FAWCO Update -- August/September 2006

Compiled by Pat R . . .

The General Election will take place on November 7, 2006, when the entire House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be elected. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act gives overseas U.S. citizens 18 years or older by November 7, the right to register and/or request a ballot using their last residence in the U.S. before departing to live abroad. All states are also obliged to accept a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to register and/or request a ballot from overseas. A single application will suffice to vote in all elections in one calendar year. Because the organization of elections is constitutionally a state's right, each state has its own procedures. Assistance can be found at www.fvap.gov with an online version of the FPCA which can be downloaded as well as state instructions.

In order to make voting by absentee ballots even easier, the Overseas Vote Foundation has announced the launch of RAVA, Registration and Absentee Voter Application, accessible through: www.ovf-rava.org, www.overseasvotefoundation.org, or www.overseasvote.org. RAVA is the first non-partisan, secure, Internet-based voter registration solution for both military and overseas citizen voters.

I just filled out the online form for an absentee ballot at www.ovf-rava.org and can personally verify that it is easy and takes less than twenty minutes. All absentee ballots must be at the local voting office thirty days before the election (November 7) so everyone should be getting in their application as soon as possible. It takes more than voting to keep a democracy alive. It also requires a critical and uncensored press as well as a well informed citizenry. If you feel that you need to brush up on current events and U.S. foreign policy before a one-on-one with your elected representatives, perhaps the following reading suggestions could be helpful.

In that spirit, allow me to recommend a few books for en"light"ened summer reading. See list below:

DEMOCRACY MATTERS - Winning the fight against imperialism - by Cornel West. Mr. West is a Professor of Religion at Princeton University and has held positions at Yale, Harvard, Union Theology and the University of Paris. He has also written "Race Matters", "The American Evasion of Philosophy" and "Beyond Eurocentrism and Multiculturalism", which won the American Book Award. He writes to inspire Americans to revive their higher democratic potential, pointing to the rise of three anti-democratic dogmas that are rendering our democracy impotent; a callous free-market fundamentalism, an aggressive militarism and an insidious authoritarianism. He also describes his recent run-in with the former Harvard President Larry Summers that led to his resignation. A fascinating chapter on "The Necessary Engagement with Youth Culture" should put this book high on the reading list for all students as he defends the legitimacy and necessity of Rap culture influencing American politics.

ALL TOGETHER NOW - Common Sense for a Fair Economy - by Jared Bernstein. Renowned economist Mr. Bernstein writes about the new YOYO - you're on your own - government response, even in the face of the most pressing national problems such as diminished job security, rising number of Americans without health insurance, stagnant incomes, decaying public schools, increasing college tuition, etc. etc. "Here's a tax cut and a private account, they tell us, now go fend for yourself." The YOYO response just doesn't cut it for many Americans.

OVERTHROW - America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii To Iraq - by Stephen Kinzer. Mr. Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. He has served as the New York Times bureau chief in Turkey, Germany and Nicaragua. He was also the Latin correspondent for The Boston Globe. Previous books include "All The Shah's Men; An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror", "Crescent and Star; Turkey between Two Worlds", and "Blood of Brothers; Life and War in Nicaragua" and co-author of "Bitter Fruit - The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala". If you still struggle with "why do they hate us?", this book could bring enlightenment. "Overthrow" is a cautionary tale that serves as an urgent warning as the U.S. seeks to define its role in the modern world.

CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN - by John Perkins. The inside story of how America turned from a respected republic into a feared empire. As a former "economic hit man" Mr. Perkins describes how highly paid professionals cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars with the aid of rigged elections, payoffs, fraudulent financial reports, extortion, sex and murder. This extraordinary book exposes international intrigue, corruption and little-known government and corporate activities that have dire consequences for American democracy and the world. The CIA warned him not to write the book, but he felt that he owed his daughter and her generation the truth and exposed the workings of his former life. I saw him on CSPAN'S weekend Book Review program and was very impressed by his sincerity and remorse.

AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS - by Francis Fukuyama. Mr. Fukuyama was once a star neoconservative whose last book "The End of History and the Last Man" was a best-selling classic neoconservative text on the end of the cold war and the global march of liberal democracy. His latest book, however, is a detailed criticism of the Bush Administration's war in Iraq - delivered from a conservative point of view. In the wake of the Bush administration's doctrine of pre-emption and unilateral approach to foreign policy, Mr. Fukuyama joins other conservatives to voice doubts about the war. He questions the assertion made by neoconservatives William Kristol and Robert Kagan that American foreign policy is infused with an unusually high degree of morality; i.e. the doctrine of "benevolent hegemony". He believes that neoconservatives misinterpreted the collapse of communism and wrongly feel that history could be accelerated through regime change in places like Iraq without heeding one of their core beliefs - that ambitious social engineering often leads to unexpected consequences and often undermines its own ends. He calls for a "realistic Wilsonianism" that would involve demilitarization and a promotion of "soft power" through education, training, financial aid and support. Mr. Fukuyama writes, "Repairing American credibility will not be a matter of better public relations; it will require a new team and new policies".

I have the first three books and would be happy to lend them to any member who is interested in reading them. If you are considering buying new reading material and log on to the Amazon website through the AWCH website, the club will receive a small rebate. Other books regarding work, business and organizations can be found at the website of Berett-Koehler publications; www.bkconnection. com Recent tiles include "Alternative to Economic Globalization", Regime Change Begins at Home", The Divine Right of Capital - Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy", "When Corporations Rule the World", "The Post-Corporate World" and "Gangs of America - The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy".

As John Perkins wrote in his "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", "The hour is ours. It is time for each and every one of us to step up to the battle line, to ask the important questions, to search our souls for our own answers, and to take action".

Enjoy your summer - Happy Reading - and don't forget to send in for an absentee ballot!!!