Support Independent Women in this Fight

It's no secret that women speaking truth to power in this precarious moment in time have to work harder for less. Knowing that, I encourage you to go out of your way to support them a wee bit extra

***Please take out a membership to support the light of truth.***

I have multiple strikes against me. I’m a woman, which means that even if I report better and earlier than my male counterparts, it only becomes news when the Big Manly Men report same.

I’m used to it and bear no ill will. It’s just a fact. It really only matters, in that, it makes it more difficult to earn a living. But truly, I’ve always been grateful to simply be in the game, and over the years, I’ve felt a certain comfort flying under the radar.

Another strike is I’m independent. No matter that I spent decades in corporate media — print, television, and even dabbled in radio — winning numerous awards I’ve long since forgotten. But unless you have three all-cap letters after your name — you’re relegated to ‘fringe.’

Personally, I understood that those three letters in the rise of Trump meant a gag order on reality, and I think we are seeing that play out in the demolition of CBS, CNN, etc.

I also understand that being independent is a superpower — I’ve been able to speak truth bluntly to power for a decade unshackled by a corporation or a billionaire’s whims, while my corporate colleagues had to maintain neutrality when fascism was clearly on the march and neutrality only served the oppressor.

I could call it ‘fascism’ from the beginning, and I did.

Here’s me on November 12, 2016, in the first full-scale protest, post-election, calling it fascism.

I could see the parallels in the U.S. to Berlin in the 1930s, and wrote about it, prolifically.

I found women reporters who warned people about the rise of Nazism — most were written out of history, overshadowed by their male counterparts — so I wrote them back in.

‘Who Goes Nazi?’ — An 83-Year-Old Prediction of JD Vance

The Shadow of Things — Bella Fromm’s Berlin Diary

Too many of my former colleagues, rather than dig in and do the work, sat politely on their hands, or worse, they put propagandists on camera and called it news. Or even worse than worse, they are now MAGA. I shudder when I see tweets from old colleagues, who went all in on propping up the current criminal occupants of the White House.

Another strike against me is I’m no longer an ingénue — I don’t stare wide-eyed into the camera on TikTok, and I barely have any presence on Instagram. I don’t hold rallies for myself with mega sparklers and zombies like Erika Kirk, and I don’t spew conspiracy theories for profit like what’s her name in Russia.

I’m rapidly approaching the age of the free bus pass and looking forward to grandchildren, which makes me awesome, but the experienced woman is often undervalued, whereas the chippy fluent in yoga babble is exalted.

This was not the post I had planned to write today — that post is coming later — but it’s been on my mind ever since Dr. Marci Shore asked me my opinion on something during our recent Bette’s Happy Hour. Rare is it in my experience that scholars ask an opinion, and I was elated to find out that I had a strong answer — mostly because I’ve interviewed a million experts and read a million books and retained the knowledge. But she is that rare scholar, generous, humble, and awesomely brilliant.

The second amazing thing that happened this week is I got an advance copy of a new Keir Giles book (I promise you’ll be the first to read about it as soon as I have the green-light to report on it). Just for disappointment value, I googled my name in the pdf copy on the off chance I’d been cited. And there it was, a footnote, citing my work in Bette Dangerous. That was a moment, following a moment.

We are so deep in this fight that I am reminding my readers to go out of their way and support the women warriors. Support the men who support the women warriors. Support each and every human willing to stick their necks out and do this work in this grave hour. And as you do, be especially on the lookout for the independent women, who’ve always been there, and cherish them extra.

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Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members.

I expose the corruption of billionaire fascists, while relying on memberships for support.

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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.

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Begin each day with a grateful heart.

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