In my 10 months at the RAC, I'd yet to see a really big victory on any of the legislation I've been focused on this year. It can be disheartening to toil day in and day out on bills that never see the light of day on the House and Senate floors, pushing for change that never comes. But yesterday was a welcome relief - a victory!

The House of Representatives passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 yesterday, a bill that restores workplace civil rights to individuals with disabilities and to those perceived to be disabled. I've been working on this bill all year - in February, I lobbied members of Congress on behalf of the Jewish Disability Network, a coalition of Jewish organizations dedicated to ensuring equal rights for individuals with disabilities; I've also created action alerts, helped write op-eds and poured my time and my passion into ensuring this bill's passage.

At yesterday's pre-vote press conference celebrating the bill, I stood on the terrace outside the Cannon House Office Building with dozens of disability rights advocates and members of the business community wearing bright blue "Support H.R. 3195" stickers. We listened eagerly to Congressmen Steny Hoyer, James Sensenbrenner, Buck McKeon, George Miller, Jim Langevin and Rob Andrews sing the ADA Amendments Act's praises and cheered wildly in anticipation of the 402-17 vote that would occur later that afternoon.

I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite songs, The Rocket Summer's "Do You Feel," which includes the lyrics, "Sometimes I convince myself that all is fine in the world. It's not mine - why should I have to try to fix things I didn't create or contrive?" Here in D.C., the process of enacting real legislative change is a brutally slow ordeal, and like the lyrics says, it can be easy to fall into the "this doesn't affect me" mindset, to become discouraged and to walk away from the fight. But yesterday's House passage of the ADA Amendments Act renewed my enthusiasm by joyfully reminding me that hard work is, in the end, almost always worth the effort.

As the old cliché says, of course, there's no rest for the weary: The ADA Amendments Act still has to pass in the Senate, and I'll continue my work to ensure that it does. And whether you're located in Washington, D.C., the Congressional heart of it all, or sitting in your living room a thousand miles away, you can help in this battle, too - encourage your Senators to bring the ADAAA to the Senate floor and to pass it before the hubbub of the November elections weighs down the chances of legislative progress. This is a fight we CAN win - we're halfway there and the odds are good.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This past weekend's New York Times editorial by Thomas Freidman, yet again, gives us brilliant insight into DC's vicious energy politics turned blame-game. "Mr. Bush, Lead or Leave," exposes President Bush's unfortunate demand for expanded domestic oil drilling. It's a must read article for anyone concerned about energy security these days. While Freidman categorically views more domestic drilling as a short sighted solution to a complicated energy debacle, it is important to mention that there have been few credible proposals from either party or environmental organizations for expeditiously reducing the high gas prices that are at the center of current arguments. And to be fair the broader American public, though it has scaled back its driving habits, could also do a much better job protecting the environment (and our wallets) by conserving gas.

Although I personally agree almost entirely with Friedman's hard hitting piece I do have to pause and question his longstanding commitment to pursuing greater nuclear energy capabilities in the U.S. Environmental justice needs to be considered from all angles within the energy debates - the economic hardships of high gas prices should not be outweighed by nuclear health hazards and neither should be trumped by national security concerns.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the ADA Amendments Act (formerly known as the ADA Restoration Act) making its way to the House of Representatives floor this week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that the House will begin practicing what it preaches when it comes to equal access for individuals with disabilities.

In a press release yesterday, Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican leader John Boehner, announced that by year's end, the House Chamber will be made disability accessible by equipping the Speaker's podium with lifts to allow increased access.

Of the planned renovations, Boehner (R-OH) said, "Since Congress requires businesses across the country to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities, it is fitting that we should follow the rules we set for others. That is why making the Speaker's rostrum more accessible is an important symbol of our understanding that we must ask Americans to do as we do, not just as we say."

I couldn't have said it better myself; kudos to Congress for taking this important step! As for the ADA Amendments Act, which I mentioned earlier: The House is poised to pass this piece of disability rights legislation tomorrow, but members of Congress still need to hear from their constituents on the bill's importance. Contact your Representative NOWto ask him or her to support equality for all people, regardless of physical or mental ability.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Older workers gained a big victory in the fight against employment discrimination yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) places the burden on employers to prove that layoffs of older workers are based not on age but on some other "reasonable factor." This was--the New York Times notes--"a closely watched age discrimination case."

But while Meacham is an unqualified win for older workers, the efficacy of the ADEA, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, is very much in question.  I went to a symposium on Monday at the AARP, titled "The Age Discrimination in Employment Act in the 21st Century: Can It Still Do the Job?" The short answer: Probably Not. The longer one after the jump.

Following opening remarks by Susan C. Reinhard, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at AARP, David Neumark, an economist at the University of California-Irvine described the challenges facing the ADEA as the population ages.

Today, about one-fifth of the population is 65 or older; in 2050, roughly one-third of the population will be 65 or older. This increase has serious implications for the economy and for public policy. A recent study, he said, showed that 80 percent of baby boomers expect to work past the age of 65 in some form or another; currently only 20 percent of Americans do so. What's going to happen when they reach 65 is, therefore, unclear.  The resulting policy questions, Neumark said, are how do we keep these people who want to remain in the labor market engaged and will the ADEA be enough to protect those who want to work?

Evidence from the past four decades, Neumark said, show that the ADEA has been most successful in reducing unfair terminations but has been less effective in preventing discrimination in hiring practices.  In 2006, 40 percent of the ADEA cases handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerned discrimination in firings or lay-offs, while only 8.4 percent were related to hiring.  This is in part likely because it is harder to establish discrimination when applying for a job than when losing a job a person already had. This has serious repercussions for the efficacy of the ADEA in the future. As the population ages and more people leave their long-term careers for part-time or "bridge jobs" before retirement, they may find themselves more prone to discrimination with less protection provided by the law.

Neumark did not say how the ADEA might be modified to be more effective, but he did suggest one potential policy proposal: affirmative action, which has proven to be effective in increasing the hires of people who have historically faced job discrimination.  This policy, he noted, may be controversial.

Howard C. Eglit, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law spoke next and while he was more freewheeling (Neumark paid strict attention to his PowerPoint), his talk was in many ways a more sobering experience. Eglit said that the Big Problem was implicit, not explicit discrimination.  The ageist attitudes that we all harbor and aren't even aware of are more much difficult to address statutorily, he said.  He then listed off (in one breath!) a dozen or two words used frequently in the media that serve to degrade older people, like "geezer" and "old fart."  Until those words are considered unacceptable in polite discourse, older workers will continue to suffer from discrimination and there's not much the ADEA can do about that.  Eglit also said that he disagreed with Neumark and believes that terminations, rather than hiring, is still the larger problem.

Finally, Thomas Osborne, a Senior Attorney with AARP Litigation spoke about efforts made in Europe to combat age discrimination.  In 2000, the Council of the European Union issued a directive barring employment discrimination based on age.  But in the intervening years, several obstacles to implementing the directive have arisen.  Looming large is the fact that many European countries pick and choose which Council directives to adhere to and which to ignore, and the loose nature of the EU ensures that these countries will not be punished.  For example, Ireland already had a similar law on the books and after the directive quickly amended its own law.  Germany and Sweden on the other hand have refused to enact any such anti-discrimination law based on age.  In the United Kingdom, a regulation was issued to prohibit discrimination but no Parliamentary law was passed, somewhat diluting its effectiveness.

During Q&A, moderated by Sara E. Rix, Interim Associate Director of the AARP Public Policy Institute, the conversation returned to the need for "attitudinal changes" in the American people.  The fight for hearts and minds will not be easy, Eglit said. "I'm not optimistic."  And while issues of ageism have taken on more saliency of late, it seems like a long struggle lies ahead, regardless of Meacham and the ADEA.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Cross-posted at MKBlog

Rabbi Michael Namath is the Program Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and coordinates the Machon Kaplan summer internprogram.

The arrival of our Machon Kaplan College interns marks the official start of my summer.  They bring with them their desire to change the world and their enthusiasm for Washington.  The come from all over the country to do the work of social justice in our nation's capitol.

As the Washington Post has noted, these interns live their faith through public service.  Over the next six weeks, I urge you to take time to read the participants' posts about the time of their lives and their adventures this summer.  You can also check out posts from last year's crew here.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Over hundred people rallied outside the Department of Justice on Wednesday in support of Indian guest workers who were trafficked to the Gulf Coast, endured abusive employment practices, and now face deportation. Human rights advocates, labor organizers, and members of the faith community (including me) came together to call for justice for the workers. Progressive champions Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, also spoke passionately in the workers' defense.

Jobs with Justice, which helped organize the event, gives some background:

"In late 2006, over 500 Indian workers mortgaged their futures for an American dream, paying $20,000 apiece for false promises of green cards and permanent residency from US and Indian recruiters. Instead they received ten-month H2B guest worker visas and arrived to an American nightmare, working for Signal International. Signal forced them to live 24 men to a trailer and charged them $1,050 a month for it. H2B visas bind workers to a single employer, which let Signal threaten deportation at any time. When workers began to organize, Signal sent armed guards to seize the organizers, saying they would be deported the next day."

In March 2008, more than 100 of the workers walked off their jobs and kept on walking until they got to Washington, D.C. For the last month, they have engaged in a hunger-strike to call attention to their dire story.

The New York Times has picked up on it as has USA Today and the BBC.

Last week, 18 members of Congress, including Rep. Kucinich, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sent a letter (pdf) to Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging him to investigate the trafficking case and give the workers continued presence in the United States while the investigation proceeds.

Jobs with Justice has been trying for some time now to schedule a meeting with the DOJ in hopes of exploring the need for an investigation.  At the close of the rally, I went with several other members of the faith community to meet someone from the DOJ in hopes of finalizing a meeting time.  While we were unable to schedule a time to meet then, we were assured they would do so...  and they did.  Today we received an email saying that members of the Office of Civil Rights within the DOJ would meet with us next week.  This is a great step forward in the pursuit of justice. I'll be sure to give updates as they become available.

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Sheldon H. Laskin is a congregant at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in Baltimore, MD and is a member of the BHC Green Team. He is also Counsel to the Multistate Tax Commission and Adjunct Professor of Law in the University of Baltimore's Graduate Tax Program, where he teaches State and Local Tax.

The BHC Green Team, a group of Baltimore Hebrew congregants committed to making their lives more environmentally friendly, sponsored a public forum on May 17, 2008 at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation called "Global Climate Change:  Public Health and Public Ethics."  It was an exciting night.

Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH and Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin addressed over 100 people, including Delegates Dan Morhaim, MD and Dana Stein, following Shabbat Shelanu services.  Dr. Patz is Professor of Environmental Studies & Population Health Sciences and Director of Global Environmental Health at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  As a lead author for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Dr. Patz' work contributed to the IPCC's receipt of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with former Vice President Al Gore.  Rabbi Cardin is the General Consultant for the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) -  a member of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment -and Director of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network  (BJEN) at the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center in Owings Mills, MD, which is dedicated to promoting environmental advocacy, ethics and behavior.

Dr. Patz spoke of the ethics of global climate change.  He pointed out that the ethical issue has three aspects.  The first is the ethics of  humans adversely affecting other species through excess carbon , such as the threat to  polar bear habitat due to global warming.  The second aspect is the disparate health effects of global climate change throughout the world - the wealthy industrialized countries in the Northern Hemisphere produce vastly more carbon emissions than the much poorer Southern Hemisphere, yet it is the populations of the Southern Hemisphere that bear most of the health effects of increased carbon-related insect borne  diseases such as malaria and carbon-related water runoff diarrheal diseases such as cholera. Over the past century, the United States has been by far the number one carbon emitter in the world.  Although China recently surpassed this country as the leading annual carbon producer, the United States will continue to have the greatest cumulative impact on climate change for many years. The final aspect of climate change ethics is the vastly  disproportionate effect on the health of children, who are not responsible for the decisions that cause excess carbon.

Rabbi Cardin spoke of the primacy of man's role in the world as a steward of the Earth.  She pointed out that this week's Torah portion, Behar, Leviticus 25:1-26:2, mandates that the Jews are to leave their fields fallow every seven years, in order to allow the Land to rest in the sabbatical year, just as we are mandated to rest and reflect every Shabbat.  The parshat reminds us that we are to respect the Land and not to take from it more than we require.  The sabbatical year is a reminder that the Earth is Holy and that Man only exercises stewardship over the Land, not ownership.

The BHC Green Team is a group of Baltimore Hebrew congregants committed to making their household lives more environmentally friendly as part of the Congregation's green initiative. To join the Green Team, a congregant must commit to at least three environmental actions on a regular basis, preferably one of which s/he has never done before.

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Now that Hillary Clinton has endorsed Barack Obama and the Democrats have solidified the top slot on their November ticket, much attention is finally being paid to Clinton's treatment as a female on the presidential campaign trail. The verdict of all this scrutiny is, appropriately, a condemnation of both the American media and the American people.

Judith Warner, a consistently insightful guest columnist at the New York Times, blogged last week in "Women in Charge, Women Who Charge" that Clinton's candidacy brought into stark relief the pervasive discrimination and hatred aimed at women today that far too often goes unchecked. As many observers, including Katie Couric, note, had Obama faced the racial equivalents of the heckling and mocking protests Clinton endured, this country would have been outraged and ashamed and launched into cathartic introspection.

Sexism is alive and well in America. It permeates every part of society, and what we see in the media is only a reflection of what occurs daily. Not only in harassment in the workplace (which was made more difficult to combat by a November 2006 6th Circuit Court decision) or violence aimed at women (one out of every five women in the U.S. has been raped), but also in the words and images we allow women to be referred to by and the burden we disproportionately place on our girls to maintain their chastity.

For years, there have been those who have claimed victory in the feminist fight for equality. And though we have clearly made great strides, something deeper remains elusive. The attitudes that prevail, the constricting societal classifications of what it means to be female, and the passive acceptance of discriminatory words and actions are all poisonous roadblocks in women's quest for full actualization and equal status. That we sat on our couches and watched disgusting media attacks on Clinton that were deeply personal and far removed from any campaign saliency without instinctively jumping up to call the news networks in indignant fury makes us all culpable.

Women are the majority of the population and of the vote, but it seems we are behaving like an incidental minority, asking, "Please, sir, may I have some more?"

Are women held hostage by the ever-increasing objectification of them by society? By the burden that comes with the joy of being the gender that gives birth? Or by the legacy of millennia of stark divisions of labor? Can we break through the tough patina of the status quo? Representative Carolyn Maloney's new book, Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated, addresses just how far women have left to go before we can truly declare victory and why this is a fight that is not only imperative for women and society today, but for the substantive quality of life for our daughters as well.

Now that Clinton is available fodder no more, the media is gearing up for an anticipated flurry of attacks on Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. We all must demand of our leaders and of ourselves intolerance for misogyny wherever it may arise, and particularly in the unrepentant media. If we do not actively confront it, what are we inadvertently condoning and even encouraging? What are we saying to our women and to our daughters?

What are we saying to ourselves?

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a bipartisan panel yesterday at the Center for American Progress, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) conveyed their strong support for providing Americans in same-sex relationships with domestic partner benefits. The event also featured former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Michael Guest, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania and this country's first openly gay ambassador. Guest resigned last year when he decided the Foreign Service's "inequities were just too strong" in the arena of discrimination against GLBT employees.

Smith's end of the discussion was particularly interesting, especially when an audience member pointed out the proverbial elephant in the room: If Smith is so supportive of GLBT equality, why did he favor 2006's Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have amended the Constitution to define marriage as a union of a man and a woman, and which was vigorously opposed by supporters of the GLBT community? Smith responded passionately, insisting that although his religious beliefs couldn't allow him to support same-sex marriage, he is committed to ensuring GLBT equality in terms of opportunity and benefits (he also supports adding sexual orientation to federal hate crimes laws). What's more, Smith seemed genuinely optimistic that the legislative tides are changing in favor of equality, citing a "change in the hearts and minds of Senators on LGBT issues" and the increasingly popular view amongst members of Congress that providing domestic partner benefits, at least, is "a simple issue of fairness and equality."

Despite our drastically different beliefs on the issue of marriage equality, I very much respect Sen. Gordon Smith's comments on this subject, to which he has clearly given much thought. Ensuring domestic partner benefits is one of many crucial steps that will ultimately lead to full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people - including marriage equality. And we've got to start somewhere.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Rabbi Warren Stone is known nationally for his leadership on religion and the environment. He is the founding and current chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis' Committee on the Environment and serves on the board of COEJL, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. Rabbi Stone has served as rabbi of Temple Emanuel in the Washington metropolitan area in Kensington, Maryland since 1988.

"In a world where matters of faith seem so often and so tragically to divide us, there is no issue which aligns us more deeply than our shared dependence upon and sacred responsibility to this tiny planet, enfolded within its fragile atmosphere, spinning in the vastness of time and space."

Kyoto and Bali agreements calling for worldwide reductions in CO2 emissions are a critical step in the world challenge to reduce our dependence on our diminishing world oil supplies. Yet according to current research, even if the nations of the world adopt the protocols, they will be insufficient to counter the growing impact of climate change in the current century.  (Pew Foundation: Beyond Kyoto: Advancing the International Effort Against Climate Change)

It is time to start thinking outside of the diplomatic box.

With all due respect to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Bill in the U.S. Senate  and the hoped-for policy change it would bring, it is time to challenge both our country and world populations to take steps beyond legislation and diplomacy to begin to transform our daily lives in ways that can impact this rise in CO2.

I recently spoke at the British Embassy at a panel on Faith and Climate Change. It was part of a Washington, D.C. symposium on Climate Change and Security for all the US British consulates around the country. I applaud them for seeking leaders of faith communities to voice their concerns with diplomats. I served on a panel with a Christian Evangelical environmental leader, Rev. Richard Cizik and a young Muslim woman known as "Sanjana," who started a "DC Green Muslims blog."  The British consulates sought voices from the faith community because they realize that the issue of climate change will demand a populist response beyond diplomacy.  Faith leaders can and must inspire and mobilize their communities on this urgent issue.

People of faith on this planet number in the billions. Teaching people of faith basic environmental values and practices can have an immense impact. Perhaps we need an 11th Commandment of walking gently upon this earth of ours and being aware of our own carbon footprint as a religious mandate. Our religious traditions all share a spiritual mandate for caring for a Godly creation. Reaching religious leaders and their communities on this issue could not be more critical.  Indeed, responding to climate change has become the most significant moral and spiritual issue facing humanity today. Our ancient religious traditions are concerned with protecting life and creation in the broadest sense. In a world where matters of faith seem so often and so tragically to divide us, there is no issue which aligns us more deeply than our shared dependence upon and sacred responsibility to this tiny planet, enfolded within its fragile atmosphere, spinning in the vastness of time and space.

I experienced this common faith when I served as a UN delegate representing many Jewish organizations at the Kyoto talks in 1997. At that time I spoke along with eight other religious leaders at the largest Buddhist Temple in Kyoto as a part of the conference. We concurred that people of diverse faith traditions have a spiritual and moral responsibility to act now.

As a religious leader involved in climate change issues now for many years I believe we need a gradual paradigm shift in our very way of life. In an article in The New York Times, "What's Your Consumption Factor?" January 2, 2008, Jared Diamond pointed out that world consumption is growing at an unsustainable rate in the face of a growing world population, particularly in India and China. China has a population of 1.3 billion and growing. Our forests and natural resources will not be able to sustain this demographic explosion. Perhaps we might be able to sustain 9 billion people but multiply that in our century and you can see we are facing a consumption doomsday.

The western ethic which continually encourages more growth, more cars, more computers and media tools is fostering a road leading to disaster. Not only are we using up the world's diminishing resources, but we are also contributing to climate change and threatening the world's species in a silent genocide.   We are all imperiled by climate change -- a rise in water-borne illness, the devastation of coastal lands, frequently inhabited by some of the neediest populations --with world refugees with no where to go. We must act now.  We must listen to Hillel, who chastised: "If not now, when?"

If diplomacy is not enough, what can we do and do now?

• Let us begin by greening our government and its diverse institutions. Let the Capitol, the White House and Congress become green examples to the nation.  So too, our state and local governments need to become actively engaged in greening.

• Let us government support bold initiatives for alternative energies and their rapid development to wean us from our fossil fuel dependency.

• Let's  follow with our schools and universities. Let the state, county and local fleets and buses become hybrid or new fuel cell vehicles.

• Let's devote resources to public transportation and bicycle paths in all our cities.

• Let all our country's religious institutions become models of environmental possibilities with green architecture, use of solar and wind power, community recycling and gardening and a true application of the spiritual teachings and truths of the earth.

• Let us also support a green paradigm shift by encouraging awards in environmental activism to architects, engineers, artists, statesmen and people of faith who set the highest and most outstanding standards.

• Let's  encourage artists, musicians and writers to adopt this greening mandate and use their tools of music, drama, art and poetry to further environmental vision and activism.

• Let's support a new green foods movement which encourages a more vegetarian diet -- not only healthier and more just, but far more sustainable for the people of our world.

• Let's learn from examples abroad.  Last year, London had a "Sustainability Week," with 350 green events for the public attended by tens of thousands of people. Holland and Austria created a "Green Wave 21st Century" festival throughout their countries and awarded prizes for ecological leadership.

Paradigm shifts start from the grassroots up. The US civil rights movement, which gained momentum from the faith and labor communities, is an apt analogy to guide our response to today's demands of world climate change. The civil rights movement gained momentum not via legislation but rather by a populist participation throughout the South and across the country.  Faith communities, those involved in labor and community leadership, as well as artists and activists of all stripes and visions can now help lead to the kind of political change and bold action necessary to preserve and protect life and all creation on this sacred home of ours.

Let's focus on the positive and the doable. We don't want our children and future generations to inherit a sense of doom and gloom, but rather to feel in full measure the innate and infinite capacity of the human spirit to arise and overcome the most demanding challenges humanity may face.  We want them to see all life, including their own, as a miracle worthy of celebration.  We want them to see the preservation of life on our planet as a mission worthy of their greatest passions and energies and to feel the joy that comes from joining in common cause for greater good.

Let me end with a prayer by a visionary poet, e.e. cummings:

i thank You God for most this amazing

day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning the Senate was unable to attain cloture - to reach 60 votes - on a remarkably bipartisan climate bill that would have lowered U.S. carbon dioxide emissions roughly 70% by 2050.  While America's Climate Security Act was not as stringent scientifically as many leading scientists would like (they reccomend an 80% cut in emissions), it was, BY FAR, the most aggressive and comprehensive climate legislation ever debated on the Senate floor.   

This morning's votes came out to 48 in favor of moving onto the amendment process, 36 opposed to the continuing debate, and 16 Senators were not present to vote. However, of the 16 absent Senators, Environment and Public Works chairwoman and bill co-sponsor Sen. Boxer said she had received verbal commitments of intention to vote for cloture from 6 additional Senators.  That would have brought the total to at least 54 "AYE" votes - a record high for any previous climate bill.  (And perhaps more importantly, a record low of senators opposing passage environmental legislation.)   
 

Contributing greatly to today's legislative-environmental breakthrough were the TEN Senators who voted "yes" on cloture this morning but who had opposed similar bills in 2003 and 2005:  Baucus (D-MT), Levin (D-MI), Lincoln (D-AR), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Dole (R-NC), Martinez (R-FL), Smith (R-OR), Sununu (R-NH), and, of course, Warner (RVA).

If any of these Senators represent you, I highly recommend breaking out an old fashion pen and note card to send in a sincere thank you note for their enlightened, inspiring, historic, and much appreciated vote on behalf of our planet!  (I know I will be)

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This week, I attended an Interfaith Health Care Reform Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, sponsored by Faithful Reform in Health Care.  This conference was a convergence of faith and lay leaders from various traditions, coming together to talk about the role that the faith community will play in national efforts for health care reform.

Facilitated by "The Difference Consulting," a group particularly skilled at fostering creative and fruitful thinking, this conference was one of the most productive 48 hours that I have ever experienced.  The output includes a summary of values shared by most religious traditions and an articulation of the role of the faith community in working for health care reform as well as short- and long-term action and communication plans and an organizational model for carrying the work forward.  The conference was truly transformative for many of the people who were there.  I highly recommend reviewing the extensive work that the group produced and, if you are inspired, visit Rabbi Yoffie's Health Care Initiative website to learn how to get involved.

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The National Abstinence Education Association is in the midst of launching an aggressive campaign to drum up support among parents for sex education curricula that teaches abstinence only until marriage. They are hoping to enlist 1 million parents to lobby their local schools to adopt such curricula and to elect candidates in all levels and branches of government who support this agenda.

What is truly egregious about this campaign is that its proponents, like much of the abstinence-only curricula itself, twist the truth and even straight out lie. A debate over ideals and what's best for our nation's youth and health is more than welcome, but let's at least agree to be candid, truthful, and honorable in the exchange. Valerie Huber, the Executive Director of the National Abstinence Education Association, an advocacy group here in DC, rolled out the campaign by claiming, as reported in the Washington Post, "There are powerful special interest groups who can far outspend what parents can in terms of promoting their agenda. But we recognize that parents more than make up for that by their determination and motivation to protect their own children." Well, Ms. Huber is right, except the powerful special interest groups at play are not so much those promoting comprehensive sex education (such as the Union for Reform Judaism and dozens of other faith traditions) as they are those who vehemently oppose it (including, notably, the President of the United States who has secured over $1 billion in federal funds for abstinence-only curricula). And parents are determined and motivated to protect their children, which is probably why 91% of them favor age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education for their high schoolers, and 93% favor such curricula for their junior high schoolers.

In fact, the substantial majority of parents feel that government money "should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives." Maybe it's because these parents know that the reality is that the majority of people in the U.S. become sexually active before they get married, and many first become active as teenagers. Maybe they are fed up with abstinence-only curricula, and it's supporters like the National Abstinence Education Association, claiming that candidly educating our youth about their reproductive health encourages sexual activity--a claim that has been repeatedly disproved by scientific studies. Or maybe it's because the physical and mental health of their kids is at stake.

Whatever the reasons, let's continue to press our government to listen to the truth, instead of catering to the real biased, minority special interests.

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In case you missed it, the New York Times ran an excellent front page story yesterday entitled "A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool."  The piece focused on the "Nothing But Nets" initiative, a program coordinated by the UN Foundation which the Union for Reform Judaism has partnered with to help reduce malaria infections throughout Africa. Listen and read more after the jump

As the article points out, the great part about the program is how easy it is for any individual to play a part in ending one of the greatest health crises facing our world today. More than 500 million people are infected with malaria each year, and more than one million die from it.Yet the disease is preventable, and each and every one of us has the ability to help.  All it takes is $10 to buy an insecticide treated bed net which can help protect a family of up to four.

The article highlights some of the many heroes of Nothing But Nets.  One Bar Mitzvah boy raised $2,000 by running a basketball tournament.  Another Bar Mitzvah girl, Ilana Lieberman of Temple Concord in Vestal, New York, not mentioned in the story but highlighted on the URJ's Nothing But Nets website, raised $722 by coordinating a "Breakfast for Nets."  And, perhaps the most amazing fundraiser, Katherine Commale of Hopewell, Pa. who is only 7 years old, has raised $43,000.  These are young people with little or no money of their own leveraging their power to help children around the world. 

The article also highlights the fact that so many different groups are playing a part in the project from the faith community to the National Basketball Association to "American Idol Gives Back."  This seemingly random assortment of organizations all agree on one thing: we can no longer allow a preventable disease to wreak havoc on our watch.  As Jews our motivation for this action is clear.  Our tradition teaches that if we save a life, it is as if we have saved the entire world.  For that reason our Movement has pledged to donate 50,000 nets.

Want to help us reach our goal?  Check out the Union for Reform Judaism's Nothing But Nets site to learn how you can help today!

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After months of silence, the marriage debate is back in the spotlight.

Last month, the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage should be legal, a ruling the Union for Reform Judaism celebrated. Same-sex marriages could commence in California as soon as June 14, making the Golden State the second in the nation to allow such unions (Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages in 2004).

A victory, for sure, but hold off on the merriment:

A possible November ballot initiative in the state could give Californians the power to vote on a proposed amendment to the state constitution. If passed, the amendment would overrule the court's decision and define marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman. If the amendment is defeated, however, the ruling will stand and GLBT Californians will be free to marry - celebs Ellen DeGeneres and George Takei say they're already planning weddings to their respective partners, and you can bet other Californians are doing the same. Supporters of marriage equality are already mobilizing to defeat the dangerous ballot initiative that would write discrimination into the state constitution - expect the URJ to join the fight!

And another victory: Last week, New York Governor David Paterson announced that the Empire State will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. While this doesn't legalize same-same marriage in the state, it means that New Yorkers who travel to California or Canada to wed would be legally recognized as a married couple under state law (Massachusetts' marriage law has a residency requirement that bars out-of-staters from marrying there).

Stay tuned for updates as the fight for marriage equality continues to intensify!

Posted by Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)