X-Message-Number: 1665
Date: 23 Jan 93 02:18:49 EST
From: Saul Kent <>
Subject: CRYONICS:  Reply To Carlos Mondragon

Carlos says that one reason he opposed (unsuccessfully) the
"politicalization of Alcor" this past year is because: "'Politics is a
brew in which the dregs rise to the top.'"

The major political issue in Alcor last year was the question of whether
Carlos should remain as President of Alcor or be replaced by Steve
Bridge. Alcor has always been a political organization.  Until last
year, however, Alcor politics was almost entirely an "inside" affair
among a few of Alcor's directors, staff, and local members.  In 1992,
however, participation in Alcor politics expanded to include a greater
number of Alcor members, including some from outlying areas.

My suggestion that it might be desirable for the relatives of suspension
patients to play a role in their long-term care refers solely to
relatives who are suspension members themselves, and where adequate
funding has been provided.  With Cryospan's patients in the 1960s, most
of the relatives were *not* suspension members, nor was there adequate
funding for their long-term care.

My statement that I would again be in favor of mounting a legal
challenge against relatives trying to steal a patient's money and take
legal control over his suspended body was in response to Dave Pizer's
inference that we shouldn't have mounted a legal challenge against Dick
Jones' relatives.  With regard to the case itself, I would certainly be
in favor of doing a number of things differently today than we did in
the Jones case.

Saul Kent

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