Entries by Matthew

The Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Effective (SAFE) Justice Act

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Since 1980, Congress has steadily increased the size and scope of the federal criminal code and with it the federal prison population. In that period, the federal government has added an estimated 2,000 new crimes to the books, while the federal imprisonment rate has grown by an astounding 518 percent. During the same period, annual spending on the federal prison system rose 595 percent, from $970 million to more than $6.7 billion, after adjusting for inflation.

U.S. Dept. of Peacebuilding 14th Anniversary

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On July 11, 2001 — exactly two months before 9/11 — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH) introduced legislation to create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace, which embodied the knowledge that violence prevention and peacebuilding are cost effective, save lives and improve quality of life, both domestically and internationally. In honor of its anniversary, please ask your Members of Congress and President Obama to support H.R. 1111.

Petition to President and Congress: Terrorist attacks increase 10-fold, time for Peacebuilding over last decade

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20,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2014, up from an average of 2,000 a year only 10 years ago. This despite $trillions spent and countless lives lost in the “war on terror.” It seems clear that our strategies for dealing with terrorism have been grossly ineffective and many say is even counter-productive. Our long-term strategy and resources must focus much more on the work of peacebuilding.

US ranks 94th in the 2015 Global Peace Index

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ranked alongside 162 nations worldwide the United States recently came in 94th for peacefulness at the recent unveiling of the 2015 Global Peace Index. Not surprisingly, Iceland ranked at number one and Syria came in last at 162.

Tell Congress: Diplomacy with Iran

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Please let your Members of Congress know that you support diplomacy with Iran. Right now, there are a large number of Members of Congress who want to kill the deal, which would likely send us on a path to war.

Mainstreaming Peacebuilding at the 2015 CA Democratic Party Convention

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The CA Peace Alliance Democratic Party endorsement team and volunteers from throughout the state “mainstreamed peacebuilding” at the CA Democratic Party convention this May. Whether working at our booth, testifying at the Resolutions committee, messaging at the caucus meeting, or talking with convention attendees, we worked to place peacebuilding front and center. During the convention, the Resolutions committee approved their UN Peacebuilding resolution and the Party as a whole will likely endorse it in August 2015. Read the full report!