Pubdate: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC) Copyright: 2002 Wilmington Morning Star Contact: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500 Author: Dorothy Nesbitt U.S. MUST LEAD Everyone should read the headlines of Feb. 4, on the front page of the Morning Star: "U.S. forces sifting through debris from missile attack." "Cost of criminal justice system rising steadily." "TAPS time is running out." "Bush blazes trail on arms strategy." The first and last go together. The second and third emphasize our priorities. A successful program to cure AIDS is dropped. This area continues to spend fortunes on the incarceration of drug offenders, who are only a menace to themselves, and does not spend money for the rehabilitation of drug offenders and very little for the prevention of drug abuse. ... The United States, as the most powerful nation on earth, should be the leader, not of an arms race, but of a way of life that celebrates human life, not destroys it. Dorothy Nesbitt, Wrightsville Beach - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager