FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, WE'VE WORKED FOR PEACE THROUGH COMMUNITY COMMITMENT, ISSUES INTERCHANGE AND ARTS PRESENTATIONS
ABOUT PEACE ACTION
We have effectively mobilized for peace and disarmament for nearly fifty years.
Peace Action Youngstown, the local affiliate, began as Peace Council in 1981.
We are the nation’s largest grassroots Peace network, with 30 state affiliates,
and more than 100 local chapters. We organize our grassroots network to place
pressure on Congress and the Administration through write-in campaigns,
Internet actions, citizens lobbying and direct action.
We are proof that ordinary people can change the world.
We get results: from the 1963 treaty to ban above ground nuclear testing,
to the 1996 signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, from ending the war
in Vietnam, to blocking weapons sales to human rights abusing countries, and
eliminating funding for new nuclear weapons, Peace Action and its 100,000
members have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of the international
movement for peace.
Through a close relationship with progressive members of Congress, we play a
key role in devising strategies to move forward peace legislation, and, as a
leading organizing member of United for Peace and Justice and the Win Without
War coalition, we lend our expertise and large network to achieving common
goals.
Through our Peace Voter awareness campaigns, we inform citizens about their
choices for both local and national campaigns, by highlighting different
candidates’stances on issues relating to peace.
Our annual Congressional Voter Guide gives credit to those in Congress who
voted for a peaceful future, while holding accountable those who voted for larger
Pentagon budgets, spending tax dollars on nuclear weapons, and voted for wars
of aggression and occupation.
Given the right tools, ordinary people can change the world.
At Peace Action we believe that war is not a suitable response to conflict.For
over 50 years Peace Action has worked for an environment where all are free
from violence and war. We understand that long standing global conflicts require
long-term solutions, and that US foreign policy has a lasting effect on the world.
We are working to promote a new US foreign policy that is based on peaceful
support for human rights and democracy, reducing the threat from weapons of
mass destruction, and cooperation with the world community.
We are against preemptive war, and call for a full withdrawal of American troops
from Iraq ....that every person has the right to live without the threat from
nuclear weapons. There are still over 30,000 nuclear weapons in the world. The
US and Russia still have thousands of nuclear weapons, on hair trigger alert,
ready to launch in minutes.
While the Cold War may have ended, the nuclear threat has not. The only way
to ensure that nuclear weapons will never be used — whether purposefully,
or accidentally — is global abolition.
The U.S. must lead the way to a safer world by taking our weapons off hair
trigger alert, halting our research and development of new nuclear weapons and
disarming and demilitarizing our warhead stockpile of over 10,000 nuclear
warheads.
We can reduce the threat to the world posed by nuclear weapons, but we must
start by getting serious about getting rid of our own weapons of mass
destruction.... that America has the resources to both protect and provide for its
citizens.
As the Pentagon’s budget soars over $400 billion, 17% of American children live
in poverty. Basic infrastructure is crumbling, schools are using outdated
textbooks, and millions of Americans are without basic health insurance.
For what the US has spent on the War in Iraq, 26,701,621 children could have
attended a year of Head Start, we could have built 1,815,194 additional housing
units for the poor, we could have hired 3,493,706 additional public school
teachers for one year, and we could have provided 9,772,998 students four-
year scholarships at public universities(source – National Priorities Project).
We believe that these are priorities that should come before war.
At Peace Action, we recognize that real change comes from the bottom up,
and we are committed to educating and organizing at the grassroots level.
When you join, you become part of an effective citizen movement. We work hard
to keep you informed through our quarterly newsletter and publications about
the most important news and issues in the peace movement.
As a member you can join our Action Alert Network which allows citizens
throughout the country to rapidly respond to important legislation online; you
can become an important part of a fast growing national movement, and help us
change the direction of our country and the world toward a more sustainable,
peaceful future.
Ending the War in Afghanistan
The political pressure to end the war in Afghanistan is increasing. Polls show the
majority of Americans have concluded the war isn’t worth it. The Democratic
National Committee passed a resolution in March demanding a “swift withdrawal”
of troops and contractors.
As administration and military leaders debate the extent of the President’s
promised July ‘drawdown,' Peace Action is petitioning President Obama to bring
our troops home. If you haven't already, please sign Peace Action's peitition to
President Obama to fulfill his promise to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops in July.
Petition available at www.peace-action.org
We have effectively mobilized for peace and disarmament for nearly fifty years.
Peace Action Youngstown, the local affiliate, began as Peace Council in 1981.
We are the nation’s largest grassroots Peace network, with 30 state affiliates,
and more than 100 local chapters. We organize our grassroots network to place
pressure on Congress and the Administration through write-in campaigns,
Internet actions, citizens lobbying and direct action.
We are proof that ordinary people can change the world.
We get results: from the 1963 treaty to ban above ground nuclear testing,
to the 1996 signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, from ending the war
in Vietnam, to blocking weapons sales to human rights abusing countries, and
eliminating funding for new nuclear weapons, Peace Action and its 100,000
members have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of the international
movement for peace.
Through a close relationship with progressive members of Congress, we play a
key role in devising strategies to move forward peace legislation, and, as a
leading organizing member of United for Peace and Justice and the Win Without
War coalition, we lend our expertise and large network to achieving common
goals.
Through our Peace Voter awareness campaigns, we inform citizens about their
choices for both local and national campaigns, by highlighting different
candidates’stances on issues relating to peace.
Our annual Congressional Voter Guide gives credit to those in Congress who
voted for a peaceful future, while holding accountable those who voted for larger
Pentagon budgets, spending tax dollars on nuclear weapons, and voted for wars
of aggression and occupation.
Given the right tools, ordinary people can change the world.
At Peace Action we believe that war is not a suitable response to conflict.For
over 50 years Peace Action has worked for an environment where all are free
from violence and war. We understand that long standing global conflicts require
long-term solutions, and that US foreign policy has a lasting effect on the world.
We are working to promote a new US foreign policy that is based on peaceful
support for human rights and democracy, reducing the threat from weapons of
mass destruction, and cooperation with the world community.
We are against preemptive war, and call for a full withdrawal of American troops
from Iraq ....that every person has the right to live without the threat from
nuclear weapons. There are still over 30,000 nuclear weapons in the world. The
US and Russia still have thousands of nuclear weapons, on hair trigger alert,
ready to launch in minutes.
While the Cold War may have ended, the nuclear threat has not. The only way
to ensure that nuclear weapons will never be used — whether purposefully,
or accidentally — is global abolition.
The U.S. must lead the way to a safer world by taking our weapons off hair
trigger alert, halting our research and development of new nuclear weapons and
disarming and demilitarizing our warhead stockpile of over 10,000 nuclear
warheads.
We can reduce the threat to the world posed by nuclear weapons, but we must
start by getting serious about getting rid of our own weapons of mass
destruction.... that America has the resources to both protect and provide for its
citizens.
As the Pentagon’s budget soars over $400 billion, 17% of American children live
in poverty. Basic infrastructure is crumbling, schools are using outdated
textbooks, and millions of Americans are without basic health insurance.
For what the US has spent on the War in Iraq, 26,701,621 children could have
attended a year of Head Start, we could have built 1,815,194 additional housing
units for the poor, we could have hired 3,493,706 additional public school
teachers for one year, and we could have provided 9,772,998 students four-
year scholarships at public universities(source – National Priorities Project).
We believe that these are priorities that should come before war.
At Peace Action, we recognize that real change comes from the bottom up,
and we are committed to educating and organizing at the grassroots level.
When you join, you become part of an effective citizen movement. We work hard
to keep you informed through our quarterly newsletter and publications about
the most important news and issues in the peace movement.
As a member you can join our Action Alert Network which allows citizens
throughout the country to rapidly respond to important legislation online; you
can become an important part of a fast growing national movement, and help us
change the direction of our country and the world toward a more sustainable,
peaceful future.
Ending the War in Afghanistan
The political pressure to end the war in Afghanistan is increasing. Polls show the
majority of Americans have concluded the war isn’t worth it. The Democratic
National Committee passed a resolution in March demanding a “swift withdrawal”
of troops and contractors.
As administration and military leaders debate the extent of the President’s
promised July ‘drawdown,' Peace Action is petitioning President Obama to bring
our troops home. If you haven't already, please sign Peace Action's peitition to
President Obama to fulfill his promise to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops in July.
Petition available at www.peace-action.org
Read Rene Wadlow's analysis
of the recently signed Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty
of the recently signed Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty
| IF YOU WANT IT.. JOHN LENNON |
| Contract to Rebuild the Dream 10 Critical Steps to Get Our Economy Back on Track: I. Invest in America's Infrastructure. Rebuild our crumbling bridges, dams, levees, ports, water and sewer lines, railways, roads, and public transit. We must invest in high-speed Internet and a modern, energy-saving electric grid. These investments will create good jobs and rebuild America. To help finance these projects, we need national and state infrastructure banks. II. Create 21st Century Energy Jobs. We should invest in American businesses that can power our country with innovative technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal systems, hybrid and electric cars, and next-generation batteries. And we should put Americans to work making our homes and buildings energy efficient. We can create good, green jobs in America, address the climate crisis, and build the clean energy economy. III. Invest in Public Education. We should provide universal access to early childhood education, make school funding equitable, invest in high-quality teachers, and build safe, well-equipped school buildings for our students. A high-quality education system, from universal preschool to vocational training and affordable higher education, is critical for our future and can create badly needed jobs now. IV. Offer Medicare for All. We should expand Medicare so it's available to all Americans, and reform it to provide even more cost-effective, quality care. The Affordable Care Act is a good start and we must implement it -- but it's not enough. We can save trillions of dollars by joining every other industrialized country -- paying much less for health care while getting the same or better results. V. Make Work Pay. Americans have a right to fair minimum and living wages, to organize and collectively bargain, to enjoy equal opportunity, and to earn equal pay for equal work. Corporate assaults on these rights bring down wages and benefits for all of us. They must be outlawed. VI. Secure Social Security. Keep Social Security sound, and strengthen the retirement, disability, and survivors' protections Americans earn through their hard work. Pay for it by removing the cap on the Social Security tax, so that upper-income people pay into Social Security on all they make, just like the rest of us. VII. Return to Fairer Tax Rates. End, once and for all, the Bush-era tax giveaways for the rich, which the rest of us -- or our kids -- must pay eventually. Also, we must outlaw corporate tax havens and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Lastly, with millionaires and billionaires taking a growing share of our country's wealth, we should add new tax brackets for those making more than $1 million each year. VIII. End the Wars and Invest at Home. Our troops have done everything that's been asked of them, and it's time to bring them home to good jobs here. We're sending $3 billion each week overseas that we should be investing to rebuild America. IX. Tax Wall Street Speculation. A tiny fee of a twentieth of 1% on each Wall Street trade could raise tens of billions of dollars annually with little impact on actual investment. This would reduce speculation, "flash trading," and outrageous bankers' bonuses -- and we'd have a lot more money to spend on Main Street job creation. X. Strengthen Democracy. We need clean, fair elections -- where no one's right to vote can be taken away, and where money doesn't buy you your own member of Congress. We must ban anonymous political influence, slam shut the lobbyists' revolving door in D.C., and publicly finance elections. Immigrants who want to join in our democracy deserve a clear path to citizenship. We must stop giving corporations the rights of people when it comes to our elections. And we must ensure our judiciary's respect for the Constitution. Together, we will reclaim our democracy to get our country back on track. |
| Sign the Contract and join the fight for The Dream Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of "The Dream" at the March on Washington in 1963. Today, the children of immigrants are fighting for the Dream Act, the right to education. Others speak of the American Dream as the right to a decent life, job and home. Langston Hughes, the great poet, asked and described, "What happens to a dream deferred?" No matter how you define it, a dream will never become reality unless we fight for it. In July, over 25,000 people got together in living rooms and backyards to discuss what it will take to make the dream of a better life possible in these dire times. That's how the Contract was created; people identified 10 ways to deal with our economic nightmare out of 40 suggestions in over 1,500 gatherings. Peace Action is working with our allies in labor and the economic and racial justice movements to organize grassroots coalition events in communities and bird-dogging of Congress people across the country. |