41-org letter to U.S. Congress stunt

Narrow domestic “concern” ignoring foreign affairs is irrational, careless

Except and comment by Carolyn Bennett

Forty-one nonprofits tell Members of Congress: “Stop manufactured crisis”

1.       AFL-CIO	2.       AIDS United	3.       American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
4.       American Federation of Teachers	5.       Campaign for America’s Future	6.       Caring Across Generations
7.       Center for Community Change	8.       Center for Effective Government	9.       Coalition on Human Needs
10.    Communications Workers of America	11.    Community Action Partnership	12.    Council for Opportunity in Education
13.    CourageCampaign.org	14.    Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund	15.    Fair Share
16.    Gamaliel	17.    Green For All	18.    Health Care for America Now
19.    International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)	20.    Jobs with Justice/American Rights at Work	21.    Leadership Center for the Common Good
22.    The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights	23.    MoveOn.org Civic Action	24.    NAACP
25.    National Coalition for the Homeless	26.    National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare	27.    National Employment Law Project
28.    National Fair Housing Alliance	29.    National Immigration Law Center	30.    National People’s Action
31.    National Women’s Law Center	32.    NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby	33.    Partnership for Working Families
34.    PolicyLink	35.    Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition	36.    Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
37.    Social Security Works	38.    United Steelworkers (USW)	39.    USAction
40.    Wider Opportunities for Women	41.    Working America

No mention
bought and sold

D

ear Members of Congress, the letter reads, “As we head into another series of manufactured budget crises,” 41 signing organizations “stand against those who want to hold our economy hostage in order to dictate the terms of debate [and] urge you to: 

End job-killing sequestration cuts

Protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

Not mentioned:Endless budget taking
for U.S. wars

Defend core programs for those most at risk

Not mentioned: U.S. endless global wars

Eliminate all tax incentives for sending jobs overseas

At first glance this 41-org letter to Members of Congress seems like a good idea but it does not take much to realize that it is no more than a made-in-the-USA-headline-grabbing stunt.

A

 letter to Congress without a single syllable mentioning the United States’ manufactured crises overseas, its war making and provocative violence across the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere ─ cannot be taken seriously. Such a letter (read the full content at links below) must be seen for what it is: another stunt to match the usual pageantry that emanates from the nation’s capital.

U.S.-led War on Terror
Pakistanis' endless deaths

U.S.-led War on Terror
Americans' endless deaths

In my view, the deeply inept, corrupt and unprincipled actors and actions involved in U.S. domestic and foreign policies cannot be compartmentalized to protect narrow interests or issues. Such limited vision is both irrational and careless in a world of clearly interlocking concerns, problems, and realities.

WAR ABROAD CREATES WANT not only abroad but at home. Whether Kandahar or Kentucky, Washington or Waziristan, Tehran or Tennessee, Damascus or Delaware ─ hegemonic taking, oppressive, excessive taking creates scarcity, creates global crisis; and that includes domestic crisis.

Sources and notes

“Dear Congress – Stop this manufactured crisis,” September 29, 2013, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/29/326717/us-government-shutdown/

Also at Common Dreams, http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/29

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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