The Militant - February 17, 2003 -- Letters

Vol. 67/No. 6 February 17, 2003

Letters

Draft proposal call to arms
The proposal by Reps. Charles Rangel and John Conyers to reinstate the draft is a deception and a fraud. They argue that their proposal, by placing the sons of U.S. policymakers "in harm’s way," would dampen the rush to war against Iraq. But this is belied by the text of the proposal itself. Far from opposing the war, it is a militant call to arms: "If President Bush, the Congress and other supporters of an invasion are right and war is inevitable, then everyone who loves this country is bound by patriotic duty to defend it, or to share in the sacrifice of those placed in harm’s way."

In other words, when we Democrats say it’s time to fight, "you’ve all got to go."

All history shows that it is workers, not the rulers, who fight and die in imperialist wars, draft or no draft. Rangel and Conyers know this, and are using a deft piece of liberal demagogy to build support for the invasion of Iraq among working people generally, and Black people in particular.

To borrow from Malcolm X, the U.S. capitalists need this war, and have placed both the foxes and the wolves on mandatory overtime to get it.

Peter Anestos
San Francisco, California

Medicaid cuts
I read Maurice Williams’s article with interest in the February 3, 2003, issue of the Militant. Cuts to Medicaid programs hurt the working poor. The average working person in a country that is governed by "corporate capitalism" is essentially expendable when it comes to health care needs. As a physically disabled person in my mid-50s, I fought for Social Security Disability with the help of an attorney, was homeless briefly, have no insurance, several serious medical problems that require medication and no way to pay for all of it. Senior citizens face the same dilemma. The crime: a solid work history over 32 years in length for the corporate capitalists.

I went through my savings and purchase medication from pharmacies in other countries because the same medicine in the United States carries two to four times the cost. Medicare will come along shortly but that is only a partial solution.

Cuts to any health care program, be it a federal entitlement program or a private plan are wrong and the people that feel the brunt of it are the working class.

We penalize the worker in the work place, in disability and in retirement. We are the expendable Americans and cuts to Medicaid only make the situation worse. If you put a band aide on a large abdominal wound, the person will bleed to death.

Aine NiComish
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

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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