FLASH: Ann Arbor Michigan Quakers "See the Light"

Quakers around the country are organizing around the principles guiding this blog.  Please read on.....
Ann Arbor Friends Meeting Minute on Defense Spending
In collaboration with Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Peace Committee

Grounded in our Friends’ testimony on peace, we are deeply grieved by the futility of war as witnessed with the United States’ invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars ended the lives of thousands of U.S. service personnel and hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan residents. In addition, the wars created continued damage to the survivors and consumed an estimated $1 trillion of the U.S. treasury.

Support is now forming behind the recent “Sustainable Defense Task Force” report submitted to Congress by Barney Frank, House Financial Services Committee chairman, and a group from both sides of the aisle. It calls for a $960 billion decrease in U.S. defense spending over the next 10 years. Issued in June 2010, the report states: “Years of effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, 5,500 American fatalities, and $1 Trillion have not brought reliable peace or stability to either country.” It concludes that deep cuts are needed, not only in battlefield budgets but also in nuclear and conventional arms and in the size of the military footprint in terms of personnel, mission and infrastructure. These recommendations dovetail with the goals of FCNL’s “Nation’s Checkbook” campaign.

The Ann Arbor Friends Meeting, along with Lake Erie Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, commends the Congressional sponsors of this bold initiative. We ask that our members and attenders acquaint themselves with the “Sustainable Defense Task Force”report and the FCNL “Nation’s Checkbook” campaign that seek to reverse this country’s reliance on military solutions to complex world problems. Friends are urged to contact their members of Congress and ask them to support legislation implementing the Task Force recommendations.
Please check my August post (to your right)  for a link to the Sustainable Defense Task Force and other military budget issues.  Also, see below for more about the Friends Committee on National Legislation "Nations Checkbook" campaign.

Our Nation's Checkbook Campaign
	In Washington, a campaign organizer served Rep. Rick Larsen "Budget Pie." Organizers are working across the country to build support for budget committee hearings on how the federal budget could shift money from the Pentagon to diplomacy, green jobs, and human needs. In Michigan, more than 230 local elected officials, religious leaders, community groups, and individuals urge Sen. Debbie Stabenow to hold hearings. In Iowa, our organizer delivered this letter from nearly 100 organizations and individuals to Sen. Chuck Grassley himself. After a follow-up conference call, Sen. Grassley sent a letter to the chair of the committee asking for hearings. In Pennsylvania, community leaders have endorsed this letter to Rep. Allyson Schwartz, and organizers have met several times with the representative herself. Find out what's happening in your state.  (To reach the links highlighted above, go to:  http://www.fcnl.org/budget/checkbook/index.htm  )