Threats to Your Rights: A Factsheet Five Special Report

Threats to Your Rights: A Factsheet Five Special Report

AMENDMENT I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

AMENDMENT IV.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I still believe -- perhaps somewhat naively -- that the plain English of the U.S. Constitution quoted above means what it says. Unfortunately a lot of other people apparently have different opinions, and many of these people work for the government. There's a pattern of repression going on which attacks our rights to free speech and security, as well as our rights to compensation for property seized and a jury trial before conviction.

What follows are short essays on a number of government actions which disturb me greatly. I'm leaving out a lot of others, including the Mapplethorpe obscenity cases, the pressure to defund the NEA, the bombing of the Earth First! activists, due to a lack of space and to be able to focus in on the core cases.

If you agree with me that there's something seriously wrong here, the last page of this special section has a list of groups you can support who are fighting this swing away from liberty and justice.

Operation Sun Devil

2. On or about February 23, 1988, at Lockport, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division and elsewhere,

CRAIG NEIDORF, also known

Knight Lightning,

defendant herein, for the purposes of executing the aforesaid scheme did knowingly transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of a wire and radio communication in interstate commerce from Columbia, Missouri to Lockport, Illinois certain signs, signals and sounds, namely: a data transfer of Phrack Newsletter, Issue 24, including an edited Bell South Standard Practice (BSP) 660-225-104SV- Control Office Administration of Enhanced 911 Services for Special Services and Major Account Centers dated March, 1988;

In violation of Title 18, United States Code , Section 1343

(From an indictment handed up by the grand jury in the US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division)

Operation Sun Devil was a series of Secret Service raids on computer hackers which started in late 1989 and continued through early 1990, involving 150 SS agents across the country. As far as I know, only one set of charges has come out of this. Craig Neidorf, the publisher of PHRACK is facing heavy fines and jail time for printing a document on the Enhanced 911 System which was leaked to him by a hacker (the indictment does not charge him directly with any criminal conduct in obtaining it; he is named as a conspirator in a fraud scheme, which is exceedingly easy to charge under our laws). And this is not some technical document that would enable some criminal to crash the emergency phone system. Rather, it's a discussion of billing and marketing procedures. PHRACK was a newsletter about computer hacking issues, which has been driven out of business prior to trial, with a conspicuous disregard for the First Amendment. Apparently the Secret Service feels that electronic magazines are not subject to the same civil rights guarantees as printed ones. Worse yet, not only was the magazine shut down, Neidorf's computer was seized. Think of the NEW YORK TIMES having its printing presses seized, without trial, without hearing, because the government disapproved of something printed on them. And disapproval is the key here -- according to people familiar with PHRACK, it never printed access codes, credit card numbers, passwords or other material which it is illegal to publicize. At worst, the E911 document was a trade secret, in which case Neidorf should be facing a civil suit from Bell South, not criminal charges from the government. But instead, Neidorf is facing 65 years in jail -- and his family is already out $60,000 in legal fees before the trial even starts.

(Incidentally, the charges stem from a law addressing transfer of computer files worth over $5,000. Bell South claims this six-page document is worth $23,900. Makes you wonder what your phone bill is paying for, doesn't it?)

Other victims of Operation Sun Devil -- none charged with any crime -- include Steve Jackson Games, whose sin was to be involved in designing a role-playing game about hacking and cyberpunks. Then there's Jolnet, which was a public message system, that was seized because some hackers used it to exchange information. This is analogous to padlocking a Post Office because some of the people receiving mail there are engaged in illegal schemes. Worse yet, some users of Jolnet were also raided because they were thought to have downloaded their own copy of the forbidden document.

The Secret Service conducted this raid in its usual preemptive strike manner. According to Terry Gross, a lawyer working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (quoted in NEWSBYTES, 6/8/90) "Clearly there are some people breaking laws. We are not condoning that. We are objecting to the manner in which these investigations have been carried out. There have been instances of agents bursting in on 14 year-olds at 6 AM, holding fathers and little sisters at gunpoint, putting mothers in choke holds, confiscating expensive equipment. These are not drug dealers; these are children."

Let's talk about hackers here for a moment. The government and major media have succeeded in building a public image of a hacker as some shadowy figure, a nerd munching potato chips and drinking Pepsi, using his computer to destroy people's credit histories, ruin the billing records of public utilities, and start nuclear wars -- in short, as a computer terrorist. There are a few people out there who probably would like to do things like that. Hackers refer to these lone nuts as "crackers" and look down on them. Hackers are essentially the explorers of the electronic frontier, guilty of breaking into computer systems but not harming them. And hacker zines and groups are strongly in favor of severe punishment for destructive crackers. Whatever you may think of trespassers, it doesn't make sense to shoot them because a few might turn into robbers.

On the other hand, the Secret Service apparently takes a more conservative view here. Lock up anyone who might cause trouble, or know how to cause trouble, and the American People can sleep soundly at night again. The SS has admitted in Congressional hearings that they monitor private BBS systems. They have even admitted starting up such systems to entrap crackers. But they were unable to tell Congress how much effort they put into this. One indication is in the response of the government to a motion of Neidorf's lawyer that the government be required to provide information on " any illegal or unauthorized activity engaged in by government agents in connection with this indictment or related activity." In a memorandum denying this motion, the judge in the case wrote "The court agrees with the government that these requests are too vague and overbroad".

Just in case there's anyone out there who thinks that this case doesn't concern them because they don't personally own a computer -- you're wrong. It concerns you because computers and BBS systems and electronic mail are essential to the production of FACTSHEET FIVE. Almost all of the information in this special section, for example, came from the computer networks. If the government succeeds in cutting off this source of information, or in scaring people enough that they refuse to say anything controversial electronically, we will all suffer.

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First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.

Second, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of the truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied.

Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on character or conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction from reason or personal experience.

John Stuart Mill, ON LIBERTY

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Dewayne Readus and the Micro-Radio Station Movement

WTRA -- also known as Zoom Black Magic Liberation Radio -- is an outlaw radio station in Springfield, Illinois, run by black community activist Dewayne Readus. It's a one-watt radio station, with a broadcast range of a mile or so. (Due to the segregation in Springfield, that range reaches about three-quarters of the black community in Springfield). In March 1989, after a series of shows on police brutality, the FCC shut the station down at the request of the Springfield police chief. They fined Readus $750 and told him to cease and desist. A month later, he decided that this cause was too important to give up, and went back on the air as an act of civil disobedience.

This is not a case of someone who just refuses to put up with government licensing requirements, either. The FCC won't license an FM station with less than 100 watts of power, so if you're too poor to afford a rig that large ($40,000 or so) you can either broadcast illegally or not broadcast at all. (It used to be ten watts was the lower limit, but that was raised that year. I leave it to others to speculate whether the airwaves were in danger of becoming too democratic due to the dropping costs of ten-watt equipment). And it's not a case of the station interfering with other broadcasters, either. The station was told to shut down because the powers that be invoked a bureaucratic Catch-22.

The station airs a variety of shows. Some hours are dedicated to teaching neighborhood youth the skills of running a radio show, which might possibly get them out of the projects the station is located in, where adult unemployment runs a staggering 87%. Others are set aside for broadcasting cassette copies of books such as Bobby Seale's SEIZE THE TIME or THE BLACK MESSIAH -- an important service in a community where illiteracy is also rampant. Rap music and taped accounts of community problems are also staples.

At last report -- in early July -- Readus was still on the air despite the federal court order shutting him down. He's also still spreading the idea of micro-radio as a way for minority activists and the poor to educate and organize themselves. If you want to help support Zoom Black Magic Liberation Radio with money or encouragement, write to him c/o 333 N. 12th St., Springfield, IL 62702.

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I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

-- Voltaire

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2 Live Crew and your Right To Rock (Except in Florida)

I'll keep this section brief, since it's gotten pretty good major media coverage. The sale or possession of obscene material in the state of Florida is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Thanks to a grandstanding DA, 2 Live Crew's rap album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" has been declared obscene material. That means that you can't buy it in Southern Florida, the band can't perform their material, and you can't legally own a copy of the album there -- no matter how old you are. (So far this ruling only applies in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, those being the ones under the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court which found that the album was obscene under the "contemporary community standards" ruling). Charles Freeman, owner of E-C Records in Fort Lauderdale, has already been busted for selling a copy of the album.

Following the ban, in early June the group played a concert in Hollywood, Florida -- and were promptly arrested and charged with obscenity, despite having played to an adults-only crowd. They can get a year in jail and a $1,000 fine each for the performance. This is despite the fact that (according to UPI) the Sheriff the made the bust "could not say what portion of the band's live performance allegedly violated Florida's obscenity law."

Among other things, this case points out that record labeling is a red herring. The album in question was labeled for sale to adults only, under the "voluntary" industry standards (with the volunteering done by record company execs, not by artists). It didn't matter. If anything, it's going to hurt the band's case in court, since it practically admits that the material in question is obscene in the eyes of the issuing company.

There's also an important aspect of intimidation here: retailers in Texas, South Carolina, Virginia and Ontario were threatened by their local police or prosecutors with similar action, and all "voluntarily" removed the offending album from their shelves.

The scary aspect of this case is that 2 Live Crew's lyrics are not particularly obscene compared to some of what truly independent performers in this country have put out: people like GG Allin, Psychodrama, Lisa Suckdog, Costes, Yeastie Girlz, and the Cedar Street Sluts. How long before a stack of albums on my shelf becomes a legal liability if this isn't stopped now?

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There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstrations of individuality. The general average of mankind are not only moderate in intellect, but also moderate in inclinations; they have no tastes or wishes strong enough to incline them to do anything unusual, and they consequently do not understand those who have, and class all such with the wild and intemperate whom they are accustomed to look down upon.

-- John Stuart Mill, ON LIBERTY

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Bob Z. and the Poster Police

Many of you probably already know about this case, but for the rest, here's a summary based on various flyers and notes put out by STOP-GRO (Stop Prosecuting Grass Roots Organizers, c/o 125 E. 23rd St. #300, New York, NY 10010). All may be freely reprinted.

"New York's Sanitation Police are attacking the constitutional rights of those who depend on the use of handbills to communicate with the public. Charging a separate $50 fine for every leaflet found posted in a public place, the Sanitation Department has become a de facto censor that assesses thousands of dollars in penalties against individuals -- even for a first offense.

"The Department has set up a so-called hearing unit that generally convicts handbiller no matter what defense they present. Practically no one has ever been found not guilty in this kangaroo court, since all it takes to convict a person is the 'evidence' of a printed paper with the individual's name on it found posted somewhere.

"One small dance studio was fined a full $650 for having posted 13 leaflets. Guitar teacher Mike Barry was ordered to pay $3100; piano teacher Margie Fein $2600. Bob Z, an artist who designed several leaflets, was hit by an overpowering fine that started out at $3700, and when he resisted and mounted a legal action against the Department, they jacked up his fine, by various crooked methods, to $22,000. Outrageous penalties of this type serve no rational concept of public benefit.

"Since the Sanitation Department doesn't feel like obeying conventional rules for gathering evidence, it fines anybody whose name is on a leaflet posted on public property, whether the victim actually posted it or even knew about it. And anyone who insists on his or her right to freedom of speech and press suffers further punishment when the Department trumps up alleged further locations of postings -- sometimes from places that don't even exist."

[The most recent news:]

"16 October 1989

"Preliminary results in from Bob Z postering case...$3,700 worth of fines for postering for a punk poetry show and punk rock concert were knocked down on a technicality to $300 or so. The decision handed down by judge Edith Miller in New York State Supreme Court last week, means that the New York anti-poster law remains in effect. Z and the ACLU attorneys assigned to the case, Ed Baker and Art Eisenberg, were hoping that this constitutional challenge would do away with a vaguely worded, unfair statute that allows the government to hand out unlimited fines for suspected posterers without even seeing them in the act of postering, but that didn't happen. Even though Miller reduced Z's fine, the law remains intact. Over 50 people a month continue to get fined for handbills on public property."

"...In the past 2 months, similar anti-poster laws have been adopted in nearby cities. New Haven CT and Kingston New York now have anti-poster police and hand out fines to suspected handbillers in exactly the same manner. In New Haven the local Green party is challenging the law. If you know of other places where there are anti-poster laws or police repression of the right to communicate on the street, send your info to STOP-GRO so that we can coordinate efforts."

I spoke with Bob myself in late June, as he started on a tour with his band. He says that the decision is being appealed and he's going ahead with this despite the fact that the Appeals Court could choose to reinstate the whole fine. Meanwhile, the law remains in effect, people are still ticketed, and STOP-GRO is still fighting.

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If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless, since their chief purpose is to make us bear with patience the injustice of our fellows.

-- Jean Baptiste Moliere

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Jock Sturges and the Child "Protection" Act

On April 25, internationally-known photographer Jock Sturges answered the door to find the FBI with a stepvan -- they took all his darkroom equipment, all his computer equipment, all his business records, all the prints, everything off his desk, and 100,000 negatives (many damaged by rough handling in the course of the search). The FBI entered without permission, but were at least courteous enough to wait for the arrival of the warrant (three hours later) before they started carting things off.

Meanwhile, the FBI was also busting photo technician Joe Semien. They seized all his possessions too, and took him off to jail for two days of interrogation over a particular set of photos. At a habeas corpus hearing Semien was released on his own recognizance, the judge not being impressed with the evidence for the demanded $80,000 bail.

The cause of all this was one roll of color film (Sturges did all his professional work in black and white) that Sturges took on a clothing-optional beach in France, showing families and kids walking along the beach. Semien was helping Sturges learn to process color film, and dropped the negatives off at Newell Color Lab -- not to be printed, just to be developed. Newell, along with other photo labs, has recently been warned by the FBI that it was their duty under the law to report all pictures that they even suspected might fall under the scope of the child abuse laws, or they could be charged themselves. Reportedly the FBI has run sting operations against labs, submitting obscene photos for processing to see if the labs would report them and closing them down if they didn't.

Subsequently, the FBI began contacting Sturges' associates and clients, demanding to know whether Sturges ever took pornographic pictures of their kids. Apparently the FBI hasn't turned up anything suspicious; as of this writing, Sturges has not been charged with anything, despite the fact that his business has been ruined (a pattern which is becoming ominously common). AN evidentiary hearing on whether charges against Semien (he was charged with possession of child pornography for taking the film to the lab) has been postponed "indefinitely".

The law under which the FBI is barging around in this case is the Child Protection Act, which sets up five classes of pictures that are presumed to be child pornography. These are pictures of children under the age of 14 showing sexual intercourse, masturbation, bestiality, sadomasochism, or "pictures with a sexual or lascivious intent". Apparently to the FBI any photo showing the genitalia of a child is rpesumed to have lascivious intent. Obscenity is in the mind of the beholder, I guess.

Meanwhile, Sturges may not remain uncharged if the US Attorney handling the case has his way. He told THE NATION "the First Amendment doesn't apply" and that expert artistic testimony on the value of Sturges' work is inadmissible because "Your gut tells you and you go with that".

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"In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me -- and by that time no one was left to speak up."

(Pastor Martin Niemoller)

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The Preacher's Hints

Here's a case where our government has acted to suppress speech that they do not approve of, even though there is apparently no legal grounds to do so. It's also a case that will test the commitment to free speech of many people. It concerns a fanzine publisher who wants to remain anonymous. Let's call him The Preacher.

Last Year The Preacher was happily publishing a fanzine linked to his own particular fascinations. These included women's feet, mass murder, torture and other "cool psycho material". Since he was operating outside the bounds of good taste anyhow, he reprinted much of this material from other sources without bothering to get permission. A typical edition of The Preacher's Slavering Rants was made up of newspaper stories on killings, photographs collected from a variety of sources, ads for shoes, and occasional commentary. He also printed essays, such as "Handy Hints for Messier Massacres", a selection of advice for the would-be mass murderer interested in increasing his kill count.

The Preacher also had the good sense to take a few precautions, knowing that many people would not approve of his festish. This included renting a private mailbox as an address, and using a false name to do so. At the tail end of last March, the fellow running the mail drop service said "Preacher, I want to talk to you. The FBI was here this morning, asking for your home address and phone number. They did not have any subpoena or warrant, so I told them I wouldn't give them the information. But they said they would be back soon and they would have a subpoena. If they give me a subpoena, I will release this information to them." The Preacher thanked the guy, took his mail, and left.

The Preacher called his lawyer, hired a friend to pick up the mail and advised the mail drop owner that he was doing so. The next day he met with his lawyer. The Preacher writes,

"My lawyer advised me that my zine was obviously in violation of copyright law, plus I was in violation of child pornography law since my zine contained photo reproductions of people obviously under the age of 18 with their genitals clearly visible. So I asked the lawyer for his advice, and he told me to immediately terminate my mailbox, destroy all remaining copies of the zine, and disappear from the scene." (Note that this material is child pron by the legal definition which these days pretty well prevents all pictures of naked pre-teens; I personally do not consider the images The Preacher used to be pornographic.)

Despite this, The Preacher elected to wait and see. About 9 days later his agent reported that the FBI had been to the mail drop with a subpoena and been given the rental information from the mail box -- which, you will recall, was false anyhow.

The Preacher still didn't give up. "Once again I met with my lawyer and he tells me that I have to stop publishing and get out of the scene while I still have a chance. But, being a stubborn psychopath, I am still not convinced. I say to my lawyer, 'How do we know what the FBI really wants with me? Perhaps one of my readers has committed a crime and they just want to ask me if I knew about it, or maybe it's something similar to that which is not really cause for me to abandon publishing my zines. How about this, you will telephone the FBI and advise them that you are the attorney for me, and then you will ask the FBI what exactly they want from me, why they are enquiring.'"

The FBI refused to discuss the matter over the phone, but a meeting was arranged at FBI headquarter in town. "Well, anyway, my lawyer went to FBI headquarters and met with the agent investigating me, and the FBI pig basically said that my zine contained material which was in violation of federal law against 'Distribution of Child Pornography.' The agent had in his possession issues #3,4,5, and 6 of my zine. My lawyer asked where the agent had gotten my zines, but the pig did not answer the question. It does seem most likely that the FBI had someone pose as a regular person and so ordered my zines. But although at the beginning of the meeting the pig made a big point of this 'Distribution of child porn' thing, as the meeting progressed the FBI agent focused almost entirely on issue #6 and on my essay 'Handy Hints for Messier Massacres'. The agent actually read aloud a good portion of the essay, making comments about how this was a 'blueprint for mass murder' and how there were 'hundreds of deranged people walking the streets who could use this garbage to kill innocent people.'

"My lawyer went on his spiel and told the agent about how my zine was a work of artistic expression, and how it should not be taken literally, and also how my zine was not-for-profit, etc., but as you might expect, the FBI pig did not really care about what my lawyer said, and went on his pig squeal about how my zine violated the law on child porn and how the FBI could bring criminal charges against me and shit like that. Interestingly enough, they never did actually mention the Criminal Code number or quote the specific law that they would charge me with. They did talk a lot about how they wanted me to stop publishing and distributing the zine. So my lawyer told me that in his opinion, the FBI was not really eager to pursue a court case, but were very determined to stop me from continuing to publish and distribute my zines. Although it was never said directly by the agents, the implication was that if I stopped publishing my zines the FBI would drop the matter and not cause me any further problems, but if I continued publishing, they would not hesitate to take me to court."

So that's the situation. The FBI finds out about a small-circulation publication (quite possibly from a review in FACTSHEET FIVE, though this can't be proved), gets a few copies, and is horrified. Fortunately for them, although giving advice on murder is not illegal, child porn is, and the zine contains pictures of naked minors. The FBI is more than happy to use this as a stick to force the zine to shut down. No charges, no trial, just implied threats. Sure is great to live in a country where the government will let you say whatever you want in print.

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It is of more importance to the community that innocence should be protected than it is that guilt should be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in the world that all of them cannot be punished, and many times they happen in such a manner that it is not of much consequence to the public whether they are punished or not. But when innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, "It is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security." And if such a sentiment as this should take place in the mind of the subject there would be an end to all security whatsoever.

-- John Adams

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Operation Green Merchant

In October 1989 the DEA carried out 42 raids under the code name of Operation Green Merchant, part of the "War on Drugs". Their targets were not dealers, importers, growers, or even users. No, the targets of this raid were 42 stores selling high-tech gardening supplies such as hydroponics equipment and indoor plant growth lights. For some reason the manufacturers of this equipment, corporations like General Electric and North American Phillips, have not been similarly harassed.

The stores involved had their entire inventory confiscated without compensation, all their business records seized, and their bank accounts frozen on the theory that they were tainted by drug money. The authorities just missed one little detail: to the best of my knowledge, not one single store owner has been charged, arrested, or even called before a grand jury (though most of their employees have been to see the grand jury, some two and three times).

In one interesting sideline, one of the raided stores was Full Moon Farm Products in Oregon, which happened to be owned by the publisher of the marijuana growers' magazine SINSEMILLA TIPS. With the store out of business, and ad revenues for ST severely down because of these raids, it is likely that the magazine will go out of business. The same goes for HIGH TIMES. (If you want to help out, you can buy a copy of the book THE BEST OF SINSEMILLA TIPS for $20.95 or the book and all 23 back issues for $99, from New Moon Publishing, PO Box 90, Corvallis, OR 97339. This may well be your last chance to buy this material, ever.)

It's a sad day when stocking and selling light bulbs becomes illegal.

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Groups and Publications Fighting for Your Rights

The Alliance for Cultural Democracy, PO Box 7591, Minneapolis, MN 55407; (415)-346-8031: These folks have done some work on the case of Dewayne Readus.

CENSORSHIP NEWS, $25/yr from National Coalition Against Censorship, 2 W. 64th St., New York, NY 10023; (212)-724-1500.

Citizens for Freedom of Agriculture, 1916-M Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, CA 94043; (415)-965-1506: This is the defense committee for Kevin Bjornson, proprietor of Hydro-Tech.

COUNTERATTACK, $1 from Refuse & Resist!, 305 Madison Ave. #1166, New York, NY 10165; (212)-941-5474.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, One Cambridge Center, Suite 300, Cambridge, MA 02142; (617) 577-1385: A new group formed to help the public understand computers, civilize the electronic frontier, and to do so "in a way which is in keeping with our society's highest traditions of the free and open flow of information and communication."

EXTRA!, $3.50 from FAIR, 175 Fifth Ave. #2245, New York, NY 10010: Independent analyses of media bias.

FREE PRESS NETWORK, $20/yr from PO Box 15548, Columbus, OH 43215: Newsletter of the Free Press Association, a group of Libertarian journalists.

FREE SPEECH, AVN Publications, 8600 West Chester Pike #300, Upper Darby, PA 19082; (215)-789-2085: "the bi-weekly First Amendment Newsletter".

GAUNTLET, $8.95 from 309 Powell Rd., Springfield, PA 19064: A fat magazine dedicated entirely to censorship issues that reprints both essays and material which has been attacked.

Libertarian Party National Headquarters, 1528 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20003.

LIES OF OUR TIMES, $2.50 from 145 W. 4th St., New York, NY 10012: Tracks the news coverage of the NEW YORK TIMES.

MEMORANDUM, $20/yr from ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (312)-280-4223): The monthly newsletter of the American Library Assicuation office concerned with these matters.

No More Censorship, PO Box 11458, San Francisco, CA 94101: Originally formed as a defense fund in the Frankenchrist case, now active in tracking all manner of censorship attempts.

Parents for Rock and Rap, PO Box 53, Libertyville, IN 60048: "...a watchdog for artistic freedom in the music industry. It will work to monitor legislation and work to expose and combat all forms of music censorship."

People for the American Way, 2000 M St. NW #400, Washington, DC 20036.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ALERT, $15/yr from Coalition for Religious Freedom, 515 Wythe St. #201, Alexandria, VA 22314.

THE ROC, $6/yr from Rock Out Censorship, c/o Woods, 320 S. Cadiz St., Jewett, OH, 43986.

ROCK & ROLL CONFIDENTIAL, $24/yr from PO Box 15052, Long Beach, CA 90815; (213)-594-6866: Publishers of the anti-labelling YOU'VE GOT A RIGHT TO ROCK pamphlet and very active in the fight against music censorship in general.

The Small Press Support Foundation, 6 Arizona Ave., Rensselaer, NY 12144; (518)-479-3707: Yes, that's another activity run out of the FACTSHEET FIVE offices. We give away money to small publishers who've had problems of various sorts, including censorship. No, you can't apply for a grant, but we'd be happy to hear about others you think should get a grant.

STOP-GRO (Stop Prosecuting Grass Roots Organizers, c/o 125 E. 23rd St. #300, New York, NY 10010: An organization for people fighting the New York City Poster Police.

Student Press Law Center, 1754 Eye Street NW #504, Washington, DC 20006.

The WELL: WELL stands for Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link and it's a public computer conferencing system, a place for people to hang out and chat with one another. It provides fast and cheap access to current news and lively discussions; the First Amendment conference on the WELL was a primary source of material for this section. There are many similar systems, but this is the one I hang out on. To join, you need a computer and a modem; call (415)-332-6106 at 1200 baud or (415)-332-7190 at 2400 baud and type "newuser" at the login prompt to register.

My thanks to all the people on the WELL who helped with source material for this section.