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Quik-Click Guide
4:16 -- April 13, 2009
The Cedar
Valley Catholic Social Justice e-Network is sponsored by The
Catholic Parishes in Waterloo/Adult Faith Formation.
The inclusion
of information, opinions or organizations in this newsletter
does not constitute agreement or endorsement by the pastors or
staff of the Catholic Parishes or the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
If you have
comments, concerns or questions or wish to receive an email
notice when the next e-News is posted, contact Dave Cushing at
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us.
• • •
Cedar Valley Catholic Social Justice e-Network
Vol. 4 - No. 16
• April 13, 2009
Social Justice News, Opportunities, Resources and Observations
Local Opportunities
Postville Anniversary -- The Cedar Valley Catholic Social
Justice Network will sponsor a prayer service and vigil to mark
the first anniversary of the immigration raid in Postville on
Monday, May 11, 6:30-7:30pm, at Blessed Sacrament Church,
Waterloo. The prayer service will be followed by a walk to the
National Cattle Congress grounds, where detainees were held and
interrogated after the raid. The prayer service and vigil are
open to the public.
•
The Network will also sponsor a bus from Waterloo to the
prayer service and vigil in Postville on Tuesday, May 12. The
bus will leave Waterloo at 1:00pm and return following the
evening vigil in Postville. Cost is $25.00/person. Contributions
are being accepted to subsidize bus rides for immigrants who
cannot afford the cost of the trip. Reserve seats at
319-234-9912 or online at:
www.waterloocatholics.org/registration.htm
Regional Opportunities
Torture Talk at Mt. Mercy -- Catholic peace and human rights
advocate Fr. Louie Vitale OFM will speak on April 20 at 7:00pm
in the Chapel at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. The talk
is free and open to the public. He will discuss the use of
torture as a tactic to protect national security in the face of
terrorism and his experience with the Fellowship of
Reconciliation's Iran Civilian Diplomacy Delegation. Fr. Vitale
is a member of Religious Witness with the Homeless and
co-founder of Nevada Desert Experience and Pace e Bene
Nonviolence Service. For information contact Mt. Mercy at
319-368-6475 or email maltorfer@mtmercy.edu.
Returning Prisoner Simulation -- Churches United in Cedar Rapids
will sponsor a simulation experience, "Walk in the Shoes of a
Returning Prisoner" on Saturday, April 18, 1:00-5:00pm at St.
Pius Church in Cedar Rapids. The experience will simulate what
people returning to society from prison encounter and explore
ways the community can make their return more successful. $10.00
donation from adults; $5.00 from lhigh school/college students.
Pre-registration is requested. Contact Churches United at
319-366-7163 or email churchesunited@yahoo.com
CW Resistance Retreat -- Annual Midwest Catholic Worker
Resistance Retreat will be held April 24-27 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Stockton, Illiniois. This year's retreat
is being held in conjunction with Clearwater Citizens' Group to
Stop Blackwater's "Close Down Blackwater in Illinois
Conference." Kenote speakers will be Jeremy Scahill and Kathy
Kelly.
http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/midwestresistranceretreat.html
Health Care Campaign --The Des Moines Catholic Worker Community,
the Iowa Peace Network and the Catholic Peace Ministry have
launched a Health Care Campaign. The "Insurance Profits Make Us
Sick" campaign focuses on the abuses of health insurance
corporations and will encompass a wide range of strategies and
tactics including weekly vigils, educational programs, speakers,
movies, public prayer services, legislative advocacy for
single-payer health insurance, direct actions,demonstrations,
and nonviolent civil disobedience. Contact: Catholic Peace
Ministry at 515-255-8114 or go to:
http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/healthcare.html
Issues
Gay Marriage in Iowa
On April 3 the Iowa Supreme Court released a ruling which struck
down Iowa's law which said that only a marriage between a man
and a woman was valid. The Court held that the marriage law was
not consistent with the Iowa Constitution's equal protection
clause, which requires that all persons "similarly situated"
should be treated alike. The court noted that "Equal protection
can only be defined by the standards of each generation ... We
are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people
from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially
further any important governmental objective."
In response to the Court's decision, the Catholic bishops of
Iowa suggest that an amendment to Iowa's constitution defining
marriage between a man and a woman would be the best course of
action. According to Tom Chapman, directorf of the Iowa Catholic
Conference, adding an amendment to Iowa Constitution is a
difficult but not impossible process. It requires both chambers
of the legislature to pass the amendment in two successive
sessions before it goes to the people for a vote. The earliest
public vote would be 2012.
•
Iowa Supreme Court's decision:
www.iowacourts.gov
•
Iowa Catholic Bishops' statement:
www.iowacatholicconference.org
•
U.S. Catholic bishops' statement Between Man and
Woman--Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions:
www.usccb.org/laity/manandwoman.shtml
Iowa Legislature
The Iowa Catholic Conference reports that a decrease in state
revenues has meant proposed budget reductions for many programs,
including a $65,000 cut in funding for textbooks for nonpublic
school students and a $100,000 cut in funding for pregnancy
counseling and support services. Work continues on Senate File
389, the "Iowa Health Care Partnership" and the ICC is
advocating for the inclusion of a study of the best way to
expand the availability of affordable, quality health care
coverage for adults and the restoration of a provision which
would allow all children in Iowa, including undocumented
children, to be eligible for hawk-i and Medicaid health
insurance.
U.S. Budget
Network, the national Catholic social justice lobby, reports
that the U.S. House and Senate have each passed a version of the
FY2010 Federal Budget, but the vote was as divided as were the
negotiations. Network is asking voters to contact their
representatives during the two-week Easter recess and urge them
to ask House and Senate conferees to produce a joint budget
which uses the House Budget number for non-defense discretionary
(annually approved) spending.
•
Send an e-mail to U.S. representatives and Senators at:
http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=13090311&type=CO
http://capwiz.com/networklobby/issues/alert/?alertid=13090436&type=CO
•
Find more about the federal budget for FY2010 here:
http://www.networklobby.org/issues/2009%20Issue%20Agenda/FY2010Budget4-2-09.htm
•
Check resources on the federal budget from Catholic Charities
USA:
https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1578
•
See how human needs programs have suffered years of
under-funding
http://chn.org/pdf/2009/BudgetFY0508vOmnibus09.pdf
•
See the impact of tax cuts and increases in defense and
security spending in recent years:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=692
Global Food System
In a research paper prepared for Oxfam America, researchers have
documented eight critical issue areas where power is
accumulating in the global food system: a) in the shift from
public to private governance; b) the closing off of access to
markets; c) the rise of intellectual property regimes; d) the
changes in access to capital; e) the control over necessary
logistics; f) the informalization of labor in the global system;
g) the rise of marketing and branding; and h) the shift from
public to private decision-making about food. Read more about
the implications for farmers, consumers and communities by
downloading the paper at:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1337273
Immigration
Amnesty International last month released a new report "Jailed
without Justice" that exposes the immigration detention system
in the United States as broken and unnecessarily costly.
According to the report, "Jailed Without Justice," over 30,000
immigrants are detained every day--triple the number detained
ten years ago and can be detained for months or years without
any meaningful judicial review inspite international human
rights standards requiring judicial review.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/immigrant-detention/page.do?id=1641031
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Why immigration reform is needed
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090310/OPINION01/903100364/1036/Opinion/
Fandel++Family+s+tragedy+shows+why+immigration+reform+needed
War in Iraq
March 19 marked the sixth anniversary of the opening of the war
in Iraq. Col. Dan Smith (ret), "The Quaker's Colonel", examines
what we have accomplished and what remains to be done in Iraq:
http://quakerscolonel.blogspot.com/2009/03/iraq-sixth-anniversary-approaches.html
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An American soldier, reconstruction expert, and peace activistreflect on how Iraq has changed - and what more needs to
be done.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,4n7w,er,fihr,4kfq,c2mh,6vg
Michele Naar-Obed, a Catholic Worker resident from Duluth,
Minnesota, presents a unique perspective of life in Iraq, six
years after the war began:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/03/23-4
Race Relations
Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, has
endorsed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's call for a new
dialogue on race. It called rooting out racism "an inextricable
part of our commitment to the nonviolence of Jesus." In a
statement, "Walking Together as Brothers and Sisters: A Pax
Christi USA Statement on the need for a new dialogue on race,"
Pax Christi called members "and all people of faith to honesty,
especially about passive acceptance of white privilege in a
society that has failed to end the oppression of people of
color. We must continue to work to dismantle the systems that
thwart people of color from access to and achievement in health,
education, wealth, jobs, social and civic participation,
friendship, and justice."
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_statements_more.asp?id=1538
Social Action
...for a community garden. Working Families Win, the Waterloo
Catholic Worker House and the Iowa State Extension office are
sponsoring a new community garden in downtown Waterloo. This
garden will be located at the intersection of E 8th St and
Lafayette in the heart of the Cedar River neighborhood. In
addition to providing fresh vegetables to those who currently
have no access to gardening, this garden will also create more
solid connections in the community that will help revive the
Cedar River Neighborhood Association and get the dialogue going
amongst neighbors on how to address issues ranging from
violence, to housing, health care, and job opportunities. Items
needed for Community Garden include a 500-1,000 Gallon enclosed
water tank (top priority); used or new shovels, rakes, and
garden hoes; 100 feet of garden hose (can use multiple smaller
hoses); tomato cages, poles for beans; seeds and vegetable
plants; organic compost; monetary donations to help purchase
tools, plants, and seeds; and volunteers to help maintain the
plot. Contact Chris Schwartz at 319-429-0133
...for international aid. Catholics Confront Global Poverty, a
joint effort of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and
Catholic Relief Services, are urging Iowans to contact Senator
Charles Grassley and urge him to support President Obama's
budget request for international affairs which includes a $3
billion increase in funding for poverty-focused international
assistance programs.
https://secure.crs.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=518&autologin=true&AddInterest=
1881&JServSessionIdr008=jn4ihtknr1.app44b
...for change in Afghanistan. PaxChristiUSA is soliciting
signatures for a petition urging a new policy in Afghanistan.
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/AfghanistanStatement2009.asp
•
Read PaxChristiUSA's statement, ""It is Time to End the Trail
of Resentment and Hatred."
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/AfghanistanStatement2009.asp
•
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobby,
is organizing email messages to Congress urging members to
oppose an increase in U.S. troops in Afghanistan:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=12848716
•
OneWorld.net and New America Media have created a new blog,
Afghan Watch, which offers insights and analysis on the policy,
politics, and life in Afghanistan.
http://afghanwatch.newamericamedia.org/
...for economic justice. Public Citizen is organizing a campaign
to enact a "Bonus Tax" which would provide a 100 percent tax on
bonuses received by any executive of a company receiving federal
bail-out funds.
http://action.citizen.org/t/6693/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26889
...for farm workers. LaborStart is organizing an email campaign
to executives of Del Monti, urging them to support efforts by
Costa Rican pineapple workers to organize a union.
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=478
Resources
Economic Stimulus
Network, the Catholic social justice lobby, is tracking the
benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the
"economic stimulus package") that passed Congress and became law
in February. Read how an increase in SNAP food stamp allotments
is affecting families in Los Angeles:
http://www.networklobby.org/issues/2009%20Issue%20Agenda/StimulusFundingExample3-09.pdf
Fair Trade Fundraising
Equal Exchange has joined with Catholic Relief Services' "Raise
Money Right" program to high quality, fair- trade chocolate and
cocoa for fundraising campaigns in Catholic schools. Equal
Exchange's farmer-partners have organized into co-operatives --
sometimes with the help of the Catholic Church -- to obtain
land, market their crops and develop their communities.
www.equalexchange.coop/raise-money-right
Economic Inequity
The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance offers a
lesson plan for students in grades 7-12 on how economic
inequities affect everyone, not just the poor...
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=972&ttnewsletter=ttnewsgen-031009
...and how labor unions work
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=1054&ttnewsletter=ttnewsgen-031009
Peace and Justice Videos
The Institute for Peace and Justice offers a comprehensive list
of videos about peace and justice issues throughout the world
from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
http://www.ipj-ppj.org/PrayingforPeace/Videos%20&Films.pdf
Carbon Tax Analysis
The Friends Committee on National Legislation provides a
analysis of the carbon tax, a market-based solution to global
warming
http://www.fcnl.org/now/now_item.php?item_id=611
A Global Perspectives
OneWorld provides a monthly summary of issues facing the human
family around the globe. This might be the one best thing to
read if you want to maintain a "global perspective" on life in
our times.
http://us.oneworld.net/places/iraq/-/article/360990-global-trends-march-2009
The Big Picture
The Spring issue of the Center of Concern's Center Focus
examines what must be done to undo the interlocking economic,
climate, energy and food systems that have caused the current
international meltdown.
http://www.coc.org/system/files/COC+Spring+09+Final.pdf
Nuclear Disarmament
Find out more about PaxChristiUSA's new campaign for nuclear
disarmament
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_Events_more.asp?id=1496
Water and Sanitation
Catholic Relief Services has created a guide to Catholic social
principles and documents applying to water and sanitation:
http://crscollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/catholic-social-principles-towards-water-and-sanitation-_revised-209.pdf
Perspectives
...on using drones. Read Brian Terrell and Kathy Kelly's
critical assessment of drone-warfare
http://airamerica.com/blog/2009/apr/03/kathy-kelly-and-brian-terrell-drone-war-closer-look
...on economic choices. As we contemplate how to work our way
out of the economic mess, Douglas Kmiec says, we should
recognize that economic choices are anything but morally
neutral.
http://www.the-tidings.com/2009/030609/kmiec.htm
•
The president of Catholic Charities USA says the economic
crash is an opportunity to fix some of the shortcomings in our
economic system
http://ncronline.org/news/justice/charities-head-sees-chance-remake-system
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David Kay Johnson refutes three popular myths about taxes and
the rich
http://taxprof.typepad.com/files/122tn1145.pdf
...on Dorothy Day. Jim Forest reflects on what he learned from
Catholic activist Dorothy Day
http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/what-i-learned-about-justice-dorothy-day?page=0%2C0
...on foreign aid. Two foreign aid experts say the best way to
improve how we help other countries is to give those countries
an opportunity to decide how the money is spent.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0318/p09s02-coop.html
...on political change. Joe Brewer says we can't change the way
politics works until we understand how politics works
http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/2009/03/13/a-politics-that-works-in-the-21st-century/
... on health insurance. Amy Goodman argues that President Obama
should put single-payer health insurance back on the table:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090310_put_single_payer_on_the_table/
Worth Quoting...
"Human beings are not only autonomous and equal but also
interdependent creatures, who regardless of their social status
and stage of life may need care. Focusing on care and sharing
responsibility between women and men in coping with pressing
issues such as prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS,
child-rearing, housework and support for older family members,
leads us to think of the relationship between man and woman in
society as interdependent. The overcoming of the dilemma between
autonomy and dependence also favors a new vision of the work of
care that can no longer be attributed only to certain groups,
such as women and immigrants, but must also be shared between
all women and men, in households as well as in the public
sector." -- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of
the Holy See to the United Nations, in an address to the UN
Economic and Social Council March 9.
• • •
Posted 05.02.08
• Last Update
04.13.09
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