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.

It's Here, It's Tainted, Get Used To It

ETS!,

I heard the piece on KEXP this last Saturday morning concerning Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. I am highly intrigued by your report as I have recently had a friend die of the disease. I am surprised that I have not heard any media reports on the numbers of human cases of the disease in the US. My friend had not been out of the country for over 15 years and yet his doctors say that he died from the disease. How can that happen? And why is there not a national database of people who have died from it and a follow-up of where they might have contracted it? It seems probable that he came down with it while in the US. His obituary with the cause of death as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease was published in the Bremerton Sun newspaper.

I am deeply concerned that this disease may have been in our country for quite some time. To my knowledge there has not been any investigation as to the source of his disease. Can you investigate this scenario and report on the outcome? I think this is an area of this disease that needs to be explored.

Best Regards,

Katrina Satter, Seabeck WA

More Food!

ETS!,

Instead of toasting Catalonia's recent democratic advances away from the salivating Spanish state, which has been trying for years to devour the Catalans' sense of collective identity, Mr. Furlock serves up this shrill and pro-state line: "Spain is literally breaking into pieces."

For a site called "Eat the State!," that article bites the big one.

Adam, via e-mail

The Church of Dennis Speaks

ETS!,

Kerry, Dean, Edwards, etc. are all corporate. That's why the corporate media gives them play and they collect corporate $$.

Wide support of Kucinich would show Dems that they need to promote real social justice to win. Dennis ain't a spoiler. He's the last vestige of conscience for the Dems, and his goal is more conceptual than just winning the presidency.

Marc Smason, Seattle

ETS!,

Again I hear it: "Kucinich. Of course he's wonderful. Too bad he's not electable." And I don't believe my ears!

He is, was, and has been, "elected" 14 times! For 24 years voters sent the message, "Do it again, Dennis." Each time, beginning at age 22 in the Cleveland City Council, he squashed his Republican opponent.

Much of those 24 years, Kucinich has spent winning minds and hearts from Cairo to Iceland. Why do you think the Dalai Lama and the Gandhi family campaign beside him? He has every reason to state "I can stop this military madness honorably."

The enormous costs of this military shame deleted, let's check Dennis's domestic agenda: rewrite WTO and NAFTA; no more Sweetheart deals; demand jobs with living wages; push alternative energy; a universal non-profit medical plan that shrinks your bill to zero; the nation's (your taxes) down 75 per cent. It's the wish list of 99 per cent of the human race!!

Suddenly we understand why, in September 2002, the Republican dominated newspaper ordered their reporters: "Don't mention the name Kucinich unless you can connect it with something 'rotten'." Voters must not know Kucinich. He is the one who can beat Bush.

Emily J. Horswill, Lynnwood WA

I wish Kucinich supporters would stop harping on DK's "electability." It makes you come off as delusional and inconsequential to folks outside the church. Kucinich's value in this race is that he speaks the hearts and minds of many, and is willing to say things and lay out detailed ideas none of the other contestants will touch. His presence in the race speaks for many people and forces other candidates to take stands on issues they'd rather stay fuzzy on. That's good enough. Insisting that the sky is green and the grass is purple only detracts from the legitimacy of what Kucinich represents.

Humans From Earth

I am a US taxpayer and I do think it is a good idea to spend money exploring Mars--and all that surrounds our home planet. I think the current robotic mission is certainly worth its $3.00 per person price tag.

There are monies available to spend on projects. The current quagmire in Iraq is proof of that. I would rather see funds spent improving the human condition than on greedy, shortsighted, or imperialistic ventures. I think we should spend tax dollars for education, scientific exploration, feeding and caring for the underprivileged, and the environment. If these were our main focus, I doubt if there would be as great a need for armies and warfare.

I think the people of our world could use a great project--one that offers adventure and the advancement of our species. In an age when most large-scale efforts amount to no more than squabbling over the few remaining resources left on Earth, a project such as a mission to Mars might be something in which we could take pride. We would be making the first steps toward building the future of the human race. In fact, an adventure such as the habitation of our sister planet might be considered the beginning of human history. It is something to be embraced and relished.

There have always been those who would hide from the future. They would shun technology if they could--as if burying their heads in the sand like an ostrich would somehow keep them safe. They might try to support their fears by telling us there is nothing in space worth our efforts. They might assure us with patriarchal statements like "While the Mars project may find remnants of life, it will be nothing that couldn't be found in our own back yard."

Staying on Earth is dangerous. If something should happen to our planet--an asteroid impact, or a war gone out of control, for example--we might all die. In our universe, all civilizations that do not move to other planets will eventually become extinct. In the long run space is the ultimate insurance policy for our species.

Perhaps, if we worked together on a great project, we could afford to spend less on destruction and more on Human development.

--Kurt Rohrer, Seattle

We're humans from earth / We're humans from earth...