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CAFTA denies poorest vital medical treatment

Editor:

I ask that we take a serious look at the following:

Scene on a CNN camera: Little old lady, 93 years of age, walking with the help of a push-walker. A young man runs at her, snatching her purse, and knocks her down.

Comment by CNN news commentator: “How terrible! That’s as low as you can get. That man has no soul.�

That is low, all right, but is that as low as you can get? For instance, knowingly voting for and passing legislation that makes it illegal to sell generic drugs to the people of the six poorest nations in this hemisphere so that our drug companies can rob the poorest of the poor. Millions of people with HIV, diabetes, tuberculosis, severe heart problems, children suffering from malnutrition and many other serious health problems can no longer have the help of less costly generic drugs because this help was stripped from them by the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the present administration.

When our congressmen voted for CAFTA, this mentality is what they supported.

Which of the two above-mentioned scenarios is worse? They both are terrible, but the latter affects millions of people who will die long before their time and will bear great pain unnecessarily. Think about what our values are as good Americans. Where was CNN on this corrupt act?

I believe in business, large and small. We have a right to make a profit. This right used to be tempered by compassion and moral obligations to those with less. This act is controlled by greed alone and if we are not careful such acts might even destroy this very nation that we love and for which many of us were willing to fight to protect.

We must return to the principles of a compassionate society before it is too late.

Mervyn M. Mosbacker Sr.
Brownsville