Some things that are worth doing can't be accomplished in one fell swoop.
As you know, the majority of members of the U.S. Congress have been largely unmoved by the suffering of civilians in Lebanon under bombardment by the Israeli air force, using weapons supplied by the the United States, while Secretary of State Rice blocks diplomatic initiatives aimed at an early cease-fire.
Many peace groups have called on their members to contact Congress in support of the Kucinich resolution, which backs an immediate cease-fire. The day it was introduced, the Kucinich resolution had 23 cosponsors. Today it has 30 cosponsors.
This is a beginning. But if we are refute the idea that the Israeli government has a blank check from the United States for its current policy, we need to increase this number.
Of the 30 cosponsors of the Kucinich resolution, 25 are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of members of Congress that have committed themselves to re-build U.S. alliances, reaffirm engagement in the UN, enhance international cooperation, and bring U. S. troops home from Iraq.
There are 62 members in the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
In this alert, we ask you to focus your attention on the Progressive Caucus. The list of Progressive Caucus members who have not yet agreed to cosponsor the Kucinich resolution is below. The current list is at
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/issues/prog_cauc_noceasefire.xls.
If one of these members is your representative, call them and write them, and ask everyone you know to do the same by forwarding this alert. The Congressional switchboard is 202-225-3121. Ask to talk to your representative's office, and ask them to cosponsor the Kucinich resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon (HCR 450.) To send an email, you can use this link:
If one of these members is not your representative, look at the list of members below, which shows the cities they represent. (This gives a rough sense of where their district is.) The current list of Progressive Caucus members who have not yet cosponsored is at http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/issues/prog_cauc_noceasefire.xls. Go through your address book (or your memory), and think of anyone you know who lives in their district. Call them or forward them this alert and ask them to contact their representative and ask them to support HCR 450 for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, by calling at 202-225-3121, or by emailing them using this link:
Thank you for taking action. If we can get a clear majority of the Progressive Caucus on this resolution, we will have taken a significant step towards ending the blank check from the U.S. for attacks on civilians by the Israeli government.
Here is the list of Progressive Caucus members who have not yet signed the Kucinich resolution. The current list, including phone numbers, is at http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/issues/prog_cauc_noceasefire.xls.
Rep State CD City Ed Pastor Ariz 4 Phoenix Tom Lantos Calif 12 San Mateo, San Francisco Sam Farr Calif 17 Salinas, Santa Cruz Henry Waxman Calif 30 Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood Xavier Becerra Calif 31 Los Angeles Diane Watson Calif 33 Los Angeles, Culver City Rosa DeLauro Conn 3 New Haven, Guilford E. Holmes-Norton DC Washington, DC Corrine Brown Fla 3 Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando John Lewis Ga 5 Atlanta Madeleine Bordallo Guam all Jesse Jackson, Jr. Illin 2 Chicago, far south & south suburbs Luis Gutierrez Illin 4 Chicago, Cicero, Stone Park Jan Schakowsky Illin 9 NW Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Niles Lane Evans Illin 17 Moline, Rock Island, Galesburg Julia Carson Ind. 7 Indianapolis Elijah Cummings MD 7 Baltimore John Olver Mass 1 Holyoke, Pittsfield, Fitchburg James McGovern Mass 3 Worcester, Attleboro, Fall River Barney Frank Mass 4 Newton, New Bedford, Taunton John Tierney Mass 6 Peabody, Lynn Ed Markey Mass 7 Medford, Framingham Michael Capuano Mass 8 Boston, Cambridge, Roxbury Bennie Thompson MS 2 Jackson William Clay MO 1 St. Louis Donald Payne NJ 10 Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth Tom Udall NM 3 Santa Fe Jerry Nadler NY 8 New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn Nydia Velazquez NY 12 NYC: Brooklyn, Lower East Side Jose Serrano NY 16 Bronx Mel Watt NC 12 Charlotte, Greensboro Steph. Tubbs Jones Ohio 11 Shaker Heights Sherrod Brown Ohio 13 Akron, Elyria, Lorain Chaka Fattah Penn 2 Philadelphia Sheila Jackson-Lee Texas 18 Houston Bernie Sanders VT 1 all Donna Christensen Virgin Is. all
-- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org