The New York Daily News & War Is a Crime – 2012-12-06 00:54:28
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/grassroots-groups-president-congress-jobs-wars-article-1.1213334#ixzz2EEaCj7GF
Grassroots Groups Unite to Petition Obama and Congress:
Create Jobs, End the Afghanistan War
The New York Daily News
United for Peace and Justice, US Labor Against the War and 54 other groups have signed onto the Jobs Not Wars petition; they plan to send it to the White House and Congress around Inauguration Day
NEW YORK CITY (December 5, 2012) — Jobs, not wars. That was the clear will the majority of Americans forcefully and democratically expressed last November with the re-election of Barack Obama.
Yet those voters cannot simply rest on their laurels satisfied with having chosen a particular vision for the future of the nation as represented, in this case, by Obama and the Democratic Party. So says Michael McPhearson, national coordinator for United for Peace & Justice, a group that, together with US Labor Against the War, started an online petition campaign called the Jobs Not Wars campaign.
“I do believe Obama’s win represents the nation’s rejection of the direction the GOP wants to take the country, one of austerity, tax advantages for the rich and a reduction in the services we all need,” said McPhearson, a Newark resident.
The petition campaign’s purpose, he said, is to fight austerity measures at a time when the nation needs economic stimulus instead, and to demand an immediate end to the war in Afghanistan and the curbing of runaway Pentagon spending.
“We cannot let up on the President and Congress,” McPhearson added. “If we simply sit back satisfied with our electoral victory we would be creating a vacuum the other side will try to fill, like the Tea Party did during Obama’s first term.”
Fifty-four other groups across the nation have added their names to the campaign since last month, when McPhearson and Michael Eisenscher, national coordinator of the US Labor Against the War, began contacting other organizations asking for their support.
To make sure the American people are not shortchanged, the Jobs Not Wars petition is demanding that the President and Congress take immediate action. The coalition plans to deliver it around the time of the Inauguration.
“Taxpayer dollars have been misallocated — we need a new set of priorities,” said a coalition spokesperson. “It is unnecessary and criminal to shift the deficit burden onto working and middle class families, the elderly and poor.”
One of the main objectives of the online campaign is to get the average person involved, McPhearson said. “The struggle is in Congress, and since we don’t have much money or powerful lobbyists, our power to fight back is in the individuals, in mobilizing them to speak up. We are asking all Americans to sign our petition.”
Their demands are clear and to the point:
* End the war in Afghanistan now, bring all our troops home.
* Create jobs, invest in our communities to grow the economy and put people back to work.
* Let the Bush tax cuts expire for the top-earning 2%.
* Protect our social safety net, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
* Make substantial cuts to the bloated, out-of-control Pentagon budget.
* Rely on negotiation and diplomacy rather than military power.
“But our job does not end with the online petition,” McPhearson said. “None of the things we care about are going to be resolved by Inauguration day. We need to stay together as a coalition well beyond that day and keep mobilizing for jobs, peace and an economy that works for everybody.”
The Jobs Not Wars petition can be accessed at www.jobs-not-wars.org.
56 Organizations Band Together to Fight Austerity Measures
David Swanson / War Is a Crime
(December 3, 2012) — Tax payer dollars have been misallocated — we need a new set of priorities. Cut billions from runaway Pentagon spending, end war now, corporations and the wealthy need to pay their fair share. It is unnecessary and criminal to shift the deficit burden onto working and middle class families, the elderly and poor.
Who: The Campaign was begun by United for Peace & Justice and US Labor Against the War — joined by a broad coalition of 54 other national and local groups — our campaign continues to grow daily. Our coalition includes organizations from across the spectrum of issues — anti-poverty and economic justice, and war and militarism.
We share a common interest in moving resources away from war and the bloated runaway Pentagon budget to addressing the urgent needs of the people and our communities. www.jobs-not-wars.org lists all endorsing organizations (also appended).
On Election Day the American people made their voices heard. We rejected austerity schemes to reduce the deficit at the expense of working people, the middle class, the poor, children and the elderly.
We rejected more tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy. We want the super-rich and large corporations to pay their fair share.
Americans want the war in Afghanistan to end now. We want substantial cuts made to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending that simply maintains huge profits for military contractors, and makes our country no more secure. Redirect this military spending to domestic needs and job creation.
Our President and elected officials must stand up and fight for the majority of America. Americans want an economy, government and nation that work for ALL of us, not just some of us.
We are asking Americans to sign our Petition at www.jobs-not-wars.org to send a clear message to our President and Congress to put the needs of people ahead of the profits of the privileged.
* End the War in Afghanistan now, bring all our troops home and care for them when they return
* Create jobs; invest in our communities and our people to grow the economy and put people back to work;
* Let the Bush Tax Cuts expire for the top 2%;
* The wealthiest and corporations must do their fair share and pay a little more
* Protect our social safety net including Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid
* Make substantial cuts to the over bloated, out-of-control Pentagon budget
* Rely on negotiation and determined diplomacy rather than military power
We will present the Jobs Not Wars Petition to Congress & President Obama around the time of the Inauguration.
************************
Endorsing Organizations:
American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee of W. MA
Bay Area Campaign for New Priorities (NPC)
Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace & Justice (LC4PJ)
Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers
Brooklyn for Peace
Building Opportunities for Self-Suffciency.org (BOSS)
Champaign County Peace Alliance
CODEPINK
Columbus Campaign for Arms Control
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy & Socialism
Environmentalists Against War
Faculty & Staff Federation, Community College of Philadelphia, AFT Local 2026
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Fort Greene Peace
Fund Our Communities, Bring the War Dollars Home (Maryland)
Global Exchange
Gray Panthers of Metro Detroit
Green Party of New York State (GPNY)
Hoosiers for Peace & Justice
Institute for Policy Studies
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
Labor Campaign for Single Payer
Marin Experimental Teaching Training and Advising Center: the Metta Center for Nonviolence
Massachusetts Peace Action
Military Families Speak Out
Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
New Jersey Industrial Union Council
PA. Federation-Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees – Teamsters
Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane
Peace & Justice Resource Center
Peace Action
Peace Action Bay Ridge Interfaith Peace Coalition
Peace Action-Maryland
Peace Action-Wisconsin
Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women
Philadelphia Regional Antiwar Network
Progressive Democrats of America
Puget Sound Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
Retiree Advocate/UFT
Roosevelt Adjunct Faculty Organization
RootsAction
San Mateo County Central Labor Council
Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
South Bay Labor Council
Syracuse Peace Council (SPC)
US Labor Against the War
United for Justice with Peace (UFJP)
United for Peace & Justice
USW-SOAR 319
Veterans for Peace
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
War Times
Western States Legal Foundation
Woman Against War
