Can you take a minute and comment on a letter?

[Phil Wilayto]

Dear friends,

I wrote a letter to Richmond's daily newspaper pointing out that the city's loss of $8 million in federal funds for its school budget is equal to the cost of just 10 Tomahawk cruise missiles. (See below.) The editors ran the letter in their Sunday edition in the "Correspondent of the Day" box. I'm not one to promote that reactionary paper, but the Sunday edition supposedly reaches more than 100,000 readers.

Anyway, the letter has generated the usual storm of reactionary comments. If you have a minute, you might think about leaving one of your own. (Progressive, not reactionary.) 

Here's the link for the letter and comments:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/letters-to-the-editor/2012/may/13/tdopin01-correspondent-of-the-day-ar-1909193/#fbcomments

Thanks,

Phil

By: TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF | Times-Dispatch 

Correspondent of the Day

Published: May 13, 2012

Save the bombs — and the schools

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

The Richmond Public Schools system is facing a $10 million budget deficit, a gap that could result in the loss of more than 200 school department jobs, including teachers. Of this deficit, $8 million is from the loss of one-time federal stimulus funding.

On March 17 of last year — the first day of the NATO attack against Libya — the U.S. military launched between 50 and 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles against that African country. Hundreds more were launched in the following weeks.

Each of those cruise missiles costs U.S. taxpayers just over $800,000.

That means that not firing just 10 cruise missiles could have eliminated Richmond's school budget deficit.

Unless we start addressing this issue of military vs. domestic spending, there will be no solutions to the attacks on our jobs, schools, housing and health care.

I would urge Mayor Jones and members of the school board and city council to consider calling on President Obama and Congress to provide "Money for Jobs & Education, not for Wars & Occupations!"

Phil Wilayto

Co-founder, Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

Richmond