Muusja Mailing List: Another urgent action item from MUUSJA

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

EDITOR'S NOTE: BELOW RALPH'S LETTER IS THE TEXT OF REV. SINKFORD'S LETTER

FYI - I sent the following to Sen. Coleman via his e-mail form.  Feel free
to mention my note as you contact his office.  I will also send similar
notes to Klobuchar and Ellison.
-Ralph

Dear Senator Coleman,
I am writing knowing that you should today be receiving a fax letter from
Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist
Association of Congregations.

As a 30-year Unitarian, I want to amplify what he says and most heartily say
to you that Rev. Sinkford's message speaks for me, one of your constituents.

Every time President Bush or Congressional leaders say we do not have the
funds for health care, early childhood education, or safe and functional
roads and transit, I find myself asking the same questions he asks -- how
would half a trillion dollars have re-made America over these past several
years into a nation that cares for those in need?

The loss of life, both among the heroes and patriots in our uniforms, and
among Iraqi citizenry also cry out for change.

Rev. Sinkford calls for not one more dollar, not one more life to be
sacrificed before there is a plan.  I agree.  We need from you in Congress
and from President Bush an immediate and actionable plan to wind down this
war.

It is true that a precipitous withdrawal which results in more death,
dislocation and chaos is in no one's interests.  That merely emphasizes the
moral imperative to make real plans; concrete steps to de-escalate and
de-militarize the Iraq mess.  It does not justify staying indefinitely as
Mr. Bush seems to be positioning us.

You have called for a symbolic withdrawal of 5,000 troops before year's end.
An interesting start, but we need more than symbolism; we need intense, bold
leadership on the world stage of diplomacy.

This war will end because of a political solution -- not a military one.  A
meaningful plan for phased and speedy withdrawal needs to be part of that
political resolve.

-Ralph Wyman
3128 36th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406

UUA Washington Office for Advocacy
Action Alert on International Peace and Conflict
        
Dear UU Friends,

Today, every fax machine on Capital Hill is delivering the following message
from the President of the UUA, Rev. William Sinkford: 

I write to you today with a heavy heart. Our national crisis has become
spiritual crisis, and as a religious leader, I am called to urge to you once
again to consider the true cost of the war in Iraq. 

On March 12th of this year, I sent you a Moral Balance Sheet
<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=EF%2FwgcWTZzOqLfY7NjVn
DdvcHGYsFomQ> , which, at that time, mourned the loss of 3,100 soldiers and
assessed the $400 billion dollars spent in Iraq. I urged you not to spend
another American dollar on this war until plans were in place for a speedy
and just end to the conflict. Such plans were never made, and in the past
six months 600 more American soldiers have died, and another $78 billion has
been lost. The most heartbreaking development since March is that there is
no longer any light at the end of the tunnel. Things are worse now for
everyone in Iraq, and civilian deaths have sky-rocketed in an escalating
cycle of violence. This moral quagmire is of our own creation, and it has
placed a heavy burned on our nation's conscience. 

Millions of Americans believe that that the war has failed the Iraqi people
and that we have failed ourselves as well, by sacrificing so much to prolong
the conflict. Like me, countless people of conscience are praying for a way
out of this tragedy. 

Not far from the collapsed 35W bridge in Minneapolis is a yard sign that
reads, "Bridges Not Bombs." The entire transportation budget for the state
of Minnesota is $250 million. For the $78 billion spent in Iraq since March,
the federal government could allocate six times that amount to every state
in the nation to improve their transportation infrastructure. While we fight
a losing war abroad, Americans at home are at increasing risk. 

This July I was pleased to celebrate your success in raising the minimum
wage by $0.70. But there is so much yet to be done to assist working
families. The $78 billion spent in Iraq could have provided our 1.7 million
minimum wage workers with a truly just living wage, with enough left over to
enroll their families in health insurance -- the same high quality plan you
receive as a US Congressperson. 

Another ever-present stress on our working families is the cost of
childcare. $78 billion would provide 30 weeks of care for every child
between 0 and 4 years old. Those 21 million Americans are our future. 

This September you will hear a report from the administration about the
progress in Iraq, and you will be asked to appropriate more funding for this
continuing tragedy. As you deliberate, please be mindful of the chaos and
resentment that grows every day in Iraq, as the death tolls continue to
break records. Please consider all the urgent needs in our own country that
go unmet. And, in memory of our fallen soldiers, please act now to end this
hopeless war. 

I pray that you will find the courage and the will to end this tragedy. 

Not another dollar. Not another life. 

Sincerely,
Rev. William G. Sinkford