!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! ! ! ! Catt's Claws ... A Feminist Newsletter #55 ... July 31, 1995 ! ! ! !.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! A few (and it is only a few) anti-freedom-for-women men out of the thousands of readers of Catt's Claws are attempting to twist my words on why there is a growing number of violent male teenagers. Actually, what incensed them was the paragraph before the one they are misquoting, the paragraph which again pointed out that every one of the male delinquents have a father and they should stop putting all the blame on the single mothers. Fathers who desert their sons and make their sons feel as if they have no self-worth have a lot to answer for. Instead of trying to solve that problem, too many men ridicule any efforts that would force fathers to $upport their children. Listen up, guys. Single mothers aren't Virgin Marys. Every one of those delinquents have a father! The women are assuming their responsibilities and raising the children. When are the men going to assume their responsibilities???? ....................... * ........................ I wonder why the national media haven't gotten onto the case of an Alabama man who murdered his PREGNANT common-law wife by wrapping her in an old mattress and burning her? They are obviously too busy with rehashing the Susan Smith murders - a clear case of an emotionally raped child-woman whose husband, family, and neighbors couldn't be bothered when she showed all the symptoms of a severely disturbed personality. What a tragedy that was allowed to grow into an even larger tragedy ... three lives destroyed ... and a father who's making a book-writing fortune on the deaths of his children he couldn't be bothered with when they were alive. And there are growing rumors that she was sexually abused by more influential men than just her prominent Republican, religious supremacist step- father who used his influence to keep from being prosecuted ... along with a little help from his friends. As one of the jurors who was convinced she should get the death penalty said after he changed his mind in the sentencing "trial": "A lot bad happened in her life." Another said the death penalty was not appropriate for a "really disturbed person" like Smith. Will any of those who did those bad things to Susan and turned her into a "really disturbed person," get prosecuted? Wanna bet? Susan Smith is a Greek tragedy. Should she die for her crime? I'm sure she will die, but not for the murder of her sons. The dead do not tell tales ... ....................... * ........................ The gentlemen of the North Carolina legislature passed a law requiring convicted sex offenders to register with the local sheriffs. We do not know if they went so far as to require that neighbors be informed if one of these horrors moves next door. ....................... * ........................ Hamilton, Montana Judge Martha Bethel is being threatened by militia groups for speaking out. The FBI is investigating. ....................... * ........................ Are you aware there is a federal grand jury investigating the theory that there is a national (and international) conspiracy of violence, intimidation, profiteering, and murder among the so-called anti-abortion organizations. Just another reason to increase the anti-Clinton rhetoric. Obviously such an investigation wouldn't occur under the religious reps. ....................... * ........................ We don't know how many of our readers get the *Washington Merry-Go- Round* column of Jack Anderson and Michael Binstein. I just have to share two small quotes from today's column: "'Moderate' is less a word than a scarlet letter among the right wingers who rule the GOP." And then, "His new role-model is Senate Majority League Robert Dole, who barks like a well-trained seal every time the Christian Coalition issues an order." ....................... * ........................ Letters and complaints to the more moderate Republicans are beginning to turn the tide. Realizing that WE know that only 16% of the voters elected that bunch in the majority of Congress right now and we ain't gonna sit on our hands the next election, the moderates are looking to cover their butts. The once so-called solid Republican repressive majority is cracking wide open as those up for election (and those with a conscience) begin to count the votes of those among us who are more socially responsible. ....................... * ........................ The rabbit is more valuable in California law than a woman. This was brought out graphically in a court case recently when a man hit a woman he was dating in the face, knocked her down the stairs, and choked her. Because it was battery involving a dating relationship, the penalty was only one year - EXACTLY the same as he got for choking the woman's pet rabbit to death as cruelty to an animal. BUT - BUT, the fine for choking his womanfriend is only $1,000 while for the rabbit it could have been $20,000. A number of California assemblywoman promised to bring the laws into balance, but privately said that they doubted if they could get anything through because of the conservative attitude of the governor. Oh, come on Pete Wilson - enough selling women and minorities down the river - you ain't getting the nomination in 1996 and by 2000, the pendulum will have swung all the way back to sanity in the Republican party. When you sold out the liberals in 1991, you signed away your hopes and dreams. ....................... * ........................ The lesbian and feminist retreat Camp Sister Spirit of Ovett, Mississippi, is still in business. A judge refused to shut it down as a "nuisance" but warned "activities in the future are subject to scrutiny by the courts." Residents complained about disruptions from seminars, music festivals, and the number of media people always asking questions about the center which is run by lesbians-with-an-attitude-that-this-is-a-free-country. Much of the well publicized objections to Camp Sister Spirit with its openly lesbian owners were organized by a number of fundamentalist churches in the area. ....................... * ........................ In the U.S. News & World Report of July 17, 1995, it was pointed out that Richie Parker, a blue-chip high-school basketball star, and a friend forced a 15-year-old girl to perform oral sex on them in a stairwell of their high school. His attorney plea-bargained the felony first-degree sodomy (two to six years in prison) down to felony sex abuse and he got five years of supervised probation. The magazine article stated, "This meant that Parker could go on to play college ball as if nothing had happened. Seton Hall was the first university to recruit him. According to Parker's lawyer, Seton Hall promised a scholarship even if he pleaded guilty to the sex felony--an interesting reflection of the moral priorities at this Roman Catholic basketball school." Then UNBELIEVABLY, the head and assistant coaches from the University of Utah (the Mormon university?) came to New York to recruit Parker "and suggested to the media that Parker's victim might be lying. `This girl could have damaged Parker for life,' explained the assistant Utah coach. Utah's assistant coach was placed on probation for the remark - NOT FIRED - and the head coach got away without any tarnish. Parker, however, was not recruited. The article goes on to state that in another case at George Washington University "in an attempt to disinfect its recruitment of a newly convicted sex abuser, GWU offered a scholarship to his victim as well." Reminds me of the situation at the University of Arkansas as few years back when head basketball coach Richardson refused to dump men from his squad who had admitted to participating in a gang sexual attack on a very, very drunk woman who was thrown out of the men's dorm naked into almost zero weather when they got through with her. She is in a mental institution now. Well, Seton Hall, George Washington University, and the University of Arkansas have a unique outlook on how to teach good sportsmanship. By the way, the girl Parker raped has had to change schools several times because men who claim to be friends of Parker have threatened her life. ....................... * ........................ Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy hypocrisy and newts. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> Send your ideas, comments, and news to irenestuber@delphi.com for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which is usually 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. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the online costs of posting Catt's Claws. Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902.<<<<