The Eat the State! Fund drive crockpot is filling steadily-if rather more slowly than we would like (more slowly than we need, actually).

ETS! readers have come forward with vital financial support, as they always do, but to keep on publishing, we need you, too--a little or a lot, you know what you can afford. But it's not how much, its what all our small efforts can add up to that is important.

This copy of ETS! is the result of what stews up in that crockpot: the research, writing, editing, distribution, etc. is all done by volunteers, with our own equipment and on our own time. We operate on the lowest possible overhead because we believe that information and dialogue are basic tools of activism (not to mention citizenship).

We need money to pay for layout and printing and some basic administration. While we get a little bit from advertising and subscriptions, most of our support comes from our readers. That's part of what makes ETS! a community effort.

With about two weeks left in our bi-annual fund drive, we are still $3,000 away from our goal. We need your support.

We are offering an ETS! T-shirt to anyone donating $100 or more (please specify size), and a donation of $300 or more gets a dinner with ETS! writers and radio hosts Maria Tomchick and Geov Parrish.

While we need money, we aren't big enthusiasts of the money economy--dollars aren't the only way to support ETS!. This is a volunteer-driven effort, and we are always in need of more help with writing, editing, distributing, and all the other stuff that goes into this regularly occurring event.

All donations can either be mailed to our post office box listed in the panel below, or sent electronically via our website (www.eatthestate.org). Thanks.