I am a lifelong resident of Upstate NY, USA. In spite of this, and
          my liberal Republican upbringing, I am a Left/Progressive activist who
          works mainly in the area of animal rights.
             My lifestyle has always been a bit hard to categorize, as I have a
          longstanding love/hate relationship with cars and motorcycles, and have
          spent at least as much time playing pool in seedy bars as I have marching
          in demonstrations. Many of my own family members don't even realize that
          I'm an AR activist. I have written, with input from people on all sides of
          the debates, several usenet "FAQs" that deal with online activism in general, 
          and animal rights activism in particular, in addition to numerous letters and
          a few opinion pieces. I have spent hundreds (thousands?) of hours over the
          last seven years debating in online forums ranging from FidoNet to usenet.
          Although I have had to cut back on my online time in recent months, I plan
          on remaining active as an "ARA".