This will be an uphill battle. The House of Representative has 232 Republicans and 199 Democrats. When the Democratic leadership in Congress failed to insist on placing Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) in the December 2013 budget accord, they effectively gave Republicans veto power over measures to extend unemployment benefits.

Republicans, who often blame high unemployment rates on the unemployed, are in general hostile to an extension of jobless benefits. For example, the prominent conservative Rand Paul states that Unemployment Insurance should be limited to 26 weeks.

A measure to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed needs to pass both the House and Senate to be signed into law.

More than 2 million workers have been hit by the cutoff of Extended Unemployment Compensation. Many are losing their homes, face repossession of their cars and are unable to make utility payments.

Many states continue to have extremely high unemployment rates. California has an 8.3% unemployment rate and in Illinois it is 8.6%. Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate, coming in at 9.1%.

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights #Congress #BradSchneider

Most Republicans in Congress are hostile to extending the benefits for unemployed workers. When the Democratic leadership in Congress failed to make the EUC benefits a condition for December’s budget deal, they let the unemployed workers down, and now have little leverage to press for the restoration of relief to jobless workers.

A consensus has developed in Congress where both political parties favor cuts to the social safety net and measures that favor the wealthy.

#WashingtonDC #Unemployment #Capitalism #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights #Congress

Commenting on the speech, Bruce Nestor, a Minneapolis attorney and member of the National Lawyers Guild said, “We question the intelligence findings and do not believe the U.S. has the moral authority to act or is motivated to protect the people of Syria. We know that bombs and war will not promote human rights. We call on Congress to follow the will of the people and vote no, whether it’s this week or a month from now.”

Meredith Aby of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee states, “If this was really about chemical weapons Obama would call off these threats, but instead he is calling for a continuation of threatening Syria minus the ‘reason.’ In reality this plan to attack is about going after Iran and Syria, because they are a hurdle to U.S. plans for domination of the Middle East.”

Aby continued, “It is a victory for the anti-war movement that Obama is being pressured into taking Russia's deal. If the president had the support of the public he'd go to war without congressional approval. But he can't do that. We have helped lead a public and loud movement of people demanding that they be listened to.

“The point of this speech was to sell war to the American people, but hours before the speech Congress called off its vote. However, Obama made it clear tonight he's having a hard time campaigning for war on Syria. Please come out Saturday [Sept. 14] at 3:00 p.m. to say no to war with Syria! Our work isn't done until the troops and ships threatening Syria are out of the Middle East.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Syria #BarackObama #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #destroyers #Congress

Grand Rapids, MI – 40 people protested against a U.S. war on Syria at the War Memorial in downtown Grand Rapids on Sept. 7. Some brought flowers for the victims of U.S. wars to the noon time protest, while others brought anti-war signs and messages. After folk singer Carol Johnson opened the rally with her rousing voice, organizer Joe Fletcher welcomed the protesters.

One speaker explained why the White House wants to go to war in Syria despite the lack of evidence and facts, “because the U.S. wants to dominate the Middle East and control the oil in the region after being forced out of Iraq.” Another speaker led the singing of John Lennon’s song “Imagine”, while a third read a letter from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro opposing the U.S. war on Syria. There were announcements about the Midwest Action Against Drones in Chicago on Sept. 28 and 29 and Peace Days in Grand Rapids leading up to Sept. 21. The final speakers led chants and pumped people to march around the downtown area and a street festival. Grand Rapidians either applauded and gave the fist pump in the air, or stood amazed as the protesters ranging in age from 18 to 81 passed by chanting, “Hands off Syria, no new wars!” and “We demand peace, U.S. out of the Middle East!”

Local radio personality Jeremiah Bannister emceed and spoke about the widespread opposition to President Obama’s plans for war saying, “Some of my progressive friends have amnesia, but I am trying hard to help them remember when they opposed a major war in the Middle East just a few years ago, and the reasons why. With many being the same today.” Bannister also spoke about the anti-war sentiment that spans society in the wake of the U.S. destruction in Iraq and the ongoing U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, saying “Take care with speaking to your conservative friends, family and acquaintances about their sudden embrace of anti-war values. Be very gracious and constructive with them.”

Chaka Holley, a Black community activist, spoke about the strong and consistent opposition to U.S. war in the African-American community. She explained, “When I come to anti-war rallies, rallies against big business, banks, animal abuse and the like, I rarely see more than a handful of Blacks or Latinos. I do not believe that this is due to a lack of concern but more so due to a lack of opportunity.” Holley then detailed many of the recent police and vigilante murders of African-American people, including Trayvon Martin. After an emotional moment, Holley asked of anti-war activists, “Not only do we need you to oppose war but we need you to fight for good public education, access to fair housing, good immigration laws, ending the mass incarceration of African Americans, fight for laws that protect our children when they are driving while Black in America, laws that protect our children from being shot down on their way from the candy store, school or bombed while sitting in church or on their living room floors.” After Holley finished with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., the applause was loud and prolonged.

The anti-war movement in Grand Rapids is grappling with the political contradictions faced on a national level. U.S. Representative Justin Amash, a Republican and Arab-American, is a strong and outspoken ‘no’ vote against U.S. war in Syria, while liberal Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both Democrats, support another U.S. war in the Middle East. The Left Forum of Grand Rapids launched a campaign this week “Michiganders against U.S. war on Syria” targeting the supposedly ‘progressive’ Senators Stabenow and Levin with phone calls and emails demanding they vote no on any new wars.

Mike Kowalski of the Left Forum of Grand Rapids summed it up, “Our rally was pulled together quickly, but still the biggest anti-war protest in Grand Rapids for a few years now. We are targeting these treacherous Senators from Michigan with a phone call blitz to ‘Vote no’ and students are starting anti-war outreach on the campuses in town. Like people in the rest of Michigan, and the world, we want to stop this war before it starts!”

#GrandRapidsMI #AntiwarMovement #Syria #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #destroyers #Congress #SenatorCarlLevin #SenatorDebbieStabenow

Chicago, IL – Chanting, “Hands off Syria! No new wars!” a rally of 600 people gathered in Federal Plaza on Sept. 7 to demand that Congress vote no on U.S. military intervention. The Anti-War Committee-Chicago called the event, joined by the ANSWER Coalition of Chicago and the Syrian American Forum. The crowd also heard passionate speakers from U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Iraq Veterans Against the War, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2858 and the American Friends Service Committee.

Congress has not voted on military intervention, but a resolution supporting war passed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While the Obama administration drums up military momentum, a wave of anti-war rallies is sweeping the country and the world, with mass protests in New York, Washington D.C., London and Tunis.

Since April, the Anti-War Committee-Chicago has been mobilizing against American intervention, organizing downtown demonstrations with the patriotic activists of the Syrian American Forum (SAF). Speaking as a member of SAF, Kousay Ahmad emphasized, “the solution to this conflict must be Syrian – by Syrians for Syria.”

As Federal Plaza filled with chanting people, unions took up the cry of “Money for jobs – not for war!” Elijah Edwards from AFSCME Local 2858 denounced the cutbacks in community healthcare, saying, “Instead of using taxes to support the services of the people, the government is using them to support war.”

Zakiah Muhammad, a long-time community organizer against police brutality, decried the hypocrisy of the Obama administration. “We haven’t forgotten when our government dropped Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people,” she said, calling this action “chemical warfare.”

Alejandro Villatoro brought a moment of moving reflection to the crowd as he remembered how, as a young soldier, he supported the war in Iraq. He realized he had been lied to about the pretext for invasion when, “we didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”

Syrian Americans came out in full force to oppose the war. Family members young and old joined in, waving flags and carrying banners, as the Syrian contingent led the protesters on a march through Chicago’s busy shopping district. The lively marchers took the street for a period, until they were blocked by the police and forced to continue on the sidewalks. The rally regrouped outside the Chicago Tribune building as speakers condemned the newspaper’s pro-intervention editorials.

Chicago’s anti-war movement sent a clear message to Congress, Sept. 7: The American people are overwhelmingly against an attack on Syria and will keep up the pressure for Congress to vote no.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #Syria #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #SyrianAmericanForum #Congress

Jacksonville, FL – More than 130 protesters, including more than 70 Syrian Americans, gathered in Jacksonville's Memorial Park and marched on Congressman Ander Crenshaw's office to demand “Hands off Syria” on Sept. 7. Organized by Jacksonville Against the War on Syria (JAWS), the protest demanded that Crenshaw and Congresswoman Corrine Brown vote no on authorization for President Barack Obama's proposed military strike on Syria.

Members of the Syrian American Forum, Veterans for Peace, the North Florida Central Labor Council, Occupy Jacksonville, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the New Jim Crow Movement, the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and Gainesville Students for a Democratic Society attended the rally, along with many concerned residents from the Jacksonville community.

“I am against any intervention because, first of all we will be defending, arming and fighting alongside al-Qaeda – the same al-Qaeda we have supposedly been fighting against in other countries,” said Angela Abdulnour, a student at University of North Florida. “Second of all, the U.S. should spend the billions this attack would cost at home where it is more needed. It's important to rally and have our voice heard because if we don't, we will be allowing our leaders to make decisions that are only in their own interests and not in the interests of the American people and the Syrian people.”

The rally started midday at Memorial Park, in the Riverside neighborhood. Carrying Syrian flags and rally signs reading, “No authorization for war on Syria,” the energetic crowd listened to a diverse stack of speakers who talked about the negative effects of U.S. war on the Middle East.

“Are we spending money on education in Syria?” asked Wells Todd, an organizer with the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and a Vietnam-era veteran. “Are we spending money on health care for Syrians? No! We're spending money to kill Syrian men, women and children, just like we did in Iraq.”

Protesters carried Syrian flags, some with pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and a group of Syrian American students from University of North Florida wore shirts with Assad's image. Loud chants of “Hands off Syria!” and “We want peace! U.S. out of the Middle East,” energized the rally as protesters set out on the quarter-mile walk to Crenshaw's office.

When the protesters reached Crenshaw's office, which was located in a dentist's building, they gathered around the glass door entrance. With no one from Crenshaw's office present to hear the demands, people began taping their signs to the doors and windows. JAWS organizers passed out small cards reading, “I do not support President Obama's strike on Syria. Neither should you, Rep. Crenshaw,” which each person signed and taped to the door. One sign featured red hand prints, symbolizing the blood on Congress' hands if they approve Obama's strike on Syria. Within minutes, rally signs and signature cards covered the entire entrance.

The protesters then marched to Five-Points, an intersection of five streets in the heart of Riverside. Within minutes, they covered all five corners of the street block, and four people climbed onto the center stoplight to hang banners and the Syrian flag. They chanted, “Obama, it's not your business,” and “U-S-A, stay away!”

Dozens of cars drove by and honked and a few stopped to shout their support from the car. Customers at nearby restaurants came outside to see the rally and voice their support, with about 15 new people joining the protest.

When the police showed up, the protesters refused to back down and continued chanting at the street corners.

After more than 30 minutes at Five-Points, the protest marched back to Memorial Park and heard several other speakers. George Samara of the Syrian American Forum talked about traveling on Sept. 9 to Washington D.C. to protest the proposed military strike.

Many protesters voiced cautious optimism that Congress would not authorize Obama's proposal. “If Obama is saying he wants to attack and has the authority to attack even without the support of the Congress, wouldn't he be a dictator?” asked Abdulnour.

JAWS also announced a statewide call-in day to Senator Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio demanding no authorization for war on Syria, in conjunction with the Miami-based People's Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR).

#JacksonvilleFL #AntiwarMovement #Syria #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #SyrianAmericanForum #Congress #CongressmanAnderCrenshaw

New York City, NY – Over 1000 people demonstrated against the threatened attacks on Syria here, Sept. 7, marching from Times Square to Union Square along Broadway, past tens of thousands of people. The main slogan was “U.S. hands off Syria.”

Sara Flounders, of the International Action Center, invited demonstrators to come to Washington D.C. on Sept. 9, to protest when the U.S. Congress reconvenes. Many other organizations supported the march. This was one of at least 40 demonstrations held across the U.S. today.

#NewYorkCityNY #AntiwarMovement #Syria #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #destroyers #Congress

Gainesville, FL – Demanding Congress vote no on U.S. military intervention in Syria, 70 protesters gathered in Turlington Plaza at the University of Florida, Sept. 6.

University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the protest demanding “Hands off Syria!” Gainesville Vets for Peace, Occupy Gainesville, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and members of University of Florida faculty and other students and community members joined SDS at the protest.

The action comes on the heels of local call-in day telling Gainesville House of Representative members Corrine Brown (D) and Ted Yoho ® to oppose military intervention in Syria and to “Vote no.” Congress is debating President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s calls for war, while U.S. ships sail to the region and prepare for attacks to start the war.

In his speech, Conor Munro, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “This war has nothing to do with chemical weapons or democracy. This is an imperialist war. This is a war of exploitation and control of the region’s oil. This is a war of domination.”

University of Florida SDS and its allies will continue to speak out and organize against the Obama administration’s hypocrisy in another U.S. military foray into the Middle East. SDS and its allies will continue to push their message, “Hands off Syria!”

#GainesvilleFL #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Syria #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #Congress