Your 5 Minute Activist Links for April 24, 2008

** Move On **
Right-win-nut pastor John Hagee says Katrina was New Orleans' fault. Old and senile McCain sought out, and embraces, Hagee's support. MoveOn members are trying to deliver a petition to old and senile McCain in New Orleans just a few hours from now: will you sign?

Here's the background: Old and senile McCain wants America to see him as a compassionate, mainstream politician. So he's going to New Orleans today for a photo-op in the 9th Ward.

But he's still trying to shore up his right-wing base—so this past Sunday, he again welcomed the support of right-wing-nut evangelist John Hagee, who said "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans."

MoveOn members in New Orleans have organized an emergency rally outside old and senile McCain's event today. With the media looking on, they'll try to deliver our petition asking him to stop pandering to right-wing bigots like Hagee. They'll announce an up-to-the-minute number of signatures, and we'll have a real impact if we can say that hundreds of thousands have signed in only a few hours. Clicking here will add your name.

** Better World Campaign **
The U.S. will spend $192 billion this year in Iraq and Afghanistan alone, on top of regular defense spending. By contrast, the United Nations is helping bring stability to 17 conflict areas around the world—from Sudan to Lebanon to Haiti—all for a budget of less than $8 billion. Despite consistently supporting and voting for these peacekeeping missions at the UN, the U.S. isn’t keeping its promise to UN peacekeepers around the world.

The President’s budget request this year falls more than $600 million short of fully funding UN peacekeeping missions.

The U.S. already began the year $2.8 billion in debt to the UN. A debt of this enormity should not go unnoticed, and, thanks largely to your efforts, it hasn’t. Over 3,000 of you have taken action by sending letters to your members of Congress urging them to fully fund UN peacekeeping and to clear our debts. But we still need your help.

If you haven’t already, send a letter to your elected officials telling them to fully fund UN peacekeeping so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

** NARAL Pro-Choice America **
Last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the shocking fact that at least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a STD.

Even as the teen STD crisis deepens, the Bush administration continues to funnel millions in taxpayer dollars to dangerous and discredited "abstinence-only" programs that replace lessons about birth control with lies about contraceptive failure.

Now that the House of Representatives has returned to pro-choice leadership, Congress is finally taking action and I hope you do, too.

Please urge your lawmakers to end funding for President Bush's reckless "abstinence-only" programs.

** VoteVets **
We need your help. This week, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr offered a watered-down substitute to the 21st Century GI Bill, which was introduced by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel.

We need you to write to your Senators telling them that the McCain bill is unacceptable.


** The Wilderness Society **
With 126,000 new oil and gas wells projected to be built across our western public lands over the next 20 years, it's up to us to ensure that areas rich in wilderness and wildlife are protected.

The Wilderness Society has been working locally and with WildAlert members like you to curtail drilling plans in areas with special wildlife and wilderness values. The Wyoming Range is just such a place.

A rugged chain of mountains in the western part of the state, the Wyoming Range is prime habitat for moose, deer and elk. It's a beloved spot for blue-ribbon fishing and other recreation. This place is so special that Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso has introduced legislation to protect it from leasing.

But the Forest Service is considering whether to lease these public lands to oil and gas drilling before Congress can act to protect them. Please take action today and ask the agency to withdraw the proposed leases in the Wyoming Range.