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.

DEMOCRACY Act of 2003?

Geov Parrish wrote about the emergency democracy act of 2003 in "eat my short" [sic] in the June 4 issue. What is that all about? Or was Geov Parrish just joking around? (I tried looking for information on it, and I just found information on something about putting sanctions on Burma)

--zria, via e-mail

Does the DEMOCRACY Act exist? You decide.

Sellout Club?

Politics with Bite, eh?! Re: Nature & Politics by Jeffrey St. Clair: I am so absolutely sick and tired of self-proclaimed critics doing the dirty work of GW and the gang at GOP. What possible mission could it serve to lambast the Sierra Club and like organizations in such a self-righteous manner? Does it change anything?

After all, I would expect such fundamentalist rhetoric from the likes of the Christian Coalition or the Chamber of Commerce--their gestapo tactics are the stuff of legend. But this continue battle of purification being waged against any perceived infraction by a progressive group is downright disgusting.

Here's an idea -- spend one tenth of the time you've wasted compiling anti-Sierra Club agitprop and sick your dogs on the politics with real bite. Issues like "Clean Skies" and "Healthy Forests" and a litany of other environmental crimes by the current Administration. That might help a bit, rather than brutalizing the nation's oldest, most successful environmental group.

--Bryan Clark, via e-mail

Jeffrey St. Clair replies: My criticism of the Sierra Club is limp compared to the vicious assaults of the most famous Sierra Clubber of them all, David Brower, who believed to his dying day that the Club had betrayed its principles in the name of political expediency. Why criticize the Club? Easy. They are a politically compromised organization which deludes their supporters into believing that the preservation of the environment is their top priority, when all too often this translates into preservation of the Democratic Party, a party which has been a maliciously adroit despoiler of our rivers, forests and deserts.

We Didn't Pay for This!

I'm 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. Ihave 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 them and alternative perspective of Americans.

So in short, I want to thank all of the staff at Eat the State!. 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