Election
2000:
Voter
Participation
At
Work
Our
first
few
months
as
part
of
the
Hampton
Roads
United
Coalition
for
Voter
Participation
have
been
great
ones.
The
Coalition
has
been
a
powerful
voice
in
the
area,
and
with
your
help
Tidewater
NOW
has
made
a
profound
impact
on
the
work
the
Coalition
has
been
able
to
accomplish.
On
Election
Day,
15
volunteers
from
Tidewater
NOW
joined
with
the
other
Coalition
workers
to
insure
that
no
person
in
Norfolk
would
want
for
a
ride
to
the
polls,
or
would
have
unanswered
questions
relating
to
the
election.
The
Coalition
and
Tidewater
NOW
want
to
thank
all
those
people
who
participated,
resulting
in
over
150
hours
of
volunteer
time
on
Election
Day
alone.
As
a
reward
for
the
many
hours
of
time
donated
leading
up
to
and
including
the
Election
Day
activities,
the
NAACP
Voter
Fund
gave
grants
to
those
Coalition
organizations
that
had
done
the
most
to
benefit
the
work
of
the
Coalition.
As
a
result
of
our
work,
Tidewater
NOW
received
a
grant
of
$1,000.00!
|
|
|
|
WORLD
MARCH
FOR
WOMEN
2000
FOLLOW-UP
www.worldmarch.org
As
reported
in
our
last
newsletter,
the
World
March
for
Women
2000
culminated
in
Washington
DC
on
October
15,
2000,
with
meetings
occurring
with
the
International
Monetary
Fund
(IMF)
and
the
World
Bank
in
Washington
DC
on
October
16,
2000
and
a
meeting
with
United
Nations
Secretary
General
Kofi
Annan
on
October
17,
2000
in
New
York.
The
goals
of
the
March
were
to
state
that
we
should
no
longer
accept
violence
against
women,
the
inequitable
distribution
of
the
world’s
wealth,
or
the
inequality
between
men
and
women.
Massive
debt
held
by
the
poorest
countries
is
a
prime
reason
for
inequitable
distribution
of
wealth
because
countries
are
forced
to
pay
interest
rather
than
using
money
to
provide
programs
for
the
poor,
which
are
disproportionately
women
and
children.
On
October
31,
news
broke
that
the
IMF
would
meet
its
goal
of
providing
20
of
the
world’s
poorest
countries
with
debt
relief
by
December
31,
2000.
The
spokesperson
for
the
IMF
said
that
the
assistance
would
allow
these
countries
to
save
millions
of
dollars
on
interest
payments
that
can
be
used
by
the
countries
for
construction
of
schools,
vaccination
of
children,
prevention
of
the
spread
of
HIV/AIDS,
and
to
build
infrastructure.
The
question
of
whether
this
schedule
would
be
met
was
answered
when
Congressional
leaders
in
the
US
chose
to
work
towards
a
debt
relief
plan
that
will
write
off
loans
to
the
world’s
poorest
countries
for
an
amount
of
$435
million
and
approved
for
the
IMF
to
release
an
additional
$800
million,
which
they
will
get
from
the
sale
of
gold
reserves.
It
appears
that
the
World
March
for
Women
2000
has
had
an
immediate
impact
on
the
IMF,
the
World
Bank,
and
the
US
Government.
Please
continue
to
press
these
organizations
and
the
United
Nations
to
insure
that
the
issues
of
the
World
March
for
Women
2000
are
not
forgotten
as
we
enter
the
21st
century. |
|
|
Campaign
2000
Spending
vs.
Your
Personal
Finances
As
you
might
have
guessed,
there
was
a
great
deal
of
money
spent
as
a
part
of
the
campaign
for
President
this
past
year.
Federal
election
figures
estimate
that
the
two
major
parties
spent
$405
million,
with
the
Republicans
spending
$252
million
and
the
Democrats
spending
$153
million.
Averaged
out
this
means
that
the
Republicans
spent
$5.24
for
every
vote
they
received
and
the
Democrats
spent
$3.18.
So
you
can
freely
say
the
election
was
bought!
As
a
comparison,
here
is
what
that
$405
million
could
have
bought:
Gallons
of
Gas:
245.4
Million
Internet
Access
($20.00/month):
20.2
Months
4-Year
College
Educations
($100,000):
4,050
Big
Macs
($2.50):
162.0
Million
Honda
Accords
($22,000):
18,408
We
can
translate
this
in
lots
of
ways,
including
research,
food
and
shelter
for
the
homeless,
educational
access
for
the
poor
and
underprivileged,
or
transportation
for
seniors
and
children.
You
choose. |
|
|
Our
Votes
will
Not
Die
by
Jane
Barbara
Like
so
many
of
you
who
were
alive
when
President
Kennedy
was
killed,
I
can
recall
the
exact
moment
I
heard
that
terrible
news.
It
is
forever
etched
in
my
memory.
It
was
a
shock
that
could
only
be
topped
by
the
death
of
my
own
father.
When
I
was
growing
up,
you
see,
my
parents
taught
me
that
Presidents
were
to
be
revered.
Treated
with
the
highest
respect.
Even
if
you
did
not
agree
with
him.
"Only
a
wide-eyed
fanatic
would
ever
murder
a
president,"
they
said,
trying
to
calm
me.
We
watched
in
horror
as
Oswald
was
killed
right
before
our
eyes
on
our
fuzzy
black
and
white
TV.
My
parents
were
too
horrified
to
offer
up
an
explanation.
I
was
all
of
ten
years
old
but
I
knew
that
something
was
not,
as
we
say
in
Brooklyn,
not
kosher.
It
was
decades
later
before
I
learned
how
Kennedy
was
hated
in
the
South.
As
a
nation,
we
mourned
our
innocence.
It
was,
unfortunately,
only
the
beginning.
Next
came
the
murders
of
Rev.
King
and
Bobby.
We
mourned.
We
watched
the
horrors
of
Viet
Nam
as
we
ate
dinner
and
mourned
the
senseless
deaths
of
our
young
men
and
women.
We
heard
about
a
break-in
at
the
Watergate.
Iran-Contra.
The
list
is
too
long.
The
result?
I
may
have
lost
respect
for
some
of
my
elected
officials,
and
for
the
manipulations
of
our
system,
but
I
always
believed
in
the
goodness
of
the
people.
The
equalizing
power
of
the
vote,
my
vote,
your
vote.
It
is
truly
our
power.
It
is
the
only
weapon
us
average
folks
have
against
manipulation
and
lies
--
just
vote
the
bum
out!
What
happened
in
Florida
makes
me
ill
to
the
very
core
of
my
being.
It
is
as
serious,
in
my
opinion,
as
an
assassination.
The
votes
of
elderly
Jewish
voters,
folks
of
color
(and
who
knows
what
else)
were
manipulated
by
Dubya's
highly
paid
team
of
lawyers.
The
voters
be
damned.
The
Republican
Party
may
think
it
has
won
this
battle
but
they
will
loose
the
war.
Why?
Because
this
47
year
old
feminist,
who
was
more
than
willing
to
pass
the
baton
over
to
the
next
generation
of
women,
is
pissed.
I
will
not
be
beat
down
by
this.
I
will
not
mourn
the
death
of
the
vote.
Most
everyone
I
know
is
disgusted
by
all
that
has
happened.
So
what
does
one
do
with
that
anger?
I
don't
know
about
you
but
I
plan
to
be
in
Washington
when
President
Georgie
W.
Bogus
swears
to
his
paternal
God. I
will
be
there
to
make
sure
he
knows
that
he
does
not
have
a
WO-mandate,
let
alone
a
mandate
from
the
voters
of
this
nation.
More
importantly,
I
will
be
working
to
get
folks
registered.
Why?
Because
they
don't
want
us
to
vote.
If
people
believe
their
vote
has
no
value,
look
at
what
happened
in
Florida,
then
they
will
win.
I
urge
all
of
you
not
to
fall
into
that
trap.
Call
your
representatives
and
tell
them
we
are
not
stupid.
We
will
not
accept
the
Florida
travesty.
Please
contact
the
Hampton
Roads
United
Coalition
for
Voter
Participation.
We,
the
people,
must
start
NOW
so
that
the
kinds
of
manipulations
that
went
on
in
Florida
will
never
happen
again.
|
|
|
|
What
are
the
Impacts
of
Mifepristone?
In
Early
October
2000,
the
Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA)
approved
the
use
of
Mifepristone
(RU-486)
for
use
as
a
safe
and
effective
early-option
abortion
pill.
The
approval
of
Mifepristone
after
over
a
decade
of
study,
left
some
anti-choice
activists
reeling,
because
the
FDA
imposed
almost
none
of
the
restrictions
that
many
anti-choice
activists
had
wanted.
The
FDA
has
left
it
open
for
almost
any
family
doctor
or
ob-gyn
to
now
prescribe
the
two-drug
regimen,
as
long
as
the
doctor
can
assure
that
the
patient
can
be
provided
a
surgical
backup,
if
the
drugs
fail
to
end
the
pregnancy,
or
if
there
are
side
effects.
This
freedom
has
set
anti-choice
activists
on
alert
for
an
all
out
push
to
legislatively
control
the
usage
of
Mifepristone,
in
addition
to
putting
pressure
on
doctors
who
chose
to
prescribe
the
drugs.
Their
fear
is
that
if
the
drugs
are
easily
prescribed,
used
and
accepted,
then
the
"consequences"
of
abortion
will
seem
mute
and
women
will
have
a
much
easier
decision,
resulting
in
a
rise
in
abortions
overall.
Pro-choice
activists
see
the
approval
of
Mifepristone
as
the
answer
to
many
years
of
threats
and
intimidation
by
anti-choice
activists
that
had
made
it
increasingly
difficult
to
find
a
surgical
abortion
option.
In
addition
to
protests
and
personal
intimidation
felt
by
the
women
seeking
abortions,
many
clinics
have
been
bombed
and/or
burned,
and
doctors
performing
surgical
abortions
are
increasingly
targeted
professionally
and
personally.
At
least
seven
deaths
have
been
accredited
to
this
type
of
anti-abortion
violence
in
as
many
years.
The
legislative
assault
has
been
introduced
nationally
in
Congress
by
Rep.
Tom
Coburn
(R-
OK)
and
Sen.
Tim
Hutchinson
(R-AR),
S.3157/H.R.
5385).
There
legislation
would
impose
a
variety
of
limitations
on
Mifepristone.
One
of
the
main
restrictions
would
be
to
limit
those
doctors
that
can
prescribe
the
drug
only
to
include
those
that
are
trained
to
perform
surgical
abortions.
The
impact
of
this
type
of
legislation
would
obviously
restrict
access
to
the
drug
and
would
result
in
the
same
type
of
situations
that
we
had
pre-Mifepristone.
Namely,
very
limited
abortion
clinics
and
doctors
that
are
set
apart
from
their
peers
in
a
way
to
allow
more
opportunity
for
anti-choice
extremists
to
intimidate,
threaten
and
physically
harm
doctors,
staff
and
patients.
The
approval
of
Mifepristone
after
over
a
decade
of
study
by
the
FDA,
a
study
period
almost
three
times
as
long
as
most
drugs
take,
has
provided
women
with
an
important
new
reproductive
health
care
option,
because
it
is
much
less
invasive
to
the
patient,
but
it
also
has
been
shown
to
provide
other
health
benefits.
Research
has
indicated
uses
for
Mifepristone
including
treatment
for
breast
cancer,
endometriosis,
glaucoma,
meningioma,
ovarian
cancer,
prostate
cancer
and
many
other
conditions.
If
legislative
action
imposes
restricted
usage
of
this
drug
and
limits
the
doctors
legally
allowed
to
prescribe
it,
many
patients
will
be
denied
access
to
a
potentially
life
saving
drug.
Not
only
are
the
health
benefits
evident,
but
the
availability
has
also
set
up
a
possibility
of
increased
anonymity
for
abortion
providers
and
their
patients.
This
anonymity
can
be
life
saving
as
well
in
a
climate
that
has
become
increasingly
hostile
and
deadly.
Please
act
today
to
contact
your
representatives
at
the
state
and
federal
levels
to
insure
that
they
know
your
position
on
the
use
of
Mifepristone.
The
Congress
or
the
General
Assembly
should
not
substitute
their
views
for
the
judgment
of
the
medical
experts
that
have
put
Mifepristone
through
an
arduous
approval
process
and
approved
its
use
with
few
restrictions.
In
this
case
it
would
be
simply
inappropriate
for
the
legislative
branches
to
impose
their
views
on
our
bodies.
We
must
let
them
know
we
are
watching!
Please
contact
us
if
you
are
interested
in
researching
which
doctors
in
our
area
are
not
going
to
prescribe
Mifepristone,
even
though
they
are
qualified.
We
would
like
to
print
a
list
of
these
doctors
in
a
future
newsletter.
|
My
Un-Easy
Spirit
by
Mary
Franke
Ouch!
Pointed
ones
that
narrow
our
toes
to
needles
heavy
thick
thick
soled
ones
that
make
us
thump
thump
thump
like
exhausted
monsters
Fran
Frankenstien
round
toes
square
toes
soles
shaped
like
rockers
arched
stacked
on
steeples
strippy
sandals
that
fall
off
or
tangle
in
the
accelerator
always
new
ones
new
ones
go
to
a
thrift
store
and
you
will
see
them
berthed
in
rows
what
we
were
killed
for
died
for
in
1952
and
’68
or
’71
.
.
.
.
laughing
back
up
bronzed
and
buckled
dried
and
wizened
eyelets
empty
now
as
men’s
if
you
understand
this
tell
me
how
the
states
propose
to
give
our
shoe
settlement
price
fixing
money
to
crisis
pregnancy
centers
those
places
where
raped
teenagers
can
go
to
see
fetuses
in
the
blender
I
thought
the
law
couldn’t
punish
us
twice
for
being
female?
I
mean
we
only
bought
shoes
-------
Mary’s
poem
is
inspired
by
the
decision
by
Attorney
General
Mark
Early
to
give
money
from
a
class
action
settlement
case
involving
shoe
giant
9west
to
"crisis
pregnancy
centers"
that
are
operated
by
anti-choice
groups.
The
money
was
mandated
to
be
used
for
"women’s
health,
educational,
vocational
and
safety
programs.
|
|
WE
NEED
YOU
Currently
the
Secretary
and
Newsletter
Editor
positions
are
open.
Please
let
us
know
if
you
are
interested.
We
will
vote
on
positions
on
January
16! |
|
|
WHO
WE
ARE
AND
HOW
TO
REACH
US
Tidewater
NOW
PO
Box
446
Norfolk,
VA
23501
Phone:
(757)
456-1509
E-mail:
NOW4Equality@hotmail.com
or
now@tidewaternow.org
Website:
www.tidewaternow.org
President:
Helene
Tisdale
Vice-President:
Maggie
Sacra
Secretary:
Position
Open
Treasurer:
Mary
Roberson
Newsletter
Editor:
Position
Open
At-Large(Activist):
Melissa
Ayres
At-Large(Promotion):
Lorraine
Baysek
LRTF
Chairperson:
Bobbi
Gallegos
|
|
|
Tidewater
NOW
extends
sincere
sympathy
to
Susanne
Britt,
a
long
time
activist,
whose
father
passed
away
on
November
10th.
Please
remember
Susanne
in
your
thoughts. |
|
|
Here
&
NOW
