Fund childcare, not bombs!

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By WEINSTEIN Rashaad, my youngest grandchild, will be three this month. His imagination runs wild. He can change from a little boy to a fierce Karate Kid with just a ribbon around his forehead.

Tape a paper towel onto his back, and he becomes Superman flying through the air. With a kitchen chair turned upside down and a tablecloth, he is trans -formed into a space warrior-all of this in just a few hours.

Rashaad has learned to play with other children. He waits patiently until it's his turn to play on the slide or tricycle. He no longer clings to our hand when other children are around or insists on sitting in our lap when strange grownups come to visit.

Rashaad is, in fact, becoming a joyful, teasing, wonderful little boy. Of course he's my grandson, and for that he is special. But a lot of the credit belongs to his childcare center. It is there that he has learned to relate to grownups and other children.

He attends an excellent center with caring teachers and parents. He qualified for this public childcare center because his mother is a low-income, single parent and because she is a student at City College.

Other single parents are waiting to place their children in that center. They want to go to college to learn a skill in order to support themselves and their children. Many of them are "reentry" older women who have sole responsibility for their children.

But they are in for bad news. The center has announced that there have been serious cutbacks in funding. They may have to fire personnel. They have had to cut back on the mid-morning juice snack for the children and they will not be able to take in any more children.

Rashaad's childcare center must Dave Walsh Ron Kovic, disabled Marine Vietnam vet, addresses Boston rally.

now hold "bake sales" to afford field trips or play materials for the children.

Meanwhile, this country is supplying millions of dollars worth of war materiel to Iran and the contras. These weapons will be used to bring destruction and death to the children of the Middle East and Central America. It's the American capitalist way of life. The capitalist class of the world's richest country can only afford bombs-not adequate childcare.

Socialists want to change that "way of life." We want every child to be joyful and happy. We will help build a world where all children can develop their imagination and creativity.

An Anti-Intervention Action Conference was held in Toronto, Canada, on Nov. 1516 to mobilize Canadian sentiment against U.S. aggression against Nicaragua. The Toronto Anti-Intervention Coalition (TAIC) was the sponsor. Over 90 organizations have joined TAIC.

Over 140 people registered for the conference. They came from throughout Southern Ontario, Montreal, and Vancouver. This was more than was expected, reports Barry Weisleder, re-elected co-chair of the TAIC steering committee.

Plans were laid for a Pan-Canadian anti-

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Conferen calls Canada protests