An emphatic `no' to fast track 3

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--> --> An emphatic `no' to fast track The so-called benefits of so-called "Free Trade" under NAFTA and the WTO have been exposed as illusions many times. Most recently the Economic Policy Institute paper, "The Free Trade Magic Act," demonstrates how empty and even hurtful those "benefits" have been for most American workers and for the workers in the developing world. Moreover, William Greider's recent essay, "Sitting On A Time Bomb," (The Nation, October 15) alerts us all once again to the undeniable fact that NAFTA and the proposed FTAA are destroyers of our democracy and of our national sovereignty. Shouting slogans like "Free Trade" and shibboleths like "No Protectionism" are no substitute for clear judgment of the issue. There are no persuasive empirically based answers to or refutations of the scholarly and informed opposition to such agreements as they have been undemocratically fast-tracked through what we see as an ignorant and even corrupt Congress. Voting for a "Fast Track" passage of any new trade bill can only complete that destructive process. You receive 99 percent of your campaign donations from business interests. We trust that this money indeed buys only "access" to you and not to your vote. Remembering that you are the representative of all the people in your district, you will, we are sure vote in their interest and not in the interests of those very narrowly interested donors. Gerald and Ragan Cavanaugh Ashland Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing