Here are more things Biden should do promptly after taking office

Two days ago I posted a list of some things that a variety of good organizations and smart individuals are urging Biden to do as soon as he takes office.  Here is that blog post:  http://parallaxperspectives.org/good-organizations-urge-biden-to-take-these-good-actions-promptly

 

More organizations are urging additional actions, so I am listing some of them here:

 

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (www.au.org) wrote:

The Biden-Harris administration has the opportunity and the moral obligation to right the wrongs of the Trump administration and build a better future – one that values religious freedom and equality for all.  That’s why AU has announced a Religious Freedom Agenda for Biden: Ten things the Biden-Harris administration must do to protect religious freedom:  https://www.au.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Agenda%20to%20Restore%20%26%20Protect%20Religious%20Freedom%20-%20Overview_0.pdf?emci=95a7eebf-0b25-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&emdi=8244f36e-2125-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&ceid=3714577

 

The excellent climate organization 350.org (www.350.org) urges Biden to stop the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office.  Sign their petition here:

Can you sign our petition demanding Joe Biden stop the Keystone XL pipeline on day one of his administration?

 

350.org also urges Biden to take these 10 Executive Actions for the climate on Day One:

https://act.350.org/sign/10-executive-actions/?emci=f7beb74c-1222-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&emdi=84cffe60-2e22-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&ceid=3096377

 

Biden needs to take several smart actions to reverse Trump’s extremely stupid and reckless actions.  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (www.thebulletin.org) posted an article on November 9, 2020.

The article begins by saying that in just four years “Donald Trump singlehandedly destroyed decades worth of hard work done by previous US administrations in establishing trust, confidence, and diplomacy—on nuclear and non-nuclear issues—among both friends and foes.”  The article lists a number of ways in which Trump seriously escalated the dangers of nuclear weapons.  The article urges Biden to reverse those serious mistakes and to take several positive steps toward sanity and safety.  The article is relatively brief and easy to understand.  Here it is:

https://thebulletin.org/2020/11/heres-what-to-expect-from-biden-on-top-nuclear-weapons-issues/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ThursdayNewsletter11122020&utm_content=NuclearRisk_BidenNuclear_11092020

 

Peace Action (www.peaceaction.org) is a long-time peace organization that resulted from merging SANE and the nationwide Freeze campaign.  They urge Biden to take these actions as soon as he takes office:

Stop plans for a new generation of nuclear weapons. They’re dangerous and unnecessary. At $1.5 trillion they’re unaffordable. Oh, and as of January 22, 2021 they’re illegal under the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Additionally, we need to get back to global arms reductions by extending New START, currently the only active international treaty on nuclear arms control. Biden’s former boss spoke of “a world free from nuclear weapons,” and he has a chance to put us down that path.

End the forever wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. It’s been over 19 years, and nearly $6.5 trillion later, these wars are not making anyone more safe. Indeed, over 800,000 people, mostly civilians, have lost their lives in them. It is long, long overdue to bring all of the troops home and bring an end to U.S. wars around the globe.

End U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. It’s disgraceful that the U.S. plays part in “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” This brutal war has killed over 100,000 Yemenis, the vast majority civilians, including children. Congress bipartisanly passed legislation that would put an end to U.S. support last year, but President Trump vetoed the bill. The U.S. should immediately pull all military and other support for the war, and stop selling deadly arms to Saudi Arabia.

End sanctions on Iran and reenter the Iran nuclear deal. With pursuing a campaign of “maximum pressure” on Iran, the Trump administration has wreaked havoc on the Iranian population. COVID is surging there, and sanctions make shipping medical supplies to Iran, and innocent civilians getting access to them, virtually impossible. Additionally, the U.S. needs to immediately reenter the Iran nuclear deal — which will be easier said than done given the damage that has been done to the deal. The deal was working to reduce Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon just as designed when Trump pulled the U.S. out of it. To get back on track in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear armed state, we need to reenter the deal ASAP and create the political space for Biden to do that unimpeded.

Cut the bloated Pentagon budget. It’s come time to reckon with the fact that spending three quarters of a trillion dollars on the Pentagon annually is just plain bad national security policy. As COVID rages around the world and the record hurricane season demonstrate, global pandemics and catastrophic climate change are the true, immediate threats to our security. Fighter jets, bombers, and missiles are utterly useless against these threats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1499 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org