Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San
Francisco Chronicle
DECEMBER 26, 2000, TUESDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A26; LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 1407 words
HEADLINE:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
BODY:
Military Contractors'
Stake in Colombia
Editor -- Thank you for the series on Colombia ("The
Colombia Quagmire," Dec. 17-20) and the editorial contrasting Secretary of State
Powell's criteria for military intervention with U.S. military aid to Colombia
("The Powell Doctrine Meets War in Colombia," Dec. 21).
However, one
aspect of the coverage has been lacking. That is an analysis of who benefits
from this war.
The clear answer is weapons contractors. Ever since the
Clinton administration lifted the arms embargo on Latin America, there has been
a steadily growing arms market in the region. Plan Colombia is the mother lode.
The Black Hawk gunships alone represent a $234 million contract
for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. of Connecticut. While you are absolutely correct in
saying that military intervention in Colombia fails to meet Powell's criterion
of public support, the plan has the full backing of the military industry.
As we pump weapons into Colombia and her neighbors, we are sure to
create a demand for more weapons. It will be interesting to see if Powell sticks
to his ideals in demanding full public support as a criterion for military
engagement, or if he'll give in to the prevailing view in D.C. that when it
comes to foreign policy, it's really just the opinion of the weapons industry
that matters.
ANDREW PAGE
No. California political director
California Peace Action
Berkeley
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MISSING ART
HOPPE
Editor -- Does anyone else miss Art Hoppe as I do during these
days of political upheaval?
Molly Ivins is great for the barbed comments
and facts, and Stephanie Salter gives voice to the feelings of frustration and
disillusionment, but only Hoppe could combine the wit and the soul that could
have provided some salve for the deep despair caused by the last five weeks of
farcical events.
It's nearly a year since Hoppe departed, and my eyes
are still drawn to his spot at the top of the page whenever the latest
unbelieveable happening occurs, hoping to find a spark of hope or at least a way
to laugh it all off.
AUDREY EARL
San Francisco
------------------------------------
GIVE BUSH A BREAK
Editor -- President-elect George W. Bush may not turn out to be a great
president, or even a good one. But most of us who voted for him believe that he
has a good heart and is fully committed to doing the best he can for the good of
the country.
Of course, he will have his successes and his failures,
just as did his predecessors. I have no doubt that the biased mainstream press,
which includes The Chronicle, will gloat over his failures and undervalue his
successes.
Come on, guys, lighten up. It's time to give Bush a break and
be as objective as you like to say you are.
There will always be major
disagreements about the Florida recounts and the U.S. Supreme Court decision, so
let's assign these matters to history and move on.
MARGARET MALLORY
Walnut Creek
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DEBATING SEX BIAS
Editor -- In letters to The Chronicle (Dec.
21), two men defended the rights of HMOs to include Viagra in their coverage but
not contraceptives.
One writer was pleased that in
Illinois women pay more for health care than men because they use the system
more. Would he approve seniors paying more because they require much more care?
In any case, if he's worried about costs, contraceptives add
less to health care costs than do children.
The other writer says that
Viagra is "natural." Contraceptives are not. Beware of the word
"natural." It's used by people to defend, justify and sanctify their own
self-interest.
The writer also said that "legally requiring someone else
to pay for women's purchases sounds like an approach from days when women were
not permitted to own property." There hasn't been such an example of twisted
logic since the trial in "Alice in Wonderland."
NANCY WARD
Berkeley
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SHARE HEALTH COSTS
Editor -- Neil Spun (Letters, Dec. 21)
complains of 12 procedures in his health insurance from which
only a female, he says, can benefit. One he mentions is child delivery, the
culmination of prenatal care, which he also lists in the same category.
Assuming that childbirth is a health-care event, surely it is the health
of the child that is most at stake, and it is the child's health-care insurer
that should pay for it. In practice, that means that insurers of both parents
should share the cost in the same proportion as they would share the costs of
vaccination or surgery at a later stage.
If the mother requires special
treatment because of a difficulty in pregnancy or delivery, it is also for the
child's benefit, not just her own, so again the child's
insurance should pay. Perhaps for convenience it is best that
both sexes pay insurance for these eventualities despite Spun's
complaint.
JOHN A. WILLS
San Francisco
---------------------------------------
HOMELESS DEATHS
Editor -- Your article on San Francisco homeless deaths was rhetoric,
not journalism ("Homeless Who Died in S.F. Are Remembered," Dec. 22). If it were
journalism, it would have mentioned that drug overdose is the leading cause of
death among the city's homeless.
It's time for the city to face up to
the role of addiction among its homeless. And it's time for The Chronicle to
tell it like it is. Solutions begin with facing the truth.
ARTHUR EVANS
San Francisco
---------------------------------------------
HILLARY'S BOOK DEAL
Editor -- I agree with your editorial
("Hillary and the rules," Dec. 21) describing Hillary Clinton's secrecy and
superiority and her "tendency to stand on legalisms." However, I disagree with
your partial caveat implying that the bid arrangement for her book prevented "an
inside bargain with a would-be patron."
All a prospective patron needed
to do to accomplish the goal was to bid an amount known to be significantly in
excess of the fair competitive value of the book. Of course, this could be true
of the sale of any other commodity, such as a home in suburban New York.
Yes, Hillary Clinton, there is a Santa Claus.
AL SARTOR
Walnut Creek
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ABORTION CHOICE
Editor -- Don Davis (Letters, Dec. 17) suggested
that President-elect George W. Bush "acknowledge that the majority of Americans
believe a woman's right to choose is fundamental."
If pro-abortion
militants really believed this, they would not be so nervous about the survival
of the Roe vs. Wade decision. The truth is, when it comes to "a woman's right to
choose" (to kill her unborn child), the consensus of the electorate is to the
right of the legal status quo.
Most Americans favor laws banning
late-term abortion and requiring parental consent for teenage girls to have
abortions. If the Roe vs. Wade decision is overturned, these laws will be passed
in most of the states. That is the way "the majority of Americans" want it to
be.
JOHN ENGELMAN
Walnut Creek
-------------------------------------------
CLINTON'S CHANCE
Editor -- Regarding your editorial, "Clinton's Last Chance for
Conservation Legacy" (Dec. 22), on behalf of the coastal plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge: The refuge was first established by President
Eisenhower in 1960 as the Arctic Game Range, subsequently enlarged and renamed
in 1980.
President Clinton should indeed take action and proclaim the
coastal plain a national monument. He has full authority to do so and he has the
strong support of the American people. Moreover, legislation that would have
extended formal wilderness designation to the coastal plain had bipartisan
support in the 106th Congress.
Twenty senators, including California's
Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, co-sponsored a bill authored by Sen. William
Roth, R-Del. In the House, 178 representatives co-sponsored a similar bill.
President-elect Bush has made clear his intention to drill the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, so much so that it appears to be the centerpiece of
his so-called energy policy. Clinton has already left a conservation legacy that
he can be proud of. If he were to declare the Arctic coastal plain a national
monument, he would forever be counted as one of the greatest presidents in
American conservation history.
JAY THOMAS WATSON
Regional
Director
The Wilderness Society
San Francisco
LOAD-DATE: December 26, 2000 
