Click to urge President Biden to take these actions … (Updated to May 3, 2021)

HEALTH CARE:

When Joe Biden was campaigning to be elected President, he promised to reduce prices of pharmaceutical prescriptions.  He has not done that.  He is planning to release his American Families Plan, but this legislative proposal seems to NOT include reducing drug prices.  You can tell President Biden to keep his campaign promise to lower prescription drug prices — either through his American Families Plan or in another piece of legislation.  CLICK HERE to urge him to do that: Americans voted for lower drug prices. Now it’s time for President Biden to keep his promise. (actionnetwork.org)

OIL PIPELINE & SAFE DRINKING WATER:

President Trump approved a new oil pipeline right before leaving office. That pipeline jeopardizes the water supply of Memphis, Tennessee, and and will run directly through a majority-Black community.  President Biden has the power to revoke the permits Trump granted, and he can  reevaluate the standards for new oil and gas pipelines across the country.  URGENT:  CLICK THIS:  SIGN NOW: Tell President Biden: Use your power to stop the Byhalia Connection Pipeline and protect Memphis’ drinking water!

Here is another link urging Biden to protect drinking water and public health from the pipeline that would endanger an African American part of Memphis, Tennessee.  Don’t turn that neighborhood into another Flint, Michigan. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/stop-the-byhalia-pipeline/?source=group-progress-america&referrer=group-progress-america&redirect=https://secure.actblue.com/donate/greeninfra&link_id=0&refcodeEmailReferrer=email_1160286___subject_1542687&can_id=1d662460c0abb8939c5044c82927552b&email_referrer=email_1160286___subject_1542687&email_subject=no-more-pipelines

And here is yet another link about this:  Tell Biden: Stop the Byhalia Pipeline

Biden has done some good things for the climate, but he is horribly negligent on some others.  He has improved his positions on some issues because public pressure was strong.  We must keep up the pressure for Biden to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.  https://www.nationofchange.org/2021/04/13/biden-refuses-to-shut-down-dakota-access-pipeline/

PEACE:

–> IRAQ:

U.S. media is focused on Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11 (but mostly fail to report that the U.S. will continue military violence there and throughout the region by other methods, including drone wars and arming & funding various military factions).  Biden will allow U.S. military troops to remain just outside the border and bomb Afghanistan if things go badly.

Meanwhile the situation in Iraq is deteriorating.  Iraq’s government refused to let U.S. military troops get away with committing crimes there without being accountable to Iraq’s law enforcement agencies and judicial system (a routine “Status of Forces Agreement” abuse that the U.S. imposes upon nations where our troops are stationed — and which, for example, allows our troops to routinely rape Okinawan women with no consequences), so President Obama was forced against his will to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.  Also, Iraq’s Parliament kicked us out in January, 2020, after Trump assassinated Iranian General Soleimani, four other Iranian officials and five Iraqi military personnel at the Baghdad Airport.  This naturally angered Iraq’s Shi’ite groups (possibly aligned with Iran), so they stepped up attacks on Iraqi military facilities to encourage more effort to eject the hated Yankees.    In October 2020 it got so bad Trump bellowed about closing the U.S. embassy and resort to massive bombing in Iraq and neighboring Syria to stem the violence.

The Biden administration sees the futility of continued U.S. presence in Iraq and might negotiate a timetable for withdrawal.  President Biden might do that — especially if the American people urge him to withdraw troops from Iraq.  Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and now Joe Biden have SQUANDERED TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS that we need for better purposes, and they have angered the rest of the world — along with killing many American troops and countless hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

Please urge Biden to STOP the stupid, cruel war in Iraq.   Send a message through the White House website — www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ — or through the White House phone switchboard — (202) 456-1414 

–> OKINAWA:

The United States is currently building a dangerous and environmentally destructive new Marine base in Henoko, Okinawa against the will of the Indigenous Luchuan (Okinawan) people.  Although the U.S. accuses China of military expansion in the region, the U.S. is aggressively militarizing the region (on the opposite side of the world from the U.S.) — in defiance of the will of Okinawa’s local population — and causing serious environmental destruction.  WE MUST URGE BIDEN TO STOP MILITARIZING OKINAWA AND STOP A GROWING NUMBER OF MILITARY THREATS AGAINST CHINA.  In December 2018, Luchuans started a petition obtaining over 212,000 signatures demanding an immediate stop to the construction of the base. In February 2019, Luchuans held a referendum in which the overwhelming majority of the population voted against the base. Both the U.S. and Japan are ignoring these demands, and are continuing with the reckless construction.  Send a letter or tweet to President Biden, Defense Secretary Austin, and Sec. of the Interior Deb Haaland demanding an immediate stop to the construction of a U.S. military base in Henoko, Okinawa.

–> IRAN:

Trump stupidly pulled the U.S. out of the “Iran Nuclear Deal” (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), and his action backfired by strengthening Iran’s hardliners.  President Biden should have better sense, but he appointed many war-hawks to powerful positions in his administration, and they have been urging him to continue Trump’s policy of bullying Iran instead of re-joining the JCPOA without bogging down with additional conditions.  Biden should re-join the JCPOA immediately, and if he wants some additional arrangements he can use the good-faith decision as a starting point for further diplomacy.  Tell President Biden: Restore the Iran Deal!

The Iran deal was the result of years of painstaking negotiations and is one of the strongest and most significant nuclear nonproliferation arrangements in history. With this deal, we peacefully eliminated the threat of a nuclear armed Iran and strengthened our own national security. Without it, we face yet another avoidable conflict in the Middle East.  Please sign this too:  Tell Biden he must act now, before it’s too late.

Here is yet another way to tell President Biden to re-join the “Iran Nuclear Deal,” the JCPOA:   Please add your name today to our petition calling on Biden to restore and rejoin the Iran deal.

POLICING AND RACE:

The Minneapolis jury’s decision that police officer Derek Chauvin is guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd was a necessary bit of accountability, but it is ONLY THE FIRST STEP in a bigger struggle for significant reforms in policing throughout the U.S.  We must stop the SYSTEMIC INJUSTICES and SYSTEMIC RACISM and SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE that has ALWAYS been plaguing our ENTIRE nation.  We must re-examine approaches to public safety entirely – and work actively to reduce the role, scale, power, and funding of the police.  We need humane, compassionate, practical alternatives to police department’s monopoly of “public safety” funding and power.  You can take action on this issue right now by urging the Biden administration to support and issue guidance on common-sense, community-based, and civilian-led solutions nationwide.

IMMIGRANTS SEEKING ASYLUM in the U.S.:

Joe Biden campaigned for President with promises for fairness for immigrants and people seeking asylum in the U.S., but he had CONTINUED SOME OF TRUMP’S CRUEL POLICIES.  In March 2020 former President Trump closed U.S. borders to all asylum seekers under the guise of the COVID-19 health crisis. It was another in a series of senseless and brutal acts against those desperately seeking a safe haven. Since then, countless public health experts have condemned the policy, especially because it has no scientific basis as a public health measure.  From March 2020 to now, nearly 500,000 migrants have been turned away at our borders or expelled from the country under the guise of public health.  That includes thousands who fled the most desperate situations of violence and torture.   President Biden has not yet halted these expulsions, despite his promise to end the Trump era policies against asylum seekers.  PLEASE URGE President Biden to take every step necessary to recognize the right to seek asylum in the US.  That’s why compassionate Americans like you must demand that President Biden move without delay to reopen U.S. borders to asylum seekers, especially survivors of torture.

The non-profit org “United We Dream” — www.unitedwedream.org — has updated its “Biden Deportation Tracker” to April 23, 2021, and estimated that more than 302,072 individuals have been deported under the Biden administration.  Biden campaigned on stopping deportations and ending the cruelty of the previous administration. Yet, as his 100 days in office comes to an end this Friday, we’re getting the opposite of what Biden promised. Under his watch, ICE and CBP are continuing their racist and cruel agenda – causing pain, trauma and death for millions of immigrants and their families.  Please urge Biden to fulfill his campaign promises and hold his administration accountable. Add your name to our petition to take action and demand an end to ALL deportations!

Tell President Biden and Congress: It’s time to create a roadmap to citizenship for all immigrants: President Biden has announced his support for a pathway to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants. Now is the time to finally take this step in recognizing and affirming immigrants as members of our communities.

Tell President Biden: Reopen the U.S. border to asylum seekers: Over a year ago, the Trump administration closed the southern border to asylum seekers, deporting many back to dangerous conditions—against the advice of public health experts. Biden must reverse this draconian policy, stop these deportations, and protect the health and human rights of all who seek refuge.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE:

President Biden has surprised many people by taking strong actions.  A number of savvy people are recognizing this opportunity to urge him to take stronger actions.  On May 3, 2021, www.inequality.org, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (www.ips-dc.org), quoted President Biden as saying — “My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle-out.”  The organization expressed surprise and delight that a President said this to Congress.  The organization said, “President Biden’s speech represented a clear triumph for those of us who want to build a more equitable society — and have the nation’s richest foot the bill! And the first 100 days of the Biden administration, overall, have certainly proven to be promising on the inequality front.  So how should we react to all this unexpected good fortune? By thinking bigger and bolder. Mass pressure from grassroots movements, not any single person in the White House, will bring about the transformative change we so enormously need.”  Please look for opportunities to reinforce Biden’s unexpected backbone and sense of economic justice.  Many organizations’ “action alerts” invite you to click to send him messages.  Please do it.

ENVIRONMENT:

Trump tried his damnedest to let oil companies and other abusive corporations hurt the environment in order to increase their profits.  Now we must urge the Biden Administration and Congress to take strong actions to reverse the abuses and protect ecosystems.  One of the most endangered places is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Please take this urgent action to protect it for the caribou and other aspects of this pristine ecosystem. That’s why Environment Washington is calling on the Biden administration to support legislation that protects the Arctic Refuge. Will you add your name?

ABOLISH FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY:

Previous presidents executed some people under the federal death penalty law,  but near the end of Trump’s reign he executed five persons who were on federal death row.  In Trump’s final six months he executed more persons than all presidents in the previous 56 years combined.  Trump and his Attorney General William Barr clearly enjoyed doing that.

President Biden seems to be the first sitting president to express opposition to the death penalty.  He could unilaterally take action (without even consulting Congress) by imposing a moratorium on executions.  But better yet would be for Biden to urge Congress to repeal the law altogether, so no subsequent president could go back to killing people.  Please sign this appeal to urge President Biden to ABOLISH the federal death penalty:  It’s time the federal death penalty is banned for good. Sign our petition and demand Biden take action to ban the practice today.

This editorial from a major newspaper in Chicago urges Biden to abolish the federal death penalty:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4/7/22372533/joe-biden-death-penalty-capital-punishment-editorial?emci=f5da6fbd-6b99-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=654b32fd-6b99-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=3273229