SIGNS AND PORTENDS

        And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?  []  Actually, there are quite a number of slouchers but it's not hard to choose the one who is the greatest threat to women -- it's John Ashcroft. Nominated for Attorney General by Cheney/Bush, he is believed to be a shoo-in for confirmation by the Senate.

        Oh, his fomer buddies will give him a few tough questions all right, but he's one of them [a brother in the senatorial brotherhood] who was recently defeated in November by a dead man. Women and other minorities, especially blacks, will oppose him, but the corporate media lackeys will assure the country that those in opposition are merely representatives of the lunatic fringe.

        Dubya says that Ashcroft is a man who is "guided by principles, not politics." Is that supposed to be encouraging? Let us see. Dubya's political promise was "compassionate conservatism." By all accounts, that is NOT among the principles espoused by this cabinet nominee who is dedicated to forcing his religious beliefs onto women.

        African Americans are not waiting around for the Ashcroft-axe to fall on them. We recently heard a forum where Julianne Malveaux, USA Today, spoke to a point that should concern all of us. Just because there are blacks, a Democrat, an Asian, a Hispanic or women in the Cheney/Bush administration does not mean that any of them will be concerned with us.

        Maureen Dowd, NY Times, [1/3/01] reminds us that the top 3 nominations for presidential counselors [including the secretary of state] come from "the macho world of the Pentagon. Just call it [the incoming administration] the drowning of the Age of Aquarius."

        An Associated Press review of his writings, speeches and interviews found that Ashcroft, among other things:

        • Fought vigorously against abortion rights.
        • Demanded that charities be faith based ie religious ("pray for your supper.")
        • Opposed federal money for drug treatment.
        • Pushed for several amendments that would permanently alter the Constitution for various conservatives causes, from outlawing abortion to balancing the budget.
        • Opposed federal job training money to Americans who don't complete high school.

        Both the Christian Coalition and Phyllis Schlaffly's Eagle Forum gave Ashcroft 100% ratings for the year. The National Organization for Women and the League of Conservation Voters gave him ZERO. The American Civil Liberties Union gave him 14%.

        Marianne Means, writing in the Grand Forks Herald [12/30/2000], states that although it is claimed that he "is a man of integrity, he has shown no tolerance for individual behavior and ethical concepts that vary from his own fundamentalist Christian background. The president-elect apparently trusts Ashcroft to protect his right flank. That could mean reversing Reno-era antitrust decisions, failing to enforce laws that protect women who seek abortions, joining in court cases against affirmative action programs, recommending that anti-abortion advocates serve as federal judges and undercutting civil rights protections."

        Remember back when Clinton was picking his cabinet and he was criticized for selecting friends? They were called FOBs - Friends Of Bill. He was greatly criticized for this by the Repugnants. As Dubya nominates his cronies for the Cheney/Bush administration we propose that they be called

        CODs - Cronies Of Dubya.

        COD John Ashcroft, is said to be sure of senate confirmation but let it not be said that we approve or condone this man and his right to impose his religion on us. Please, go to this URL and find your senators. http://www.senate.gov/

        Please call them on the phone, write or e-mail them and urge your friends and family to do likewise. Laura Murphy of the American Civil Liberties Union urges us to "educate, activate and organize" starting right now. We must make sure that Congress is assured a Democrat majority in the next election -- 2002.

        Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible to tomorrow.

        THE SECOND COMING
        by W. B. Yeats (1926)

        Turning and turning in the widening gyre
        The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
        Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold,
        Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
        The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
        The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
        The best lack all conviction, while the worst
        Are full of passionate intensity.
        Surely some revelation is at hand;
        Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
        The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
        When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
        Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
        A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
        A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
        Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
        Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
        The darkness drops again; but now I know
        That twenty centuries of stony sleep
        Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
        And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
        Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

        twanda@gendergappers.org       

        2001-001

        Copyright 2001 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@gendergappers.org.

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