#81 May/June 2006
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Misguided Medication
Federally sponsored research now indicates it's dangerous to many people, but fluoridation still gets the nod from WA officials
by Doug Collins
see related articles in HEALTH section

Drug-free zones fail to protect youth, worsen racial disparity
Key failures of drug-free zones

Movement to change ineffective laws finds growing support in WA and other states
two articles from the Justice Policy Institute
cartoon by John Jonik "War on Pot"

Vote-By-Mail: Expensive & Easier to Manipulate
opinion by Richard Borkowski
see related article in ELECTIONS section

FREE THOUGHTS

READER MAIL
Next stop, bus improvements; Bush on way out
cartoon by Tristan Hobson "State of Denial"
cartoon by David Logan "Republican Balloon"

Searching for Common Ground
by Todd Huffman, MD

ELECTIONS

Voter's Absentee Ballots Not Counted--Twice in Two Months!
by Doug Collins

Court Strikes Down WA Ex-con Poll Tax
from the ACLU of WA
cartoon by David Logan "Give me your tired..."

CONTACTS/ACTIVISM

NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS
contact list of subscribers who like to talk with you

DO SOMETHING! CALENDAR
Northwest activist events

WAR

Spying in Seattle
Surveillance and retaliation for the U.S. Navy
by Glen Milner

Questions in Iraq
opinion by Joseph Sonntag

Bush Seeks Funds for Laser Space Weapon
from Global Network

HEALTH

National Academy of Sciences: Fluoridation Can Be Unhealthy
No Milligrams are Good Milligrams

Oregon newspaper helps expose the risks
two articles by Robert Carton, PhD
cartoon by John Jonik "Parasito Insurance"

Fluoridation and Cancer
It's been known for a long time
from NY State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

Toxic Flame Retardants Still Unregulated in WA
from WA Toxics Coalition

TRANSPORTATION

Wanna Faster Bus Ride?
Driver champions transit change
by Andrew Jeromsky

More Causes of Slow Busses
by Doug Collins

BOB'S RANDOM LEGAL WISDOM by Bob Anderton
WA Bike Laws: They may be different from what you think

ENVIRONMENT

UW Plagued by Biosafety Problems
from Labwatch Seattle

TRASH TALK by Dave & Lillian Brummet
Growing Green Kids
Extend the Life of Books & Magazines

RIGHT BRAIN

Tires
short story by Vincent Spada

"When Not in Victory"
"The Patient"

two poems by Raymond Cavanaugh

About Family:
"Uncle Teddy Pekrul"
"Family Portrait 1920"
"We Three"

three poems by Robert Pavlik

POLITICS

MEDIA BEAT by Norman Solomon
The Lobby and the Bulldozer: Mearsheimer, Walt, and Corrie

BOOK NOTICE: "What Democracy Looks Like"
New book argues that 1999 Seattle WTO protests were a cultural turning point
from the publisher

The Puzzle of Jack Abramoff and Quid Pro Quo
The basic problem with US politics is that it's a pyramid scheme
by Steven Hill

About Family

three poems by Robert Pavlik


The faces of Europe

The Old World

Wars Famine Displacement Disease

Death

The pear tree blossoms in early spring

Haunted by the past

Its in the eyes

The pores

First run movies on Saturday night

With hot popcorn and cold Cokes

At the Metroplex

Naked Freezing Hungry

Withered crops crushed by

Mud caked bootheels

Driving up Highway 101 with the top down

I live in the present

But the past resides on a shelf in my den

It's a quiet reminder of

Who my grandparents were

What they left behind

And what they bequeathed to me


Uncle Teddy was Grandma's brother

An Old World gentleman

In a dark worsted wool suit

White Shirt

Wide silk tie

Polished heavy leather shoes

And argyle socks

His pockets were filled with

Silver dollars

That he doled out to us

My brother and me

His sister's youngest grandsons

Americans born in Cleveland

Of German and Slovak descent

Cherishing those heavy silver disks

Fingering the knurled edge

Closely studying the crowned head and furled eagle

Deciphering blocky letters

Marveling at its beauty

And our sudden unexpected wealth

The adults drank coffee

Smoked Pall Malls

And talked in quiet

Accented voices

While we studied the Sunday Comics

On the floral patterned thick wool carpet

Scrambled up and down the stairway

Wrestled in our bedroom

And shyly inquired about dinner

City chicken and mashed potatoes

Succotash

Milk and apple pie

Later

In our twin beds

The room illuminated by the

Streetlight filtering through the Venetian blinds

We talked about Uncle Teddy

And the shining silver dollars

On our dresser tops

That would be there in the morning

And long after Uncle Teddy

Was gone.


My wife calls me a machine

I could be taken for a tool

Father was a craftsman

He put my older brother and me on his lathe and turned us at high speed

Making us match a blueprint

Drafted against the backdrop of depression and world war

Our mother was the machine oil

Light

She reduced the friction between us and took the heat.

We came out as unique parts

Bright

Not entirely polished

Rough edges that will not go away.

What we do he could not envision

The plans he used to grind and shape us were torn, stained, incomplete

They didn't show him how we fit into the larger structure.

He still doesn't understand our purpose and function;

With Mom gone there's no more oil to ease the rubs.

Now the old machinist can only stand back and watch

While we work.


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