ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 8 6 /C & R L N ew s Internet resources for lib eralism By Rod Bustos and R oxann Bustos How to be “conservatively incorrect” on the Net T h e tendency o f people to separate into political factions has not only b een the cause of much of the w orld’s strife, but has generated many fascinating discussions as well. In recent months it has also inspired many In­ ternet sites. As Thomas Jefferson noted, “Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties.” It seems appropriate, to com ple­ ment the listing o f “Internet resources for con­ servatism” in the July/August C&RL News with a listing of resources for liberalism. Libertarian and radical left resources have been excluded. Although the conservative m ovement has b een on the upswing in recent years, liberal­ ism is hardly dead. The vitality of the liberal movement in the U.S. today can be seen in the num ber and variety o f Internet resources avail­ able propounding liberal ideas. Electronic journals • The A m eric a n P ro s p e c t. Billed as “a journal for the Liberal Imagination,” this elec­ tronic version o f A m erican Prospect magazine offers insightful articles on liberal issues and concerns. Access: http://epn.org/prospect.htm l. • C o n se rva tive ly In co rrect. This new s­ letter offers hard-hitting articles on the conser­ vative agenda written in a humorous style. In­ cludes links to related sites. Access: h ttp :// turnpike.net/em porium /H /H R/index.htm . • The L ib e r a l A ven g er. This in d e p en ­ dently produced newsletter features well-writ­ ten articles and commentary on liberal issues. Access: h ttp : //w w w .lc s c .e d u /~ m a c k e n z i / avenger.html. • M ojoW ire. Log onto this online edition o f Mother Jones and find out w hat’s bugging America’s liberals. Access feature-length articles and links to related resources. Access: h ttp :// w w w.m ojones.com . W orld W ide W eb resources • The Anti-Rush Limbaugh Page. Fed up with Rush Limbaugh’s daily ranting and raving? Check out this site by the creator of the W eb’s Turn Left to see Limbaugh’s 35 Unquestionable Truths refuted, the Rush Limbaugh quote of the day, and the 18 com mandm ents of the con­ se rv ativ e rad io ho st. Access: h ttp ://w w w . c jnetw orks. com /~cubsfan/rush/antirush. htm l. • B rian’s P ro g ressiv e Pages. Formerly know n as the Left Side of the Web, this site provides links to many resources for progres­ sive activists. Includes sites that keep tabs on the militia movement, as well as a variety of liberal organizations, journals, and newsgroups. A ccess: h t t p : / / p a u l . s p u . e d u / ~ s i n n f e i n / progressive. htm l. • D e m o c r a t ic N a t io n a l C o m m it te e (DNC) H om e Page. A lthough liberals may not be as closely aligned with the Democratic Party as conservatives are with the Republicans, liberals traditionally identify themselves with various important issues espoused by the Demo­ crats. The DNC hom epage provides a means for users to join the organization, find out about Democratic groups in their area, keep u p with important party news, and connect to related Web sites. Access: http://w w w .dem ocrats.org/. Rod Bustos is a p u blic services librarian a t Swilley Library, Mercer University, Atlanta, e-mail: bustos_ra@mercer.edu; R oxann Bustos is coordinator o f reference services at Reese Library, A ugusta College, e-mail: rbustos@acad2.ac.edu http://epn.org/prospect.html http://www.lcsc.edu/~mackenzi/ http://www.mojones.com http://www http://paul.spu.edu/~sinnfein/ http://www.democrats.org/ mailto:bustos_ra@mercer.edu mailto:rbustos@acad2.ac.edu F ebruary 1 9 9 6 / 8 7 • Majority ’96. The Majority ’96 page is a grassroots effort dedicated to w inning back a Democratic majority in key U.S. House and Sen­ ate offices. It provides links to important Demo­ cratic sites, lists targeted races for the 1996 elec­ tio n , a n d c o n tain s in fo rm atio n a b o u t th e organization’s Cybergazette newsletter. Access: http ://w w w . cais. com/majority96/. • S en a to r Edw ard K e n n e d y ’s H o m e Page. Sen. Edward Kennedy has long been a strong supporter of liberal causes in the U.S. Senate. He continues this tradition via a hom e­ page that gives inform ation about him, his record, and on getting involved with the politi­ cal process. Access: h ttp ://w w w .ai.m it.e d u / projects/iiip/K ennedy/hom epage. htm l. • Turn Left (th e H om e o f Liberalism o n th e W eb). Perhaps the prem ier place for lib­ eral information on the Web, this well-designed page, created by Mike Silverman, provides links to a wide variety of excellent liberal sites, as well as basic information about liberalism to­ day. Access: h ttp ://w w w .c jn e tw o rk s .c o m / -cubsfan/liberal. html. O rg an izatio n s • The A bortion R ights A ctivist H om e Page. This Web site provides information for all those w ho w ork to preserve w om en’s ac­ cess to abortion. The page provides links to information about abortion, clinic violence, leg­ islation, and more. Access: h ttp ://w w w .cais. com /agm /index.htm l. • A nti-D efam ation League H om e Page. Since 1913 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has fought against anti-Semitism in particular and all forms o f hatred and bigotry in general. This Web site provides detailed information about the ADL, press releases and reports is­ sued by the organization, and hum an relations materials. Access: http://w w w .adl.org. • LaborWEB: The AFL-CIO’s H om e Page. This well-designed site offers details about the AFL-CIO, current information on labor disputes, links to union organizations on the Web, and stories from the latest edition of the AFL-CIO News On Line. Access: http://w w w.aflcio.org. • NAACP H o m e P a g e. T h e h isto ric al guardian o f civil rights, the NAACP has created a hom epage that provides a means for indi­ viduals to inform themselves about the organi­ zation and to becom e members. Access: http: / / w w w .bin. com / assocorg/naacp/ n aacp . htm. • N a tio n a l O rg a n iz a tio n fo r W o m en (NOW) H om e Page. Closely identified with the feminist m ovement, NOW offers this hom e­ page to provide w om en with a central site for information on the organization, as well as im­ portant issues such as abortion rights and do­ mestic violence. Access: h ttp ://n o w .o rg /n o w / home.html. Electronic discussion groups • D em ocratic N ational C om m ittee List- serv s. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) recently announced a series o f electronic mailing lists that will send interested individu­ als the latest information about the Democratic party via electronic mail. The lists include Democratic News, Democratic News Digest, and Democratic Events. To subscribe to any of these lists sen d a m essage to majordomo@ democrats.org with “subscribe [name of list]” in the body of the e-mail. • Leftnews: Left N ew s and Events. This list provides timely announcem ents of impor­ tant news of interest to leftists in both the U.S. and abroad. Subscribe: Send the message “sub LEFTNEWS y o u r n a m e ” to listserv@ cmsa. berkeley.edu. • Left-Org: D em ocratic Left Organiza­ tio n D iscu ssio n s. Based at the same univer­ sity in Berkeley as the previous list, this listserv offers subscribers the opportunity to discuss issues of interest to the Democratic Left. Sub­ scribe: Send the message “sub LEFT-ORG your nam e” to listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu. Usenet groups • Newsgroups like alt.politics.democrats.d and misc.activism.progressive provide access to freewheeling discussions on a w ide variety of topics, some o f interest to liberals. Please see your local systems administrator to find out about access at your institution. G ophers • A m e r ic a n C iv il L ib e r t ie s U n io n (ACLU). Once all the rage on the Internet, go­ phers are rapidly being phased out to make way for showier W eb-based resources. One lib­ eral group that does still maintain a gopher pres­ ence is the ACLU. This site provides a wealth o f information on the organization itself, as well as on related publications. Access: g o p h er:// gopher, nyc .pipeline. co m /11/ society/aclu. A u th o r note: The resources discussed in this article can be accessed directly at h ttp ://w w w . mercer. edu/~bustos_ra/liberal .htm. ■ http://www.ai.mit.edu/ http://www.cjnetworks.com/ http://www.cais http://www.adl.org http://www.aflcio.org http://www.bin http://now.org/now/ mailto:listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu http://www