European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To incorporate by Jack Fox United press International the mad As hell committee in is drawing up papers of it will be known As mad As hell pretty dont you think asks Roberta the 66yearold housewife and grand Mother who is president of it gives us identity As an people think of Peter Finch in that movie saying to go to the window and lean out and yell to mad As hell and in not going to take it maybe  think of mahi must rank As one of the most disorganized organizations in the history of grass roots it holds no it has no list of it neither endorses nor opposes its principal Means of communication is a local radio talk show where people Call in to Tell what they Are mad As hell As a matter of As Bickerstaff cheerfully it is largely a creation of the news that is How she became famous in a provincial sort of last Spring the Ventura county Board of supervisors introduced an ordinance to give themselves a 42 percent pay somewhat to their irate taxpayers assembled in the Board Chambers at the next meeting but the five supervisors blandly approved the that was when Bickerstaff stood up and said such arrogance made her mad As others in the room rallied they formed a committee and announced they would circulate a petition to put a referendum on the june ballot rescinding the the mad As hell phrase caught it was picked up by the Ventura county Sta free by county radio stations and the wire from the Friday after the hearing until the next Bickerstaff and her volunteers had obtained signatures on the that was too much for the at their next they caved in and called off the pay and with Roberta Bickerstaff became an overnight celebrity with to Crews knocking on her she was an unlikely candidate for the Home she shares with her retired Navy career husband on a Hillside in the Camarillo area resembles the abode in the old a and a Kettle movies with dogs and parakeets and cockatoos All Over the place and the furniture in amiable Bickerstaff was a professional dog handler in Ameri can Kennel club shows and a consultant to the univer sity of Oregon medical school on the effects of nutrition on the behaviour of animals before she retired in this was her first dip into she Savoured the supervisor Victory with the urging of others involved in the petition decide angry grassroots activist Roberta pied to try to make mad As heu a Force in the she declared herself president and there Are four other members of the Board of they figure the people who signed the petition Are Mem they keep in touch mainly through the radio talk county which runs on Venturas Kven from 10 to the shows Frank has become an enthusiastic Bicker staff phones in occasionally with suggestions for tactical their current crusade is against what Bickerstaff Calls in typical colourful phrasing the rape of proposition proposition 13 was the amendment to the California Constitution approved in 1978 which limited property assessments so that taxes were reduced by approximately 50 its principal architect was Howard Bickerstaff says proposition 13 is being circumvented by such legislative devices As beneficial assessments on property owners for flood mad As hell opposed such a local flood control measure in the november election and it was Defeated by a 31 she says mahi membership is conservative but not i know of two of the most Active who Are they thought Jimmy Carter was a Little would she recommend women going into politics she a woman place is in the particularly while Shes still got taking dad to court by Angel Castillo new York times recently children in Colorado and Oregon sued their seeking monetary damages for what the children contended was their inadequate in these and other similar parental malpractice the parents have so far but the fact that such unheard of just a few years could even be filed in american courts is indicative of the kinds of Legal complications today parents May and for which they were most Likely not prepared by read ing manuals on for instance do parents have a Legal right to spank their children Are they liable for damages to other Peoples property caused by their children do they have a right to be supported by their children if they become destitute in an increasingly legalistic these Are no Long Page 10 the stars and stripes or simply interesting topics for intellectual but pressing questions for which parents and prospective parents must have accessible to provide those two lawyers have written the rights of an Avon paperback published recently As an american civil liberties Union its list Price is the authors Are Alan a lawyer who teaches part time at the new York univer sity Law and Martin the director of the juvenile rights clinic at the same Law the authors approach in this highly readable 274 Page Book is to explain the Law by posing questions about which most parents Are Likely to be and then answering them in nontechnical to the Corporal punishment for the authors provide the following answer you can spank your children but Only so Long As the punishment inflicted is reasonable and does not in Jure or harm the february 1981 every Case is determined by its own Multi it is up to a judge or a jury to decide if harsh discipline constitutes unreasonable or excessive Force or As to parents liability for damages caused by their Sussman and Guggenheim explain that if a child is involved in an Accident caused by the Childs own carelessness or Lack of most Likely the parents will not be held if the parents had prior knowledge of their Childs destructive they might be held liable if they failed to take the necessary Steps to prevent such outbreaks from taking on the question of whether parents have a Legal right to be supported by their the authors say that generally there is no such Only a moral obligation that the courts of most states will not enforce As a Legal the rights of parents is a useful guide to the emerging Legal minefield through which today parents must sometimes