The U.S. military is getting out of hand in fueling wars abroad–even the ones that haven’t begun. Last month, Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin visited the Philippines, where they agreed to boost the country's military by $500 million yearly for five years–a total of $2.5 billion–for what some claim feels like a new cold war with China.

Addressing police violence in our communities requires reckoning with America’s militarized foreign policy that leads to wars abroad and at home.

Globally, 2023 proved to be a record breaking year for military spending. 

It’s Earth Day today, and the U.S. and the world seem determined to ignore the climate crisis and instead invest in war. That’s a huge mistake. 

While the larger budgets makes some important strides forward, this discretionary proposal won’t provide security we need, in terms of costs of living, quality of life, climate change, or securing peace.

Each year Congress gives more than 50% of its discretionary budget to the Pentagon. and one of the most wasteful uses of this money is on contract spending. 

From left to right: DE State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, Bita iuliano (activist, grassroots organizer), Ashik Siddique, Sumaya Awad (author/activist, Adalah Justice Project), Rana Abdelhamid (organizer and former congressional candidate), Cynthia Nixon (actor/director), NY State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh (Founder, Muslim Girl). Photo Credit: Eman Mohammed.  Last week, I...

There is an entity whose job it is to prevent this sort of abuse: Congress. With each failure at the Pentagon, Congress is failing, too.

Even though they often come up short, the U.S. has a good thing in its veterans’ programs. Veterans deserve this level of care and dignity - in fact, we all do. 

It’s not too late for President Biden to set a precedent of treating migrants with care, dignity, and respect, and request that Congress cut spending on deportations and detentions.