<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#d8d0c8> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I've noticed several lefties starting to call the federal government the F.E.W. (Federal Entity in Washington).  What's the logic of that?  To my ear, it sounds like a borrowing of paranoia from the Montana Freemen.  Aren't we socialists trying to seize and improve state power?  To do that, don't we have to progressively rehabilitate the idea of democratic public authority?  Don't we want to use the federal government to rework school funding, medical insurance, labor law, military policy, etc. etc. etc.?  How do we hope to accomplish those vital things by first trashing the very existence of federal power?  Am I missing something here?</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>