Each March, the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq has been marked by massive numbers of people all over the country visibly calling for an end to the war and to bring all of the troops
home now! As we have done in the past, we must again highlight the tremendous and ongoing human and economic costs of the war and occupation.

Carolina Peace Resource Center has added its name to the list of organizations calling on Florida Governor Crist to disavow statements made by Terence McElroy, a spokesperson from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, indicating that one documented case of workplace slavery per year does not constitute a serious problem.

We want to call your attention to an important national Congressional Call-In Day coming up this Monday, December 22nd. On Monday morning, we will send a blast out to the national UFPJ list, but we are contacting you now to encourage you to help get the word out.

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care is a nation-wide effort to support HR 676, legislation introduced by Rep. John Conyers which is essentially a Medicare for All/Single Payer Healthcare bill. Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) -- a member group of UFPJ -- brought this issue and their Healthcare Not Warfare campaign to our recent National Assembly. There was strong support for UFPJ to help build this effort; and as a first step, we are helping to get word out about the Call-In Day.

The plan is to reach every Congressional office by having massive numbers of individuals and groups call the home district offices of their members of Congress on Monday, December 22nd. The point of these calls is to ask your members of Congress to sign on as a sponsor to HR 676. To find who your representative is go to www.votesmart.org

In addition to your own representative, please call Senator Ted Kennedy's office at 617-565-3170. He is preparing health care legislation. Tell him that you support Conyers' bill HR 676 -- and that expanding the Massachusetts model nationally is not comprehensive enough.

When you call your Congressional office, make sure your message gets through by asking for the Chief of Staff or the legislative aide who handles health issues. Though we can rarely talk directly to our representatives, we should avoid simply leaving a message with the person who answers the phone.

Healthcare reform is going to be up immediately when the new Congress is seated on January 6th, so these calls are very important if we are going to get meaningful comprehensive reform.

And be sure to remind your elected officials that ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is one way to bring more money back into our national treasury. Instead of warfare, we need healthcare -- now!

Note from the ED: As a member organization of United for Peace and Justice, Carolina Peace supports the national call-in for single-payer health care. We believe that fair and equal access to health care is a human right and should never take a back seat to corporate profit motives. As a supporter of Carolina Peace, I hope you will make the time and effort to participate in this powerful statement for justice. Thank you. AEK