| Important
Dates - February/March 2005 |
|
February
21: Presidents' Day
February 18-28: Senate and House not in
session
March 19: Two-year anniversary of start
of Iraq war |
 |
Proposed
FY06 federal budget
Some
resources to find out
more
February
2005
How
will we cut the pie?
More
guns, less butter. And
housing. And aid to
states and localities.
And healthcare...
Here are some links
to some of the best
analyses out there.
|
The
federal budget is more than
a lot of numbers: it determines
a whole lot about what happens
in our country. President
Bush just released his proposed
federal budget for FY06, and
it reveals a lot about his
priorities. There's less money
for programs that serve most
marginal people in our country:
poor, elderly, ill; and plenty
of money for programs like
new nuclear weapons
and missile defense. And the
tax cuts continue to favor
the wealthiest among us.
Many
individuals and organizations
are asking if this is what
we are all about as a country;
and are offering detailed
critiques of the budget proposal.
We hope you'll take the time
to find out more.
This
is our budget; shouldn't it
reflect our priorities?
- Center
for American Progress
What to Look for in the Budget
"The
federal budget is the most
tangible expression of our
nation's priorities. Unfortunately,
this year's budget, as expected,
focused on the wrong priorities
and made the wrong choices
for America. With
budget deficits soaring to
an estimated $448 billion,
the president calling for
the permanent extension of
his tax cuts, and the administration
planning to potentially add
$2 trillion in new debt to
privatize Social Security,
threats to progressive priorities
are very real. "
- True
Majority illustrates the budget
in Oreos (yes, the cookie)
Once again, our federal budget
spends too much on the wrong
things and not enough on the
right ones. But it doesn't
have to be that way!
See
the video here.
Worth
a thousand words: Click
here (requires
Adobe Acrobat)
to view an eye-opening chart
about how much the U.S. spends
on defense. It shows how we're
spending almost as much this
year on defense as during the
last two years of WWII and one
year of the Korean War. They're
inflation-adjusted dollars.
Chart
prepared by Charles V. Peña,
Cato Institute Director of Defense
Policy Studies and presented
at Cato policy forum February
10, 2005 entitled Defense
Spending, National Security,
and the War on Terrorism. |
What
about taxes?
or, Why am I still getting
tax rebate checks when our soldiers aren't properly
equipped in an overseas war?
Tax
cuts responsible for deficit -- not spending
"In 2005, the cost of tax cuts enacted
over the past four years will be nearly four
times the cost of all domestic program increases
enacted over this period." OMB
Watch
|
The
Bill's Lower Now. What About 4/15/11?
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON | February
13, 2005 | The New York Times
Full
article here.
Assuming
that the tax cuts are made permanent
-- many provisions are due to expire
over the next six years -- people
in the bottom 99 percent of the income
charts will get a tax cut smaller than
their share of income from 2001 to 2015.
The top one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans
will get tax cuts that are about twice
their share of national income. In
this group are 290,000 men, women and
children whose annual incomes are greater
than $1.6million. More than a quarter
of all the Bush tax cuts will go to
the top one-half of 1 percent -- the
1.4 million Americans with incomes of
$581,00 or more.
|
Calling
on Governments to Universally Reaffirm and
Implement the Beijing Platform for Action
WAND signs on to letter
National
Women Speakers' Bureau launches!
 |
 |
WAND
Women
Speakers' Bureau
A
service of
Women’s Action for New
Directions Education Fund
More
information here. |
 |
 |
The
women in the Bureau can provide information
about the full budgeting process, women in
politics, and much more!
They're
lively, dynamic speakers from a variety of
backgrounds, in locations across the country.
Most of available at no charge, with simple
expenses covered.
Please
feel free to find out more about them, and
to contact us! More
information here.
To
book a speaker, contact Tanya Wallace-Hargro,
WAND Field Director, at 404-524-5999 / twhargro@wand.org.
 |
WAND's
own Julia King hits the national airwaves
Morning Edition,
January 25, 2005 | In
the second of two NPR commentaries on
abortion in America, commentator and
WAND member Julia King wonders why Democrats
have stopped fighting so hard for reproductive
rights. She worries that Democratic
candidate’s desire for broad support
has softened the party's position, and
that advocates of abortion rights are
left with no party to turn to. Click here
for full information. |
Do
women have special concerns about the Social
Security debate on privatization?
|
From
the Feminist Majority Foundation
"Social
Security “helps level the playing
field for women,” who on average
earn less then men and have fewer years
in the workforce, while privatization
would provide benefits based only on
worker contributions, which would disproportionately
harm women. Social Security benefits
are paid out until the end of a recipient’s
life, whereas a private account would
have finite funds that would need to
last indefinitely. With women’s
longer life expectancies, this means
that their average monthly income would
be even smaller." More
here. |
The
return of the "bunker buster": Time
to rally to defeat it again
The
Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill
deleted funding for it; now we must make sure
it doesn’t return!
 |
It's
baaaaaaaack: Time
to rally to re-defeat the bunker buster
for FY06
Late last year, the Republican Congress denied funds for
the nuclear bunker buster. Thank
you for your advocacy to make that possible. Now
we need your help again to ensure that
this victory is not reversed.
TAKE
ACTION HERE |
BACKGROUND
The
Administration is asking for $4 million in its
Fiscal Year 2006 request in Department of Energy
funds to develop this bomb (also known as the
Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator). It is intended
to destroy underground bunkers. In addition,
$4.5 million is being requested for the Air
Force to do non-nuclear tests that would evaluate
the bunker buster’s ability to penetrate into
the earth before exploding.
Representative
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), member of the House Armed
Services Committee and a key leader of efforts
to stop this funding called it “a waste of money
on a weapon commanders in the field have not
asked for, is of highly questionable utility,
and may trigger a new global nuclear arms race.”
Republican
Lawmaker Slams Bush Nuclear Plans
By
David Ruppe | Global Security Newswire
Full
article here. The
Bush administration’s plans for
the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal appear
suited to fighting the wrong war —
the Cold War, a key Republican
lawmaker said in a scathing speech yesterday.
“If
the executive branch and the Congress
really believe that a nuclear-armed terrorist
group is the threat we are defending against
— and I do — then we need
to change our priorities to prevent such
a devastating attack,” Representative
Dave Hobson (R-Ohio) said, addressing
an Arms Control Association luncheon. |
| Former
FBI Agent unveils truth about conversion
of nuclear waste site to recreation area
grist
magazine | 01.24.05
The
plotline sounds as absurd as a made-for-TV
movie: An FBI agent exposes deadly contamination
at an old nuclear-weapons plant, but the
federal government conceals the findings.
Years later, Congress votes to convert
the tract into a wildlife refuge and open
it to school field trips and public recreation.
The site becomes a poster child for eco-friendly
nuclear-waste disposal -- with a dangerous
radioactive secret lurking below the surface...
Lipsky
describes the DOE's ongoing cleanup effort
at the nuke site, scheduled to be completed
by 2006, as "woefully inadequate
-- a farce." As for the decision
to make Rocky Flats a tourist destination,
he said, "There is nothing safe or
sane about it." Full
text here.
|
After
the elections: now what?
Few
would disagree that it was a promising day for
democracy in Iraq on January 30, as up to 60%
turned out to vote in the elections. But was
it more than that? Does it really hold the promise
of true democracy?
And
so we wonder: what next?
When
will Iraqi security forces be trained and equipped
sufficiently to handle the task of keeping the
peace in Iraq? When will American troops be
able to go home? How long will the U.S. continue
the occupation? If the war is to go on for many
years to come, will it become necessary to implement
a draft? What price is too high (now that we've
lost almost 1500 lives)?
What
will happen in the next election where true
power is up for grabs? How can the insurgency
violence be contained? Will the divide between
Shiites and Sunnis ever be closed, or will it
split the country and endanger prospects of
longterm peace and security?
And
most important: does the administration have
a realistic plan for addressing these vital
and pressing questions?
 |
We
invite you to think about these questions;
to read all you can; and to consider the
lives of ordinary Iraqi citizens: the struggle
to feed families, the fear of walking the
streets, the heady sense of possibility.
It's hard to remember that the U.S. has
taken an action that not only deposed a
dangerous tyrant; but that left a country
without a strong leader, and all that implies.
|
| ACTION
ITEM: The Next Step for Iraq: Building
Unity on U.S. Policy The
Iraqi elections are an important step
for the people of Iraq, but the next step
is in the hands of the U.S. Congress.
Whether you support an immediate withdrawal
of U.S. troops or believe the troops should
stay until stability is achieved, we can
all agree that ultimately U.S. policy
should be to withdraw completely.
Join
FCNL's Interfaith Lobby Days - February
21-25, 2005
Sign up to join concerned citizens across
the country in meeting with your senators
and representatives when they are home
during the President's Day recess. Members
of Congress tell us that three voters
meeting with them in their home district
is more important than fifty people meeting
with them in Washington.
Ask
your Members of Congress to approve a
resolution stating that "it is the
policy of the U.S. to withdraw all military
troops and bases from Iraq." Show
them that a broad range of their constituents
want Congress to take the next step forward.
Visit
The
Next Step for Iraq for more information
on the campaign and how you can join in.
|
|
Iraqi
Insurgents Step Up Attacks After Elections
By JAMES GLANZ | February 13, 2005 | The
New York Times
Full
text here.
From
Monday to Saturday, bombers and gunmen
have left at least 108 people dead. The
attacks have been at or near a Shiite
mosque, a hospital, police facilities,
a bakery in a Shiite neighborhood and
in front of Iraqis' houses...
The
Iraqi officials said the insurgency might
see attacks on Shiites as its best chance
to foment civil conflict and nullify any
advantage the elections might have conferred
on the Iraqi government or the American-led
occupation that backs it.
"What
is happening is that, having failed to
stop people from going to the polls, they
are trying to create the impression of
a civil war," said Sabah Kadhim Jumah,
a senior official at the Interior Ministry. |
 |
Book
on Iraq: Not One Claim Was True
"Hoodwinked:
The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold
Us a War"
By John Prados |
Reviewed
by Joseph Cirincione
here |
| Let's
Not Make the Same Mistakes in Iran
By
David Kay | February 7, 2005 | Washington
Post
Full
text here.
One
year ago I told the Senate Armed Services
Committee that I had concluded "we
were almost all wrong" at the time
of the Iraq war about that country's activities
with regard to weapons of mass destruction
-- and never more wrong than in the assessment
that Iraq had a resurgent program on the
verge of producing nuclear weapons. I
testified about what I saw as the major
reasons we got it so wrong, and I urged
the establishment of an independent commission
to examine this failure and begin the
long-overdue process of adjusting our
intelligence capabilities to the new national
security environment we face...
Now
is the time to pause and recall what went
wrong with the assessment of Iraq's WMD
program and try to avoid repeating those
mistakes in Iran. Five steps
are essential...
The
writer was the first leader of the Iraq
Survey Group searching for weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq. He resigned a year
ago. |
What
is the Iraq war costing us?
 |
It's
crucial to realize that military operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan are funded by "supplemental"
spending (money above and beyond the regular
military budget). In FY05, the U.S.
spent $75 billion on these operations. This
is greater than the military budget of any
other country on earth. |
| More
information on the cost of war
For
up to the minute costs, and information
by city and state: www.costofwar.com
Local
Costs of Iraq War Find out
the current cost of the Iraq war for over
200 selected cities and counties.
NPP's
trade-offs Put the cost of
the Iraq War into context. |
For additional events, visit the Moving Ideas
website: click
here.
 |
Celebrate
our new stars in Congress!
Wednesday,
March 2, 2005
Please join us at the annual WAND/WiLL
Capitol Hill Reception as we celebrate
our new stars in Congress: Rep. Gwen Moore
(D-WI) and
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
Click
here for more information. |
Make
All Things New: Ecumenical Advocacy Days
for Global Peace with Justice | March
11th-14th, 2005
Washington D.C. | Click
here for full information
Ecumenical Advocacy Days are sponsored by
the National Council of Churches. Focus
will be on critical regions and issues including:
Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle
East, the United States, Eco-justice, and
Jubilee and economic justice.
For more information, call 202-543-4150
or email info@advocacydays.org
|
 |
Global
Day of Protest on the Two-Year Anniversary
of the Iraq War (3/19-20) March
19-20 marks the two-year anniversary of
the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. There’s
a new urgency and a stronger determination
within the global antiwar movement to bring
the troops home now. |
| Sponsored
by United for Peace and Justice, supporters
of peace and justice in every corner of
the country are called to organize local
protests against the war on Saturday, March
19. To gain local support, list your activity
on the UFPJ calendar at www.unitedforpeace.org |
 |
Real
Security for Communities: Modernize Cleanup,
not Nuclear Weapons
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability's
16th Annual DC Days
April 10th-13th,2005 | Washington
, DC
Join activists from around the nation in
Washington DC for four days of training,
advocacy, and networking focused on the
Nuclear Weapons Complex. This is a unique
opportunity to learn how to effectively
voice your concerns about nuclear weapons
and nuclear waste policies and then meet
with Members of Congress and the Administration.
For more information click
here.
Click
here for poster to distribute. |
National
disarmament demonstration in support of Mayors
for Peace
Emergency Campaign and the Nuclear Non-proliferation
Treaty Review Conference. May
1st, 2005
New York City | at the UN re: the Non Proliferation
Treaty
The nuclear powers must implement their Article
VI commitment to eliminate their nuclear arsenals
to ensure human survival and to prevent still
greater proliferation of nuclear weapons.
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR A BETTER
WORLD |
| Mayors
for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear
Weapons
Led
by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
the campaign is enrolling mayors across
the globe to come to the 2005 NPT Review
Conference.
The campaign will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and will echo the urgent cry
of the surviving Hibakusha-"Never
Again!" The Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign
has proposed a reasonable timetable for
achieving a nuclear weapon free world
by 2020, with negotiations to begin in 2005 and
to conclude by 2010, with global nuclear
disarmament implemented no later than
2020.
For
more information: click
here.
For ten things you can do to support the call for nuclear abolition,
click here. |
| NCC
Delegation travels across the Middle East
The National Council of Churches is composed of 36 member
national denominations, which collectively
represent 45 million people in 130,000
congregations. As a delegation of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA, traveled across the Middle
East from Beirut to Cairo to Bethlehem
to Jerusalem, from January 21-February
4, 2005 on a mission of peace. Their
journey coincided with the Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity. The Middle East
Council of Churches and individual partner
churches graciously hosted the delegation.
To learn about our experiences and
findings, please check out the NCC Web
site: www.ncccusa.org. All who are concerned
for peace in the world, are asked to continue
to work and pray for this region of our
fragile planet. There are slivers of hope
but dark clouds of continued violence
and chaos remain. The hope is that the
OPPRESSION will end, the VIOLENCE will
stop, the WALLS will be torn down and
that the PEACE PROCESS WILL BE RENEWED.
|
 |
iGive,
uGive, weallGive to WAND!
Don't
just click; donate
while you shop!
If you go through iGive.com,
WAND Education Fund gets a percentage
of every purchase! And it offers plenty
of great vendors: from Barnes and Noble
to Staples, to Land's End, and more! Click
here for full information. |
For
additional job listings: www.movingideas.org/jobs/
|
The
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
and the Council for a Livable World are
dedicated to enhancing international peace
and security and protecting the American
people from the threat of weapons of mass
destruction. They have three job openings:
DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR, ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT, OFFICE
MANAGER
For
more information or to apply, contact:
Center
for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
322
4th St. NE
Washington,
DC 20002
email: jobs@clw.org
|
|
VOLUNTEER
HEALTH CARE ORGANIZING SUPPORT PERSON
NASHVILLE PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER
18th Avenue, South Nashville, TN
Contact Matt at 321-9066 or matt@nashvillepeacejustice
if you are interested.
Time per week: 10 – 25 hours (you
determine time commitment)
Start Date: Immediately; End Date: Minimum of 2 months commitment
|
|
BI-LINGUAL CASE
MANAGER (English-Spanish)
Department of Human Resources
725 Scenic Highway
Lawrenceville GA 30045-6364
Fax: 770.962.1291
Email: mail@aidgwinnett.org
Greg Bautista, Outreach Manager
|
THE
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
Part-Time Administrative
Associate
(14 hours/week)
2161 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140;
Fax (617)354-2832; email pcohen@afsc.org
Supervisor: Phyllis Cohen, Regional Director
of Administration
Deadline:
March 3, 2005 |
PROJECT VOTE SMART | RESEARCH
INTERN
10 students needed in research positions
for 10 weeks. Interns may start anytime
between Jan 1 and July 1 2005. Project Vote Smart provides housing and meals
for all interns.
Students interested in applying may visit
the internship page - http://www.vote-smart.org/program_internships.php
- or email intern@vote-smart.org
for an application form and more information.
THE
EQUAL RIGHTS CENTER | PROJECT ASSISTANT (PA)
11 Dupont Circle, 4th floor, NW
Washington, District of Columbia, 20036
Contact Person:
Rebecca Crootof | rcrootof@equalrightscenter.org
The PA will assist staff with various projects, including complaint
intake, test coordination, compiling information
for reports, and conducting research;
serve as point of contact for all general
phone, mail, and e-mail inquires; attend
Board of Directors meetings and take minutes;
maintain a complaint and tester filing
system and database; type, proofread,
and disseminate correspondence; maintain
confidentiality; and complete other duties
as assigned.
|
Don't
worry, we just moved it to a separate page.
Click
here and you'll find out all
about what our chapters and partners are
planning for this month.
The
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Thank
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©
2005 WAND. |
