Jewish Citizen: Carrying MLK’s vision forward

-Compiled by Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO — The annual celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday prompted numerous officeholders to discuss his legacy and ways to carry his ideals forward.  From Jewish members in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and California Legislature there were these comments:

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California): “Dr. King once said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’  Our country has come a long way since Dr. King spoke those words, but the tragic deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner remind us that our work is far from done. Far too many Americans have lost trust in our criminal justice system, which undermines our communities and our society as a whole.  That is why I wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder thanking him for his leadership and urging him to ensure that we have a justice system that treats everyone equally under the law. We cannot, we must not stop fighting until every American can count on equal justice under the law.

U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland): “Despite our substantial progress, we cannot stop working.  As Dr. King once said ‘we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.’ In many ways we are fighting the same fight. We are still working to end racial profiling, strengthen and protect voting rights and eliminate racial disparities in health care—all work that requires the united efforts of many. We still must to work to eliminate poverty, ensure fair pay for all, and shrink income inequality and so much more.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee): While great strides have been made over the last 50 years, we still have much work remaining. Whether it’s addressing income inequality, education, jobs, infant mortality, poverty, excessive police force, or the racially disparate impact that mandatory minimum sentences have on our communities, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reminds us that we cannot cease or slow our work towards his goals.”

California State Sen.
Jeff Stone (R-Riverside): “Here in California education inequality remains a huge hurdle, especially in low-income communities. That’s why in Sacramento I will be pushing for meaningful education reform because every child in California deserves a quality education. Martin Luther King Junior once said: ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’”


U.S. Senate

PHARMACEUTICALS — Senators Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) HAVE re-introduced legislation to create a new drug approval pathway to streamline access and encourage innovation and development of potentially lifesaving antibiotic drugs for patients, particularly veterans who have encountered antibiotic-resistant bacteria while overseas. “Bioscience companies, particularly in Colorado, are developing new drugs and technologies faster than we’ve ever seen before, but there is a lag in antibiotic treatments,” Bennet said. “We need new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are posing serious and unique challenges to health care professionals. This bill will encourage investment in new drugs that could save the lives of thousands of Americans each year.”
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CORN ETHANOL –Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has co-sponsored legislation to end the nation’s mandate for the production of corn ethanol, calling the mandate both unwise and unworkable.  “Roughly 40 percent of corn in the United States is currently used for fuel, which increases the price of food and animal feed while also damaging the environment,” she said. “Additionally, oil companies are unable to blend more corn ethanol into gasoline without causing problems for some gas stations and older automobiles.”
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STATE OF THE UNION—Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) announced he will take as his special guest to President Obama’s State of the Union Message the student president of the University of Minnesota; Joelle Stanger, a junior majoring in political science and juournalism.  “ “Like so many other college students in Minnesota and across the country, Joelle Stangler and her family understand that the cost of college is a real front-burner issue,” said  Franken. “As a member of the Senate Education Committee, I’ve made tackling college affordability and other important student issues one of my top priorities. Joelle has been a great partner in that fight and a strong voice for students who are facing the same challenges. I’m honored to have Joelle join me at the State of the Union, and I’m looking forward to hearing the President talk about how we can make reforms to our higher education system that benefits students and families alike.”

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PROGRAM CUTSU.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent – Vermont) said Republican changes to rules in the House of Representatives “could lead to a 20 percent cut in Social Security disability benefits for 11 million Americans, including 2 million children, more than a million veteran and more than 150,000 surviving spouses.’  He told a news conference that he will fight against such cuts as well as proposed cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, nutrition, affordable housing and other programs while providing huge tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations.”

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DRONE CONTROL—U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) said “there have been at least two recent instances of drones spotted flying in Westchester County Airport airspace, including one that came within a landing plane’s airspace.” In light of the danger these drones pose to Westchester air travelers, Schumer called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “to immediately move forward and release much-needed rules for the use of small unmanned aircraft systems.”

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INTERNET – Democratic U.S. Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Al Franken of Minnesota are among a group of Democrats who have expressed concern that a Republican bill on the Internet “would dramatically undermine the FCC’s vital role in protecting consumers and small businesses online by limiting its enforcement and rulemaking authorities in this critically important area.”  Further, they said, “the Republican bill would severely curtail the FCC’s ability to promote the deployment of broadband service.  The FCC has the necessary authority to enact the open Internet rules that millions of Americans have called for and that Republicans finally support. The Commission should act without delay.”

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U.S. House of Representatives

UKRAINE– U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Michigan) joined his fellow co-chairs of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus — Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) –in releasing the following statement regarding the detention of Ukrainian pilot and Member of Parliament Nadia Savchenko:  “We continue to call on Russian authorities to immediately release Nadia Savchenko from custody.  We are gravely concerned by reports of her ill health since the commencement of a hunger strike on December 14, 2014, now into its fifth week.  We are equally troubled by Ms. Savchenko’s lack of access to her counsel and adequate medical attention.  We demand that Russia abide by its international obligations and the rule of law, and we join the United States Department of State in calling for Nadia Savchenko’s immediate release.”

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HIGH SPEED RAIL– Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) has expressed opposition to the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) Authority’s plan to study running the high-speed rail through the Angeles National Forest. “The original route from Palmdale to Burbank proposed by the Authority bypassed the Angeles National Forest altogether and ran alongside California State Route 14,” he said. “This is strongly preferable to the new proposal to tunnel through the forest, which wasn’t even under consideration prior to this summer.” Schiff noted that he has worked for years to preserve and protect the Angeles National Forest and surrounding Rim of the Valley. He authored legislation signed by President George W. Bush to study the formation of a new or expanded recreation area in the region. He said within the next few weeks, the National Park Service is expected to release its draft report on which areas should be given the enhanced resources and protection that would result from their inclusion in such a recreation area.
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California Legislature

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW — State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has introduced a bill to streamline and expedite the environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California’s landmark law for evaluating and mitigating the environmental impacts of major development projects. SB 122, which is jointly authored with Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) and Senator Richard Roth (D-Riverside),” seeks to create efficiencies in the environmental review process without undermining the law’s goal of informed environmental decision-making,” Jackson said.  “It is the result of input gathered from a variety of stakeholders – business and environmental groups, local government groups, lawyers, academics, and others – over a number of months following a letter sent in May by the Senate Judiciary and Environmental Quality committees.”
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JUVENILE PRISONS — Senator Mark Leno (D-San Franciscol) has introduced legislation that limits the use of solitary confinement at state and county juvenile correctional facilities and creates statewide standards that encourage the use of less damaging and more effective disciplinary actions. “Deliberately depriving incarcerated young people of human contact, education, exercise and fresh air is inhumane and can have devastating psychological effects for these youth, who are already vulnerable to depression and suicide,” said Senator Leno, “This type of severe segregation, even if temporary, must be reserved for the most extreme cases in which the young people are in danger of jeopardizing their own safety or that of facility personnel. Troubled youth need treatment, not isolation, if we want them to avoid a future life of crime and become productive members of society.”
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Local Government

CHARGERS STADIUM — Mark Fabiani, spokesman for the San Diego Chargers, tried to blitz Steve Cushman as the quarterback of the City of San Diego’s efforts to enlarge the convention center.  As reported by U-T San Diego’s Lori Weisberg, Fabiani complained about Cushman being given that responsibility by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.  “If you were going to line up the people in San Diego who have done the most to block a new stadium over the years, there is no doubt that Steve Cushman would be near the head of that line,” Fabiani said.  Craig Gustafson, spokesman for the mayor, said Cushman’s role has nothing to do with the stadium, just the convention center, however some proposals would have the stadium built on land eyed by the convention center.  As for Cushman, who describes himself as a rabid Chargers fan, he expressed surprise at Fabiani’s outburst.  “I don’t know why San Diego can’t support a new contiguous expansion of the convention center along with a new stadium in downtown San Diego or at Qualcomm,” Cushman said.
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Political Parties

‘DONORS’ AND IRAN — The Republican Jewish Coalition is demanding an explanation from President Barack Obama at exactly what he was implying when, as reported in the New York Times, he told a retreat of Democratic senators that he wants to loosen sanctions on Iran, but “he understood the pressures that senators face from donors and others.”  Said Matt Brooks, the RJC executive director:  “What exactly was President Obama suggesting when he said opposition to his Iran policy is due to ‘donors?’  No one would say opposition to his Russia policy is due to ‘donors,’ or his Cuba policy is due to ‘donors,’ or his general foreign policy is due to ‘donors.’  So why did President Obama single out those who seek tougher sanctions on Iran and say their viewpoints are based on ‘donors?’ The threat Iran poses to Israel and the western world is a national security issue.  Attributing opposition to his Iran policy to the views of ‘donors’ is an inappropriate statement and it underplays the serious threat that Iran represents.”

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Items dealing with Jewish women in Congress are sponsored by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  Your comment on any of these items may be posted in the box provided below or sent directly to the author at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com