"ONE NATION, UNDER (whose?) GOD..."
As you may have heard, the House of Representatives
overturned the President's veto of their bill that
banned certain late-term abortions. In order for that
procedure to be prohibited, the Senate must also vote
to override.
The Senate will vote shortly before the fall elections
and this vote is predicted to be close.
The House vote to deprive women of some of their repro-
ductive choices was not even close. 296 - 132, 10 MORE
THAN THE TWO/THIRDS MAJORITY NEEDED. 77 Democrats
joined 219 Republicans. Even the Minority leader,
Richard Gephardt of Missouri, was one of the 77 Demo-
crats.
Find out how your Rep voted and write to her/him,
either to thank or to let her/him know you are going to
vote for pro-choice candidates who keep their word.
Contact your two Senators and tell them your viewpoint.
You may be sure the anti-choice people will.
Over the last few years, many Reps have been swayed by
the lies and constant haranguing of those who claim to
be for life. But, as was pointed out in the House
debate by Rep Nita Lowey, D. NY, they do not support
women's life and they consistently vote for the death
penalty.
Flush from their overwhelming vote to overturn the
Presidents veto, the House turned it's attention to
nibbling another bite out of our reproductive choices.
This time they were attempting to make it a crime for
anyone to act as a "Good Samaritan" -- one who aids
another human being in trouble.
Specifically, the bill is aimed at those who would help
a young woman get out of her State and into another
that allows a legal abortion without a parent's con-
sent. This would criminalize help given by grandmoth-
ers, sisters, friends and concerned others.
Parental consent for a minor sounds innocuous enough,
but there are many young women who cannot go to their
parents because of the violence they would be subjected
to.
While this debate was going on, Rep Chris Smith, R. NJ
tried to get an amendment added that would fix by law
HIS RELIGION'S opinion of when life begins.
We've all heard the arguments and opinions: Life
begins at conception; at implantation; at this stage or
that stage or at birth.
His motion might have carried save for an fantastic
speech by Rep Nancy Jackson, R. CT. When she sat down,
she was applauded from both sides of the isles.
Quietly, but with strong conviction, she decried the
"level of intrusion" this amendment would mean. She
cautioned the House against, "imposing your judgment
and beliefs on others."
The amendment went down to defeat but there will be
others as the conservatives draw the noose ever tighter
and tighter around the throat of our reproductive
choices.
Events harmful to women happen everyday that we seldom
hear about until some fluke puts them in a light strong
enough for the media to briefly notice.
Like last week when a woman nearly died because of the
time it took for her to be transported to a hospital in
another State. SHE HAD BEEN REFUSED ADMITTANCE TO THE
_ONLY_ HOSPITAL IN HER COMMUNITY BECAUSE SHE DESPERATE-
LY NEEDED A LATE TERM ABORTION IN ORDER TO SAVE HER
LIFE.
The _ONLY_ hospital in her community was owned by a
foreign government which refused to allow doctors to do
ANY kind of abortion procedure -- even those that are
legal. Even to save a woman's life.
The network-news program went on to report that this
sort of monopoly exists IN 76 COMMUNITIES, IN 26 OF OUR
UNITED STATES. No mention of which States and no follow up.
Don't wait until there is an emergency. Find out now.
Is one of those States yours?
The 76 Catholic hospitals are owned and managed by the Vatican. It sets the rules of treatment that all practicing doctors must obey or lose hospital privileges.
They have a legal right to do this.
Is one of those hospitals in your community? Is it the
only hospital in your community?
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 32
"TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WOMAN HAS GONE BEFORE"
There's been a death in the family but few women,
will notice or be reminded by the media. Ann Buford
Mitchell died Friday (7/31/98) at the age of 73.
If she had been as important to men as she was to
women, the papers and TV would be extolling her life
and telling of the debt we owe to her courage and
sacrifice.
But she was not. She was only important to women and
most of us have never heard of her. All of us should.
For Ann was a champion and a fighter for women's repro-
ductive rights even before the Supreme Court's ruling
of 1973 which made abortion legal.
She became the leader of Cincinnati's Planned Parent-
hood in 1967 and in 1974 (directly following the Su-
preme's landmark decision), Cincinnati opened it's
first women's clinic.
In December 1985, Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger
Center was destroyed by a fire bomb. Mitchell led the
effort to build a new clinic.
Ann Buford Mitchell retired in 1989. Another post-hero
of the "largest civil rights movement in the history of
the world". One way to honor her memory might be to
call your local Planned Parenthood and tell them,
"THANK YOU".
How many more women of courage have we forgotten? How
many more live on the pages of women's webs but not in
our country's heart and pride?
While countless generations to come will know the names
of the heroes of the American Revolution, the male
heroes, our brave foremothers will pass into oblivion
in a generation or two.
As will all memory of the sacrifices they made to give
us, their descendants, freedom and the right to equal
representation -- the vote.
How many women's faces appear on our money? Ah, yes.
The "Anthony", which some women are working to recircu-
late but which failed in the marketplace because it
"appeared to be" a quarter.
Upcoming, we are told, is another dollar coin. This
time with a Native American woman on the face. A woman
with her babe in arms, who guided Lewis and Clark. The
very epitome of womanhood - propagate and serve.
We are SUCH a useful gender for man to exploit - Seldom
deemed important but always useful.
72 years of dedication and self sacrifice from women of
prior generations to win us, the women of today and
tomorrow, the right to vote.
78 years (so far) of ever coming closer to losing it
and our reproductive rights _simply because so many of
us can't be bothered to vote_.
78 years of gradually frittering away our human rights
_because we are to busy to get involved in our own and
our daughter's freedom_.
Arizona is now sending out birthday cards to its 18 year
olds -- urging them to vote. What if each one of _us_
penned a reminder to vote on every "greeting card" we
send to both old and young?
We are still a movement that is struggling to be recog-
nized as a part of history's human story. Next time
you are surfing the Web, punch in the Gapper's URL
(below) and pause for a moment on the Gapper's logo
when it comes up. You'll find a brief, repeated message.
A message that we all need reminding of often. A
message that is so significant and meaningful especial-
ly when the month of August comes around.
You can thank the liz library for this reminder of the
debt we owe to those `who boldly went'. ... and also,
for our many links to other Web information for women.
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 33
ABOVE THE FOLD
Last Friday (8/7), the front pages of most of our coun-
try's newspapers were fairly consistent. The area of
the paper above the fold, that is, the top half of the
paper, featured a story about a young woman who was
reported to have "kissed, and then told", a Grand Jury.
Above the fold. That's where, traditionally, all the
important stories are found. So potential customers
would read the headline and buy the paper.
Of course, no one except the prosecutors, her lawyers
and the Grand Jury REALLY knew what was said but that
has _never_ stopped media speculation!
SEX SELLS. So even though our Attorney General was
impeached by a Congressional Committee on that _same_
day, it just barely made the front page.
Honest, strong, highly principled, brave General
Janet Reno would never pass as sexy -- seemingly our
culture's standard of excellence.
Most of us were braced to see the sex story hashed and
rehashed day after day on the front page forever, but it
wasn't. It didn't even make it below the fold. It was
found, however, where it belonged -- on the inside pages.
If you're thinking that the media suddenly became
responsible and reliable, forget it. It took two huge
bombs at two American Embassies in Africa, killing and
wounding hundreds of people, to wipe the front pages
clean -- at least for a time.
Real DNA in real blood glowed and flowed on our televi-
sion screens. Real terrorism, terrible crime and it's
horrible toll on living flesh were pictured and written
about.
Real horror stories replaced the current guessing game
soap opera -- the media's obsession with the personal
and private.
It was truly a pause in such headlong lunacy that not
only refreshed, but illuminated. Some reporters actu-
ally expressed shame, a very few reviewed their previ-
ous madness with a clarity we've seldom witnessed.
On the Lehrer Report, a pundit, mercifully release from
the frenzy, remarked at how the sex story had con-
trolled him and the rest of the media.
He said that _even now, at this time_, no one but the
two people involved really knew what went on in the
Oval Office. However, polls show that a majority of
Americans thought that sex happened _BECAUSE THE MEDIA
HAD DRIVEN THIS IDEA INTO PEOPLE'S HEADS_ by their
unrelenting repetitions in its quest for dirt.
Since the same majority believe that a gentleman (or
lady) doesn't kiss and tell, perjury was a non-issue.
They also felt that whatever the relationship was, it
was personal, and Starr had no business sticking his
nose into it.
The LAW, in the person of an Appeals Court and a Judge,
may well end up punishing Kenny Starr for his manic schemes
to put forth HIS truth. It has ruled that there is evidence
that Kenny leaked Grand Jury testimony to the media, and
for this, he is in deep do do.
What a paradox. Will the media be as eager to expose a
situation that promises to catch their own tail in the
ringer along with Starr's?
Will they pummel us, the public, with dire predictions
of his guilt as they have done with the President?
Will they endlessly report all of Starr's previous
sins, mistakes and frailties?
Will we see a succession of damning and damaging sto-
ries about Kenny beginning: "Our sources; Reliable
sources; Lawyers for the witness; Informed sources;
Lawyers for the Special Council's office; Knowledgeable
sources on the basis of anonymity; Sources close to the
White House, etc._"
We bet not. We think that most of the media will write
carefully constructed, non inflammatory, non judgmental
pieces and most editors will place them either careful-
ly inside the paper or well below the fold.
No use stirring up trouble for the best news source
they ever had in Washington.
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 34
DECEIT, DISHONOR, DECEPTION AND DISHONESTY
Our title does NOT refer to President Clinton and the
current media hype and reports or leaks from his Grand
Jury testimony. Our focus is on a by-product.
If it is revealed that he lied about an affair it may
be that he was saving his own butt or upholding a
woman's honor (the chivalry thing) -- whatever.
We still believe that personal, _uncoerced_, relations
between consenting adults is nobody's business. Mari-
tal infidelity may be charged by a spouse, but is none
of _our_ business. We voted for a president, not a
saint.
However, a by-product of this brouhaha concerns us. We
refer to the massive reinforcement of old definitions
of womankind brought about by Tripp, Goldberg and
Lewinski. Their actions will continue to define women
as untrustworthy, false and unreliable.
"Continue to define", because this was our past before
our movement brought us toward legal parity with the
gender who formerly defined us as shallow, deceitful,
subtle and untrustworthy.
A toast commonly given in Colonial America was, "Our
land free, our men honest, our women fruitful."
Men had honor as in _a man's word is his bond_ or
greater love has no man then giving up his life for a
friend_.
Few men would ever betray another man, record his
confidences or criticize another man's personal life.
But we women have just begun forging our honor systems;
creating our own image and learning to bond with each
other to strengthen our emerging cultural constructs.
The difficulties have been, and still are, enormous.
We are rewarded for breaking trust with each other; we
often may face punishment for character traits we wish
to strengthen in ourselves such as honesty, loyalty,
honor and courage.
So, why is it that after four years and some $40 Mil-
lion, of all the charges made of illegality against the
President, the only thing that has shaken out is the
sex "zipper gate" charge?
Especially since men throughout the ages differ over
many things, but most have always agreed that it is a
universal right for a man to occasionally have "a
little something on the side."
Since our culture has declared that infidelity is OK
for males, a guy may maintain a home and family but
still sneak around and keep his love affairs under
wraps -- lying becomes part of the game. Seinfeld is
correct. Everyone lies about sex.
But women are not supposed to. Women are to remain
faithful. Infidelity is a woman's crime and the perpe-
trator is known as a slut.
The Starr chamber allegations and leaks and reports to
Congress is not about sex and lying, it is not about
perjury, it is about politics.
It is about appealing to women. IT IS ABOUT CLOSING
THE GENDERGAP.
It is about turning women against Liberal candidates.
The rational, according to the Conservative election
strategists, is that women feel vulnerable in marriage,
and if a highly placed public male can get away with it
then their own husbands and boyfriends can.
But as a political strategy, it just won't work. We've
come a long way this Century in understanding and
knowledge and they can no longer manipulate us through
our emotions.
We've learned that religion and law has always allowed
male infidelity and that neither religion or law pro-
tects us from it. Marriage and legal contracts may get
us a divorce or child support, but it will not and
never has stopped infidelity.
The only thing that does is two people who commit to
each other and keep to that commitment.
So we women won't be fooled into turning against a
President or a Party that has been supportive of us and
our movement.
We do, however profoundly regret that Lewinski, Gold-
berg and Tripp are featured as _Poster Girls_ repre-
senting the character of our gender while the real
representatives of our movement and character are
ignored -->
_Women Helping Battered Women; teachers; doctors; Wom-
en's Clinics; Planned Parenthood; supportive police
officers and lawyers, women's sports, women in the military
and all the women and groups that support, work and
believe in our movement._
GenderGappers 1998 - 35
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MONICA
Do you remember when you were very young and the teach-
er gave you a list of things or a bunch of pictures and
you had to decide which word or picture didn't fit with
the rest of the group?
A cat, a dog, a rabbit and a stone. Which one does not
belong?
Now try this one. Four SELF SERVING LIES by executives
of our government. Which one does not belong?
"I was out of the loop" -- Bush
"I did not have sexual relations with that
woman..." -- Clinton
"There was no deal of arms for hostages" -- Reagan
"Read my lips, no new taxes" -- Bush
Here's a clue: three of these lies have to do with
_affairs of their State office_, and one has to do with a
_personal affair_.
WOW! Talk about not fitting into a category.
Now consider how the Conservative election strategists
are spinning tale after tale directed toward what they
believe will influence women. Notice how they have
already latched on to the anger and distrust some women
have UNWISELY expressed to the media.
Unwisely, because these will be used in attack ads
against Democrats and/or pro-choice candidates in the
coming elections.
These strategists just ignore the facts and keep repeat-
ing certain buzz phrases over and over so people will
come to believe they are true. Buzz phrases that
contain directions.
One that we have heard several times on most media
outlets goes like this. The person being interviewed
or the announcer looks sadly at the camera and says, "Women
are so devastated by the President's lie that they can
no longer trust him with their issues. _They think he
should resign_."
Or a variation on the same theme, "Women are so angry
at Clinton that they are going to _show that anger by
staying away from the polls_."
Along with these instructions to us "dummies" comes the
demonizing of President Clinton to justify why women
are devastated and angry.
They have dragged out names of a few women that Paula
Corbin Jones's lawyers found but that most of us have
never heard of them. This is because the Judge refused
to have them listed by name in the court records. In-
stead, she assigned a number.
Now, we are given their names and the unproven allega-
tions the Jones' lawyers attributed to them. One is
said to have been raped by Clinton, another has left
the country in fear of being killed by Clinton and so
on and so on ad nauseous.
Where did these women come from? We are told that both
Starr and Jones' investigators dug them out of Arkansas
and there is no proof of their allegations.
Course we've all heard of Kathryn Willey who came to
cry on Bill's shoulder one day and claimed that he
groped her. It caused her such pain and anguish that
she wrote him warm and fuzzy thank you letters and
continued to visit him in the Oval office.
But, of course, the top name on everyone's lips is
Monica.
Monica who became known to us first through the leaks
of telephone tapes recorded by the Tripp.
Monica who was portrayed to us through these tapes;
through interviews with former boy friends and letters
to friends.
Monica who has readily admitted that she had been carrying
on an adult sexual life for several years before coming
to Washington, DC.
Monica who proclaimed that she had lied all her life.
Now, suddenly, we hear that she is a juvenile, a
neophyte in the game of sex. A child, even, at the
tender age of 20. A babe in arms who was beguiled,
besmirched and despoiled by a heinous man twice her
age!
They are even referring to her, would you believe, as
_a Lolita_?!
Kinda makes you weep, blubber and choke up, don't it?
We think that any one who does may be among those women
who claim they are hurt or mad.
We ask that you think about loyalty and forgiveness to
someone who has over the years of his administration,
risked his own political capital many times for us.
We ask that you remember that a very smart, strong and
savvy woman has.
And she is the only woman who has a right to be angry
and hurt.
A little note of encouragment and support would not go
amiss: First.Lady@Whitehouse.Gov
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 36
THE SPITTIN' IMAGE
We are hearing a lot lately about how important it is
for children to have dads -- especially boys. Women,
it is said, cannot raise a boy properly.
Two books with opposing viewpoints delineate how our
culture has defined men and set up traditions and
taboos that are passed on from generation to genera-
tion.
One takes the orthodox viewpoint. Family therapist,
Michael Gurian, in his book, _A Fine Young Man_ claims
that boys naturally start to move away from mothers
about the age of 5 or 6 and strongly at the ages of 10
to 12.
He believes that boy's brains are *"hard-wired" to move
them to the world of men* and that is the way it should
be. His solution for raising healthy boys involves
"increasing the presence of men and decreasing the
presence of women."
It is men who teach boys how to channel male energy.
Connecting with dads is how they learn male emotionali-
ty, he insists.
William Pollack, a psychologist differs. He writes:
"Mothers are encouraged to separate from their sons,
and the act of forced separation is so common that it
is generally considered to be `normal'. But I have
come to understand that this forcing of early separa-
tion is so acutely hurtful to boys that it can only be
called a trauma -- an emotional blow of damaging pro-
portions."
In his book, "Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons From the
Myths of Boyhood", he argues that though both parents
are vital, the men who had good relationships with
their mothers through adolescence are healthier physi-
cally and psychologically than those who did not.
These men are the opposite of "Mamma's boys" that some
parents fear creating.
He credits moms and the world of women for teaching
boys how to escape the myths of the macho male.
*"Moms break the gender straitjacket of boys. You
cannot have too much mom."* Their influence, he de-
clares, is helping to create the kind of boys who can
relate to the girls of today. He looks ahead to when
women and men of the 21st Century do _NOT_ come from
the separate planets, Venus and Mars.
Self defined women can relate to his thesis. We con-
tinually observe how the male dominated culture and its
firmly held, often dangerous and stupid traditions
separate women and men.
We may note how insidiously these harmful conceptions
are buried in our customs and in our day to day life
but some always continue to escape us, and we cannot
escape them.
Right now we are hearing news of or experiencing the
devastation of two hurricanes, both with women's names.
When men first started naming these storms, they called
them by women's names because in their view they repre-
sented how women were violent, dangerous and unpredict-
able. Female names and pronouns are often used to
designate objects in our culture.
A few years ago as our movement grew, women protested,
and so men's names were alternated with women's names
for hurricanes. This was but a band-aid covering over a
mortal wound since the underlying attitude did not changed.
Alternating male names with female names for these
storms did not change the cultural construct of woman
as object. Almost all of the announcers on radio or
TV, female or male, have referred to HURRICANES, Bonnie
and Danielle, as "SHE" or "HER".
Listen when a hurricane named for a male approaches the
coast and becomes a menace. Whether it is a Tom, Dick
or a Harry, it is an _IT_. An inanimate object. It is
never referred to as HE.
Then there is our friend, Bob, who recently told us
that he had left his toddler son off at his folks for
a weekend visit. When he returned to pick Charlie up,
Grampa proudly had the child demonstrate what Grampa
had taught him -- *how to spit*.
Bob, a 21st Century dad, was disgusted and questioned
why he had taught this to the child. "You didn't teach
your other grandchildren, Linda and Jean to spit, why
did you teach Charlie?"
"Why?" said Grampa, "Because he's a boy."
While spitting may be a relatively innocuous rite of
male passage (unless one is trying to watch a ballgame
without barffing) it serves to show the almost limit-
less, idiotic barriers that our culture puts up between
the genders. Incredibly fantastic as it seems, *girls
can and do spit.*
We also get dirty, climb trees and grow up to be women
in control of ourselves. We are strong, brave and CON-
STRUCTIVE, but not enough of us are yet tuned in to the
constant deleterious effects of a society that works to
diminish us and our humanness.
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 37
"PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNITION"
We are now in the midst of the Primaries where WE chose
the candidates who will run for office in November.
The most commonly given reason for not voting is lack
of time.
But how does one know what the candidates stand for so
one may vote wisely? Lots of places to ask, but try:
Woman Leader's Online's Project Votesmart.
URL: http://www.vote-smart.org/ce/c-index.html
Republicans are ecstatic. "This is our year to gain
the seats we need to overturn the President's vetoes.
Women have lost faith in the President and his Party,
so they will stay home from the polls in protest."
We wanted to write some inspirational phrases in this
article so that all of you would round up friends and
relatives and encourage them to vote.
The phrases came alright, but from a surprising source!
Tracey, whose organization was given as
"drudgereport.com", supplied them via e-mail. Thank
you, Tracey.
We received her posts below (and her reply to our
response). We offer them to you as a representation of
the voice of those who WILL vote, and of the attitudes
of the candidates they will vote for.
Here is our future -- unless WE take the TIME to pre-
vent it.
< Praise the Lord!
From: GenderGappers
Organization: Twanda
To: Tracey
Re: Oh & You
Are confused by your Christian? attitudes as demon-
strated by your words: hang him; crushed; destroy;
waco; dead. You show such reverence for life in your
first post, "You".
Do you realize that after you do in the President and
VP Gore, we get Speaker of the House, Newtie for Prez?
! Newtie, who admittedly received oral sex, (while
still married) from his girlfriends in his Congression-
al office and claimed he wasn't unfaithful because it
wasn't really sex.
! Newtie, who divorced his wife while she was in the hospital
sick with CANCER.
! Newtie who was prohibited by Congress from engaging in
consultation with others in the leadership but was caught
talking to them on his cell phone and recorded.
! Newtie who tried and failed to get away with stealing money
through his illegal PAC.
Leah for GenderGappers
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
We may not like what Tracey wrote or what she believes,
but one thing we know for sure is that she WILL vote
and she WILL go after her friends and relatives to get
them to vote for her kind of government.
Her voice is the voice of those who will be elected to
our governmental offices UNLESS WE SHOW UP AT THE
POLLS, INFORMED AND READY TO VOTE FOR THOSE CANDIDATES
WHO WILL UPHOLD WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.
_Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition_ is an old
song from WW-2.
The last two lines are: "Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition and we'll all stay free."
OUR AMMUNITION IS OUR BALLOTS AND OUR TIME.
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 38
SCHADENFREUDE
"Let the games begin."
Funny. We thought they already had. Now that the ICR
(independent council report) is out in all its salacious
glory, we found no surprises.
Sex references: 548 Whitewater references: 2
All of it had been leaked to us through to the
media -- long before it ever formally hit Congress and
the Internet.
Does anyone still believe that Grand Jury testimony is secrete?
Puff after tired puff, the Kenny allowed the accumulat-
ed flatulence of his investigation to dribble out
slowly so each day might renew the stink.
Why was this done? Were we supposed to get more and
more disgusted with President Clinton so that when the
ICR finally came out we would be in a lynching mood?
And where, may we ask, is all the skinny on Whitewater,
the FBI files, the travel office, etc? Is the IC plan-
ning to indite someone or is he just holding off so the
media can play with the current report to its heart
content?
We've got lots of questions but one thing we are sure
of is the absolutely bubbling happiness displayed by
those in the Republican Party, especially the sinless
ones (the bible sez that those without sin may cast the
first stone).
The German language has one word for this: _Schadenfreude_,
meaning gloating over someone else's misfortune or the
joy one feels at another's pain.
Well, at least we can be entertained by them talking so
very seriously about the "terrible crimes" and "their
sad duty", as they choke back their fierce desire to
giggle and dance jigs.
More questions, this time for the legal eagles out there.
When is it "abuse of power" to exercise one's constitu-
tional rights? We already have seen Kennie fighting to
dispose of attorney-client privileges.
Why are there so many accusations and statements that
are "hearsay"? The report is replete with incidents
described by `friends' that, "Monica said ..." or
"Monica told me ..."
Why did the IC not ask Monica directly? Could it be
that they did and she either denied saying it or could
not remember those incidents or made them up?
Most of what we hear or read in the media is far from
even handedness. Why do they assume that every thing
Monica says is true? Is this because the President
refused to discuss the specific details of their
trysts?
We have already been warned by the Republicans that the
ICR, which is chock full of sex and sexual references
IS NOT ABOUT SEX!
We agree. _It is about POLITICS_
A person's sex life should be private but how could
the IC resist using every salacious detail since each
could influence the way women vote, or, keep them from
voting.
It could influence older people, who have benefited from
the liberal policies of the Democrats, by making them
turn away from the voting booth in disgust.
The great buzz word that the media has picked up from
the House Majority spin is MORALITY. We'll be hearing
it ad naseum for days on end.
"Morality" and how many months the President refused to
acknowledge his affair with Monica.
Senator Dale Bumpers, D-Ark, has put it in context for
us. "Morality is often like beauty -- it's in the eye
of the beholder. Allowing children to go without
health care is immoral, too."
We would add that the wage gap between women and men is
immoral. After THIRTY-FIVE YEARS with a law on the
books making wage discrimination illegal, it is still
rampant.
We suggest you surf into: www.aflcio.org/women/equalpay.htm
Enter your salary, age group and education level and
see how the MORALITY of your employment shakes out.
Warning! The answer you get may be shocking, disgust-
ing and -- after 35 years -- still illegal.
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 39
BYE BYE BIPARTISANSHIP
Monday, September 21, 1998, will be remembered as the
day America, by edict of the religious conservative
majority, dumped its trash onto the internet and into
the eyes and ears of every area of the world.
This would NEVER have been done on _Christmas_ or
_Easter_ or _Thanksgiving Day_.
Monday, September 21, 1998 is the first day of _Rosh
Hashanah_.
America's trash will contain a carefully contrived pre-
sentation of the age-old, "he said/she said" -- with
extreme prejudice.
SHE will be unseen. We are given A TRANSCRIPT of her 3
day testimony before a Grand Jury where she was given com-
plete immunity from prosecution.
HE will be seen. We are given a 6 hour VIDEO of his
testimony before prosecutors who were determined
to force him to commit perjury by demanding answers to
extremely personal, sexually specific questions.
The Conservative hatchet squad call this "fair and
balanced". We call it just another part of their continuing
plan to embarrass the President and turn us against him.
When the House received the ICR, we were assured by the
leadership that they would proceed in a BIPARTISAN
manner.
Bipartisan means, of course, that our representatives
would work together. Democrats and Republicans would
consider the report and cooperate and compromise on
decisions regarding it.
This is not what happened. Democrats soon realized
that the proffered "branch", masquerading as OLIVE, was
instead, THORN APPLE. It was not compromise and cooperation.
Instead, it was inserted into their rectum.
Representative John Conyers, who had been a staunch
advocate of bipartisanship, was dismayed by the House
Judiciary Committee's dirty tricks.
Expressing his disappointment in the committee, he
said, "It is making huge amounts of sexually explicit
information available. It is offensive, it is obscene;
it does not build up any kind of case one way or the
other."
"It was truly `a night of the long knives', remarked
another Representative.
Several observers called the proceedings, "sexual
McCarthyism".
Pure-as-the-driven-snow, Chairperson of the committee,
Henry Hyde, insisted that the meeting was bipartisan
but he didn't fool anyone.
Egregious as it was, it has had a positive effect on
House Democrats. Formerly several, even those in the
leadership, had turned their backs on Clinton.
Now a vocal and energized group led by California's,
Zoe Lefgrem is making itself heard. Fair is fair and
they will no longer take part in the subversion of the
impeachment process.
This intensity and spirit that has evolved must go out
from these legislators and into all of us. We must
nurture and expand it. We must expound it and spread
it so November will bring winning candidates we can
live with _and who will let us live_.
By the way, did you notice? Last Friday, the 18th.,
the Senate sustained our President's veto of the anti-
abortion bill. It happened with few of the usual
screams from the anti-choicers. They are so confident
of their victory next November that they can wait.
Friday also was when the Unchristian Coalition met. It
was carried on C-Span. They are confident of their
victory next November, and in their plans to dispose of
this President who uses his veto power for us.
Their hate-filled speeches brought forth this comment
from a reader:
"We're getting to be like Saudi Arabia, with the Hiz-
bollah Imams running around throwing turds at anybody
who they think has `sinned'.
"America is becoming, at least in public, an extremely
conservative and fundamentalist society (Or, at least
that's what they're TRYING to do to us; we must
resist!). These Republican congressmen are the self-
appointed enforcers of a hypocritical morality that
says `do what I say, not what I do/did....' and most of
them have more sins in their closets than most of
us!!!"
#
GenderGappers 1998 - 40
* _'TIS TIME, 'TIS TIME._
What a week it has been. All the sex and all the
politics and all the polls blending together to stoke
the media's fire.
"Impeach!" -- Republican leadership.
"No. Censure!" -- Democratic leadership.
"Fergitaboutit! Get back to work, Congress & Presi-
dent." -- Jane & John Q. Public.
* _Double, double toil and trouble,
fire burn, and cauldron bubble._
The media told us that the President's testimony for
the Grand Jury should not be missed. It would show us
a man we had never seen before. "He gets mad, he
swears, he stalks out of the room!"
It turned out to be a yawner. So what was the hype all
about? Were we being set up to judge whatever we saw
and heard in a negative light?
Didn't work. The polls showed a six point gain in
popularity. This so distressed the media that they
insisted that the real story was that the polls showed
the President lost one point in believability.
* _Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake._"
Also delivered last week was a huge book of porno ("No,
it isn't about sex") which was made available to all
via the Web. It contained the footnotes to the ICR,
all of the verbatim testimony of Monica.
Columnist, Maureen Doud thought it showed that Kenneth
Starr got off on Monica's frolics with Bill.
Larry Flint, of _Hustler_ fame, turned over his crown
to Starr declaring that Porno King Kenny had far out-
distanced him.
* _Eye of newt and toe of frog.
Wool of bat and tongue of dog._
And, like a lovely pearl in the guts of an oyster, one
powerful sentence uttered by Monica stood out amid her
verbatim testimony. It was NOT mentioned in Starr's
ICR which advocated impeachment.
A member of the Grand Jury asked Monica if she had
anything she wished to add. She answered THAT NOBODY
HAD ASKED HER TO LIE OR TRIED TO BUY HER SILENCE WITH A
JOB.
That blew a hole in Kenny's obstruction of justice and
suborning perjury charges. It also knocked the hell
out of the Vernon Jordon connection.
It was this alleged connection that Starr had gone to
A.G. Janet Reno with. Since Jordon was on his list of
suspects in the Whitewater case, Starr claimed that he
should extend his investigation into the Tripp tapes.
And speaking of tapes, it seems that they were never
authenticated by Starr before he went to Reno. Several
are not originals and were not made on the famous Radio
Shack tape recorder.
* _For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
And, on the day the tapes and porno book was released,
the President of the United States was given a RARE
standing ovation at the United Nations by all the world
leaders.
The foreign leaders described Kennie's report and the
House activities as, "Humiliation!" "Inquisition!"
"Electronic lynching!"
Nelson Mandela rose to Clinton's defense.
One South American leader told a reporter that Clinton
was lucky. He said that in his country, they used
bullets, not sex, when they wanted to dispose of a
president.
* _Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
There is no longer any pretense of bipartisanship in
the Congress. It's politics, politics, politics.
Republican leaders want to play this out to effect the
November elections and those in the year 2000.
Democrats want to run on Clinton's record but most are
worried that their voters will stay home. Hillary is
rallying the troups behind the scenes.
We congratulate those of color who throughout all of
this have remained loyal to the President. They remem-
ber all that he has done for them.
Will we WISE WOMEN, HAGS, WITCHES OR CRONES, who have
the greatest number of members living below the poverty
level, be as loyal, or will we refuse to vote
because we feel betrayed?
There is a solution. We can ring doorbells, cast
spells, send faxes, e-mail, snail-mail and _vote_ TO
KEEP HILLARY RODHAM IN THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE REMAIN-
DER OF HER TERM. We can do this by supporting her
candidates this November.
* _When the hurly burly's done,
When the battle's lost and won._
Will we be energized and proactive? One way to start
is to check out your Senators and Reps at a great site
--"Contact Congress". It lets you click on ANY state
and get all sorts of info as well as phone #'s, snail
and e-mail addresses:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
For a petition to Congress to NOT impeach and lots of
great information:
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/seabright/811/
* spoken by the Witches in MACBETH
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