To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com / istuber@cswnet.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter ... February 14, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! Please pass this information around to as many as possible, especially to women who are involved or facing contested divorces involving children. (I am sending it to my local judges.) On December 30, 1994 the Utah Court of Appeals overturned a local Utah judge's custody ruling that held Alicia Larson and her children hostage to the ex-husband's location in Summit County, Utah. Judge Young had based his decision on "religious compatibility" (Utah is Mormon country where women obey their men !) and in essence ordered Alicia to follow her ex-husband's dictates even after the divorce. Alicia and her two daughters would have to remain in Summit County although her ex-husband was free to go wherever he wanted. In a rare complete reversal, the Court of Appeals decided UNANIMOUSLY that Young's religious rule of terror against the women of the county was over. Alicia is now free to move to Oregon. Alicia's article in _NOW in Utah_ newsletter says at least three new laws (case law) were made by this decision. One of the least publicized but very important, is the ruling that it is in the children's best interest to remain with their care giver (usually mother) rather than be tied to a county. Women across our country are being held prisoner via their children because the *father's life and career are in one specific area. This new case law can be applied to other cases, and cited as precedent. Alicia says "we won the right to have our personal religious beliefs without endangering our motherhood." The Court ruled that the parent's religious *beliefs* could not be considered in custody, unless they could be shown as actually detrimental to the children. Judge Young had found Alice "incompatible" with her children because of the father's religion. Alicia was able to appeal and win her case against a Mormon Judge following religious law rather than U.S. and Utah law because of help from Salt Lake City National Organization for Women and Katherine Kendall, an attorney for the ACLU. Alicia had been turned down by the ACLU which does not get "involved" in custody cases, but Kendall, after seeing the ruling said, "This is outrageous!" and proved it. Women helping women - the only way to win. Too much time is being wasted trying to educate men into helping us. We have to help each other be strong. Bullies only understand superior strength. (Not that there aren't a LOT of feminist and fair-minded men, but women must take charge of their lives - if only because Rush and Newt don't want us to ;-) By the way, Gloria Steinem will be at A Woman's Place Bookstore (Foothill Village) in Salt Lake and at a luncheon for the benefit of the Rape Recovery Center on March 1. For information call 583-6431. ..................................................................... Ground breaking for the proposed Women In Military Service for America Memorial has been set for June 21-22 - MAYBE. Four million dollars is still needed, but the WIMSA under the leadership of founder Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, USAF retired, has set the ground breaking date on faith in the form of the hoped for sellout of a $75 commemorative coin with sterling silver bezel on a 24-inch rope chain. The coin may be ordered by sending a check or money order to WIMSA, Dept. 560, Washington, D.C. 20042-0560 or telephone 1-800-222-2294. Planned as a living memorial The WIMSA Memorial will contain records and archives for viewing and research of the women who have served the United States. It will be located near the main gate of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. One of the biggest secrets of our military is the number of women who were wounded and killed as well as the number of women who received medals for heroism. Six states, including my adopted state of Arkansas, have donated or given grants to honor the women veterans of their home states. The others are Montana, Florida, Tennessee, Alaska and Pennsylvania. I guess the others don't give a hoot about their women veterans although bills have been introduced in the legislatures of New Jersey, South Carolina, Michigan, and Texas. (Are the VFW or the American Legion pushing the campaign??? Women helped them with their monuments, etc.) I personally can't afford the $75, but as I have done in the past, I will send a smaller check ... even $5 helps. ..................................................................... Louisiana NOW which has been in limbo since... suffice it to say it has been, but is now back on track with a state conference tentatively set for March 10-12 in Hammond. Contact LA-NOW president Linda Sievers (318) 345-4159 for more information....the Mississippi NOW state conference will be March 31-April 1 in Oxford. Contact MS-NOW president Debra Northart email: "hsdln@mv.cc.olemiss.edu" ..................................................................... It's almost too much to comprehend. In October 1993, Tuscaloosa, Alabama police officer Steven Swanger used his service revolver to murder his wife, Allyson Fields Swanger. The Tuscaloosa Jaycees voted to dedicate the 1994 West Alabama State Fair to Steven Swanger in recognition of his service to the Jaycees. The Tuscaloosa NOW objected. Within a week, the Swanger family asked the dedication be withdrawn ... HOW, I ASK YOU * H * O * W * can a community organization honor a murderer unless the Jaycee men don't consider the murder of a wife a crime? What's wrong with those men ???? (From the MId-South NOW Leadership News, 1/1995). ..................................................................... NOTICE: Putting Catt's Claws on your mailing list is one way of passing around the information important to women. Send printed copies to Irene Stuber, PO Box 6185, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas 71902. Also it would be nice if your newsletter editors inserted a notice about the availability of Catt's Claws and Women of Achievement and Herstory on InterNet by emailing irenestuber@delphi.com. We have GOT to set up a network of information sharing. If not Catt's Claws and WOA than something! The religious supremacists have more than 300 bbs and who knows how many InterNet lists. (Addendum: Since this episode of Catt's Claws, many women's organizations including NOW and the Feminist Majority have come online. Check under the query of your Netscape to find them and so many others. Welcome. It was getting lonely out here.) ..................................................................... The following information is originally from: LASAGA@UWYO.EDU, Maria Lasaga, chairperson, United Gays & Lesbians of Wyoming: The addresses of companies that advertised during NBC's "Serving in Silence: the Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" that Maria could find through 800 number listings. Please write to these companies! When Maria contacted a Denver-area Burlington Coat Factory store, the manager said that they had been receiving a lot of unfriendly calls from people complaining that they advertised during _Serving in Silence_. These are calls to a local store! Granted that the store is in Colorado, home of Colorado for Family Values, but Maria'S impression from contacting a number of companies is that the far Right is conducting an organized effort to target these advertisers and chastise them, often threatening to boycott their products. "Please, please write to the addresses below and thank these companies for not bowing in to the pressures and prejudices of a vocal minority in our country, " Maria wrote. "Please write to them and thank them for advertising during an unusually enlightening and well-made movie." Addresses of national advertisers: AT&T advertised their True USA Savings program. AT&T Response Center, 295 N. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge, NJ 67920. American Isuzu advertised their Isuzu Trooper. American Isuzu Customer Relations, 8727 148th Ave., N.E., Redmond, WA 98052 Land Rover advertised their Land Rover. Land Rover NA, Inc., Customer Relations, 4390 Parliament Place, Lanham, MD 20706 Burlington Coat Factory advertised their coats. Burlington Coat Factory, Customer Relations, 1250 Rt.130 North, Burlington, NJ 08016. La-Z-Boy advertised their "chairs and more" furniture. La-Z-Boy Customer Service, PO Box 65785, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116-0785 Miles, Inc. advertised Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine and Alka-Mints. Miles, Inc., Consumer Relations, PO Box 340, Elkhart, Indiana 46515 Warner-Lambert Company advertised their Halls Vapor Action tablets, their Trident Sugarless Gum, and their Lubriderm Moisture Recovery Lotion. (They also produce/sell the following products: Listerine mouthwash, Rolaids, Certs, Dentyne, Bromo-Seltzer, Schick and Wilkinson Sword razors, and more). Warner-Lambert Company, Customer Relations, 201 Tabor Rd., Morris Plains, NJ 07950-2693. Honda Corporation advertised their Accord V6 model. Honda North America, Inc., Customer Relations, 1290 Ave. of the Americas, Suite 3330, New York, NY 10104. Pillsbury advertised their products, in general. Pillsbury, Customer Relations, 200 S. 6th St., Minneapolis, MN 55402 Taco Bell advertised their fast-food service. Taco Bell Consumer Affairs, 17901 Von Karman, Irvine, CA 92714 Philip Morris Companies Inc. is the parent company for Kraft, which advertised the Kraft Catalina dressing; PMC also advertised their Tombstone Pizza (other products made by PMC: Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Budget Gourmet, Miracle Whip, Parkay, Boboli, Breyers, Maxwell House, Miller Beer, and many more). Philip Morris Companies Inc., 120 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017. Weight Watchers advertised their diet products. Weight Watchers, Customer Relations, 15501 College Blvd., Lenexa, Kansas 66219 Saturn advertised their (car) company. Saturn Corp., Customer Relations, Highway 31 South, 100 Saturn Parkway, Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174. Sears advertised their company and general products. Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sears Tower, Chicago, IL 60684. L'Oreal advertised their Excellence Creme (protective creme to cover gray hair) L'Oreal, Cosmair Inc., 575 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10017. Whirlpool advertised their Whirlpool Quiet Partner, (also produce all sorts of home appliances) Whirlpool Corporation, Public Relations, 2000 M-63, Benton Harbor, MI 49022-2692. Maria couldn't find addresses for the following companies/products: Revlon (advertised Age Defying Makeup) // Capzasin-P Arthritis Cream // No Yolks Noodles // X-14 Soap Scum Remover // America's Dairy Farmers (advertised cheese, in general) // Alpha Hydrox (advertised their cleansers and moisturizers) // Ultra Slim Fast // Calvin Klein (advertised their CK-One fragrance for men & women) ..................................................................... In case you didn't see this, Alisa J. Rosenthal found it tucked away in a corner of the NYTimes. This is what November has wrought... The Republican leader of the NY State Senate will not allow health benefits to be extended to domestic partners of unmarried Senate employees. The Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, took the action after a notice went out - without his knowledge - in employee paychecks saying the benefits would be available to the 1,800 Senate employees. Gov. Mario M. Cuomo had extended these benefits to domestic partners of unionized state workers just before last year's election, which he lost to State Senator George E. Pataki. Legislative employees are not unionized. The New York Post quoted Mr. Bruno as saying that he wanted to save money and that he did not want to subsidize an "abnormal life style." "The great majority of people in this state are moderate to conservative, whether Democrats or Republicans, and they look unfavorably on funding this abnormal life style," he said. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> Send your ideas, comments, and news to irenestuber@delphi.com for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which will be emailed three times a week: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information and is NOT sponsored by any organization. <<<