1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

Americans are tired of wars of choice. We are tired of our leaders dragging us into endless conflicts we don’t want and didn’t vote for. We are tired of defense contractors and Big Oil CEOs getting rich off taxpayer dollars while we’re told we can’t afford health care and child care. We are tired of hearing “mission accomplished” and then spending decades dealing with the consequences of some half-baked battle plan by some power-drunk politician. We are tired of seeing our young men and women in uniform kill and die so that presidents and congressmen can look tough in the media. President Trump, who ran on not starting wars, has bombed seven countries in less than a year in office. In recent weeks he has threatened to launch strikes at four more, hit Iran again, and put our troops on the ground in Venezuela. Trump is saber-rattling at our neighbors and closest allies, to the point where he has suggested we might go into battle against NATO. He has done so without congressional or public approval or even much discussion. Trump may have forgotten, but he is not a king and we are not his subjects. In a democracy the people get a say in whether we go to war, and we are saying no. The January 30th deadline to pass defense appropriations is an opportunity to use the power of the purse to rein in the White House, before we invade Greenland or fire missiles at Mexico. Please fight for amendments to the military spending bill to prevent taxpayer money from being used for attacks on our allies, occupation forces in foreign lands, efforts at regime change and other conflicts not explicitly approved by Congress in advance. Be prepared for a shutdown if necessary. Our president is acting like the leader of a rogue state, threatening to conquer anyone who does not bend to his will. Do your job and stop him or accept responsibility for whatever he does next.