People for Peace & Justice Sandusky County

Our first meeting of the new year is January 17th, starting with a 6:30 pm potluck at First UCC, 1500 Tiffin Rd., Fremont.

The new year gives us a nudge to reflect on our personal lives.  We can bring the same introspection to our community life in People for Peace & Justice.  Let’s spend a little time at this meeting on the following questions:

• What draws you most to belong to this peace and justice community?  (The food, right?)
• What has PPJ accomplished that makes you proud or happy to participate?
• How would you describe the particular identity or purpose of this group?
• Why did you start coming to meetings?  And is that still true or is it now something else?
• What are your hopes for the group?
• What changes would you like to see?
• What are we called to do or be in 2018?

We will also reserve a little time to hear a report-back from Josie Setzler and Sr. Paulette Schroeder about their week in Washington, DC with Witness Against Torture, coming up Jan. 7 – 14,  You can follow the Witness Against Torture community’s activism next week at their Facebook page, website, or at Josie’s Facebook page.  #CloseGitmo #StopTorture #ResistIslamophobia

Here’s a poster showing a sampling of what they’ll be up to next week.

We hope you can join us!

We’re back at the Sandusky County Fair this week and waiting for some good conversation with friends new and old!  Stop by to see us.  Find the Marine Corps tent and we’ll be just two tents south (not too far from the Flower Building). Continue reading →

Jim Sherck, a member of Sandusky County Citizens for Affordable Healthcare, wrote the following letter to the editor, published in the Toledo Blade on July 2.  His story is a good one to ponder this week as the Ohio General Assembly decides whether or not to freeze Medicaid expansion in Ohio.  Note that the story he tells takes place in Florida, a state that does not have Medicaid expansion.  Let’s not bring the hopelessness he describes back to Ohio!  Call Rep. Reineke and Sen. Burke (800-282-0253) today and tell them to protect our Medicaid expansion.  No veto override.

Here’s the letter:

July 2, 2017 | The Blade

Hope being sucked out of America

To the editor:

I am a retired judge who served 23 years at both the trial and appellate court level.

During my judicial career, I witnessed a great deal of human misery. Nothing in the judicial system, however, prepared me for what I saw when I recently ended up in a Lehigh Acres, Fla., urgent care center.

Every few minutes, someone would come in the door. The receptionist would ask if the person had an insurance card. If the person did, he was told to have a seat and fill out the questionnaire. If he did not, he was told no service could be provided, and he would have to vacate the premises.

The majority had no insurance. They simply were told to leave. Those people who were told to leave just turned around and left. There was no argument, no questioning, and no expression of anger.

Many of these folks had their spouses with them; some had small children. Most were obviously in great pain. Many exhibited limited physical mobility.

But they all had one thing in common: You looked at their faces and everything had been sucked out of them. There were no discernible facial effects. They had no hope, no joy, no prospects. They were empty.

This is America. How can we allow this to happen? Now, Congress wants to eliminate health coverage for millions of Americans who currently have coverage.

If you agree that health care is a human right, and this is a moral issue, then make your views known to Sen. Rob Portman now.

JIM SHERCK