Dear RN, Long time subscribers to this list will surely remember Carolyn Chute, a woman I have never had the pleasure to meet but who I have kept in touch with over the years. She wrote to Richard in 1998 I think it was, enthused by his call for people to unite against corporate globalization. Rather than allowing ourselves to be divided along left/right lines, we could join with Carolyn in her "no-wing" approach. Here is a press statement released by Thomas H. Naylor, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University and co-author of _The Technofascist Manifesto_, (New River Press, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). all the best, Jan PS I just called Thomas. I mentioned that I cannot share his enthusiasm for the New Atlantic Republic idea (which, as you will see, Carolyn advocates). I just don't care that much about where we draw borders. Then he says that, ultimately, that is not his primary interest either; it is the break-up of the empire. Yes. Me too! Thomas also says that he follows the stock market closely (although he does not invest) and that he feels certain that we are on the verge of economic collapse. Thomas and I agree that it becomes, then, more and more important for us to build up the networks of care and mutual help in our local communities. And self-sufficiency. ...Since Carolyn has no phone, no fax, no e-mail (& no paved road!), Thomas has become the phone contact for her candidacy. Apparently the St. John (New Brunswick) CBC is interested in her campaign... It occurs to me, that, for as long as this marginal computer system I have holds out, I may end up being the e-mail connection. ***************************************************************** From: Thomas H. Naylor, (802) 425-4133, 202 Stockbridge Road, Charlotte, VT 05445 MOTHER OF THE NEW ATLANTIC CONFEDERACY Maine's most famous literary novelist, Carolyn Chute, is running for governor on a platform calling for, among other things, sucession from the United States. If elected next year, Chute would immediately convene a statewide constitutional convention to consider whether the Pine Tree State should leave the Union; join forces with New Hampshire, Vermont and the four Canadian Atlantic provinces; and create a New Atlantic Confederacy the size of Denmark. The award-winning author of _The Beans of Egypt, Maine_, which sold over 350,000 copies, is also cofounder and secretary of the 450-member 2nd Maine Militia. She and her low-key, kind and gentle husband Michael are ardent supporters of the constitutional right to bear arms. Michael is the town of Parsonsfield's pensive graveyard man who sports a spiffy two-foot long black beard and a green felt crusher hat. The 54 year-old grandmother often appears at militia meetings carrying her AK-47 of SKS assault rifle on a shoulder strap, wearing a camo jacket, a colorful kerchief, work boots, and military sun glasses. The return address on all corrrespondence from Carolyn reads "No Fax/ No Phone / No Paved Road". Before summarily dismissing Carolyn and the 2nd Maine Militia (2MM) as just a bunch of right-wing, backwoods kooks, one should take a much closer second look. The role of the 2MM is similar to that of hundreds of small shooting clubs scattered through Switzerland, one of the most heavily armed, peaceful nations in the world. Above all, 2MM is a social organization of men and women who use target shooting as a means of coping with their feelings of separation, alienation, meaninglessness, and powerlessness engendered by our government and Corporate America. Unfortunately, Carolyn paid dearly for her politically incorrect attempt to humanize a Maine militia man in her latest novel, _Snow Man_. The New York literary set would have no part of it. The 2MM is an ideologically diverse group of working class people living all over Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. There is even a small division in North Carolina. The Militia includes Democrats, Republicans, Greens, lefties, libertarians, feminists, patriots and anarchists. What they all share in common is an extreme distrust of some or all of the following: the Fortune 500, Wall Street, the U.S. government, the United Nations, and the proposed Multinational Agreement on Investment. When they gather to target shoot, members of the 2MM also talk a lot about life in Maine and how it has changed. They bemoan Maine's loss of political will, civil liberties, economic security, collective memory, traditional culture, and sense of community. The recoil at the dehumanized, mass production, mass marketing, mass consumption, narcissistic lifestyle that pervades most of America. Some are fed up with consumerism, technomania, robotism, globalization, and american imperialism. Many just want to be left alone. But an increasing number of them want out - out of the United States of America. Occasionally some membes of the 2MM have been known to demonstrate at the Statehouse in Augusta and elsewhere natinoally. Their battle cry could easily be, "Remember the 2nd Maine", which would be a not-so-subtle reminder of American imperialism in the Spanish American War. Most members of the 2MM realize that Maine has a lot more in common with New Hampshire, Vermont, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island than it does with Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, or Beverly Hills. Although Carolyn's constituencts come from the far left, the centre and the far right, she describes herself as "no-wing". Unlike most conservatives, she hates big corporations. Unlike most liberals, she scorns big government. Carolyn supports the disadvantaged, the down trodden, and those whose lives have been made miserable by big business and big government. She has nothing but contempt for transnational megacompanies, accountable to no one, who tell us what to buy, how much to pay for it, and when to replace it as well as where we can work, how much we will be paid, and what the working conditions will be like. Carolyn believes the United States has become too big, too powerful, too intrusive, too commercialized, too high-tech, too globalized, too imperialistic, too authoritarian, and too undemocratic. Her candidacy is nothing less than a call for peaceful revolution against the American Empire. She wants the people of Maine to (1) regain control of their lives from big government, big business, big banks, big cities, big schools, and big computer networks; (2) relearn how to take care of themselves by decentralizing, downsizing, localizing, demilitarizing, and humanizing their lives; and (3) learn how to help others take care of themselves so that they all become less dependent on big business and big government. Although Carolyn, who is quite shy, denies being a political activist, some have compared her to Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and French anti-globalization activist José Bové. Other planks of the Chute no-wing platform include "the right of castle", which would eliminate SWAT-team home entries for non-violent offenses and what she calls government "baby-snatching" programs. Taking human rights away from corporations is also a high priority with her. "On the freedom elevator," says Chute, "there's not enough room for citizens and a 900-pound gorilla. Somebody has to get off." Although Carolyn is staunchly committed to her no-wing, libertarian vision of families and small local communities, the right to live and let live, and the urgent need to break up the Empire, she abhors politics and is suspicious of all politicians. Recently she confided that she might be a much better Mother of Maine rather than either governor or president. Be that as it may, many think Carolyn would make on helluva Mother of the Confederacy, the New Atlantic Confederacy, that is! Long live the Mother of the Confederacy and the 2nd Maine. Thomas H. Naylor September 1, 2001 __________________________________________________________ Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University, _NAylor has never owned a gun and has no plans to do so_. he went hunting back in '54, saw the same squirrel both times, and never fired a shot. During high school R.O.T.C. target practice he almost shot the sergeant. ******************************************************** And as for me, Jan, well, I often say I seem to have been born a pacifist, (broke out in tears when a policeman who came to speak to our nursery school pulled out his gun to show it to us) although I know that a person carrying a gun may be much more nonviolent than another who is unarmed. ********************************************************