COFFEE BREAK 299

+ updated at 3:31pm ESDT on Thursday, October 27, 2011

+ I sent an e-mail to a Far Right organization called The Traditional Values Coalition which is leading an effort to cut the NIH budget by tens of millions.  Here it is:

Dear Friends at the Traditional Values Coalition:

Really sad to see that you have such misdirected priorities when it comes to a moral federal budget. We need to cut the bloated Pentagon budget. We need to tax the rich who are benefitting so much from living here. We need to make sure our poor and sick have a strong safety net. Read the prophets. Read Jesus. Believe me, they would not be Republicans protecting the rich while the Middle Class and Poor are increasinglly cut off from our economic system.

I am sure NIH is not perfect but the research they do is vital. Targeting the NIH is simply misguided when it comes to making our budget moral. It is not very moral but that's not the reason. Again, read the prophets. Read Jesus. Read James. Find out what Christians and other compassionate people should be concerned about. Economic Justice is ALWAYS the priority of people of faith. I will pray that you see the Light and turn your attention to that traditional value.

love, john + http://www.abundancetrek.com/ + “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

+ Sojo.net is featuring this quote:

I advocate military engagement when I think it’s necessary, but really you can get more bang for your buck from civilian programs than you can from military engagement most of the time. You’ve got to have more options than just dropping bombs on people.
– South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, on why he’s working to protect foreign aid from budget cuts. (Source: McClatchy News)

Think how much good will we would create on the planet if we would spend tens of billions on all kinds of basic human needs rather than on military campaigns.