Action Alerts

The Institute for Progressive Christianity (IPC), recently received its tax exempt status from the IRS (501c3 designation). This means that donations made, both past and present are tax deductible this year.

We've launched a facebook cause to support IPC and other Progressive Christian institutions.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/49560?m=6bb60a8b&recruiter_id=2297088

Subject: Tell the Senate Democrats: Strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship.

Dear Friend,

Senator Lieberman has supported a war in Iraq that has, by nearly all accounts, weakened our security rather than strengthened it. He has stood idly by and allowed the Bush Administration to spy on Americans and torture innocent human beings.

I've had enough of Senator Lieberman squandering his power to aid the likes of President Bush - so I just signed a petition asking my senator to vote to strip Lieberman of his chairmanship. I hope you will, too.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/no_chair_for_lieberman/?r_by=-191927...

Please have a look and take action.

Thanks!
Jim Ramelis

An Appeal from Alternet, if you go to the link, be sure and check the video out:

Dear Friend,

To put it mildly, ACORN is under attack.

The attack on ACORN (The Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) is shaping up to be the most vicious of the 2008 election. The problem is, we will have to suffer the consequences long after the election is over. We need your help, and we need it now:
http://www.alternet.org/acorn_takeaction_102808

ACORN is accustomed to opposition. We've been educating, organizing, and empowering low-income communities for nearly 40 years. I can tell you that when you advocate with and for poor people against policies and practices that discriminate and keep communities from thriving, you make some enemies. But we've never seen anything like this.

When John McCain's presidential campaign began sinking in the polls, they looked for a scapegoat. They picked ACORN. And now, in the past few weeks alone, ACORN staffers have received death threats in Ohio and Rhode Island, and offices have been vandalized in Washington and Massachusetts. Numerous threatening and racist phone calls have been made to ACORN offices across the country.

Progressive Secretary circulated this suggested letter on Friday. It's significant because it's based on an analysis by one of the premier establishment national security oriented think tanks, the RAND Corporation. And this analytical report is being disseminated by the Quakers -- the Friends Committee on National Legislation. That's an unusual combination of military contractor and pacifist advocate.

The letter, and sign on, are at: http://www.progsec.org/DynMenu/DynMenu.php?Table=lettercontrol&Page=Focu...

The RAND report, How Terrorist Groups End: Implications for Countering al Qa'ida, is at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9351/index1.html

Abstract: How do terrorist groups end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that terrorist groups rarely cease to exist as a result of winning or losing a military campaign. Rather, most groups end because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they join the political process. This suggests that the United States should pursue a counterterrorism strategy against al Qa'ida that emphasizes policing and intelligence gathering rather than a “war on terrorism” approach that relies heavily on military force.

The letter is addressed to the President, VP, and your Congresspeople. I think it would be a good idea to sent it to the Obama and McCain campaigns, too:

Great lead in to our petition. Be sure to sign it: http://www.crossleft.org/node/6557

Dear Crossleft Reader,
Send a Message to your Representative to start over and pass a New Deal for Main Street

They said it couldn't be done, but it HAS been done, by you and other TrueMajority members. At 2:05 pm today, the House voted down the taxpayer bailout of Wall Street. The stock market predictably dropped on the news that investment companies won't be getting our money, and the pundits will be getting all exercised about it. Here's what you should do about that:
Take a deep breath.
And then send a message to Congress to start focusing on the real fixes we need.

Wall Street has actually convinced a lot of us that what's good for the Dow Jones Average is good for us real people. But for eight years while bankers raked in billions, ordinary Americans have seen their real wages drop, jobs sent overseas, health insurance rates skyrocket, and now thousands are losing their homes.

We need our government to actively work for US in fixing this mess, so let's tell Congress it's time to start over and pass a New Deal for Main Street.

That means:
• Putting real regulations back on runaway financial corporations, and taking an ownership stake in exchange for any taxpayer support
• Providing mortgage relief so ordinary Americans stop losing their homes
• Putting millions to work by investing in new green jobs and infrastructure

Starting October 3rd through the 9th our new independent film, Allah Made Me Funny will be coming to theaters in over 15 cities nationwide. To be eligible for FREE tickets you have to bring together an interfaith group of no less than 10 people. You also have to respond by tomorrow, Thursday 9/25 or we'll be out of tix. Please email daniel@upf.tv to reserve your tickets. Right now we're offering FREE tickets for the following cities, where the film is showing:

We also have interfaith discussion guides available for your group.

Playing in Landmark Theaters from October 3rd - 9th

Boston: Kendall Square Cinema
Los Angeles: Laemmle's Sunset 5
Minneapolis: Lagoon Cinema
San Diego: Hillcrest Cinemas
Dallas: Inwood Theatre
Houston: Angelika
San Francisco: Opera Plaza Cinema
Seattle: Varsity Theatre
St. Louis: Plaza Frontenac Cinema

"Forget the fabricated fear factor and see Muslims for what they really are - a diverse range of normal people ... So put aside your duct tape, and let the laughter in!"
- Riz Khan, Al Jazeera

Watch the trailer at www.allahmademefunny.com
---

Dear MoveOn member,
Turn on the TV and you'll be told that we're on the brink of imminent crisis—and the only solution is for Congress to turn over vast power to the Bush administration and trust they'll use it wisely. Sound familiar?

This time, it's not to authorize war in Iraq. Bush wants taxpayers to give his administration a $700 billion check with no strings attached, which they'll then hand over to the same Wall Street firms that got us into this mess.1

It's clear something needs to be done to deal with the disastrous Bush economy, but Bush's blank check proposal is not the answer. Yesterday, Barack Obama laid out key principles for dealing with this situation. Obama's main point: Main Street must be put ahead of Wall Street, and no blank check for the Bush administration.

Members of Congress are trying to figure out what to do, and they need to hear from the public. Can you sign this message to your members of Congress today, supporting Obama's principles?

"The Bush economy is in crisis, and giving Bush a blank check is not the solution. Congress must act by putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street."

Click here to sign:
http://pol.moveon.org/wallstreet/o.pl?id=13979-2247272-fxUFGLx&t=3

Call your Senators right now and urge them to stop the Bush corporate bailout.

In his last days in office, George Bush is trying to scare Congress into giving away the treasury to Wall Street.
Those are extreme words, but not as extreme as the reality -- over the weekend a plan was concocted to give away $1.8 trillion dollars of tax money with NO limits on how it's spent, and no guarantees we'll ever see it again.1 And the Treasury Secretary had the gall to say limiting payouts to executives who created this mess would be a "deal breaker."2

This is a deal which SHOULD be broken. Or at least re-negotiated. Economists have already made clear that this is a bad deal for everyone except the corporations and wealthy investors whose greed created the crisis.3
Tell your Senators to oppose George Bush's corporate bailout:
http://www.truemajority.org/NoBailout/index.php?state=MI
The Bush administration is trying to ram this through in only 72 hours by claiming there will be dire consequences if we don't pass the bailout exactly as written. Once again they're using fear to scare Congress and the American people into submission. We have to stop them.
Here's a suggested script: