On February 14, 2012 the Associated Press ran a story that was “leaked” to the press about options President Obama is considering for the future size of America’s nuclear force. One of these options apparently was for a force of between 300-400 deployed nuclear warheads, which would be approximately an 80% decrease from our currently deployed numbers. This of course says nothing about the thousands of nuclear warheads that could remain in storage, but deploying 300-400 nuclear weapons would nevertheless represent a major shift in U.S. policy. Other options supposedly under consideration are for maintaining the status quo, 1,000-1,100 deployed warheads, and 700-800 deployed warheads. In reality, the review is still underway and no new options have been sent yet to the president. So why have some Senators taken to the floor of the Senate to decry that President Obama is unilaterally disarming? Read more→
PANYS congratulates one of our national Peace Action board representatives and Upper Hudson Peace Action member Larry Wittner on the publication of his new book, Working for Peace and Justice: Memoirs of an Activist Intellectual. Larry is an incredible activist and an expert on nuclear weapons, and he has published several academic works in the past (see below the jump for more!). Click here to order and read more about his new book. You can get more information, reviews, and a word from the author himself by clicking “read more” – congratulations, Larry! Read more→
On February 8, 2012, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced a bill called the SANE Act, or the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act of 2012. This bill would save $100 billion over ten years in federal spending by cutting wasteful spending on a “bloated” nuclear weapons budget. See Rep. Markey’s press release for specific cuts and savings. Thanks to the 34 co-sponsors of this legislation, including New York’s own Rep. Slaughter, Rep. Nadler, Rep. Maloney, and Rep. Bishop. If your Representative is not on this list, please email or call themtoday and ask them to become a co-sponsor! Below is a video of Rep. Markey introducing the SANE Act on the House floor.
This past weekend our Student Organizers were invited to attend Democracy Matter’s Annual Student Summit in Albany, NY! The Summit was a huge success, bringing together over 100 students from across the U.S. to develop strategies for advocacy campaigns, improve their campus organizing skills, and explore issues of peace, war, and democratic practices.
Our Field Organizer and Program Assistant, Katie Rahill, gave an informative presentation entitled, Connecting the Dots: War, Money and Politics, which explained the federal budget process, military spending, and its effect on human needs. Please email Katie if you would like a copy of this presentation.
Our thanks go out to the staff and crew of Democracy Matters for allowing us to partake in such an exciting and mobilizing event. We look forward to future collaborations toward promoting peace and democracy during this exciting time of student and youth activism! Democracy Matters is a campus-based non-partisan organizations that works with students nationwide to promote democracy and advocate for public financing in political elections.
Thank you to all who attended and donated at our PAFNYS benefit concert with Judy Gorman this past Saturday, January 14!
The night was full of great entertainment – delicious food from COLORS restaurant, moving lyrics and vocals from Judy Gorman, and the inspirational jazz sounds of Radio Noir. We deeply appreciate the generosity of all those who came to show their support and we’d like to give special thanks to Judy Gorman and COLORS for being such wonderful hosts!
For those of you who’d like to more about what we do and stay informed about upcoming events, become a member of Peace Action New York State, or simply join our mailing list! You can go through our website, or send us an email at info@panys.org and reference “BenefitConcert” in your subject line!
On February 14, 2012 the Associated Press ran a story that was “leaked” to the press about options President Obama is considering for the future size of America’s nuclear force. One of these options apparently was for a force of between 300-400 deployed nuclear warheads, which would be approximately an 80% decrease from our currently deployed numbers. This of course says nothing about the thousands of nuclear warheads that could remain in storage, but deploying 300-400 nuclear weapons would nevertheless represent a major shift in U.S. policy. Other options supposedly under consideration are for maintaining the status quo, 1,000-1,100 deployed warheads, and 700-800 deployed warheads. In reality, the review is still underway and no new options have been sent yet to the president. So why have some Senators taken to the floor of the Senate to decry that President Obama is unilaterally disarming? Read more 
