From: krikket@meltdown.chi.il.us (D. 'krikket' Krick)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: Bailing Out (rant) (was: Re: Freedom of Religion as well as everything else)
Date: 1 Sep 92 08:52:27 GMT
Organization: The Meltdown - A Team Star BBS

In article <1992Aug31.130705.13553@news.acns.nwu.edu>, Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu
(Albert Lunde) writes:
>In article <krikket.6837@meltdown.chi.il.us> 
>krikket@meltdown.chi.il.us (D. 'krikket' Krick) writes:

>>As a long-haired liberal with an earring who openly is a Pagan and has Gay
>>and Black friends, I suppose this includes me too... :)
>>[...]

>Well, I'm spending most of my time in Evanston and in a selected part of 
>Chicago (Hyde Park) which are bastions of liberal politics by today's
>standards, so I don't see rabid right on my doorstep so often.  But I
>think they are there -- in the Chicago metro area. Evanston and Chicago
>have gay rights laws and significant Jewish and Moslem populations
>(which is useful if you want to contain the "Christian nation" types.)

Which is why, here in Wheaton (The self-proclaimed Bible Capitol of America,
because it has more churches than anywhere else in the U.S. per square mile
(And no, I am *NOT* joking on that one.  Wait until you hear my stand-up
routine on the subject...)) it is merely one of the most conservative parts in
Illinois, rather than the nation, I suppose.

>Lookup the votes on issues like abortion and gay rights laws and you 
>can see where you stand with elected politicians.

Agreed that this *CAN* be an easy way of pointing out the neo-Christian
Political types, but it's not 100% accurate.  But it *IS* a good measurig stick
when nothing else is available.

>I grew up on the far Northwest side of Chicago -- that area has spawned
>notorious politicians like Henry Hyde(anti-abortion), Walter Dudych 
>(anti-flag-burning), Penny Pullen(anti-gay rights, forced AIDS testing).

The Skokie/Berwyn area I presume...  Nasty.

>You may not see the same kind of political drive as elsewhere as it is
>harder to place binding referenda on the ballot in Illinois.

???  Please restate that, as I'm missing something, I'm sorry to admit...

>>This year I'm voting Libertarian.
>
>Not, I hope, a straight ticket.  I would point to Carol Mosley Brown
>as someone it would be strongly in your interest to elect to the Senate.

Definately not a streight ticket.  Carol Mosley Brown *DEFINATELY* has my vote!
  (Hmmm...  Do we know which incumbant's seat she took away at the
party-level?)

>And for everyone -- I would also encourage you to join the ACLU --
>they support a broad range of civil liberities issues.

A damn good suggestion.  They only accept cases against the government, but
they do a whole hell of a lot of good.  I'm thinking back to when I was a
student at the H.S. I was fired from, we were putting out a independant school
newspaper at the time. (We pitched in for the cost of printing, and pretty
soon local buisnesses were comming to us to buy advertizing!)  When the H.S.
attempted to shut the paper down and giving 10 day out of school suspensions to
anyone involved with the paper (the same punishment if a student was found with
a handgun...), the ACLU jumped in and gave lots of free advice, and if we went
to court, they would have paid for the lawyers as well...

And we weren't even being very controversial!

Krikket               ! krikket@meltdown.chi.il.us ! USnail:3 Danada Square E.
a.k.a Doug Krick      ! Team Star Charter Member   !        Suite 246
Data ph# 708/665-9732 ! #include<std.disclaimers>  !        Wheaton, Il 60187
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Just another commentary on the sad state of affairs on our nation today.