Dickson, Tennessee

Yes we can. Buy America is a quarterly newsletter published by the Buy America Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1922.

Its stated purpose is to educate and inform the American public of the harmful impact on our economy, our citizens, our workers, and our society in general by the purchase of foreign-made products in those cases where American-made products of equal or better quality and value are readily available.

To seek out and identify American-made products of equal or better quality and value than the foreign-made products with which they are in direct competition; to publicize those products, and to encourage their purchase.

The newsletter contains information from a variety of sources, including readers' letters, and has a regular feature called Orchids and Onions. A few tidbits from the eight-page Summer 1997 issue:

"What is more American than football? In my humble opinion, football is what America is all about, with the exception of their marketing. Try and find NFL logoed merchandise made in the U.S. You can buy NFL clothing in stores across the nation for any team you desire, but try and find some made in the U.S. I finally found a line of NFL clothing made here by an American company. Their price is higher but I was more than happy to pay extra. I sometimes wonder if stores don't intentionally mark up products made here so they can shift the buyer to less costly but more profitable imports. By the way, the line of American-made NFL clothing is Pro-Line."

J. M. Franklin, TN

ORCHIDS to Ford Motor Co. Ford has begun selling the popular Taurus sedan in Russia where it is expected to be a strong competitor in Russia's "executive class," challenging such European-made cars as the Saab, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

ONIONS to officials of Boy Scouts of America. Our Boy Scouts, perhaps one of America's finest icons, wear uniforms manufactured in a foreign country. So far, not even the entreaties of a number of their own scout masters have been able to change the minds of BSA management.

Many Americans will be surprised to learn that there are no American-owned companies manufacturing television sets in the U.S. today. That's odd, isn't it, considering that television was invented and refined here?

Now, the largest of the foreign-owned companies making TV sets in America is calling it quits. In recent years, French-owned Thomson Consumer Electronics has been making sets with the RCA, GE, and ProScan names. The company has announced that it is closing its Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN factories, resulting in the loss of more than 1,500 jobs. The company will shift production to ... Mexico.

Sadly, it now appears that America is destined to sit back and watch as American television technology and creativity is transferred completely to other countries. The inevitable result has been the total destruction of our TV manufacturing industry--a devastating blow to the American economy and an indirect loss to every American.

To order the free newsletter and/or make a tax deductible donation, write the Buy America Foundation, P.O. Box 82, Abington, PA 19001, or call 215-886-3646, fax 215-886-6601.

And always remember to check for the Union Label!