U.S. and the rest of the world must cooperate for the benefit of all
Your are subscriber of list mpen-dayton4@sympa.dkumc.net with email quigle.minogue@blogger.com
posted by lucas at 6:56 PM
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FYI. Best, Munsup
P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
P.P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
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· FW: MLK School Program Awards Ceremony
· FW: National Conference, Language Access Policy, Police-Immigrant/Refugee Classes and more!
· FW: Gun Violence Research Ban Op-Ed in Dayton Daily News
· FW: The Big Short
· FW: PolitiFact rates Sanders TRUE on U.S. health spending
· FW: More Than Ever (from AIPAC)
· FW: I can't bear losing (from JVP)
· FW: US Muslim Leaders Address Rising Islamophobia
· FW: "Donald Trump: '... totally contrary to our values as Americans'" ...??
· FW: Your morning "Thank You!" (and a video!)
· FW: Time is short (from Reform Immigration For America)
· FW: momentum (from Doctors for America)
· FW: Meet "Uncle Bob" (by Robert Reich)
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From: MARGARET PETERS
Subject: MLK School Program Awards Ceremony
31ST ANNUAL REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
SCHOOL PROGRAM AWARDS CEREMONY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 – 6:00 p.m.
THURGOOD MARSHALL STEM HIGH SCHOOL
4447 HOOVER AVENUE
"Yes sir, No sir" Words I was taught before I could walk,
"Never talk to the boys" they're supposed to protect, but they neglect,
6'4 walking tall, think I'm a criminal but I was just playing ball,
I am Trayvon Martin, I am Michael Brown, I am John Crawford, I am Jordan Davis.
People keep saying that color doesn't matter, but all that is, is chatter,
Tall black man being followed walking home,
Think he's a burglar 'cause he has a hoodie on,
A man that is suspected of a crime,
Has the right to be shot six times,
Is there any justice for a young black man,
Or is elimination part of the plan?
I am Trayvon Martin, I am Michael Brown, I am John Crawford, I am Jordan Davis."….
Courtney Byrd, 10th-12th grade poetry winner, Trotwood Madison High School
Ms. Monica Houston, teacher
"…Help your community by creating or participating in programs about volunteering, mentoring and helping the homeless. Help the weak, comfort the people who think they've failed at life. All I ask of you is to help, to be a true friend, help those being bullied. Stand up for what you believe in and be true to yourself and others. These are ways you can truly help your school and/or community."
Nathaniel A. Thomas, 6th-8th grade prose winner, Dayton Boys Preparatory Academy
Mr. Gregory Powell, teacher
Please join us at the January 15 awards ceremony as we honor Courtney, Nathaniel, all the other winners in the 31st Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. K-12 Art, Poetry and Prose Contest and the winners of the 29th MLK Scholarship Contest. We will also honor their teachers and mentors. All of the winning entries will be on display. Marsha Bonhart will serve as the mistress of ceremony. The program is free and open to the public.
Contact: Margaret Peters, mpeters0312@sbcglobal.net or 937-274-8362
From: Melissa Bertolo; Welcome Dayton
Subject: National Conference, Language Access Policy, Police-Immigrant/Refugee Classes and more!
Dayton Representatives Attend
National Immigrant Integration Conference 2015
Over 1,000 individuals gathered for the National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC) in Brooklyn, New York on December 13-15, including three Welcome Dayton staff members: Melissa Bertolo, Eugenie Kirenga, and Martha Jeanette Rodriguez.
The conference provided attendees the opportunity to learn new ideas, share best practices, and network with others throughout the country doing similar work.
Read more
Coming Soon:
Important Legal Documents in Various Languages
In 2015, the City of Dayton adopted a language access policy managed by the City of Dayton's Human Relations Council. In 2016, this policy will lead to a concerted effort to convert key legal documents into locally-spoken foreign languages to better serve immigrants and refugees living in the Gem City.
Read more
Resource of the Month: Project READ
Project READ is the primary ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] referral source in Dayton. By calling the referral hotline, callers can be referred to an ESOL class based on time preference, child care availability, location/bus route, and skill level. You don't need to speak English in order to access the hotline--interpretation is available for free.
Call the Project READ helpline at (937) 461-7323.
Dayton Refugees and Immigrants Learn Rights,
Responsibilities When Interacting with Police
The Dayton Police Department continues building relationships with the Dayton community--including immigrant and refugee residents.
With the help of interpreters, Dayton Police Officers Dan Mamula and Kervin Valez offered three classes in December on how to properly interact with police officers during a traffic stop and other law enforcement encounters. The workshops were presented in Arabic, Spanish, Swahili and Kinyarwanda.
See more pictures on our blog!
Upcoming Events
See our full calendar of events at welcomedayton.org/calendar.
Citizenship Clinic on January 9
If you or someone you know are ready to take the next step to becoming a naturalized citizen, come and get free, personalized help on your naturalization application! 
An immigration attorney from ABLE will be available to answer questions. LEARN MORE
MLK World House Party on January 16
This FREE annual event commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s global civil rights vision. and includes food, spoken word and dance performances, and world music by Trunk Bound Regime. RSVP on our Facebook event!
2016 Ohio Latino Education Summit on March 11
Educators and community members from around the state are invited to University of Toledo to share best practices and to discuss issues of importance regarding the education of Hispanic students in Ohio. You can submit a proposal for a breakout session and register for the event here.
From: Donald Nguyen, MD, FAAP; Doctors for America
Subject: Gun Violence Research Ban Op-Ed in Dayton Daily News
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, belated Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!
Keeping the conversation going in Dayton. My Op-Ed piece was published in the Saturday edition of the Dayton Daily News: http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/DaytonDailyNews/Default.aspx?href=DDN%2F2015%2F12%2F19&pageno=9&view=document
To those who were hoping that President Obama could use his executive order to lift the CDC/NIH ban on gun violence research, he did just that in 2013. But no federal fund allocations were ever available, hence no research could ever be carried out, except in cases where one scientist used up to $1 million of his own money to conduct limited research until the dollars dried up. And, what if President Obama somehow could use a magical pen to line-item veto the ban language and make it disappear from the spending bill? No chance, because no such pen exists at the federal level.
At the most recent Newtown vigil last week downtown Dayton, one attendee came up to me afterwards and admitted that he had no idea that such ludicrous ban ever existed and thanked me for informing him. Well, be honest! How many of you knew that such Congressional ban on the 2 biggest pillars of American Science Research (Center for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Health) existed, prohibiting any federal funding from being used for gun safety and violence research over the last 20 years?
How many of you are aware of a present and clear crisis in Flint, Michigan, where the town citizens have been exposed to massive lead exposure because their water supply had to run through severely corroded pipes that leached lead since 2014? Read it here. Well, because of research on lead at the CDC, we all came to understand the risks and health complications of lead poisoning especially in infants' and babies' brains, and the effects of lead on violence and violent crimes etc. It was an epic battle against the gasoline/fossil fuel industries in the beginning, with their fake science and even using a doctor testifying in Congressional hearings about how lead was "completely benign and everywhere"! In the end, real science and research won and we now do not tolerate any lead in our food or drinking water supplies, in our children's toys, in our home supplies or paint! Now, just imagine if no such knowledge or research data were available about this poisonous element, lead, to Americans because the gasoline/oil/fossil fuel industries had been successful at BLOCKING and BANNING lead research at the CDC and NIH!
Keep the conversation front and center about this important subject of gun violence. And please call the Dayton Daily News (937-225-2441) or email Connie.Post@coxinc.com with your feedback on my Op-Ed piece!
From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: The Big Short
Joan and I just saw The Big Short at the Quality 10 theatres in Saginaw, Michigan. There was only one other party, of 3, in the theatre. And it is a pity that a larger number of Americans are not going to see this revealing story of the financial crisis of our age, and of the stupidity, dishonesty, exploitation and downright fraud behind it. Warning - too well taken by most of the movie-going public: this film is brain food!
Perhaps you recall AG Eric Holder's declaration that the financial institutions that caused the 2007- financial crash were "too large to prosecute" for their epic fraudulent conduct, and your angry response. Perhaps you were as angry when you heard of Holder's return to serve large banks, after his resignation from office, Here is Wikipedia's summary:
In July 2015, Holder rejoined Covington & Burling, the law firm at which he worked before becoming Attorney General. The law firm's clients have included many of the large banks Holder declined to prosecute for their alleged role in the financial crisis. Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone opined about the move, "I think this is probably the single biggest example of the revolving door that we've ever had."[162][163 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder#Return_to_private_practice; accessed 12-23-2015]"
And perhaps you have been chronically angry at the lack of prison stripes on the apparel of the bankers, mortgage companies, rating institutions and their diverse fiduciary employees, who took no responsibility, while people became impoverished and homeless, and while the American middle-class bailed out the banks.
"Perhaps you bristle with indignation, cheering Bernie Sanders' call to "break them up"
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The Big Short is the movie you must see!! It is the movie the misled Republican masses seduced by the likes of DT need to see - if they can spend the mental concentration to strive to understand the financial concoctions by which the banking industry conned the American economy - and still stand barely chastised for their wrongs, far from being broken up, and renewing their dedication to profiteering on the ignorance and powerlessness of the masses with renewed confidence rackets.
See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/?ref_=nv_sr_1. The Big Short is brilliantly done, an intellectual film encasing a deep investigation of the intricacies of mortgage recollateralization that snowballed into the disappearance of over a trillion dollars in investments including the savings of ordinary Americans in an entertaining movie with an outstanding cast led by Christian Bale.
The Big Short, based on the best seller by Michael Lewis, explaining the housing credit bubble that created the financial crisis seen as the worst since the Great Depression, is in the best sense, "a Michael Moore movie" professionally done!
My main point in sending this is not to share a moment of entertainment; it is to promote an educational vehicle of importance for the political-economic future of our nation. Tell your friends, your Tea-Party uncles and aunts, your Y-gen nieces and nephews who are cynical to the point of apathy and political agnosticism. Tell HRC to see this movie and own-up, not to boast that the banks should love her, that Sanders is correct on this point, and the second President Clinton will need a constant jab in the side to get her to appoint people like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich rather than the likes of Lawrence Summers...and to favor Bernie's and Elizabeth's advice over Bill's.
From: albert baca
Subject: FW: PolitiFact rates Sanders TRUE on U.S. health spending
I am forwarding this NOT as a political statement but as something you should know and understand about the USA health care system. There is no doubt that Obamacare is much better than letting the health insurance companies run amok. But Obamacare is not the answer. Please join me in helping to evolve Obamacare into a "SINGLE PAYER" system or "Medicare For All". The nation would be so much better off. BE SURE TO READ DR. McCANNE'S COMMENT and read it carefully. I have highlighted where it begins.
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On Monday, December 21, 2015, Don McCanne wrote:
PolitiFact on December 20, 2015
Fact-checking
Sanders' claim that U.S. spends 3 times per capita
what the U.K. spends on health care
By Jon Greenberg
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says the best solution to address problems in the United States' health care system is to guarantee every American access to health care as a right.
Speaking at the New Hampshire Democratic presidential debate, Sanders continued to express support for a single-payer health care system that is popular throughout much of the rest of the world.
To make his point, Sanders compared health care costs between the United States and two other Western nations -- the United Kingdom and France.
"Why is it that we spend almost three times per capita as to what they spend in the U.K. -- 50 percent more than what they pay in France?" Sanders asked. "The insurance companies, the drug companies are bribing the United States Congress. We need to pass a Medicare-for-all single-payer system."
Sanders' numbers are arresting and largely correct.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has the data for all three nations.
Total per capita spending:
$8,713 - United States
$3,234 - United Kingdom
$4,123 - France
Do the math, and total U.S. spending is about 2.7 times what they spend in the United Kingdom per person, and a bit over twice what they spend per person in France. Everything is measured in dollars, and the data are from 2013.
Sanders' claim in this case is more accurate than more sweeping versions he has made in the past. In 2009 and again in 2015, he claimed that the United States spends twice as much per capita on health care as any other country. Those claims are overly broad.
Our ruling
Sanders said that the United States spends almost three times on health care per capita what is spent in the United Kingdom and about double what they spend in France. The numbers from an independent, reliable source back that up.
We rate this statement True.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/20/bernie-s/fact-checking-bernie-sanders-claim-us-spends-three/
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OECD Health at a Glance 2015
In 2013, the United States continued to outspend all other OECD countries by a wide margin, with the equivalent of USD 8,713 for each US resident. This level of health spending is two-and-a-half times the average of all OECD countries (USD 3,453).
http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2015_health_glance-2015-en#page165
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Comment by Don McCanne
In the Democratic debate this past weekend, Bernie Sanders said, "Why is it that we spend almost three times per capita as to what they spend in the U.K., 50 percent more than what they pay in France… The insurance companies, the drug companies are bribing the United States Congress. We need to pass a Medicare-for-all single-payer system." In response, PolitiFact wrote, "Sanders' numbers are arresting and largely correct."
Although single payer supporters are very familiar with these numbers, it is a welcome change that a source such as PolitiFact finds these numbers to be "arresting" and largely correct, and thus they rate this statement as True.
Another line that Sanders frequently uses is that we spend twice as much on health care as any other country. PolitiFact has twice rated this as False. Technically they are correct. In 2013, we spent over two-and-a-half times the average of OECD countries, but there are some that spent more than half of what we do. Sen. Sanders trips on his words by saying "any other country" instead of "average of other countries."
Nevertheless, in the two previous articles, PolitiFact trumpeted the fact that his statement was False (though in the second version they buried in the text the fact that fine tuning his talking point would have made it accurate).
Spending on health care that is more than two-and-a-half times the average OECD nation is a very impressive number, and yet PolitiFact buried this behind their stamp of False.
On today's PolitiFact we can give them a True. On the two previous articles we can give them a rating of "Technically True but Highly Misleading" simply because they swamped the important and accurate fact about how much more we spend on health care that Sen. Sanders was attempting to convey.
From: albert baca
Subject: FW: Republicans and Democrats concerned about health care costs
Here is some more Single Payer stuff you should know. And yes Single Payer is publicly financed. (Taxes) But a dollar is a dollar. I would be happier than a pig in slop if I paid less in health care dollars under public financing than under private financing.
Tell me I am wrong. Tell me you would rather pay more under private financing because you don't want "Socialized Medicine." I have news for you. Canadian Medicine is not truly socialized. Canadian doctors and Pharmacies are in business to make a profit and there are no insurance companies ready to gouge the Canadian people. Public financing insures that.
What the USA needs is a Canada Deluxe system, better than what Canada has; a "Medicare for all" system. (American Pie, written in 2004, does a great job explaining Canada Deluxe. Unfortunately it is no loner on the Internet but I have a copy if you want to read it.)
BTW, Canadian Hospitals are non profit. Remember when Babe had delirium? The stupid ass ER doctor coded her "For Medical Observation Only" which meant Medicare Part A wouldn't pay. I received a bill for $23K from MVH and $11k from the SNF. The Bureaucratic fight was on. Old Al won. I paid $0.00 to each. Luckily the noodle still works pretty damn well - sometimes.
If you are good with the PC, check Medicare payments to doctors in McAllen TX, El Paso TX, and Rochester MN (Mayo Clinic). I think that Medicare fraud is the primary reason the MVH Administrator wanted Babe out. But I beat the SOB. MVH didn't collect a penny from me. The SNF was merely following what MVH did. They returned the $3200 I had to prepay to get her into the SNF. The funny thing is that Medicare Part B was no problem at all at either MVH or the SNF.
The UK, US VA and the US Military Health Care Systems are "Socialized" (The government owns the hospitals, the equipment in it, and pays the doctors, nurses and support staff) and I think they are pretty damn good. In the UK, the Tories (Conservatives) know better than to mess with the NHS. If they did, they would sure as hell never get re-elected to Parliament. Read this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-32198148
A future Conservative government would give the NHS in England "whatever" it needs to fill a predicted funding gap, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
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On Tuesday, December 22, 2015, Don McCanne wrote:
Healthcare costs a top concern for Republican and Democratic voters
Reuters on December 21, 2015
By Jilian Mincer and Erin McPike
Americans want to know what the next U.S. president will do to lower their rising healthcare costs, a priority shared by Republican and Democratic voters and second only to keeping the country safe, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
In all, 62 percent of people surveyed said they would want to know about a presidential candidate's plan for reducing healthcare costs, according to the online poll conducted Dec. 14-18.
While Republican and Democratic candidates are worlds apart on how to address healthcare, poll results show roughly the same proportion of Republican voters, or 62 percent, view it as a priority compared with 67 percent of Democrats, highlighting their frustration with rising drug prices, insurance premiums and deductibles ahead of the 2016 vote.
The only topic that attracted more interest was national security, as 67 percent wanted to know more about how presidential candidates planned to keep the country safe.
U.S. employers have been shifting more health coverage costs onto workers, particularly through high deductible health insurance plans, which can reach $6,600 in out of pocket costs for an individual and $13,200 for a family before insurance kicks in. Many of these changes have been ushered in with President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, as well as recent sharp increases in some prescription drug costs.
Republican strategists said party candidates are more focused on national security and the economy as dominant issues, noting they have little to gain by offering a detailed plan to tackle healthcare costs that could run up against major business interests, including the pharmaceutical industry.
"I'm on Obamacare, and it's a horrible situation," said Fred Voeltner, 64, who was laid off in 2009 and now pays for his own insurance. He is frustrated by how far he has to travel for care and how much more he has to pay each visit. "I'm open-minded," he said. "But I expect to vote for a Republican."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-healthcare-idUSKBN0U42GU20151221
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Comment by Don McCanne
Unhappiness over the high costs of health care is not a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats want to know the presidential candidates' proposals to lower health care costs - a priority almost as great as their concern about national security.
Lest Democrats be smug over the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, it is ACA's higher deductibles and narrower networks actually brought to us by the Democrats that have further infuriated voters over runaway health care costs.
Republicans keep promising us their replacement plan - the latest promise being by House Speaker Paul Ryan - but they fail to deliver. They actually prefer a "trust us" approach instead of providing specifics, since their telegraphed preferences would worsen patient affordability and access.
In the Reuters article, Fred Voeltner says that he is "frustrated by how far he has to travel for care and how much more he has to pay each visit" - consequences of narrow networks and high deductibles. But he is "open-minded" and expects "to vote for a Republican." People are having trouble giving the Democrats credit for reform when they can't see their own doctor and can't pay their deductibles.
Democrats are now gathering around a candidate that would perpetuate our highly flawed financing system. On the other hand, another candidate - a democratic socialist running for the Democratic nomination - advocates for an affordable model that is supported by a majority of Americans - a single payer Medicare for all.
Unfortunately, presidential politics are complex. When you ask people why they are supporting a given candidate, you will only rarely hear single payer mentioned. Even though they want our next president to fix the health care cost problem, the answers you will hear are meaningless sound bites such as, he will "Make America Great Again." When final ballots are cast, they will be based more on political personalities rather than public policy.
This brings to mind a quote of Winston Churchill, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." (House of Commons, November 11, 1947).
Churchill also said, "At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper — no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point." (House of Commons, October 31, 1944)
From: Brian Shankman; Director of Regional Affairs and Development, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
Subject: More Than Ever
In a hostile and uncertain world, it is reassuring to know that two great democracies—the United States and Israel—continue to find security in their support of each other.
For years, the strength of each nation has enhanced that of the other. But this friendship cannot be taken for granted. It is the result of decades of hard work and through the efforts of AIPAC members, working together with our country's leaders.
Today, as the United States and Israel face growing terrorist threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and other radical groups, and as an extremist regime in Iran will soon be emboldened with as much as $150 billion dollars in sanctions relief -- funds that can further fuel its support for terrorism and regional destabilization -- the unique bond between the United States and Israel has never been more essential.
Please show your support for the important U.S.-Israel relationship by joining AIPAC with a gift of $50, $75, $100 or more today.
Thank you for all you do. Best wishes for a good and healthy new year.
From: Cecilie Surasky; Deputy Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
Subject: I can't bear losing
Do you know what I just can't bear? 
That awful feeling I get in my gut when I see someone -- or entire governments -- abuse their power, and get away with it scot-free.
I bet you know that feeling too.
It grips you when you read media reports that repeat the outright lies of politicians without question. You felt it if you've ever stood at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. It's there when the people you love most in the world shut down because they can't bear to entertain any criticism of Israel. And you feel it, especially now, when the Israeli government pretends they don't understand why Palestinians resist their own oppression.
But because I'm one of literally thousands of Jewish Voice for Peace activists, I also know the exhilaration of fighting back against injustice -- and winning.
The budget we have to raise is relatively small, but we've got just 10 days to raise another $195K. And our results this year alone are outsized:
When the University of California tried to redefine anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel, we were there in the halls of power, on the media and in the streets to help stop it. And we did.
When Benyamin Netanyahu was invited behind the President's back to speak to Congress and urge war on Iran, we helped lead the #SkiptheSpeech coalition which persuaded over 60 Members of Congress to boycott— a moment many say signaled the beginning of the end for the "bipartisan consensus" supporting Israel.
When the Israel Lobby waged an all out war against the Iran Deal, JVP members generated over 70,000 calls and letters to Congress -- a whopping 20% of the total national coalition of peace groups -- and met with nearly 50 Members of Congress.
We won. Not just one of those fights - all of them.
The truth is that this success comes with a cost.
Sheldon Adelson and the Jewish National Fund are pouring close to $150 million into efforts to fight Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) efforts on campuses.
And just last week, reports surfaced of a high-level, secret anti-BDS summit hosted by the liberal-leaning Brookings Institute and billionaire Haim Saban where Jewish Voice for Peace was specifically called out.
We will never back down. Not while you have our backs.
Our incredible network of activists means we do the work of a group 10 times our size. Our daily social media reach literally dwarfs that of AIPAC.
But here's the truth--in order to win these battles, we need to grow another tenfold.
Millennials are more supportive of Palestinian freedom than any generation in US history. Jewish students are in open rebellion against old-guard Jewish institutions and their gatekeepers. The BDS movement is sweeping communities and campuses. Multi-racial, multi-faith coalitions are coalescing around a simple idea: that Palestinian human rights are a progressive issue.
This is our moment. You know it. I know it. But our opponents know it too.
We know we can achieve the impossible, But we can't achieve it alone. Help us make our match. Help us all experience the exhilaration of fighting back against the bad guys, and winning.
For justice. For freedom. For equality. For a future for all of us.
From: Jim Hagan
Subject: FW: US Muslim Leaders Address Rising Islamophobia
WASHING TON - The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), a coalition of leading national and local Muslim organizations, today announced major educational, outreach and civic empowerment initiatives to address growing Islamophobia in America and to enhance national security through the promotion of freedom and justice. Proposed USCMO initiatives include a drive to register one million voters prior to the 2016 presidential election, a "One America" campaign to enhance understanding of American Muslims and Islam and a "National Open Mosque Day" designed to help increase interactions between American Muslims and citizens of other faiths and backgrounds.
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/12/21/us-muslim-leaders-announce-campaigns-enhance-national-security-address-rising?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_this&utm_source=email
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"My hope is that you may become free from the material world and strive to understand the meaning of the heavenly world, the world of lasting qualities, the world of truth, the world of eternal kingliness, so that your life may not be barren of results, for the life of the material man has no fruit of reality. Lasting results are produced by reflecting the heavenly existence." Abdu'l-Baha Divine Philosophy p. 57
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" Declaration of Independence
"I may not be the man I want to be; I may not be the man I ought to be; I may not be the man I could be; I may not be the man I can be; but praise God, I'm not the man I once was." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
From: Judy Burnette
Subject: WhoWhatWhy Opinion: "Donald Trump: '... totally contrary to our values as Americans'" ...??
http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/12/14/editorial-donald-trump/
Opinion: Donald Trump!
' ... You cannot wash racism, ignorance and demagoguery out of American history.. It is fatuous to say Trump is 'not who we are'. ... " - Charles Glass
(Donald J. Trump Photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Gage Skidmore / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Relax, America. Donald Trump is not an alien from outer space. He is one of us. American tradition has a place for him just as it does for Thanksgiving turkey, baseball and the genocide of the natives.
A White House spokesman called Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from coming to the United States "totally contrary to our values as Americans." Paul Ryan said Trump is "not who we are as a party." Have they read their country's history or the polls?
According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, 66% of Republicans favor Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The latest New York Times-CBS News poll gives his stand on terrorism 70% support among those likely to vote in Republican primaries.
Anybody remember the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 that effectively excluded Japanese workers from the US? Or the lynching of Chinese men and boys in Los Angeles in 1871? Or the longstanding practice of lynching black people that compelled Mark Twain to call this country "the United States of Lyncherdom?"
What are the White House and Speaker Ryan saying?
Can the White House be referring to American values that include gun worship, police racism and non-stop foreign wars? Can Ryan be referring to the Republican Party that welcomed the old Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond when the national Democratic Party abandoned its long-standing commitment to racial segregation? Trump is in the right country and the right party, although we might lend him to the French if Marine Le Pen needs a hand.
American history is replete with generations of populists like Trump who wanted to close the country's doors to just about every race, religion and language group somebody didn't like. It was the Catholic threat from the 17th century onwards, and it was the Yellow Peril in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Anybody remember the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 that effectively excluded Japanese workers from the US? Or the lynching of Chinese men and boys in Los Angeles in 1871? Or the longstanding practice of lynching black people that compelled Mark Twain to call this country "the United States of Lyncherdom?" Trump's rap has roots in the Salem witch trials, the white knights in the white sheets, the sermons of Father Charles Coughlin and the purges of Senator Joe McCarthy. If Trump is not American, who is?
From the beginning, our forebears in colonial Virginia and Massachusetts prohibited admission to Catholics. They murdered Indians and kept black people in slavery. They and their descendants sought to exclude Jews, Chinese, Japanese, eastern Europeans, southern Europeans, Mexicans, South Americans and anybody else who didn't look fair-skinned and worship in a Protestant church. It's the American way.
One exception was William Penn's Quaker outpost in Pennsylvania, which stood for everything Trump opposes. It welcomed not only Catholics, but Jews, freethinkers and, if any had shown an interest, Muslims. Trump would have hated Penn. The Puritans did hate him.
German settlers were among the first to reach North America, but that did not stop the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s from opposing further immigration to the US. Germans did not, as so many of us still do not, conform to an English-speaking ideal of The Real American.
The Know-Nothings expressed considerable venom for Germans fleeing from repression of the 1848 revolutions that threatened to bring down monarchies and usher in republican government in Europe. One of these was Carl Schurz, who joined the Republican Party when its purpose was to end slavery and became US Minister to Spain, a Union Army major general, Missouri's US senator and Secretary of the Interior. Schurz said, "This is true Americanism, clasping mankind to its great heart."
The Know-Nothings, being generous with their prejudices, did not limit their hatred to the Germans. The Irish, refugees from starvation during the potato famine of 1847 and after, earned their greatest ire. Their "no Irish need apply" signs did not disappear from many employers' windows until well into the 20th century. The Irish, of course, adapted and thrived. They absorbed the racial prejudices of their new land, often beating up Jews in the streets or burning down New York's Colored Orphan Asylum during the anti-draft riots of 1863.
The Know-Nothings had a cause: to keep America white, Protestant and Anglo-Saxon. Trump has a cause: to keep out Mexicans, Muslims and anybody else he decides to pick on. The Know-Nothings took their exclusionary, not to say delusionary, notions into the electoral area and founded the American Party. If Trump loses the Republican nomination, he might consider taking that name for a third party run.
Some Know-Nothings made it to Congress, where they railed against immigration and sought to ban Catholics from public office. One of them, the long forgotten Millard Fillmore, became the thirteenth president of the United States. To be fair to the electorate, they chose him as vice president. His president, General Taylor, whom Trump would undoubtedly admire for spending most of his military career fighting Indians and Mexicans, had the misfortune to die in office. Fillmore served only three years and was not reelected.
Like it or not,Trump is as much an American as Martin Luther King. If it hadn't been for people like Trump in the past, there would have been no need for people like King. You cannot wash racism, ignorance and demagoguery out of American history.. It is fatuous to say Trump is "not who we are." He is who many of us were in the era of slavery and lynching, and who many of us are in the era of police shootings and Islamophobia.
All I can say about Trump is what Mark Twain is alleged to have said about the Jews: "Jews are part of the human race. Worse than that, I cannot say of them." The fears Trump stokes are our own. Democracy is ever at risk from demagogues and would-be "strong men."
The test is whether we succumb to their blandishments, or whether we offer allegiance to those who summon what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature."
From: Ben, People For the American Way
Subject: Your morning "Thank You!" (and a video!)
Have we told you lately that we love you? Really -- THANK YOU so much for your tremendous support, all that you helped accomplish in 2015, and all that we will accomplish together in 2016.
Here's a quick video that shows why defenders of the American Way -- like you! -- are needed now more than ever:
Watch>>
From: Donna De La Cruz, Reform Immigration FOR America
Subject: Time is short
The stakes are high.
It's likely that the Supreme Court will decide whether they'll take up the case against DAPA and expanded DACA within the first 15 days of the New Year. This is the last chance to restore relief for 5 million immigrants--relief that was promised to them over a year ago and has been denied over and over again. Donate $15 to provide them with the tools necessary to fight for their families.
These families will spend the holiday season hoping and praying that this is not the last holiday that they'll see their children's smiles around the dinner table. They need your help.
Munsup, I know you work hard, and I know you are receiving many requests in this season of giving. I hope you will consider making an investment in the future of these 5 million families and in the work of Reform Immigration FOR America. For my part, I am certain that this investment will be the greatest gift you can make this holiday season.
From: R. Scott Poppen MD MPA, Doctors for America
Subject: momentum
(Dr. Poppen is a retired primary care internist from Draper and a Board Member and the Utah State Director for Doctors for America.)
We are improving the health of the nation one call, email, tweet, and petition at a time. Thanks to every doctor, medical student, and health advocate who has given your time, energy, and talent to Doctors for America's efforts. Your voice and support are the power of this movement.
Today, thanks to Doctors for America's efforts, 17 million people have health coverage. We have so many opportunities to keep moving the country's health in the right direction.
We can win coverage for the four million people in the 20 states – including my home state of Utah – that have not expanded Medicaid. Many of us have taken care of uninsured patients when their health conditions become unbearable or an emergency. We try to patch together free medications and care for patients who are forced to put off preventive care, skip medications, or show up in the emergency department when their diabetes and hypertension get out of control.
Our patients matter more than politics. That is why it is so important that Doctors for America continues to speak up until everyone has access to equitable, affordable, high-quality care.
Ensure that our voices continue to be heard in our state and nation's capitols.
Your donation will be doubled up to the first $1000 we raise today!
If every member of Doctors for America contributes $5, we will meet our year-end fundraising goal. Please contribute whatever you can.
From: Robert Reich
Subject: Meet "Uncle Bob"
Holidays with the family can sometimes be—well—complicated.
In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd introduce you to Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob is a curmudgeon who's wrong on many of the issues MoveOn members care about most. (He also happens to bear a striking resemblance to me, but don't be fooled.)
In this latest video, I offer a few suggestions for how you might respond to the predictable arguments of the "Uncle Bob" at your holiday table. Hope you enjoy and share.
Sending all good wishes to you and your family for a joyous and peace-filled New Year.
Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we're able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.
End of MPEN e-Newsletter
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