To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter ... March 05, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! Sorry for the week's hiatus - had computer problems - all well gain. How in all that's sensible can DOS get contaminated? Siiigggghhhh. ....................... * ........................ A women's reading discussion group sponsored by Rhode Island NOW will meet the third Thursday of each month at the Barnes and Nobel Book Store on Rt. 2 in Warwick ... The Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center is looking for volunteers to be trained as advocated. Write Rhode Island NOW, PO Box 2464, Providence, RI 02906, phone 826-0350 for information. Connie Williams is president. ........................ * ........................ In a very polite letter dated 02-02-1995 to Hon. Lance Ito, Tammy Bruce, president of the National Organization for Women of Los Angeles said that "it has become rather apparent that you are treating Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark with a difference level or respect that the other attorneys on both the prosecution and defense teams." Tammy said members of her board and a number of members had called her to complain. "...you seem to take Ms. Clark a bit less seriously than the other attorneys...our concern is not based on the impact of your approach may have on Ms. Clark. She seems quite capable of taking the heat in your kitchen. We *are* concerned however with the impact your perceived attitude may have on the jury. After all, if your honors appears not to take Ms. Clark as seriously as Mr. Cochran, why should *they*?" That very afternoon, Judge Ito answered the letter. "Please rest assured that I take very seriously your comments and observations; however, given the current status of the case...it is (in)appropriate at this time to directly address your concerns...Tomorrow morning I will invite Ms. Clark and the other counsels into my chambers to air not only your concerns, but similar ones that recently appeared in _The New York Times_. I have also initiated contact with Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson who has made recent public comments similar to yours...I would appreciate it...convey to me some specific example of the conduct you deem questionable. I attempted to telephone this afternoon, but received only a telephone answering machine." Tammy answered on Feb. 6 after consulting with her board: "To say that I was surprised by the immediacy of your response to our conern would be an understatement. It speaks to your overall professionalism throughout this ordeal, and it sincerely appreciated. " Tammy's points were as follows: "Your overall tone and approach seems to indicate that you simply prefer dealing with male attorneys. this becomes apparent not only in your dealing with Ms. Clark, but in specific statements and approaches you have made with other women attorneys that have participated in the trial." Tammy points out the gender bias report issued by the Ninth Circuit that reported on the disparate treatment of women attorneys in the court. * Tammy pointed out Ito's earlier comment about Clark's skirt length, the pressure he placed her under just prior to her opening statement, interrupting her opening statement for Exhibit numbers to which the defense had stipulated; threatening to hold her in contempt at the end of her opening statement. Tammy then emphasized, "This last point is particularly problematic as we recall that Mr. Shapiro has audibly used profanity in the courtroom and called your Honor 'disingenuous' without a threat of sanctions." * Your comment to Gloria Allred that she should not make a circus out of the proceedings. Tammy points out the defense attorneys were active in contributing to a circus-like atmosphere, and he said nothing to Mr. Derschowitz who has a similar reputation to Ms. Allred's. *Lydia Bodin was the recipient of a curt remark that she had not learned to speak slower. Tammy went on to point out the inappropriate comments by the defense attorneys charging Clark with "whining" and being "overly emotional" that were not sanctioned by the Ito. "Although these may seem trivial, it adds to the overall sexist atmosphere that we feel the court has contributed to. "These situations in any courtroom during any case would be a problem, and yet we are all dealing with a trial which focuses on women, and their treatment. It just exacerbates the problem with the image of women in general during a trial that the world is watching." Well done, Tammy ... OK, now YOUR comments. How is Ito doing since his talks with legal experts and input by LA-NOW? I can't get cable on the side of my mountain so I haven't watched the trial other than the opening statements and Ito did come down HARD on Clark, unfairly. Has he improved? ........................ * ........................ For three years Neil M. Bush sat on the board whose duty it was to protect the Silverado Bank, Savings and Loan Association. He voted - he ACTUALLY VOTED FOR the damaging loans that cost the American tax payer more than $1 BILLION dollars ... and slapped around Colorado's economy. For example, in 1988 when a quarter of downtown office space was vacant, Silverado put up $120 million for commercial real estate projects in downtown Denver. The series of loans were called 'trash for cash' by Denver insiders. No one, but NO ONE says that Neil was appointed to the Silverado board for any other reason than he was President George Bush's son. Neil couldn't even read a financial statement! Then, take a look at the JNB Exploration Company in which Neil invested all of $100 - that's one dollar over $99, you didn't read wrong. After a few juices transactions from a bunch of money people in Colorado Neil got 38.57% of the company's stock and a $75,000 a year salary for his $100. JNB had more than $3 million, some of which seems to have come via others from the Silverado. Then a Mr. Bill L. Walters who invested $150,000 in JNB and got 6.25% of the stock for his money lent Neil $100,000 for an investment that didn't pan out and then said it was a GIFT. That same Walter stuck Silverado with $100 million in bad debts. Another business associate Kenneth M. Good stuck Silverado with $30 million dollars in debts - after Neil went on the board of Good's development corporation. Why don't we have a special investigator for Neil Bush and the Silverado for its 1 BILLION dollar bunko robbery of the American treasury ???? Want a graphic way of weighing the $$$ effects of the Silverado against the so-called Whitewater scandal (which everyone knows ain't)? Get a copy of Gone With the Wind. That's the Silverado. One paragraph of the entire book would be Whitewater. ....................... * ........................ Claudia Cuevas sends this in: "Women in Labor Need Your Support - March 8th Join -Justice for Janitors in a Protest March led by its Women members, in International Women's Day." More than 50% of the 8,000 members of Justice for Janitors (SEIU AFL-CIO local 399) are women. Most work far below poverty wages, with few, if any, benefits. Many are supporting families. Wages for organized janitors in the Los Angeles area vary as greatly as $7,300 per year, per worker, even though so-call 'better paid' janitors still work at or near the poverty level. The women and men of Justice for Janitors are presently in the contract fight of their lives, with their union contracts expiring on March 31st. Meet Wednesday, March 8, 1995, 12 noon at the corner of Wilshire and Vetern. CONTACT: Triana Silton (213) 680-9567 #274 (Editors Note: several years ago there was a court action in Boston that finally mandated that women working in cafeterias carrying the heavy trays, etc., should be paid the same rate as school custodians. It can be done!) ....................... * ........................ Action on the Contract Out On America(n women and children) keeps rolling along. You guys better start boosting Clinton because HIS veto is the only thing between you and really bad times under the control of the religious supremacists. As part of a GOP spending cuts package, the panel voted 33-21 -- largely along Republican-Democratic party lines -- to reverse the Clinton administration's policy of mandating that states use Medicaid funds to buy abortions for poor women who have been victims of violence. "States rights are just a smokescreen to hide the fact that this amendment would deny poor women who are victims of rape and incest the right to an abortion," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. The administration last year notified states they must begin providing abortions to poor women in cases of rape and incest and warned they could lose some Medicaid funding if they did not. At the time, 30 states were not using Medicaid funds to pay for abortions for victims of rape or incest. House Speaker Newt Gingrich threw his support behind Istook's measure on Wednesday after initially telling reporters the rape and incest exceptions were "a legitimate condition in the Medicaid program." (In other words, the Grinch caved in to the religious extremists again.) White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the White House took "a dim view" of the amendment and called it "a back alley approach to taking away a woman's right to choose under the guise of state's rights." "Once again, the extremists in the right-to-life movement are sort of dictating to their supporters in the Congress which direction they want the debate on abortion to go," the White House spokesman said. In 1994, states provided 224 Medicaid-funded abortions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, according to the federal Medicaid bureau. All but two were for the life of the mother. ....................... * ........................ According to ITN news, The Justice Department is offering a $100,000 reward Wednesday for information leading to the conviction of the arsonist suspected of firebombing up to five California abortion clinics in recent weeks. The FBI is investigating whether the fires are part of a national conspiracy, said Jim Freeman, head of the San Francisco bureau. Freeman said the five recent fires appear to be connected. The string of arson fires began Feb. 9 in a medical office in Ventura and moved up the coast, through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz and most recently, San Francisco on Tuesday. Steve Shefler of the San Francisco U.S. attorney's office called the arsonist or arsonists "political terrorists." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<< To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter ... March 16, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! Would anyone using a "blind" reader that gives noise from the various "graphics" please write me and I'll see to it that you get a clean ascii copy. Also, anyone out there with access to a Listserv who can forward this newsletter? ....................... * ........................ Maybe it's because Texas has Molly Ivins to latch onto these lines, but Texas legislators seem to say the damndest things in the funniest ways Sen. David Sibley of Waco said trying to write a certain kind of reform legislation is comparable "to playing pickup sticks with your butt cheeks - no matter what you do, you mess up everything." Or Rep. Chisum, the Austin-American-Stateman saying gays bring violence on themselves. "They go to parks and pick up men, and they don't know if that someone is gay or not." {Right, says Molly.} ....................... * ........................ It's going to have to be said sooner or later and I might as well take the flack right now: If there was ever a flash point that shows a difference in aims of gay male activists and women it is the amendment that is attached to the Ryan White Aids Funding Reauthorization bill that will REQUIRE HIV testing for all pregnant women. The men's gay groups and their AIDS action arms initially ignored it (and some are still ignoring it) because it only affected women. Fortunately, most have come aboard and are cooperating in the fight to have it dismissed in Congress for what it is ... and unwarranted infringement on civil rights, an unconstitutional invasion of women's rights ... hey, test pregnant women? How about mandatory testing of the fathers ????? and Congressmen ???? But unfortunately, many gay men are fighting the issue not on the basis of women's rights, but on the danger it posses down the road for gay men if the requirement should pass constitutional muster and can be turned against them. It really hurts to see gay guys wanting women to support their rights and then have them not support women's rights ... ........................ * ........................ Women who used artificial insemination from "friends" or even from sperm banks five years or more ago should be tested for HIV. {From the Centers for Disease Control} ....................... * ........................ The republicans with their Contract Out on America are soooo two- faced ... They say they want to get the federal government out of people's lives and turn things back to the states ... and then turn around to pass a federal bill that would override state laws to provide protection for companies with harmful products. The big monied corporations are spending a fortune in ads and lobbying to push through a measure that is passing on strictly party lines. The measure would establish a national, uniform set of laws on product liability and limit the sums awarded to injured people. Supporters say it is needed to free business from a patchwork of state laws and to limit the growth of court-clogging lawsuits. Critics contend the bill would deprive citizens of legal redress if they are harmed by defective products and would usurp states' rights. President Clinton has said he would veto it. Do you realize that President Clinton is the thin line between you and a complete takeover of the U.S. government by the radical religious supremacists who are running the republican party? Senator Dole, the latest cave-in to the religious supremacists recently said he was no longer opposed to an anti-abortion amendment to the U.S. Constitution! Don't you think it's about time you wrote to President Clinton and said " How can we help?" ....................... * ........................ "We are sending a clear message to women victims of rape 'you have to carry your rapist's child.' We are sending a clear message to women victims of incest, 'you have to carry your father's child,'" said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York. House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined the flopovers to the religious supremacists when he reversed his position on the bill to abolish Medicaid payments for abortions in cases of rape or incest. He had originally said he supported the payments but then said the abolition restored the right to states to decide how to use their tax dollars. Currently states are REQUIRED BY A 1993 ORDER BY PRESIDENT CLINTON to use Medicaid funds to pay for abortions in cases of rape or incest or when the life of the mother is endangered by carrying the pregnancy to term. Seven states -- Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah -- face a cutoff in billions of federal dollars of Medicaid funds for their refusal to comply with the 1993 administration order to pay for Medicaid abortions in cases of rape or incest. A total of 19 states have laws prohibiting public funds for abortions in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is endangered by carrying the pregnancy to term. ....................... * ........................ In reviewing some old notes for a recent speech, I came across the following - as a former crusading newspaper reporter I have been sickened by the recent changes in the way the media reports things. Subconsciously I thought, like so many others, that it was just my political views and my advancing age that made things look different in print, but ... In 1965, financed by grants from the Adolph Coors Foundation (the beer people), the Education Research Institute was established by the American Conservative Union with the aim of training radical rightists as newspaper reporters to change the direction of what they perceived as liberal reporting. In 1966, the Los Angles Archdiocese hired the firm of Spencer- Roberts to organize Right-to-Life groups in California. The American Bishops association have also hired a national PR firm to conduct their anti-freedom-for women campaign financed by parishioners donations while parish children and the disadvantaged go hungry. ....................... * ........................ "If absent parents aren't paying child support, we will garnish their wages, suspend their licenses, track them across state lines, and if necessary, make them work off what they owe," said President Bill Clinton as he ordered a tough crackdown on federal and military personnel who fail to support their children. In the meantime, the republicans are saying they will establish state and national registries of all child support orders and new hires but refuse to order any penalties for the deadbeat dads ... crackdowns on deadbeat dads (and the few moms) are being opposed by Children's Rights Councils, the so-called advocacy groups for children in the various states who are supported by funds from the Men's Rights Association (bet you didn't know that)! The attorney for the Men's Rights Association masquerading as child advocates says that efforts should be made to assure kids have fathers, not just money machines. Well, as the mother of children whose father was a disappeared, deadbeat dad, let me assure you that there are three children out there who would have been grateful for the money when their fathers took off for living-happily-ever-after-in-no-obligation-land. The Department of Health and Human Services which is tracking the state payments says child support would grow by $2.5 BILLION over the next ten years if all the states had strong deadbeat dad laws. Now, that's a way to reduce welfare. If the deadbeat dads don't have jobs or the money to pay, put them in work programs the way Newt wants to do to the mothers ... ....................... * ........................ Write everyone - Janet Reno, your senators, your congressional representative, President Clinton and DEMAND a special investigator be set up to probe the Newt's book deal, the financing of his college courses and his PAC among other things. If Cisneros can be probed for money he gave his ex-lover (and those two were in love) then certainly Newt should be checked out. Anyone notice how the Newt got pictures and a lot of pro-gay publicity out of his half-sister's visit to his office and the fact that there were ONLY eight photographers on hand ??? And President Clinton who actually tried to do something good for gays and lesbians is constantly denigrated by their organizations. Where was Newt when Clinton tried his damndest to remove restrictions against gays in the military and was knocked down by the Congress? Hey, fair is fair ... ....................... * ........................ Okay, if I haven't offended EVERYONE in this newsletter, here's another: A painter arrived in Heaven and asked St. Peter, "Why is the Virgin Mary so sad in all the pictures I've ever seen of her?" St. Peter said, "She's right over there. Why don't you go and ask her yourself? It's OK you're allowed to talk to anyone here." So the artist went over and said, "Blessed Mother, it's really an honor to meet you, but I've always wondered about something and I hope you don't mind if I ask. Why, in all the pictures and statues of you, do you always seem so sad?" And Mary answered, "I wanted a girl." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<< To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter ... March 19, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! WAHOO - It may be an accident, but finally one of the leaders of the women's movement instead of attacking President Clinton - the ONLY person that stands between the Contract Out On America(n women) and you - is actually backing him up...and then took half of it away. In a recent rally to support affirmative action organized by perennial presidential hopeful Jesse Jackson, NOW president Patricia Ireland said White House officials assured women's advocates that Clinton supported affirmative action programs based on sex. Then she added, I am disturbed that we don't have a clear, firm statement already." Hey, Patricia - how often does NOW give out immediate clear, firm statements without review after review with all the officers and lawyers ... and news releases that are corrected and corrrrrecteeed? That's one of the big complaints from the grassroots. We can't get anything out of national headquarters without delay after delay after delay ... Clinton's press secretary had a firm response in the affirmative action debate and we'd better all engrave it on our foreheads so we don't lose our way from night to morning: "What is a greater concern to you: New Gingrich and those in the Republican majority who would like to roll back affirmative action ... or the president of the United States who is trying in a sensible way to have a national conversation on this issue which results in good, common-sense policy." When did affirmative action (which I wholeheartedly support) become written in stone? Truly, aren't there some things that should be changed? Society is fluid, things change. Aren't liberals supposed to be the ones who embrace the future while the conservatives embrace the failed past? Why should we be afraid of examination? ....................... * ........................ In an attempt to override the safeguards in the constitutional division of the president, the congress, and the supreme court, the republicans attempted to set aside a presidential order barring federal contractors from permanently replacing striking workers. The news story about Clinton's safeguarding of U.S. workers was small, but next to it was a BIG picture of a benign, Buddha-like Gingrich who was saying that the proposed republican cuts in job training, community service programs, public housing, summer youth jobs, education and food air for women and children was part of their Contract Out on America and were needed to balance the budget by the year 2002. A return to slavery and no equal pay for women would help just as much, wouldn't it Newt? Clinton's proposal for $5.4 billion in aid to 40 states for disasters which is part of the package failed to get mentioned ... remember what I printed in the last Catt's Claws issue: In 1965, financed by grants from the Adolph Coors Foundation (the beer people), the Education Research Institute was established by the American Conservative Union with the aim of training radical rightists as newspaper reporters to change the direction of what they perceived as liberal reporting. OUR NEWS FROM WASHINGTON IS MANAGED NEWS - AS WE ARE NOT GETTING THE TRUE PICTURE OF WOMEN'S LIVES AND CONCERNS IN OUR MEDIA, WE ARE also NOT GETTING THE TRUE VIEW OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE CLINTON WHITE HOUSE. Why is such thinking a stretch? Just who will profit if Clinton fails? PS- by the way, GOVERNOR Clinton drove me bonkers for the ten years ... until a very astute political authority patted me on the head and said "don't you recognize the British-style of governing, of letting things simmer until a consensus is reached? He always gets what he wants. It's just highly convoluted maneuvering that the simplistic-minded press and people-sheep can't follow. His aim is consensus." Isn't consensus what the women's movement and grassrooters are always preaching about - not dictatorship from the top? ....................... * ........................ An activist's voice wanting to network with other activists against hate- monger Bob Enyart: "Bob (racist, supremacist, homophobic, misogynist) Enyart is syndicated into the Kenosha, Wisconsin, community thru channel 55WHKE Kenosha. Members of the Unitarian Universalist church and other members of the community are active in organizing an economic boycott of the station's sponsors because of the hate he promotes. "I personally debated him regarding his supremacy on television. Senator Feingold (Wisconsin) has been actively pursuing whether he has violated FCC regulations in his broadcast. Activists from Kenosha take turns suffering the nausea of watching his show to call in and question his hatred and male supremacy. We would love to connect with larger groups of flush Bob activists." (signed) IN%"Chipigogos@aol.com" (How about calling the movement to end Enyart: entrailing Enyart?) ....................... * ........................ By the way, read and weep the items in Clinton's 1994 Crime Bill that will go by the boards if the republicans bow to the religious supremacists: * The requirement that sexual predators and those who prey on children be required to register with state law enforcement agencies and police to notify communities when they are released. * Requiring the testing of defendants in rape trials for the AIDS virus if requested by the victim - and evidence of prior sex offenses - even those for which charges were never brought - may be introduced. Other points of Clinton's Crime Bill that are under the Republican gun are a woman's right to sue an abuser in federal court, new shelters for battered women, better training of police and court personnel to handle domestic violence cases better, federal penalties for spouse abusers who cross state line to commit such violence and requirements that all state enforce each other's "stay away" orders. Yes, the G.O.P. which took the U.S.A. from the richest nation in the world to the largest DEBTOR nation in the world in just 12 years now THEY want to balance the budget on the backs of women and children. ....................... * ........................ Outrageous Practices; The Alarming Truth About How Medicine Mistreats Women by Leslie Laurence and Beth Weinhouse, published by Fawcett Columbine is essential reading. The authors point out that nine of 10 breast cancer patients could have had lumpectomies, yet more than half undergo mastectomies, and women whose kidneys fail receive fewer transplants than afflicted men. They point out that doctors continue to prescribe oral contraceptives, despite the lack of information on long-term effects. (Hey, but we KNOW what the effects are long-term without such contraceptives...early death for constant pregnancies. I personally wonder why there aren't more studies (any?) being done on the effect of smell to discourage or lead the little tadpoles to their deaths? We use it with other animals...) ....................... * ........................ "I think white women and women-of-color can get together on a shared agenda. But, if you try to minimize race and gender by saying, "it doesn't matter what I am, I'm just a human," you're being unrealistic with yourself, to others and to the political agenda. This is in the gay community, the women's movement, the workplace, at home, and in gender roles." -- Amara Perez, _Moon_Magazine,1993. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<< To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter ... March 23, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy water and newts. ....................... * ........................ Extracts from a recent op-ed piece by Jimmy Carter: "Fourteen years ago, I signed the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the principle international treaty that guarantees women's equality. Now three administrations later, inaction from the U.S. Congress has resulted in the U.S. being the only industrialized democracy that has not ratified the convention. This unfortunate fact, if uncorrected, will be highly noticed at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women which will take place in Beijing next September ... a renewed call should be made to our representatives in Washington to take decisive action in favor of protecting the rights of this half of the world's population that is more vulnerable now than we would like to admit. "Admirably, the Clinton Administration introduced the Women's Convention into the Congress last year where Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed a floor vote forcing the process to start from the beginning this year." ->Women's rights are just another thing that the republicans can't be bothered with as they go for tax cuts to the wealthy. ->Lookie here - there are political groups starting all over the country to combat the religious right republican attempts to turn the U.S. into a religious-military dictatorship - Would you send me the names of the groups in your area? I will be glad to make up a list to be sent out like I did the calendar of women's accomplishments and a sample letter to the editor. -->Your assignment for today, if you choose to fight for your rights, is to contact your senators and insist that the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the principle international treaty that guarantees women's equality be ratified. ->The life your protect is your own. ....................... * ........................ You are invited to the WOMANIST THEOLOGY (symposium) : Good News for Everyone - a roundtable discussion, Saturday, April 22, 1995, at the Anacostia Museum / 1901 Fort Place SE / Washington, DC 20020 For more information and reservations, please call 202-287-3381 or fax 202-287-3183. Moderator will be Dr. Marsha J. Darling and panelists Rev. Amityah Elayne Hyman (Black Women and the Church), Rev. Dr. Delores Carpenter (Academia & Womanist Theology), Dr. Diana L. Hayes (Womanist Theology & other Theologies of Liberation), T/B/A (Practical Impact of Womanist Theology, Jelani Cobb, Jr. (Afrocentrist & Womanist) and Marjani Dele (The Holistic Nature of Womanist Theology). -> (Ed. Note: As one pale face who marched with those of all shades and colors and sexes in the 1960s and 70s before hatred-made-incarnate with things like thrown rocks and filthy epitaphs, I just HATE the continued division between black, and white, brown and yellow women intensified with the use of the word *Womanist* instead of *feminist* as if the black *woman's* experience as a woman is somehow different than other women. As Flo Kennedy said years back to a rich white women who had been abused: "The man does it to us all, honey." -> As I have said often, blacks may get their rights, gays may get their rights, but when you leave the room, unless you have WOMEN'S RIGHTS you ain't got nothing that you ain't got now ... remember the *first* thing they said about you when you were born: It's a girl! And "they" never forget it. ....................... * ........................ From Peace-Net: "Human Rights Watch documented the widespread use of rape by security forces in a 1993 report, Untold Terror: Violence against Women in Peru's Armed Conflict. After the publication of that report, President Fujimori publicly conceded Peru's failure to investigate and punish rape committed by soldiers and police. He vowed to"drastically punish" soldiers and police who commit rape. Nevertheless, almost three years later, rape continues to be common. We are not aware of any serious investigations into charges of rape, or prosecution of policemen or soldiers who have committed these crimes. This lack of accountability is responsible for that fact that rape continues unchecked. " ->Widespread use of rape in Rwanda, in Bosnia, in Brazil - my, aren't they the greatest macho men in the world to abuse and injure someone smaller than they are, especially while those women are helplessly being held captive ... Now if the Republican religious right that controls our U.S. Congress were REALLY for what they claim is religious compassion (sic!), why don't they stop all money to those countries or get up and start screaming about rape being wrong, not manly - or don't they think rape is wrong unless it occurs to their sons? What is it one of the old men of the republican radical religious right said" "rape doesn't hurt women, they're built for it." ....................... * ........................ SATURDAY: "The UN has capitulated to an all-male 'state' that wants to silence women at a conference discussing women's rights and women's health." -- Catholics for Free Choice President Frances Kissling FLASH -- A VICTORY from the jaws of defeat because of the groundswell of objections to the UN accepting the Vatican view: The religious supremacists were confident the issue was closed and the Catholics for Free Choice would not be on the list of preliminarily approved organizations to the Beijing Women's conference. The Vatican, the bastion of old white men, had objected on the grounds that CFFC uses the word Catholic in its name while publicly opposing church dogma. But Monday evening, the Catholics for a Free Choice was duly accredited, over the Vatican's protest. Then came efforts by the Vatican to attach an asterisk to the name CFFC in Beijing-related information saying that the Vatican did not approve of their participation were also turned back. Onward to China ??? China for women's rights ??? Where millions of baby girls are killed at birth because they are girls ??? Oh, this is a strange world we live in. ....................... * ........................ "Don't marry a man to reform him, that's what reform schools are for." -- Mae West. ....................... * ........................ Esquire magazine editors were amazed last year in a poll that showed more women would rather win Pulitzer Prizes than wear the Miss America crown. But what really sent them back to their drawing boards to find new ways to straighten women out was the fact that women preferred having girl children to boys. Thousands of years of brainwashing and women still haven't learned. I know, fellows, it gets discouraging. ....................... * ........................ Frank Rich, the somewhat irreverent columnist for the New York _Times_ and the Dallas _Morning News_, wrote: "There is no way for a Republican libertarian to support the pro-life position and look ideologically consistent: If you are in favor of getting the government off of everyone's back, why make an exception for pregnant women? "Since polls now show that even 71 percent of Republicans favor some degree of abortion rights, you have to wonder why every major GOP presidential candidate, including supposed moderates like Bob Dole and Lamar Alexander, is anti-choice." Phil Gramm reaffirmed his desire to roll back abortions right for women, for the poor to the raped, on the 60-Minute show with helpmate Mike Wallace doing the questioning. Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson's front man for the Christian Coalition, has convinced the republicans (according to columnist Rich) that they can't win without the CC and if both halves of the rep ticket aren't anti-choice, the CC will stay home. "In the days since Mr. Reed's ultimatum, the GO{ has been almost farcically trying to cover up its Faustian pact with the anti-choice religious right," says Rich. "...Reed...has been running from Tom Snyder to Charlie Rose in an unconvincing effort to downplay his attempt to dictate a pro-life GOP ticket." ....................... * ........................ With the Vatican and the Christian Coalition being stymied or defeated in these last weeks, it shows that WE CAN WIN - stop reading the headlines and read the small print - With your letters to the editor (where LOTS of people read it) and phone calls and faxes to your congressional reps and senators (most have local offices around your state or in-state 800 numbers), YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. Yes, I'm still looking for a cheap (or donated), old laptop for note-taking at libraries, etc.<<< To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter #23 ... March 26, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! "It is only a matter of time before one or both political parties put a woman on the national ticket. Every major newspaper features advice column for women by women. Female TV commentators appear in increasing numbers, making their presence felt daily. Women's caucuses are as much a part of the Washington scene as cocktail parties. Men who get divorced continue to get screwed. "Securing a constitutional amendment that would permit Congress to enact fair divorce and alimony laws is a route the men of this country must take..." -- an article by Sidney Siller in the September 1984 issue of Penthouse magazine. And you thought Penthouse was all pictures aimed at sexually exciting hairy, fat bellied losers. The Men's Rights Association is now in existence with attorneys on retainer to go anywhere to help men fight for custody (as a way of forcing the woman to withdraw all requests for child support). One of the Men's Rights Association's most successful masquerades is setting up branches in every state masquerading as children's advocacy groups so that they can go into court as the attorney for the man and then argue men's rights (to the children) as a "friend of the court." Which brings us to an email sent Catt's Claws by Diane Mathews: "I found this little "gem" in one of the newsgroups. I think it may be worth publicizing this book's existence so that it can be trounced as thoroughly as possible as soon as possible. ---------------included message------------------ From: WNGA83A@prodigy.com (Harry Bachstein) Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh Subject: Guerilla Divorce: Tactics for Men "Just released, this book is going to spark much controversy. Written by a retired lawyer with 25 years experience in trial law and divorce, it covers everything from "Do I Need A Lawyer?" through "How to Find A Lawyer, How to Save Attorney's Fees, Dealing with Opposing Counsel, What to Wear, What to Say in Court, Getting a Change of Judge, Restricting Your Wife's Ability to Get Counsel, Limiting the Wife's Choice of Lawyers, Adoption, Children, Stepchildren, Abortion, How and When to Fire Your Lawyer, Some Dirty Tricks," and much more. ....................... * ........................ To continue this depressing discussion about men seeking custody of children by using ditry tactics that hurt the childre in order to limit financial responsibility, there is Margaret Carlson's article in the March 20, 1995, _Time_ magazine: "It's always something:" is the unofficial anthem of mothers who work. If it's not a sick child or a snow day or a workplace that has hardly flexed despite the fact that 68% of women with children younger than 18 works, it's an ex-husband using your career to try to take the kids away. Mothers with high-powered jobs like Marcia Clark...may have the most to worry about. In a flurry of recent custody battles, women who don't conform to the Donna Reed notion of motherhood have lost custody to men who slightly exceed Homer Simpson's idea of fatherhood." Carlson's article is worth reading by EVERY mother who works outside the home to provide food for her children - the more successful the mother is in her quest for money and a better life for her children and herself, the more courts penalize her --- and yet these same men don't want poor women to stay home with the children and get welfare. They want poor women to work ... Carlson finishes off her column: "Even in the Simpson trial there is a double standard. No one seems concerned that Robert Shapiro, who has young children, is out many nights at the Eclipse, the Beverly Hills restaurant of the moment, and no one dwells on Johnnie Cochran's troubled record as a husband. The double standard means a working mother not only has to worry that someone else will see her children take (their) first step while she is reading a brief, but also that if she achieves success in a man's world, her child won't be there when she gets home." ....................... * ........................ Pocket-size alarms that can summon police at the press of a button are being handed out free to certain women in about 29 cities who are at high risk of being beaten by husbands or boyfriends. However, the alarms are limited to the home. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes asked to have the technology tried out in his borough. "My mother was battered constantly when I was a kid," Hynes said, explaining that every night when he was 14, he and his mother and grandfather "would barricade the three entrances to our home because of the enormous fear we had that my father would break in and hurt my mother." The personal alarms, about the size of a silver dollar, are activated by pressing a button and can be mounted on a wall panel or worn on a necklace. It sends a silent signal to a private security company whose dispatchers call police. The alarms are being provided to the city at no cost by the manufacturer, ADT Security Systems. ADT has started similar domestic violence alarm programs over the past three years. ....................... * ........................ The Church of England's third-ranking bishop says his sexuality is "ambiguous." Another bishop announced he is gay. Such statements may be cracking the Anglican Communion's official disapproval of homosexuality. The coming out was as a result of the radical "Outrage!" a militant male gay group dedicated to "outing" prominent people as homosexuals headed by Peter Tatchell, which picketed a meeting of the church's governing General Synod, carrying placards naming 10 alleged gay bishops. He has written letters to prominent men throughout England threatening exposure ... and admits he is not sure if the men in question are sexually active. He started his "outing" campaign after being rejected by voters when he sought a parliament seat. He blamed his loss on being a homosexual. Stonewall, a gay-rights group headed by the actor Sir Ian McKellen, said outing "alienates possible supporters of equality." --> Modern scholars report Saul, aka St. Paul to have been a homosexual which might go far in explaining his intense dislike/fear of women. ....................... * ........................ Not content with buying people's opinions with the use of high- powered, high-priced public relations firms, the tax-exempt Roman Catholic church is buying out hospitals or forcing mergers. And then they ban all forms of birth control, abortion, sterilization and euthanasia - the beginnings and ends of life that do not conform to the church teachings. A lawsuit filed in December by the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy on behalf of Family Planning Advocates of New York and two chapters of Planned Parenthood is apparently the first of its kind in the nation. The suit filed says the state should have refused to allow the merger of Leonard and St. Mary's Hospitals in Troy, NY, on the grounds that it would limit patients' access to contraception, abortion referrals, and counseling they had formerly received at the hospitals' outpatient clinics. The Roman Catholic Church is the nation's largest private health provider, with 580 hospitals and about 15 percent of the hospital beds. And last year, according to the Catholic Health Association, there were more than 100 mergers, affiliations and joint ventures between Catholic and non- Catholic hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and managed-care networks. In each merger the parties must agree to church guidelines that forbid, among them, abortion, sterilization, in vitro fertilization, and artificial insemination. But Catholic doctrine also raises more subtle questions: If a family wants to stop life support or take out feeding tubes for a terminally ill patient, should that request be honored? If pregnancy would accelerate a dangerous illness diagnosed in a woman, should her doctor raise the issue of contraception? Some advocacy groups representing the elderly are becoming increasingly active in challenging such affiliations, especially the elderly who see the church doctrines as forced extending of life by machines. "But what they're calling abortion is almost anything people use to prevent pregnancy. And what they call euthanasia includes many practices that are not illegal and go on every day," said Susan Fogel, a lawyer with the Women's Law Center in Los Angeles. For example, the directives say that "a female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault" - but ONLY WHERE THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT CONCEPTION HAS OCCURRED. So as a practical matter, the availability of the morning-after pill may depend on how quickly the woman seeks it, and whether she was ovulating at the time of the rape. ....................... * ........................ "Some of these (custody) suits seem to be more about money and revenge than about the children. Gordon Clark did not sue for custody until Marcia Clark asked for more child support. The willingness of the courts to let young children be used a poker chips may be one more bow to the Angry White Male. But the signals from the new majority are mixed: work is bad when it takes the professional mother away from her kids, but good for the welfare mother who must leave her children for a job at a minimum wages that she will then owe to whoever watches them." -- Margaret Carlson, 1994 ....................... * ........................ "If Geoge Bush reminds many women of their first husbands, Pat Buchanan reminds women why an increasing number of them are staying single." -- Judy Pearson, professor, Ohio University, 1992 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<< To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter #27 ... March 30,1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! This is a double issue since I missed 03-28-95... A UN commission has been set up to investigate rape ... one member says it is clear rape has "become an instrument, not a by- product, of war." Typical male thinking ... they just discovered rape although they've all been doing it. Romans and the rape of the Sabins. German and Russian soldiers raped and murdered hundreds of thousands of women in World War II. The overly rated and honored Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a captain in WWII and commented: "All of us knew very well that if the girls were German, they could be raped and then shot. That was almost a combat distinction." (Yeah, let's hear about Solzhenitsyn being a humanist when he is an unrepentant rapist.) Authorities say that in Nanking in 1937, the Japanese raped and sometimes murdered close to 50,000 women. Pakistani troops raped more than 250,000 Bengali women in 1974. What is happening today in the Serbian/Bosnian conflict is more about rape that war. Rape is traditionally part of the wages of soldiers according to the military. The number of rapes by Americans in France, in Germany, in Viet Nam, even Haiti, Panama, and Reagan's big war on the tiny island of Granada (where Oliver North got so many of his medals) can only be guessed at since the U.S. is one of the few civilized countries which turns its back on their soldiers' illegitimate children. Rape of Jewish women was endemic, but never discussed even today when other revelations of the Holocaust have been aired. The women of Kuwait were systematically raped by Iraqis so that most were thrown out of their homes to die or killed outright by their righteous Kuwaiti husbands and fathers who failed to protect them. Rape IS a war crime according to EVERY international accord ... yet the male-dominated U.N (and U.S.) continue to debate each international incident as if it were the first in HIStory. By not actively condemning rape, every government and armed forces official approves it ... and then goes to church on Sunday morning where rape may be condemned, but nothing, NOTHING, is ever done to prevent it or to condemn those who do it. When are the men in power going to start enforcing international law against rape ? When are WOMEN going to INSIST on it ? ....................... * ........................ * Mia Hamm was the first soccer player to win the Honda- Broderick Cup which recognizes the top NCAA Division I female athlete. She led North Carolina to their fourth consecutive NCAA championship and is the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.... * Nicole Brown Simpson married O.J. when she was 17. She suffered 62 claims of spousal abuse during the Simpson's 17-year relationship. Rita Smith of the National Coalition against Domestic Violence has said, "I think what initially happens with most families of women who are battered is that there is an enormous amount of denial. He may not act that way around them. (The Browns) went through the same kind of shock that the rest of America went through. It's not possible this man did it." Unfortunately, what the Simpson trial may be proving is that battered women can NOT get away except through death .... ....................... * ........................ Here are some addresses for activists: ABC Audience Information, 77 W. 66th St., NY 10019 CBS Audience Services, 524 W. 57th St., NY 10019 NBC Audience Services, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NY 10112 Fox Publicity Department, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213 ....................... * ........................ The 30 male pilots who were ordered off the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower for difficulty in landing jets at sea were not mentioned by name or given any publicity. However, Lt. Shannon Workman, the first female combat pilot on the carrier was. It hit all the news wires. She was one of ten female aviators on the carrier, six of them pilots. ....................... * ........................ Each school day, 1,333 needy youngsters received free meals; another 452 got reduced-price meals in Story County, Iowa, home of Iowa State University and the Iowa State Department of Transportation, a comparatively "rich" area in jobs, according to USA Today columnist Michael Gartner. The Republican Newts boil and bubble plan would take that food away from those children - How many poor children in YOUR county depend on federal dollars that the reps are trying to put in their Republican millionaire pockets? ....................... * ........................ DNA testing isn't only for murders - or well publicized freeing of "innocent" rapers. A DNA test identified a child taken from an El Salvador mother by the Salvadoran Army nearly 13 years before. Authorities are saying they will shortly test a girl who was probably seized in the same way. ....................... * ........................ Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of American women - not breast cancer. But doctors are ignoring the epidemic that is both unrecognized and untreated. According to Dr. Arfan Al-Hani who studied 5,932 Chicago women ages 35 to 93 with a high percentage of women with college degrees and family incomes of over $30,000, 86% white, 9% black, 3% Hispanic: * 43.6% had high blood pressure, but 1 in 3 didn't know it. * 76% of those with high blood pressure were taking medication BUT IT WASN'T WORKING ! * Fat tummies, whether on heavy women or thin women, were more dangerous than overall weight (waist to hip ratios.) Needless to say the study showed that women taking the expensive and cancer-causing estrogen replacements had better cholesterol, lower body weight, and better waist to hip ratios.) According to Dr. Anna Day, chief of medicine at Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada, 40 per cent of women die from strokes and heart disease, compared with 26.1 per cent from all forms of cancer. ....................... * ........................ Following a speech in which Newt Gingrich said Barney Franks hates him for an incident involving a former employee, Franks said, "I didn't think Newt meant it. If he really thought I hated him, why would he do so much for my fund-raising?" ....................... * ........................ Those of you have a love of classical music are invited to send a few dollars to The Women's Philharmonic, 330 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. It is a 65-women orchestra, all professional musicians, who often face the daunting task of bringing back to life music by women that has not been played for hundreds of years. JoAnn Falletta is the conductor and music director of this bold enterprise. She received her doctorate from Juillard and has conducted symphony orchestras all over the world. One of the members of the advisory board is composer Ellen Zwilich, the first woman to win a Pulitzer prize in music (1983). I have several of their recordings and treasure them. Please support this important work - Louise Farrenc's symphony revived after 140 years! Florence Price's remarkable symphony revived after 56 years! Marianne Martines' Sinfonia revived after 150 years! ....................... * ........................ GETTING TO WORK: CREATING AFFORDABLE, QUALITY CHILD CARE FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES will be devoted to an in-depth discussion of how communities can expand the availability, affordability, and quality of child care for poor children. Thirty-seven speakers will identify the major issues surrounding the expansion of child care services, share their creative solutions, and discuss the future of child care policy. The conference will be held on Saturday, April 8, from 9 am - 5:30 pm, at The Forum of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Free child care (ages 1-7) is available. Preregistration is required. Call or FAX the Harvard Women's Law Journal at: phone, 617/495-3726; FAX 617/495-1110. (Any chance of getting Newt there to explain the rights of dead- beat dads? By the way, child care limited to ages 1-7 implies that eight-year-olds can stay be themselves ... which, as a mother, I would question seriously. Maybe it should be "Physician heal thyself first" in discussions like this.) ....................... * ........................ Newt Gingrich's office released a letter written from memory 18 months after the occurrence and the speaker's private attorney Jan Baran contends it rebuts news stories that point out that when the Republican leader wrote the committee seeking approval to teach, he never mentioned the political organization -- GOPAC. GOPAC's director and staffers raised tax-deductible donations for the course and sent out materials describing its purpose as the recruitment of thousands of activists to end the welfare state. An ethics complaint contends that Gingrich was not engaged in a legitimate teaching activity, authorized under House rules, but a partisan effort. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the ethics committee's formal name, is holding closed meetings, discussing how to handle the complaint. Then Chairman Jim McDermott, D-Wash., of the committee that approved Gingrich's teaching of the course said, "I would have done a lot more thinking" about approving the course in August 1993, if he had known about GOPAC's role... "If you get permission to go to Seattle, and you rob a bank, it doesn't mean you got permission to rob a bank," McDermott said. WRITE - FAX - TELEPHONE your congressional rep and DEMAND a full independent counsel investigation of Newt Gingrich's activities including the GOPAC as well as his financial dealings with TV and publishing mogul Rupert Murdock which may cost Americans their Public Broadcasting stations. Remember, the so-called "revolution" at last November's election came about because most liberals and straight-thinking people didn't bother to vote. There was no revolution. There was apathy and smugness on our parts. So if ANYONE suggests not voting in the next election because the candidates aren't ideal, just remember what trap THEY led you into last November. Those who say "Don't vote" are not - repeat NOT - your friends. ....................... * ........................ When the White House was resisting the setting up of a special counsel on Whitewater, Newtie said: "People are going to suspect that there is a reason they don't want an independent counsel. If they're innocent, why don't they go ahead and agree to an independent to clear their name?" Newtie is fighting desperately (and maneuvering in secret behind closed doors) to prevent an independent counsel from being set up to investigate the Gingrich trail of betrayal of the public trust. Keep those letters rolling into your Congressional Reps... they ARE beginning to feel the heat. ....................... * ......................... The Republicans voted down TERM LIMITS, the cornerstone of their Contract out on America? Surely not. What hypocrites. ....................... * ........................ From the Choice-Mail net: "There's a great article in the March 19 issue of the New York Times Magazine, written by Elizabeth Karlin, M.D., who is an abortion provider in Madison, Wisconsin. The article is entitled, "An Abortionist's Credo." Karlin writes wonderfully and says a mouthful in the process: "There is only one reason I've ever heard for having an abortion: the desire to be a good mother. Women know when we don't have the resources to be the mother we expect to be." ....................... * ........................ "Hi Irene - Just wanted to let you know that in response to your piece on Kinko's in Catt's Claws, I wrote to them and told them my company would no longer use their services until they ceased advertising on a certain ultra-right-wing hate monger's program (and we were a steady customer of theirs). I've since received letters of apology from both Kinko's and ABC Radio Networks through which Kinko's runs its advertising. It is Kinko's policy not to advertise on "any program presenting a one-sided viewpoint of controversial subject matter." Supposedly stations that take their commercials from ABC Radio Network's satellite feed are instructed to black-out Kinko's commercials that are scheduled to run during controversial programs, but "from time to time a Kinko's commercial will inadvertently slip by." "So, a little bit of good news amidst the daily spectrum of right-wing horrors." (signed dolphintlf@aol.com) -->> Wunnerful NEWS. If you should see (or hear) a Kinko ad on any of the hate-shows, please write them IMMEDIATELY. There might be local hanky-panky that should be exposed. ....................... * ........................ Be nice to your kids, they're the ones who will choose your nursing home. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<< ??