You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Hold Border Patrol Responsible.

Republicans have seen the light on immigration reform, the corporate, belt-way media told us earlier this year. Pay no attention to the way they refused to pass anything comprehensive — they see the benefit of incremental, piecemeal legislation and are hoping to appear less xenophobic ahead of the presidential primary season.

Well — whether we like it or not — primary season is in full swing. And with the House gone for August recess and the Senate right behind them on Friday, this supposed party line shift seems to have been mostly hype. The only members of the GOP weighing in on immigration with any enthusiasm are the primary contenders themselves. Media proclaimed moderate Jeb Bush even seems to be taken seriously despite his throwback go-to line:

"Finding a practical solution to the status of the people who are here illegally today is a nonstarter if our borders are not secure against future illegal immigration.”

Despite ongoing abuses in border towns, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has virtual free reign under the Department of Homeland Security. There is little recourse for those who live with the checkpoints and harassment happening well into U.S. territory. It isn’t just Jeb’s quote-unquote “illegals” being targeted; legal residents must pass through check points even if they aren’t living on one side of the border and working or visiting family on the other.

The ACLU has been pushing a campaign of accountability since the president’s much lauded executive order to stop deportations for over 4 million immigrants this winter. That order also ramped up the militarization of border towns and check points. Visit the “Action” tab at ACLU.org or use the link in the segment and show notes to go directly to the petition titled "Our Border Communities Are Not Constitution-Free Zones.”

The petition demands a clear, effective method for reporting human rights violations — a power that rests with the president and the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. This method must be transparent, available to non-English speakers, and followed by a strong investigation process.

While we’re fighting for comprehensive immigration reform that requires action from Congress, we must continue to push the president and his administration to stop all abuses within the power of the executive branch; bringing the Constitution back to the border and those who reside there is an important step.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "Our Border Communities Are Not Constitution-Free Zones" via ACLU

Sources/further reading:

"Signs of Life For Immigration Reform” at U.S. News and World Report

"Jeb Bush unveils border security, immigration reform plan” via WSB-TV

"Documenting Ongoing Border Patrol Abuses” via Immigration Policy Center

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #943 "No human being is illegal (Immigration) "

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Keep SNAP Strong.

That video from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities began with the voices of former Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern — the democrat and the republican credited by World Food Program USA as being pioneers in the way food assistance is delivered to those who need it in this country. Their website unequivocally declares:

"It is no exaggeration to say that every major U.S. program designed to help feed poor children bears the imprint of these two men.”

How quickly things change.

As Best of the Left’s Social Media/Activism director Katie Klabusich lays out in a piece for RollingStone, the GOP has spent the past four years proposing 10 year plans to “balance the budget" that cut more than $130 billion from food assistance programs — WIC and SNAP — that Dole and McGovern worked so hard to make more user-friendly and easier to qualify for.

Why a need to cut approximately “half of one hundredth of one percent” — that’s 0.0085 of one percent — out of a $3.8 trillion federal budget? According to the GOP the answer is priorities and redundancy. Katie, who spent the first six months of this year utilizing SNAP after an unexpected medial bill — an experience she details in the article, makes a good point: 49 million of her is pretty redundant.

That’s how many people are food insecure in this country. 49 million — or 14% of our population. One in six Americans aren’t living with or in danger of being hungry because of the economy either; the hungry segment of our population really never drops below 11%. This is simply the percentage of our friends, neighbors, and coworkers that we’re willing to live with being hungry as a trade for our capitalist culture.

Currently, the GOP is in charge of the budget and they're celebrating a drop in SNAP dollars for 2016 — actually due to factors affecting the program's funding calculator like fewer expected enrollees and a break in food inflation — as though they managed to sneak a law past the president that fundamentally undid Dole and McGovern’s legacy. Their intentions are clear by their false premise boasting and their on-the-record long-term budget plans. Now is the time to get involved in the effort to bolster these life-saving programs because they are absolutely at risk.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a national organization working to maintain funding for food assistance programs and fill the gaps with private efforts when public money falls short. They have a great Legislative Action Center at FRAC.org where you can track and support or oppose proposed state and federal budget actions.

At FRAC.org, be sure to sign the "Tell Congress to Keep SNAP Strong” which encourages Congress not just to ditch any notion of cuts, but join with the White House and Progressive Caucus in bolstering life-sustaining access to food.

You can also share your experiences and amplify others' through a hashtag Katie revived earlier this year: #PovertyIs. The hashtag trended on multiple continents and the stories are powerful. 

TAKE ACTION:

Track and support/oppose pending budgetary and program changes to food assistance through Food Research and Action Center’s Legislative Action Center

SIGN: "Tell Congress to Keep SNAP Strong”

Sources/further reading:

"What SNAP Is For” via the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

"Honoring the Legacy of Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern” via World Food Program USA

"Republicans Are Trying to Take Food Out of My Mouth” by Katie Klabusich at RollingStone

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #941 "Taking food out of the mouths of babes (Poverty)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal” Campaign.

Climate actions and campaigns can seem overwhelming in scope. But while few in the media were paying attention, the grassroots organizing and smart strategizing of the Beyond Coal campaign has made shutting down the dirtiest energy source in the country look almost easy.

The main goals of the Sierra Club campaign are to keep coal in the ground in Appalachia and elsewhere, move municipalities to clean energy, and successfully retire one-third of the nation’s 500-some coal plants by 2020. Last week, they celebrated the closing of the 200th plant, leaving 323 on their targeted list.

This is a major victory for both health and optics reasons. Coal is responsible for one-third of US emissions while making us unnecessarily sick. As many as 13,000 premature deaths and more than $100 billion in health care costs annually are attributed to coal. Hitting even just the hallway mark — which is practically around the corner — would make a massive difference in the lives of millions while proving that transitioning from dirty to clean energy is not the impossibility it was once portrayed as.

Bruce Nilles, ‎senior campaign director for Beyond Coal, explained the importance of last week’s milestone to Kate Sheppard at The Huffington Post:

"Back in 2009, the prevailing wisdom was that coal was inevitable, that the U.S. would be burning coal for a long time. We set out to show that you can make a lot of progress even without a climate bill.”

The Sierra Club is still, of course, pushing the administration to follow through on promises to be proactive. Their “Speak Out For a Strong Clean Power Plan” petition — which can be found at SierraClub.org. — is flooding the administration with support ahead of the expected push back on the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan from fossil fuel billionaire. Through the petition page you can sign; tweet to the EPA with the hashtag #ActOnClimate; post the campaign to your other social network feeds; get involved in specific coal plan closing action in your state; and connect to other campaigns.

Join with Beyond Coal and help push them over the tipping point to achieving an end to our dirtiest energy source.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN & SHARE: Speak Out For a Strong Clean Power Plan with the The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign

Get involved in your state through Beyond Coal’s Take Action Page

Sources/further reading:

“United States Phases Out 200th Coal Plant As Momentum For Renewable Energy Grows” via The Sierra Club

"Iowa Utility Will Phase Out Coal At 5 Plants, In Milestone For Sierra Club” by Katie Sheppard via Huffington Post

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #940 "What we are facing and how we are fighting (Climate)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Finally.

In case you missed it, women don’t have equal rights in this country.

The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in 1923 — three years after the 19th Amendment gave women the vote. Early women’s rights activists knew that the vote was just the beginning. Real equality was more than just dropping a ballot in the box. They sought to add “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” to the Constitution to enshrine full quality of the sexes into our founding document.

Congress finally passed the ERA in 1972 and 35 states ratified it — three states short of the constitutional requirement. The ERA has ben reintroduced in every legislative session since it stalled in 1982 — when the time to ratify expired, but it continually fails to garner support. This is in part because a generation after the campaign to adopt the ERA, most Americans assume the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment or the right to vote in the 19th automatically dissolved any disparities between cis men and everyone else.

In her statement of support for the renewed effort to ratify the ERA, California Congresswoman Jackie Speier said:

“The time is ripe to ratify the equal rights amendment. Seventy percent of people polled think that we already have an ERA in the Constitution and they’re shocked to find we don’t have one.”

She’s backed up by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who has said: "If I could choose an amendment to add to this Constitution, it would be the Equal Rights Amendment.”

The Equal Rights Amendment Coalition is taking RBG’s words to heart. If women are to be equal in stature before the law, we need a guarantee that can’t be repealed — an amendment to the Constitution rather than just a piece of legislation subject to the whims of Congress.

Supporting this common sense and long overdue amendment is as easy as signing the petition at MoveOn.Org and visiting ERACoalition.org where you can take the pledge to support the ERA and send a message your legislators asking them to become supporters of equality.

You can also keep an eye out for the upcoming documentary "Equal Means Equal” which depicts the modern day disparities for women in every area from reproductive rights to paid family leave to equal pay and follow and use the hashtags #EqualMeansEqual and #ERANow.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "Pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)” via MoveOn.org

SUPPORT the ratification of the ERA: Take the Pledge and Contact Your Representatives via the ERA Coalition

Additional Activism:

Watch for the release of the documentary "Equal Means Equal” from the ERA Education Project

Sources/further reading:

"Meryl Streep Helpfully Reminded Congress We Still Don’t Have an Equal-Rights Amendment” at The Cut

"Meryl Streep Is Pushing Congress to Finally Revive the Equal Rights Amendment” at Mother Jones

"The new women warriors: Reviving the fight for equal rights” at CNN.com

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #938 "What are women complaining about? (Feminism)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached today’s activism segment. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s a glimmer of hope to remind you that not absolutely everything is completely terrible all the time. Today’s update: MayDay PAC's #Leaders4Reform.

Last year, in order to change how our elections are funded, Lawrence Lessig launched “the SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs” — MayDay.US. He was shrugged off by mainstream press and his grand idea seemed impossible even to those who hoped he would succeed.

Then something incredible happened.

"We raised the initial $1 million in 13 days, rather than 30," Lessig wrote at Medium. "That was matched two weeks later, and then we launched the second campaign. Thirty days after that, we crossed the $5 million mark...By the end of our campaign, we had raised $11 million of the $12 million that we had planned, with more than 50,000 donors from almost every state in the union.”

When that monetary success didn’t translate into wins in the voting booth in November, Lessig decided to relaunch with the goal of winning over current members of the House and Senate in order to pass legislation now. With a bill introduced in the Senate and 151 of the 218 House members needed to guarantee a reform majority, that goal looks increasingly within reach.

At MayDay.US you can contribute to the momentum of identifying leaders for reform and support the Fair Elections Now Act, Senator Dick Durbin’s bill which has added twenty co-sponsors less than a month after being introduced.

From the MayDay.US home page you can record a voice message in support of reform legislation which MayDay will deliver to key members of Congress, call your representatives directly using their handy script, view the full list of Leaders for Fundamental Reform, and encourage those not yet signed on to join the fight via social media using the hashtag #Leaders4Reform.

MayDay still plans to target and support pro-reform candidates for Congress next year; they simply aren’t sitting on their hands in the meantime. Lessig’s ability to adapt and continue with their mission is just one more reason to support the work MayDay is doing.

Update!

S.1538 - Fair Elections Now Act

Follow-up/new Action: #Leaders4Reform w/@MAYDAYUS

Leave a message for Congress: Citizen Recording Studio

Build a bigger #Leaders4Reform coalition: Call your representatives

Sources/additional glimmers of hope:

"The 'Super PAC to End Super PACs' Makes a Strategic Retreat” at Bloomberg Politics

"We tried. We learned. We’re trying something new: Mayday.US, v2” by Lawrence Lessig

"Frodo Baggins for President” by Lawrence Lessig

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #937 "Making progress on our biggest problem (Money in Politics)"

Revisit the original action/segment:

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Universal Access To Affordable Medicine.

Before we dive in, consider this my requisite plug for the need to achieve universal, single-payer healthcare. In the meantime, there *is* work to be done to help alleviate suffering and improve quality of life.

Prescription medications are one of the most expensive parts of healthcare — even for people with insurance. Pharmaceutical companies already enjoy the profit-boosting privilege of lengthy patents before generic versions can be developed and sold. Originally, this was designed to help research institutions and companies recoup the millions it can cost to create a drug, thus making it less risky to fail now and again and somewhat profitable to manufacture medications for uncommon ailments. Like everything else, however, corporate greed has turned a well-intentioned fail safe into a way to injure anyone who isn’t rich.

The leaked language in the Trans Pacific Partnership indicates that its passage would likely intensify this injustice. According to Doctors Without Borders, "aggressive intellectual property rules...would restrict access to affordable, lifesaving medicines for millions of people” by enhancing patent and data protections while dismantling international public health safeguards and obstructing price-lowering generic competition.

In short: we need an international movement supporting medication access and we need it now.

The Access Our Medicine Initiative - which is supported by the prescription assistance non-profit NeedyMeds - is working to make affordable medicine a priority in the UN 2015 Sustainable Development Goals currently being discussed. These discussions set international cooperative priorities for the next 15 years — kind of a big deal. The "Access Our Medicine” Declaration has already garnered the signed, visible support of individual doctors, famous advocates, and organizations like the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the MS International Foundation and more. What they need now is a groundswell of support from us.

You can sign the declaration at AccessOurMedicine.com. While you’re there, take advantage of their cache of stories from real people, easily shareable facts like "1/3 of Americans with a chronic disease has difficulty paying for food, medications or both,” and well-curated media page. After you add your name, let people know why this issue matters by sharing it with the hashtag #WhyISigned.

For immediate help paying for medications, visit NeedyMeds.org and click on their Generic Assistance Program; they offer 20 generics medications for no cost in coordination with Rx Outreach, the largest non-profit pharmacy in the country. And if you aren’t in need, pass information on the program around; you never know who in your network might.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN the "Access Our Medicine” Declaration from the Access Our Medicine Initiative

Additional Activism/Resources:

Let people know about The Generic Assistance Program (GAP) for prescription medications through NeedyMeds

Sources/further reading:

"Trading Away Health: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)” via Doctors Without Borders

"What the Affordable Care Act Means for Prescription Coverage” via The Washington Post

"Prescription Drug Costs and Health Reform: FAQ” via WebMD

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #936 "Drugged and broke (Health Care)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: #Not1More.

Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez’s interruption of President Obama at the White House Pride reception was met with the type of hostility trans people experience regularly in their every day lives. Pride, like the mainstream movement for marriage equality, is often very white, very cis, and very male — sidelining those like Gutiérrez, an undocumented trans woman of color. As we’ve outlined before in the show and previous activism segments, the marriage equality victory being celebrated at the reception that day is an important step, but it should be seen as the first of many for LGBTQ people.

As black trans queer feminist Raquel Wilis wrote last week:

"Today, with New York City’s streets still glittering from the aftermath of the weekend’s Pride festivities, I stand in solidarity with Gutiérrez as she stands up to the government and the queer elite. Many have given her their half-hearted support—agreeing with the cause but discrediting her methods. To these people I ask: when is the right time? Those of us who have not been able to play the assimilation game learned long ago that respectability politics mean nothing when our community is constantly under threat.”

Undocumented LGBTQ people are an especially vulnerable group, often being subjected to abuse during detention and disproportionately facing deportation and separation from their families.

The group Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement has built quite a coalition in under a year and a half specifically to address issues like the detention, abuse and deportation of transgender immigrants and undocumented people. Their campaign #Not1More — which you can find at NotOneMoreDeportation.com — "builds collaboration between individuals, organizations, artists, and allies to expose, confront, and overcome unjust immigration laws.”

Through their website you can support individuals facing deportation, share stories and artwork, and call on your representatives to end abuse and detention.

While the White House released a memo on the detention of transgender immigrants in response to pressure from the #Not1More coalition following the White House Pride reception, guidance documents don’t have the force of law that will prevent abuse and violence against those being detained and deported.

In their "Tell President Obama, Don't Discriminate Against LGBTQ Immigrants” petition, FAMILIA seeks to remind us and the president that justice is not achieved until no one is left behind: "Millions have finally been provided relief. But millions more have still been excluded.”

You can sign the petition at NotOneMoreDeporation.com calling on the president to expand deferred action for all families and amplify the stories and artwork of those affected by this unjust immigration policy.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "Tell President Obama, Don't Discriminate Against LGBTQ Immigrants” via FAMILIA: Trans Queer Liberation Movement

JOIN the movement to end deportation of undocumented LGBTQ people with #Not1More

Sources/further reading:

“#Not1More RESPONSE TO ICE NEW MEMO ON PROCESSING TRANS DETAINEES”

"A transgender woman of color on the hypocrisy of the gay rights movement” by Raquel Wilis at Quartz

"Obama's reply to a trans woman proves LGBT advocacy stops at gay marriage” by Meredith Talusan at The Guardian

"Was Obama’s Heckler Actually A Transgender Hero?” by Kristina Marusic at MTVIssues

"The Obama Legacy: Inequality, Corporate Trade Deals, Worldwide War” by Kit O’Connell

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #935 "It is so ordered (Marriage Equality)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Showing Up For Racial Justice.

As has been discussed on this show fairly regularly, members of marginalized groups are called on continually to do the “101-level” explanations of their issues and teach people how to be allies. This work is thankless, exhausting and often takes valuable time away from real movement and liberation work.

But to achieve equality in any real way, majority groups must participate in the efforts to recognize and solidify immigrant rights, women’s rights, trans rights, gay rights, and rights for people of color — just to name a few of the current fights for justice. So, how do movements engage the majority without ceding the mic or spending resources they don’t have teaching allyship?

Enter Showing Up For Racial Justice — or SURJ. This national network of groups and individuals does the work of organizing white people for justice. On their “About” page they explain their role through a quote from Alicia Garza, a community organizer and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement: "We need you defecting from White supremacy and changing the narrative of White supremacy by breaking White silence.”

SURJ helps train white people to play supportive roles in the campaigns driven by people of color and how to take a racial justice focus back to their other organizing efforts — in climate, economic, political, LGBTQ, voting rights, feminist campaigns and movements. One of the most important things white people can do to challenge white supremacy is to speak up in typically white, privileged spaces.

ShowingUpForRacialJustice.org has a great “Action” tab with local events across the country. There are affiliated chapters in almost every state; you can also sign up to start one in your area. They need volunteers to help with social media, fundraise, write for the blog, do graphic design and web layout, plan actions, and facilitate training. Basically, whatever skills you have are needed and useful.

Katie participated in the “White People Take Action For Charleston” conference call/webinar last week. 500 people were on the call and the suggestions — like pushing back on right-wing media and engaging anyone carrying an “All Lives Matter” sign at an event so black organizers don’t have to — were fantastic and designed to keep white allies in the background while being visible support.

SURJ also provides a handy redirect for people of color tired of going through the 101 racism and White Supremacy explanations. It can be hard — if not impossible — to tell if people approaching you online or in your daily lives are asking questions in good faith and with real interest; the beauty of referring them to a resource like SURJ is that those truly looking for a way to understand and get involved will be appreciative and those who aren’t are quickly dismissed.

TAKE ACTION:

Volunteer and/or participate in actions around the country with Showing Up For Racial Justice

Follow SURJ on Twitter and like the on Facebook

Additional Activism/Resources:

#TakeDownTheFlag

AskAWhitePerson.com

Sources/further reading:

"12 Ways to Be a White Ally to Black People” by Janee Woods at The Root

"White Supremacy Culture: From Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups” via SURJ

"Take Down the Confederate Flag—Now” by Ta-Nehisi Coates at The Atlantic

"Calls to Drop Confederate Emblems Spread Nationwide” via The New York Times

"Before Charleston, Not Many People Wanted To Take Down The Confederate Flag” via FiveThirtyEight.com

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #933 "The long shadow of southern white supremacy (Racism)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Fight Back Texas with Fund Texas Choice.

With 35% of U.S. women of reproductive age living in the 87% of counties without an abortion provider, Texas is certainly not the only area where the phrase “undue burden” applies. However, as the second largest state in population — with nearly 27 million people — and the second largest physically — topping 268,000 square miles, the impending clinic closures put the population with the the highest percentage of uninsured adults in the country in immediate crisis.

Thanks to the Fifth Circuit, unless the Supreme Court steps in with an emergency stay, half the clinics in Texas will close. Again. Depending on whether a couple can comply with a handful of specific provisions in HB2, on July 1st there will be only 8 to 10 clinics to serve the entire state — with none in the expansive western half and likely no abortion provider at the clinic in the Rio Grande Valley should it remain open.

Patients who were already having to travel hundreds of rural miles will now be competing for appointments with city residents or going out of state at great expense. Clinics in New Mexico and Oklahoma are the next closest options — 500 miles from central West Texas and 200 miles from Dallas-Ft. Worth respectively. With overnight stays due to ultrasound, mandatory counseling, and waiting period laws, a trip for even a simple, five minute first trimester procedure or to procure the abortion pill easily becomes a four or five day trip with all the expenses of travel, time off work, and child care.

Fund Texas Choice is the abortion fund dedicated to helping patients navigate and afford the logistical challenges of accessing this vital medical care. In-state check points and buses that are regularly swept for people without papers exacerbate an already challenging road to the doctor for many Texans. Fund Texas Choice already sends over one-third of their clients out of state, sometimes costing thousands of dollars just in travel. You can help lessen the burden and increase their ability to help bridge these gaps by donating at FundTexasChoice.org and following them @FundTexasChoice on Twitter.

Their “Texas Abortion Clinic Map” page has an updated list of clinics that are open and/or providing abortion care. They also link to the orgs that help patients fund procedures — Lilith Fund, TEA Fund [just said like “tea”], and West Fund. You can also give directly to Whole Woman’s Health — the independent clinic chain spearheading many of the lawsuits attempting to overturn harmful laws — at WholeWomansHealth.com under the “Abortion Care — Financial Assistance” tab.

TAKE ACTION:

Follow and support Fund Texas Choice

Additional Activism/Resources:

Follow and support the other Texas abortion funds:

Lilith Fund

TEA Fund

West Fund

Whole Woman’s Texas Action Fund

Sources/further reading:

"State Facts About Abortion: Texas” via The Guttmacher Institute

"Fifth Circuit Upholds More HB 2 Provisions, Dares the Supreme Court to Step In” by Jessica Pieklo at RH Reality Check

"Court Upholds Texas’ ‘Devastating’ Anti-Choice Omnibus Law” by Andrea Grimes at RH Reality Check

"Plaintiffs appeal to 5th Circuit Court, Supreme Court following ruling on HB 2” at The Daily Texan

"Fifth Circuit Refuses to Stay Ruling That Could Immediately Shutter All But 9 Abortion Clinics in Texas” via The Center For Reproductive Rights

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #932 "Moving the goalposts on "undue burden" (Reproductive Justice)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: "Move the Money" - Reducing the Pentagon Budget.

This month, Congress spends a significant amount of time on the military budget for the following year. They debate the National Defense Authorization Act — or NDAA — and lay the groundwork for foreign policy based on how much money can be spent where and on what.

The National Priorities Project explains the NDAA and military budget process is super simple terms at NationalPriorities.org:

• The NDAA is an authorization, not an appropriation; it gives the government the authority to spend money and sets policy direction.
• Drafts of the NDAA are not open and transparent.
• The current draft has Congress ignoring its own budget caps, allotting some $90 billion off the books to fund the supposedly over Iraq and Afghanistan wars. 
• The NDAA has billions allocated for equipment the military says it doesn’t need or want and protects military contractors.

The NDAA is an authorization, not an appropriation; it gives the government the authority to spend money and sets policy direction. Drafts of the NDAA are not open and transparent. The current draft has Congress ignoring its own budget caps, allotting some $90 billion off the books to fund the supposedly over Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The NDAA has billions allocated for equipment the military says it doesn’t need or want and protects military contractors.

Veterans For Peace is taking this opportunity to lobby Congress and engage those of us who would rather see our money invested in people and peace than war and destruction to let our representatives know we support a shift in policy.

Use ContactingTheCongress.org to get your representatives’ phone, address, and social media handles and let them know you support the Veterans For Peace priorities listed under the “Legislative Update” section of “Take Action” at VeteransForPeace.org.

Budget change demands include: moving money from the military to urgent domestic needs like health, education, environment, and infrastructure; closing bases from wars waged in previous generations; reining in profits of Pentagon contractors; and auditing the Pentagon to eliminate waste.

If you’re looking for a way to get more involved with Veterans for Peace, registration is open for their annual convention August 5-9 in San Diego, CA. You can’t miss the tab at VeteransForPeace.org.

TAKE ACTION:

Use ContactingTheCongress.org to tell your representatives to follow the Veterans For Peach plan to “Move the Money” & “Audit the Pentagon”

Additional Activism/Resources:

Register for the Veterans For Peace 30th Annual Convention, August 5-9

Sources/further reading:

"Praying for Peace While Waging Permanent War?” via CounterPunch<?p>

"National Defense Authorization Act: Five Things You Should Know” via the National Priorities Project

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #931 "From rewriting wars to waging peace (Foreign Policy)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich