Fight for women’s rights
After reading “S. Dakota Passes Anti-Woman Law” (PWW 3/11-17), I can relate only too well. As a single woman now living barely above the federal poverty level, thanks to a job layoff that forced me into retail work, I can’t imagine being a single mom supporting a 5-year-old. I don’t have to worry about how to pay for daycare during the 50 hours I work every week, or providing food and other basic needs for a child.
Six years ago I was able to make the choice that for me is the difference between barely getting by and absolute poverty. Every Friday I’m a volunteer escort at my local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, where I see how many women’s lives are also affected by this choice. I live in a state where pro-choice advocates heaved a great sigh of relief when our State General Assembly session closed without passing proposed legislation similar to South Dakota’s. This issue is not going away, and we absolutely need to continue to stand up and fight against the endless attacks on women’s rights, for realistic sexual education, and for comprehensive and readily available health care.
Melissa O’Rourke
Indianapolis IN
Divide and rule
The British taught the Americans well. Divide and rule is alive and well in Iraq.
In Vietnam it became so obvious. So much blood spilt. Profits in the billions. Killing and armament manufacture in the name of democracy is an “antidote” to the horrifying specter of economic depression. “Times are a changing” but are they before the world self-annihilates?
Dr. Adam Rosenblatt
Melbourne, Australia
Class and immigrant rights
I am very happy with your recent coverage of the immigration movement and the recent mass demonstrations. Perhaps it’s the most significant civil rights movement since the 1960s. The immigration movement raises a number of important class issues.
For all the talk of GM outsourcing jobs to Mexico, one must ask: why are workers still risking crossing these borders? Perhaps all of this propaganda of jobs heading south makes little or no sense. When GM closes it plants here, laying off more than 40,000 workers, it is just another lie being promoted by CNN and Fox News. GM is laying off workers here and setting up automated plants in Mexico.
There is no doubt in my mind this new social movement could spark the radicalization of the American working people, many of whom are the sons and daughters of immigrants.
Tom Siblo
Shokan NY
Impeachment ignored
If a national movement calling for the impeachment of the president is rapidly emerging and the corporate media are not covering it, is there really a national movement for the impeachment of the president?
Impeachment advocates are widely mobilizing in the U.S. Over 1,000 letters to the editors of major newspapers have been printed in the past six months asking for impeachment. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette letter writer George Matus says, “I am still enraged over unasked questions about exit polls, touch-screen voting, Iraq, the cost of the new Medicare, who formulated our energy policy, Jack Abramoff, the Downing Street Memos, and impeachment.” William Dwyer’s letter in the Charleston Gazette says, “Congress will never have the courage to start the impeachment process without a groundswell of outrage from the people.”
City councils, boards of supervisors, and local and state level Democrat central committees have voted for impeachment. As of March 16, 32 congresspersons have signed on as co-sponsors to House Resolution 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush’s impeachment. Polls show that nearly a majority of Americans favor impeachment.
Despite all this advocacy and sentiment for impeachment, corporate media have yet to cover this emerging mass movement.
Despite corporate media’s inability to hear the demands for impeachment, the groundswell of outrage continues to expand.
Peter Phillips
Rohnert Park CA
Professor of sociology at Sonoma State University and director of Project Censored, a media research organization.
Cuba’s baseball team
Congratulations are in order to the national baseball team of Cuba who made it to the championship game of the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Despite the loss to Japan, the Cuban team under the managerial skills of Higinio Velez, once again showed the talent which has resulted in their winning the gold medal in three Olympics.
The U.S. State Department, until early this year, attempted to deny Cuba’s entry into the tournament. Some credit should be given to Peter Ueberroth, former commissioner of baseball, who warned the Bush administration such a ban could have an effect on any U.S. efforts to host future Olympics. Politics should not be involved in international sporting events. This ploy by the Oval Office shows once more the short-sightedness of the person in the Oval Office.
Tom Downes
Chicago IL
Drop charges against activistsI sent this letter to Cook County State’s Attorney Richard Devine and encourage others to do the same.
I am sending this letter to express my deepest concern about the prosecution of five anti-racist activists who were arrested on October 15, 2005, at the protest of the Minutemen conference in Arlington Heights. I urge that they not be forced to suffer any more time in jail and furthermore that all charges be dropped.
These young people were simply exercising their right to free speech against hate, racism and intolerance. They were participating in a peaceful symbolic demonstration in solidarity with hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds to show their support for immigrant and ultimately human rights. People should have the right to demonstrate their opposition to a hate-group like the Minutemen.
The Minutemen are a racist, anti-immigrant vigilante group that takes the law into their own hands. They are an armed border patrol group, who are also involved in anti-immigrant actions across the country. The Minutemen have recently come to organize in Chicago to terrorize our large immigrant population.
I support the five anti-racist defendants and I believe it would be a great injustice to convict them of such unwarranted charges. Please drop all charges against them.
Doug Freedman
Prospect Heights IL
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