The West Virginia Patriots for Peace is a grass-roots organization formed in September 2002 with the drafting of a Declaration and Call To Action.
We include Democrats and Republicans and Independents; members of all aspects of the faith community; political activists, people of conscience and pacifists; veterans, housewives and students; union
members, the unemployed and the retired. We are your neighbors and your fellow Americans. We invite you to join our mailing list!
Actio Alert, April 16, From our friends at True Majority:
Subject: Stop war from bankrupting America.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, a big part of the reason why was that they had been spending massive amounts of money on an arms race with the United States. To afford more bombers and fighter jets and nuclear missiles, the Soviets had to cut social programs, health care, education, even food subsidies.
The result was a total economic collapse leading to major governmental reforms -- but not before thousands of innocent Russians were forced to wait in bread lines and suffer years of unemployment and hardship. It should be a lesson to the world that President Eisenhower was right when he said "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
But if Paul Ryan and Republicans have their way, the U.S. budget would follow the exact same priorities as the Soviet Union - slashing investment in social programs and employment, so we can buy more and more weapons we don't need. That's the message of a new Op-Ed by our Executive Director just out yesterday in major newspapers. And it's a message President Obama and the Senate need to hear right now.
Can you help us make sure everyone knows that we can't afford to act like it's 1989 and we're still in an arms race with the Soviets? Click here to back up our message with your own letter to the editor.
In over a decade of fighting to end Pentagon spending, we've never seen an opportunity like this year. President Obama has put big cuts to the Pentagon budget on the table for serious consideration. And because Congress' so-called Super Committee failed to come up with a better plan to cut the budget last year, Congress is actually obligated to cut spending on war and weapons in a HUGE way.
But Ryan and the House Republicans seem to have missed the memo. They're proposing a big increase in military spending at the same time they want to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and more. It's a recipe for disaster just like it was for the Soviets.
President Obama and your Senators are out of D.C. and campaigning this week. That means they're reading local newspapers and listening for what issues voters are most concerned about. If we can double down on our opinion piece today and spark a national conversation on Pentagon spending, we've got a great chance to influence them and stop the Republican plan to bankrupt the economy with out-of-control weapons spending.
But only if we act fast. Can you write a short letter today to make sure our message is seen and heard by key decision makers before they head back to D.C.?
Sincerely,
Ross Wallen
USAction / TrueMajority
ONLY THE PEOPLE WILL STOP WAR ON IRAN!
President Bush has made accusations that Iran supports attacks on U.S. troops, without any evidence. When we hear other elected officials like Senator John McCain saying (to the tune of Barbara Ann), 'Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' the horrific seems possible (again!).
Our own Senator Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that any U.S. military move into Iran would be 'catastrophically stupid' and 'unleash a conflagration like we've never heard of before.' We could not possibly agree more.
Click here to read a letter that was sent to our Congressional Delegation outlining why peaceful negotiations are the ONLY way to deal with the rising tensions between the US and Iran, and in the Middle East in general.
UNDERSTANDING THE U.S.-IRAQ CRISIS: A Primer by Phyllis Bennis |
