'Oh, the clever little devils'

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Socialist Action (ISSN 0747-4237) is published monthly for $6 year by Socialist Action Publishing Association, 3435 Army St., 308, San Francisco, CA 94110. Second-class postage is paid at POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Socialist Action, 3435 Army Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily represent the views It's just getting too difficult to follow the capitalist press lately. Every day I read about the "debate" in Congress on the $100 million aid to the contras. Democrats and Republicans are full of long-winded speeches aimed at explaining where they stand on increased aid to the contras.

Every day we are supplied with a picture of "poor little ole freedom fighters" sitting in a cold, wet jungle just waiting for the word from Congress.

To hear these politicians talk you would think that without this $100 million the "freedom fighters" would suffer a calamity so great they would have to jump into the next boat and sail to the safe harbor of Florida.

Knowing that over two-thirds of the voters in this country are opposed to contra aid, several politicians had to do some fancy footwork.

Many Democrats and Repub -licans expressed opposition to appropriating a full $100 million. They called for sending a smaller sum to the contras.

But in the end, most of these politicians ended up voting for the contra aid. They voted to continue to supply the contras with weapons to murder and plunder the people of Nicaragua.

But did we really have to worry about the health and safety of Reagan's Rambos in Nicaragua? No. The secret is out. One week after the Senate voted to supply the cutthroats with the $100 million, we learn that the CIA has been funneling goodies to the contras all the time.

According to the Aug. 18 San Francisco Chronicle, "The CIA, using a legal loophole, has given millions of dollars worth of unappropriated aid to the Nicara -guan contra rebels and plans to provide at least $100 million more on top of the $100 million Congress has just approved, according to administration sources."

The Chronicle article con -tinues, "Don Mathes, a White House spokesman, [also] said that so much of the overhead of the CIA, Defense and State departments in Honduras and other nations is in support of the contras that he could not begin to estimate its total value."

But this revelation did not even faze the Reagan administration. Mathes said such support for the contras was "perfectly legit -imate." The CIA can "lend equipment and services" so long as it does so "without violating the letter or spirit Mathes said.

So we learn that the $100 million voted by Congress to the contra terrorists is just a wee drop in the bucket. The real amount cannot even be estimated by the White House.

The weeks of debate over how many millions to send to the contras, it turns out, was just a public song and dance.

The game that the ruling rich have established in Congress is based on the ping-pong method of politics. The batters are the Democrats and the Republicans, and the American voters are the ball.

The rulers of this country need Editor: ALAN BENJAMIN Asst. Editor: MICHAEL SCHREIBER law,"

Staff: Amanda Chapman, Paul Colvin, Suzanne Forsyth, Gong, Millie Gonzalez, David Kirschner, Joe Ryan, Carole RATES: For one year (12 issues)—U.S. 2nd Class: Canada and Mexico 2nd Class: $9, Ist Class: countries 2nd Class: $12, 1st Class: $24. (Canada of Socialist Action. These are expressed in editorials. to make voters believe that there is a difference between the two capitalist parties. We are sup -posed to get so discombobulated at being batted around that we can't spot the batters.

Our only hope is to change place with the batters and give these two political parties a chance to be batted around-and to totally bat that ball out of the game.

Until we can build an independent political party based on the unions which represents the working class and all the oppressed and exploited, we will continue to be batted around by all these bipartisan ping-pong players.

May May Seligi nan, per No.

San $6, 1st Class: $9; $12$; All other money orders or

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ActioN Closing date: Aug. 24, 1986