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5 Minute Actions for Peace


belovelife

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A new Congress is being sworn in on January 6, and less than two weeks remain before the new President takes the Oath of Office. Now is the time to help this new Administration make "change" not just a campaign slogan, but a lasting political and social reality.

 

How much change can you create in five minutes or less? The answer might surprise you!

 

Join us in taking action to keep the momentum going. Here are four simple things you can do today, each of which takes five minutes or less:

 

1. Vote at Change.org

 

Thanks to your tremendous effort, the ideas to "Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Nonviolence" and "Bridging the Empathy Gap - Yes We Can," BOTH made it to the final round of voting at Change.org!

 

Voting began anew yesterday so we must ALL vote again, and enroll our friends and family in doing the same.

 

1. Go to change.org/ideas

 

2. Type "Department of Peace" into the search bar on the right side of the page and hit return.

 

3. Click on the blue "Vote" button to the left of the idea.

 

4. You'll be prompted to sign in.

 

a. If you voted in round one, put in your login information.

 

b. If you didn't vote in round one, create an account. An email confirmation will be sent to you. Click on the link in the email to verify the account, then click on "Ideas" in the upper right menu items. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make your vote count.

 

5. Make sure the "Vote" button turns from blue to red/brown and says "voted" at the bottom of the button.

 

6. If you also support the Nonviolent Communications (NVC) initiative, repeat steps 2 and 3, searching for "empathy" to bring up the idea.

 

You can find more information on our action page.

 

Voting ends at 5:00 pm ET on January 15 and only the top 10 out of the 90 remaining ideas will be sent to the President. So please vote today and forward this email to your entire network.

 

2. Vote at Change.gov

 

No, that's not a typo. Change.gov is the official site of the incoming Administration's transition team. They are "Open for Questions" from citizens about what matters most to us.

 

By voting up questions related to the Department of Peace we will ensure the incoming Administration sees the people's commitment to reducing and preventing violence.

 

As the site explains, as of yesterday, "93,638 people have submitted 67,302 questions and cast 4,170,091 votes...but we want to know what you think."

 

You can vote up as many questions as you like. Simply:

 

1. Go to change.gov/openforquestions.

 

2. Sign in or follow the instructions to register.

 

3. Type "Department of Peace" into the search bar and hit return. This will display many similar questions

 

4. Click the checkbox to the right of the question(s) you'd like to "vote up" to cast your vote.

 

3. Send Presidential Postcards for Peace

 

There's still time to write and collect postcards to send to the new President on Inauguration Day. Simply pick up a postcard from your state or community, write a personal note to (soon-to-be) President Obama asking him to support a Department of Peace and Nonviolence and make violence reduction and prevention a national priority.

 

Collect postcards from everyone you know and mail them en masse on January 20, 2009 to:

 

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington , DC 20500

 

For more information and tips on writing your postcard, visit our action page.

 

4. Vote at Ondayone.org

 

Again, the idea "Create a Cabinet-level Department of Peace" made it through the first round of voting on ondayone.org, an initiative sponsored by Ted Turner's Better World Campaign. Help the idea continue to garner public awareness, validity, and the attention of influential organizations by voting it up.

 

Simply visit the site and click on the "vote" box under the idea name--you should see it in the top row, far right column of the "Final 9 for 09." Voting ends January 12!

 

This New Year offers us fresh opportunities to bring forth ancient understandings of the true meaning of "peace." As our Founders stated in the Declaration of Independence, government is created for the purpose of securing our "unalienable Rights" and "among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

None of these can be fulfilled in a world of violence, making peace the most fundamental right of all.

 

Let us work together to ensure our right to peace, and thus, as our Constitution reminds us, "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility...and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

 

Thank you for your commitment, your citizenship and your action.

 

In gratitude,

 

Wendy Greene

Managing Director

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I'm not sure if you've heard, but there's a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are deciding the top 10 ideas for how they think the Obama administration should change America. It's called "Ideas for Change in America," and it's being run by Change.org.

 

One idea is titled: Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence. I thought you might be interested in getting involved and recommend you check it out. You can read more and vote for the idea by clicking the following link:

 

Change.org - Ideas for Changing America: Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence

 

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama administration at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC next week and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org in partnership with leading nonprofits after the Presidential Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at becoming policy.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

kenneth (alot of people know me as paco)

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