Weekly Justice Highlights

Urgent:  The Senate will take up the Bring Jobs Home Act on Thursday that would stop allowing corporations to deduct their moving expenses when they offshore good American jobs to other countries.  Call U.S. Senators (1.888.659.9401; NO charges apply) urging them to support Bring Jobs Home Act (S. 2884) Act today or early Thursday morning.

Challenging Unjust Structures:  This week is a National call in (1.888.659.9401; NO charges apply) to U.S. Senators urging them to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2% - those making more than $250,000/year.  Also urge Senators to oppose any extension of tax cuts –both temporary and permanent.  Tell them that with the current U.S. deficit, we cannot afford to give assistance to the richest 2%.  (People who earn over $1 million a year get an average tax break of $143,000 from the Bush tax cuts.   People making about $50,000 a year get an average tax break of about $1,000.)

Care of Earth: The State Department is preparing to re-open its review of the environmental impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline leg that runs from Canada to Nebraska.  The public has a chance to submit comments on the scope of this review through July 30.  Urge the Obama administration to fully review the climate consequences of Keystone XL.  Climate change is not in our national interest; neither is a pipeline transporting tar sand material. 

In the Spirit of St. Vincent: Urge U.S.Representatives to oppose cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (H.R. 6083).  These cuts would eliminate food assistance to millions of low-income families with children and seniors. 

Death Penalty: Thank Ohio Governor John Kasich who granted clemency and commuted the death sentence of John Eley to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Demand that Bahraini authorities protect free speech and release human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, jailed for libel and "insulting a national institution" (exercising his human right to free speech) on Twitter.  (International Action available)

Urge U.S. Representatives (1.202.224.3121; charges apply) to vote NO on current proposed FY 2013 Pentagon Budget unless it includes Lee amendments and YES for Jobs Program, Federal Aid to States and Vital Social Services.  Ask that she/he vote for the Lee amendments and any others, which eliminate funding for continued fighting in Afghanistan, for the use of drones and for expensive and unnecessary weapons systems.  Use the saved Pentagon money to adequately fund domestic needs.

Jani Silva, a Columbian community organizer, states that 115 families from Perla Amazonica, Putumayo have joined the ranks of Columbia’s 5.2 million internally displaced persons.  Those hundreds remaining in the communities within the region are preparing to flee from the violence that the Columbian Armed Forces and the insurgency continue to fight through civilians.  The 12^th year anniversary of Plan Columbia military package is not leading to peace.   Send the U.S.Congress and the U.S. Ambassador in Columbia a message in support of Perla Amazonica. 

This is the third week of the first ever Arms Trade Treaty and the U.S. is demanding a vague, open-ended “escape clause” that would trump human rights concerns – essentially giving weapons suppliers a free pass to continue supplying weapons to countries with human rights abuses.  Urge President Obama’s UN delegation that we expect better.  

American Airlines just secured a baseless injunction to delay their employees’ right to vote in protecting themselves as the airline attempts to gut their jobs, benefits and working conditions through bankruptcy proceedings this month.  Urge American Airlines to stop squashing their employee’s right to vote.

A six minute film on the plight of the undocumented by John X. Carey is located here.

A calculator compares your taxes under three different proposals for Bush Tax Cuts telling you what percentile you fall into and how much of the tax cuts in a given scenario will go to people in higher percentiles than you (i.e. people richer than you.).