Action Alert Before 2006
"He Made Me a Watchman, Upon a City Wall" The Holy Day of Christmas with its message of peace stands in stark contrast to the mood in Washington. Members of the House of Representatives have left to wrap presents and place them under the tree. The Senate, now in session, is eager to do the same. Both houses will likely be back before the end of the year to undo the "gifts" House and Senate negotiators are offering the American people: $42 billion in budget cuts and a $453 billion defense spending package; drilling in the Artic, reductions in student loans and more cuts in welfare benefits.
Date posted: Dec 28, 2005
October 2005 Action Alert: Medicaid Urgent action is needed to stop funding cuts to Medicaid.
Date posted: Oct 24, 2005
Welcoming the "Stranger" Many immigrant women arrive in the United States to seek a better life for themselves and their families. Unfortunately there are not many laws to protect immigrant women from the many challenges they face when arriving to the U.S. Currently there are two major proposals in Congress that seek to provide immigration reform. In addition, urgent action needed is to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Date posted: Sep 30, 2005
Reading, Writing and Raspberries: Food and Nutrition in U.S. Schools Every day, more than 26 million children in over 99,000 public schools across the country eat lunches subsidized by the National School Lunch Program. Good nutrition promotes education because children learned better when they ate better. However, much of the food available to American children in school fails to meet their nutritional needs.
Date posted: Jul 20, 2005
PATRIOT Act Update, 2005 Citizens and politicians continue to organize against provisions in the PATRIOT Act that pose a threat to civil liberties.
Date posted: Jun 17, 2005
Contact McDonald's, Burger King, and Subway today to ask that they follow Taco Bell's lead, meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), and help end human rights abuses in their supply chain!
Date posted: Jun 13, 2005
Gender and the U.N. Secretary-General's Report: In Larger Freedom On March 21, 2005, the United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan submitted a report to the U.N. General Assembly entitled In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all.
Date posted: May 11, 2005
Urgent Action Needed to Fund Microenterprise Programs Currently the United States Senate is deciding on the FY2006 Foreign Operations bill which will also include funding for microenterprise programs. Microenterprise programs are "programs extending small loans, and other financial services such as savings to very poor people for self-employment projects that generate income…" Please urge your Senators to protect funding for mircoenterprise programs.
Date posted: Apr 21, 2005
Save the Filibuster Call, write or e-mail your Senators and tell them to Save The Filibuster.
Date posted: Apr 21, 2005
The Future of Social Security "The Future of Social Security" presents information on how Social Security currently functions and discusses different plans to reform Social Security.
Date posted: Mar 30, 2005
The FY 2006 Federal Budget: Do the Numbers Reflect What We Value? President George W. Bush's fiscal year 2006 $2.7 trillion budget proposal increases funding for defense and economic development programs while cutting funding for a wide array of educational and social service programs.
Date posted: Mar 03, 2005
The Status of Native American Women in the United States The social and economic problems plaguing the Native American community have a disproportionate impact on Native American women, who suffer higher poverty rates and less access to education and health care than other sectors of the population.
Date posted: Jan 31, 2005
Creating PeaceA World without Nuclear Weapons
The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country on the planet. More and more countries possess nuclear weapons or have acquired the technology to make them. The tremendous resources that nations invest in nuclear arms development could be spent on education, health care, and anti-poverty programs.
Date posted: Dec 20, 2004
No Place to Call Home: Internally Displaced Persons and the Armed Conflict in Colombia This Action Alert describes the humanitarian crisis facing internally displaced people in Colombia. The violence of the country's 40-year civil war has forced millions of people to leave their homes in search of safety, food, and shelter.
Date posted: Nov 29, 2004
A Flood of Sorrow: Haiti in Crisis This Action Alert describes the political, social, economic and humanitarian crises currently facing Haiti. In particular, it describes the quality of life for the country's women and children.
Date posted: Oct 19, 2004
Action Alert: Racial Justice and The 2004 Election United Methodist Women in the United States are proud of being a part of a racially and culturally diverse movement and church. The Charter for Racial Justice Policies reminds us that our strength lies in this diversity and that we must work toward a world in which each person ís value is respected and nurtured. For many years, particularly since the civil rights movement of the 1960 ís, the faith community has made voter registration activities a priority.
Date posted: Sep 23, 2004
Immigration Since the late 1700's, immigrants have been coming to this country in pursuit of a better life. In 1790 the United States conducted its first census. Of the 3.9 million people countedduring that census, 64% were British, 7% German, 18% enslaved African-Americans, and 2 percent free African Americans.
Date posted: Sep 23, 2004
UMW Action Alert: Countdown to Freedom From Debt! At the G-8 summit in early June, world leaders considered for the first time a proposal that would provide 100% multilateral debt cancellation for impoverished nations. Debt cancellation is desperately needed - this year alone, 3 million people in Africa will die due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Yet countries on the African continent will send an estimated $15 billion in debt service to the IMF, World Bank, and wealthy creditor nations this year.
Date posted: Aug 11, 2004
UMW Action Alert - Sudan Update While the high-profile visits of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-TX) have brought greater media attention to the atrocities taking place in the Darfur region of the Sudan, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.
Date posted: Aug 10, 2004
International Day of Peace September 21 Expressing appreciation that the UN General Assembly has designated September 21 as an International Day of Peace, the WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia shared with Secretary General Kofi Annan his intention to propose to the WCC governing bodies that they invite member churches to mark that day with special prayer services.
Date posted: Aug 03, 2004
Outsourcing of Jobs Workers in manufacturing jobs, also known as blue collar workers, have long been exposed to foreign competition, losing jobs to lower wages abroad. With the advancement of technology, now there is a trend to ìoutsourceî white collar jobs as well.
Date posted: Jul 28, 2004
Darfur on the Brink: A Human Rights Crisis In Western Sudan Since February 2003, massive human rights violations have been taking place in Darfur, a region in western Sudan.† Armed militias have targeted civilians with violent attacks, forced removal, rape, and execution.† In addition to this ongoing violence, the people of Darfur face starvation and disease. U.N. officials have described the situation in Darfur as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Date posted: Jun 22, 2004
Separation of Church and State 'Separation of Church and State' is a frequently used phrase and is probably one of the most debated Constitutional issues. 'The separation of church and state is a concept in law whereby the structures of state or national government are kept separate from those of religious institutions.'
Date posted: Jun 01, 2004
Chlorine-Free description and definition of Dioxine.
Date posted: Jun 01, 2004
Women on the Frontlines - PBS Program: Call Local Stations On June 11, 2004, PBS will premiere a special one- hour version of PEACE X PEACE's hit documentary, 'Peace by Peace: Women on the Frontlines.' This television broadcast premiere is one giant step for women receiving the recognition for their peace-building work around the world!
Date posted: May 11, 2004
Covering for the UnInsured A large majority of individuals have experienced first hand the rise in health care costs. Many people are now faced with paying higher insurance premiums, paying a larger portion of their health care bills or losing health care coverage all together. Some individuals and families never have had the privilege of having health care insurance; even if it has meant that not having it could lead to serious health problems and risks.
Date posted: Apr 27, 2004
UMW Action Alert: An UnHappy Birthday: The World and International Monetary Fund Turn 60 To mark the 60th Birthday of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Jubilee USA is leading an Un-Happy Birthday Card campaign to draw attention to the devastating effects that the policies of these institutions have had on the economies of the developing world.
Date posted: Apr 01, 2004
The Jubilee USA's UnHappy Birthday Card Campaign The Jubilee USA network, a coalition of over 60 organizations in the U.S. working for a debt- free world, is asking individuals to send 'birthday cards' to the World Bank and IMF for their 60th birthday. Through these cards, individuals can voice their concern about the global debt crisis and its effects on the world's poorer countries.
Date posted: Apr 01, 2004
UMW Action Alert: Proposed Federal Budget for FY 2005 On Monday February 2, 2004 President George Bush presented his 2005 fiscal year (FY) budget, which begins on October 1, to Congress.
Date posted: Mar 23, 2004
The organization of United Methodist Women, in the current STAPLES campaign is asking the office supply giant to permanently stock "processed chlorine free" paper. United Methodist women have been practicing paper recycling on an ongoing basis. We support using recycled content paper products to produce "processed chlorine free" (PCF) paper, taking the quality of paper to a higher level on behalf of consumers, the industry and the environment.
Date posted: Feb 25, 2004
The work continues for United Methodist Women as they continue to support the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW or Women's Convention) and its ratification.
Date posted: Feb 17, 2004
United Methodist Women Action Campaign! Staples Report Card Project Let us come together in this United Methodist Women campaign to honor all of those who have had a cancer diagnosis by taking a few minutes to help make a difference! If there isn't a Staples store near you, go to the web and please request New Life DP 100 and pass these materials along. Encourage a relative, friend, or co-worker who could make this quick visit to do so.
Date posted: Feb 16, 2004
In January 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law. No Child Left Behind reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - the principal federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. Buried within the 650 pages of the No Child Left Behind Act is Section 9528, which requires secondary schools to release student directory information for juniors and seniors to military recruiters upon request. Directory information consists of a student's name, home address, and phone number.
Date posted: Feb 03, 2004
UMW Action Alert - Fundamentalism: A Barrier to Peace and Justice Open dialogue can counteract the growth of fundamentalism by providing people with an opportunity to express their fears, discontents, and frustrations. Community education that opens people's eyes to other religions, political perspectives and cultures helps to dispel stereotypes and break down barriers to communication and cooperation between communities.
Date posted: Jan 30, 2004
Fair Trade Versus Free Trade --UMW Action Alert The gap between developed countries and developing countries still remains very large. Inequalities in trade practices are hurting developing countries. Despite the growth in free trade agreements, "low income countries account for more than 40% of the population, but less than 3% of the world trade." There are solutions to these inequalities.
Date posted: Jan 07, 2004
In 2002, the Women's Division launched Phase III of the Children's Campaign to focus on Advocacy, specifically in Public School Education. This publication is part of an ongoing series of issue papers designed to provide United Methodist Women and others with a variety of local concerns that they can investigate and on which they may take action.
Date posted: Jan 06, 2004
UMW Action Alert -'No Child Unrecruited':Military Recruiters and the No Child Left Behind Act In January 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law. No Child Left Behind reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - the principal federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. Buried within the 650 pages of the No Child Left Behind Act is Section 9528, which requires secondary schools to release student directory information for juniors and seniors to military recruiters upon request.
Date posted: Dec 19, 2003
No one wants to purchase products made by children, teenaged girls--or any workers-- stripped of their rights and forced to work long hours in harsh sweatshop conditions under armed guards for wages of 20-30¢ an hour. The people of the United States deserve the chance to raise our voices and affirm the dignity of life and human rights over corporate indifference and greed.
Date posted: Dec 11, 2003
Doing Hard Time: The State of Prisons in the U.S. -- UMW Action Alert At the end of 2002, over 2.1 million people sat in prisons and jails in the United States, the highest prison population in the history of this country's corrections system. The number of prisons in the United States has dramatically increased over the past 3 decades, with corrections facilities being built in record numbers in communities across the country.