Current Thinking

forkeepinghisfocuson “Islamofascism”asopposedto McCain,whohasbecome distractedintomakingRussia hismajorconcern.Sowhilethe peacenikssupportedObamaas apeacecandidate,themilitaristssupportedhimasoneof theirown.Nowimaginehow surprisedliberalsandprogressivesaregoingtobeifChaitis rightandObamabecomesthe real“toughguy”ontheblock. ■ ThevenerablemilitaristleaningNewRepublicmaga zineendorsedBarackObama , withsenioreditorJonathan ChaitexplainingthatObamais justasmilitaristasJohn Kennedy.HesaidObamapositionedhimself “totheright”of McCainbysayingthathe wouldnotrespectthenational boundaryofPakistanbut wouldfollowAlQaedawherevertheywentandkillOsama binLaden.HepraisedObama 6 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 payHousemembers’salaries, wepaytorunelectionsandwe payforalltheirspendingdecisions .However,we,ascitizens, havehandedspecialinterests theremotecontrol,forcingour potentialleaderstogrovelbeforePACleadersandlobbyists toraisethefundsneededtowin elections.” But,Tikkunasks,isthisalwaysbad ?WhatifaBlack,Hispanic ,orgaycandidatewants toruninadistrictthathasfew minorities—what’ssobadif thatpersongetsmoneyfrom outsidethedistricttomakeher orhiscampaignviable?Ora working-classcandidatewho wantstochallengetheethosin afinanciallysuccessfuldistrict —whyshouldunionsbe stoppedfromdonating,evenif theydon’tliveinthedistrict? Afterall,somepeople argue,theCongresstowhich thecandidatemaybeelected makesdecisionsthataffectthe livesofpeoplearoundthe UnitedStatesand,forthat matter,aroundtheworld.Why shouldn’tothersbeabletodonatetogetthekindofworld theywanteveniftheydon’tlive inthedistrict?Butshouldthat applytopeopleoutsidethe UnitedStates—shouldtheybe abletodonateonthegrounds thatdecisionsmadeinthe UnitedStatesshapetheirlives aswell?Andhowcanwemake aboundaryconditionsothat thisdoesn’tsimplycontinue thetraditionofthewealthyin effecthavingdisproportionate influenceoverwhogetselected ?Howshouldtheelectoral systembetransformed? Youcanseethatthereis muchtoconsiderwhen enteringourcontest!(See boxatleft)■ outsideofwheretheir constituentslive. “Insteadofavoting democracy,wehaveadollar democracy—maythebiggestspendingspecial -interestwin,” saidDanielNewman,MAPLight .org’sco-founderandexecutivedirector . “Towinanelection,a Housecandidatehastoraisean averageof$1.3millionincampaignfunds —that’s$2,500 everyworkingdayforanentire two-yearterm,”Newman added.“WithsuchaHerculean fundraisingeffortrequired, whattimeandattentiondo representativeshavelefttoaddresstheinterestsofthevoters theyrepresent?We,ascitizens, MAPLight.org—anonpartisan ,nonprofitresearchgroup thatilluminatestheconnection betweenmoneyandpolitics— issuedareportOctober28entitled “RemoteControl.”The reportshowsthegeographic origin,downtozipcode,ofindistrictandout -of-district campaigncontributionsforall membersoftheU.S.Houseof Representatives.Theresearch revealsthatlawmakersraised $700millionincampaign fundsfromJanuary2005to December2007.About$551 millionofthesefunds,or79%, camefromoutofdistrict.In otherwords,legislatorsraised aboutfouroutofeveryfivedollarsincampaignfundsfrom Current THINKING C Cu ur rr re en nt t ShouldOutsiders’MoneyInfluenceElections? ELECTION REFORMS—A CONTEST FOR YOUR IDEAS CONTEST:Supplyuswiththebestideasforcomprehensivereformoftheelectionprocess .Tellushowtomakeourelectionsmoredemocraticandlesscontrolledbythewealthyandthepowerful . PRIZE: Ten free two-year subscriptions to Tikkun. You may assign them to anyoneyouwish. ENTRYREQUIREMENTS:Sendus200to1200words,outlininginclearandaccessible English your ideas for how to make the election process more democratic and more focused on the substantive issues. You can suggest technologicalchanges(iftheyarefeasible),politicalchanges,changesinthe media, changes in the funding laws, and changes in the process of who gets intodebatesthataretelevised.Theshorterandclearer,thebetter. DEADLINEFORSUBMISSIONS:January15,2009. SEND TO: RabbiLerner@Tikkun.org and put in the subject line the following words:TikkunElectionReforms. ORMAILTO:TikkunElectionReforms,2342ShattuckAve.,#1200, Berkeley,CA,94704 TroubleAhead? currentthinking.qxd:Current Thinking 11/5/08 2:45 PM Page 6 alsowanttoshareourbooks abouthopeandpoliticaltransformationwithyourfriends andfamily.Atwww.tikkun.org clickon“Store”tobuyour booksoron“Subscribe/ Renew”tosendgiftcertificates. Orsendagiftmembershipin theNetworkofSpiritualProgressivestoapersonyouknow whoisfeelingscaredandalone byclicking“Join/Donate”at www.spiritualprogressives.org. ContributionstoTikkun andtheNetworkofSpiritual Progressivesaretax-deductible .Makeonlinecontributionsbycreditcardat www.tikkun.orgorwww.spiritualprogressives .org,orsend checkstoTikkun/NSPHoliday ,2342ShattuckAve,#1200, Berkeley,CA94704,payableto Tikkun. ■ support.TheWallStreetJournalrecentlyreportednonprof itsareanticipatingareduction ofupto40%indonations.We maybeimpactedaspeople whonormallydonatehold back,notbecausetheyareactuallythemselvessuffering ,but becausetheyfearwhatmight happeninthefuture.Please considerdonatingonlineorby check. Inthistimeoffear,youmay Christmasand ChanukahGiftIdea— Insteadofbuyingpresents, whynotgivepeopleonyourlist anotesayingthatforChristmasorChanukahyou 'vemade adonationintheirnameto yourfavoritesetofnonprofit organizations? WehopethatTikkunand theNetworkofSpiritualProgressives (NSP)areamongthe organizationsyou’dwantto TheEconomicMeltdownisHurtingEveryone— ButParticularlyNonprofitSocialChangeProjects correctHalachicway(i.e.by Jewishreligiouslaw).AsRabbi JeremyRosenpointsout,“JewishLawdoesindeedcoveris suessuchasthetreatmentof workersandanimals.Butasa ruleallwehearinthepressare Orthodoxrabbisrailingagainst immodestladiesincyclelanes ormixedconcerts.Orthodox leadershipneedstocomeout andhammerhome,againand again,theimportanceofethics andethicaltreatmentinadditiontoandaspartofHalachah , nottoattackthosewhoargue forhigherstandards,whatever theirmotives.”Nowthat Agriprocessorshasbeenhit withthelargestwageviolations penaltieseverleviedinIowa (almost$10millioninfines) willmorerabbistakenotice? ■ ethicalstandards.Still,thereis considerableresistanceinthe OrthodoxJewishworldtothe linkingofthesetwosetsof standards.SomeConservative rabbis,whoarealsoofficially committedtoKashrut,haveset uptheirownprocessforensuringthatpeoplearealertedto whichproductsareproduced inanethicallykosherwayand whicharenot.It’snotenough toslaughtertheanimalsinthe Widespreadpublicityabout theabusivetreatmentbothof animalsandemployeesin Postville,Iowa,attheplantof Agriprocessors,thelargest providerofkoshermeat,has unleashedfiercedebateabout theneedforethicalstandards fordeclaringfood“kosher.”As thescandalgrewdeeper,the OrthodoxUnionsetupacommissiontoexplorehowtobring kosherstandardstogetherwith GoodNewsfromtheOrthodoxJewishWorld Itisunlikelythatthisviolenceorthreatsofviolencewill decreaseaslongastheOccupationcontinues .Allthepious statementsaboutcivilliberties anddefendingfreespeechwill beuselessuntiltheproto-fascistswhoplayaroleinthisvio lenceareinprison ,andthe settlementsthathideorprotect orcheerontheseviolentacts havebeendismantled.Israel mustbringthesettlersback withintheGreenLinesand createfactsofpeaceinsteadof factsofwar.Itmustalsoprovideresourcesforprotectionof theJewsmostwellknownfor speakingoutforpeace.■ Israelinewspapers)havetaken placeagainstIsraeliArabs, mostnotablyonYomKippur thisyear. Theviolencehasalsoextendedtoprominentfiguresin thepeacemovement.InSeptember ,abombwasplaced outsidethehomeofTikkun authorZeevSternhell.A Ha’aretzcolumnist,Sternhellis oneoftheworld’smostrespectedhistorians (hisspecialty:the riseoffascisminFrance).He haswritteninTikkunabout thedangeroftheIsraeliright andthewaythatithascaused Israel to lose its moral grounding. Inthepastfewmonths, right-wingsupportersoftheIsraelisettlershaveescalated theirattacksonArabsinthe WestBanktosuchanextent thatbothIsraeliPrimeMinisterEhudOlmertandhispossi blesuccessorTzipiLivnihave madepublicstatementsdecryingtheirviolence .Therecent attackshavebeendirectednot onlyagainstPalestinianArabs butalsoagainstthemembers oftheIsraelDefenseForces (IDF)intheWestBank.Asimilarphenomenonhashap penedinsideIsraelitself ,where overtpogroms(awordusedto describetheseincidentsin ViolenceAgainstPeaceAdvocates BUDGET PRIORITIES? Numberofpeoplekilledbyinternational terrorismperyear:1,907 NumberofAmericanskilledbyterrorism peryear:70 Number of people that die from peanut allergiesperyear:140 Numberofpeoplethatdiefromcoronary heartdiseaseperyear:450,000 Amount of money U.S. Govt. spends on “WaronTerror”peryear:$162billion Amount of money U.S. Govt. spends on “WaronHeartDisease”peryear: $3billion Almost6,600timesmoreAmericansdie from coronary heart disease each year than terrorism, yet the U.S. government spends 54 times more money to save 70 lives than to save 450,000 lives each year. Sourceofdata:NationalCounterTerrorism CenterandGovernmentAccountingOffice N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 7 currentthinking.qxd:Current Thinking 11/5/08 2:45 PM Page 7 ...