KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts
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KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alert – November1, 2013 Educate Yourself. Share your knowledge. Take Action! For information about the American Friends Service Committee, contact us at 816931-5256 or [email protected] Donate Now Click this link above to make a donation to support the work of the Kansas City Program of American Friends Service Committee --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone neath their vine and fig tree shall live in peace and unafraid. And into ploughshares beat their swords Nations shall learn war no more. And into ploughshares beat their swords Nations shall learn war no more. ~ The Vine and Fig Tree song --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out Facebook Event --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Peacemakers, The testimony at the Job With Justice hearing on the “Public Cost Of Low-Wages In Our AFSC interns Community” was powerful and moving. It helped support fast-food workers and to created this rewrite the storyline about who is abusing government safety net programs. It is not the Budget Mania front-line fast-food workers, working multiple jobs 40+ hours a week, but still unable to game to engage care for themselves and their families. It is corporations like McDonalds, Burger King youth in learning and Pizza Hut, which by underpaying workers are abusing government assistance. about federal spending and The hearing took place Wednesday morning and focused on a report produced by UC revenue policies Berkley and the National Employment Law Project that reveals: and needs in our Full-time-fast-food jobs do not pay enough for workers to get by causing more community. than ½ of front-line workers to rely on public assistance to cover basic needs. Low wages paid by fast-food companies costs Americans nearly $7 billion annually Three workers testified, each sharing their story of hard working individuals trying to provide for their families but not being able to make ends meet without government assistance. I was impressed by the strength and courage of the workers and their resolve to organize and get a fair wage. I was also struck by how their stories are stark examples of the untruth of the common narrative driving federal budget austerity actions in Washington. AFSC, as a member of MO Jobs with Justice, is supporting the Low Wage Workers Campaign. We are also working to change the narrative around austerity and the cutting crucial of programs, like SNAP (food stamps), Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, etc. We invite you to the next Move the Money Campaign meeting and help plan and implement listening sessions with area leaders to learn about how they see the impact of the sequester and other austerity measures, and hear their stories and their vision of what we should be doing. Join us on November 25, Monday, 5:30pm at the AFSC office, 4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO. We are also finishing plans to retire the Missouri and Kansas Eyes Wide Open Cost of War Exhibit. The exhibit includes 200 pairs of combat boots which represent Kansas and Missouri troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. We have scheduled the “Turning Combat Boots into Ploughshares: Boot Distribution” to homeless vets and others for Sunday, November 10, 4:30 to 5:30pm at Mill Creek Park, 47th Street and Main, KCMO. The distribution of boots will be preceded by a final exhibition of the Missouri and Kansas Eyes Wide Open Exhibits also at Mill Creek Park between 2:00 and 3:30pm. The events are cosponsored by Veterans for Peace-KC Chapter, Iraq Veterans Against the War-KC, and Artists Helping the Homeless. Please join us at the exhibit. Volunteer to help with the set up and boot distribution by contacting us at 816 931-5256 or [email protected]. See below for these activities, other calendar events, and articles, alerts and more. Thanks for all of your work for our community. Sincerely, Ira Harritt KC Program Coordinator American Friends Service Committee 816 931-5256, [email protected] Check out these events and articles below: November 6, 7:00 pm, (All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut, KCMO) and November 7, 7:00 pm, (Walnut Gardens Community of Christ, 19201 RD Mize Rd., Independence, MO) "KC: Linchpin in Nuclear Weapons Production or 50 Ways to Leave Your Nukes! November 10, 2:00 to 3:30pm, Final MO & KS Eyes Wide Open Exhibit, Mill Creek Park, 47th and Main, KCMO (contact us to volunteer) November 10, 4:30 to 5:30pm, Turning Combat Boots into Ploughshares: Boot Distribution, Distribution of combat boots to area homeless, Mill Creek Park, 47th and Main, KCMO November 19, Monday, 5:30 to 7:00pm, Strategies for Social Change: Nonviolence Action Brainstorm, We will use a “critical path analysis” process and brainstorm and evaluate tactics for social change. Imagine a public policy goal where a corporate player resists change that you want to explore. Bring your ideas and help innovate. At Pizza 51, 51st and Oak. KCMO. And Articles: Budget Deal Must Be Morally and Economically Sound, By Sen. Bernie Sanders Racial inequality threatens Kansas City economy Dems could break with Obama on Iran White House lobbying Senate against further sanctions on Iran in super- secret meeting Unveiling Corporate Campaign Cash is Good for Everyone (Including Businesses) Upcoming Peace and Justice Activities Click on link or scroll down for more information about the peace and justice activity November 2, Saturday 9am-12pm, Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement Training, Some say immigration is dead in D.C.- even so 3 Republicans have signed onto the House Bill! THE TIME IS NOW-our neighbors, brothers, sisters, and community are suffering in the shadows everyday, with or without policy reform. I have seen the presentation that Pastor Javier Rios and Karen Bardales have put together and will be facilitating with us on Saturday and it is truly Challenging, Engaging and Informative. At St. Mark's UMC in Overland Park! November 6, 7:00 pm, (All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut, KCMO) and November 7, 7:00 pm, (Walnut Gardens Community of Christ, 19201 RD Mize Rd., Independence, MO) "KC: Linchpin in Nuclear Weapons Production or 50 Ways to Leave Your Nukes!" Talk/discussions with Jay Coghlan, executive director, Nuclear Watch New Mexico. Free, open to the public, sponsored by PeaceWorks, KC—same talk, 2 dates/places. Jay’s topics: the old Kansas City Plant (ripe with contaminants), the new KC Plant (where, by 2014, 85 percent of the parts for U.S. nuclear weapons will be made or procured), and life extension programs or LEPs—these keep $ rolling into the nuclear weapons arsenal. Come hear how to shut down nukes! More info below November 7, Thursday, 7:00pm until 9:00pm, Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) Annual Meeting: Yes, We Can Move Mountains! This year's public meeting will feature a celebration of Ban the Box, work on decreasing violence in KC, and issues related to Food Stamps, Public Education and Immigration. Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church, 205 E. 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106 November 10, Sunday, 2:00 to 3:30pm, Final MO & KS Eyes Wide Open Exhibit, Mill Creek Park, 47th and Main, KCMO (contact us to volunteer) 816 931-5256, [email protected] November 10, Sunday, 4:30 to 5:30pm, Turning Combat Boots into Ploughshares: Boot Distribution, Distribution of combat boots to area homeless, Mill Creek Park, 47th and Main, KCMO November 17, Sunday, 2:30 pm, Oppose drone warfare by remote control from Whiteman AFB Rally to oppose drone operations at Spirit Gate, Whiteman Air Force Base. Carpool at 12:30 pm from stagecoach at SW Trafficway & Westport Rd. November 19, Monday, 5:30 to 7:00pm, Strategies for Social Change: Nonviolence Action Brainstorm, We will use a “critical path analysis” process and brainstorm and evaluate tactics for social change. Imagine a public policy goal where a corporate player resists change that you want to explore. Bring your ideas and help innovate. At Pizza 51, 51st and Oak, KCMO --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st and 3rdSaturdays, 1:00pm, Chelsea Manning Support Rally, Join us outside the gates of Ft. Leavenworth, in support of Bradley Manning through his court martial trial in February. EVERY Tuesday, JOIN THIS Peace Demonstration between 5PM - 6 PM in the median strip on the south corner of the intersection at 63rd & Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. For more information email '63rd Street Patriots' at [email protected] Weekly Wednesday, Noon, Jericho Walk for Immigrant Rights gather outside KansasCity Immigration Court, 2345 Grand Blvd., KCMO Info at http://www.ijamkc.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News and Alerts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Budget Deal Must Be Morally and Economically Sound By Sen. Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News 31 October 13 As a member of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, I am more than aware that a $17 trillion dollar national debt and a $700 billion deficit are serious problems that