Upcoming UUFSD Events

Palestine-Israel Justice Group Forum
Sunday, May 18; 11:30am-1pm; Founders Hall

Join the UUFSD Social Justice Palestine-Israel Justice Group for an Information Session on becoming an Apartheid Free Congregation. The forum panel includes:

Moderator: Rev. Ellie Kilpatrick, Minister at UUFSD
Rabbi Alexis Pierce, Rabbi of Congregation Dor Hadash
Jamal Kanj, Author of “Children of Catastrophe: Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America.”
Larry Christian, Ex Director Arab Film Festival & President of Karama, dedicated to educating the public on Arab culture and history.

Justice Actions Events Calendar

The following events are not official UUFSD events, but have been offered up by individual members of the Social Justice Action committee as events that may be of interest to community members.

WEEKLY

TUESDAY: Demonstrate for Democracy with the Black Mt Dem Club, Mira Mesa Blvd & Westview Parkway, 4:30-6:30pm

TUESDAY: Escondido Weekly Sign Waving to Raise Awareness – 11:30am-1pm

WEDNESDAY: Escondido Defend Democracy Rally – 4:30-6pm, Felicita Ave & Center City Pkwy, Escondido

THURSDAY: *Issa Hold A Town Hall Rally, 11-1 Every Thursday, 415 Parkway Plaza, El Cajon – see this KPBS report.

THURSDAY: *No One Voted For Musk/DOGE Has To Go Rally – 4-5:15pm, 1424 Encinitas Blvd @ El Camino Real. March 1 block to Encinitas Tesla, 1302 Enc Blvd.

FRIDAY: *Issa Hold A Town Hall Rally, 10:30-11:30am Every Friday, 221 W Crest St #110, Escondido

SATURDAY: Veterans For Peace Rally – 10-12, Ocean Beach entry, Sunset Cliffs Blvd @ W Point Loma Blvd, SD

SUNDAY: Stand Up Encinitas 12-2pm Cardiff Kook on Highway 101 at Chesterfield

Climate Justice

CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS

Last week we covered what micro and nanoplastics are, how pervasive they are in our environment and how their presence in our bodies may cause health problems. Today we focus on how to reduce our exposure to them in our air, water and food.

Scientists believe that the two main ways we ingest plastic is through food and water. There’s also some evidence that under certain conditions, we can also be exposed through our skin to chemical additives that leach from or stick to plastics.

New York Times sustainability editor, Katie Okamoto suggests the following practices:

• Cut back on drinking beverages that come in plastic, both at home and when out and about. Investing in a stainless steel or glass travel bottle or tumbler can make the habit easier to stick to.
• Avoid routinely using plastic for cooking, eating, or food storage.
• Regularly manage dust, which can contain microplastics, by wiping surfaces at home with a damp cloth and vacuuming.
• If you use a plastic bottle for your baby, there are some best practices you can follow, including avoiding heating or mixing milk or formula directly in the bottle.

Climate Conversations is brought to you by the Climate Action Committee. Learn more: [email protected].

Fossil Fuels

As extreme weather intensified by climate change devastates communities around the world, it’s urgent that we stop burning fossil fuels and transition to a clean energy system. Yet Big Banks continue to finance new fossil fuel operations, worsening the climate crisis and environmental injustices.

Write to Citi and demand they stop financing fossil fuel expansion, uphold human rights, and invest in the clean energy transition that the world needs.

Medicaid Cuts

Healthcare is a human right. When Congress comes for Medicaid, they’re coming for the most vulnerable people in our country, veterans, seniors, kids, and working folks just trying to get by.

Tell Congress: NO Medicaid cuts. NO to kicking people off care. YES to the will of the people. Now!

Tax Cuts

Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are pushing to lock in permanent tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. These tax cuts are nothing less than a massive giveaway to millionaires and billionaires who already control a staggering share of our nation’s wealth.

Trump is sending mixed messages to Republican leadership, but his public messaging gives Congressional Republicans the cover they need to do the right thing. Tell Congress: No more handouts for billionaires. Tax the rich now.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program #2

Congress is considering cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  Write to your lawmakers now!

Sign Feeding America’s petition and tell lawmakers to protect SNAP now.

Native Americans

According to the National Indian Health Board: “Tribal Nations face an ongoing health crisis that is a direct result of the United States’ chronic underfunding of Indian health care, which contributes to vast health disparities between Native Americans and other U.S. population groups.”

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress demanding they reject cuts to programs and services that impact Native communities, just to pay for more tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.

Science Attack #2

Donald Trump’s assault on women’s health, LGBTQ+ care, and racial equity isn’t just rhetoric, it’s already rewriting the future of medical science. Under his executive orders, federal agencies like the NIH and NSF are banning terms like “trans,” “diversity,” and even “women” from grant proposals. The result? Cancer research halted. HIV studies slashed. Investigations into maternal mortality and racial health disparities thrown into bureaucratic limbo.

Help stop this assault on science. Once we reach 50,000 petition signatures, our partners at UltraViolet will deliver them directly to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and NSF Interim Director Brian Stone at a public press conference.

Immigration – Resolution 195

When a democracy stops defending due process, it stops being a democracy. That’s exactly what happened when Donald Trump secretly deported over 200 immigrants, without a single court hearing, into the hands of a brutal authoritarian regime in El Salvador.

Help bypass the filibuster and a Trump veto. Demand the Senate pass privileged resolution 195 and force the administration to answer for Trump’s illegal deportation schemes now.

Education Attack

Donald Trump is waging an all-out war on America’s universities — and we must rise up to stop him. In a brazen assault on free thought, Trump is targeting colleges he labels “un-American,” threatening to rip away funding, strip nonprofit status, and muzzle academic voices.

Tell Congress: Defend academic freedom from Trump’s attacks. Click here to add your name to the petition.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program #1

Right now, House Republicans are pushing a cruel new budget plan that would gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), shifting billions in costs to states and making it harder for families to access life-saving support. All of this comes just months after Republicans passed massive tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations — blowing a hole in the budget, then using that deficit to justify taking food away from hungry children.

Sign the petition to demand your representatives vote NO on Republican-led SNAP cuts. Kids’ lives are on the line.

5/11/25

Affordable Care Act

The Supreme Court is on the verge of handing Donald Trump the power to gut one of the most essential parts of the Affordable Care Act. If they succeed, millions could lose access to no-cost birth control, cancer screenings, HIV prevention, and more.

Sign the petition demanding Congress protect preventive care before Trump is handed the power to take it away.

5/11/25

Teacher Attack

One public school teacher in Idaho, Sarah Inama, was recently threatened with discipline over a poster simply stating, “Everyone is Welcome Here.” And she’s not alone. This is not freedom—it’s a dangerous abuse of power designed to chill speech and erase history.  Trump’s agenda is clear: ban books, bury history, and bully teachers into silence. But we won’t let him rewrite the truth.

Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s chilling attacks on teachers. Click here to add your name to the petition.

5/11/25

Protect America’s Workforce Act

Not only is Trump’s executive order gutting federal workers’ collective bargaining rights an attack on unions: it’s an assault on the very people who keep our country functioning.

Send a direct message to your Representative and demand that House Speaker Mike Johnson immediately bring the Protect America’s Workforce Act to the floor.

5/11/25

NPR & PBS

Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to officially defund NPR and PBS.

<< So please, team, we’re asking: Will YOU be one of the 25,000 supporters we need to sign on RIGHT NOW to oppose Donald Trump’s Executive Order to DEFUND NPR and PBS? Don’t delay >>

5/11/25

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Elon Musk wants to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Don’t believe us? Let’s be clear about what’s happening: pro-oligarchy lawmakers, backed by Musk and Wall Street billionaires, are moving to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the only agency tasked with protecting everyday people from financial abuse.

Not on our watch. Will you take a moment to defend the CFPB from Elon Musk and his profit-seeking cronies?

5/11/25

Climate Justice

Science Attack #1

Donald Trump just dismissed ALL of the scientists who are working on the National Climate Assessment (NCA), the premier report guiding U.S. climate policy. This dismissal is a direct assault on science, public transparency, and the American people’s right to understand the threats posed by the climate crisis.

Sign the petition to denounce Trump’s interference in science and call on Congress to continue the work on this Congressionally-mandated report.

5/11/25

EPA Attack #2

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Lee Zeldin, wants to abandon the entire purpose of the agency.

ADD YOUR NAME: It is unconscionable to put corporate profits above the fate of the American people’s health and safety. Join us in demanding a reversal of Zeldin’s actions.

5/11/25

EPA Attack #1

President Trump’s EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has just launched an unprecedented attack on our environment and the health of everyone in our country.  He announced staggering plans to repeal or weaken 31 crucial standards that protect public health and address the climate crisis. Click below to sign up.

We need your help to fight back: Demand Administrator Zeldin stop Trump’s agenda dismantling the EPA’s critical protections for our air, water, and communities.
4/27/25

Save Act

The so called SAVE ACT just passed the House. But don’t let the name fool you, this is not about saving anything, it’s about suppressing your voice, your vote and your power.  It’s built to silence eligible voters by forcing them to prove citizenship again and again, in person, with hard to access documents like a passport or birth certificate.

Tell the Senate to REJECT the anti-voter SAVE Act and defend our freedom to vote.
4/27/25

Energy Justice

Clean Energy Under Attack

Clean energy is under attack. This month, Trump fired the entire staff responsible for running the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).LIHEAP helps low-income families afford heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Now, that support will either disappear or become less accessible for millions.

Summer is coming, and climate change has the potential to make this year’s heat waves more extreme than ever. Tell Congress to stop Trump from gutting LIHEAP and restore its staffing now.

5/11/25

Farmers & Clean Energy

Farmers across the country are trying to power their operations with clean, affordable energy. But Trump is making that harder.

Earlier this year, his administration put a freeze on a grant program that helps farmers install solar panels—leaving thousands in the lurch and delaying critical infrastructure. Now the program is back, but with a disturbing twist: new restrictions could disqualify applicants just for acknowledging climate change or mentioning their community’s history.

Click here to sign the petition to demand the Department of Energy restore full access to clean energy grants and keep politics out of solar power.
4/27/25

More Action Items

Georgie Lawmakers

A young woman in Georgia recently experienced a medical crisis that no one should ever have to endure alone.  After suffering a miscarriage nearly halfway through her pregnancy, she was rushed to the hospital due to severe blood loss. Instead of receiving compassion, she was met with handcuffs.

Let that sink in: She lost her pregnancy—and now she’s being prosecuted.

But here’s the truth: This was a natural miscarriage. There was no evidence of wrongdoing—only a desperate need for medical help.

Click here to join us in demanding Georgia lawmakers repeal the law that allows miscarrying patients to be criminalized.

5/4/25

No Rogue Rulings Act

The House just passed the No Rogue Rulings Act — a dangerous, calculated attempt to cripple judicial oversight nationwide. This bill would strip judges of the ability to issue nationwide injunctions. If the courts can no longer act as a nationwide safeguard, we lose the very foundation of our constitutional rights.

Click here to send a message to your Senators demanding they reject the No Rogue Rulings Act.

5/4/25