A Plea from United for Peace and Justice

[Tesla]

Please forward widely!

CALL CONGRESS TODAY!

Tell them to VOTE NO on the supplemental war funding bill.

Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to the offices of your members of Congress. (If you don't know who represents you in the House and Senate, click here.)


Dear Annie,

Tomorrow (Thursday), Congress will vote on another $100 billion for the war in Iraq.

We urge you to call your senators and representative NOW. Call 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to their offices.

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Tell them to VOTE NO on the war funding bill.
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Voting for it DOES NOT support the troops; it supports a disastrous war and occupation.

We're frustrated. You're frustrated. We all have called, written, marched, rallied, sat-in, and vigiled. Last November the voters of this country made their views very clear, yet the war goes on. And now, rather than holding the Bush administration accountable for their failed policy in Iraq, Congress may simply blame the country we invaded and continue to occupy. That's right -- the new funding bill that Congress will vote on tomorrow requires the Iraqi government to pass laws the U.S. wants them to pass in order to prove that they are a democracy or our government will withhold funding for much-needed reconstruction.

For months the Congressional leadership promised action to change the course in Iraq, promised they will hold Bush accountable, promised they would not give Bush a blank check. But now, instead of standing up for what's right, the Democratic leadership has caved in to Bush. They are giving him a check for $100 billion to continue and further EXPAND the war. That surge they all claimed they don't like? The money for it is in this bill!

LET THEM HEAR YOUR OUTRAGE!

And, most importantly, don't give up!
While the pace of change in the Congress has been glacial, we need to see what's been positive and build from that. There has been more debate, discussion and voting on Iraq in Congress over the last 5 months than in the last 5 years. There have been some significant votes that show momentum is going our way. Obviously not as quickly or substantively as we want and need, but we -- the antiwar movement active in every state of the nation -- are slowly but surely forcing a change.

The funding in this current bill will run out in September, and Bush has already asked for another $145 billion to keep the war going. We will need to use our time and energy over the next three months to increase our power, show our outrage and put greater pressure on Congress to stand up to Bush.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

1) Make those calls to Congress today (202-224-3121). Yes, they do make a difference!!

2) Use this Memorial Day as an opportunity to ask your members of Congress -- how many more U.S. soldiers will we be honoring next year for making the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq? Isn't it time for those we elected to truly represent us and use their power to end this war? Use any means you can to ask these questions! Letters to the editor, signs hanging from highway overpasses, banners and signs at parades, speeches, your front lawn. Your members of Congress will be in their home districts next week, so be sure to visit and call their local offices. Don't let them return to Washington without hearing your voice and feeling your frustration! Get the message out!

3) Download, copy and circulate the People's Emergency Funding Bill, and use it as a tool to help you talk to people.

4) Check our calendar for activities over the Memorial Day weekend and the coming weeks, and please be sure to post any events you are organizing or know about on there too! If you're in the Northeast, join the protest against Dick Cheney's graduation speech at West Point on Saturday, 5/26.

5) After you've visited your members of Congress in their local offices, if you can, follow them back to Washington! Peace activists are surging on the Capitol with Marine mom Tina Richards to keep the pressure on Congress throughout June and July. UFPJ member group CODEPINK is hosting an activist house and trainings over the summer. And there's still time for students to apply to attend the one-week Iraq Action Camp, June 10-14, sponsored by Campus Progress Action and Move On Civic Action.

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
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