ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE & PEACEMAKING
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TAKE ACTION: Update Background Checks
Updating the background check system is not just an important first step for this Congress to take towards ending gun violence; it's also something that the overwhelming majority of Americans can get behind. The landmark H.R. 9 is a bill that will update our background checks law to cover all gun sales and help keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. Everytown for Gun Safety urges us to tell our lawmakers to support H.R. 8. TAKE ACTION
Taliban and Afghan Groups Find Common Ground in Landmark Talks
The Taliban and top Afghan powerbrokers have ended two days of landmark talks in Moscow with a broad but vague statement of shared principles, whose content was perhaps less important than the fact of the meeting itself. As the departure of US troops draws nearer, the insurgents met with the Afghan government, the powerful men who have fought against them on the battlefield, served in past governments and aspire to rule in Kabul again. MORE
In UAE, Pope Francis Urges Renouncing 'Every Nuance of Approval' For War
Pope Francis urged religious leaders to renounce all forms of support for violence this week, using the first papal address on the Arabian Peninsula to call it a "duty" of the world's faith. In a speech to hundreds of Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh representatives at an interreligious conference here, the pope likewise lamented ongoing conflicts across the Middle East. MORE
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IMMIGRATION
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TAKE ACTION: Tell Big Banks to Divest from Private Prisons
While professing respect for human rights, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase continue to fund GEO Group and CoreCivic; the biggest operators of private prisons and immigrant detention centers. In doing so, these banking giants are profiting from mass incarceration and the criminalization of immigration. The Conference of Major Superiors of Men urges us to sign their petition which calls on the banks to move their money. TAKE ACTION
ICE Confirms Force-Feeding of Detainees on Hunger Strike
ICE has confirmed that it is force-feeding detainees who have gone on hunger strike to protest the conditions under which they are being held. These include claims of verbal abuse and holding inmates in solitary confinement.
Eleven of the detainees refusing food, some for more than a month, are in custody at the El Paso Processing Center. Four others are in ICE detentions centers across the country: one each in Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco. MORE
Thousands
More Troops Heading to Border
The Pentagon is poised to send at least 2,000 more active-duty troops to the southwestern border to provide additional support for the Department of Homeland Security's border patrol efforts. That would come on top of the 2,400 troops who are there now, bringing the deployed number at the border close to the high of 5,900 that it reached in the weeks surrounding the midterm elections in November. MORE
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ENVIRONMENT
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TAKE ACTION: Tell the B
everage industry to Stop Fueling the Plastics Crisis
A growing group of countries and US States are reducing plastic pollution with container deposits: a small, refundable deposit to incentivize the return of bottles for recycling. The best systems have virtually eliminated littered bottles. But Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle are key players in a beverage industry which aggressively lobbies against new container deposit laws. The Story of Stuff asks us to tell the beverage industry to support container deposits. TAKE ACTION
Trump Chooses David Bernhardt, a Former Oil Lobbyist, to Head the Interior Dept.
President Trump has announced he would nominate David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist and current deputy chief of the Interior Department, to succeed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who resigned amid allegations of ethical missteps. Mr. Bernhardt has been quietly pulling the levers to carry out some of the largest rollbacks of public-land protections in the nation's history, opening millions of acres of land and water to oil, gas and coal companies.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT
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Murder of Teacher Prompts New Domestic Violence Protections
A former judge and Ohio legislator from Cleveland is accused of killing his estranged wife Aisha Fraser in Shaker Heights last November. The man had a previous conviction after attacking Fraser in 2015. Fraser sustained serious injuries in that attack that required facial reconstruction surgery. Now a new bill in Ohio, dubbed Aisha's Law, would provide better protections for victims by way of early intervention and lethality assessment.
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New Bill in Kentucky Would Allow Rape Victims to Track Assault Kits Online
A new bill presented in the 2019 Legislative Session in the state of Kentucky would allow victims of rape and sexual assaults the ability to track their assault kits online. SB 97 would create and implement an online tracking process for the forensic evidence kits. The legislation would also establish a public portal to allow victims to anonymously access the system and provide information to the Kentucky State Police.
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POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
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DEATH PENALTY
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Scheduled
Dominique Ray is scheduled to be executed on February 7 by the state of Alabama for the murder of Tiffany Harville. Please hold Dominique, Tiffany, their families, and the people of Alabama in prayer.
TAKE ACTION
Billie Wayne Coble is scheduled to be executed on February 28 by the state of Texas for the murders of Zelda, Robert, and Bobby Vicha. Please hold Billie, Zelda, Robert, Bobby, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION
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CORPORATE PUBLIC STANDS |
The Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton Iowa have taken the following corporate stands:
Death Penalty Nuclear Weapons Immigration Reform Human Trafficking |
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
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Contacting your elected officials is one of the most effective ways to bring about positive change. You can find the names and contact information of your local members of congress by entering your zip code at:
Here are phone numbers for elected officials for Clinton, Iowa:
President
Donald Trump
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(202) 456-1414
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Senators - Iowa
Chuck Grassley
Joni Ernst
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(202) 224-3744 (202) 224-3254
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US Representative
Clinton area District 2
Dave Loebsack
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(202) 225-6576 |
Governor - Iowa
Kim Reynolds
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(515) 281-5211
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The main switchboard for Congress is: (202) 224-3121
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