Views in brief

The challenges facing vets

I WAS profoundly moved by Phil Aliff's commentary ("The red badge of courage").

Phil's account of the challenges of a combat veteran trying to live, feel and think "normally" in civilian society was very compelling, and an accessible insight into what our brothers and sisters in the armed forces face every day.

The Fourth of July weekend will give all the warmongering politicians on both sides of the aisle the opportunity to grandstand about the world-historic-moral importance of their imperialist slaughters, and about the deep debt and honor we owe to veterans (while they slash social spending programs that hundreds of thousands of veterans rely upon).

I will take the opportunity to proudly read aloud Phil's commentary to any crowd that will listen--and I think others across the country should do the same in all venues available. This could go right next to Frederick Douglass' indomitable "What to the slave is the Fourth of July" address as our side's response to the official celebrations of an oppressive and violent system.

Thanks Phil--and I believe in the change that will come when tens of thousands of veterans like you marshal your courage and outrage to forge that brighter future that you envision.
Sid Patel, San Francisco

Privatizing kids' futures

BRIAN JONES' article on privatization of public education is terrific because it exposes the privatizers' tactic of using iconography of the civil rights movement ("Using 'civil rights' to sell charter schools"). They decry the poor quality of public education, while also attacking its funding so that it will only get worse. Only the dominant narrative of the corporate media makes this possible.

I'm going to copy this article and distribute it widely. Eugene, Ore., has its own school lottery, which assures separate and unequal education. Many parents and teachers are convinced that giving their students the best education is the only thing that matters. The proof is that those kids then go to college and get jobs which re-produce the class relations which cause poverty in the first place. So you see, their success proves that the system works!
Kevin Hornbuckle, Eugene, Ore.

Who loses when Chrysler goes broke?

YOU NEED to write an article exposing how Chrysler is using the bankruptcy court to void its franchise agreements and usurp franchise laws.

I work at one of the 789 dealers that is being terminated. Every dealer in our area has been cut except for the two mega-dealers. The rest of us--small, family-owned and operated--have been put on Chrysler's hit list.

They are refusing to buy back any parts or inventory and are leaving us with the bill, all while they take federal bailout money. My tax dollars are being used by the federal government and this vampiric corporation to take my job and make the mega-dealers richer.

No one is reporting on this in the media because they're afraid of loosing Chrysler's advertising dollars. Someone needs to take a stand for 40,000 employees that are being put out of work by this.
Michael Molitierno, from the Internet

California isn't our movement's priority

WHY THE obsession with Proposition 8 ("Next steps for our movement")?

Granted, California is a very populous state and repealing Prop 8 will be a huge deal for many people. But John Henning's statement that: "I think that Prop 8 should be the highest priority for the national movement for marriage equality, because getting that repealed will cause a wave across the country. It will also be something affirmative, as opposed to just being on the defensive, and so it's going to be a really transformative process and a transformative moment" just doesn't make sense.

There already is a national movement around the gay marriage issue, that is affirmative rather than defensive, and that has succeeded in getting gay marriage passed in six states already--even Iowa! The notion that California is somehow at the epicenter of this struggle or that California is some sort of bellwether of social progress in this country is just demonstrably false.

My guess is that by November of 2010, the majority of states will have already passed gay marriage.
Jeff Melton, Bloomington, Ind.

Human rights on the back burner

WELL, SO much for transparency and change.

In the last couple of weeks, President Barack Obama has decided to keep military tribunals, to oppose prosecution for government employees who committed torture and to fight the release of photos that obviously show the abuse of detainees by American soldiers. And maybe the prison at Guantanamo Bay won't be closed after all.

I want transparency and change, not hypocrisy and the status quo. Human rights and civil liberties shouldn't be put on the back burner.
Chuck Mann, Greensboro, N.C.