I enjoyed the article by Greg McCartan commenting on the Ashcroft nomination. They were right on the mark. It will perhaps be a moot point by the time the Militant next has an opportunity to comment on the matter, as I imagine that the once the Democrats have had a week or so to put up a good show and score their factional points then Ashcroft will be confirmed and business as usual will proceed.

I remember living in Charleston, West Virginia, and participating in demonstrations against the nomination of Robert Bork. It does not seem that either popular or working-class opposition to Ashcroft is as forceful as it was to Bork. However, I believe that there have been some public demonstrations in spots calling for a rejection of his nomination.

Your article and editorial provide an excellent foundation for discussion as regards the nature of the process now taking place in bourgeois politics. Any person seeking a working-class footing on these matters must distance themselves completely from the interests and logic of Senators Schumer, Feinstein, and company and the "write-a-letter-to-your-senator" mind-set of middle class opposition. However, it seems to me that a defeat of the Ashcroft nomination, if it were brought about by a broad popular opposition, would present a significant setback to the Bush administration's, and the-now-so-nakedly bipartisan Congress' and Senate's visibly escalated agenda for attacking the social rights of working people.

Ben Fiering
Peekskill, New York
 
 
Inmate slave labor
I really have grown to love the Militant and its accurate and honest reporting of the kinds of things that the big-business press doesn't want us to know.

Of course, being an inmate, I would like to see more on the prison situation, but I also understand that you have to concentrate on matters affecting those who are still working in the free world. I am presently gathering information in the hope of writing a lengthy piece on the possibility (or probability) of the government (various state and federal agencies) and big business using inmate slave labor to break the unions.

It will take very little "adjustment" to existing laws to allow full operation of for-profit industries within prison walls. If these facilities are built with an eye toward retooling, the possibility exists that the 2 million prison inmates now incarcerated could be forced to act as an army of scabs. This, used against one union at a time, could eventually shut down every American union.

I hope all of you are well and that your chins are up in the fight for revolution. Keep up the great work!

A prisoner
Morgan, Georgia
 
 
Book on Geronimo Pratt
On June 10, 1997, Geronimo Pratt was released from prison after serving 27 years for a crime he didn't commit. Jack Olsen's book Last Man Standing--The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt, is an excellently written account of Pratt's life story; why he became a leader of the Black Panther Party; how the government framed him up on murder charges; and the determined movement which effectively forced a judge to grant his freedom.

One aspect to this story that Olsen has written about quite effectively is the determination and endurance of Geronimo Pratt. For this reason alone, Last Man Standing--The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt by Jack Olsen is well worth reading.

Steve Halpern
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
 
Britain's firepower
In Militant issue no. 5, Phil Waterhouse did a good job filling readers in on what British imperialism is up to in Sierra Leone. His report would have been even better if he had checked out the U.S. Naval Institute's Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, or Jane's Fighting Ships before he wrote the article.

He describes HMS Iron Duke as a "gunboat." In reality, the ship is Type 23-class general purpose guided missile frigate launched in 1991. Weighing in at 4,200 tons (full load), the Iron Duke is almost the size of an average destroyer. The ship is equipped with two guided missile systems (Harpoon surface-to-surface and Sea Wolfs) and can fly a Sea Lynx combat helicopter from her deck. Certain neighborhoods in Freetown might be nervous about her rapid fire, 114 mm Vicker's dual-purpose cannon.

Kurt Hill
Brooklyn, New York
 
 
Bush's hypocrisy
Bush claims his "No. 1 priority" is education. Yet he devotes far fewer resources to this than to tax relief for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. He plans new school spending of $10 billion, while the estate tax cut will cost $36 billion.

Bush has said that charity is the best way to help the poor, however, by cutting the estate taxes of the richest Americans he will eliminate the single largest incentive for charitable donation. Nearly half of this tax cut will benefit only 2,400 families--each to an average of $6.2 million.

Howard Skipper
Eugene, Oregon

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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