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Stormy Daniels exits the United States District Court Southern District of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen on April 16, 2018 in New York City. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Opinion by Lauren Leader

03/27/2023 01:30 PM EDT

Lauren Leader is co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a nonprofit womens civic education organization. She tweets at @LaurenLeaderAIT.

History has a habit of overlooking the contributions of powerful women. Which is why, this week, its worth considering Stormy Daniels, who refused to do what women involved in political sex scandals have so often done: Stay silent.

After the media broke news of her alleged affair with former President Donald Trump and his alleged payment to her to keep quiet about it, Daniels leaned into the spotlight, taking control of her narrative and speaking out on her own terms, loudly and unabashedly, with humor and candor. And in the end, shes coming out on top, while men involved in the Daniels-Trump scandal have either ended up in jail or are now at risk of being indicted. When this whole sordid episode is over, will a porn star have rewritten the rules on women, sex and power?

From time immemorial, women involved with philandering men, especially powerful ones, have been vilified, branded as sluts, homewreckers and vixens. That has certainly applied to political sex scandals as well. Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old intern when she had an affair with President Bill Clinton, was eviscerated in the public square, hounded by the media and called a tramp, slut, whore, tart, bimbo, floozy and even a spy. New York Posts Page Six labeled her the portly pepper pot. Under such intense and sexist scrutiny, she remained silent, speaking about the affair only to her lawyers and family.

It was 10 years before she finally broke that silence. Speaking at the Forbes 30 under 30 conference, she delivered a powerful speech about bullying and her experience surviving shame and public humiliation. Later she wrote an essay for Vanity Fair after the death of Roger Ailes, the man who had orchestrated much of her public torment at emerging Fox News. The media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power, she wrote. (Lewinsky has focused much of her time since writing and speaking about the effects of bullying, shame and silence on young women.)

Years before Lewinsky, Donna Rice, a 29-year-old actress and model, became the central female figure in the first political sex scandal of the TV age. After the Miami Herald broke the story of Democratic presidential nominee Gary Harts affair with Rice, she was endlessly dragged through the mud. As they would later do to Lewinsky, the press hounded Rice for years following her, camping out at her home and tracking her every move. Pictures of her in skimpy bathing suits were splashed on every TV screen and magazine cover. She was lambasted as a bimbo. (Hart didnt fare so well either; he ended his presidential campaign just a few days after the story was made public.)

Rice herself didnt speak publicly about the affair until 31 years later, after a Hollywood studio made a movie about the scandal starring Hugh Jackman without consulting her. I chose silence. I chose the high road, she told ABCs Amy Robach in 2018. But the price she paid for taking that high road was steep. The pictures and images of her fit the narrative that I was a temptress, a bimbo. She told People, I felt I was put on trial. My reputation was destroyed worldwide. (Rice has spent much of her professional life running a non-profit called Enough is Enough, aimed at making the internet safer for families and children.)

Its easy to see why neither Rice nor Lewinsky felt they had anything to gain from trying to tell their side of the story or defend themselves, given the vast power imbalance of their circumstances. They were women alone, up against an entire media establishment hell bent on getting ratings off public shaming. They were on the wrong side of powerful political figures and living in a world that needed them to be the vixens.

All of which is why the Stormy Daniels scandal stands apart. From the beginning, powerful men tried to keep her silent, yet she repeatedly and doggedly fought to tell the world her story. Her first effort came in 2011, when she reportedly struck a deal with In Touch magazine, even taking a lie detector test to validate the story. Trumps attorney Michael Cohen reportedly threatened to sue, and In Touch killed the story.

Undeterred, Daniels tried again in 2016 when Trump was running for president, contacting the National Enquirer to make a deal. But instead, editor in chief David Pecker, a Trump ally, allegedly collaborated with Michael Cohen to offer her a catch and kill deal. They would buy the rights to her story in exchange for $130,000 and a non-disclosure agreement. The details of how that money was initially paid by Cohen and reimbursed by Trump from the White House in 2017 are at the heart of Trumps legal peril now. (Trump denies having an affair with Daniels.)

Daniels initially complied with the non-disclosure deal she signed. But in 2018, the Wall Street Journal broke the story of Trumps alleged payment to Cohen, publishing images of the checks. When Trump claimed he never signed the agreement, Daniels saw an opening. She challenged the validity of the NDA head on, suing to invalidate it. Then she wrote a tell-all book, doing interviews with media outlets and forging lucrative business deals and a massive social media following along the way.

Since then, Daniels has leveraged her platform to emasculate Trump at every turn, first by revealing salacious details about his manhood in her book and then by mastering Twitter, where she refers to him only as Tiny to her 1.2 million followers, cutting him where it hurts most his macho persona. Several times a day she confronts her trolls and harassers, reasserting her story, using humor and sarcasm to disarm the haters. Examples are too numerous and inappropriate for these pages but its worth a scroll.

Obviously, Daniels is no saint or altruist. Shes making every possible dollar off the scandal. Merch sales and movie promotions feature prominently on her social media accounts. But there is also something admirable about her chutzpah, her refusal to back down, be sidelined, silenced, ignored or underestimated. She has persisted.

So far, the strategy has worked, and things have not gone well for the men who have tried to intimidate her. Cohen went to jail for his role in buying her silence. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tried to defraud her, stealing her book advance by forging documents with her name on them. But he also landed in jail. And now Trump may end up a loser too. Daniels assisted prosecutors in the case against Trump. But perhaps as importantly, she might have assisted in influencing the court of public opinion. An Economist/YouGov March poll found 46 precent of Americans believe Trump should be indicted for his actions.

Why was Daniels able to break the cycle of silence that has held women back for so long? For one, by choosing a career in porn, she had already rejected social norms and sexual mores, embracing a life of maximum exposure. That set her up to challenge a sexist social convention in ways that other women who preferred not to have their sex lives exposed could not.

Still, its easy to say that as a porn star, Daniels had nothing to lose by speaking out. But that would diminish the courage it takes to confront powerful bullies. Challenging Trump, who has an uncanny ability to unleash hate and even violence against those who go up against him, can be especially dangerous. Even if, in a post #MeToo age, traditional media might be less apt to pillory Daniels than it was Lewinsky or Rice, she faced plenty of real danger in speaking out. In recent weeks, she has had to increase her personal security in response to threats against her.

To consider Daniels a kind of feminist hero may seem discordant on the surface. Shes immensely self-interested and works in an industry that can be profoundly exploitive and abusive of women. Still, in many ways shes exactly what feminism espouses: A self-possessed woman in full control of her choices, sexually liberated, free and confident enough to do as she pleases with her body, career, life and voice.

It remains to be seen whether Daniels has made it easier for other women to speak out on their own terms and break the cycle of shame and silence that has held us back for too long. Perhaps she is uniquely able to break norms because she never accepted them in the first place. But its just as possible that she forged a new paradigm where the cycle of womens evisceration in the public square has ended.

Heres hoping.

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Opinion | Stormy Daniels, Feminist Hero? - POLITICO - POLITICO

The Walt Disney Companyon Monday began 7,000 lay-offs announced earlier this year, as it seeks to control costs and create a more "streamlined" business, according to a letter sent to employees bychief executive Bob Iger and seen by Reuters.

Several major divisions of the company Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and the company's corporate arm will be impacted, according to a person familiar with the matter. Sports network ESPN is not touched by this week's round of cuts, but is anticipated to be included in later rounds.

The entertainment industry has undergone a period of cutbacks since its early enthusiastic embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions as they launched competitors to Netflix.

They started to rein in spending when Netflix posted its first loss of subscribers in a decade in early 2022, and Wall Street began prioritising profitability over subscriber growth.

Mr Iger said Disney would begin notifying the first group of employees who are impacted by the workforce reductions over the next four days.

A second, larger round of job cuts will happen in April, "with several thousand more staff reductions", he said, while the final round will start before the beginning of the northern hemisphere summer.

California-based global entertainment conglomerate announced in February that it would eliminate 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $US5.5 billion ($8.2 billion) in costs and make its money-losing streaming business, Disney+, profitable.

"The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly," Mr Iger wrote, noting that many "bring a lifelong passion for Disney" to their work.

Details of the lay-offs had been closely guarded by the company, though insiders anticipated reductions would happen before Disney's annual shareholder meeting on April 3.

Anxiety has been building within the company as rumours swirled about areas of possible cuts.

"It's a dark, black box," said one Disney executive who spoke to Reuters last week.

Many had expected cuts to fall heavily on the Disney Media and Entertainment Division, which was eliminated in a corporate restructuring.

The unit has been without a leader since the exit of Kareem Daniel in November, shortly after Mr Iger returned as the company's chief executive.

"It's been a long time in the making," said SVB MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, adding that the company first began to "whisper" about the need to cut costs last fall, when Bob Chapek was still Disney's chief executive.

Josh D'Amaro, chair of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, sent a memo to theme parks employees in February warning that the profitable division would experience cuts.

Officials for two of the unions representing cast members at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida, said "guest-facing" services were not expected to be affected by the lay-offs.

"I don't see where, when there are labour shortages in front-facing guest roles, it would be a good decision to lay off workers where the money train starts for the Walt Disney Co," said Paul Cox, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 631.

Reuters

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Disney begins laying off 7,000 staff in bid to cut costs, turn around streaming service Disney+ - ABC News

EDINBURG, Texas Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector Border Patrol agents locate a missing juvenile and seize $64,000.

On March 24, Kingsville agents seized over $64,000 in bulk cash after a driver attempted to circumvent the Javier Vega Jr. Immigration Checkpoint. Agents conducted a vehicle stop on the SUV and escorted the driver and occupant, both U.S. citizens, back to the checkpoint. Further investigation of the subjects revealed the occupant was a missing juvenile registered in the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children database. Kenedy County Sheriffs deputies took custody of the subjects, bulk cash, and the vehicle. The missing juvenile was turned over to the Texas Juvenile Probation Office by deputies.

Very proud ofour Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents, who through their diligent work encountered a missing juvenile, further avoiding risk to her life and safety, said Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez.

Please visit http://www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV and @USBPChiefRGV.

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RGV agents find a missing juvenile | U.S - Customs and Border Protection

Ouachita Baptist University has sustained momentum in equipping students for postgraduate success, consistently reporting career outcomes rates that far exceed the national average. Graduates are pursuing opportunities in a variety of fields, including technology. For example, five alumni working at Apptegy, an education software company in Little Rock, Ark., are developing software for K-12 school marketing. Their contributions include software engineering, designing user-friendly interfaces and ensuring client success with Apptegy products.

According to its company website, Apptegy is dedicated to powering a K-12 schools identity by building its schools brands with an ADA compliant school marketing strategy. For seven years, Apptegy has provided a tool called Thrillshare, an app and web platform that enables schools to share their story across multiple platforms with the tap of a button, allowing them to control the conversation regarding their brand.

Ouachita alumni at Apptegy include Jasmine Thomas 10, a studio art and communications & media graduate who is a user interface/user experience designer; Elva Rosas 16, a finance graduate working as client success manager; Seigen Caton 20, a business administration/entrepreneurship and Christian studies graduate leading the client success team; Sarah Yates 21, a mathematics and computer science graduate who is a software engineer; and LaCameria Clark 22, a communications & media/strategic communications major who joined Apptegy as a client support representative after her December graduation from Ouachita.

Each shared how Ouachita prepared them for their careers by cultivating a passion for education and the community, growing well-rounded individuals in the liberal arts tradition and building problem-solving skills.

Caton said professors at Ouachita taught her to work diligently, think critically and live a life in pursuit of walking with the Lord.

While at Ouachita, Yates recalled, I learned how to problem-solve, work with people and find meaning in the work I do.

As a student, Rosas said she developed real life skills, such as how to communicate effectively, build healthy relationships and manage a healthy lifestyle.She reported using lessons today that she learned in Ouachita classes such as Business Ethics, Business Law and Psychology.Beyond the classroom, she also valued the environment Ouachita cultivated.

Being able to meet people from all over the nation and world helped me understand the importance of being intentional at all times, she recalled. I made lifelong friends who I now consider family. I will always be grateful for my time at Ouachita.

Rosas is not the only one who came away with a fresh point of view.

I learned a lot about perspective during my time at Ouachita, Caton said. It wasn't something I gained from any single class, but more something I observed through multiple classes, professors, clubs and friends. Perspective is monumental to how you approach conversations, challenges and relationships, and the amazing thing is that you have the ability to choose it.

Catons Ouachita experience has impacted not only her, but also the team she leads in achieving client success.

At Ouachita, I was encouraged to ask questions and not settle for easy answers, she said. That's something I now coach my team on daily.

Ouachita helped mold me into a well-rounded individual. I gained valuable knowledge that goes beyond being a skilled professional in my industry, Yates reported. I learned the importance of investing in my spiritual growth and serving my community through my church.

When asked which Ouachita courses prepared her for Apptegy, Yates said, Specifically, I think about some of the concepts from Algorithm Design and Analysis. I focus a lot on performance and the efficiency of our programs.

Learning to manage a busy campus schedule that included mandatory chapel attendance, practicum, meetings and Arts Engagement activities helped prepare Clark for the fast pace of her work with Apptegy clients.

As a student, I thought it was too much, and sometimes unnecessary, but thats not the case in reality, she said. I realized how helpful it is, to be used to having a full day of events and balance everything.

The Ouachita alumni at Apptegy represent different degree programs and emphases, accounting for five of Ouachitas seven undergraduate schools, not including the core curriculum.

Job markets are shifting pretty quickly these days, but we are seeing our graduates find work that is meaningful and uses their skills and degree in ways they may have never dreamed, said Adam Wheat, director of career & calling at Ouachita. From Christian studies majors in technology, to musical theatre majors practicing law, to business majors in medical school, my team and I find joy in helping students think creatively about their next steps.

Ouachita Baptist University, a private liberal arts university, is in its 137th year as a Christ-centered learning community and is ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Ouachita continues to break records for enrollment reporting its highest headcount in 56 years during the Fall 2022 semester and a Spring 2023 headcount that is its highest in 26 years and career placement rates, reporting that 99% of its 2022 graduates are employed or furthering their education. To learn more, visit http://www.obu.edu.

Lead photo: Ouachita alumni on the staff of the Little Rock, Ark., education software company Apptegy are (from left) LaCameria Clark 22, a communications & media/strategic communications major, client support representative; Jasmine Thomas 10, a studio art and communications & media graduate, user interface/user experience designer; Elva Rosas 16, a finance graduate, client success manager; Sarah Yates 21, a mathematics and computer science graduate, software engineer; and Seigen Caton 20, a business administration/entrepreneurship and Christian studies graduate, client success team leader. Photo by Bri Vongvilay

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Ouachita alumni further technology with Apptegy - Ouachita Baptist University News

When you're confronted with the whole world at once when you can fathom even the things you cannot see and are not prepared for it becomes impossible to hide from the truth. Clint Smith's new poems in Above Ground wash over like waves asking us to discern all the times we've trusted the world, even when it has not offered us a steady current.

Even though this collection addresses a subject as tremendous as the changing world we live in, the poems read with ease. It helps that Smith is writing about fatherhood and legacy both of which are marked by good, engaging narratives. Ultimately, these poems are attempting to answer the questions on every child's mind: Where did we come from? Where are we going?

The thread of time holding these poems together is not a straight line, but rather intertwined and then sewn back into itself. And as travelers, we are fully aware that this is an endless and often roundabout journey. This is, in one way, conveyed by the poem titles. We are at the genesis of the world in "Pangea," and later "Looking at a Photo" or at "Zoom School with a Toddler." Still, no matter where we are in time, we are faced with obstacles that challenge how we trust the world around us.

In "When People Say 'We Have Made It Through Worse Before'," Smith writes, "Sometimes the moral arc of the universe // does not bend in a direction that comforts us." He is choosing to validate a history burdened with pain and separation. But just after that line, he follows:

"...Please, dear reader,

do not say that I am hopeless. I believe there is a better future

to fight for, I simply accept the possibility that I may not

live to see it..."

This simultaneous, wave-like structure the swings and the downfalls, together is a core quality of this collection. Smith wrestles with the reality of the violence that took away those for whom things can't get worse, because they're gone against his faith in the ultimate goodness of the world in which he is raising his children.

In many ways, the poet's wonder at the world keeps him holding on to this faith in the way the universe works. In one poem he writes about a kind of jellyfish, and how the creature regenerates its cells, "which, in essence, makes the jellyfish immortal." But then he is angry at the jellyfish alive even though his own grandfather is no longer here. "What need does a jellyfish have / for an infinity that will only get lost in the current?"

In a later poem his son asks why giraffes have four ears. Of course, it only has two, the other two "ears" are simply horns, called ossicones cartilage left behind as a mark of evolution. The poet writes:

"...I look at my son,

and think of all the things I might try

to give him that he will one day have

no need for."

In Smith's narrative, nothing is static and yet there is a reason behind every change. That is not to say that it is all for a good reason, or that it all works out. Smith is not naively optimistic. In one poem he wonders about cicadas: "I remain astonished / by how cicadas live for seventeen years / underground and then die within weeks / of coming up to meet the world." Indeed the world tends to disappoint us. And these are moments when we might want to hide. But still there is faith as Smith writes in the poem "What I've Learned": "There are sixty-thousand miles of blood vessels in my body and every single centimeter keeps me alive."

Water is also a powerful force throughout the collection; it seems to both relieve and destroy, bring together and separate. In the collection's very first poem "All at Once" Smith writes, "The river that gives us water to drink is the same one that might wash us away." And then in "Pangea": "I wake up in love // with the ocean and fall asleep despising / all it has put between us." Where there is the possibility to float there is also the possibility to drown. This binary embodies the continuous volatility of the world.

Ultimately these poems point to our ability to trust in the face of this volatility. Trust that your unborn baby's heart is in fact beating, even if you cannot hear it. Trust that the sunset is a vision of beauty, even if you haven't stopped to look at it. Trust that the world will still be here when your children grow up, even though it seems to be burning right now. In one poem Smith writes "I fear everything I control / and know I control nothing" reminding himself that trust is sometimes the only way forward.

Jeevika Verma is a poet, journalist, and audio producer. She was a producer at NPR's Morning Edition and Up First before joining The Journal a podcast produced by Gimlet Media and The Wall Street Journal.

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In 'Above Ground,' Clint Smith meditates on a changing world ... - NPR