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Celebrating America Now sign on
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| Dream Fulfilled//Torture Gone |
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We the People have our country back !!! yes, we
have !!!!
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| National Catholic Reporter | |
In a remarkable speech for any American leader, President Obama, speaking in Prague on April
5, 2009, provided new hope for a world free of nuclear weapons. "I state clearly and with conviction," he said,
"America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." He told his audience
that America, as the only country to have used nuclear weapons, "has a moral responsibility to act." For many years
the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has been calling for US leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world, based on the understanding
that if the US does not lead, significant progress will not be possible. For the past two presidential terms this leadership
has been largely lacking. |
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Dear joseph,  I wanted to make sure you knew about a petition campaign we launched yesterday in support of the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Obama to deliver the
2009 commencement address. By far, this is our most effective action to date, with more than 15,000 people signing up
in less than 24 hours! Our campaign is catching on, but we're going to need your help in order to keep growing.
Please sign the petition and encourage your friends and family to do the same. The president's appearance at Notre Dame should be an honor
for Catholics of all political stripes. But partisan operatives are working to force the university to rescind its invitation.
Those attacking Notre Dame are claiming more than 180,000 signatures. We clearly have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm
confident that we can prevail. Have you signed our petition to support Notre Dame?
Click here to make your voice heard. We need all hands on deck to put the brakes on this latest effort to misuse the language of faith for political gain.
Here's what you can do: - Sign the petition at www.wesupportnotredame.org.
- Encourage your friends and family to do the same by forwarding this email or using our online tell a friend tool. They don't need to be Catholics – just concerned citizens who support Notre Dame's invitation.
- Call Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins at 574-631-5000 and tell him that you stand behind the university's
invitation. The far right is flooding his office with calls, and he needs to hear from those who support his decision.
Our
nation's universities are meant to be places that embrace open dialogue about the issues of our day. Don't let Notre
Dame cave to political pressure. Join the campaign and register your support today. Sincerely, Chris, James, and Nick
The Catholics United Team 
| The
Catholic Media Report | | Thursday,
March 19, 2009 | | www.catholicmediareport.org | |
| Click here to receive the Catholic Media Report in your inbox. | |
| Click here to tell your friends about the Catholic Media Report. | |
| Headlines: | |
| First Obama Budget Passes 'Values Audit' By Advocates for
Poor | | Catholic News Service | | | Seeing President Barack
Obama's first federal budget proposal in his still young administration, Catholic Charities officials and others committed
to meeting the needs of the poor are breathing a bit easier. For the first time in years they are seeing a spending plan that
boosts spending for health care wellness and prevention efforts, education, affordable housing, food stamps and Medicaid for
cash-strapped states. It's a budget, advocates and providers agree, that reflects a change in priorities. It's a welcome
change, one which advocates feel moves closer to the biblical call for justice. |
|
| | | center | for | constitutional | rights | | |
| | | Dear CCR Supporters,
We are excited
to announce the launch of the Center for Constitutional Rights' (CCR) new online campaign calling for accountability and criminal prosecutions of those Bush administration officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
From George W. Bush himself to
Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales, as well as other top-ranking former administration officials, those who ordered and planned torture and war crimes
must be held accountable. Take a few moments to sign an online petition calling for just that.
The campaign also calls upon Senator Patrick Leahy, who will hold a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 4, 2009 to discuss a "truth commission"
that would investigate the crimes of the Bush administration and support prosecutions for those government officials who violated
the law. Sign a letter to Sen. Leahy and the Judiciary Committee calling for them to support prosecutions and to oppose
any immunity for these architects of torture programs.
This campaign is part of CCR's broader 100 Days campaign, that calls for immediate action by President Obama and the new administration to end the abuses of prior
administrations and restore the Constitution.
A full investigation and consequent prosecutions are necessary
to put an end once and for all to dangerous and illegal actions by the government - and for those wronged to see justice served.
Join us and make your voice heard in saying that achieving justice and accountability must begin within the first 100 Days
of the new administration.
Sincerely,
Vincent Warren
Executive Director
Center for Constitutional Rights | | | | |
| | This
email was sent to the address: peacelongbeach@optonline.net.
Click here to unsubscribe from CCR Emails. | | | | Center for Constitutional
Rights ll 666 Broadway 7th floor NY, NY 10012 ll 212-614-6464 ll www.ccrjustice.org | | | | | |
 | | Click here to subscribe. |  | **Please
forward to friends, co-workers and on social networking sites!*
A New Movement: Indict Bush Now!
Hold Bush and His Joint Co-Conspirators Criminally Accountable!
Dear
joseph,
You can join the movement to indict Bush Administration officials who committed war crimes,
"legalized" torture, and engaged in massive illegal spying and wiretapping against the American people. Click this link if you support the indictment of George W. Bush and other high officials.
The rule of law, justice, and basic integrity require the indictment for criminal wrongdoing of George
W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, and other high officials of the former Bush Administration.
The media establishment is surprised by the ground swell of support from the grassroots for the pursuit of individuals
who committed grievous crimes during the Bush era.
We are not surprised that the people are demanding accountability
for those who committed wars of aggression, torture, and subverted the Constitution and thus violated not only their oaths
of office but domestic and international law.
Please make an urgently needed donation today to help make the Indict Bush movement grow, by clicking this link.
These crimes are not abstract nor can they be ignored as belonging to a distant past. Millions of people
have suffered and continue to suffer because of the criminal invasion of Iraq.
The vital resources of the country
have been drained in a criminal enterprise benefiting war profiteers. The people know of and are outraged by the billions
of dollars in profit made by Dick Cheney's Halliburton and that is only the tip of the iceberg.
The pressure
is building. President Obama said at his press conference this week, "My view is also that nobody's above the law,
and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen," when
asked about the pursuit of Bush Administration officials for criminal wrongdoing.
In a new poll, an astounding
2/3 of the American public favors investigating whether the Bush Administration broke the law. "A majority of respondents
said a probe should be launched into allegations that the Bush team used torture...[and] investigators also should look into
the former President's program of wiretapping U.S. citizens without first securing court-issued warrants." (AFP 2/12/09)
Help the Indict Bush movement by making a donation -- click this link.
The Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
Patrick Leahy, are both proposing to launch investigations into the possibilities of criminal conduct by high officials in
the Bush Administration.
Six years ago, Ramsey Clark launched the movement to Impeach Bush. You and more than
a million other people came forward to demand the impeachment of Bush and other high ranking officials at VoteToImpeach and
ImpeachBush. It was this movement with its principled and primary demand for accountability that changed the political climate
in the United States. It broke open the media blockade with newspapers ads calling for impeachment. Community organizing,
person to person outreach, and demonstrations shifted the debate and helped turn the tide against the impunity of Bush's
crimes. He has been forced to leave office in disgrace.
A Criminal Indictment is Necessary
Now we are taking the next step in the pursuit of protecting and saving the Constitution. Justice will have no meaning
without the prosecution of Bush, Cheney and others for their criminal acts. It would also have a resounding effect on all
those who would dare to subvert the Constitution of the U.S., take the country into a war of aggression and trash the economy
and the fundamental human rights of people in the U.S. and around the globe.
You can play an important role in
this movement. By spreading the word to your friends, neighbors and coworkers you can help it grow into a powerful political
force. Click this link to forward this message to your friends.
Sign the new petition demanding that Bush and Co. be indicted now. Get everyone you know to sign. We had to fight an uphill battle to bring articles of impeachment to the floor of
Congress - but we did it! If you signed for impeachment and you believe indictment is a necessity - please take one moment
to sign now! We need everyone's voices, coming together to be heard. Now is the time to act.
We have launched
a major new initiative that will include grassroots pressure on Congress, press conferences, petitions, newspaper ads, rallies
and mass demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.
As a proud member of the impeachment movement, become
a charter member of the IndictBushNow campaign. Please give your generous support today to help launch this campaign and make
it a powerful force by clicking here.
We can force the prosecution of Bush, Cheney and the other criminals. Please take action to make it happen.
--All of us at IndictBushNow.org 
Click here to unsubscribe. |
|
We the People have our country back !!! yes, we have !!!!
| Pope Congratulates Obama on Inauguration Day | | Catholic News Service | | | Pope Benedict XVI, congratulating
Barack Obama on his inauguration as U.S. president, prayed that he would remain steadfast in his dedication to promote understanding,
cooperation and peace in the world. The pope, in a Jan. 20 telegram, told Obama that he prayed God would "grant you unfailing
wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high responsibilities." In his message to Obama, Pope Benedict said he prayed,
under the new president's leadership, "may the American people continue to find in their impressive religious and
political heritage the spiritual values and ethical principles needed to cooperate in the building of a truly just and free
society." The pope said he hoped the future of the United States would be "marked by respect for the dignity, equality
and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice." |
| Cardinal George Pledges to Work With Obama | | National Catholic Reporter | | | The president
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has pledged that he and his fellow prelates will work with the incoming administration
of Barack Obama and the 111th Congress to "advance the common good and defend the life and dignity of all, especially
the vulnerable and poor." In a Jan. 13 letter to the president-elect, Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George offered a broad
outline of policy priorities that concern the U.S. bishops, ranging from economic recovery that covers all segments of society
to protecting the lives of the "most vulnerable and voiceless members of the human family," especially unborn children |
| The
Catholic Media Report | | | | | | | Catholics Meet Obama Team, Discuss Policy | | National Catholic Reporter | | Representatives of 14 Catholic organizations met with President-elect
Barack Obama's transition team yesterday in Washington. The Catholic groups presented members of the transition team with
a list of policy concerns in the areas of international development and trade, health care reform, immigration, domestic policy
and poverty reduction, and the environment. The presentations and policy discussion that followed were based on "Platform
for the Common Good," a consensus document that came from a convention the groups hosted this summer in Philadelphia
called the "Convention for the Common Good." The Catholic groups gave the transition team copies of the document,
which, they say, advocates policies that are "enlivened by the Gospel message of hope and the wisdom of Catholic social
teaching." |
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CATHOLICS VOTE THEIR CONSCIENCE America Magazine | Barack Obama's landslide victory will require time sink in emotionally and also analytically. The
exit polls will need to be adjusted to reflect the actual turnout: The numbers we had last night were skewed to the Democrats
and under-counted Catholics I suspect. Still, some things are apparent. The "faithful remnant" of the GOP is confined
to those parts of the country that are the least Catholic: the deep South and the Prairie states. The states that are most
Catholic - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania - are also the states that are
the bluest of the blue. Obama's margin in Pennsylvania was the most impressive of any of the large contested states as
he won there by eleven points. It is especially noteworthy that in Lackawanna County, home of Scranton bishop Joseph Martino
who was one of the country's fiercest episcopal critics of voting for Obama because of his views on abortion, Obama won
63% to 36%. |
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CATHOLICS GO FOR OBAMA
| Washington Post | |
Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote
for Barack Obama as president of the United States. These bishops, led by Archbishops Charles Chaput and Raymond Burke, argued
that abortion was the most important issue in the election and that no other issues outweighed it. As a result, they argued,
Catholics could not vote for a pro-choice candidate. Although these bishops were a minority of the U.S. bishops, they received
much attention in the media because other bishops kept silent or simply referred people to their 2007 document, Forming Consciences
for Faithful Citizenship. The silence of the majority gave the impression that the vocal bishops were speaking for all the
bishops. |
ABORTION BALLOTS FAIL Los
Angeles Times | |
| All eyes were on Barack Obama's historic win in Tuesday's presidential election , but a number of significant
ballot initiatives and gubernatorial races took dramatic turns as well. A pair of ballot initiatives that would have curtailed
abortion were soundly defeated, while bans on gay marriage won or were headed for passage. And voters in 11 states chose governors
-- with most incumbents winning reelection. The most prominent initiative was a measure put on the ballot in South Dakota
to outlaw most abortions in hope of triggering a Supreme Court showdown over the landmark 1973 case Roe vs. Wade. Measure
11 lost by a lopsided margin. |
PRUDENTIAL JUDGEMENT ..the process of framing legislation to protect life is subject to prudential judgment and “the art of
he possible.” At times this process may restore justice only partially or gradually. For example, Pope John Paul II taught that when a government official
who fully opposes abortion cannot succeed in completely overturning a pro-abortion law, he or she may work to improve protection
for unborn human life, “limiting the harm done by such a law” and lessening its negative impact as much as possible
(Evangelium Vitae,
no. 73). Such incremental improvements in the law are acceptable as steps toward the full restoration of justice. However,
Catholics must never abandon the moral requirement to seek full protection for all human lifefrom the moment of conception
until natural death. Prudential judgment is
also needed in applying moral principles to specific policy choices in areas such as the war in Iraq, housing, health care,
immigration,and others. This does not mean that all choices are equally valid, or that our guidance and that of other Church
leaders is just another political opinion or policy preference among many
others. Rather, we urge Catholics to listen carefully to the Church’s teachers when we apply Catholic social teaching
to specific proposals and situations... ~Faithful Citizenship USCCB *****************************************************
Memphis
Bishop J. Terry Steib this week called upon Catholics to avoid being one-issue voters. He asked them to follow their consciences
and weigh all the moral issues they face before casting their ballots. "We must recognize," he wrote, "that
God through the church, is calling us to be prophetic in our own day. If our conscience is well formed, then we will make
the right choices about candidates who may not support the church's position in every case." Citing words from a
statement, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," a voting guide issued last November by the bishops of
the United States, Steib wrote that "there may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position
may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly
grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil."
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