To subscribe or unsubscribe: irenestuber@delphi.com !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ! Catt's Claws ... a feminist newsletter #28 ... April 2, 1995 ! !^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! Would someone send me information about the parade for woman astronaut pilot Eileen Collins that had to be cancelled? Something about death threats ????? Surely such a rumor can't be right ??? ....................... * ........................ From: Ruth_Sprague@together.org: "Here's one for the books: St. Michael's College (catholic) in Burlington, Vermont, has cast ***A WOMAN*** as Jesus Christ in the production of the musical _Godspell_. Jennifer Coan is described as having a "peaches-and-cream (that means white) skin, blond hair and strong physique which fits the all-American ideal. She wears an androgynous costume." "`Since the Messiah figure is never identified as Jesus, and since this is not a historical representation, and since the play's director has declared the casting was based purely on artistic talents, with no political statement ...' a local Catholic authority said. "Coan said, `that while she is honored to have the part, it is difficult to research her role.' I'll bet." ....................... * ........................ One of the nation's most prestigious advocacy groups said Congress should spend more on family planning and lift Medicaid restriction on abortion (and birth control information) to save tax dollars. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, in a 48-page report, said the present course of withholding information is costing the "American taxpayers millions of dollars annually in medical and social welfare expenses." NARAL listed 13 states where the governor and majorities of both legislative houses are most likely to impose "onerous obstacles to abortion." They are Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. -->> Remember that the Republican Contract is, in reality, a contract out on the rights of American women. They aren't after welfare recipients -they are after ALL WOMEN's RIGHTS. If you are rich and live in Alabama and get raped, you can run on down to Florida and get an abortion. If you live in Idaho and are poor, you will be legally responsible for the rapist's child for the rest of your life and never get any help for child support or welfare from your Republican government. And, of course, YOU asked to be raped by being born a female. What's wrong with this picture ???? ....................... * ........................ I don't know if I believe this because it's so outrageous and shows the "intelligence" of the newtspewps: House Speaker Newt Gingrich is pressuring the Labor Department to change the way the Consumer Price Index is figured so that it will be easier to balance the budget (under the Republicans) by cooking the books. Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, and Tom Harkin of Iowa said they would introduce a Senate resolution saying any change in the CPI should be made after "thoughtful study and analysis" rather than "pressure exerted by politicians." "The speaker of the House has just basically threatened a federal agency into agreeing with him. We find a major political figure in town trying to doctor the numbers, cook the books," Dodd complained. "You'd be indicted in the private sector if you tried to do this." ....................... * ........................ One of the most important studies of castrates to date is that conducted by Nikolaus Heim. He examined 39 released sex offenders who had agreed voluntarily to surgical castration while imprisoned in West Germany. He discovered that castration does not guarantee and end to male sexual functioning. 31% of the castrates stated they were still able to engage in sexual intercourse. Heim noted that this supports other evidence which indicates that between 30 and 40% of castrates fail to show a reduction in sexual potency after surgery. Heim also found that heterosexual rapists proved most likely to continue sexual activity after surgery. Of the rapists Heim studied, 73% continued to engage in some form of sexual behav0ior. Significantly lower rates of sexual activity were found among pedophiles (32%) and homosexuals (17%). And of the castrates who considered their sexual activity to have been reduced, 89% still engaged in at least occasional activity. -->> Oh, well, it was a nice idea ... but maybe we should get Lorena Babbit on the study committee for a different viewpoint ... :-) By the way, it's been shown in the majority of rape cases when a guy can't perform (and this is more common in rapes than anyone lets on) he uses foreign objects or other means. The results are horrible - and never, never mentioned in our Republican-directed family newspapers. ....................... * ........................ IN%"janella@dfw.net" sent the following: There was a story in the Jan. 15, '95, San Antonio _Express-News_ about women resorting to the selling of their blood in order to provide for their children. One of the women being interviewed said that the plasma center where she went was full of women doing the same thing. They go the maximum 2 times a month which brings in an extra $125/month. The down side is that the extra money must be reported, which could then reduce their eligibility for other benefits. They are trapped in a system which is designed to keep them dependent. The woman in the article was living in the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries shelter with her 5 children after having been robbed and losing her apartment. ....................... * ........................ From: IN%"lmann@telerama.lm.com" "Laurie D. T. Mann": "Yes, it's finally ready to go. "The URL is: "http://www.lm.com/~lmann/feminist/woacal.html" >> Laurie is the computer genius who has included a Web site for _Catt's Claws_, _Women of Achievement and Herstory_, and the WOA yearly calendar. Anyone who does as much for women's information as Laurie does deserves a little advertising: **** World Wide Web Page Authoring/ Technical Writing/ Color Scanning. Get Online! Box 11794 Pgh, PA 15228. Actually, I DO speak for the company. ....................... * ........................ The MOST effective lobbying tool for the "ordinary voter" who can't sign big check$ is the Letter-to-the-Editor columns. Always send xeroxes of the letters to the elected officials involved in the subject matter. ....................... * ........................ Choice-mail forwards a call for volunteers to support Missouri NARAL in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. If you reside in Missouri and would like to help make telephone calls, stuff envelopes, gather signatures, etc., please call the Missouri NARAL office in St. Louis at (314) 367-9680. ....................... * ........................ The address for "Newtwatch," where all the ethics complaints against Gingrich are fully posted, plus much other stuff, is: "http://www.cais.com/newtwatch/" ....................... * ........................ Operation Rescue-women-from-their-rights is going to challenge FACE in New York City Thursday through Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. Please forward the information to your pro-choice readers who live in the New York area. For additional info call the hotline -- 212-967-7711 x3564, or email jmkm@echonyc.com. This is the first pre- announced hit in NYC since the 1992 Democratic Convention which saw a massive showdown between "rescuers" and choice advocates of every stripe. ....................... * ........................ "It didn't make sense for a Ph.D in economics, 26 years old, at the peak of the draft, to leave Texas A&M University and join the Army. Nobody was going to send me to Vietnam. I would have ended up working in a library or teaching at West Point." -- Republican Presidential candidate, Viet Nam draft-dodger Phil Gramm, 1995. ....................... * ........................ "No matter who the G. O.P. candidate is (in 1996), he will have to defend Newt Gingrich, and there may be happier ways to spend your life." --Garrison Keillor, _Time_ magazine, 03-13-1995. ....................... * ........................ My 'ole cyberspace buddy BAHensley.aol.com, is a hothead after my own heart ... "I got mad and called Congressman (John) Mica and told him he was an a--hole. He brought a sign into Congress, one that is used in Florida that warns people not to feed the alligators. This sign was used verbally to put welfare people down. He said if you don't feed the alligators they can fend for themselves and they will not become dependent on assistance. I also called Barney Frank, he was the only one who stood up and told Mica off." Mica's phone number is (202) 225-4035. ....................... * ........................ From: IN%"Marianne_Barisonek@pdxml1.mentorg.com": "I'm working with a group called the Rural Organizing Project in Portland, Oregon. The idea is to network human dignity groups in rural Oregon, stronghold of the OCA. The OCA has sponsored anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-environmental ballot measures. Portland is very liberal and turned down the ballot measures by a wide margin. It is a very different climate in rural Oregon. In the small towns, people are afraid to speak up against the religious right unless they know they are not alone. Southern Oregon is also home to many white supremists, who tend to be armed and violent. One of the ROP projects was to get e-mail to local groups, so spread the word ..." -->> Anymore fighters for human dignity out there? Let _Catt's Claws_ know and let's get networked across the country... ....................... * ........................ Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy water and newts. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> 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. <<<