Not accurate
I was slightly jarred when I read Martín [Koppel's]
article in the November 27 Militant on the Medicare cuts.
One sentence states: "President Bill Clinton has
demonstratively vowed to veto these measures, warning that
the Republican's budget goes too far too fast."
There's no quotation marks around Clinton's warning so it's not clear whether or not this is actually something he said or a paraphrase of Martín's interpretation of what he said or might say. It seems unlikely to me that he would be so blunt as to say that the Republicans are going "too far too fast."
That's the kind of terminology the Militant has been using to describe some of the differences in capitalist political circles. If Clinton did indeed use these words, it would have been stronger to have put them in quotes.
Doug Jenness
St. Paul, Minnesota
Reader Jenness is right in his criticism. Clinton did not say the Republican's budget is going "too far too fast." In fact, while he was running for president Clinton campaigned for and has since consistently advocated what the big-business media now refer to as the program of Newt Gingrich and Robert Dole. - Editor.
Opinion of `Militant'
In the short time I have been a new subscriber to the
Militant, the newspaper has become my informational link to
the struggles of working people around the world. Its
depth, substance, and understanding of labor-related issues
is unmatched by anything else I've read.
Propagation of information must be a central goal of the socialist movement, and the Militant performs this task remarkably. Beyond that, the Militant often obtains a level of reason and intelligence that is unavailable to the readers of most other newspapers and that differentiates the media of the rational left from that of the reactionary right. The Militant also served as an inspiration for myself and fellow leftists on campus [George Washington University] to start our own newspaper, called Unfiltered that we will publish soon.
I encourage people to subscribe to the Militant and support it financially. Through this help, the Militant can continue to inform working people of the world about the issues and the challenges that face them and to organize for the years to come. Happy 67th birthday the Militant!
Jesse Strauss
Washington, D.C.
Parole Leonard Peltier
Many people do not know that Leonard Peltier had a
parole hearing in 1993, at which time the U.S. Parole Board
told him he would not have the opportunity to re-apply for
15 years. It is so encouraging to supporters now to find
that the U.S. Parole Commission are scheduled to be at the
Leavenworth Penitentiary in December of this year and
Leonard Peltier's name is on the list of people to be
considered for parole. While anyone would agree that parole
is no remedy for an innocent man, we are encouraged and
hopeful Leonard will now finally be paroled.
Accordingly, we are asking people to continue to write supportive letters to Margaret C. Love, U.S. Parole Attorney, 500 First Street, N.W., 7th floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, to support Leonard's Petition for Pardon or Commutation of Sentence; and at the same time write supportive letters to the U.S. Parole Commission, 10220 N. Executive Hills Blvd., Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64153 regarding Leonard Peltier, U.S.P.L., #89637-132, to support Leonard's application for parole.
If anyone cannot remember details from the many 60 Minute's specials about Peltier, the book In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen and the video Incident at Oglala produced by Michael Apted and narrated by Robert Redford are available in most public libraries, in book and video stores. Our moral duty as citizens would dictate that we all write letters right now to support this man who has been erroneously or wrongfully incarcerated for the past 20 years.
Davidah Walker
Kansas City, Kansas
Embargo on Cuba
In November 1995 I stood outside a supermarket in
Denver, Colorado, and asked 100 people this question:
"Should the U.S. government lift the blockade of Cuba?" The
neighborhood in which this poll was taken was a mixture of
blue-collar and middle-class people. When asked the
question, 41 replied yes, 29 no, and 30 were uncertain.
Although no other comments were solicited, the people who answered yes did on occasion volunteer additional information. It was obvious from their remarks, that they were sympathetic with the suffering of the Cuban people and were puzzled as to why the blockade had gone on for such a long time - 34 years.
It can be concluded from this general consensus that the majority of the people polled did not understand why their government continues to isolate Cuba with such persistent determination and they would like to see the blockade ended for humanitarian reasons.
But it is unlikely that the government will concede to their wishes for this sentiment alone, and improbable that they will respond, theirs is a cold-cash and no-credit political strategy. The only way the majority opinion of the public sector can get the Cuban blockade lifted is by finding allies with enough political clout to impress or ignore the power of the intransigent policy makers.
Orlando Martínez Denver, Colorado
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