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Rolla Peace News July 18, 2017 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 2. POSSIBLE SHORTENED VIGILS IN BAD WEATHER 3. TRUMPCARE DEFEATED — FOR NOW 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) And The Wars Go On....
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017, (and all subsequent Thursdays until peace is established) from Noon to 1:00 PM. Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be in the high 80s. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. 2. POSSIBLE SHORTENED VIGILS IN BAD WEATHER Those of us who show up for peace vigils regularly are all in our 70s or older. We have some brutally hot weather coming up this week, and we don't handle extremes of temperature as well as when we were young. We've decided to give ourselves the option to limit vigils to a half hour on the hottest days of summer, and the coldest days of winter. Anyone who wants to stay longer is welcome to do so — in that case we will leave the signs out and come back for them. Thanks for your understanding. 3. TRUMPCARE DEFEATED — FOR NOW Apparently the people's voices were heard for once; after two Republican senators (Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas) announced that they would oppose the Republican Death Care bill, Mitch McConnell finally admitted that his cause was dead, at least for the present. However, he intends to revive the 2015 Republican-sponsored bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which was vetoed by President Obama. If this were to succeed, health care for most Americans would be even more problematic, with even more people becoming uninsured, and premiums doubling for those who are able to get insurance. So, while it is encouraging that the well-organized and sustained opposition to Trumpcare by the people was effective, the fight is obviously not over. As Anna Galland from MoveOn.org says, “...we know that, for more than seven years, Republicans have been determined to take a wrecking ball to the Affordable Care Act and the protections it provides. They will not give up. And neither will we.” Nor should any of us. It's time to get behind single-payer health care for all in a big way. The majority of Americans already favors single-payer. As that majority grows, it will be more likely that people will realize who is really representing them and who isn't, and then we might see some real change. 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) AND THE WARS GO ON.... Trump Deathcare may be dead for now; but perpetual war is still very much alive. The house voted 344-81 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets military policy. This bill authorizes up to $696 billion in spending for the Department of Defense, up $77 billion from last year. That $77 billion could provide a lot of healthcare for all of us. President Trump promised to “bomb the shit out of ISIS;” but his bombing appears to have killed 4 times more civilians per month in Iraq and Syria than during the Obama years. I suspect ISIS recruits increase sharply with civilian casualties from US air strikes. I think it is great to be concerned that here at home we should all have access to quality healthcare; but what about Iraq and Syria? “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Grassroots Rolla: top of rightmost column). If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Helen helenm (at) fidnet.com ### |