An Open Letter

Dear Mrs. Bush,
We are a small group of citizens of the USA who have some suggestions.  Perhaps you have time to consider the following:
1.  Please ask the people who support your husband to make sacrifices. It doesn't feel like there's a war going on.  How can we make sacrifices?  Tell us.  For example, ask us to tax ourselves.  Ask us to buy bonds for liberty or democracy.

2.  Support independent groups in the clean-up effort.
Your husband's administration has gone far to ask NGOs to take over some of the federal government's work.  CIVIC, the Campaign for Innocent Victims In Conflict, is one such group, which helped obtain millions of dollars to support innocent victims of the Afghan and Iraqi military operations.  Its founder, Marla Ruzicka, said that she created the organization to win over "the hearts and minds" of people in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Why not raise millions and pay off all of the backlog of complaints and injuries?  The Marla Rustika Fund is just the beginning.

3.  Raise funds for winning "the hearts and minds" with
Democracy Bonds.   In WW2, there were war bonds.  War bonds were sold to finance the Civil War and the Great War. Children collected donations to buy war bonds.   Why not support the effort in the Middle East with "Democracy Bonds"?  Your administration is bringing democracy to the Middle East.  How can we in Florida, California and Ohio,  support the troops best?  How can we support your administration better?   We have to (as a nation) build faith in the Iraqis and the neighbors of Iraq (where democracy is not generally practiced)?  PLEASE:  Ask us to sacrifice by buying $1 for every $1000 we earn.   In an economy that is $10 trillion, if only half us participated, we'd raise more than five billion dollars a year.  And winning the hearts and minds with Democracy Bonds is going to cost billions of dollars.

4.  Please persuade your husband's administration to respect outsourcing and to educate all Americans about the new "flat earth."   NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman has written about a great change in the world economy.  (The World is Flat)..and there is great fear associated with outsourcing and buying products from China and India.  Some of us signing this letter are teachers in middle school.  We need our President to say, "Learn two more languages" and "Prepare for more pain" and "Listen to Mr. Friedman and use your imagination."    Instead of trying to appease workers (by trying to protect jobs in the USA), all political parties need to give lessons to the US public -- perhaps the President and Congress can convene a workshop with Mr. Friedman (see page 190 in Friedman's book) about how to be more creative, more innovative in the face of "losing jobs to India and China" -- and to stop whining.

5.  To support democracy, invite thousands of youngsters from the Middle East to summer camps in the USA.
More students are needed to learn about the USA first hand.  The current immigration controls keep university students out of the USA... but why not invite younger students, who are not terrorist risks, to come and learn our customs?  Invite students in the USA to correspond by email with students in the Middle East.   Democracy Bonds could pay for this effort, too.  We can build bridges between individuals (through relationships sustained by email messages -  BIBBI).

Thank you for your time,

Steve McCrea, middle school teacher   
talkinternational@yahoo.com
(contact me if you want to add your name to this letter)
Leslie Lott, President, International Oasis School of Languages, www.internationaloasis.net    lottle@aol.com



Frequently Asked Questions about Democracy Bonds








www.DemocracyBonds.com
The World is Flat (so stop complaining)
by Thomas Friedman
Page 190:  In an interview with an Indian entrepreneur...

Instead of complaining about outsourcing, Americans and Western Europeans would be better off thinking about how you can raise your bar and raise yourselves into doing something better.  Americans have consistently led in innovation over the last century.  Americans whining?  We have never seen that before.  People like me have learned a lot from Americans.  We have learned to become a little more aggressive in the way we market ourselves.
-- Rajesh Rao, founder of Dhruva Interactive, an interactive game company in Bangalore, India

BIBBI
Building International Bridges By Internet 
See a
SAMPLE discussion
Go to the
FLAT Challenge for Middle School Students about THE WORLD IS FLAT
Poster for Liberty War Bonds (WW2)

This web page was created to support the efforts of volunteers like
Marla Ruzicka who raised money to "win the hearts and minds" of people who were unintended victims of conflict. 

The people in neighboring countries to conflict also have fears, which money raised by Democracy Bonds can reduce with education and communication.

Let's bring people from the Middle East to the USA to see how we run our country.  Then when they return they can speak from experience.


The supermarket brought down the Berlin Wall as much as the arms race did.  

In East Berlin in 1986, grocery shelves had 6 versions of dry cereal and 4 brands of laundry soap.  In West Berlin there was
more choice: 45 cereals and 24 brands of soap. (these number are not precise but the data is presented so that readers can imagine the impact of consumer choice on political preferences).

Let's show kids from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iran and other countries that supermarkets are abundant and people in the USA tolerate each other.

See 
People to People
(the organization started by
President Eisenhower)






Until Congress sets up Democracy Bonds, this web site is just a point of advocacy.

We recommend that anyone who wants to sacrifice at home so that the troops abroad are supported.

The following organizations can indirectly help win the hearts and minds of Iraqis, Afghans, and others who might be persuaded by their neighbors to distrust U.S. efforts overseas.

DemocracyBonds.com recommends:

americares.org

oxfam.org

CIVICworldwide.org


Please suggest other organizations that are working to "win the hearts and minds" of populations that oppose US government efforts.
Booker T. Washington, school kids (1910)
Building International Bridges by Internet -- Do you want to help build a safer future? BIBBI
Take the FLAT CHALLENGE  -- How much do you know about the 10 forces behind outsourcing of jobs?  And where is Bangalore anyway?
Take the FLAT CHALLENGE -- How much do you know about the 10 forces behind outsourcing of jobs to CHINA and INDIA?  And where is Bangalore anyway?
Take the FLAT CHALLENGE  -- How much do you know about the 10 forces behind outsourcing of jobs?  And where is Bangalore anyway?
HOME     Visit India      Visit China    About Thomas Friedman       FAQ Democracy Bonds         Tasks           Building Bridges (BIBBI)        Contact us    
The FLAT Challenge          How to earn a FLAT Certificate      Gifted Children (LookForPatterns.com)     VisualAndActive          Letter to Congress  (see below)
Teacher's Lesson Plan: How to include Friedman's message ("The World Is Flat") in your curriculum     REPLIES FROM CONGRESS (excerpts below)
HOME     Visit India      Visit China    About Thomas Friedman       FAQ Democracy Bonds          Tasks           Building Bridges (BIBBI)        Contact us     The FLAT Challenge          How to earn a FLAT Certificate      Gifted Children (LookForPatterns.com)     VisualAndActive            
LETTER TO CONGRESS  --  Outsourcing is another potential source of disruption to democracy...
Dear U.S. Representative,
How should the USA respond to “outsourcing” of jobs to India and China?

I wonder if your staff had time last month to listen to Thomas Friedman describe his new book The World is Flat.  If not, here is a summary of some of his statements on the Tim Russert show and on Jon Stewarts DAILY NEWS show.

There are some other programs that might deserve your attention as well as a description of www.DemocracyBonds.com.

I hope you have time to view portions of Friedman’s interview with Russert.  The first 7 minutes of the program opened my eyes.  I hope this video will inform your votes on how to fund:
n a “moon shot” effort to make the US more “energy independent”
n a “moon shot” effort to prepare students and displaced workers for learning new skills to compete with  China and India (and innovate)

I would like to support both of these efforts and I look for political leaders to call for sacrifices now so that we can benefit from a response similar to the great effort that the USA made in reaction to “Sputnik.”  Please call for more sacrifices from the American public – many of us are waiting to make sacrifices for a better tomorrow. 

I am a middle school teacher and I want to direct my students to plan on lifelong learning  --  learning new skills to respond to the changes in the evolving “flat” world.  I’m asking them to wash cars and raise $500 before the end of the summer.  We will then send that money to a program that supports the two “moon shot” efforts. 

Please write a letter to my students telling them how you think Congress should invest in programs to prepare the country for these moon shots (or tell them how else you would like Congress to respond to outsourcing of jobs).  We’re sending this letter to every member of Congress because this is a national issue.  Even if you don’t represent my students, your vote affects them.


Please write your letter to
Eighth Grade, Room 316
Downtown Academy of Technology and the Arts
101 SE Third Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL  33301


Thank you,  Steve McCrea (Mr. Mac), Teacher
Rosa Parks
Hands of a former slave.
Print a bumper sticker
CLICK HERE
Do you want to help improve schools? Visit Pat-Harris.com and ResolveToHeal.com and learn about "fear of technology" seminars

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail730may29,0,2307917.story?coll=sfla-news-letters
Today's students are falling behind

Steve McCrea , Fort Lauderdale            May 29, 2005

The graph comparing Broward's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results to Florida's scores (May 21) is indeed heartening.

However,
how do our students compare with kids overseas?

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's recent book,
The World Is Flat, points out that the Internet has leveled the economic playing field. Many of today's students will be tomorrow's outsourced unemployed -- unless investments are made, such as Friedman's call for a "moon shot" effort to find alternative energy supplies to reduce dependence on imported oil.

In an interview with Tim Russert on April 30, Friedman said that "young people in China and India are more eager to learn than young people in the USA." Friedman calls for an investment in schools to promote innovation (especially in science and engineering) as an antidote to outsourcing.

Your newspaper can be part of the effort by publishing the addresses of Web sites that promote science appreciation. Here are two I just found: www.hhmi.org/ coolscience/ and amasci.com/ amateur/coolsci.html.

As a teacher, I applaud efforts to remind kids that the FCAT is not just another test or a way to distribute bonuses to good teachers. The FCAT is a wake-up call:
students in China and India are running faster than we are.





See videos about Building International Bridges and SAT Videos

More interesting web sites

www.Looking For Patterns.com

www.BigPicture.org


See videos about DEMOCRACY BONDS
(click on the "TF" videos at
www.pat-harris.com)
More interesting web sites
www.Looking For Patterns.com

www.BigPicture.org


Support was shown for CIVICWorldWide.org and for www.DemocracyBonds.com outside the OAS meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
See videos about Building International Bridges
and SAT Videos
Synonyms for "complacent'

self-satisfied, pleased, smug

similar to placid, easy-going

"Are we neutered cats?"
(Jon Stewart's synonym)
The Daily Show, ComedyCentral.com
Replies from Senators:

Thank you for writing to me on this important topic.  I encourage your students to take advantage of every opportunity to study different subjects and participate in various activities.  Learning is a lifelong process involving new discoveries as well as challenges to broaden your experiences.  Please remind them that with hard work and perseverance there is no limit to what they can achieve.  I wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavors.
June 15, 2005
-- Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii

Senator Inouye mentioned the following programs that currently help pay for assistance to workers who lose jobs due to offshore outsourcing.
1)
the Trade Adjustment Assistance program offers a period of income support once workers have been displaced.
2)  These workers are also eligible to receive
search and relocations allowances as well as tax credits to obtain health insurance.
3) The
Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to provide written notice of 60 days before mass layoffs.  Some members of Congress are considering extending the benefits to those who lose jobs due to offshore outsourcing.

To see more replies from Members of Congress, please
click HERE.




How can we accelerate the process of becoming more competitive?
Visit 
www.FourSigmas.com or www.4sigmas.com

http://www.geocities.com/talkinternational1/foursigmas


Excerpt from the NY Times Article

July 24, 2005
All Quiet on the Home Front, and Some Soldiers Are Asking Why
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON, July 23 - The Bush administration's rallying call that America is a nation at war is increasingly ringing hollow to men and women in uniform, who argue in frustration that America is not a nation at war, but a nation with only its military at war.

From bases in Iraq and across the United States to the Pentagon and the military's war colleges, officers and enlisted personnel quietly raise a question for political leaders: if America is truly on a war footing, why is so little sacrifice asked of the nation at large?

There is no serious talk of a draft to share the burden of fighting across the broad citizenry, and neither Republicans nor Democrats are pressing for a tax increase to force Americans to cover the $5 billion a month in costs from Iraq, Afghanistan and new counterterrorism missions.

There are not even concerted efforts like the savings-bond drives or gasoline rationing that helped to unite the country behind its fighting forces in wars past.

"Nobody in America is asked to sacrifice, except us," said one officer just back from a yearlong tour in Iraq, voicing a frustration now drawing the attention of academic specialists in military sociology.  

to view the entire article, go to
www.nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/politics/
24troops.html?pagewanted=print


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/
24/politics/24troops.html?


What Bush Left Out:
Security and Economic Policies in Iraq Need Repair

The Washington Post, July 01, 2005
Michael E. O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In his Tuesday night speech, President Bush made a strong and sober case for sustaining the Iraq mission, asking the American people for their continued support and thanking the military for its ongoing sacrifice. But while requesting much of others, he did not do enough to uphold his end of the bargain: getting the policy right.
      Any successful counterinsurgency requires progress on the security, economic and political fronts. Bush rightly spoke of impressive accomplishments in the last area, but he failed to acknowledge just how bad the security environment remains, and he barely spoke at all of Iraq's economy.
     Starting with security, the situation in Iraq is poor and not getting better. U.S. troop fatalities in both May and June exceeded the monthly average since the mission began. And for Iraqi security forces, these were the two bloodiest months since Saddam Hussein was deposed, with a total of more than 550 killed. Estimated crime rates are as bad as ever—and probably several times worse than in Hussein's later years.
     Foreign jihadists still appear to constitute no more than 10 percent of the total strength of the opposition, meaning that Iraqi insurgents remain nearly as numerous as ever (totaling perhaps 15,000). That said, jihadists have been growing in number, and their signature style of attack—the suicide bombing—claimed roughly 50 percent more victims in May and June than in any previous two-month period.
     These trends suggest at least two policy initiatives. First, we must do everything within our power to help protect Iraqi security forces, beginning with provision of much better armor and with smarter security measures at places where recruits gather to apply for jobs. Second, in keeping with the recent ideas of Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and John Kerry of Massachusetts, we should attempt to gain more allied assistance to protect Iraq's borders. Since the jihadist threat is indeed serious, growing and a danger to all, there is a chance the allies would listen.
     The economy is somewhat better than the security environment. Gross domestic product and average incomes now exceed prewar levels. There is a real bustle in the streets, and the fledgling stock market is thriving. The number of students in school is up about 20 percent since the early part of the decade. And some trappings of modern economic life, such as telephone service and Internet availability, have at least tripled since Hussein's days.
     But many other economic indicators are disappointing. Electricity has been a huge problem. The lights are on less than half the time in most cities. Average power production was below Baathist-era levels throughout almost all of last winter and spring, leaving well over 90 percent of Iraqis frustrated by the power situation and often inclined to blame the United States for it. The unemployment rate remains in the range of 30 to 40 percent, and, according to U.S. military surveys, more than 80 percent of Iraqis are discouraged by the overall state of the job market.
     Just as the Great Depression of the 1930s created a special situation in the United States, circumstances in Iraq today put a premium on getting people back to work and putting money in their pockets. We need a massive jobs program. One worthy task, as Biden noted in a recent speech, would be to
pay people to keep streets clean through simple, labor-intensive approaches (while large-scale sewage plants and trash pickup systems are gradually developed). Another might be to offer communities the means to construct their own backup power systems.
     Finally, there is the realm of politics and public opinion. According to the latest surveys, more than 60 percent of Iraqis say their country is moving in the right direction, more than 70 percent expect life to get better for themselves in the future and 90 percent consider violence illegitimate for any political purpose. Most have confidence in the nascent Iraqi security forces and expect them to keep getting better. A large majority supports the newly elected government. Independent media are thriving. Citizen phone calls to hotlines informing authorities about the activities of insurgents are skyrocketing. Even among Sunni Arabs, polls indicate a gradually growing optimism.
     But the generally favorable state of public opinion and politics is fragile. In particular, the United States must work harder to increase support from Sunni Arabs for the building of the new Iraq.
     We can do at least two more things here. One would be to gently cajole the Kurds to protect the rights of Sunni Arabs around Kirkuk. If Kurds continue to try to push Sunni Arabs off this land and claim the oil below it for themselves, they risk creating a precedent that could lead to a Sunni Arab ghetto within Iraq, deprived of oil or much fertile farmland. It would be a long-term source of instability.
Whoever gets the land, the oil revenue should be shared.
     Most important, as James Steinberg and I have argued,
the United States should announce a rough schedule for gradually downsizing its presence in Iraq over the next two years. This does not mean withdrawal; a smaller force might still number 30,000 to 40,000 troops, including rapid-reaction teams and American military advisers working with Iraqi units for years. But such a plan would counter the impression that we are occupiers—and counter the increasing worry among our troops that they will continue to spend half their lives in Iraq for the rest of the decade.
© Copyright 2005, The Brookings Institution
See the "Double Moon Shot" workshop about "Putting more technology into classrooms."
DoubleMoonShot.com


See videos about Building International Bridges and SAT Videos
What should students learn?    See what Bill Gates says about schools
See the "Double Moon Shot" workshop about "Putting more technology into classrooms."
DoubleMoonShot.com


See videos about Building International Bridges and SAT Videos
What should students learn?    See what Bill Gates says about schools
See the "Double Moon Shot" workshop about "Putting more
technology into classrooms."  DoubleMoonShot.com


See videos about Building International Bridges and SAT Videos

What should students learn?    See what Bill Gates says about schools
Democracy
Bonds
.com
in support of the
DoubleMoonShot.com
proposed by Thomas Friedman
954 646 8246 954-OH-MUCHO

FindASmallSchool.com www.LookForPatterns.com
TeachersToTeachers.com www.newFCAT.com


LISTEN to Great Speeches
Franklin Roosevelt
http://millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/
diglibrary/
prezspeeches/roosevelt/index.html

Martin Luther King Jr.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/
top100speechesall.html
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