We, The People in The Summerlands

If you've been paying attention at all, you know that our Freedoms of Religion and Speech are under all-out attack from the Religious Reich and the Christian Coercion. If we don't wake up and get off our complacent butts we're about to find ourselves living in a Theocracy instead of a Democracy. Our ancestors did not fight and die to rid themselves of the tyrany of the state and the unfettered power of the church only to have us roll over at this point in history and let them take over ... again.

It's time for all good men and women of ALL faiths to come to the aid of their country!

'Son of CDA'	Two bills intended to stifle free speech on the Internet are to be considered by the full Senate soon. S. 1482, introduced by Senator Dan Coats (R-IN) and dubbed by activists as "Spawn of the Communications Decency Act," and Senator McCain's (R-AZ) "Internet School Filtering Act" (S. 1619) could move together to the Senate floor. Both bills were introduced as misguided attempts to protect children from "harmful" material on the Internet. The McCain bill would force schools and public libraries that receive federal funding for Internet access to use clumsy, arbitrary filtering software that blocks access to protected speech and removes the rights of parents and communities to decide how to teach children to use the internet safely. The Coats bill is, essentially, a reincarnation of the unconstitutional Communications Decency Act that was overturned last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in Reno v. ACLU. ACTION NEEDED: Send a FREE FAX for each bill to your U.S. Senators, urging them to oppose censorship of the Internet in any form. Because the bills may be considered by the Senate separately, please send two faxes -- one for each bill. The "Internet School Filtering Act" letter can be found at: http://www.aclu.org/action/mccain.html The CDA2 letter is located at: http://www.aclu.org/action/cda2.html
The Istook Amendment HJ Res 78	Defeated by a vote of 224 to 203. They needed a 2/3 majority to send it to Senate. Let's keep up the good work and send thank you notes to all members of Congress who voted against this heinous piece of legislation.
Blocking Software v. Freedom of Speech	This is an ongoing battle. There are many blocking softwares out there and they are blocking a LOT more than they are telling anybody. For the full scoop, go to the PeaceFire homepage
The Communications Decency Act	This beast actually passed the House and Senate, but was overturned as being unconstitutional thanks to the efforts of the ACLU and others. But keep an eye out. They'll be back under another cover to try again.

ACLU	The whole purpose of the American Civil Liberties Union is to uphold the Constitution of The United States. If you don't join another group or organization, join to this one! They are doing a marvelous job keeping that bunch in Washington and people like RR and CC from taking over this country and subjugating the lot of us. They need and deserve our support.
PeaceFire	PeaceFire was founded by students for students and minors so that they could enter into the ongoing discussion about Internet Blocking Software. It has developed into a real champion for freedom of speech on the Internet. Please support these guys. They are doing a great job keeping track of what companies like Cybersitter and Cyberpatrol are up to. This is an all volunteer org and could really use some donations to keep them running.
Electronic Frontier Foundation	The EFF is the group who started the Blue Ribbon Free Speech Campaign in response to the passing of the CDA back in 1996. They are real watchdogs and are being banned by some of these blocking softwares because they are standing up against them. Please support the EFF.
CUUPS	The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) was chartered by the Unitarian Universalist Association at the General Assembly in 1987 for purposes of enabling: networking among Pagan Identified UUs; providing outreach of Unitarian Universalism to the broader Pagan community continentally; providing educational materials on Paganism for Unitarian Universalist congregations and the general public; promoting Pagan - Jewish & Christian dialogue; encouraging the development of theo/alogical and liturgical materials based on earth and nature centered religious and spiritual perspectives; encouraging greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration; providing support for Pagan-identified UU religious professionals and ministerial students; and fostering healing relationships with our mother the Earth and all her children.
The Pagan Awareness League	The PAL is our own pagan watchdog organization. They are keeping a very close eye out on the RR, CC, Promise Keepers and others of that ilk. Check them out.
The Pagan Education Network	Pagan Educational Network Post Office Box 1364 Bloomington, IN 47402-1364 www.bloomington.in.us/~pen pen@bloomington.in.us
The Witches' Voice	The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 4924, Clearwater, Florida 33758-4924 U.S.A. This is an amazing bunch of people who have a great site for keeping an eye on these RR/CC types and their BS. Most of the quotes listed at the bottom of this page come from their website. Please visit and support The Witches' Voice. The addy is: http://www.witchvox.com/
People for the American Way	http://www.pfaw.org/
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State	http://www.au.org/ Both of these organizations are actively involved in preserving the separation between church and state. They are both great sources of information, and they seem to do some really great work.
Americans for Fair Taxation	OK... this one is not strictly about freedom or speech or religion, but it goes hand in hand with reclaiming our power and rights from the federal government and ensuring that we are safe in our homes from the irs and its goons. Great idea. Great grassroots organization. And it's taking off like wildfire.

"Those who do not remember the past and learn from it are doomed to repeat it"

IF YOU'RE NOT OUTRAGED ... YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION!

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith

"We want to make it clear that we are no longer going to be treated as second-class citizens because of our faith. Our goal is to deluge Capitol Hill with petitions, telegrams and phone calls." - Ralph Reed, May 1997.

'In 1985, at a conference in Washington called "How to Win An Election," Michael Carrington admonished the gathering, "Always talk in terms of traditional values... we can get more narrow later..."

And Pat Robertson has said, "We have enough votes to run this country...and when the people say, "We've had enough,' we're going to take over!" - excerpts from "The Christian Coalition: An Introduction "by Skipp Porteous (published in Mother Jones) .

Rep. Bill Fuller (D-Lafayette), who sponsored the 1993 measure (Alabama prayer law) said, "For the courts to discourage the advancement of spiritual values I think grieves God,"

Board of Education member (Columbus, S.C.), talking about displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools, had a ready suggestion for groups who might object to it. "Screw the Buddhists and kill the Muslims," Dr. Henry Jordan said during the board's finance and legislative committee meeting. "And put that in the minutes" he added.' - (AP_Boston Globe 5/16/97)

"Now Is The Time When We Carry Out The Wishes of The American People" - Rep. Ernest Istook (Okla.)
(ed note here: just 'which' American people is it whose wishes he's carrying out? I know they're certainly NOT any wishes of mine ... and last time I looked ... I was definitely still an American! How about you?)

"When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. 'What do you mean?' the media challenged me. 'You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, 'Yes, they are.'" -Pat Robertson, The New World Order.

"Religions only look different if you get 'em from a retailer. If you go to a wholesaler, you'll find they all get it from the same distributor." - Stephen Gaskin

The Declaration of Independence	The Library of Congress
The Constitution and Bill of Rights	Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet