Action Alerts

Two. Only two questions about global poverty have been asked in the history of modern presidential debates, going back to Kennedy-Nixon in 1960. That’s less than 1% of all questions asked.

To change that shockingly low figure, ONE is launching a new campaign to get “Just ONE Question” about the fight against global poverty asked at the 2008 presidential debates.

The first debate at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, Mississippi, will focus on foreign policy and is only 10 days away. Take action now by sending the message below to debate moderator Jim Lehrer. Click the link and we’ll send your message to Mr. Lehrer, urging him to ask Just ONE Question on the fight against global poverty.

http://www.one.org/debates/

At the presidential debate, please ask John McCain and Barack Obama just ONE question about their plans to fight global poverty.

This first debate will happen just one day after world leaders gather at the United Nations in New York for an emergency meeting on the Millennium Development Goals – the global pledge made in 2000 to halve extreme poverty and global disease by 2015.

I just came across this article describing how Michigan Republican party officials are planning to challenge the votes of individuals on whose houses have been foreclosed. It's obvious that this tactic is designed to suppress the votes of people who are facing economic challenges and it also appears that they are disproportionately African American in the districts in question. Since I’m not an expert in US/Michigan law regarding voter eligibility, I can’t comment on the legality of the matter. But, even if this sort of challenge is technically within the bounds of the law, I’m sure many of you agree with me that this is an immoral attempt to suppress the voting rights of some of the more vulnerable members of our society. I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention so that people can be made aware that this may happen and be prepared for such challenges in swing states and districts. If anyone is involved in voter registration efforts in Michigan (and probably other critical states), it might be worthwhile preparing those you register for this sort of thing, so that even if challenged they will be able to vote.

The following action alert sent by Marie Thompson:

****ACTION ALERT****

Please Help Families Devastated by the immigration Raid in Mississippi

- Earlier this week the largest Immigration and Custom Enforcement (I.C.E.) Raid happen in Mississippi. To day about 600 people have been detained in this raid at Howard Industries, and over 500 people remain in custody in places as far from home as Jena, LA. (a federal detention center)

- Hundreds of school age children in these communities are without their parent or parents and without the resources necessary to meet the basic needs in these new school year.

- Several Hundred more smaller children and their mothers are left with out the wage earner and no way of knowing where to turn for help.

- With a possible hurricane hitting land next week, it is critical that we get resources and donations necessary to families in need NOW!

Families are in desperate need of your help, today.

PLEASE SEND THE FOLLOWING ITEMS OR MONETARY DONATIONS TO:

Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Father Ken Ramon-Landry
313 Walnut
Hattiesburg, MS. 39401

601-583-9404 (we are asking folks not to call but send help, as we here on the ground are a bit overwhelmed)

List of items needed NOW:
- Diapers from size 1 to size 5, size 3 & 4 are the most requested.
- Non-Perishable food items for the Hispanic food palette

Dear MoveOn member,
Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an "abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?

It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to redefine "abortion" to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women's reproductive freedom and protect rape victims.1 Access to basic health care for millions of women would be jeopardized. And it's being pushed as a "rule change"—meaning, it doesn't need congressional approval.

Can you sign an emergency message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change right now? Tell him: "Contraception is NOT abortion. The Bush Administration's proposal to change the definition of abortion and reduce women's access to birth control must be stopped."

Clicking here will add your name to this message:
http://pol.moveon.org/contraception/o.pl?id=13468-2247272-T1PJfvx&t=4

The best way to beat back this proposal is to show Secretary Leavitt massive public outrage—that's why today we're launching this petition jointly with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Together, we'll deliver every signature to Leavitt. You can help add to our momentum by forwarding this message to friends.

EPPN Policy Alert

There are moments in our life when we are presented with the opportunity to make a difference. We are given the chance to choose to take action or to stand idly by watching injustice. At such moments, Christians before us have chosen to invest the time, energy and financial resources necessary to take action. The abolitionists, the supporters of the Civil Rights movement, they have all in their own time been the prophetic ushers of a better world.

We are now, again, poised at such a moment. The issue which faces all of us today is the plight of the undocumented. The recent raids by ICE and the scandal surrounding the illegal oppression of the Postville workers- many of them undocumented migrants who were afraid to protest for fear of being deported- have reminded us that today we are presented with another struggle which as Christians we are obligated to face.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be on CNN representing CrossLeft.org and progressive Christianity. This was not a random interview on the street, but rather a studio interview for a live broadcast of American Morning (CNN's morning news show).

In my inbox this morning:

URGENT: need your help -
Impeachment Petition Deadline Midnight Wednesday

Dear Friends,

Because of your vigilance and support for democracy, last Friday was a day of singular importance in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee met to discuss the Bush Administration's abuse of executive power and for the first time the case for Impeachment was discussed in front of a Congressional committee, in depth, at length and with authority.

Twenty members of the Judiciary Committee attended the six hour hearing, during which twelve witnesses, including myself and four members of Congress testified. In this hearing I called for the Impeachment of the President for misrepresenting a case for war.

This week I will present members of Congress with Impeachment petitions submitted by those of you who have signed the on-line impeachment form.

I need your help. In the next few days we must redouble our efforts to get more signatures on the online petition at kucinich.us. I'm asking each of you to please contact at least ten of your friends to go to www.Kucinich.us now and sign the Impeachment petition that will be delivered by me. Wednesday night is the deadline.

Please send out an email to all your friends and family, post this link, http://kucinich.us to your blogs and make this effort count as this is the only petition that I will deliver.

Did you see the news? Yesterday a military judge overseeing the first war crimes trials at Guantanamo refused to consider evidence obtained in "highly coercive environments and conditions."1 So now not only is information acquired through torture unreliable, un-American and immoral, it's also useless.
We're working together with Catholics United and the School of the Americas Watch to bring you the voices of torture survivors and military interrogators who are asking Sen. McCain to regain his moral footing and ban torture.
Torture should not be a partisan issue. It's a question of what America stands for. In 2005, Senator John McCain led the effort to ban any US personnel from engaging in torture.2 Since then, something has changed. Earlier this year, Sen. McCain voted against that very same torture ban.3
For years now, the Supreme Court has been steadily rolling back George Bush's abuses of executive power. Now, it's time for the Congress to reclaim its role of checks and balances and stand up to the Bush administration. We need a bipartisan consensus in Congress against any branch of the US government practicing torture.
Watch this video from Joshua Casteel, a former military interrogator. Then join Joshua and call on Sen. McCain to lead his party by bringing an end to torture in all circumstances.
http://www.TrueMajority.org/NoTorture
Thanks for taking action,
-Ilya