Social Justice
Today I find myself once again fasting for Darfur. My first fast for Darfur, which I did only a few days after being arrested with Representative John Lewis, four other members of Congress, and leaders of Darfur advocacy groups, was undertaken to underline the urgency of the suffering in the internally displaced persons camps in Darfur after President Bashir had expelled over a dozen aid groups from the region. Now, though, three months later, as I take up the same fast again, the situation has not materially improved. Aid groups report that while they have covered some gaps, their efforts... Read More
On Sunday, the RAC made its first ever march in the DC Capital Pride Parade! We carried posters with messages of support, handed out RAC stickers, and did an excellent job representing the Reform Movement's outspoken stance in favor of LGBT rights. Many parade attendees were excited (and many were surprised!) to see religious organizations marching in the parade, and we got a lot of love from the crowd because of it.Take a look below to see some pictures from the festivities! The RAC contingent before the parade stepped off. v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#... Read More
Earlier today the Senate passed with very broad-based support a bill allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco products. Now, this was not token broad-based support, but in fact the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed by an overwhelming margin of 79-17. Not too shabby, right?The bill will grant the FDA authority to engage in a number of regulatory measures from restricting advertising and product development targeted to kids, require large and graphic health warnings (take a look at what the British did last year), and require the disclosure of the contents and ingredients... Read More
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-right","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"225","height":"225","alt":"bloglogo.jpg"}}]]As an infrequent reader of non-fiction, I was skeptical about the persistent praise of Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine. While intrigued by the subject matter that Toobin was tackling, I expected to be bored by a simple story laced with indigestible legal jargon. I could not have been more wrong. Toobin brought the Justices to life. With his narrative style and amusing anecdotes, he... Read More
It seems we haven't heard from Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's former pastor, for quite some time. After the media frenzy that surrounded a number of his offensive and controversial past remarks, he mostly fell off the campaign season radar and had yet to return. Until now. In a recent interview at the annual Hampton University Ministers' Conference, Rev. Wright said, "Them Jews aren't going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office ... Ethnic cleansing is going on in Gaza.... Read More