LETTERS

...Your children can attend relatively good schools...

...But when did power ever concede without collective action...

...To be sure, she is correct in pointing out the general overbuilding of the city...

...A small contribution is enclosed to help keep the fly in the ointment...

...Claude M. Steiner Berkeley, California The author replies: My article urged more— not less—public protest and collective action...

...Public protest of noxious policies can and should take many forms...

...D.W...

...Northcott claims that the restaurants in Austin are going downhill, but I have found that the number and variety have increased...

...Bob Spencer Portland...

...March issue) was excellent because the author told about the dangers of dioxin but still understood that breast feeding is best...

...Why pray for peace and pay for war...

...Robin Morgan Bellaire, Texas In the High Himalayas Tracy L. Barnett's story about my daughter, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and her Ladakh Project is by far the most lucid I have read to date ("Tibetan Society Bridges the Future," Datelines, April issue...

...Why shouldn't they raise their voices "as one" now and then...

...Instead of constructing rationalizations for the "necklace" and other terrorist acts, progressives should be trying to encourage and accelerate peaceful change...

...Carol Eberling San Francisco, California Samuel H. Day's article was excellent...

...Pretty soon the lender was telling him how to plan his whole life: Buy more land, build better barns, plant this or that, buy bigger equipment...

...something in human milk may counteract poisons the way antibodies counteract disease, or the findings may have had something to do with the quantity of milk ingested...

...She's a riot as big as Texas...

...There is no moral merit in suggesting that victims of oppression must be permitted to engage in violence not only against their oppressors but against anyone who happens to be in the neighborhood...

...While noting the expansion of hotels in the city, Northcott fails to mention that Austin still does not have a facility capable of hosting a fair-sized professional conference...

...The testers weren't sure why...

...it was a result of apartheid...

...You go to sleep every night on a full stomach in your own bed...

...If Molly wants some help in kicking ass, I have a pair of pointy-toed shoes I'll gladly lend her...

...The Special Branch will not knock down your door tonight, nor will the SADF or the Buffalo Battalion napalm your refugee camp...

...Franklin P. Witte Phoenix, Arizona Samuel H. Day's call for citizen peacemaking initiatives such as tax resistance and other forms of civil disobedience is laudable, but why did he have to pick on the Mobilization for Peace and Justice...

...My observations of how man has used and misused the planet Earth have led me to believe that an enhanced understanding of our ecosystem, brought about by the peaceful exploration of space, can only improve our chances for surviving and thriving well into the next century...

...The "corrosion" of black spirits happened long before the abandonment of nonviolence by the African National Congress...

...it may have been useful in India during the 1940s and in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, but in South Africa today nonviolence is a meaningless notion...

...and other civil-rights leaders didn't feel that way...

...Helen K. Zunes Chapel Hill, North Carolina Lost in the Stars Like Lawrence H. Allen (Letters, March issue), I am dismayed by The Progressive's apparent lack of understanding for the goals of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the opportunities presented by the peaceful exploration of space...

...to emphasize that he wouldn't attend the Mobilization march in Washington...

...Peter Lasagna Peace Dale, Rhode Island Thank you for Molly Ivins...

...There was a time when a farmer ran his own farm, paid his bills with his own money, and worked hard...

...Whitman Eugene, Oregon Iwant to thank Molly Ivins for her efforts to shake Americans out of fantasy land...

...You conclude that "taking up arms corrodes the spirit, blinding the eyes and deafening the ears to the suffering of others...

...Let's say yes to marches and yes to individual peacemaking...

...So long as our Government can collect taxes to pay for war, the arms race will continue...

...LETTERS Yevtushenko's Fresh Wind Never have I read anything to which I reacted so emotionally—and positively—as Katrina vanden Heuvel's interview ("Yev-tushenko Feels a Fresh Wind Blowing," April issue) and the excerpt from "Fuku...

...I have nothing but considered and total admiration for its contents and its author...

...This is not the time for progressives to hide their lights under bushel baskets...

...Soon, all our food will be grown by the big companies, and we'll pay exactly what they ask for it...

...Hugh Andrew Ross Chicago, Illinois Sworn to Silence Iwas especially interested in Donna Demac's article, "Sworn to Silence," which carried the subtitle, "If You Work for the Government, Leave the First Amendment Behind" (May issue...

...L.E...

...Gard Norberg Dania, Florida Austin Overbuilt Iwas glad to see Austin receive some coverage in The Progressive, but was disappointed with Kaye North-cott's article ("Tex Mess," April issue...

...I have solicited just about every one of the Federal employees here to sign the petition, but none I could identify as such has been willing to sign it...

...All letters may be edited for clarity and conciseness...

...Kathleen Hart's "Is Mother's Milk Safe...

...And surely atmospheric nuclear testing would not have ceased had it not been for the outcry and mass public protest of people around the world...

...For at least ten years, I have circulated a War Resisters League petition against reinstatement of the military draft...

...Lois Keefe Rogersville, Tennessee Humor is a precious gift for those burdened with social consciousness...

...No one has the right to ask black South Africans to be patient...

...I'm glad Martin Luther King Jr...

...She derides the "new rich" and yuppies, but ignores Austin's deep-seated racism and segregation...

...I can hardly wait for Yevtushenko's Almost at the End to be published...

...Americans must realize that nonviolence has only limited value...

...Elizabeth P. Reminick Edgewood, New Mexico Be Your Own Peacemaker In "Be Your Own Peacemaker" (Reflections, April issue), Samuel H. Day Jr...

...surely legislation would not have been enacted had it not been for the public outcry induced by their protests and marches...

...Then he heard about money for mowing the weeds in his field, a subsidy for tractor fuel, payments for not growing crops, and many more handouts from Uncle Sam...

...Keith Bryan Shcolnik Tempe, Arizona Give me a break...

...argues that public protest and petitioning our Government for a redress of grievances are ineffectual and, therefore, not worth our time and energy...

...Madison, Wisconsin Plowed Under As a retired farmer, I want to comment on Steve Brodner's "Plowed Under" (May issue...

...It is harmful to us all and to our goals when Day attempts to discredit what is one of our proven effective tactics, thereby weakening and dividing the movement...

...Poor thing, soon he owed more than he could pay back in three lifetimes...

...citizen, though she is not too keen on broadcasting this fact in developing countries lest she be taken for a CIA agent or other Ugly American...

...Bruce Dixon Chicago, Illinois Your Comment on the South African situation was excellent, and the letter you published under the heading "Matches and Necklaces" (April issue) missed the point...

...One of the places where I have been arrested for circulating that petition is the plaza of the Federal courthouse in Winston-Salem...

...Joe Felmet Winston-Salem, North Carolina Ivins Fan Long live Small Favors...

...Maine Iagree that we can't rely on marches to move the powers that be, but I think it was a mistake for Samuel H. Day Jr...

...One form is to disobey them...

...But rather than relying so much on marches in Washington and similar tactics aimed at persuading the Federal Government to change its policies, we should be encouraging more direct forms of resistance, such as civil disobedience and nonpayment of Federal taxes...

...To criticize such basic exploration as the lunar landings and the expeditions to study our planetary system is very shortsighted...

...Thanks, Molly...

...Writing about the suffering of innocent whites and black collaborators amounts to just that...

...Why shouldn't folks join together to make a forceful mass statement and maybe gain a little media attention...

...Samuel H. Day Jr...

...The Right Livelihood Prizes are not awarded by the Swedish parliament (though the award ceremony takes place there) but by the Right Livelihood Foundation, 1 Cambridge Gate, Regents Park, London NW1 4JN, United Kingdom, to which address nominations for future awards may be submitted...

...It does, however, contain a couple of factual errors...

...However, she neglects to mention that even with the massive building spree, Austin still lacks several essential elements, including affordable housing...

...However, it was something of an empty victory...

...one must either pay outrageous prices or move to the outlying areas...

...Moll Madison, Wisconsin The editors welcome correspondence from readers on all topics, but prefer to publish letters that comment directly on material previously published in The Progressive...

...The North Carolina Civil Liberties Union defended me, and a Federal magistrate ruled that the plaza is a First Amendment forum...

...I agree we need all the citizen peacemaking initiatives we have the courage to perform and the imagination to create...

...And the national recognition of Austin music is also growing, as shown by the recent successes of the T-Birds and Timbuk 3. Alan Wexelblat Austin, Texas Matches and Necklaces Iam disappointed with The Progressive's position regarding black violence in South Africa ("Matches and Necklaces," Comment, March issue...

...An experiment conducted a few years ago showed that more DDT was found in mother's milk than in formula, but less DDT showed up in breast-fed babies...

...Mike Geyer Athens, Georgia It is not difficult to be a pacifist about South Africa when you live in Wisconsin...

...Whether this fear of divulging her national identity can be written off as paranoia or should be regarded as a practical precaution, it is a sad commentary on the low esteem in which the United States is held world-wide...

...And lastly, she cites the closing of Armadillo World Headquarters as proof that Austin music is dying...

...Your solemn judgment that "taking up arms corrodes the spirit" of South African freedom fighters is quite a bit more callous than anything Winnie Mandela or Oliver Tambo are likely to come up with any time soon...

...Helena is, by virtue of having been born in New York City, a U.S...

...I think that is also false...

...Steven B. Eulberg Kansas City, Missouri When The Progressive arrives each month, I turn first to the page that has Molly Ivins's brand on it...

...No, I don't expect the Reagan Administration to turn over a new leaf as a result, but I do expect the marchers to go home feeling affirmed in their convictions and inspirited to do more...

...No longer are we restricted to a choice of Mexican food, Mexican food, or barbecue/ Mexican food...

...I wish the family farmer well, but I don't think he'll find his answers in more Government subsidies...

...In South Africa, the issue is the unjust system of apartheid and its negative impact on black lives...

...I'm also relieved that Day had no influence on the people of the Philippines who, partially through mass public protest, made a relatively peaceful revolution...

...we still have a wide range of styles available, from rock to new wave to reggae to blues to jazz...

...To ask whether a Holocaust victim should be expected to "cry because of the suffering of the Nazis" is to draw a false analogy...

...Robert W. Ryley Jackson, New Jersey Is Mother's Milk Safe...