Dear Sisters, Associates, and Friends of the Adrian Dominican Sisters,
The Adrian Dominican Justice Promoters invite you take action with the following organizations working for justice in our world.
In this time when we celebrate the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we carry on the persuit of justice and equity for all. The struggle for civil rights continues. Join us as we advocate for the dignity of the Immigrant, the convict, the victim of Human Trafficking, and unfortunately we must Still struggle in solidarity with the minority. There is a dream to be realized.
In persuit of peace,
The ADS Justice and Peace Team
justiceandpeace@adriandominicans.org
A Thing of Beauty is a Joy for Life
Victory!
Our win comes from Michigan via Leslie who was scheduled to be deported on Tuesday January 10th. It was such a sure thing that on Monday her sister-in-law was asked to drop off a suitcase full of her clothing for when she gets to Mexico. You stepped up and helped change Leslie's fate. In two days you helped us gather over 10,000 petition signatures and a few hundred calls. On Tuesday, after over two months in detention, Leslie was released to her family. Her three kids are very excited to have their mom back. Thank you.
To learn more about the good work of the Dream Activist Network: Click Here
Death Penalty
Please Pray For, Victims, Families, Communities and Those Sentenced to Die in January:
JANUARY
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5
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Gary Welch
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OK
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17
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Ralph Birdsong
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PA
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18
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Kenneth Hairston
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PA
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18
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Charles Lorraine
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OH
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19
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Michael St. Clair
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KY
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20
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Robert Gattis
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DE
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26
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Rodrigo Hernandez
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TX
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Today and every day, Amnesty members stand together to defend the full body of human rights that Dr. King so bravely and eloquently espoused.
As we gear up for our Death Penalty Action Weeks (Feb. 27-March 11), we are inspired by Dr. King's vision of a day without the death penalty. A day when revenge is not offered as justice and society turns to humane and constructive ways of dealing with violent crime.
Dr. King deeply opposed the death penalty, calling it "society's final assertion that it will not forgive." His widow, human rights activist Coretta Scott King, agreed. "Morality is never upheld by legalized murder," she said.
Work with Amnesty to abolish the death penalty and defend basic human rights by becoming a Partner of Conscience monthly donor today.
Take Action: Click Here
Military Funding
For decades, the Pentagon budget has been going up, and up, and up, to fund an outsized mission and legions of contractors. The military budget is so out of control that the Pentagon itself has lost track of its spending. And, according to some analyses, the percentage of the Pentagon budget that goes to soldiers' pay is smaller today than it was ten years ago.
Concerns about the budget deficit and the U.S.'s economic health are leading every aspect of government spending to receive new scrutiny. But many people are also very comfortable with the way things are now and are working hard to keep it from changing. Your voice matters right now with your representative. Make sure he or she hears from you.
Take action: Click Here
Racism
EXPLOITING RELIGION TO CALL FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DEATH IS UNACCEPTABLE
You might be surprised to hear that Mike O'Neal, the Republican Speaker of the Kansas State House, is praying for President Obama.
Unfortunately, he's praying for the President's death. And he's exploiting the Bible to do so, circulating an email that cites Psalm 109: "Let his days be few; and let another take his office. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow." O'Neal said of the violent Psalm "At last -- I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president."
Sadly, it's not unusual for Republican politicians to use vile and hate-filled rhetoric when speaking about President Obama. But when they exploit religion to do so, people of faith have a moral responsibility to condemn it.
Sign our petition below demanding that Speaker O'Neal resign immediately!
Take action: Click Here
Gun Violence
Write a personal message of support to Tucson survivors and family members, and we’ll deliver it.
Immigration
The Obama administration has proposed a new process allowing spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the country — ending one of the most heartbreaking practices on our books.
Currently, many undocumented immigrants that are eligible for visas must leave the country in order to adjust their status. The devastating aspect of this requirement is that, upon leaving the US to have their documents processed in their country of origin, they trigger a bar against returning to the US for 3 or even 10 years — a catch-22 that tears families apart and punishes hundreds of thousands through extended separation from parents, children and spouses.
If the administration’s proposal goes through, however, it will be easier for families to avoid these bars by applying for family unity waivers. Waivers in situations of extreme hardship are available now, but the process is incredibly slow and inefficient. We’ve shared stories of those like Tony and Janina Wasilewski, who were reunited through a waiver after Janina was barred from returning home to her husband in Chicago for more than four years.
Learn more about the waiver proposal, and how you can take action by taking the pledge: Click Here
IPJC Winter Justice Journal on Immigration
To read this publication from Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center: Click Here
Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Weapons
Around the world, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) members are active in promoting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; regional nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties (including ones in the Middle East, Northeast Asia and the Arctic); de-alerting of existing nuclear weapons; reducing/eliminating the role of nuclear weapons in military alliances; divesting public funds from companies involved in the manufacture of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems; and advancing the global abolition of nuclear weapons through a comprehensive treaty or framework of agreements.
Please help PNND to build membership, contributing to a political climate around the world that will facilitate the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Take Action: Click Here
Environment
The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) recently singled out AIDA and TUI, two German-based cruise lines, for their harmful environmental impact. In one day alone, a ship generates 21,000 gallons of sewage, which is often dumped untreated three miles from shore, as well as one ton of garbage, 170,000 gallons of wastewater, 6,400 gallons of oily bilge water, and 25 pounds of batteries, fluorescent lights, medical wastes, and expired chemicals.
It's time for cruise lines like AIDA and TUI to stop putting profits over the environment. Updating their filtration systems to stop spewing filth into the ocean is a great first step to improving their impact on the environment. Tell AIDA and TUI to clean up their waste filtration systems today!
Take Action: Click Here
UN Briefing from the Dominican Leadership Conference NGO Delegate
The Dominican Family has represenation at the United Nations in both New York and Genevia. Margaret Mayce, OP, offers bi-weekly updates though Dominican Life, the online crossroads for the Order of Preachers.
This update entitled 'Advocating for Global Common Good is Moral Imperative'. To read the briefing: Click Here
To explore Dominican Life: Click Here
Human Trafficking/ Slavery
Read the most recent issue of "Stop Trafficking": Click Here
Advocates Launch Campaign to Get Anti-Trafficking Bill on the California State Ballot
Leah Albright-Byrd spoke Wednesday January 11th, at Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco, to kick off a campaign to get a new measure on the November ballot that would increase penalties against human traffickers in California. The campaign, launched on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, requires 800,000 signatures to make it into the state ballot.
To read the full story: Click Here
Food Safety
Tell the FDA to do their job and regulate the reckless and irresponsible use of antibiotics on factory farms. Otherwise we might find ourselves in a time warp back to the 1920s, when simple things like cuts and minor infections could be deadly.
Take Action: Click Here
Tell the EPA: Require All Factory Farms to Report on Waste
After years owsuits, the EPA is finally considering rules that would require factory farms to report on the amount of waste they produce. These rules are a first step toward regulating the vast amount of water pollution that results from factory farming. But, due to pressure from big agribusiness, the rules currently under consideration by the EPA are riddled with loopholes, resulting in limited reporting.
Join us in asking the EPA to enact strong rules that require all factory farms to report on the amount of waste they produce!
Take Action: Click Here
Begin in Beauty, End in Beauty
While Collaborative Consumption is "old hat" for religious communities, it is an emerging concept on a global level which is shifting the paradigm of how we consume to how we can collaborate.
For more from "Yes! Magazine": Click Here