338,646 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
42,147 Elementary School Teachers for One Year
The costs of war go beyond these important concerns about jobs and the economy. On November 22nd, the Star Ledger ran a series of articles on the increase of suicides in the military. One such article "Military suicides increase as U.S. soldiers struggle with torment of war" reads, --is part of an accelerating trend that has sent tremors throughout the U.S. military, alarming the most senior officers and highlighting the strain on America's fighting men and women after eight years of uninterrupted war.
The Army and the Marine Corps, which have borne the heaviest burden in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been hit the hardest, reporting a record number of suicides in 2008. This year, the toll is on pace to climb even higher.
When combined, the figures paint a stark portrait of loss. More than 2,100 members of the armed forces have taken their own lives since 2001, nearly triple the number of troops who have died in Afghanistan and almost half of all U.S. fatalities in Iraq."
It is time for us to take a long look at our priorities as a nation. On December 10, President Obama accepted the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." Many leaders of peace organizations, including Peace Action, sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee expressing regret that President Obama, so close upon his receipt of the Peace Prize, opted to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
The letter reads: "A previous Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., identified his peace prize as "profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time -- the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression."
Declaring his opposition to the Vietnam War, Dr. King insisted that "no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war"We must continue to raise our voices if our nation persists in its perverse ways" We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest."
And protest we will. Dr. King's prophetic words will guide us as we assemble in the halls of Congress, in local offices of elected representatives, and in the streets of our cities and towns, protesting every proposal that will continue funding war.
Instead, we will promote a shift in our nation's spending priorities so that communities like Bloomfield can flourish and thrive.Â
42,147 Elementary School Teachers for One Year
The costs of war go beyond these important concerns about jobs and the economy. On November 22nd, the Star Ledger ran a series of articles on the increase of suicides in the military. One such article "Military suicides increase as U.S. soldiers struggle with torment of war" reads, --is part of an accelerating trend that has sent tremors throughout the U.S. military, alarming the most senior officers and highlighting the strain on America's fighting men and women after eight years of uninterrupted war.
The Army and the Marine Corps, which have borne the heaviest burden in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been hit the hardest, reporting a record number of suicides in 2008. This year, the toll is on pace to climb even higher.
It is time for us to take a long look at our priorities as a nation. On December 10, President Obama accepted the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." Many leaders of peace organizations, including Peace Action, sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee expressing regret that President Obama, so close upon his receipt of the Peace Prize, opted to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
The letter reads: "A previous Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., identified his peace prize as "profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time -- the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression."
Declaring his opposition to the Vietnam War, Dr. King insisted that "no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war"We must continue to raise our voices if our nation persists in its perverse ways" We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest."
And protest we will. Dr. King's prophetic words will guide us as we assemble in the halls of Congress, in local offices of elected representatives, and in the streets of our cities and towns, protesting every proposal that will continue funding war.
Instead, we will promote a shift in our nation's spending priorities so that communities like Bloomfield can flourish and thrive.Â
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