permission.

Updating the kitchen.


Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

Books from when you were a kid?

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

Keep ReadingShow less