ETS! encourages comments, feedback, tips, corrections, and info! Please keep them as concise as possible so we can print as many different voices as possible: ETS!, P.O. Box 85541, Seattle WA 98145, or e-mail ets@scn.org.

Grassroots Diplomacy

I'm Jen-- just another concerned American who enjoys getting some informative news--presently I am traveling in India--I want to share this with you, because it has had a profound positive affect on me--that is: I've met many people from many places as I've traveled through India, Thailand, and Cambodia--every time the question comes up "what is your country?" the thought crosses my mind--should I say I'm from Canada? but no, I don't say this because I've realized the unique position I'm in--I have the opportunity to give another impression of Americans--many people I meet--primarily Europeans, seem to view Americans as politically uneducated and supporters of Bush--who most people describe as an idiot--they see the American media and think that all Americans are duped into believing that this is truth--as I've discussed politics with many folks along the way, it has been a pleasure to inform them that in fact our grassroots political movement is alive and growing in the states--and if they're interested in finding some good information--well, I point them to the direction of your web site--most people are pleasantly surprised to discover that there is a decent source of information in the US-- and it leaves me with a feeling of great pride to offer those an alternate perspective of Americans--so in short, I want to thank all of the staff at Eat the State!--for the work you do affects more than those of us at home, but also the impression we give, as Americans, to those abroad--I strongly believe in the truthful education of Americans as the cornerstone of creating a better country; and look forward to supporting ETS! in any way I can.

My sincere thanks,

Jen, via e-mail

To ETS!,

Being a high school dropout and not very bright to begin with, I wonder if perhaps I am the only person on earth that is seeing the current wave of fascism as just the latest attack on democracy worldwide. Has anyone thought about using the United Nations as a tool for advancing democracy globally (wasn't this the idea?).

What if all members decided to put 1/3 of their militaries under direct control of the UN? What if all it took to overturn a veto was a simple majority of all member states? What if all international treaties had to be debated before the UN and could be voided by a simple majority? What if the WTO were to be put under UN auspices?

I know these ifs seem unrealistic and would never be allowed to pass. But I bet most people would have said that about democracy a few hundred years ago.

I believe no one will be free as long as we live with nationalism as the strongest argument for solving our problems and as long as governments are free to use this against us the way the present administration has.

Thank You

Mark Klein, Seattle, WA

New Progressive Site

You might want to inform progressives about a new web site, The True Democrat's Guide for Winning Elections.

It's at: http://www.kellysite.net

It's based on materials from the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Barron's and Business Week. It proves that conservative economists and politicians know that their policies benefit investors and the wealthy, at the direct expense of workers' wages and working conditions.

In other words, they know they are conducting class war on America's middle and low income Americans. Please check it out. I think you'll find it to be a valuable asset to the progressive cause.

Chuck Kelly, via e-mail

The Wrong Direction

I appreciate your article in Eat the State! Vol. 7 #19 "The Wrong Direction" very much for the material it pulls together. I've been hearing fragments of this reporting but never enough to get clear what it's about. I have a thought about your ending, "What on earth is Washington doing?"

I read the following recently in Understanding Power, excerpts from talks by Noam Chomsky edited by Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel (The New York Press, 2002), p. 64. "The internal documentary record in the United States goes way back and it says the same thing over and over again. Here's virtually a quote: the main commitment of the United States, internationally in the Third World, must be to prevent the rise of nationalist regimes which are responses to pressures from the masses of the population for improvement in low living standards and diversification of production; the reason is, we have to maintain a climate that is conducive to investment and to insure conditions which allow for adequate repatriation of profits to the West."

Chomsky's calculus is seductive: it's simple, but it seems to work in practically every case I know.

Thanks for all your work

A. Henkins, via e-mail

Egregious Misinformation!

I'm horrified! When I went to subscribe to ETS! I found this: "Yes! I want my copy of Eat the State! delivered to me every week by a uniformed agent of the United States government. Here's my $16 (20 issues) or $29 (40 issues)." Which clearly implies that the Unites States Postal Service is actually part of the United States Government, when it is actually merely a government sanctioned private corporation!

The humanity!

--Mitchell, via e-mail

TS Replies: The distinction hardly seems to matter since the modern US Government is merely a private corporation sanctioned by the federal government.

Save Boeing

Boeing's too important to leave in private hands. Most thinking people know that you can't sell airplanes if workers can't afford to buy tickets to fly in them. But Boeing's profits rise--along with executive salaries--when they lay people off. CEO Phil Condit and other corporate officers in Chicago have no interest in the struggles Washington workers are having just to keep food on the table. Governor Locke, who should protect the public, is instead caving in to business interests that, under the guise of the Boeing crisis, are pushing anti-worker laws they've long dreamed of. Locke's claim to be trying to save 800 to 1200 positions on the 7E7 is pathetic when, in fact, Boeing's already cut 20,000 jobs and plans to dump another 35,000 by the end of 2004. The governor and the legislature must not be allowed to slash unemployment pay and workers compensation. If Boeing and the Association of Washington Business pull this off, it will take a generation for us to win back these vital protections for our kids. Boeing will be long gone to one of those countries where weekly salaries are less than our hourly minimum wage. On the other hand, if Boeing is as important to Washington as Governor Locke and the Seattle City Council tell us, then the state needs to take it over, run it as a state enterprise, and ensure it will stay here forever. This Boeing retiree calls on the state to nationalize Boeing in order to keep the jobs in Washington.

Sincerely,

Henry Noble, via e-mail