SINCERETALK

"I own me." This sentence, comprised of three short words, seems inarguable. But when attorney and author Faith Jones says them aloud, as she does in her 2019 TED Talk and in her new book, "Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult," they symbolize a lifetime of experience, learning and healing. Jones was born into and raised within the powerful Children of God , later known as the Family, a religious group founded by her grandfather David Berg. She, like her parents and everyone else in their peripatetic community, was expected to be obedient and to distrust outsiders. It was, perhaps inevitably, a climate rife with abuse and exploitation. That Jones struck out on her own, attending Georgetown University and eventually becoming an attorney, is a testament to her internal strength and resolve. That she has since made it her mission to empower other women to similarly claim ownership of their lives is remarkable. Salo...

Conservative writer Jim Swift, a alum of the Weekly Standard who now writes at The Bulwark, has written a comprehensive takedown of right-wing media outlets straight-up inventing a story about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Over the last week, conservative outlets ranging from the Trump-aligned Big League Media to the more respectable Washington Examiner have pushed a story about Pelosi buying a $25 million mansion in Florida, despite the fact that there's no evidence she's done so. "The lib-owning idea went something like this: Nancy Pelosi and her ilk have overreacted to COVID-19 at every turn," writes Swift. "Ron DeSantis is a freedom loving governor of the greatest state in America. And now Pelosi was all but admitting that DeSantis was right by spending $25 million on Florida real estate. What an elitist hypocrite!" Swift looked into the sourcing of the Pelosi house story, however, and found it to be tissue-thin, including one report that reli...

In a victory for employees at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, a federal labor official on Monday formally directed a new union election following allegations that the company engaged in illegal misconduct leading up to an unsuccessful vote in April. Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), celebrated the order from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 10 Director Lisa Henderson, which a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to multiple media outlets. "Today's decision confirms what we were saying all along—that Amazon's intimidation and interference prevented workers from having a fair say in whether they wanted a union in their workplace—and as the regional director has indicated, that is both unacceptable and illegal," Appelbaum said. "Amazon workers deserve to have a voice at work, which can only come from a union." After the initial union drive—which garnered national attention and ...

In two different interviews on Sunday, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., was caught flip-flopping on vaccines depending on who she was speaking to. In an interview with Fox, Mace encouraged viewers to get COVID to obtain "natural immunity" rather than get vaccinated. But in an interview with CNN on the same day, Mace said she was a "proponent" of vaccines and masks. Speaking to Fox News, Mace criticized the CDC and policymakers for not "taking into account what natural immunity does." "In some studies that I've read, natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID infection than a vaccination," said Mace, despite evidence to the contrary. "Governor DeSantis is seeing the fruit of that labor today," said Mace, attributing Florida's recently low COVID numbers to natural immunity, rather than the state's 61% vaccination rate, higher than the national average of 59%. Nancy Mace is on Fox News suggesting th...

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo reportedly took advantage of his own sources in order to help advise his brother, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, through his handling of the outbreak of the COVID pandemic and while the elder Cuomo was facing allegations of sexual harassment. Texts uncovered by a state probe and transcript of Chris Cuomo's interview with investigators reveal that Chris Cuomo played a much larger role in the behind-the-scenes effort to preserve his brother's reputation than was previously known. According to a CNBC report, Chris Cuomo was in direct communication with his brother's former top aide, Melissa DeRosa, as early as March, when new allegations were continuing to make headlines. "Please let me help with the prep," Chris Cuomo wrote to DeRosa in a text message dating back to March 3. In another exchange, DeRosa reportedly wrote to Chris Cuomo about a "rumor going around from politico" regarding "1-2 more ppl coming...

A Capitol rioter who is already facing serious charges for Tasering Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone was hit with new conspiracy charges on Monday. As reported by NBC 4 Washington's Scott MacFarlane , federal prosecutors alleged in a superseding indictment unsealed Monday that an unidentified witness has told a grand jury that MAGA rioter Daniel Rodriguez told them that he would "assassinate Joe Biden" if he had the opportunity and would "rather die than live under a Biden administration." Federal prosecutors go on to accuse Rodriguez and other defendants of engaging in a conspiracy whose goal was to "stop, delay, and hinder Congress's Certification of the Electoral College vote" and then to "corruptly alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal a record, document, or other object to prevent evidence of their unlawful acts on January 6, 2021 from being used in an official proceeding, that is, the grand jury investigation into the attack of ...

In response to the discovery of the Omicron variant — a new worrying strain of COVID-19 — President Joe Biden has temporarily banned travel to the U.S. from South Africa and some of its neighboring countries. The World Health Organization has labeled it a "variant concern," based on preliminary but still uncertain indications that it may have increased transmissibility and may be able to at least partially evade immunity induced by vaccination or prior infection. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas , meanwhile, pushed a false conspiracy theory claiming that Democrats are using Omicron to “cheat” in the 2022 midterms. The far-right MAGA Republican tweeted: Here comes the MEV - the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election - but we're not going to let them! — Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1638046070 Jackson has been drawing criticism from both the left and the right...