top corporate funders of insurrectionists…are also weapons contractors

 

General Dynamics — who you may recall built bombs implicated in possible war crimes that killed children in Yemen — was the top donor to election objectors in Congress this year.

They weren’t alone: Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing ALL ramped up their donations to lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election results too.[1]

These companies profit by keeping our priorities focused on weapons and war — and it should be no surprise that they’re laser-focused on maintaining this broken status quo at any cost.

Not many are willing to go up against the enormous influence of mega weapons corporations and their lobbyists, but that’s what Win Without War is built to do. 

And here’s where things could get interesting: We’ve just seen how a single Senator can grind things to a halt to get what they want. That’s why we are pushing tooth and nail for a committed group of Senators to say NO and end the billion dollar Pentagon payouts.

We’ve only got a few critical weeks to pull out all the stops to keep the pressure on — and we need you with us!

This fight depends on grassroots activism and grassroots donations, Antonio, but we’ve got to close a $39,550 gap by December 31 if we want a chance at going toe-to-toe with the weapons industry. Our average donation this year is $17.53, and any amount will fuel our fight. Can you donate $15 to help us use every tool we’ve got to block the bloated Pentagon budget?

Right now, the sad truth is the enormous Pentagon budget doesn’t reflect the security needs of the country, but the priorities of gigantic weapons corporations and lawmakers who collectively receive $25 million per election in “defense” donations.

These latest revelations prove just how far they’re willing to go — because it apparently isn’t enough to rig the systems to work against peace and keep the arms sales (and profits) flowing — they’re working against democracy too.

A favorite recipient is Rep. Vicky Hartzler (MO-4), who voted to decertify the elections and is currently the top Republican on the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee — which controls lucrative contracts for fighter jets and military vehicles.

From fulfilling our obligation to the people of Afghanistan, to responding to hurricanes and forest fires fueled by climate change, to fixing our broken healthcare system under the stress of a new COVID variant, the weapons and war industry’s insatiable appetite for death dollars distorts our country’s priorities for their own self-interest.

This has got to be a wake up call. It’s high time that we stop spending where war profiteers and arms lobbyists want, and start spending on the things that will improve peoples’ lives.

With your help, Win Without War is determined to turn the status quo around. Not many are willing to go up against the enormous influence of mega defense corporations and their lobbyists, but that’s what we’re built to do — and we need your support: 

This is a massive uphill battle, but we are better positioned than ever to build power and WIN. Less than 1% reading will give, but a donation of just $15 can make an enormous difference as we use every tool we’ve got to block the bloated Pentagon budget!

Thank you for working for peace,

Michael, Amy, Sara, and the Win Without War team

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[1] The Hill, "GOP election objectors rake in corporate cash"

The anti-Robin Hood

 

The corrupt ties between weapons contractors and Congress are powerful and destructive.

Take the anti-Robin Hood, Lockheed Martin: in addition to manufacturing bombs dropped in Yemen and the failed F-35 fighter jet, and misusing COVID relief funds, it’s also part of a corporate group working against a proposed corporate tax increase that’s essential to helping our communities — all while aggressively lobbying for bigger payouts from the nearly TRILLION dollar Pentagon funding authorization.

Mega-weapons companies like Lockheed reap their profits from payouts from the federal government — that’s our tax dollars. But while not many are willing to go up against the enormous influence of mega defense corporations and their lobbyists, this is exactly what Win Without War is built for. 

In the coming months, the entire Congress will vote on the Pentagon budget. As one of just a handful of organizations who focus their work on cutting funds for weapons and war, we’re ramping up our efforts to stop a rubber-stamp of one of the biggest war budgets in history — and we need you with us.

You may have heard that Senators like Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin are blocking new infrastructure funding and a Build Back Better agenda that would expand health care coverage, invest in clean energy, and make it easier for families to access child care, paid leave, and affordable housing.

Well, what you may not know is that the same people blocking bold investments in a sustainable, livable future are fully on board with giving the Pentagon an eye-popping $778 BILLION. 

It ends up being more than DOUBLE the annual cost of just ONE of the reconciliation bills under Build Back Better. Here’s what that looks like:

[Alt text: Red bar graph comparing 10-year expected costs of Pentagon budget ($778B), Reconciliation bill ($350B), and Infrastructure ($110B).]

The Build Back Better bills would direct our attention and resources toward urgent crises like the COVID economic collapse, social inequality, pandemic recovery, and climate change, as well as fully fund education, child care, and housing. 

On the other hand, next year’s proposed Pentagon policy bill would fund more unnecessary F-35s, battleships, bombs, and surveillance tech. 

What spending would help your family the most? 

Right now, our future — the rest of 2021, next year, and the year after that — is on the line. These years are critical to creating a foundation for lasting change that will allow our democracy and the world to not only survive, but also thrive in this century. 

It’s a future that Win Without War is fighting for side-by-side with a small, but powerful cohort of lawmakers and thousands of grassroots activists like yourself.

A donation of $15 can make an enormous difference as we use every tool we’ve got to block the bloated Pentagon budget. It’ll be a massive uphill battle, but with your support, we’ll be better positioned than ever to build power — and win.

Take a moment to pause and imagine what your world would look like if our spending priorities weren’t focused on weapons and war. 

Maybe more people in your community would go to college. Maybe you wouldn’t have to make a difficult choice between a job and taking care of your kids. Maybe your community would be better prepared to meet rising seas and deepening droughts. Or maybe you’d be able to access quality healthcare, pay down debt, and put food on the table.

It’s a future that’s possible, if we work together to fight for it.

Thank you for working for peace,

Kate, Stephen, Sara, and the Win Without War team

© Win Without War 2020
1 Thomas Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 656-4999 | info@winwithoutwar.org 

The F-35 fighter jet is a hunk of junk

Friend: Meet the F-35 Lightning II: our newest, trillion-dollar-price-tag, fighter jet that STILL can't fly in combat.

After 20 years and BILLIONS of dollars it still has NINE deficiencies so serious they could "cause death, severe injury, or severe occupational illness" to the pilots flying them. 

Even the military doesn’t want them: the Navy cut its order, the Marine Corps is expected to as well, and it's being reported the Air Force might follow suit — and yet every year, taxpayers are stuck with gobsmacking billion-dollar-bills. Why? Because Congress continues to lob more and more money at defense contractors by buying F-35s the military hasn't even asked for.

ENOUGH. From Los Angeles, CA, to Burlington, VT, too many of us are struggling to recover and rebuild from the worst of the pandemic. Classrooms have no heat or AC, families go hungry to pay for prescription medicines, and a massive climate crisis is coming straight for all of us because lawmakers say the solutions are too expensive. But one solution that can save us BILLIONS is obvious:

Add your name: Tell Congress to cancel the F-35 Failed Fighter Jet

Who wants these ridiculous failed fighter jets? Defense mega-contractors who spend tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress every year and who tailor-made the F-35 for maximum political impact by claiming they were spreading production across 46 states.

Here's the backstory: In 2001 when the contract to build this so-called futuristic fighter jet was awarded, the U.S. public was promised a fleet of cutting edge fighter jets for a total cost, from development to production, of $200 billion.

Cut to today, when all the operating costs for the planned fleet are calculated across the program's expected 50-year lifetime, we're on the hook for an estimated $1.727 TRILLION!

At the end of the Trump administration, the Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller called the F-35 a "piece of s**t." The Air Force chief admitted the F-35 would never be able to live up to its original purpose. And Adam Smith, the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said we should stop throwing money down the F-35 "rathole."

WE AGREE, and since Congress controls the purse strings, we've got to let them know:

Congress: Cancel the F-35 Failed Fighter Jet!

Thank you for working for peace,

Stephen and the Win Without War team