It was a happy sight on Capitol Hill two weeks ago to see the scores of Quakers and friends concerned about peace and good government lobbying Congress to seize the opportunity right now to cut $ 1 trillion from the Pentagon budget. While the outlines of deal are under heavy negotiation here in Washington for how to avoid the fiscal cliff, it's clear that increasing revenue will be part of the solution. And it's very likely that some of the cuts to both domestic and defense spending proposed under the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last year that would trigger sequestration on January 2 will stick.

U.S. and Israeli officials have reportedly called Israel's military offensive in Gaza a 'practice run' for an Israeli attack on Iran. Civilians bore the overwhelming brunt of the violence during the latest assault, and it would also be civilians who would pay the highest price for a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran.

Our willingness to consistently talk to members of Congress and to engage others to ask Congress to provide leadership will determine if our nation’s public policies change toward those that a majority of people in this country support.

UPDATE: On November 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire to halt Israeli land, air, and sea attacks and targeted assassinations in Gaza and stop Palestinian rocket attacks and other violence against Israel. Significantly, the terms of the ceasefire require Israel to begin to ease the blockade on Gaza by "opening the crossings and facilitating the movements of people and transfer of goods." The ceasefire has, for the most part, halted firepower on all sides, and Israel has eased some restrictions on Palestinian fishermen.

However, the ceasefire is still very fragile, and its collapse would likely lead to a major escalation of deadly violence.  The U.S. government can help the tenuous Israel/Gaza ceasefire hold by pressing both parties to adhere to the ceasefire's requirements to end the violence and fully lift the blockade.

With your help, and regardless of leadership positions or party affiliation, FCNL's lobbying to bring about a more peaceful and just world will be relentless.

Last night’s Presidential Election was historic no matter where you sit in the political spectrum. Perhaps it wasn't that surprising, especially if you follow Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight blog. Some House and Senate elections also left many on the edges of their seats. It is going to take some time to predict and know what this 113th Congress will hold for U.S. policy domestic and abroad.

For me, there was one major take away from last night: it is time to get to work.

This week, FCNL’s action suggestion for you is simple: be an informed voter on November 6 and VOTE.

The below post is by former FCNL legislative secretary Bridget Moix.
The title of the article alone should have sent us all straight to FCNL’s legislative action center to write a letter of protest to our members of Congress. “Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists,” the October 23, Washington Post headline read, the latest in its “Permanent War” series. My stomach turned as I read. “Hunting”? “Kill lists”? Is this really how far our foreign policy has fallen?

No. It’s worse actually.

We cannot export the downside of war. What seems like a good short term bet may just end up leaving us bankrupt. It is time we learn from the past, refocus our foreign policy efforts and put an end to these shortsighted policies.

In this guest post, former FCNL Executive Secretary Edward Snyder remembers Sen. George McGovern, a prominent voice for peace in Washington.

Long before George McGovern became an anti-Vietnam war leader FCNL had a solid relationship with him as the new Representative from South Dakota in the late 1950’s.