Refugees from the Mideast.

I still remember the pride I felt when I first learned this quote: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Images of dead refugees washing ashore, including a 3 year old boy, have deeply affected us all. But while Germany is accepting 800,000 refugees, we have only accepted a few thousand. We claim to be a compassionate, Christian nation - let's show it. We have the size, the wealth and the resources to do it - let's do it! And let's have Wisconsin's congressional delegation lead the way.

To persuade our government of the dire necessity to admit and resettle thousands more refugees in this tragic period of world reordering.

As a former Foreign Service Officer I know that the greatest obstacle is the year long delay in getting security clearances--almost impossible with a war going on. Let's speed up the process by giving US consular officials In Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq authority to admit those with no obvious risk.

The Iran deal is a strong agreement and an achievement of vigorous diplomacy. It has the support of nuclear security experts, our allies around the world, and Americans like me. No Senator who believes in the importance of American leadership should oppose this multilateral agreement. To those members of Congress who continue to oppose this deal because of politics and misinformation, we urge you to reconsider your position. By continuing to divide our nation, you are dragging America’s reputation through the mud in another partisan spectacle that will not succeed in killing the deal. All members of Congress should now come together to ensure that this verifiable deal is fully implemented. This deal not only blocks Iran’s pathway to a nuclear weapon, but it demonstrates precisely how America can win without war. The national debate about the Iran deal has been about more than a nuclear agreement. This fight has tested our nation’s ability to resolve international disputes through diplomacy – not war – and diplomacy has prevailed. We urge you, our leaders, to build upon this diplomatic victory to advance a more progressive foreign policy rooted in diplomacy, not war.

The tragedies that happen overseas cannot be ignored just because they aren't happening at our doorstep. The first step in changing minds is changing lives. Not by weapons this time. Not by invasions or through conversions. But through kindness. A kindness that costs so little to us personally. I create this petition because I want the world to see the United States the way that it should be. As an entity for good in the world.

Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently asserted that the Iran nuclear agreement “isn’t the start of some broader diplomatic opening” with Iran. [1] Clinton was wrong to try to foreclose the possibility of a broader improvement in the U.S.–Iran relationship, which could help resolve regional conflicts, saving many innocent lives. To try to rule out a broader improvement in the U.S.–Iran relationship is something that President Obama and Vice-President Biden have not done and would not do. Former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering has argued that the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear agreement could present an opportunity for the United States to coordinate more openly with Iran on mutual interests in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, noting that the U.S. is already coordinating with Iran in Iraq. [2] In the wake of televised images of the Syrian war refugee crisis, there have been new calls to “do something” [3] about the Syrian civil war. Unfortunately, “something,” for pro-war voices, means more bombing and more killing. A better idea, more likely to succeed, is to use more diplomacy and more politics to achieve a political agreement involving as many political actors in Syria as possible and as many involved countries as possible – including Iran. We should use diplomacy with Iran to help end Syria’s civil war – just as we used diplomacy to address the problem of Iran’s nuclear program. Urge the Obama Administration and Congress to support direct talks with Iran to help end Syria’s civil war by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/09/today-in-politics-clinton-to-weigh-in-on-iran-deal-as-trump-and-cruz-try-to-crush-it/ 2. http://www.us-iran.org/news/2015/9/5/hon-board-member-thomas-pickering-discusses-possibility-of-us-iran-cooperation; http://www.c-span.org/video/?327950-1/discussion-iran-nuclear-deal 3. http://fair.org/home/the-syrian-refugee-crisis-and-the-do-something-lie/

Forty-one Senate Democrats have pledged to support the agreement with Iran. [1] Only four – Schumer, Menendez, Cardin, and Manchin – are opposing the agreement. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell is the only Democratic Senator who has not yet stated a position. Every other West Coast Democratic Senator – Washington Senator Patty Murray, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer – is backing the agreement. [2] Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has asked Majority Leader McConnell to agree to a 60-vote threshold for a yes vote, consistent with McConnell’s past statements that “major legislation” requires 60 votes in the Senate. [3] (If that hadn’t been the Republican position in the past, labor law reform to make it easier for workers to join unions would have been the law of the land for the past five years.) If 40 Senate Democrats stand with Leader Reid in insisting on a 60-vote threshold for a Republican resolution attacking the agreement, no Republican resolution attacking the agreement will get to the President’s desk. This will be an important precedent for protecting the agreement from Republican attacks in the future. Urge Senator Cantwell to stand with her Democratic colleagues behind Leader Reid in support of the Iran agreement by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/14/whip-count-where-the-senate-stands-on-the-iran-deal/ 2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/14/whip-count-where-the-senate-stands-on-the-iran-deal/ 3. http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Reid-Releases-Statement-On-Iran-Floor-Procedure-324760831.html

Forty-one Senate Democrats have pledged to support the agreement with Iran, including Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware. [1] Only four – Schumer, Menendez, Cardin, and Manchin – are opposing the agreement. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has asked Majority Leader McConnell to agree to a 60-vote threshold for a yes vote, consistent with McConnell’s past statements that “major legislation” requires 60 votes in the Senate. [3] (If that hadn’t been the Republican position in the past, labor law reform to make it easier for workers to join unions would have been the law of the land for the past five years.) If 40 Senate Democrats stand with Leader Reid in insisting on a 60-vote threshold for a Republican resolution attacking the agreement, no Republican resolution attacking the agreement will get to the President’s desk. This will be an important precedent for protecting the agreement from Republican attacks in the future. Senator Coons has been unclear on whether he will support Leader Reid in insisting on a 60-vote threshold for a Republican resolution attacking the agreement, consistent with past Senate practice. Urge Senator Coons to stand with his Democratic colleagues behind Leader Reid in support of the Iran agreement by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/14/whip-count-where-the-senate-stands-on-the-iran-deal/ 2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/14/whip-count-where-the-senate-stands-on-the-iran-deal/ 3. http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Reid-Releases-Statement-On-Iran-Floor-Procedure-324760831.html

As a global leader playing an active role promoting democracy, the US should also step in to provide assistance when those who have no choice must flee. A generation ago my family left Vietnam as refugees when I was nine-years-old. Before us, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese “boat people” survived the horrors of starvation, pirates, and storms in search of freedom. Had the US not welcomed us, we may have suffered a similar fate as the Syrian refugees. Today my sisters and I are proud contributors in the US economy, raising our own families to pursue the American Dream. I believe no one escaping the horrors of war should be subject to death and despair. Please give these innocent families a chance to pursue a decent life.

As Rosh Hashana approaches, we must remember and act on the words "Never Again."