IS RADICAL "REFORM" POSSIBLE?
JOHN McCAIN'S unexpected strength against George Bush's millions has altered the perception of what's possible in American politics. Now both McCain and Bush proudly claim to be "reform" candidates. These developments might unintentionally boost the Reform Party nomination of Dr. Robert Bowman over Buchanan in the June primary and speed the Party to the November ballot. In that case, no matter who wins, Bowman would inject radical reform into the discussion, and that can't hurt.
In his Air Force career, Robert Bowman served in 34 different countries and flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam. As an executive in government and industry, he saw both sides of the military-industrial complex, directing all the secret Department of Defense "Star Wars" programs under Presidents Ford and Carter. For the last 18 years, he has been a whistle-blower/watchdog over our corporate-controlled government.
How does Bob Bowman assess our national problems and define solutions? Here are his views, condensed from NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS, December 1999.
1. The WTO is not about negotiations between nations, but about rules made by the corporations and banks, with governments doing the bidding of the wealthy elite and ceding sovereignty to corporate functionaries operating in secret. US policy is directed by the world's billionaires, falsely portraying the WTO, NAFTA , and GATT as supporting free trade, but in reality promoting free investment, overturning US laws, and putting American workers in competition with those in the Third World. The resulting decrease in standard of living has made America #1 among industrialized nations in child poverty,
· in the gap between rich and poor,
· in unimmunized children,
· in teen pregnancy,
· in deaths by gunfire,
· in poverty among the elderly,
· in people without medical coverage, and
· in homeless veterans,
· in citizen incarceration.
Yet the government has a trillion dollars worth of new weapons on the books to fight corporate wars. If the unfair trade policies of NAFTA and GATT are abolished and Americans are no longer forced to compete with foreign slave labor, they can support their families with one job, not three.
2. If insurance companies are kicked out of the health care business, if the stranglehold of for-profit hospital conglomerates and HMOs is broken, and if a doctor-run, single-payer, national health system is installed, every American can have good health care.
3. Rather than the tax burden falling on small businesses which use American suppliers and hire American workers (while the big multinationals use offshore suppliers, offshore slave labor, offshore bank accounts, and avoid US taxes altogether), the giant multinationals that sell their products here should pay their fair share of taxes. The tax burden on workers and small businesses can be greatly reduced; the connection between employment and health care severed, eliminating payroll taxes completely; and start-up businesses relieved of taxes until they are profitable.
4. The big-money domination of politics has resulted in a series of wars, from Vietnam to Kosovo. Veterans of the Vietnam War came home afflicted with Agent Orange, thousands of them with lives destroyed by a combination of depleted uranium, anthrax vaccine, and chemical weaponry. More Vietnam vets have died of suicide than were killed in combat. The men and women in our armed forces are used to protect the financial interests of Folgers, Chiquita Banana, and Exxon. They are sent around the world to kill Arabs so the oil companies can sell the oil under their sand, making us the target of terrorists. This new colonialism endangers our national security and must be ended, the breakup of Yugoslavia halted, and our overseas troops brought home. The Defense budget should be used for real security needs and the needs of the armed services, not to buy useless nukes and unneeded cold war weapons to satisfy the greed of weapons manufacturers.
5. Nuclear terrorism is the biggest US threat today, but no weapon in our vast arsenal can protect us from a terrorist willing to die (and kill) for what he believes. "Star Wars" can't defend us. Even if these weapons worked, they would be useful only against isolated ballistic missiles. But all a terrorist has to do is float his nuke up a river on a barge, fly it in a Cessna, smuggle it in a bale of marijuana, or deliver it in a Ryder rental truck. We are the target of terrorists because our government is feared and hated for doing hateful things to people all around the world-deposing elected leaders and supporting brutal dictators in Iran, Chile, and Central America who have sold out their own people to the multinational corporations. We have caused the deaths of half a million children in Iraq. The School of the Americas must close; Most Favored Nation status refused to the butchers of Tianenmen Square; and the impoverished people of Cuba released from an illegal secondary embargo.
6. The FBI is supposed to be an investigative body, not a national police force (e.g., Waco and Ruby Ridge). The FBI, CIA, DEA, INS, IRS, and ATF must be controlled or disarmed altogether. Americans should not live in fear of their own government!
7. Finally, Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal must be pardoned.
--For more information, contact Bob Bowman on the road <2000@rmbowman.com> (he and wife Maggie are campaigning through 48 states in an old motor home) or at 5115 S. A1A Hwy, # 206, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951, (321) 952-0601.