Here are several predictions regarding the so-called Clinton sex scandals (and please be aware that I don't know anything more than you do - except that I - like most Americans - are convinced that Kenneth Starr and some of his top aides are the one who should be facing national disgrace and JAIL for their law breaking - and I keep records to refresh my memory):

Prediction 1. There will be NO GRAND JURY FINDING or indictment. There will be a report written by the Kenneth Starr team which will contain filthy innuendos and half supported statements (he says, she says) but it will NOT reflect a vote of the jury per se. The jurors are in the hellish position of not being able to say anything about what's been going on - or not going on. Starr can say anything he damned well wants to. The jury itself is unable to voice any objections; everything is supposed to be hush-hush. We, the people, have no way of knowing what has been presented to the GJ and what HAS NOT! All we know are the leaks from Starr's office to his tame reporters who seem to salivate in tandem with his greasy little sex-filled mind. For a week we should all stop buying newspapers and magazines and turn off the news shows to show the member of the press, we can buy GOOD porno cheaper than we can buy their ratty newspapers. I wish I could send one note to the members of the grand jury: You have the right to talk to the judge and object to what is going on. You have a right to demand the truth and accountability.

Prediction 2. Congress will not act on the Starr report until 1999 (after the November elections) especially if the people don't react to it by dropping their support of Clinton. Too many right wingers are up for reelection and are afraid the people will see through the Kenneth Starr propaganda machine if it is discussed in the give and take of campaigns. They don't want a referendum on their actions. By 1999 the report will be so hazed over by the media spinning on its rumor axis fueled by more and more leaks from Kenneth Starr that no one will remember what the heck was going on in the first place. Anyone remember the Contract (out on) America that the Reps got tons and tons of propaganda out of - and no action? The bigots in 1999 will keep the pot boiling without any votes as long as they can. The presidential elections in November, 2000 are around the corner and the Republicans have a bludgeon in their hand.

The bludgeon? Consensual sex between two adults. Look, I'm a woman with a lot of experience and a feminist, so don't give me any of this crap about it *not* being consensual because the man was older or he was powerful. She was an intern - non-paying job. Her parents are wealthy. She didn't need the job. And those tapes don't prove a damned thing. It's one liar talking to another liar. And many people who knew her say that she went to Washington with one idea - fellatio. (Has anyone noticed that the press PREFERS oral sex to fellatio as if the American people can't comprehend three syllable words.) Regardless, Starr has no business forcing her to talk about her sex life. She's a private citizen. Will he or some other right-wing religious bigot be around to YOUR house tomorrow?

And if I were to make another prediction, I would guess that Clinton actually believed that he shouldn't say anything UNTIL MONICA DID ... or Gennifer ... Simply because that's what a gentleman does. I don't know Clinton - just have been around him a couple of times - but I have observed his public life closely for almost 16 years - and I knew his mother. I know a lot of women who knew him growing up and knew the family well. I know the Republicans don't believe in the gentleman stuff but there are many who still don't believe in boasting about having sex by naming names. Gingrich is noted for the opposite. So are a few of the other Reps in Congress. If non-adultery was the basis for holding office in the United States Congress - the ultimate judges of Clinton's fate if they are stupid enough to try impeachment - it would be a very, very small congress.

I have just finished reading the magazine _Brill's Content_. (Thank you, Varda!) Seeing the chronological review of how the free press of the United States went crazy and printed rumors as facts, innuendos as written in stone, and defend their feeding frenzy as journalism is sickening. This journalistic feeding frenzy into a private sex matter - as distasteful as it may be for the President of the United States to be doing exactly what 90% of Congress does (or would like to do) and exactly what 70+% of the male population of this country does - will mark the end of our democracy if it isn't stopped. As it is now, our "free" press is no longer the backbone of our national freedoms. It has been compromised to the point of being an instrument of treason. Yes, the press, a term that includes includes both print and broadcast journalists and editors, are contributing to treason. They have danced to the tune called by pipers of wealth who order them to "get that Bubba!" The press - including the multi-millionaire news anchors and editors - have accepted unproven and unsubstantiated leaks from Starr's office and repeated and repeated them until about 24% of the weak minded in this nation actually believe it. There is one purpose in Kenneth Starr's investigations: to invalidate the choice of the people as to who will be President of the United States. Brill's article showed that some of the biggest "scoops" in the Lewinsky scandal were actually 7th hand information that has been proven wrong. AND THE NEWSMEN KNOW IT AND WON'T OWN UP TO THEIR fictions, their fables, their incompetence ... their perfidiousness. It is an evil that will stay with this nation for many, many decades. Without a free press, we have no freedom. Brill's work and the articles on Salon.com are the best thing going today.

A new Newsweek poll finds most Americans believe President Clinton will not tell the whole truth when he testifies Monday before a federal grand jury. AND THEY DON'T BELIEVE IT IS A VALID ISSUE. Mr. Starr, Mr. Gingrich, Senator Hatch: WE DON'T CARE! Only 24 percent of those polled said they would think worse of Clinton if he admitted he had an ongoing sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. (Note the way that question was worded: ONGOING, rather than a one or two time event.) BTW, that 24% is a bit higher than the bigots of the radical religious right who have been trying to overturn the last two presidential elections with rumors, innuendos, and outright lies. Old Abe Lincoln said it pretty good about 130 years ago about not being able to fool all of the people all of the time. In spite of the most concerted propaganda seen in this country since the propaganda to stir up the people for World War II, most American still think Clinton has been a good and effective president and the Republicans with their point man Kenneth Starr should butt out. Less than 30% believe that Clinton he should be impeached if the "dress" proves to contain his DNA in the form of sperm. WHY? FOR ADULTERY? Come on guyz, that's not what people said. We have just finished reading the _Brill Content_, the magazine to which Kenneth Starr admits breaking the law by personally leaking information of the grand jury - and having one of his men doing nothing else but talking to reporters! So much for grand jury secrecy. Starr is the one who should go to jail. HOWEVER - be aware that most Republicans (and a lot of Democrats) feel that the support for Clinton will evaporate if there is a downturn in the economy. My last prediction for today - there will be a contrived downturn in the economy at just the right time. IF there were a free press left, they could reveal it. But they are so caught up in sperm and kneepads that they will have forgotten how to do their jobs. The National Inquirer mindset is now in control. And in the meantime, the American people are not being given the news that counts ... China, the Tokyo stock exchange ... and the fact that the rest of the world is LAUGHING at us. The American press is acting like a bunch of pimply-faced teenage boys. They are mutually masturbating to each other's tall stories - just like they did in junior high.

Just think, when this is over, the newsmen will have to go back to earching for news instead of sucking at the leaking nipples of bigots. Let's remember guz, Nixon WAS doing things that were illegal under the U.S. constitution.

A recent study showed that women are seroconverting for HIV/AIDS at 4 times the rate of men in the U.S. Please - don't die for his macho image. Fight if you have to but insist on a condom - otherwise you may die. I wouldn't trust that a man in heat will ever, ever tell the truth. . . . .

Oh, BTW, do you know that the "stain" is just a stain if Clinton has had a vasectomy? Did you know there are NO DRAPES ON THE OFFICE WINDOWS in Clinton's private office or the Oval Office ... did you know there are PEEP holes into the oval office so that aides can monitor what's going on? Did you know that the hallway that K. W. claims to have been grabbed by Clinton was only about ten feet long and four feet wide - and a steward was only a few feet away, well within hearing range? That even Tripp has said that KW was HAPPY when she left the meeting with Clinton. And isn't it strange that Tripp - a minor secretarial type - was the last person in the White House to see Vince Foster and was right there when KW exited the Oval Office. No wonder she was transferred. She never worked, just spied. And isn't it strange that TRIPP has not been prosecuted for illegally taping telephone conversations - almost the same crime that a person in Florida has been harassed about (needing expensive attorneys) when he publicized what he overheard in a cell phone conversation/conniving among the Republican Congressional leaders. Yep - and justice for all.

"Appreciated your "Catt's Claws" issue 164 on religious belief not being all it's cracked up to be. The recent stories about the Promise Keepers laying off all their paid staff was the best news I've heard all month.

"The aspect of religious propaganda that I have found most interesting is use of medical studies to show that prayer, or faith in the Christian God, actually has a physically healing effect. In the accompanying attachment, I discussed my findings on some of the more recent studies along these lines. The Koenig studies (Harold Koenig MD, Duke University) are the most widely quoted, but they don't tend to use the quotes I mention.

"The latest outrage from Koenig is a study which attempts to equate church attendance with better health. This study has now been quoted in the popular press all over the country, from Parade Magazine to Modern Maturity.

"I reviewed the Koenig study several months ago. The study looked at Interluekin-6 levels. High IL-6 levels are associated with inflammatory conditions, impaired physical functioning, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatigue and lethargy. Koenig was attempting to establish that people who were frequent church attenders had lower levels of IL-6 than non-attenders, and that physical wellness was therefore directly related to church attendance. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that people who have one or more of the debilitating disorders mentioned above (and consequently, higher IL-6 levels) would be less likely to be trotting out to attend mass on a weekly basis. This quickly degenerates into a which came first, the chicken or the IL-6, dilemma.

"Perhaps the best way to refute this argument is to let the author of the study speak for himself: "These findings do not establish that frequent religious attendance leads to better physical health by enhancing immune functioning." Koenig goes on to admit that the association between church attendance and health was so weak that it "could be explained either by chance or by other factors not included in this analysis."

"I couldn't have said it better. Yet this balderdash is being spread as gospel across the land."

(Signed) Keep up the good rant, Kevin Courcey.

The World Health Organization estimates that 1,600 women die EVERY DAY of complication in pregnancy and from childbirth. That's 600,000 women dying EVERY YEAR. About 8 MILLION babies are stillborn or die in the first week of life. Aren't we proud of ourselves? Girls aged 15-19 were twice as likely to die in childbirth as women in their twenties, those under 15 five times as likely. Yes, most of the deaths occur in Africa and Asia but the U.S. does NOT have the lowest rate. We're pretty high, actually - and while the TV propaganda is in full bloom for women to have babies, there is NEVER a mention of the dangers. Remember, if one used the criteria used in France and other civilized countries instead of the false criteria of the (American) Centers for Disease Control, the rate of pregnancy-related-deaths in the United States would be 23.5 per 100,000 births (not 10 as the CDC says). This translates to 935 deaths of women in 1994 due to pregnancy - OR - 2.5 deaths of women due to pregnancy EVERY SINGLE day.

Five women in the United States with its so-called great medical system die of pregnancy-related problems every two days!

Over a ten-year period that comes to at least 9,350 women who have died of pregnancy-related problems. The figures are inexact because birth rates fluctuate.

Has anyone else noticed how many news stories there are about older women having sex with younger teen-age boys - and how the women are being sent to jail for years and years? While when a man does it to a girl, he sometimes spends a few months in jail IF HE'S PROSECUTED and many people - including authorities - attempt to force the girl to marry her (statutory) rapist. My local congressman is one who believes pregnant teenagers should marry the father ... he fails to mention that most teenagers are impregnated by older men who should be standing in a jail cell rather than at the altar.

One in eight women in our country will develop breast cancer during her lifetime, compared to one in 20 a generation ago. And 46,000 American women will die of breast cancer this year. Time for your monthly breast exam - remember, the breast you examine is the one you want to keep. . . .

The correct FDA approved dosage for the morning after abortifacient is: 2 Wyeth's Ovral or 4 tablets of Wyeth's Nordette, Lo/Ovral or Triphasil or Berlex Laboratories Levlen or Tri-Levlen and then take the same, second dosage exactly 12 hours later. Nausea occurs in some cases. Vomiting, which is RARE, will prevent it from working so take an antiemetic (antinausea) medication such as Dramamine with the pills. This method must be used within 24-72 hours of the intercourse. Later than that a more complex method is necessary.

For Emergency Contraception (EC or Morning After Pill) information phone 1-800-584-9911. It is answered 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and will refer you to the nearest place to get EC. EC has a website (http://opr.princeton.edu/ec/ec.html. EC hotline has information about emergency contraception and have a directory of more that 1800 clinicians willing to prescribe emergency contraceptives.

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Send your ideas, comments, and news for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which will be emailed as we get to it. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information. Catt's Claws is NOT sponsored by any organization. The contents are strictly the opinion of the author. Copyright 1998, Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902