working to stop the United States from "punishing" foreign governments by withholding medicines from civilians. The embargo reveals the hypocrisy of some Republican so-called "pro-life" beliefs when they use medicine as a weapon, bringing about disease, misery and death to poor areas of the globe.

For over 40 years, the most powerful country the world has ever known has tried to crush, starve and brutalize a small Third World nation only 90 miles off its coast.

The number-one weapon used against Cuba is the boycott of medicine. Any country that trades medicines with Cuba is severely punished with our full economic might.

You would think this embargo, considered immoral and illegal by the vast majority of the world, would have caused Cuba to become a disease ridden hell-hole, like so many of Third World countries the U.S. considers close allies and props up with billions of dollars of military aid.

But Cuba has a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate than the United States. Cuba maintains over 16,000 healthcare workers in impoverished nations; the U.S., by contrast, doesn't even have 200 such workers. We're number one when it comes to killing Iraqi civilians using super-cool, shiny, high-tech toys, but when it comes to providing healthcare for the people, you're better off in Communist Cuba.

Fortunately, governments like those of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba have put the healthcare of their people as a number-one priority.

This kind of focusing on the needs of the people, instead of the wealthy few, explains why some Republicans are so fanatical in their policies to overthrow Castro and Chavez. In April of 2003, the U.S. supported a coup overthrowing the democratically-elected President Chavez. Bush and friends suffered extreme embarrassment when the people of Venezuela rose up en-masse to restore their democracy. Bush again tried to unseat Chavez by sending millions of dollars to the Chavez opposition in Venezuela (American tax dollars at workfolks) forcing a recall. But once again, Bush was humiliated in the eyes of the world as Chavez received a second overwhelming mandate -- a real mandate, not like the one Rush Limbaugh claims Bush received on Nov. 3rd.

The war on Cuba continues. Just last week, right-wing U.S. Representative, Lincoln-Diaz Balart became vice chairman of the House Rules committee. His rabid, pro-embargo position will almost guarantee a continuation of the "economic genocide" being perpetrated against Cuba. As for Venezuela, Condoleezza Rice called Venezuela "deeply troubling" in her Senate confirmation hearing.

Seeing how her and the rest of the Bush administration are merely lapdogs for the rich and powerful, a democratically elected president of an oil-rich country working on the behalf of the people must indeed be "deeply troubling."

One wonders just how superlative Cuba's healthcare would be if the crippling choke hold from the U.S. was lifted. Cuba would have so many highly educated doctors they could start sending 'em here to the good ol' U.S. of A. I've had this floating chunk of cartilage in my knee now for years; I sure could use a visit to a doctor.

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