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Hanukkah: From Battleground to Festival of Lights
The Hebrew word Hanukkah means “dedication” and refers to the joyous eight-day celebration through which Jews commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and “rededication” of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Sports, Race Relations, & Growing Up in the 1960s
Born in 1958, I came of age in the 1960s and ‘70s in the north end of Flint, MI. Today, that neighborhood is an urban war zone. Within its few square miles, my old neighborhood is responsible for one of the highest per capita rates of deadly crime in the USA. It was different in 1967.
The Death of US...
In my last blog on energy, some of our readers brought up a couple of interesting points about the economic effects of a switch to greener energy sources. Indeed, there are legitimate concerns about the economic costs of greening our economy, and as such, I believe it is a worthy endeavor to discuss these issues. However, before getting to far into the proverbial weeds of the efficiency, cost, environmental impact, interdependency and reliability of green energy sources relative to traditional carbon sources, let’s start with a little Genesis.
U.N. to Vote on Status of Palestinian State
On Thursday, November 28th, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on a resolution aiming to change the status of the Palestinians from an observer to a non-member observer state. The proposal is being advanced by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, who hopes to use the elevated status to renew talks of a two-state solution.
Your Immediate Action Needed!
As Congress convenes for some of the last few days before the end of the year, all eyes are on the fiscal showdown. As Jews, we know that any deal that reduces the deficit must not at the same time increase poverty. Tomorrow, we are asking you to join the RAC along with organizations across the country to send this message loud and clear to our lawmakers: Any path to deficit reduction must not destroy the safety net of programs serving the most vulnerable.
Once More unto the Breech...
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered an appellate court to hear a lawsuit brought by Liberty University in Virginia against the Obama administration on the constitutionality of healthcare reform. Only this time, the constitutional provisions at hand has nothing to do with the individual mandate, which was at the heart of the constitutional scuffle last time.
Reform Leaders Speak Out About Judicial Emergencies
America is in a state of emergency. This time, I’m not talking about Hurricane Sandy, or the fiscal cliff or domestic violence. I’m talking about the state of judicial emergencies that exists in 33 places across our country and that compromises our democratic system.
The NDAA and the Struggle to Close Guantanamo
In 2008 President Obama campaigned on a pledge to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. In his first week on the job the President signed an Executive Order calling for the prison’s swift closure. However, today the prison at Guantanamo remains in operation and continues to hold 166 detainees. Although the issue went largely unmentioned in the 2012 campaign, President Obama did say in an interview on The Daily Show that failing to close Guantanamo was a major regret of his first term and would be a renewed goal after the election. We at the RAC, and the broader anti-torture/civil liberties community, hope to hold the President to his word in the coming weeks as the Senate debates the National Defense Authorization Act.
Food Stamp Challenge
Last week, David, Lili and I tried to live on the average food stamp allotment of $31.50 each, or just $1.50 per person per meal. We learned many different things from this experience. We learned that we simply do not eat at home or on our own dime for every meal. As much as I tried to pick a week to take the Challenge when we would not have fundraising dinners, luncheon meetings, last-minute invitations for meals at friends' homes, etc. LIFE HAPPENS, and we eat. We have an amazing community that supports us in so many ways, including feeding us even more than we realized.