Things are gradually getting back to normal and CC will be along in a more timely fashion in the future so keep the info coming ... sorry this is so long, but there is SO much to be written about ... <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> ........Catt's Claws # 105 ... May 16, 1996......... ........ A Feminist Newsletter by Irene Stuber......... <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> Sharon Bryant sends us a follow-up story regarding the rape of a 19- DAY-old girl by her 21-year-old father as reported by WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL: "Twenty-one-year-old, William Darrow, father of Kimberly Darrow was recently brought before a grand jury in Madison County, AL to face allegations of brutal sexual abuse of his 19-day-old daughter. "The grand jury has bound William Darrow over for trial by jury. He will be charged on three counts as follows: "1) Child Abuse "2) Attempted Murder "3) Sexual Torture "He is the first person in the history of Madison County, AL to ever be charged with sexual torture. The charge of sexual torture can only be applied when the physical damage is judged extreme and the victim is considered helpless. Obviously, little Kimberly qualified on both counts. A nurse at Huntsville Hospital testified in front of the grand jury that Kimberly was so damaged that she looked as if she'd just given birth. "The attempted murder charge was sought after Darrow's admission that he probably would have killed the child if the mother had not caught him while he was raping her." There was no word on the condition of the child, but she is alive and being cared for. Sharon went on to say, "This still hurts me every time I think about it. I am glad to see the justice system doing something about it." Little Kimberly was torn open when her father inserted both his thumbs in her anus, perhaps in preparation to using his penis, although we don't know the whys of such a brutal act. Her mother, 16, was changing Kimberly's diaper and left the room to get the baby a bottle. The father William Darrow, 21, was left in charge of the child. Ms. Darrow said she heard the baby screaming and went back into the room to find out what was wrong. They then took the infant to the hospital. The mother was not aware of what had taken place. Later she said Darrow admitted forcing both his thumbs into the baby's rectum AFTER he had been questioned by investigators. For those of you who aren't familiar with new borns, Kimberly was probably between 16-20" long at the time, probably smallish because her mother was so young. For the full horror of this incident - unreported as far as we can tell outside of the immediate Alabama area - go to a toy department and pick up a doll about 17" long (and remember that most dolls are fatter than real people unless they are Barbies). Imagine a man putting both his big thumbs into the rectum of that tiny creature ... You aren't gonna believe this but a couple of guys wrote CC's author to say we were being inflammatory with this story. It couldn't have been that bad, they said ... only thumbs .... OH GAWD, to think that these creatures may be left alone with their girl infants ... ....................... * ........................ Family values got another kick in the teeth in Germany. The Bundestag made rape within marriage a crime but in only passed 318 to 306. Seems all the parties agreed that a heman raping by the privilege of HIS marriage certificate is wrong, but, as is so often the case, the so-called liberals opposed it on a technicality, i.e., claiming that the rape charge should not be dropped if the wife withdrew the charges. (Who would testify? Isn't half a loaf better than none? Once the law is on the books and tried out it is always easier to fix it than starting from scratch.) Claudia Nolte, the Neanderthal sheman who heads the German department for family affairs (she opposes all abortions) defended the bill as is - and maybe that's enough to question its value, but it does make one wonder how devoted these liberal men are to women's rights and dignity. ....................... * ........................ Hey - no one is saying we should spent less time or money on AIDS research, but isn't it strange, really stttrrraaaaaannnnnngeeee, that they are down to molecular structure, etc., regarding the AIDS virus and now men suffering from AIDS can father a "clean" fetus but medical science still can't come up with a RELIABLE birth control device or system or drug ... Isn't it strange? ....................... * ........................ The U.S. Post Office will issue a breast cancer awareness stamp in June. ....................... * ........................ A bill supported by President Bill Clinton and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has passed Congress. It would require states to release relevant information about child molesters and sexually violent criminals who are out on parole or released from prison if officials believe they pose a threat. States that did not comply by 1997 could lose some federal funds. A federal judge, in the meantime, has said such notification is illegal. Clinton's law could change that. ....................... * ........................ Hmmmm.... A Deep Thought (by Jack Handey): "Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it's made up of two separate words "mank" and "ind." What do these words mean? It's a mystery and that's why so is mankind." You know, Catt's Claws is a little tired of shemen trying to reform the English language by writing things like womyn, etc., when it's really the hemen who have f---d up our language so that shemen don't know when the hemen are talking about themselves or shemen when they say things like mankind or all men are created equal. The word "men" obviously is a word that includes hemen and shemen except when it means mensroom... Mankind means hemans and shemans because mankind consists of all kinds of mans except when it means who goes to heaven first. So from here on out, we will use the words sheman and heman. ....................... * ........................ Founded by longtime conservative activist Jeffrey Bell, the organization "Of the People" has spearheaded the "parental rights movement" and recently brought Betsy DeVos aboard as co-chairman. Mrs. DeVos is the wife of Amway Corporation (shame on you if you use Amway products) President Dick DeVos who has a long history of funding right-wing causes (so does the sweet, smiling bigot who owns Wendy's hamburger joints). According to Cheryl Wetzstein (of the infamously right wing propaganda voice **The Washington Times**), the "Of the People's" goal is to get 50 states to adopt a constitutional amendment declaring "the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children shall not be infringed." This, of course, means the police could not interfere in INCEST cases, beatings, lack of education, health, starvation, etc., etc., etc. Oh, these religious right-wing radicals are something else. To them a child is a prisoner to the parents whims. ....................... * ........................ Liz writes: "Go walk down a toy aisle. It ain't the toys. Girls would prefer cars, and machines, too. But there aren't any in girls' colors. They are told from birth what their colors are, and then they stick with them. Go look at the toy aisle. The goodamn legos for girls are in pink, white, aqua and lavender. The whole girl-aisle is pink, white, aqua and lavender. The color is what is important. They've changed slightly with time--used to be that girls got red, boys blue, but the concept is the same. Must have been all those articles fifteen years back about how red is actually a more powerful color. Now girls get lavender and aqua with pink, instead of red." ....................... * ........................ Richard Allen, the one-armed drummer of the British rock band Def Leppard will be arraigned May 22 in Los Angeles on an abuse charge and another for false imprisonment. He allegedly took his wife against her will into the rest room and slammed her head against the wall at least four times last June. Charges were held in abeyance when Allen agreed to counseling but were reinstated when authorities learned he stopped treatment. (Hope he hasn't been in contact with the "Dream Team." If so, he'll probably get a medal.) ....................... * ........................ Lest anyone think that women don't still need laws to protect against the discrimination of strange shaped heads who think from below the belt, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's bylaws FORBID membership to women (they employ one woman in the "girly" role of harpist, but that woman has no contract, insurance benefits, or voting rights). Seems like they don't think women know how to make music. We sort of think just the opposite is true and the boyz don't want to be shown up. ....................... * ........................ A guy by the name of Wolfgang Hirczy who often takes rather extreme positions regarding father knows best, men know everyting, etc., and then hides behind the fact that he wasn't raised in the U.S. and doesn't know the laws and customs - says he is now working on a "review/bibliographic essay of books on fetal protection policies and government/judicial response to them." Needless to say he opposes abortion (and maybe birth control) and is attempting to further hemen's control of shemen's bodies (and minds). He declined to answer my email in which I questioned why he and his ilk don't go after hemen with defective genes that produce defective fetuses that have to be aborted or self-destruct in miscarriages - the defective fetuses that are caused by sperm mutilated in sito by their drinking and smoking and the effect of bad food and chemicals. Study after study has shown that birth defects are just as much - in some cases even more - the fault of defective sperm which is manufactured daily in exposed plumbing (testicles which usually have only a piece of blue jeans between them and pesticides) while women's "eggs" are formed at birth and lay well protected behind a lot of abdominal stuff. And why there has never been a fetal protection law that prosecutes a heman for KNOWINGLY impregnating a sheman who is in very poor physical condition from too many pregnancies. Why aren't these hemen tried for murder? ....................... * ........................ OMAGAWD !!! The United State Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which women are suing their state governments for not FOLLOWING THE LAW in collecting child support payments. States are not living up to a law that ties federal funding of a state-run program to child-support enforcement efforts. Seems like Clinton's newly revamped Aid to Families with Dependent Children program is run by the states on FEDERAL money. Under Clinton's guidelines, the state must help custodial parents collect the money due the children. They are also to help establish paternity and go after deadbeat fathers. The states involved in _Blessing vs. Freestone_, 95-1441 are screaming like bansheeeeeees! One Arizona official (the case being heard has been filed by five Arizona women) wrote in the appeal, it would "exposes officials in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington to ...claims by more than 3 million custodial parents seeking child support....The resources drained by and the attention diverted to such litigation can only reduce the effectiveness of the states' methods of enforcing child-support obligations." Bastards! Most of America's poor children are going without proper diets, housing, clothing, and health care because they have been abandoned or denied by their macho fathers. Fathers? Filthy creatures who throw away their children like old toilet paper. ....................... * ....................... The latest from Tammy Bruce (the FULL statement, not just highlights): "On Monday, March 6, 1996 I resigned as President of Los Angeles NOW after 7 years at the helm to join with Denise Brown and establish the Women's Progress Alliance. "I am president, Denise is Chairperson of this national, non-profit membership-based organization. We will be headquartered out of Los Angeles, our New York City office will open later this month, and we are in discussions now to establish a Washington, DC office which among other things will focus on Global Feminism. "This decision was mine and Denise's alone, and the L.A. NOW board and membership have been completely supportive throughout my tenure, including the last six months. This simply was too good of an opportunity to create an avenue where work on our important issues could continue unimpeded. "I remain on L.A. NOW's Board of Directors, continue on with my radio show here in Los Angeles on KFI-AM 640, and was also recently appointed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to the County Commission for Women. We've gotten even busier! "The Women's Progress Alliance will focus on four areas that we believe to be at the foundation of the quality of women's and children's lives - violence, family equity, women's health, and the image of women in media. Our work will be focused and distinct, and it will also be non-partisan, with active Democrats, Republicans, and even a few Independent feminists working to improve the quality of our lives. "I believe it is time that we stop playing politics with women's lives, and get down to the business we have been charged with as advocates for women. "Denise and I will not be paralyzed by political correctness in our efforts, nor will we be intimidated or appease those who dislike the power of our message. "Denise and I are answerable to women at risk in this country and we have a responsibility to make sure our work proceeds in the most progressive and effective manner possible. The Women's Progress Alliance allows that, and so much more. "We, of course, put out the call for new members and activists who would like to make a true difference, to call and join us. The final elements of our infrastructure will be complete in a couple of weeks, so any offers of assistance, ideas, support, volunteerism in either L.A., N.Y., of DC will be of particular help right now. "The Women's Progress Alliance headquarters is located at 8391 Beverly Blvd, #290, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Our telephone number is 213-653-6331. People can also e-mail us at Natl WPA@AOL.com, with address and phone information for membership information, questions, etc. We are also eager to establish a web-site, so anyone with extensive experience in that arena who could give us a hand would be great. "I would also like to say that the support from women and men across the country both Denise and I have received over the past two years is in part what has made this possible. Your support and all of our efforts to improve the quality of everyone's lives will truly make the Women's Progress Alliance a beacon for the movement, as we challenge the status quo, and continue to lead the way on the issues that make a difference in women's and children's lives." Catt's Claws as well as many others knew well in advance what was being planned but were asked not to release the information prematurely. We were particularly heartened that no one broke the silence and enabled the full import of the announcement to come through. What it means, kiddies, is there is another game in town and that game "will not be paralyzed by political correctness in our efforts, nor will ... be intimidated or appease those who dislike the power of our message." The other rumor was that Bruce had cut a deal with Patricia Ireland of NOW. This does not sound like a deal to me and Tammy flatly denied any such thing in an email exchange with us. As we have said in the past, Tammy is a type of loose cannon but maybe people who aren't afraid to do things that aren't "politically correct" but honorable in intent is exactly what the women's movement needs right now. At least that's what we think and why we've put together Catt's Claws. ....................... * ........................ Martell Welch was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a Deletha Word, 33, who jumped into the Detroit River August 19, 1995, to escape a beating as a crowd stood idly by. The jury rejected lesser charges and held Welch directly responsible. Witnesses said Welch, angered by the collisions, reached into her car and punched her in the face several times before dragging her out and slamming her head against the hood. He then stripped Word naked to her panties and threatened to "beat her brains in" with a tire jake. Witnesses said he held her mostly naked body up to the crowd and said, "Who wants some of this bitch? She's got to pay for my car." With no place to run, Word jumped 24 feet into the swiftly running Detroit River. Her body washed ashore 10 miles downriver the next day. The defense, of course, made out that Welch was innocent and that Word CHOSE to jump because she was high on PCP. There was a TRACE of PCP found in her partialy dismembered body that had been mutilated by a speedboat. ....................... * ........................ The National Conference of Catholic bishops placed a full-page advertisement in _The Washington Post_ mocking the request that the so-called late term abortion bill include health exceptions. The Catholic bishops who love everyone said: "health of the mother `can be defined as just about anything.' And went on to use as examples that women would use for an abortion: "Won't fit into prom dress," "Hates being `fat,'" "Can't afford a baby and a new car." Forgive them father, for they know not what they do...like hell they don't. These woman-hating men who wear black dresses trimmed with red know exactly what they're doing. They oppose abortion in ALL cases including ectopic pregnancies which usually result in the death of the fetus AND the mother. They DEMAND that women MUST carry the sacred seed of the rapists, the infirmed, the crazies and be responsible for them ... have you heard about the rapist who insisted it was his right to be present at the birth of his child? He wanted to share the experience like a good father. Barf - and more. ....................... * ........................ A really filthy, LYING story has been making the rounds on Internet claiming a group of girls had their exterior genital areas examined against their wills even though they were screaming and trying to run away - and the exams were being done without parental consent. Another **Washington Times** rightwingradicalrepublicanraving ... IT IS NOT TRUE. No girls screamed. None tried to run away. They were, in fact, joking about it. Few girls of that age are not sexually aware. And ALL the parents were notified. Could it have been that when Daddy came home to their little girl princesses and found out that their little secret was out so they made a fuss to hide their guilt? Could some unaware mother have approved the exam and the truth about the girl's condition could have been outed? What are the REAL facts? Well, let's start with at least 18% of all girls are victims of incest. Next go to the fact that most girls have sex before they are 16 and most of that sex is with older men. The bottom line is that the East Stroudsburg School District issued a review of the matter after parental complaints. The review stated that the tests did not violate state health regulations. The local police said no laws were violated and have closed the case. The writer of the article that started it all on Internet, did have a good line, albeit a cheap shot: "Indeed the government truly cares about its citizens: a chicken in every pot and a state inspector in every crotch." Boys are regularly examined genitally for various reasons including hernia. But let's not worry about boyz crotches? Why do the religious right people want to force women to be ashamed of their bodies? The article was meant to incite fear. Shame! ....................... * ........................ And we'll leave you with another Handey saying: "The tired and thirsty prospector threw himself down at the edge of the watering hole and started to drink. But then he looked around and saw skulls and bones everywhere. "`Uh-oh,' he thought. `This watering hole is reserved for skeletons.'" ....................... * ........................ We don't know if it was in your newspaper or TV newscast, but the prosecutor in the Whitewater trial admitted Wednesday in his closing argument that the Clintons were NOT involved in any wrongdoing in the Whitewater investigations. ADMITTED the Clintons did nothing wrong. ....................... * ........................ Medical authorities are saying the use of two already approved drugs that induce abortions when used in combination has produced a surge in abortions but no one will realize it for several years because they are being prescribed quietly and in private in doctor's offices. Dr. Richard U. Hausknecht of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York published a study of the use of the combination of methotrexate and misoprostol to induce abortion in the Aug. 31 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In years past, several doctors, including a woman doctor released the same information and after the first news story, it was quietly ignored/suppressed. Catt's Claws vows this time the information will stay available. Methotrexate is FDA-approved for use against cancer; Misoprostol is FDA approved to treat ulcers. Because both are FDA-approved, they can be prescribed by physicians today and together, they produce abortions at a better rate than the RU-486 pill. Available today at your friendly M.D. Also available for many years and never brought to women's attention, the drugs that produced abortions in women with ectopic pregnancies. ....................... * ........................ 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 istuber@cswnet.com for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which will be emailed up to three times a week. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information. Catt's Claws 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. Copyright 1996, Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902.<<<<