Peace and nonviolence fluently spoken here

Every now and then, we thank all our friends in France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Russia, Philippines, Brazil, Canada, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vietnam, the United States and all other countries for visiting our blog. We want you to know that we appreciate your interest in the issues that we feel passionate about and hold near and dear to your heart. We appreciate your dropping us a line or two. Peace and nonviolence are both fluently spoken here.

Urgent: Oppose Graham-Cassidy Repeal Heathcare Bill

URGENT: Folks, take 10 minutes today and call all four of these senators and tell them you oppose the Graham-Cassidy healthcare repeal of Obamacare:

Sen. Capito 202-224-6472

Sen. Murkowski (202) 224-6665

Sen. McCain (202) 224-2235

Sen. Collins (202) 224-2523

THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS WILL DIE IF THIS MONSTROUS BILL PASSES. Lives literally hang in the balance. Please help!

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin Compiled Eliminated Programs in 2018 Trump Budget

President Trump released his FY 2018 budget proposal, which outlines his federal spending priorities for the upcoming year.  Senator Tammy Baldwin compiled the following list.  The budget eliminates more than 50 programs, including:

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which supports affordable housing and economic development needs of our local communities;
• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a critical program for the Great Lakes region, the health of our communities and the protection of our clean water resources;
• Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program account, which helps rural communities address their water infrastructure needs;
• Rural Business-Cooperative Service, which supports economic development in rural communities;
• Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which invests in our manufacturing economy;
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills;
• 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, which provides vital before-school, after school and summer programming to elementary and secondary school students.

The budget also eliminates several independent agencies, including:

• National Endowment for the Arts;
• National Endowment for the Humanities;
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Moreover, the budget makes drastic cuts to:

• Health insurance, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP);
• Family assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);
• Public health programs including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;
• Social Security Disability Insurance, which supports individuals living with disabilities;
• Education and college programs such as Head Start, Pell grants, and federal work-study;
• Infrastructure investments, including the Highway Trust Fund. 

Be sure to contact members of Congress as they address the budget this session.   

"Share the Journey"

On September 27, Pope Francis will launch Caritas Internationalis’ campaign “Share the Journey,” geared to promoting encounter with migrants and refugees.  The campaign is sponsored by Caritas Internationalis, The Church’s global charitable network.  In the U.S. the campaign is being sponsored by The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Service, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.  It is a two-year campaign aimed at engaging all Catholics, so you may encounter it in your parish, school, health institution, or any Catholic organization that participates.  The Share the Journey migration campaign website just became live: https://www.loveyourneighbor.us/  It has an abundance of resources.  Check it out.

"Our Dreamers are the future of our Nation."

No rest for the great folks working for justice, peace, and integrity of creation!  Thank you for your efforts.  There is a lot on Congress’ plate this term.  It will be our job to keep social justice priorities in front of them.  Your voices need to be heard:

• Now is the time to ask members of Congress to pass legislation protecting Dreamers from being deported and providing them a path to citizenship.  The worst thing to do is to remain silent.  Reminder:  you received contact information in a July email.

    Sojourners has provide this sample for contacting your legislators. 

As a person of faith, I am called to welcome the stranger. Since 2012, when Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was signed, the U.S.A. has become home to thousands of children looking for education, careers, and community. I strongly disagree with President Trump's decision to end the (DACA) program. It is now up to Congress to act.
I urge you to do everything in your power to protect 800,000 DACA-recipients from deportation and support their right to work and study in this country. There are three things I'm hoping you will do right now: express your disagreement with the President's decision; issue a public statement of support for DACA recipients; and support a clean passage of S. 1615/H.R. 3440, the Dream Act of 2017.
I am committed to standing with my immigrant brothers and sisters and, as your constituent, urge you to do the same. As a person of faith, I pray that you remember the value of welcoming the stranger and loving one's neighbor. I urge you to support DACA and the DREAM Act of 2017.

• The proposed budget includes many cuts to environmental protection and human resources and greatly increases military spending and money to pay for the border wall between Mexico and the US.   It is most effective to voice your opinion about specific budget issues.  We are up for the challenge!  Here’s a good place to begin.  The House of Representatives will vote any day now on President Trump’s plan to slash funds for the Environment Protection Agency.  He proposes a 25% cut to the fund that provides cleanup for toxic waste.