INCONVENIENT TRUTHS: While Real Problems Burn to Be Addressed, Congress Fiddles with Discriminatory Legislation

While the U.S. and the World Burn for Dramatic Policy Change in Washington on crisis issues such as Global Warming, the Conduct of the War in Iraq, increased Fuel Economy Standards, Human Rights, and Equality in Health, our Congress is playing around with the idea of writing discrimination into the US Constitution, which would incoporate discriminatory principles--destructive of human rights and health--into the fundamental structures of US law for decades to come.

While Europe moves forward, will the United States become the symbol of regression and backwardness on all the major issues of human justice, rights, and health in the twenty-first century--a symbol of shame when the history of the twenty-first century is written?

Instead of defending progress in human rights, environmental protection, real human security, and human health, policymaking in the United States has become an example of some of the most retrograde, backwards, and shortsighted lawmaking in the world.

What will it take to change this reality and lack of policy vision on the ground of Washington DC?

We need a revolution in citizen involvement in policy activism to make sure the November 2006 election does not merely change the dominant party in Congress, but begins to achieve fundamental changes in the policy that governs this nation and determines how it behaves in the world, no matter what party rules in Washington.

If the people of the United States want to make sure their government behaves in ways we can be proud of in the world, we need to make sure the November election puts into place people who are going to fight for policies that will represent the interests of all the people of the United States, and not merely of the wealthy and discrimanotory minorities that continue to speak in our name while betraying all the best values that the people of the United States once represented to the rest of the world.

Every Day, from now to the November Elections, ACT FOR CHANGE in the Policies, not just the politicians, that govern this nation--

From ActForChange.Com:

We haven't seen such a misplaced set of priorities in a very long time. Civil war rages in Iraq. The national debt continues to skyrocket. Tens of millions of Americans lack health care, and good jobs are disappearing every day. But conservatives in the Senate think it's urgent to...write discrimination into our constitution, and hand another gigantic tax break over to the wealthiest Americans.

What in the world are they thinking? Tell your elected representatives in Congress to begin thinking, and to:

1. Stop The Trillion-Dollar Tax Giveaway to the Rich

As if previous tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy weren't enough, conservatives in the Senate are pushing to permanently repeal the estate tax -- a move that will cost $1 trillion over ten years, and benefit only the top one-half of one percent. The national birth tax is now at $28,000 per baby; do the rich really need another huge tax break right now?

Take action -- tell the Senate to reject any changes to the estate tax. Click here


2. Don't Write Discrimination Into Our Constitution

The "Federal Marriage Amendment" would make gays and lesbians second-class citizens by forever banning marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships between same-sex couples. They know they don't have the votes to pass it. But Senator Frist still needs to throw some red meat to his conservative base in this election year. Even First Lady Laura Bush said, "I don't think [the Federal Marriage Amendment] should be used as a campaign tool, obviously."

While the religious right might wish otherwise, our society is in fact founded upon the principle of equal rights for all people -- not just heterosexual ones.

Take action -- tell the Senate to toss this bill on the trash heap of history where it belongs. Click here