Well, we try not to do this very often, but it's time once again for Eat The State! to beg for money. We get a little bit of money from display advertising, inserts, and subscriptions, but what really keeps us afloat and allows us to publish with an all-volunteer staff is donations. As usual, the beginning of the year (post-Christmas) has been pretty dry, this year scarcer than most, and so we've exhausted the reserves that allow us to publish from week to week. After we print this issue (each issue costs about $500) we'll only have about $200 in the bank, with no fundraising benefits scheduled nor benefactors in the pipeline. So it seems like a good time to beg.

ETS! has always, always, always been a financially iffy proposition. We've managed to keep publishing, in print and in e-mail, for four years now, because people who read us and value what we do have been very generous in the past. We don't ask for money very often, because it's not what we like to do or do best (we're shitty capitalists; it's in our DNA, I think). But now seems like a good time, cuz we're perilously close to being broke. If you value what we do and want to see us keep going, please help out. Send yer ETS! donations to: PO Box 85541, Seattle WA 98145, USA. Many thanks for your help, and with your assistance we'll try not to ask again for a while.

One more plea, while we're at it: we've just about exhausted our supply of cartoons for the front cover, and the folks we've come to rely upon (John Jonik, Ron & Emily Austin, et. al.) have been working on other projects and haven't been as prolific for us lately. If you're an artist who draws single-panel political comix send us your stuff! No $, but good exposure; you'd be surprised how many people see our humble rag. Photography submissions are also welcome for that space. Same address.