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Support Senator Rubio on Immigration Reform April 2nd, 2013
Anti-immigrant organizations are flooding U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s office with calls, messages and faxes attacking him for his support of immigration reform.
Senator Rubio needs to hear from people throughout the country that they are looking for his leadership in the Senate on this issue and that he must continue to support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented.
A recent Washington Post article reported that one group and “its members have inundated the office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 100,000 faxes.”
Call Senator Rubio’s office at 202-224-3041 or send him an email here to thank him for his outstanding work on the Gang of Eight and encourage him to continue with his immigration reform efforts.
Consistent Life: Peace & Life Connections March 29, 2013 March 29th, 2013
We reproduce the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on this website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter directly, please visit www.consistent-life.org/ Please note that we do not edit the content of this publication.
Kansas City Nuclear Weapons Election
It’s crunch time for your humble editor (Rachel MacNair) working on the April 2 election in Kansas City, Missouri: Question 3 stops the city from giving any more financial incentives to the local plant for making non-nuclear parts for new “modernized” nuclear weapons.
See foolish-investment.com for more details, and be sure to tell all your friends who vote in Kansas City, Missouri – and all your friends who have friends who do – how important it is to go vote yes on Question 3 this coming Tuesday.
Click here to read more »
VIVAT International Jan-Feb-Mar 2013 Newsletter March 29th, 2013
Please find the Jan-Feb-March 2013 online newsletter from VIVAT International here. (Download PDF)
Subjects covered include:
- Academia and Advocacy
- Human Rights & Big Business
- Land-grabbing
- Anti Human Trafficking
- Africa Faith & Justice
- 51st Commission on Social Development
- Post 2015
- Experience at VIVAT International
Regulators Warned Against Allowing Abusive Payday Lending March 22nd, 2013
The Oblate JPIC Office joined nearly three hundred national organizations, state and local organizations, and concerned individuals in a letter against payday lending abusers organized by the Center for Responsible Lending.
According to the letter, “Direct deposit “advance” loans offered by a handful of banks, including Wells Fargo, US Bank, Fifth Third, Regions, Bank of Oklahoma and its related banking divisions, and Guaranty Bank, are structured and function just like loans from payday loan stores – carrying a high-cost combined with a short-term balloon repayment. Research has long shown that payday loans trap borrowers in a cycle of expensive long-term debt, causing serious financial harm to borrowers, including increased likelihood of bankruptcy, paying credit card debts and other bills late, delayed medical care, and loss of basic banking privileges because of repeated overdrafts. Payday lending has a particularly adverse impact on African Americans and Latinos, as a disproportionate share of payday borrowers come from communities of color. High cost, short-term balloon repayments, and the consequent series of repeat loans, have long been identified by regulators as features of predatory lending.
Read the letter… (Download PDF)
March 22: World Water Day March 21st, 2013
World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Designated by the UN, it is an international day to celebrate freshwater.
In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water.
In February of 2013, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) held a Roundtable in New York on the Human Right to Water and Community Engagement. A gathering of companies, community representatives, investors and NGO representatives, the Roundtable was a successful beginning to a process of dialog around corporate impacts on scarce water supplies.
For information on the UN World Water Day events and materials, visit World Water Day 2013
To learn about the ICCR Water Roundtable, click here.
For Lenten faith resources on water, visit the Ecumenical Water Network of the World Council of Churches, which has an online compilation of biblical reflections and resources on water.