Update

Earlier this spring, I went to Hartford, CT, to give testimony on gun violence prevention bills and to support others doing the same. There was a diverse crowd ranging from gun safety advocates to “open carry” groups. I was there to advocate for laws I believe would reduce injuries and death by guns.

You do not have to be an expert or a professional to lobby Congress. Anyone can speak truth to power at any time. I am especially thrilled to see young Quakers claim this and train their peers.

Tensions with Iran are running high. As the current standoff threatens to escalate into open hostilities, the administration has argued that the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) could be used to justify war with Iran.

On August 6, 1945 the Japanese city of Hiroshima was annihilated in a flash by a single uranium bomb. It razed and burnt 70 percent of all buildings, killed an estimated 140,000 Japanese civilians and Korean laborers, irradiated the soil and plants, and brought increased rates of cancer and chronic disease among the survivors. A slightly larger plutonium bomb exploded over Nagasaki three days later, levelling the city and killing another 74,000.

The world we seek—one without war and the threat of war—is a little farther off today than it was yesterday. That’s because, effective today, the United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

In a month filled with foreign policy lobbying successes – on ending the war with Iraq, preventing war with Iran, halting U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, blocking funds for dangerous new nuclear weapons, and addressing climate change, among other areas – Israel-Palestine stands out as a conspicuous exception.

This week has been an exciting one for carbon pricing in Congress! Several different bills to put a price on carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions were introduced on July 25.

On July 12, the House of Representatives voted on 438 amendments to the annual defense authorization bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Two national monuments are facing potential pollution, contamination, and desecration. When the administration revoked the protected status of Bears Ears Monument and Chaco Canyon, it opened the land to drilling and mining putting the environment at risk while breaching the trust and sovereignty of tribal nations.

Who do we want to be as a country? This is a question that came up a lot this week. Will we turn our backs on the stranger in need, degrade fellow Americans based on their ethnicity or race, and close our gates to those fleeing persecution?