Volume 15, Number 7 (December 1986)

-.;;;J\T'onder -.;;;J\T'oman, CIA., Vacuums, :X::mas

Bloomington·-Normal 25¢

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Page 2 Sept.-Oct 1986 Post-Amerikan

In this issue: About us

Page The Poss_ Amerikan is an independent
~·owmmUJu~y newspaper provic~ing
3 A vacuum cleaner that really sucks 1nformat1on and analysis that js
Rainbow takes employees to cleaners screened out of or downplayed by
establishment news sources. We are a
4 PVC plastic pollutes environment no~-profit, worker-run collective that
FDA may approve PVC food packaging exists as an alternative to the
cor[;orate n·,edia. Decisions are ntade
Animal Outrages collect..i.vely by staff members at our
The exploitation continues r~gular meetings.

5 Stone Soup really cooks We put out nine issues a year. Staff
Hidwest acoustic band's album reviewed mentbers take turns as "coonljnatcr."
All writing, typing, editing,
6&7 Pope declares open season on gays ~~otography, graphics, pasteup, and
Hate the sin, kill the sinner ois~rJLutJon are done on a volunteer
bas1s. You are invited to volunteer
The Rebirth of Wonder Woman ycur tc,le;,t:s.
New incarnation rises from feminist past
Most of our material and inspiration
AIDS testing in the military: A new witchhunt? for material comes f:o:-on. t.l1e con·,r11unity.
So what else is ne•.vs? The Fe_?_! Amerikan welconHo:s stories,
sraph::cs, photos, C'PG IteWS tips frorn
8&9 Have a roly-poly-holy X-mas our readers. If you'd like to join
Xian alternative toys no alternative us, call 828-723) and leave a message
on our answering machi~e. We will get
You'd better watch out back to you as soon as ~e can.
What messages go along with TV toys?
We like to print your letters. Trv to
'Tis the season limit yourself to the equivalent o~
The true meaning of .~erikan X-mas tv,o doubl e-spac-E·d t y~ewr itt en pages.
If you write a short, abusive letter,
10 Enforcing draft registration it's likely to get in print. Long,
Corporations to help find resisters abusive letters, however, are not
likely to get printed. Long,
14&15 Public access comes to Bloomington-Normal brilliantly written, non-abusive
Free speech available . . for a price letters may, if we see fjt, be printed
as articles. Pe sure to Lell us if
Ex-CIA agent confirms our deepest fears you don't want your letters printed.
The CIA is everywhere . .and incompetent
An al'ter-natjve newspaper dt'cpends very
Community News . ll, 12, 13 Underground Vegetarian . 16 directly on a comn'unity of concerned
people for existence. We believe that
Good numbers it is very important to keep a paper
like this around. If you think so
li\'l.c~o1re.loi~c:ain csCiAvri:ulnvIm.ci·bl<ec;;~i;~·r~;,i_~.r~8:248s4--"7024293 Nuclear Fn•cz.F Coa 1 it ion ....... 828-419 ~ too, then support us through
Occupicl tiona J fleve 1opwCc·r: t contr1butions and by letting our
hloor.,ir.c:;~ U!J llut:sir•<J Autl.or it y .. 829-3360 advertisers know you saw their ads in
Center ..................•. 828-7324 the Post Amerikan.
Clan' House (CatlloJ i c l'i'orkers). 828-4035 Operation Recycle .............. 829-0691
Corr•n,ur;itx fo1 Sc·cia} Aclic•n ... 452-4867 Parert.s P.nor:ymc;.us .............. 827-4005 The next deadline f6r submitting Post
Connection !Iousf· ............... 82Sl-5711 PATH: Person;iJ F.ssj st<:>r·CE- TE·lepbone material is January 8, 1987.
CountE··l ir.y Dor•t<,tic VicJence ... 827-4005
Dept. Children/Family Seivices.~2H-C0?2 He] p .•.•.•.•••••••••••••••••• 827-4005 Post Sellers
~r1•ft Couns~Jing . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . 452-5046 Or ............•.......... 800-322-5015
Hl:LP (trC.TlfiJ•ort·~:t:ion fc;r ~;1;-do£ Phone Friends ••..•.•...•....... 827-4008 BLOO!UNGTON front)
PlannPd Panr.thood .... wedjcal .. 827-4014 Amtrack Station, 1200 W. Front
cit j zen~~, hc:utdj cat;fJc;:.l) ....... S2r--3JC i The Back Porch, 402 N. Main
JJl. Dept of Public Aid ........ d27-4621 bus/couns/educ .. 827-4368 BJoorniric_;toii Publjc I.ihrary (ir:
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~'id Central Con•i,·uni ty Action ... 829-0691 Prairie Alliance ....••......... 828--8249
t-1obi J e !·icc]~' .•••.•.•••••••••••• 828-8301 Projec+. Oz ..•.................. 827-03 77 1-J.i t SJ;Pc', 103 E. ~lulberry
!<!cLean County Cent.<·r for
Rape .Crisis Cente·r ............. 827-4005 Lav-; aPc1 Justice Center , v•;. Front St.
Ht:non Service[; ..•......... 827-5351 Sunny~icle Nc!ghborhood Cent~r .. 827-5428
National Fealth Care Services-- 'I'e] cCare I senior citizens) ..... 828-8381 Lee Street (100 N.)
Unrcn:ployr:'ler;t t:CJ!11l~·/ job ~~srvice .. 827-623 7 ~;air: and t'1i]Jer strH·:ts
abortion af.sist<JI:ct->, Pecria .. United Farm~or~ers support . . . . . 452-5046 ~edusa's Adult World, 420 N. ~adison
UP1 C ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 827-4026
1-800-322-1622

Moving? _Thanks Mike's Market, 1013 N. Park
~r. Dcnut, 1310 E. E~pire
When you move, be sure to send us your This issue is in your hands thanks to Nierstheimer Drugs, 1302 N. Mair
new address so your subscription gets Deborah (coordinator), Laurie D., Pantagraph (front of building),
to you. Your Post Amerikan will not Laurie H., Melissa, Val, Dave, Cathy,
be forwarded (it's like junk mail--no Brace, Bumper, J.T., Kay, ~arcie, 301 W. Washington
kidding!). Fill out this handy form Laurie S., Ralph, Hark, Chris (Little Tie Park Store, Wood & Allin
with your new address and return it C), Peg, Susie; Sue, Susan, and People's Drugs, Oakland & Morrisey
to us, P.O. Box 3452, Bloomington, probably others we forgot to mention. Red Fox, 918 W. Market
IL 61702. Susie's Cafe, 602 N. Main
Special thanx to Lauries' Hearth&·
Name: Home for Saturday's dining pleasure. U. S. Post Office, 1511 E. Empire
(c:t exit)
Street:
U. S. Post Office, Center & Monroe
City/State/Zip:_ Upper Cut, 409 N. Main
Hash liouse, 609 N. Clinton
I'Vashington and Clinton streets

NORMAL
Blue Dahlia Bookstore, 124 E. Beaufort
ISU University Union, 2nd floor

Hovey Hall, ISU
Midstate Truck Plaza, U.S. 51 north
Mother Murphy's, 111 North St.
North & Broadway, southeast corner
White Hen Pantry, 207 Broadway

(in front)

Post-Amerikan December 1986 Page 3

At the end of every Rainbow...

A vacuum cleaner that really
sucks

$10/HR. SET-UP AND DISPLAY and a high-pressure spiel. "You were guarantee). They said that the
really supposed to put the squeeze Rainbow company was invclved in a
If you were unemployed, wouldn't a on," Jacqueline reported. "Make the bunch of consumer lawsuits. They
Pantagraph "Help Wanted" ad beginning person feel like their rug was filthy, said they could order a new Rainpow
like this seem enticing? their air was scummy, their present from a trade magazine for $300. If
vacuum cleaner was a piece of shit, they wanted to, which they didn't.
That's what Jacqueline Nichols all kinds of stuff."
thought . . . and so began her night- At the next day's training, with her
mare journey into the dirty side of The goal: To convince the sucker to demonstration Rainbow in pieces on
floor care. buy a $949.95 (plus $200 or an old the floor for cleaning drill,
vacuum for the mystical "power Jacqueline announced her resignation,
Jacqueline, and how many other local nozzle") fancy vacuum cleaner so and, for good measure, confronted the
jobless folks we don't know, hurried elaborate that you need training to dad and son Morrises with the Nybakke
downtown to apply for this $10 an clean it and--get this--to put it away claims. Furious, the Morrises denied
hour gem. She filled out an applica- properly! (If not cleaned and put
tion and was told to call back that away properly, the motor will burn everything with zeal (claiming, of
afternoon to see whether she was out. What a modern convenience.) If course, that it was only disgusting
accepted. She was: she got to go back the sucker chooses to make payments, slobs who refused to put their
the next morning for an interview. the miracle machine will cost $1,149. Rainbow,s away properly whose motors
Then she was told to call back that burned out.)
afternoon to "talk about training." Of course. it will clean your living
room air, perfume it, turn your "They really went wild," Jacqueline
"They made it seem like they were bathtub into a whirlpool, and do just reported. Then she asked for her
being very selective, like it was a about everything but wake you up and paycheck, which they refused to give
big privilege to work for them," she give you a hand job in the morning, he~ claiming that she had not
said. (Later, she found out that the in v.hich case it might be worth it. "conformed to specifications" in her
they were really screening to find demonstrations. How could they tell?
the applicants most desperately in The trainees were told to target By the way the vacuum cleaner was put
need, because anyone else was likely retired people for these demonstra- back in its box! Of course!
to drop out too quickly.) tions, for which they received the
advertised $10--except that the demon- Jacqueline then picked up her power
The training began, 9am--noon daily. stration almost always takes two hour nozzle and tried to leave, saying
What for? To sell "air filtration hours to complete. And if you that she'd return the nozzle when she
systems," they claimed. Questions demonstrated to single men or to got her money. "After all. I felt
from the ten lucky trainees were couples in which only tbe wife worked that the demo Rainbow was mine, after
answered with, "Oh, we'll tell you (for no matter what salary), you got all the papers I signed to take it
all about that later this week." no pay at all for the work. Single home," she said.
women only qualified if they'd held
the same job for two years. Not to be done out of a power nozzle,
the Morrises surrounded Jacqueline,
Of course, if you actually sold a father in front and son behind,
Rainbow, you earned more. $40 more. grabbed her and wrestled the power
And ~~ had to load it in your car, nozzle from her hands in a scene
deliver it, and remind the new owners worthy of the Metropole.
how to run it, at least an hour's
more work. Jacqueline tried to charge the
Morrises with assault, but the state's
But wait! Weren't you told that the attorney discouraged her, since
Morrises set up all the appointments, technically the power nozzle really
not you? Yes, but you must provide a was theirs, and she was on their
list of eight possiblities every property. She believes that the
morning when ~'OU report for training. state's attorney did intervene on
While you arE training, they are on her behalf as he promised, though,
the phone to your poor friends, because she did get her check for $40.
bullying them into setting up demo
times. To keep your job, you need to "How long have these people been
perform three demonstrations a day. around?" I asked, surprised that we
haven't heard about the racket before.
That's right, for $30 a day you can
provide your own car and gas, do "Well, they claim they've been in the
six hours of demos, and "train" for business for 29 years," Jacqueline
three hours. That's $3.33 an hour , said. "They set up here before, a
not counting transportation and few years ago, for a little while."
recruitment time.
"They move around a lot."
It took three days to find out that After·running out of friends to list,
"air filtration systems" are really you can get your friends to turn in --Phoebe Caulfield
vacuum cleaners, and that trained their friends and family--they get
personnel are really door-to-door a set of steak knives for a list of
salespeople. In fact, the ironically eight contacts. And that's all they
named Rainbow system owners, the get . • but the Morrises will tell
Morris family, insist that this is the contacts over the phone that
not a door-to-door sales job, because signing up for a demo will "help your
you never have to go door to door; son Billy" or "help your friend Doug
they set up all your appointments win a prize." Slimy, eh? No wonder
for you, and all you do is go demon- the air around there needs perfumj.ng.
strate and explain the Rainbow to
willing victims. More about that A little over a week of this convinced
later. Jacqueline that the jobless life
wasn't so bad. ("I'm lucky I could
The three-hour daily training, Monday quit," she remarked.) Some feisty
through Saturday, continues for as curiosity made her call Nybakke's
long as you stay with Rainbow. "Do Vacuum, on Front St., to ask a few
we get paid for the training hou-rs?" questions about Rainbows.
one trainee asked. "No, but we won't
charge you for it, either," replied Two people there told her that they
the trainer. didn't even sell new Rainbows because
the motors were so prone to burning
Trainees memorize a long demonstration out (and no parts are covered in the

December 1986 Post-Amerikan Page4

PVC plastic pollutes environment

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) million pounds per year. PVC is recyclable from a practical standpoint.
is currentl~· considering whether to expected to be used for packaging It is expected that PVC will be used
allow the use of PVC plastic (Poly- milk, salad dressing, oils, frozen
vinyl Chloride) as a food packaging vegetables, cereals and more. for beer and soda beverage containers
material. This will greatly increase Alcoholic beverages will be most in place of aluminum cans. Of the
the pollution from our trash. Yet, heavily affected.
the FDA is considering waiving the 65.7 billion aluminum beer and soda
requirement to undertake an Environ- PVC will increase the toxic air cans produced in 1985, nearly 50%
mental Impact Statement (EIS) , a emissions from incinerators. When were recycled. If millions of PVC
study of the environmental consequen- burned, PVC gives off hydrochloric
ces. acid gases and some studies impli- containers replace aluminum, it will
cate the incineration of PVC with increase the amount we must landfill
PVC is a plastic compound that is a the production of dioxins, known to or burn. In addition, litter will
known carcinogen to humans. It is be among the most toxic chemicals. increase due to a loss of the econo-
used for construction materials and The FDA admits that more scientific mic incentives for recycling:
supplies and for some non-food con- data is needed about incineration of
tainers. Recent technological advan- PVC. Currently, several states are \\bat can you do?
ces have decreased its food contami- sponsoring a test in Pittsfield, MA,
nation potential. Industry is now on the impact of burning PVC. Yet the Write to the FDA and ask for an
interested in using it for food FDA is proposing to allow PVC use Environmental Impact Statement. There
packaging. before the study is concluded and
without conducting an EIS. isn't much time. Any day the FDA will
Conseq ut>nces of PVC u~e be deciding whether to waive an EIS
PVC is not biodegradable. If land- and permit PVC food packages before
In addition to possible food con- filled, it will sit for hundreds of the burn study is completed.
tamination, PVC food packaging will years adding to our land disposal
at least triple the amount of PVC in crisis. There are cases where vinyl Write to: Frank Young
your trash within five years. The chloride has seeped from landfills
FDA estimates that it will increase and contaminated groundwater. FDA Commissioner, HF-1 1471
the amount of PVC we use to 600 5600 Fishers Lane
Using PVC packages will decrease the Rockville, Maryland
amount of recycling. Why? PVC is not 20857
Docket # 84N-0334

---Environmental Task Force

Animal Outrages

If you were at any of eight wild- A recent issue of Newsweek featured of pure fiction concerning the issue
life or recreation areas on Sunday, a short fashion alert. All you of animal experimentation •.. This
November 9, I hope you tried not to people who want to be In Vogue just program is a very serious offense
look like a pheasant. must add pony skin and monkey fur (travesty of the truth), denouncing
to your wardrobes. The soft supple- all semblance of responsible program
On that day, up to 615 young hunters ness of pony hide makes it perfect practices. If we do not respond to
took part in the Youth Pheasant Hunt. for all those essential fashion this, we' can only expect more of the
The young hunters were age 10 through accessories; and monkey fur makes same in the future."
15. They had passed the Department its own unique statement, adding an
of Conservation Hunter Safety course, air of animal savagery to your closet. Since the aforementioned series is
required of hunters under age 16, and one I don't indulge, I do not know
were supervised by a non-hunting Having exploited every other type what the problem is, though I can
adult. Also, each hunting group was of fur-bearing creature possible, now imagine. If you saw the episode,
accompanied by at least one non- Fashion dictates that the faithful and felt equally outraged, please
hunting adult who had a valid Fire- horse and endangered primate come let me in on the story.
arm Owner's Identification Card. under the skinning knife. When will
The sponsors of the episode were:
Even with all of these rules and / Dewey Stevens, Cascade, AT&T,
restrictions, the thought of that Pizza Hut, Handi Wrap, General
many youngsters armed with shot- Electric, AMC Renault-Jeep, Scott
guns wandering around looking for Towels, Playtex, J.C. Fenney, K-
something to kill gives me the wil- Mart and 7-Up. The CBS network ad-
lies. I'm sure the N.R.A. points dress is: 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los
with pride at the new generation Angeles, CA 900J6, and the people
of gun-proud children who honor the to contact to be made aware of your
Founding Fathers' and their right to outrage are B. Donald Grant
bear arms. (President of Entertainment, Suite
J4J) and Chris Davidson (Director
However, those of us who find hunting fashion fascists realize that "Real of Program Practices, Suite 2J1).
and other blood sports abhorrent wish people wear fake furs"? Those responsible for disseminating
that the millions of dollars spent biased "truths" must be made aware
by that bloated lobby could be ear- ************************************ that bias should never be profitable.
marked for compassionate education.
Imagine arming those children with In a recent Committee to Fight Animal ************************************
binoculars and cameras and sketch Research (C.F.A.R.) newsletter, a
books, instead of tools of death. blistering indictment of the August As an environmentalist as well as an
The fields of Illinois would have 21 episode of Trapper John, M.D. was animal activist, I strongly believe
been safer that day for all living made. Its title "Research and Des- in the work that has been done by
things. troy" was labeled "a blatant example Greenpeace. For nearly two decades,
Greenpeace volunteers have risked
Diesel Dick's life and liberty to reverse en-
vironmental attrocities: toxic and
• ··~ * * * * * * * * * • * * * ***************** nuclear waste dumping in our oceans,
H·E SPECIALIZE commercial whaling, the annual seal
IN GM DIESEL COMPLETE slaughter, acid rain, nuclear wea-
CAR REPAIR AUTOMOTIVE pons.

***************** & This quote from a recent donation
TRUCK request dramatizes our global
508 N MADISON SERVICE plight: "Each moment of every day,
the life blood of our planet is
***************** ebbing away ... While governments and
organizations can find huge sums of
FOREIGN & money for more inhumane ways of
DOMESTIC killing millions of our own species,
they cannot seem to find the money
****** ***• **** **** needed to alleviate human, animal
GAS & DIESEL and environmental suffering on a
massive scale."
t*****************
Greenpeace relies on donations to
9:00·530 828 ·1714 continue its work. If you have a
few dollars to spare, send it to:

Greenpeace, P.O. Box J720,
Washington, D.C. 20007.

--RAF, with thanks to C.F.A.R.,
Newsweek & Greenpeace

Stone Soup really cooks! "C

-0

Ill

I

)>

C3..D.

~
I»

:::::1

Stone Soup is the name of an c
accoustical trio from Lafayette,
Indiana. Their debut album, Long nCD
fields, has attracted the attention
of public radio stations across the CD
country. A recent survey confirmed
that 75% of these stations have 3
given airplay to songs from Long
Fields. This is a pretty neat coup .CC.D."
for a self-produced record without
the benefit of a national promotion ......
campaign or distributor.
tO
Stone Soup and their album caught the
ears of Illinois Wesleyan University's QO
radio station, WESN, disc jockey John 0)
Thomas and his friends Dan Grey and
Joe Serio. In September they went to "C
Champaign to see the band at Nature's
Table. cIc»

Joe Serio reports that "it wasn't just CD
their great music, but the really U1
incredible performance" that prompted
the idea of bringing Stone Soup to / (
Bloomington. Enthusiasm from station
staff and listeners soon convinced Side one ends with the title track '(r ,,
WESN to encourage the University Box "Long Fields." This song is a ballad I
Office to book Stone Soup for a show. with many textures. The lyrics
Although WESN has sponsored several explore the magnetic hold that keeps 1
concerts by local bands, this concert people in the Midwest. A
is their first attempt at promoting
a band "new" to audiences here. Stone Soup's Long Fields is a finely
crafted and well-polished work. The
music, though mellow and soft, is
surprisingly stimulating. It's great
mu~ic for thoughtful listenin.g.

An English folk tale inspired the The first cut on Side 2 is Although attempts to reach WESN
name Stone Soup. A storyteller would "Al terna ti vely. " It's a bluesy song station manager Chris Kennedy were
travel from town to town entertaining with a toe-tapping, almost danceable unsuccessful, the many phone calls
the people with tales about objects beat and smokey vocals. to and from the staff at the station
he carried in his bag. At the bottom macfe apparent the tremendous
of the bag was a stone. He told the "Under the Tree" uses kalimbas; tabla, enthusiasm the staff has and the
people that this magic stone would and a cymbal to conjure up the image amazing effort the staff is investing
make the best soup in the world. of an African afternoon under an in Stone Soup's album and upcoming
He would fill a cauldron with water umberella tree. concert. The people who have seen
and place the stone at the bottom. Stone Soup's live performance are
He would then light a fire so that "San Isidro" is a song built around a very excited about everyone else in
the soup could cook. Spanish guitar and accented by this area having the opportunity to
congas, coffee cans, and film enjoy Stone Soup.
Disbelieving townspeople would crowd cannister percussion. It brings
around to watch the soup and hear the feelings of a long, hot, Central Stone Soup will perform on December
stories. As he sampled the soup, he American day.
would lament although the soup was 6 at 8 pm at IWU's Memorial ~enter.
great, it would be so much better with The final cut is "Wea thertop,"
a few potatoes. Someone would written by Larry Smeyak. It is a Ticke~s will be available at the door.
contribute potatoes. Then he would tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle If Long Fields is indeed an indicator
need venison, or carrots, or celery, Earth. "Wea thertop" has intricately of the concert, there exists the
or herbs, until the soup was indeed woven layers of guitars, dulcimer, musical ingredients for a very tasty
thick with the ingredients numerous and assorted percussion. It provides live 1]erformance stew.
people had contributed. At last he a fittingly rich ending to Long
would pronounce the soup "done" and Fields. --Cathy Ahart
invite all of the townspeople to
share the rich stew. And everyone
would agree that the stone soup was
delicious.

Like the main course from the folk ·WI~DE.S1 Mother Murphy's In
tale, Stone Soup begins with a solid Normal Is them
ingredient. Carrie Newcomer writes FOA ·THE WIO£ST popular hangout
most of the band's material and for the deal finder.
provides the strong voice that is the SELEC.TION ltNO If you only have a
soul for the folk songs, heart for the J.OW£ST PRJGeS buck, you can
ballads, and gutsy power for the leave with an
blues. She also adds the dulcimer and album, which Is In
guitar from her solid folk background. suprlslngly good
shape and usually
Larry Smeyak contributes the primary very popular ·
texture with his guitars, drawing on during Its time~
his varied musical experience which
includes traditional blues, avante Murphy's specialize
garde jazz, folk, and art rock. in used records
and also sell
Dennis Leas, the percussionist, adds silk screens,
the spice. He plays ethnic drums and, buHons and other
as he confesses, "anything else I can assorted itmes
get my hands on." Whether playing ideal for the
Indian tablE. drums, African congas or dorm room. It Is
kalimbas, European glockenspiel, located at
Oriental t~mple blocks, scrub brushes, 111 112 N. Street.
bathroom pipes, or kitchen pots and
pans, it is his percussion that - Tim O'Brien
spices Stone Soup.
Entertainment Editor
T'he opening track of Long Fields is
"Survivors," a melodic song Daily Vidette
celebrating self and inner strength.

The next song is "Waiting." It begins
with the sound of a rocking chair in
use and adds layers of a clock and
windchimes. A rolling guitar inter-
weaves with the tabla, bells,
glockenspiel, and hypnotic vocals
until the waiting is over and each
musical layer is taken away and only
the windchimes remain.

"Leaves" is a solo by Leas that is a
IY1ellow and haunting glockenspiel
symphony.

PageS December 1986 Post-Amerikan

Pope declares ·open
season on gays

In the most strongly worded statement Polish joke in a long gown and a American Catholics comply with the
ever issued on homosexuals, the grand funny hat says about my behavior, but directives in this statement, then
~ooobah of the Roman Catholic Church I do care that this Roman Rev. Moon it's time someone brought suit·
condemned all forms of homosexuality has so much influence and control against them to have their tax-exempt
as "disordered," blamed AIDS on homo- over people who can and will make status revoked. The church makes
sexuality and careless gay people,
urged churches around the world to trouble for gays around the world. millions in untaxed contributions
withdraw all support from pro-gay This statement all but blesses people and owns real estate worth billions
organizations, opposed civil rights who beat up on uppity, dirty queers that they don't pay taxes on. It's
for gay people, and--most disgusting (just like the priests once blessed time these pious hypocrites either
of all--implied that gay people bring the swords of the soldiers who got out of the civil rights business
violence on themselves. slaughtered the Indians in Central or got into the tax-paying business.
and South America\. They can't be tax-dodgers and queer-
Written in English, the 11-page letter bashers, too.
was clearly aimed at the North I'm also outraged that so-called
American church and gay Catholic religious groups like this can get --Ferdydurke
activist groups, which have dared to huge tax breaks because they claim
actually put Xian charity into to be non-political. The Vatican Sources: Chicago Tribune, Oct.31, 19
practice in their approach to homo- letter is very clearly a vicious 1986; Bay Area Reporter, Nov. 6, 1986.
sexuals. The document was issued by political attack on homosexuals. If
the Vatican's Congregation for the lin the military:
Doctrine of the Faith---formerly the AIDS testing
Inquisition. And it was reported
that the Holy Fodder himself A new witchhunt?
personally approved the statement.
The letter, dated Oct.l and released Last fall, in the midst of the growing The recruit testing program began in
in Rome on Oct. 30, condemned not hysteria over AIDS, the Department of September 1985. _7\lthougll the policy
only homosexual acts but also said a Defense announced that all new military called for recruits to be tested
gay orientation "is a more or less recruits would be tested for HTLV-III during enlistment p~ysicals, the
strong tendency ordered toward moral antibody; those who test positive would services started testing people
evil." The document also labelled be rejected for military service. initially during basic training, after
homosexuality as an "objective dis-- (HTLV-III is the virus believed to they had begun active duty service.
order " which is "essentially self- cause AIDS.) 1-. number of recruits have bec,n
indulgent." removed from their companies and
In addition, active duty and reserve disc!1arged for "erroneous" enlistment
The letter urged church officials to soldiers are to be tested in the because of positive test results.
refuse all support for pro-gay coming months. People already in the
organizations, including use of military will be discharged simply Recruits object
churches for services and meetings.
It also rebuked efforts at because of positive test results. Groups of Navy recruits in San Diego
establishing civil rights for gay and Washington, D.C., objected to this
people, calling any Roman Catholic They may, however, be given medical treatment, and filed separate lawsuits
involvement in such movements "an discharges if they are ill, or in federal court to challenge the
effort to manipulate the church " "convenience of the government" discharges. ~!"ley argued that they
should be treated like other people
Perhaps the most vicious section of discharges if they tell doctors abou~ on active duty, and kept in the
the statement was the one which homosexuality or drug use during service if they were healthy. They
blamed anti--gay violence on the medical interviews. also refused to accept the military's
demand for protection of civil presumption-that they must have been
liberties. The letter states: "when The Department of Defense claims the exposed to the virus before enlist-
civil legislation is introduced to ment; that presumption, ,_,rri tten into
protect behavior to which no one has testing program is necessary to prevent their discharges, would bar them
any conceivable right" it is not from military medical care if they
surprising that "irrational and the spread of AIDS in the service and should later become ill.
violent reactions increase." What
this says is the Church can understand to protect those who test positive In addition to complaints about the
the hate-motivated violence of the c':i.scharge nolicy, both grou:'_)s of
queer-bashers, but they just don't against exposure to other diseases. recruits ohjected to breaches of
understand why gay people want to be medical confidentiality and to
treated like other citizens. The E":'LV-III test, however, was ' continual harassment by other enlisted
people and officers. "We've been
The Vatican document also indicted developed for rise in blood donor called the '''' team and 'faggots, '"
gays for the spread of AIDS, saying one explained. "Some nurses have
that "even when the practice of programs, and medical authorities have told us not to come close to them.
homosexuality may seriously threaten
the lives and well-being of a large warned repeatedly that it should not be ~e're told we're recruits, and we have
number of people, its advocates no rights."
remain undeterred and refuse to viewed as a diagnostic tool. The test
consider the magnitude of the risks Sailors on both coasts report that
involved." does not show the presence of AIDS,

Well, what can you expect from the any AIDS-related illness, the AIDS
institution that :fo~~ 200 years to
admit that th~ earth:wasn't the center virus, or anything else besides the
of the universe? Thi!>. same group of
loving enlightened Xians failed to anti-body.
speak out against the Nazi death camp
camps, and only this year finally Observers believe the military is
apologized to Jews for 1,500 years of more concerned about avoiding the
antisemitism (based mainly on the medical costs of AIDS cases, and that
view of Jews as the killers of X). the Pentagon really views the test as
a convenient way of identifying gays.
And anyone who goes to Africa and
tells the starving, poverty-stricken (~ilitary policy continues to hold
masses there that they should not
practice birth control has little t~at "~omosexuality is incompatible
call to squawk about someone else's 'J.i.th military service.")
"moral evil."

Personally I don't care what some

Post-Amerikan December 1986 Page7

Will wonders never cease?

The rebirth of Wonder Woman

Trivia question: Who was the very days worked as an Army nurse and a bringing the dead back to life, and
first Ms. magazine coverperson? secretary at the War Department. She general mucking around in the comic
That•s:i trick question, because it interacted with everyday people (as book culture, until the series finally
wasn't a person at all, it was none well as arch villians and super limped to a whimpering halt in 1985.
other than the very first female criminals) and exemplified the virtues The new series goes back to the very
super hero, Diana Prince, also known of positive thinking, self-confidence, beginning before Diana's birth.
as Wonder Woman. and teamwork.
What's happening
This relevation is hardly big news Following Marston's death in 1947, the
today, though it could come in handy Amazons began disappearing and the Without going into too much detail,
during a hotly contested round of more typical evil aliens took their the new Wonder Woman is born into the
Double Jeopardy, but there are new place. Critics called Diana's Amazon society in a sort of immaculate
developments in the works for the sexuality into question--she was ~oo ccnception, born when her mother, the
mighty Amazon. In case you haven't brutal, too butch--she must be a reincarnated Queen Hippolyte, who
noticed, the DC Comics series Wonder lesbian. Stories grew more trivial originally died while pregnant, forms
Woman disappeared about this time last and so did recurring characters, her from clay. She is given life by
year, after more than 40 years of reflecting the prevalent sex-role the "mid-wife of Olympus," and
adventures marred by inconsistent stereotypes of those glorious days of receives all of the strengths of the
character development. Last month yore--the dreaded fifties. godesses of Olympus. Free in a sense
she reappeared on the shelves of the from original sin (she has never even
local comic book emporium in a By the early sixties, Wonder Woman seen a man), Diana matures to
revamped and revitalized return to her spent much of her time battling all eventually become the champion of the
ideological roots, the champion of variety of evil twins and natural Amazons, and is sent by the gods on
equality. disasters. In the meantime, her a mission to stop Ares and the dogs
Amazon heritage was rewritten for no of war as they wreak havoc and terror
No longer that somewhat wimpy, trendy apparent reason other than to make on the mortal world.
heroine barely clad in a skimpy them less butch and less equal
version of the Amerikan flag you may (superior?) to men. She also became Upcoming issues will emphasize the
remember from that embarrasing TV involved with two males--the tradi- "stranger in a strange land" theme so
series with Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman tional Steve Trevor and merman Manno pop~lar in social commentary.
now embodies the feminist ideals that --to increase conflict and femininity (Rerrcember, she's never seen a man,
her original creator, William Moulton at the same time. She appeared to and has grown up believing in
Marston, may have had in mind when he gain a sister, Wonder Girl, and a equality, of all things.) Innocence
first developed her in 1941. (For father, demi-god Theno. and naivete mixed with culture shock
trivia fans, Marston was also a and super powers--what recipe could
psychologist who invented an early The late sixties saw a return to the leave more opportunity for educating
version of the polygraph.) The outfit original ideals and style of artwork, and editorializing through a fun and
is still pretty much the same, but but by 1969, Diana Prince went mod, painless medium? Add on an ongoing
current issues are deeply rooted in mimicking The Avengers' Mrs. Emma lesson in Greek mythology and a short
feminism and the Amazonian legends of Peel's clothing and hair style. The course in feminism, and you have the
Greek mythology. Even Gloria Steinem Amazons retreated to another dimension perfect reading material for your
was called in as a consultant. to revive their power, while the hip little siblings, for your children,
Diana stayed in "the man's world" to or even for yourself, if you aren't
What hapi'f!!t>d help Steve. She also opened a too embarrassed to be seen with a
?outique. In a major development, as comic book at your age.
Over the years, unlike the male 1f the boutique weren't exciting
members of the Super Heroes trio, enough, Steve Trevor was killed off After you've been caught with a copy
Superman and Batman, the Wonder Woman and the Amazons returned. There was of the Post Amerikan, can an issue of
character went through significant even a "Special! Women's Lib Issue" Wonder Woman be so bad?
changes. Created by Marston to prove in which Diana was introduced to
that a comic starring a woman hero was feminist philosophy (to which she --LH
possible, Wonder Woman was to be a responded, "In most cases, I don't
positive role model with strength as even like women . . . . " This from an *Special thanks to the Secret Avenger
well as compassion and love. She Amazon! ) . and to Dreamth for issue #106 of
became a symbol of Amerika as well, Amazing Heroes, the source of much of
thus her costume, and in her early The seventies saw more and more the material contained here.
schizophrenic moving around the ages,

they were ostracized by personnel who criticized by legal and civil groups.
But military counselors and attorneys
thought that the recruits must be are concerned that this is just the
contagious through casual contact. tip of the iceberg.

One of the Washington-based soldiers As testing of active duty and reserve
told a January press conference the soldiers gets underway, breaches of
they were held in an isolated barracks confidentiality and psychological
abuse of those who test positive are
"similar to a Navy brig . . . Some of
the rooms even had bars on the windows,
and we have to walk two miles to eat."

,..... ' FINE GAY. ENTERTAINMEN

I \ ~~~.··-iN CENTRAL lLLINOIS

Initial attempts to halt the expected to increase. While the OPEN NIGHTLY 'TIL 4A.M.
discharges through federal court tests themselves may not be used to
action were unsuccessful, but the (0~ i scl1arge GI s, innocent admissions to PRESENT THIS AD AT THE BAR
legal battle is far from over. Many doctors may lead to administrative FOR A DRINK. LIMIT ONf PER
of the recruits plan to continue the discharges and a loss of important
legal battle, ~f necessary fighting military medical benefits. Observers CUSTOMER PER NIGHT
as civilians for reinstatement in the are also ~uite concerned that the
service. testing program may be used as part
of military "witchhunts" to identify
Ethical question and discharge suspected lesbian and
gay soldiers.
The recruit testing program raises
serious legal and ethical questions, --Kathy Gilberd,
and the abuse of recruits who have from The Anti-Draft
tested positive has been widely April-June 1986

.. •9•• .

Page 8 9 Post-Amerikan

December 1986

"Grace, the Pro-Life Doll"

Have a roly·poly·holy X·mas

Well, folks, it's that time of year ters already. If the kids want a
again. Chr*stmas carols jingle fight why don't we give them dolls
through the air. The cities are where if they want to have the dolls
getting ready to put up those tacky, make up at the end, its not quite
bedraggled decorations one more time. so preposterous. And why don't we
(I'm going to be nice and not say give them toys that don't pretend
anything about the Chr*stmas parade.) that good and bad are both apparant
Yes, it's time again for the ~ost upon first glance.
Amerikan Toy Review.
The Christian toy companies have
Only this year we have been blessed given us other gems, as well--here
with a different angle. A~d I do mean are a few samples. (This is not a
blessed. God's servants have seen fit joke~-April is months away.)
to offer us properly righteous toys to
buy our children. And at a price . --Grace, the Pro-Life doll. This
comparable to those degenerate secular
toys. little cutie comes with a tape by

An article in l'\ewsweek ("They Walk, Pat Boone ethnetiUtlnebdorn"LCethiMlde ,"Liaveb; i th e
Anthem of b
Talk and Preach," Nov. J, 1986)
with scripture printed on it and more
introduced the Post staff to this
phenomenon. According to the blond curls than a human head that
article, the manufacturers consider
these toys to be a "wholesome" size would be physically able to
alternative to the violence and
materialism of the average toys on support. According to Newsweek, she
the market.
sings "Jesus Loves the Little
The toys include a series of "biblical
action figures" (I'm not joking, Children," and says, among other
folks, you can see them for yourself--
things, "God knew me before I was
both the Love Shop and R & W Religious
born."
Book Center carry the things). The
series, called the Heroes of the conception of biblical fashion. --The Full Armour of God. Complete
Kingdom, includes Jonah and the ~hale
(Jonah really fits inside! ) , Dav1d The boxes they come in are just as with the Shield of Faith, the Breast-
and Goliath (Goliath comes with commercial as those the Transformers plate of Righteousness, and the
shield, spear, and sword; David, wi~h Helmet of Savation. Now, maybe I'm
staff and sling), and ,:ohn the Baptlst come in--and just as wildly violent
(we wondered if his head was and even more decadent. Jonah cynical, but it seems to me if you
detachable). grimaces in anguish as the whale give a kid a full set of defensive
sucks him in amidst a fury of wind- battle wear, he (let's be real--you
The series also has some biblical whipped waves, Delilah looks se- know they're not buying this stuff
women--Mary and Jospeh (I haven't seen ductive as she prepares to do Samson for girls) is going to find some
this one--do they come with a donkey? in. Wholesome stuff. Right up there offensive weaponry, if he has to
And what kind of action are we talking with "Dynasty." I can only imagine make it. I'm all for letting the
about here?), the Queen of Sheba, and what the packaging for John the kid's imagination go wild, but I
Samson and Delilah. Samson carries-- Baptist or David and Goliath looks thought the aim was to get rid of
you guessed it--a plastic jawbone, and like. violent toys.
Delilah is wearing a blue lame sort of
thing. (Shows you how ignorant Each of the Heroes of the Kingdom --The Prince of Peace Pets. Among
atheists can be--I didn't know they also comes with a story/script and
wore blue lame before Chr*st was born.) a cassette tape. God forbid our which is Born Again Bunny. 1;1.f;h, ac-
She also wears coral lipstick and has children should make up the stories cording to Newsweek's article, "New
bright red hair, in Egyptian bra~ds. their toys act out. Can't have them
(a la Bo Derek--no slick commerc1al1sm thinking for themselves. Testament verse tacked to his ear
here). I didn't see any barber's
Now, I'm not really saying that these (John J:J, ' ... Except a man be born
shears, though. things are really worse than G.I. Joe.
But they're sure no better. The agai9, he cannot see the kingdom of
These things are just as slick--and makers claim that these toys are more God' ) . " Tacky.
violent, I might add--as the G.I. Joe wholesome than the average toy nowa-
genre of toys. The.doll~ ar: bui~t days, and will teach better values. --"You're Either One or the Other."
the same way--plast1c, r1ppl1ng w1th I say bushwa. Instead, why don't
muscle (or, in the case of the women, we buy toys for kids that let them A tape I found in the kid's section
just rippling) and endowed with the think for themselves and do their
same strange, slightly inhuman facial own pretending. Why don't we buy of the Love Shop. I couldn't afford
features and bizarre hinged joints. toys that don't have an adversarial
They come in those chintzy, ill- relationship built into the charac- to buy it, so I can't give you in-
fitting costumes, adapted slightly
to fit some poorly informed artist's timate details, but the cover was

a picture of two kids--a boy and a

girl--doing dress up in the appro-

priate grown up clothes, and the

gist of it seemed to be making sure

our kids didn't have any social con-

fusion about just exactly what

their place in society was. No

Comment.

•:
M.9--Chris

// . . SECULARlOy'S ... MAN'S wEAPoNS
NO MA,-C:I-t FOR
RvGG-ED / CAN'T coMPARE!
Got>'S. WORD!
ASS 'JAwBONE •··~
T'&IP'
WREAKS N.ORf2. NOT B~N ~kHJ...
sLOINC t.OTI-4 P!JT
OESTRvCTJDN AC.TIJAL.LV JV.ST A
C.HILl>f<!f.N 'S Ml N t>>
It-tAN fO EATTL£AXES! HEAJ..1"t•IY TAN!
lo.J Tt\E GvTTE.RI.':
:r:-r TAI<ES A BEAT! Nr

'BvT t<EE.PS ON t>EFEATIN '!

11'P~I..IL.AH AHt> MER ,.JVST ANOTHER INF}:;RIOR SECULAR Toy

"2.0VDOIR scn..t> ~ Pllflii"I"ELY

.. ..

~ 9

""

Xmas toys are coming Post-Amerikan December 1986 Page 9

You'd better
watch out

It's Saturday morning. Parents, do you know Shortcake, cooked up by General Mills and convincing violence, a world of fear, susp1c10n
where your childn:n are? Chances are they're American Greetings, whose first program-length and anxiety about a science that dwarfs humanity;
parked in front of the TV, transfixed by one of commercial appeared on the air in 1980. Straw- a world in which you can never trust what you
approximately ~0 kids' TV shows that are mod- berry Shortcake is from a new generation of toys see because it may instantly metamorphose ... "
eled on popular toys. This potent marketing that precede television series, unlike earlier toys The ultimate forum of this scientific betrayal is,
marriage of television and toys, say several that spun off from TV or movies. Although con- of course, nuclear cataclysm.
recent articles, has reached new heights of com- sumer groups like Action for Children's Tele-
mercialism. And the Yalues inherent in some of vision protest such blatant marketing measures, By contrast, girls' TV is relentlessly happy,
the most successful toys are the ones we need full of caring, sharing and magical hugging. Just
to examine. last year the Federal Communications Com- as action figures come in teams, "Ten Care Bears
mission refused to hold hearings on product- are better than one,'' says a Care Bear special.
"Transformers" and Strawberry Shortcake dolls based TV for kids.
are products of a historical odyssey that began, if superheroes take care of threats from without,
as Dm id Owens notes in the Atlantic Monthlv In "Saturday Morning Fever" (Mother Jones, Care Bears, My Little Ponies and their ilk manage
(October 19HG), when ''children had no toys per September 1986 ), Tom Engelhardt examines the emotions within. Cheer Bear, Tenderheart Bear,
se, but played with pine cones and lumps of coal:' values reflected by the hot new toys. The action Share Bear, etc., each handle a fragment of
Some classics remain popular, like Lincoln Logs figure superhero reigns supreme and, "whether personality presenting, according to Engelhardt,
(production still consumes four carloads of in space or on earth, the emphasis is on teamwork. "the managing (or healing) process as a highly
Ponderosa pine from Oregon e\"ery month), Lego Rugged individualism plays no part on kids' TV. complicated one that needs lots of cooperation by
(sold in 125 countries, including the Soviet Cnion After all, no one wants to sell only one action lots of highly specialized dolls.''
and Isreal, which boasts the highest per capita figure." In the shows themselves, Engelhardt
sales in the world), and Barbie (if she were points out that humans are invariably helpless and Archetypes have always existed in children's
blown up to human size, her measurements would reliant on technology, and superheroes, living in fare; why then are superheroes and Care Bears
be 39-21-33 ). a world.of "strangely ritualistic and utterly un- any more dubious than villians and fairies?
Because for the first time on such a massive
The toy industry now generates S12 billion in scale, "a 'character' has been born free of its
retail sales each year, propelled by "the two specific structure in a myth, fairy tale, story,
g-reat empires of post-war American culture: or even cartoon, and instead embedded from the
television and plastic." Owen speculates that the beginning in a consortium of busy manufacturers
rate of divorce and remarriage creates a burgeon- whose goals are purely and simply to profit by
ing grandparent rate, which in turn increases the multiplying the image itself in any way that will
ratio of presents to birthdays. Also, parents in conceivably make money."
two-career families tend to buy more toys to
compensate for spending less time with their Yet others argue that values implicit in modern
children, Owen says. toys are not all bad. In the article '"Trans-
formers,' Barbie Dolls and the Cabbage Patch
Manufacturers learned from Barbie's success Kids: Toys, Technology and Human Identity" in
that by creating an imaginary environment they the semantics journal etcetera (Summer 1986 ),
could, says Owen, "give the customer a reason Dreyer Berg suggests that "the fact that many
to keep buying." The trick is to "manage" the 'Transformers' are war toys is bf little impor-
package from beginning to end. Enter Strawberry tance when compared with the psychic effect of
the unexpected metamorphosis of form ... signify-
'Tis the season ing as it does the labyrinthine encounter with
the self. (Typist's note: Wha??) In revealing
As the great Thanksgiving beast is in their little shacks or in a crude the inside nature of form, Transformers direct
finished and a satisfied belch echoes dug-out, wondering what strange new our attention to processes of inner growth and
over the land, ~merikans across the firecracker-greeting cards their transformation."
nation will prepare themselves for richer cousin up north will send
the ~ost sacred time of the year--the bursting around them this blessed Cabbage Patch Kids, he goes on, "offer insecure
X-mas shopping season. season. Or they might wonder about children... a form of mental and physical security
this new apparition of Santa Claus, and satisfaction at the time of the disintegration
Across the nation, worshippers will sent fro~ that land to the north, of the nuclear family and the possible computer-
flock to their sacred shrines--the presently invading Nicaragua, ized nuclear annihilation of the human family. "
indoor shopping mall--where they bringinq ''Ondrous gifts called
will jostle and shove each other to "freecom and democracy," complete He contrasts the moods evoked by these favored
make an offering to that holiest of with rare, terror, torture and new toys with the older Barbie and Ken dolls,
gods, the cash register. The high murder. who remind us of "the nuclear family and the
priests of the media and store nanage- waning age of conspicuous consumption, hot
ment will carefully scan the spewing In South Afr~~a the joyous season competition, and the buying and selling of
register tapes, so again a successful comes in two versions, white and sexual power points like legs and busts."
season can he crowned and safely black. You can have one, but not
relegated to memory in time for the both. Now that a generation of Barbie owners has
first-after-~-mas sale, probably grown up to become Yuppies, we can see, as
beginning at 12 noon on December 25 In Iran they don't watch for Santa's Berg suggests, that many "girls and boys
(this gives the store employees X-mas sleigh; instead they scan the skies subliminally adapt their inner selves to the
morning off with their families, a for Gysterious jets, bearing wise patterns of behavior (Ken and Barbie) represent."
generous gesture of the season) . men from afar bringing strange gifts Perhaps we are better off with a generation of
to nc::Ce dead jets zoom and quiet "Transformers" and Cabbage Patchers, but
What will the worshippers be looking helicoryter~ purr again. personally I'd like to kick in the TV and invest
for? Happiness, peace, contentment,
acceptance by their loved ones. What Yes, t:li'; is ho•·7 vJe celebrate the ..in some lumps of coal.
will t~ey use to find these things? birth 2000 years ago of a non-
~iniature Uzi machine guns, automated violent revolutionary, born in an 9--Nina Rothschild
teddy bears, laser guns and the latest animal stable in aQ occuoied land
marketed "chil~ren's favorite We mark his coming by doing just . Reprinted from Utne Reader (Jan. /Feb. 1987)
character" from Saturda'f morning TV about everything t~at would disgust
and every morning's cereal hox. him.

Here and there a few scattered voices But, hey, it's X-mas; let's all just
\'Till cry "Peace on Earth," but they give an "a\·1 shucks" grin just like
will be ignored, as everyone knows our fearless leader in the White
peace on ea~t~ can be found and House, and set the tree a-blazing.
cherished in the nirvana hum of the Forget the homeless, hungry,
mall's musak carols. With Star Wars unemployed, abused, forgotten,
just around the corner, w~y worry mistreated. Let's revel in our riches
about ~eace? ·and have some fun--for that's what
made Amerika great.
Of course, not every land celebrates
the great season as we do. In Central --Hgl\1 ....
America, the quaint peasants huddle

Page 10 December 1986 Post-Amerikan Contntunity Ne\\ls

Help with heat bills household and type of primary Persons vlw have been terminated
heating. Payments will range from froa their main beat sou.cce, the
1'he Mid Central Corrnnun1ty r~.ction, elderly and handisapped may conta~t
Inc. will administer the Illinois $105.00 to $395.00. the Community Action office in
Home Energy Assistance Program in ~cLean County at 1100 W. Market,
McLean and Livingston counties. The At the time of application, the Bloorington, and in Livingston
IHEAP Program is designed to provide applicant should bring: County at 731 East Madison, Pontiac
financial assistance to eligible to schedule an appointment starting
households to help meet the costs of 1) Proof of gross income from all November Jrd.
home energy. The priority group to household members for 90 days
be served are e1Qer1y and prior to application date,
handicapped. To make this possible,
during the month of November tl1e 2) Current heat and electric bill
program is only for the elderly, v1hich includes their name and
handicapped and emergency
applications. On December 1, the address, and
program opens to anyone who meets the 3) Social security numbers of all
the guidelines and wishes to apply.
household members.
Corrnnunity Action takes emergency
applications for households that Changes in the guidelines
have been terminated from their
primary heating source. This also The 1987 IHEAP Program is similar to
includes users of fuel oil and last year's program, with one
propane jf the tank is at or below exception. Tenants residing in
the 10% level and the user has Public Housing Authorities v1ho have
recei\re<l written notice from the no he~t cost and are not subject to
fuel company that they will not surcharge will not receive a direct
deliver until arrangements have been client assistance payment. However,
made. these clients may be eligible for
an emergency service payment, if
Emergency payments will be made only disconnected from their electrical
if a household has made a "Good serv~ce that is an integral part of
Faith" payment during the previous +:he heat source.
90 day period. The Department of
Commerce and Community Affairs F~m1lies who receive a government
defines a "Good Faith" payment as: subsidy for their rent, and do not
making payn:ent to the household's pay their own heating bill, must
primary heating or aecondary provide a lease.
electric vendor of not less than 10%
of the household's income during the The 1987 IHEAP income guidelines
previous 90 day period. h2.ve also been raised:

Applicants are helped on a first Ilousehold Size ~90 -D-a:v -G1-~-o-ss---In-c·-o-m-e-
come first serve basis. The amount
of assistance depends on income and 1..., $1.675'
number of people residing in the $2,363
._'-,, $2,850
4 $3,438
$4,025
5 $4,613
6

Enforcing draft registration

Almost six years ~fter Jimmy Carter These letters, sent by first class will make the draft unavoidable as we
reinstated draft registration, mail, carry little real threat of enter the 1990s.
Selective Service is still struggling prosecution, but can be very
with the problem of enforcement, while frightening for young men who do not More recently, Army Times reported
some in Congress, the Pentagon, and have access to draft counseling, or that the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings bill,
the White House are openly advocating aren't aware that hundreds of which was designed to reduce the
that this country begin drafting those thousands of other men are receiving federal deficit, may bring about a
young men who have registered. the same letter. return to the draft. Proposals
circulating on Capitol Hill suggest
Prosecutions Solomon amendments cutting the military budget by
replacing recruits with draftees, who
Selective Service admits that nearly To date, Congress has passed three could be paid as little as $100 per
400,000 men have failed to register Solomon Amendments making non- month, and eliminating many henefits
(or succeeded in not registering, registrants ineligible for federal for enlisted personnel.
depending on how one looks at it), yet aid and employment. Solomon I covers
only 20 have faced criminal charges. federal student loans and grants; Twenty-one-year-olds aren't the only
Solomon II restricts Job Training ones in danger, however. On March 6
Eighteen of the 20 were identified Partnership Act benefits; and Solomon Representative Sonny Montgomery
through the "passive enforcement III (also known as the Thurmond introduced legislation (H.R. 4J46)
system," under which the government Amendment) puts federal employment which would require health care
prosecuted only those persons whose off limits to non-registrants. workers to register for the draft.
names happened to come to its
attention. Even though this system In January, the Department of For more information about any of
results in the selective prosecution Education announced that it was these developments, write the CARD
of outspoken opponents of the draft, releasing its list of financial Midwest Office, 7J1 State Street,
the courts have been unwilling to de- aid recipients to the Selective Madison, WI 5J70J.
clare it unconstitutional. Service for use in detecting non-
registrants. According to press --Gillam Kerley,
The two remaining non-registrants were reports, violators who are detected from 'l'he Anti-Draft
identified by comparing the list of through this method will be offered
men who have registered to lists of a chance to comply before any legal
registration-age men obtained from action is taken.
drivers' license bureaus or other
government agencies. Charges against According to its most recent semi-
the first, a Laotian refugee whose annual report, Selective Service plans
lack of understanding of English was to encourage private sector corpora-
responsible for his violation, were tions to deny employment to non-
dropped after he registered. The registrants. "We anticipate many
second, an Arkansas libertarian who American corporations will adopt
had attempted to enlist in the such a policy as a practical means of
military on several occasions but demonstrating their commitment to our
failed the aptitude tests, is national defense;" the report said.
awaiting trial.
Bringing back draft
lntimidati on
~ast August, the New York Times noted
While the "active enforcement system" a growing interest within Congress,
has led to only two prosecutions, it the Pentagon, and White House in
has, according to Selective Service, reviving the draft. Proponents of the
resulted in more than a million draft or compulsory national service--
registrations. Before providing a including Democrats like Senator Gary
suspected non-registrant's name to Hart and Ernest Hollings--argus that
the Department of Justice, Selective conscription would be fairer and
Service sends a series of warning cheaper than the All Volunteer Force.
letters to the person, offering him a
chance to register and avoid Furthermore, they argue, a projected
prosecution. decline in the number of 18-year-olds

Post-Amerikan December 1986 Page 11

Victorian India on view at ISU Unemployed

The University Galleries at Illinois State practical and widely used negative/positive families' Xmas party
University will present an exhibition entitled process. Traveling photographers in the
"Colonial India: Photographs 1870-1895." tropics had an even more difficult job, as the A C~i~dren~s X-mas PRrty for unemployed
The images, which include the work of process required that the glass negatives be fam1l1es Wlll be held Saturday, Dece~ber
several photographers, offer a unique view sensitized, exposed and developed on site, 20, at 10 am at Bloomington High School.
of this exotic country which held a special while the chemicals on the surface of the
fascination for the Western world in the negative were still damp. The outdoor To register for the event, simply send
Victorian era. photographer completed this process in a your name, address and the number of
portable "dark tent, " where temperatures ch~ldren participating to:
The differences in wealth, culture, religion could climb above 120 F in the tropical heat. Ch1ldren's X-mas Party
and geography which exist side by side in PO Eox 3248
India seem to find strong expression here, and In conjunction with the exhibition, Professor Bloomington, IL 61701
it comes to mind that these very contrasts Robert Hunt (political science) will give an
have created the Western view of the subconti- illustrated lecture entitled "British India: The deadline for registration is Dec. 13.
nent as a place of mystery and intrigue. High Noon to Twilight of Empire," at 7:30 Po M.
on Tuesday, December 2, in CVA Gallery II. The Party will feature carnival games,
Apart from their historical interest, the karate demonstrations, X-mas card making
photographs also serve as a valuable record The photography exhibition is on view in a.petting zoo, a performance by the Twin'
of the technical and artistic developments of Gallery II at the Center for Visual Arts from C1ty Ballet, Disney cartoons and a visit
early photography. These prints were made November 18 to December 15. The photographs fr~m Santa, with a grab bag for each
by the "wet plate" process of photography, are on loan from Knox College. Chlld.
which was developed in the 1850s as the first
The a~nual event is co-sponsored by the
Bloom1ngton a~d Normal Trades and Labor
Assembly (AFL-CIO) and the ~cLean
County Chamber of Commerce.

Bestseller War Resisters calendar available

rental plan The War Resisters League has published
a desk calendar (128 pages, 5~ x 8~
No more waiting on a reserve list to inches, l•lire bound) ahout fil:ns 11i t>t
·read a best seller! Now the themes of peace and social justice.
The League has published a desk
Bloomington Public Library is calendar annually for many years,
offering a new service to patrons-- each year on a different theme. This
Best Seller Rental Plan. This type is the first time they've done one
of collection has been requested by about movies.
patrons who wish to read best-
selling books immediately and pay a The calendar includes over 150 films,
small fee rather than wait on a with still photographs from 54 of them.
reserve list. The books included in Actors Ed Asner and Ruby Dee have
this collection are selected from each written introductions for the
the New York Times weekly best· calendar. There is also a list of
seller lists~hese books are in distributors and resources on books,
addition to the copies already in periodicals, and organizations~for JliOre
circulation. Some books already 'information:· on films.
featured in our rental collection
are Bill Cosby's Fatherhood, Kitty The 1987 WRL Calendar is a unique gift
KPlley' s His Way: --The Unauthorized and is valuable as well as a practical
B~ography of Frank Sinatra, Jackie reference. It has a page for each
Collins' Hollywood.c_Husbands, week of the year with plenty of room
Stephen King's IT, and many more. for writing in appointments, notes,
The f2e for a rental book is 50 and reminders.
cents for the first week and 10
cents for each additional day. No To order, send $6.75 (or you can get 4
reserves are placed on rental books. for $25.00) to War Resisters League,
339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
For more information about the 10012.
rental collection, stop by the
Bloomington Public Library, 205 E.
Olive Street, Bloomington, or phone
828-6091.

babb1tt·s For the next 9 issues,

closet send $4- to~ 1 -r-----------------·----·~
Ameriko.n, P. 0. Box Send me a subscription, $4
121 v, North Street #203
Normal, 1111no1s 61761 34-52, Bloomington, II - is my donation to the Post
(309) 454-7393 I
IL 61702 11N~a-m-e--------------------
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Post Amerikan
A hilarious cartoon h1ston todo.y! O(\ly .$7! Circle Size S M L XL
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Page 12 December 1986 Post-Amerikan Community News

Time out Dr. King •T•he•r•e•vi•ew•s•a•r•e•in•

for teen moms! Awards Program and it's a hit!

It's hard enough to be a te~nager. The llth Annual Dr. Martin Luther Films for
It's twice as hard to be a teenager King, Jr. Awards Program will be Peace and
and a mother, too. Many teenagers held on Saturday, January 17, 1987,
in McLean County find themselves from 1:00 to 3:30 p.~. in the Justice
trying to do both. It's not easy·, Ballroom of the ISU Bone Student
but it can be done. Center. is the subject of the 1917 WRL Peace c.lcn·
The speaker for this year's program dar. It features descriptions and facts about
One thing that can make it easier will be the Reverend Joseph E. more than 150 feature films, documentaries,
is a Time Out group sponsorea Lowery, President of the Southern Hollywood, Independent, and fore1gn films.
by the APPLES program of Planned Christian Leadership Conference lllusQ'ated with stunning photographs from 54
Parenthood of ~id Central Illinois. (SCLC) in Atlanta, Georgia. of the films, th1s attractive desk calendar also
The Time Out weekly meetings give The purpose of the Dr. King Awards lists 112 distributors where you can f1nd every
teen moms a chance to get togethEr, Program is to further the goals and one of the films mentioned It's great for or-
share ideas and concerns, discuss ideals of Dr. King while at the same ganizing film showings!
what works--and what doesn't. Time time acknowledging those residents
Out provides child-care during the in Bloomington-Normal who have made The desk calendar has 128 pages and is
ffieetings, a meal for both the teen outstanding contributions to human wirebound for convenient opening On the
~om and her child, and transpor- reiations or human rights. 5'h''x8W' pages there is a page for every
tation to and from the meetings Tickets are $8.00 which includes a week of the year, with plenty of space to JOt
within Bloomington-Normal. luncheon and $2.00 to hear the down appointments
speaker only. Tickets may be
The Time Out groups are free of obtained from the Bloomington or Oder a calendar for yourself Plus, 1t makes
charge and are open to any young Normal Human Relations Commission by a great gift for friends and family that they'll
woman under 24 who had her first phoning 828-7361, Ext. 218/219 or use and remember throughout the year.
baby as a teenager. New groups are 454-2444, Ext. 249.
starting soon. For more This annual program is jointly Introductions by
information about Time Out or other sponsorerl by the Bloomington and
APPLES programs, or to register for Normal Human Relations .Commissions. Ruby Dec and Ed Asncr
a Time Out group, call Cathy Ahart
at Planned Parenthood of Mid JOSEPH E. LOWERY $6.75 each • Four for $25.00
Central Illinois, 827-4368. DEnclosed is 1>~----- for

If you are a teen mom, or if you _ _ _ calendars.
know a teen mom who could benefit Please send to:
from Time Out, take time to find ~------------
out more about the groups and Address_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
about APPLES. Take Time Out for
you! City State_ _ Zip _ _

Operation WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE

Recycle 339 Lafayette St, New '>tx1<, NY 10012
update
••••••••••••
Operation Recycle is keeping its buy1ack facility
open six mornings a week th:rough the end of EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
December at the recycle warehouse, 1100 W.
Market. The nonprofit community recycling IN HOUSING
center buys aluminum cans, container glass,
bimetal cans, and newspapers. IS YOUR RIGHT!

The price paid for newspapers has juJt gone up If you feel you have been denied housing or treated unfairly
slightly, and OR hopes this will encourag·~ more of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, physical
people to usc the buyback facility. As of the or mental handicap, or because you have children under 14 or
beginning of November, Operation Recycle had require the use of a guide dog, contact the
paid out over SSOOO at the bu:vback.
Bloom:ington Human
The buyback will be closed November 27 - ~8 Relations Commission
for Thanksgiving.
at
*******
828-7361, Ext. 218/219
The city councils of Bloomington and Normal
have passed funding assistance for Operation The Bloomington Human Relations Commission is here
Recycle for 1987. The funding for the year will to assist and to help.
be for a total of S38, 000.

******

Dates for recycling drives for the first half of
1987 are .January 10, February 2B, .·\pril 11,
May 2:3 and Jul~· 11. All drives are held from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Scars Eastland p:1rking
lot and the ISl1 lot at the southwest corner of
College and Main. VolunL1crs an~ needed to
help at the drives; please call the recycling office
if you can help.

Operation Ree.vcle has sever:1lvarietics of
recvclecl stationerv and note cards available for
hollday gift giving: Contact :\lyra Gordon at
829-0fi91 to see what is available for gifts that
do not destroy more of our environment.

******

Current volume recycled at OR for 198G is
1, 834, 000 lbs., or 917 tons. The total includes
over 350 tons of newspapers, 210 tons of glass,
and 300 tons of ccrrugated cardboard.

Operation Post-Amerikan December 1986 Page 13
Recycle
services New director at Planned Parenthood

Operation Recycle will work in 1987 on three Susan Sulaski has recently been Essential Skills) Program. APPLES
special projects--recycling plastic milk jugs, n<J.rned the Director of Education and is concerned with teen pregnancy
expanding its network of drop off locations, and Training at Planned Pa.renthood of and parenting. Susan will be
recycling office paper at Illinois State and Mid Central Illinois. Susan has a involved with t~e Time Out component,
Illinois Wesleyan, thanks to three grants from Bachelor of Arts deqree in Sociology, support groups for teen morns; the
the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural with an emphasis in Sexuality ~DAM component, which deals with
Resources. Education, from Illinois State teen f~thers; and the Grandparents
University. Susan ~as previously Too Soon component, which offers
On grant is for $9799 to establish an office paper employed as a part-time Far.tily Life assistance to the pare~ts of those
recycling project in eight buildings at Illinois Educator at Planned Parenthood teen parents.
State University and Illinois Wesleyan. Operation while also the Office Manager for
Recycle will pick up from offices in the selected Sulaski and Webb, CP~~. Susan will also supervise all of
buildings on a weekly basis after providing faculty Planned Parenthood's counseling
and staff with information on what items can be As Director of Education and programs: problem pregnancy,
recycled. Training, Susan is responsible for infertility, sterilization,
managing four full-time and two sexualitu, genetic, ~exual abuse,
A second grant for $9902 will allow OR to expand part-time employees at the .''!cLean and farnily counseling.
its drop box system from five to nine locations County Office and one full-time
and to provide new boxes at all locations. The educator at the LaSalle County All of Planned Parenthood's training
first new location will be the Zayre parking lot; office. programs will also be under Susan's
it will be opened sometime this December. OR direction. Planned Parenthood
will also be looking for other locations in west Susan will ~e supervising all the frequently sponsors workshops and
Normal, north Normal, west Bloomington and trainings for both community rnernbtrs
southeast Bloomington. Pl3nne~ Pa~0nthood ~ducational and other agency professionals.

Operation Recycle will also share a grant with programs, including the OK/Not OK The Planned Parenthood Speaker's
three other community recycling centers and Touc:1es Proaran., a sexual abuse Bureau is also now Susan's
Eaglebrook Plastics of Chicago which will enable pcev~ntion ~rograrn for children and resPonsibility. Planned Parenthood
each of the centers to start recycling plastic thE:L r parents; tl~e Teens Care Too, a of Mid Central Illinois offers
milk jugs. te2n committee "''hich does peer speakers for conununity, church, and
educ3tion and nutr~ach; and the women's groups, as well as college
l'nder the grant, OR will get a small plastics Teen Rap Program, a pre-clinic and high school classes and clubs
grinder to grind the plastic jugs. Eaglebrook educational session for teenagers in McLean, LaSalle, Logan, and
Plastics has agreed to buy the ground plastic-- who will be experi2ncing their first Livingston counties. If you are
which is actually high density polyethelene, the p,cJlvic exams and who may need to interested in any of t~ese or other
most commonly used plastic. tal~ about sexual activity, sexual Planned Parenthood educational
involvement, and various contracep- programs, call (309) 827-4368 and
Operation Recycle hopes to start accepting the tive rn")asures. ask for Susan Sulaski. She's there
jugs in early 1987. The DENR grants are part to helo.
of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act which Much of Susan's time will be spent
places a surcharge on all materials going to directing the APPL~S (Adolescent
landfills starting in January of 1987. The act Parent Program for Learninq
creates a hierarchy for disposal of solid waste
in future vears naming reuse as first priority, Kaleidoscope kids make honor roll
recycling. as second priority, followed by incinera-
tion with energy recovery, and then incineration Three youth enrolled in Kaleido- 4 have g,radqated fr9m high
without energy recovery. Total dependence on scope's Youth Development Program school
landfills is the leasi desirable alternative. earned a place on the honor roll at
Bloomington High School this gradipg 3 have earned their High School
Community Players period. All three youth are full E~uivalency Certificate
time students and two are enrolled
show in· the work study program. 2 are studying for the.General
Educational Development test, and
Bloomington/Normal Corrnnuni ty Players Kaleidoscope's Youth Devel~pment
announces their Christmas Show. The Program is currently assisting 13 4 are attending high school full
show is made up of two act~--the young people to prepare for livinq time.
first being "Holiday Fables," independently. Completing school is
consisting of favorite 3hort stories one of the many goals each of these We can all be proud of the educational
of verse ane song, and the second young people work to achieve. The achievements of these youth. Special
Kaleidoscope Score Card of Success congratulations go to the three
being "The Night Before Christmas" for the Youth Development Program Kaleidoscope HONOR. STUDENTS at
shows the following achievements: Bloomington High School.
as seen through the eyes cf a child.
(• JterGs •~ices ·:Fruits • Vegeta.Eies •.JJurs _,...
Performances will be: (SOLD OUT)
December 11 at 7:30 (SOLD OUT)
December 12 at 7:30 (SOLD OUT)
December 13 at 10:00

1:00
4:00
7:30
December 14 2t 2:30

Tickets are available ~onday through
Friday at 201 Robinhood Lane in
Eloomington, or can be reserved by
calling the theater's box office at
6F3-2121.

Stone Soupto/\\ Bloomington, llL 61701
~d_j
to play

at IWU SJONE50UP Comm_on Ground has a wide selection of wholesome foods,
natural body care products, vitRrnin and mineral sup-
Stone Soup, an acoustic trio from plements, and books for organic cooking and healthy
Lafayette, Indiana, will be holding living.
a concert on December 6 in the Main
Lounge of Illinois Wesleyan By selling many foods in bulk, Common Ground reduces
University's Student Center. The your costs on nuts, flours, spices, grains, snack
concert will begin at 8:00 prn.
Tickets are $3.00 and will be mixes and many other items. You may also purchase
available at the door. j u,; t the amount you need! Come see the gourmet
coffee beans and fresh produce section as well.
Experience a new and healthier way of life!

·or an additional savings of 10% on all purchases,
you may purchase a discount card for an annual fee
For more information on Stone Soup, of $10.00.
call WESN radio, or read the --l'i
review of their debut album on
page 5. • SOOdUt-vy~ .. SJno).£' SUJVJ5. SVt.JVU17J}(\,

p::· Ex-CIA agent confirms fears

Deadly Deceits: MY .£2_ Years in the the CIA to change or create his problems with other CIA personnel.
"intelligence" to support the policy. Along with those irritating sections,
CIA. Ralph W. McGehee, Sheridan his attitude toward his wife can put
Square Publications, Inc., New York. He witnessed the same process in people off. He noted being aware that
Vietnam a few years later and saw his wife was distressed by the secrecy,
The journey from ignorance as a first-hand the horrifying results. by being uprooted every two years, and
Notre Dame football star to becoming The celiberate bombing of civilians, the like. But his attitude of
a cynical critic of U.S. foreign the use of napalm, and the courage and placating and/or ignoring her legiti-
policy is one aspect of Ralph determination of the Vietnamese people mate concerns was paternalistic at
McGehee's 198J book. It is the least helped push McGehee into a change of best.
compelling aspect, as his ~otives and consciousness. He continued to work
rationalizations seem unconvincing. for the agency, hoping to work change Abolishing agency
The stunning effect of the work is from within, while he also explored
the revealing of the modus operandi the scope of the CIA's resources and The fact that McGehee was able to come
of "the agency," the vastness of its influence. to some fundamental conclusions was
influence and, at the same time, its both pleasing and surprising. He now
almost complete incompetence. Con:lucting business sees that the agency's task is to keep
governments in power, or bring others
McGehee appeared at ISU on October 2J. The CIA has its own airline companies. to power, which are friendly to U.S.
He came at the invitation of the Third Air America, Civil Air Transport, and corporate interests. He has decided
World Student Association. The focus Air Asia were some of the lines. that it is wrong for military
of his presentation seemed to be an At one time 10,000 people were dictatorships to exploit their people
attempt to dispell the myth that the employed in these companies. and their resources and to reign
CIA exists to gather information which through terror. He believes that
is critical to national security. In the 1950s, the CIA conducted social change movements in the Third
covert operations in the U.S. and set World have legimate goals and methods,
"It acts largely as an anti- up dt...mmy corporations. They used even if they are Marxist movements.
intelligence agency," he told the ISU un~_versi ty personnel to draft agents
audience, "producing only that infor- from the foreigr:c student population Though McGehee advocates the
mation wanted by policy-makers to and to recruit U.S. students. (The abolishing of the CIA, he stops short
support their plans and suppressing CIA rec01ited many football players. of recommending ending all covert
information that does not support They s1~i ti~d the agen:::y' s need for operations. He envisions the
those plans.'' He stressed that the agents with good physical strength, formation of a new intelligence-
largest audience supplied with this confc>rmi ~.Y, and unquestioning medium gathering agency not charged with
produced information by the CIA is ir.telEgc;uce.) covert duties, free of loyalty to
the Amerikan public, which is political groups, composed of
regularly fed disinformation so that McGeh~e alleges that the CIA maintains individuals with integrity, and
public opinion is favorably molded liaisu~ relationships with approxi- supervised by some part of the
to the particular interests of the judicial system. He recognizes that
CIA at the time. mately SO U.S. journalists and media
the current administration would
Leaking disinformation organi:~3':ions, a~o well as with never permit such an autonomous group
hundreds of foreign journalists. He to perform intelligence work.
Most disinformatiol'l is channeled feels it was likely that LaPrensa in
through the White House. From there Nicaragua was CIA funded, and there- McGehee neglected to note that this
it is leaked as "intelligence" to the fore was :egitimately closed. He aLso
usually unquestioning media. McGehee "Peace Corps" of intelligence would
alleges that most of the reports we confirmed suspicions that many U.S.
have heard, for example, of the still serve a country run by corpora-
finding of communist weaPons caches Embassy personnel are CIA-connected
in places like El Salvador or Grenada 1 in po2ts all over the world. tions greedy for Third World
were planted by the CIA to be
"discovered" and thereby garner public Managing spies. resources and cheap labor. He also
support and Congressional backing for
increasing intervention. Ironically, according to McGehee, faile~ to address the power of the
though their sphere of influence is
One pattern of the CIA's modus enormous, the CIA is mismanaged and public in his book, but in his ISU
operandi that McGehee illustrated in inefficient. The records facility in
both his book and hi~ presentation Washington, D.C. is chaotic. In presentation he encouraged the
goes something like this: foreign posts, the communication
between agents is so poor that they audience to become informed by reading
--The CIA is brought into a country often unknowingly use CIA-planted news
where social unrest is occurring. items as real intelligence for their the alternative press. At that time
(McGehee himself worked largely in operations and reports.
Thailand.) TheClA forms, trains, and he mused, ". We're gonna invade
arms a paramilitary terror force to In-depth research and understanding
suppress protest and discourage of "the enemy" is not taking place. Nicaragua unless the Amerikan people
community organizing. Of the agents McGehee knew in Vietnam,
only one had ever read the works of protest enough."
--The CIA report says things like, Mao or Ho Chi Minh, and none under-
"200-JOO communist guerillas in the stood the history of the country's Experiencing outrage
hills are raiding villages and colonization.
intimidating peasants into coopera- After hearing McGehee and reading his
tion." An arms Cf'.che of Soviet/ This lack of understanding was not book, I experienced a strange
Chinese weapons is "d iscover.:;d." only tolerated, it was almost sensation of relief. Finally some of
condoned. Any agent who explored the my worst paranoid beliefs had been
--Congress is asked to appropriate local lifestyle was accused of "going validated.
funds to protect the people and to native" and was reprimanded. CIA
stabilize the region. Congress is families socialized with each other, Within a few days after completing the
assured that that the problem is when possible, or at the Embassy. book, I experienced outrage. Reagan
small and quickly resolvable. Only myopic views of the cultures and his CIA boys are still getting
in which they were living were away with murder: the secret arms
--Congress approves the appropriation, established. sales to Iran and Reagan's bumbling
the intervention grows, and more lives excuses, the Hasenfus lie, the covert
are lost. In his book, Deadly Deceits, more than militarization through National Guard
troops in Honduras, the undermining
What McGehee discovered in his in his October 23 presentation, of the Nicaraguan economy.
position as the head of a CIA survey
team in Thailand was that the McGehee told "sour grapes" stories of The lies and deadly games won't
insurgents numbered 200-JOO per cease without a committed opposition
village; that the communities had and an enduring public outcry of
begun to organize farmers unions, "Stop U.S. -sponsored terrorism and
clinics, and schools without any help economic oppression of the Third
from their government, and that the World! "
"guerillas" were the local militia
which had been formed to protect the --ds
villagers from the CIA-trained
terrorists. Rope Crisis Center

Creating IX>licy of Mclean County

McGehee contends that he presented WE'RE A NON-PROFIT VOLUNTEER GROUP WHOSE MAIN PURPOSE IS TO OFFER
this information in a thorough, well- ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND THEIR FRIENDS
documented report to his supervisors. AND FAMILIES.
The report was ignored. Frustrated FEMALE VOLUNTEERS ANSWER OUR CALLS, BUT BOTH MALE AND FEMALE
by the lack of concern by his VOLUNTEERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR CRISIS ASSISTANCE, INFORMATION AND
supervisors, he agitated to have his SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS.
report acknowledged. He was then
removed from his post. If you want to talk to one of us
Call PATH 827-4005
It was then that McGehee reached the and ask for the
conclusion that the CIA has top-down
policy-making. The U.S. administra- Rope Crisis Center
tion decides on R policy, then uses

Public access comes toPost-Amerikan December 1986
Page 15

Bloomington-Normal

as hell finally frozen over or what? As i t has developed over the y~ars Pre-recorded tapes can ~e played, but
ublic access cable television has (in areas where i t has been allo\~d copyright proof has to be provided
rrived in Bloomington/Normal. to develop over the years) , pUblic- prior to cablecast. Regular advance
access has been less of a political commitments can ::-.e made (like "'l'ele-
compliance with an agreement forum than an outlet for the some- aerobics") but could be pre-empted
tered into some 18 years ago, Tele- times creative and entertaining by "reasonable requests" to allow
ble has gone on the air--make that but more often the tedious ~r,d boring "new or infrequent users" t.o use ·
e ~ire--with one of three promised programming produced and s;1!::>r:i tted the channel. Exactly how a request
bllc access channels. Operating by the more vociferous rne~Je~s of is deemed "reasonable" is not speci-
ry quietly since late summer, the the Silent Majority. Notorious as fied in the guidelines, nor is the
annel has been featuring local the breeding ground for nude inter- policy on the allocation of time,
orting events and several regular views and student experiments, the which is left up to the discretion
ries, including an interview program public access potential for education of the channel operator.
d something called "Teleaerobics " and information has yet to fulfill
arring an aspiring Jane Fonda cl~ne its goal. Another grey area in the policy
d a revolving corps of exercise concerns the age-old problem of in-
natics. If you are interested in But no matter, it has arrived in decency and obscenity. According to
ewing any of these offerings, good these Twin Cities, and life as we two ISO mass communication professors,
ck, because they aren't listed in know it will never be the sa;"le. For while the Supreme Court rejects
e local TV guide, and the station anyone interested in taking ~dvantage obscene material on cable, it has
self seems to he jumping channels of this wonderful gift from the good never upheld an indecency case. In
of late. But be persistent. folks down at Telecable to us, their other words, Telecable can forbid
loyal customers, beware: th€y don't obscene material, as established by
e philosophy of public access has seem to be much more interested in the FCC and the Supreme Court, but
long history. Basically, these letting us use the public access indecency is perfectly all right.
annels are made available to the facilities than they were to ~uild To be more specific, anything you
neral public to provide an arena for the facility in the first place. already see on Cinernax (if you've
e multiplicity of ideas and the Note the astounding lack of publi- been paying close attention at horne,
bust and open debate deemed neces- city the service has received thus you know that this includes everything
ry for effective decision making far. For the determined, however, that happens before and after inser-
the service is indeed available, tion, but not that particular detail
a free democratic society (like contrary to other reports, if you itself) should be within the community
urs). It was an idea conceived by have the fortitude (and a few spare standards.
e cable companies in an effort to dollars) to go after it.
FurtHer regulations are primarily
ep the Federal Con~unications According to "Operating Rules for concerned with Telecable protecting
ommission off their backs. Unlike Telecable of Bloomington-Normal," 'itself against libel, and the cost
oadcast television, cable is not the channel is available "on a and availability of equipment and
gulated by the FCC because it does first come, first serve nondiscri- facilities. (See box for rates.)
ot use the public owned airwaves-- minatory basis" if you submit a
e rationale for such regulations written request at least two weeks If you deciqe to take advantage of
in advance of intended use. This · this service which you have paid for
the Fairness Doctrine and the request is supposed to include some through a franchise fee taken out of
qual Ti.me rule. If the public owns information that they probably can't your monthly bill, don't believe what
e ain!aves, the public is entitled really ask you to give, like affil~ they are likely to tell you at the
iations and likely intended use of Telecable office. No matter who you
hear all sides of controversial the channel. Minors, who are ap9ar- are, you are entitled to use public
sues. Fearing a similar regulatory ently being discouraged from using access to say whatever you want, as
te, cable operators invented the the channel according to a Panta· long as it isn't obscene. Get a
oncept of the public access channel. graph interview with station manager copy of the operating rules, and don't
Al Shepston, may only apply with a let them tell you anything that isn't
There's a consenting adult. written out in black and white.
Four-Letter
Remember, they don't really want us
Word for to use public access, and what better
reason can there be to do it?
Recycling.
--LH

PRODUCTION RATES FOR PUBLIC ACCESS, NON-COM].>IERCIAL-NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Call Camera/Portable VIR/Operator.................... $15.00/Hr 'fOUr
2 Camera/VfR/2 Operators .......... -..............•. $25. 00/Hr
OPERATION RECYCLE Studio/Operators .................................. $25. 00/Hr P'Ojf'..:l.f\''1
Editing Facilities/Operator ....................... $10.00/Hr
829-0691 Tape Dubs .... he:re.

Mclean County's only not-for-profit :30 TclcCable of Bloomington· :\'onnal
3/4" .................................. $25. 00/ea. 1202 West DiYision Street
community recycling center Beta- VHS .............................. $20.00/ ea. :\'onnal, Illinois 61716
P.O. Box 1386, Bloomington. IL 61702
1100 W. Market :60 Telephone (309) 454·3350
3/4'' .................................. $30 .00/ea.
Bloomington, IL Beta-VHS .............................. $25 .00/ea.

PLAYBACK ON SYSTEM
0-5 Mi-nutes. ; ................ ·.. : .................. $FREE
30 Minutes ...... , ................................ $10.00
65 Minutes ..................................... :. $15.00
1~ Hours .............................•............ $20.00
2-3 Hours ....................•.................... $30.00
3-4 Hours ................ , ........ , ............... $40.00

• Drop offs • Buyback

•Recycle drives

•9•• • Page 16 December 1986 Post-Amerikan

The Underground Vegetarian

We went to Diamond Dave's for the than she's learned to expect: it
reason I used to think anyone went was moist, well seasoned, and lean.
to Diamond Dave's: we were at
C~llege Hills Mall anyway. And, We all agreed that the atmosphere
Slnce Mexican food is second to was great, especially for being in a
salad bars in the short list of mall. You can really pretend that
~ocal veggie dining-out options, you're not, with the dim lighting
lt seemed a logical choice. and old rock 'n' roll softly playing.
We like to sit over dinner a long
As soon as we sat down, we remember- time; thus, Diamond Dave's soft
ed that even though we'd only been seats are a plus. The walls are
to Diamond Dave's a few times before ornamented with tacky things bear-
we really didn't have any complaints: ing no apparent relation to the
And we still have very few, even food, the geography, or each other.
after· turning our finely honed No doubt an existential remark, but
critical skills loose there. so subtly done that we felt not
even a twinge of angst.
Most importantly, the kitchen is
flexible. Though most of the menu Diamond Dave's prices are pleasingly
listings contain meat, our requests low~ especially considering the
for vegetarian versions were handled
with ease. The cook also added extra lavlshness of the helpings. We were
chopped onions to one dish.
there on a Tuesday, when drinks are
The refried beans, which form the
basis of much veggie Mex, are lively half price, and each of our dinners
and rich. (We've been served enough
bland, glutinous refrieds to deeply was just about $4.00. We drank two
appreciate the difference.) The
waitress willingly went to ask the Coronas, two draft beers, and one
cook whether the beans were really
meatless, and returned to tell us diet Pepsi. Our total bill was
that "there's a little lard, but not $16.97, very reasonable.
a lot." Purists, beware. Ann and I had tostados and en-

9 •••• chiladas, while Sue (keeping us

eclectic) had a chicken super-burrito. So don't let the uninspiring location

Our dinners were huge, including a and the basket of characterless chips

heap of shredded lettuce and more for openers fool you. Diamond Dave's

beans as side attractions. · The house right outside of the Target store in '
dressing, a creamy ranch, was cool the mall, m~y be the oasis you need,

and bitey, the picante hot and spicy. whether you re shopped out or not.

For chicken eaters, Sue reports that --Phoebe Caulfield

the meat in her dish was much better
".". 9••••

• ;Cl'l\' ;, ''
~tel \,\ •• merchandise? Running out of ideas aLu~t •
Tired of long lines, high prices, tacky
.
(,l \ ;tl •••S ....."" what to get Aunt Edna, your friend Joey from
•
_(.::_) e~(l (,l •• high school, and your boss? Worried that the
, only thing you 1 re going to get that will fit and is :
••••• the right color is a pair of sweat socks?
. . · Your worri~s are over! No longer will you have to go out
••• ... to the malls ~n the storm, fight little old ladies for parking •
space~, c~ get irritated by the beep-beep-beep of electronic
cash reg~sters •
••
For only $4.00 you can buy a subscription to the Post-Amerikan for all :
those folks on your Christmas list. And maybe one for yourself, tool
.•
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get a little present in the mail every month • •

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