Protests Nationwide Oppose $33 Billion to Escalate Afghan War

In 109 congressional districts all
over the country, people will be protesting on Wednesday at their local
congress members' offices, urging them to commit to voting against $33.5
billion for escalating the war in Afghanistan, and to do so even if
lots of other items are included in the bill. Currently an additional
$30 billion is included to cover foreign aid, compensation for
discrimination claims, and disaster relief.

Organizations
participating include Progressive Democrats of America (PDA),
WarIsACrime.org, Democrats.com, the California Nurses
Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Healthcare Now, US
Labor Against the War, Labor for Single-payer, United for Peace and
Justice, the Backbone Campaign, and CodePINK. They have been holding
Brown Bag Vigils on the third Wednesday of the month since January.

Invited to
participate are tea party activists and anyone else who objects to
unjustifiable government spending.

Brownbaggers
are asking members of the House to publicly commit to voting No on any
bills that fund wars, and to publicly urge their colleagues and the
House leadership to make the same commitment. This position necessarily
includes opposition to the proposed $33 billion supplemental expected
in the coming days to fund an escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

Congress
members' commitments are tracked at https://defundwar.org

National
director of PDA Tim Carpenter said "There is no solution in Afghanistan
that does not include the United States leaving. We can leave before
expending more blood and
treasure and before generating more anger and hostility, or after. A
handful of congress members are speaking out and urging their colleagues
to vote No, regardless of what lipstick is applied to this pig of a
bill. That's the kind of leadership this country needs. There is far
too much silence in Washington and around the country. These vigils aim
to break that silence. Anyone who does not speak out now cannot
credibly claim to oppose reckless or harmful government spending."

Complete
information on past and upcoming Brown Bag Vigils is available online: https://tinyurl.com/brownbagvigil
including videos: https://youtube.com/pdamerica
and photos: https://flickr.com/photos/pdamerica