Steve Forbes is quitting the presidential race. A campaign source says Forbes will be endorsing Dole for the nomination. Not long ago, Forbes was denouncing the Senate majority leader as a tax raiser and an untrustworthy Washington insider. Forbes has spent more than $25 million of his own fortune in pursuit of the nomination. He won in Delaware and Arizona but fell far behind soon after.

What would you do if you had $25 million to spend? Why don’t you send us an email or a letter and tell us what you’d do. We’ll read them on the air. You can send us email at democracy@pacifica.org. That’s democracy@pacifica.org. At the end of the show, we’ll give you our address, as well.

In other news, the Progressive Caucus is releasing its alternative budget today in Congress. Among its proposals, cutting the military budget. None of the major presidential candidates are calling for any kind of military budget cuts, but there are U.S. citizens who are taking a stand. Two peace activists were sentenced to 10 months in prison yesterday for entering a California defense plant and damaging two Trident missiles with hammers. U.S. District Judge James Ware sentenced Jesuit priest Steven Kelly and Susan Crane to 10 months each in federal prison for damaging government property and conspiracy. Each has already spent seven months in prison awaiting trial and sentencing. Kelly and Crane admitted damaging the missiles in a protest against government spending on weapons of mass destruction. They carried out the protest August 7 last year to mark the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the U.S. atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War. But they nevertheless pleaded not guilty and urged jurors at their trial to refuse to convict them.