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...although, to tell the truth, I really just consider myself a resident of Bloomington, that liberal bastion...I have no sense of affliation with Indiana outside of the city.
Bloomington, fwiw, is considered one of the few places in America with active ELF and ALF chapters who have performed acts of vandalism (some would say terrorism).
There was a long tree sit here to try to protect a karst, which ultimately failed.
Indiana has a strong environmental community because Indiana is still a really rural state compared to other places.
Frank McCloskey is an Indiana politician worth mentioning. He represented Indiana in the House. He's in the Pulitzer-winning book, A Problem From Hell, by Samantha Powers. Frank worked to help convince Clinton to intervene to stop the genocide of Muslims in the former Yugo. wars.
You should also look into the record of Birch Bayh, Evan's father. He was a progressive politician as far as the Vietnam war goes. Salin can tell you more about him.
One of the most famous residents of Bloomington was Hoagy Carmichael. He wrote Stardust Memories, one of, if not the most recorded songs of all time. He's buried in Bloomington.
Another person who is notable from the area is Ross Lockridge Jr. who wrote Raintree County. Some consider this one of the quintessential American novels. Raintree County is apparently modeled on Bloomington in the late 1940s.
Other people, other than Letterman, who are also from here and are national entertainment figures include John Mellencamp, Joshua Bell, Jane Pauley...and many others I'm sure I cannot recall.
Bloomington is a unique community, with people from more than 39 nations co-existing together. Their children attend public schools together. They learn about each other and their cultures together.
Unfortunately, sometimes Bloomington also has people who do not respect and value diversity and unity, such as the guy who went on a killing spree and killed a Korean student here, plus a black man who was a coach in Chicago, and another person in Chicago who was Jewish... He was part of Matt Hale's world church of the Creator...an Illinois racist Christian Identity sort of thing, I think.
Also, Ramsei...I don't know how to spell his name...Yousef, who is now in jail and who participated in the first WTC bombing was in Bloomington as a child.
There is a book, called Dissent in the Heartland, which talks about the activities in Bloomington during the Vietnam War era. Bloomington, along with Madison, WI, was one of the most active in opposition to the war, from what I've heard.
Much of the limestone which went into building the Capitol and other bldgs across the nation came from Indiana.
Though not representative of the whole, Bloomington boasts some of the world's greatest muscians in the school of music, is the home of Douglas Hofstadler, who wrote the Pulitzer-winning Godel, Escher, Bach, Willis Barnstone, who translated Borges and who also has done translations of the gospels and genesis which shed new light on the original language of those texts...
..as far as your kid sight...If my kids came across this one, I'd have a hard time with it because the information seems so obviously geared to putting down Indiana. It seems you lack both balance and much of any insight into Indiana politics, esp. the bloody eighth legislative district.
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