Send your letters to the Free Press, PMB #178, 1463 E Republican St, Seattle 98112. Keep them short. Letters may be edited for length, spelling and grammar. Letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Free Press. Letters which respond to Free Press articles and which bear your real, full name will be given precedence.

Oppose New Draft Bill

HR 3598 is a military draft bill euphemistically termed "Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001." It requires all males born in the US between the ages of 18 and 22 serve in the armed forces. The founders of the US relied on voluntary militia and a two-year army, because they knew from experience that no government can resist using permanent armies for political purposes, ie., for assault rather than defense. No draft is necessary when the States are threatened by attack. A draft is only necessary for political wars for "US interests," like the interests of Standard Oil and other companies doing business in foreign countries. I am sure those who support the draft either have no eligible progeny or have a way for them to avoid conscription. Encourage your Congressmen to support Representative Ron Paul in opposition to the draft (Contact Paul at www.house.gov/paul). Bill Holmes

Dems No Different from GOP on Military Budget

If you think spending for military and missile defense instead of human needs is a Republican affliction, think again! Sen. Patty Murray along with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) recently inserted a provision in the Defense Appropriations bill requiring the Air Force to lease 100 Boeing 767s for use as tankers, over a 10-year period for $23 billion. The Boeing pork was neither requested by the Air Force and wasn't in the President's budget.

The lease for $23 billion dollars will cost us taxpayers more than an outright purchase of the 767s. It's surprising that a Democratic Senator, reputedly a supporter of education and family issues, seems unable to draw the connection between a bloated military budget and under funding of education and social issues. Never mind the effect that the Boeing pork will have on the escalating military build up by the US at the expense of peace building.

Could it be that the Senator was unduly influenced by the political contributions totaling $42,210 over the past five years from the Boeing Company, one of America's largest defense contractors? Check out Murray's contributions at www.opensecrets.org.

It can be argued that Murray sought to keep local jobs with the Boeing largesse. What's wrong with that picture is the number of jobs that would result from spending the same amount of money on rebuilding crumbling schools, building hospitals, educating inner city kids or providing medical care for the uninsured. One can only imagine the impact that $23 billion dollars would have on many of the social problems facing Americans today because it went to a military contractor instead.

As an example, I have two family members who left the teaching profession because they were unable to make enough money to support their families. It's too bad that the military pork dished out by Sen. Murray to Boeing won't be used to increase teacher's salaries to help retain dedicated teachers!

Why do we Democrats/Liberals/Progressives continue to support politicians like Murray? Can such support be explained by some sort of blind loyalty to the Democratic Party? Why should we be satisfied with the "lesser of two evils" when one of the Key Values of the Green Party is non-violence? Why not support a party dedicated to human needs rather than military spending? Howard A. Pellett, Green Party of Skagit County

U-Village Cans, Then Resumes Recycling

Hi, just have a little tidbit of info that might interest you...i work at a store in the university village [a shopping mall in Seattle]...i learned the other day that village management has decided to no longer provide paper recycling - apparent reason: "not cost efficient"...my store collects many binfuls everyday plus boxes and display fixtures (not to mention all of the other stores in the village)...we now have nowhere to take it...this is going to result in massive quantities of paper being thrown in the garbage...somehow i don't think they're going to listen to a lowly bookseller like me...maybe you can wise 'em up... management office: 206-523-0622. They stopped ALL recycling, save for cardboard boxes...meaning glass, aluminum, plastic, all went as well...the official reason given was "due to cost considerations." (like he doesn't have enough money already???) Thanks for trying to help, every bit counts. Name withheld

A call to management office said that recycling is back in place temporarily; that many of the retailers did not recycle properly and were contaminating bins by throwing garbage in with recyclables. An outcry forced the management to take on the recycling again. The job will be to educate each retailer to put only the proper recyclables in each bin. Readers shopping over there might want to speak to individual retailers about recycling properly, --Ed.

Wrong and Senseless

I'm a WWII veteran, US Navy Lt. overseas two years. The article on Pearl Harbor [Mar/Apr 2002] is tragically wrong and senseless. There are several books such as the one "reviewed" but all have been refuted. Why do you support such lies? Why denigrate Roosevelt? Why the subversion? Warren [last name illegible]

Dear Warren: At the Free Press, we are certainly very interested in publishing intriguing, under-reported topics that have huge amounts of documented evidence. Your letter claims that the reviewed book on Pearl Harbor (Day of Deceit, which provides an abundance of evidence that FDR had detailed foreknowledge of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor) is refuted, but you provide no support for your claim. We print your letter here, but we strongly believe that simply bad-mouthing ideas you don't agree with does not help build democracy. If you would like to provide an actual refutation, we'd be glad to print it.--Ed.

Bandits Sentenced to Road Repair

Are the Indian casinos with their one-armed bandits moving into our towns and cities? Are they making money enough to pave streets with gold? If we knew the amount of money they were making, would our heads spin like a compass on a horseshoe magnet? I don't know the answers to these questions, however, if the bandits can pave streets with gold, maybe they can fill potholes with asphalt.

I had a dream the other night wherein the State of Washington built five elaborate casinos and turned them over to the Department of Transportation. At no cost to us, they built a freway to paradise rest stops along the way. Hal Meili, Cheney, WA

Likes Junk Mail Pledge

Great Newspaper. I'm looking forward to my new subscription! Thank you for your pledge and promise not to sell my name and address to anyone--ever. I am reassured because I've got more junk mail now than I can handle. Good luck and thanks. Judy Dean

American English Only

Regarding Dr. Macero's article, "US Needs All the Languages It Can Get," [Mar/Apr 2002] the good doctor reminds me of the snake swallowing its own tail. He writes correctly, "Monolingualism is the glue that holds the country together. We don't want to be like Canada which, some believe, can come apart at any time because of bilingualism." But he then follows this with the sentence, "Unfortunately, monolingualism will provide no answers to problems facing America." The prospect of this country "coming apart" is no problem? The prospect of becoming Balkanized is no problem? You've got to be joking, Doctor.

Embrace English (American English, to be sure) as the official language, Doctor, and add and keep however many languages you wish, but don't make the mistake of thinking many official and/or unofficial languages won't divide us into warring groups eventually. Stanley M. Daugert PhD, Bellingham