Rep.
John Sarbanes
600
Baltimore Ave.
Suite
303
Towson,
MD 21204
February 17, 2016
Dear Representative Sarbanes:
Some members of the
Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore are voters and supporters of People
Demanding Action. Some of us live in District 3. You’ve been hearing from your
constituents for many months now regarding issues and legislation that concern
us. Often, we urge you to co-sponsor one bill or vote no on another.
This
letter is different as it addresses one legislative matter which could
determine the future direction of this nation—and have devastating implications
for the voters in your district and the communities in which we live, for
generations to come.
We believe you will continue to oppose the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, or TPP. Now that President Obama and 11 other TPP partner nations
have signed the agreement in New Zealand, the next step will be to present TPP
to you for an up or down vote. So we presume you will say NO to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership when it comes up for a vote.
Organizations
opposing the TPP run the full range of the political spectrum, and you’ve no
doubt heard from all of them. So we won’t get into the weeds about nearly half
a million potential lost jobs, about shrinking wages, human rights issues with
partner nations, environmental impacts, digital privacy v. copyright
protection, access to affordable medicines, food safety, or any other issues
you already know about.
We
know that when jobs are lost to outsourcing, when unfair foreign competition
drives down wages, and when corporations can sue the United States, a state or
our community for their lost potential profits and collect from us—the
taxpayers—that there is less money available in local tax reserves to support
the very resources so critical to keeping communities healthy and thriving.
We know that when shrinking tax bases starve our communities of financial
resources, our public works become vulnerable to privatization—often by the
same foreign corporations threatening to sue us. A community cannot survive and
grow stronger when it exists only as a revenue stream for soulless corporations
with no motivation to put anything back.
Finally, we are seeking an end
to the use of killer drone strikes, which we believe to be illegal and
unconstitutional. We ask you to speak out against this assassination
program, which ignores any veneer of due process. Consider as well a
request for the full, unclassified release of information surrounding the
administration’s drone policy.
We look forward to your
response. We thank you for your consideration regarding these critically
important issues, and look forward to ongoing discussion and engagement with
you in the coming months.
Peace,
Max
Obuszewski, Apt. 206, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Baltimore 21212
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment