No More Death, No More Murder, Don't Defend the Corporatocracy!

Our corporate masters have given us a day off to commemorate the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect their greed. But it’s up to us how we will use our “free” time. Here are a few suggestions of something positive to do, beyond the Barbie-Que and drinking to forget the crimes of our inheritance:


Apparently the Senate doesn't think there are enough fallen soldiers to honor this Memorial Day, so they have passed a funding bill to extend the Iraq war and occupation past Memorial Day 2009. And were they even thinking of the potentially thousands of Iraqis who will die? To add to the moral repugnance of the Senate's actions, they have tied important programs including GI and unemployment benefits to the Iraq funding bill. Vets can get college tuition, but they'll need to spend another year in Iraq first. See below for details on the Senate bill and to find out how your senators voted.
Are you as outraged as we are?
But we can't give up the fight just yet. The Senate bill will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote in the beginning of June. Before they vote though, members of Congress will be coming home for their week-long Memorial Day recess. That means they will be at parades, picnics, campaign events and in their offices. They must hear from you -- loud or silent, rude or polite, funny or solemn, in print, on the phone or in person. [my bold] There are many ways to convey one message: Stop funding the war, bring all our troops home now! Use as many of them as you can!
Please check the UFPJ calendar to see if there are any Memorial Day Peace events near you (and make sure your event is listed if you are organizing one).
Click here to find out who your representative is and the locations and phone numbers of their local offices.
Let us know how you contacted your representative -- phone, email, fax, in-person, etc. -- who you reached, what you said, and what the response was.
Additional Resources from UFPJ and UFPJ member groups:
CodePink Memorial Day Action Guide
"Why We're Against the War," from Iraq Veterans Against the War
Legislative information from UFPJ
Local cost of war info from the National Priorities Project
Talking points for grassroots lobbyists from Peace Action
Open letter to Congress from Military Families Speak Out
"Healing the Wounds of War" from AFSC
Background Details
The Senate voted today, May 22, on three separate amendments:
The first vote produced a surprise outcome. It was an amendment approving billions in funding for a broad array of domestic programs, including increases in GI education funding, extension of unemployment benefits, levee construction in New Orleans, and a plethora of other good works. The amendment passed by a vote of 75-22.
The second vote was on Iraq war policies, including a withdrawal timeline, troop readiness requirements, no permanent bases and no toture. This amendment failed on a vote of 34-63.
The final vote was on $165.4 billion to fund the wars/occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan through next summer. This amendment passed on a vote of 70-26.
The Senate version of the bill (including the war funding and the domestic funding) will go back to the House for a vote after the Memorial Day recess. Last week, the House voted on three amendments similar to the amendments in the Senate. It defeated the war funding amendment and passed only the war policies and domestic programs.
How did your representative vote?
On the Iraq war policies amendment
On the domestic programs amendment
On the $166 billion Iraq war funding amendment
Yours, for peace and justice,UFPJ Legislative Working Group

Help us continue to do this critical work:

Make a donation to UFPJ today.
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

212-868-5545

PO Box 607

Times Square Station

New York, NY 10108

PS--Check out UFPJ's very provocative and timely t-shirts on sale and let your people know. We Will NOT Be Silent! Bring them home, NOW!

Peace Advances! Winter Soldiers On PBS!

In an amazing turn of events, the House of Representatives today voted AGAINST the supplemental funding for the war in Iraq!!
The bill would have provided $166 billion in war funding, the largest single provision since the war started in 2003. In a move that no one expected, dozens of Republicans voted "present," which is the same as abstaining on the vote. This meant that the 149 NO votes were enough to defeat the bill. (141 votes were cast in favor.)
This is a tremendous victory for the antiwar movement. The hard work of people all around the country secured those 149 clear NO votes. Click here for the roll call to see how your representative voted.
But our work is far from over.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where we can expect an attempt to add the war funding back into the bill. After that, the bill will go to a conference committee, then back for a re-vote in both the House and the Senate. That means we need to keep up the pressure on both the House and the Senate.
Here's what you can do:
1) If your member of the House voted NO on the funding, call your rep (202-224-3121), say thanks and ask him or her to hold firm over the next few weeks.
2) If your member voted yes or present, call your rep (202-224-3121) and tell him or her to vote against any funding bill that might come before the House in the new few weeks.
3) We must all escalate our pressure on the Senate! Call your two senators (202-224-3121) and let them know how strongly you oppose further funding for this war! (If you don't know who your representative and senators are, click here.)
4) Write letters to your local newspapers, call into radio talk shows, organize a vigil or picket in front of your senators' local offices, or put together a non-violent civil disobedience action at their offices. (Click here to find where their offices are located.)
5) Get word out that parts of the 4 hours of Winter Soldier testimony that was delivered at a hearing organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill this morning will be broadcast on the "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS) tomorrow evening! [my bold] (You can also watch the hearings on the C-SPAN website.)
Let us claim this victory and at the same time push as hard as we can to stop the Senate from giving the green light on billions more of our tax dollars going into this war and occupation.
We urge you to take a moment right now to make a donation to UFPJ. We need your support to make sure we can keep doing this work in the strongest way possible. Click here to make your contribution now.
Additional Information
Two other measures were passed in the House this afternoon. The first of those had some good provisions (no permanent bases, no use of torture), but also included a non-binding goal for the withdrawal of U.S. troops to be completed by December 2009. This would keep our troops in Iraq for another year and half, and this timeline is only a goal. In other words, this doesn't even come close to our call for all of the troops to come home now. The second measure that passed today would increase veterans benefits and provide funding for some important domestic needs.
We expect the Senate to vote next week. [my bold] We would have predicted that they would put the war funding back into the measure, take out the conditions they don't like (such as the goal for withdrawal), and make changes to the domestic funding package. Given the un-expected development in the House, all bets are off on what the Senate will do. After the Senate acts on the package, both chambers will negotiate and try to come up with a compromise, which will then go before both chamber for a re-vote.
Yours, for peace and justice,
UFPJ Legislative Working Group

---

Help us continue to do this critical work

Make a donation to UFPJ today

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
PO Box 607
Times Square Station
New York, NY 10108