Bible Belt Conservative Senators Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Bill (PEPFAR). Unbelievable!

Since I'm so quick to criticize President Bush and his policies, it is only fair that I give credit where credit is due. President Bush's program to fight HIV/AIDS is one of the most heralded foreign policy successes of his presidency. In 2003, President Bush helped push through congress The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a five-year, $15 billion American Government initiative to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Since the bill was enacted the number of HIV/AIDS inflicted people around the world who are receiving lifesaving anti-retro viral (ARV) drug treatment for free through the Global Fund-financed programs have gone from 300,000 to 1.75 million people. These numbers are proof that the U.S.'s investment in the Global Fund (a public-private programs to eliminate the world's most deadly yet preventable diseases) is working. The U.S. contribution to the Global Fund has significantly helped provide infrastructure, prevention and treatment, services, food and free ARV treatment to those infected and affected by AIDS around the world through the PEPFAR program. This is a life-long commitment, so it is critical for the U.S. to maintain its strong support.

However, the bill expires in September and the Congress has scheduled debate on a new bill: The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The new legislation would:

1. Authorize $50 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis during the next five years,
2. Provide treatment for at least three million AIDS patients, prevent 12 million new HIV infections,
3. Provide care for five million AIDS orphans, train and support 140,000 new health professionals,
4. Authorize $4 billion for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis,
5. Authorize $5 billion to fight malaria.

Now, this is what I expect from my government. With all the wasteful spending in Washington, including $341 million a day for the Iraq War, it is easy to see why I am so supportive of the President's Bill.

The bill passed in the House with bi-partisan support (308-116), and enjoys broad support in the Senate. However, 7 Conservative Republican Senators, known as the "Coburn Seven" (including our Senator from NC) -- Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), David Vitter (R-LA), Jim Bunning (R-KY), and Richard Burr (R-NC) -- are preventing the bill from coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote. If you know me, I'm sure you can image how upset I was when I heard this. I was in my car headed to the coast for work when my friend Steve Cook emailed me the story. I was outraged beyond belief. I called Jess to tell her how upset I was and she helped calm me down. Anyway, I made it a priority to contact Senator Burr over the phone and send a letter to his office to voice my disbelief and disappointment over his actions to block this legislation. And to think all seven of these Senator's come from Bible Belt districts, AND run on Christian family values. We have to do better as Evangelicals in making our values known to our representatives. This legislation embodies the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is what he called us to be in our daily lives, to work tirelessly to serve the poor, oppressed, diseased and outcast. That is the definition of bringing the Kingdom of God from heaven to earth

What possible reason is there to block legislation that would help heal millions of people across the globe? Well, it's that "safe-sex education and condom distribution thing" that has the Conservative Republicans sitting with their panties in a wad. See, the conservatives don't like condom use, even though it has proven effectiveness, and these seven Senators refuse to allow the bill to pass unless the bill includes strict stipulations on how the money is spent, including 33% of the prevention money to be spent on abstinence-only education. They want to stop any safe-sex education that includes condom distribution or needle distribution from being funded. Does anyone else believe that instead of trying to push their narrow, rigid "view of morality" on people of different religions and cultures across the globe, maybe the Coburn Seven should make healing God's children the number one priority and be realistic about moving people out of the hell of HIV/AIDS, without making the help conditional upon thier narrow "view of morality." This bill has broad, bi-partisan support and these seven Senators are getting in the way -- unbelievable!

The Coburn Seven also point to the new price tag, $50 billion instead of $15 billion. They object to what they describe as a "mission creep" -- the funding of "food, water, treatment of other infectious diseases, gender empowerment programs, poverty alleviation programs" -- as though people surviving on AIDS treatment do not need to eat, work, or get their TB treated. And the senators are concerned that AIDS funds might be used for things such as abortion referrals and needle distribution, though the legislation doesn't mention these possibilities. So they are pushing for the extension of the spending mandate requiring that at least 55% of PEPFAR resources be used for treatment (where the money is--for their business and doctor friends), on the theory that this will starve "morally dubious" prevention programs. I told Richard Burr's office in my phone call and letter that I agree, we don't need to "mission creep" we need to "mission explode."

I'll let one of the seven senators blocking this bill explain this to the AIDS inflicted women across the globe who are systematically being raped, or the young mother who prostitutes herself because the only other option is starvation and death for her and her three children, or the orphaned child whose parents have succumbed to the disease. These people don't have a choice when it comes to the Coburn Seven's limited "view of morality."

This is a story I will continue to follow. And if you want to do something about it now, you can sign this petition. Or better yet, please call Richard Burr (202-224-3154) and voice your support for the new PEPFAR bill. It's real easy to contact his office and some nice staff person will answer the phone and record your support for the bill and opposition to Burr's blocking its passage. If enough people in NC contact his office, he will get the message that we do not appreciate him standing in the way of the reauthorization of PEPFAR.

IMMIGRATION

I don't take literally all old Hebrew scripture, especially versus out of Leviticus. But my position on immigration is pretty much summed up in the Old Testament scripture listed below.

The current U.S. immigration system is broken. Families are in jeopardy, workers are being exploited, and the border is far from secure. As Christian churches, organizations and leaders, we should be more committed than ever to holding our politicians accountable to the values they profess: values of family, integrity, and economic progress. I hope the Evangelical Church will follow the example of the Catholic Church as the new Congress and new President take action on the issue of immigration reform next year.

"When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the stranger. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. You shall love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

Wake Up, The Answer is Not More Oil

As I blogged about this weekend, Senate Conservatives blocked consideration of the most aggressive, bipartisan, and comprehensive global climate change legislation to date. Republicans employed parliamentary tactics to stall consideration of the Climate Security Act despite the bill enjoying support from 54 Senators. We should all be outraged that Conservatives continue to value bottom line profits over the need to save our planet. While its disappointing that the bill failed, there is reason to be optimistic: only 3 years ago climate change legislation could only garner 38 votes - No doubt a result of increased awareness of global warming, pressure from constituents as gas prices rise, and of course there are 6 more Democrats in the Senate today than 3 years ago.

The above mentioned bill focuses on investing in renewable resources and ending our addiction and dependence to the carbon emitting fossil fuels, which pollute our air, warm our globe and alter our weather patterns. These policies and solutions are part of the Progressive Agenda. It is important for everyone to understand the Republicans' plan for reducing gas prices (The Conservative Agenda). Rather than focus our energy, effort and resources on mobilizing the US to find strong alternatives to oil, President Bush urged Congress today to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that was echoed by Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain. This follows Bush's push to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil lie. A solution that according to the Department of Energy analysis, would reduce the cost of a barrel of oil by 75 cents., 17 years from now.

There are an estimated 18 billion barrels of oil available in off-shore drilling areas. But people understand that, in an area devoid of the appropriate infrastructure, it takes a long, long time to build the derricks that would line our shores, along with the pipelines to reach land and the refineries to process the oil. And people also understand that the type of production McCain and Bush are talking about is a drop in the bucket -- or a drop in the barrel -- compared to what this nation consumes. They may sell it as immediate relief at the pump, but what they're talking about is really a decade or more down the road and would amount to maybe a few pennies in savings, according to the Energy Information Administration. The combined effect of ending the ban on drilling in Alaska and off-shore sites would be a $2.25 reduction in the cost of a barrel of oil (currently at $130 a barrel) 17 years from now. President Bush and Sen. McCain's solution to ending high gas prices is to pump more oil that will be available 10-20 years from now. Oh and get this, this plan is seen as a pragmatic, short-term solution to high energy costs.

The problem with this plan is two-fold. First, it does nothing to lower gas prices, as it will take years for the oil to hit the market. This is a fact obviously overlooked by McCain, as he pointed out that opening off-shore drilling sites would be a pragmatic, short-term solution. What is he thinking? Second, this solution doesn't address the real problem: Our addiction to oil. We need to end our addiction to oil - not find more ways to feed it. There is not enough oil in America or the world to solve our energy problems. Energy transformation is the key. The answer is in alternative, renewable energy sources, which are so much better for our environment. This approach will be challenging at first. But long-term, it will end our dependence on foreign oil, cleanse our atmosphere from global warming polluting carbon, and create millions of new jobs.

McCain continues to show his lack of leadership and ideas when it comes to protecting the environment, ending our addiction to oil and investing in alternative energy. The Democrats have put forward an aggressive plan to invest in renewable resources, but the GOP has done nothing. It is going to take a lot of sacrifice to change our energy dependence. It is going to take bold leadership and we can not afford to wait any longer. The religious community needs to become the tipping point on this issue and demand change on this critical issue. All of this is now within our grasp if we make the deeply biblical commitment to be good stewards of God's creation.

Gore Endorses Obama

I cast my first vote for President in the 2000 Presidential Election. Al Gore has the distinction as being the first candidate for Presidential to get my vote, once in the Primary and once in the General Election. I was a young college liberal who recognized that the distinctions between a progressive agenda and conservative agenda meant using Government as a tool to protect and assist the poor and oppressed rather than big corporations and the wealthy. An agenda that recognized the strength of diversity versus the staleness of elitism. An agenda that sought to move our society forward towards liberty for all rather than and a place to legislate morality. As a Christian I couldn't image voting any differently than for a Progressive agenda. If not for the Butterfly Ballot in Palm Beach County, Florida, or the thousands of African Americans in Florida who were turned away at the polls because their names falsely showed up on the convicted felon list, Gore would have been our President. His speech last night in Detroit endorsing Obama reminded me of how unfortunate we were that he lost to Bush in 2000.

GREEN: The New Red, White, and Blue

Credit my title to a Time Magazine article I came across.

We realize that solving great challenges across the globe require more than just Governmental involvement. It requires personal responsibility, a deeper compassion and a committed engagement in the world. So, while we don't expect Government to solve all our problems, we do expect Government to play a role and do their part. Each Generation faces its great challenges which require solutions and sacrifices from individuals, the private sector and our government. Our fore fathers fought for our liberty and created the greatest democracy in the world, and 100 years later fought a war to keep our nation together and give slaves their freedom. Our Great-Great Grandparents constructed railroads that connected America and invented machinery that made our lives easier and created jobs for millions. Our Great Grandparents eradicated polio and gave women the right to vote. Our Grandparents overcame the Great Depression, established a safety net for the elderly and overcame Tyranny in World War 2. Our parents walked on the moon, waged a non-violent war against segregation and discrimination in the land of opportunity, and created innovative ways to communicate through the Internet super highway.

Now it is our turn and we are faced with a similarly momentous challenge: global climate change. Our grandchildren will define our generation by how we act today on this issue. The US produces a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases each year, 6.1 billion tons of carbon emissions, which is causing the Earth to warm at an accelerated rate. The consequences are disastrous including changing weather patterns, exploitation of the marginalized and a shrinking coast line. The Bush Administration and many conservatives have stubbornly made it clear that they do not intend to do a whole lot about it, especially not with Governmental action. Our failure to act has resulted in a rapid degradation of our earth, which we depend upon for our life and sustenance. Degradation that can be attributed to our personal subservience to our market values (money) and our addiction to materialistic consumerism and wasteful use of the world's resources (I am definitely one to blame on all these fronts). I don't mean to say that capitalism and our way of life is on face-value evil, it's help bring restoration to millions in poverty. I only mean to suggest that our respect for God's creation should not be at the expense of these addictions.

The biblical narrative tells us that the earth is God's creation, given to us as a gift not as a possession. God retains ownership and control of creation and as Genesis 1:28 puts it: We are to be responsible for fish in the sea, birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of the Earth. Jim Wallis writes in "The Great Awakening", God's vocation is Creator and our vocation is to be stewards of God's creation. Being green is indeed spiritual. Wallis argues that environmental irresponsibility on the part of humans is close to idolatry, replacing the Creator's role with our own arrogant and short-sighted domination over the Earth rather than our stewardship. I agree with this argument.

Solving global climate change requires immediate action. Last week the Democratic Congress finally launched landmark legislation to reduce America's carbon emissions. This legislation has garnered solid support across the political spectrum and among many corporations like General Electric. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 18% by 2020, and nearly 70% by 2050, using a cap-and-trade system that steadily reduces the amount of CO2 that industry is allowed to emit. It contains climate change by putting a charge on carbon emissions. Companies would no longer be able to poison our air at the current rates without paying a price. The economic incentives would cause companies to be falling over themselves to reduce their carbon footprint. If one industry can not reduce their emissions they would have to purchase credits from other industries who have reduced their CO2 footprint. Some Conservatives and the Bush Administration are against this bill because they point to it's huge price tag, it's drag on the economy, and argue that reductions should be voluntary not mandatory. Come on, voluntary, as long as the sky is free, renewable energy will never be an option over carbon emitting fossil fuels. So, despite enjoying bi-partisan support (54 out of 100 Senators support the measure) the minority Senate Republicans blocked the landmark bill from moving forward by evoking the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome. Republicans did everything they could to derail the bill, including a parliamentary maneuver that caused the entire 419 page bill to be read out loud. That took 9 hours. Yet another reason to support a Progressive for Senate and House of Representatives.

The need to do something about global warming is obvious. And it's also pretty clear that the public understands the need for change and is ready to embrace it. What is missing is the political will, especially by conservatives in Congress, to put the urgency of protecting the Earth and our environment over the money in our pockets. I know times are tough, and the cap-and-trade system will hit our wallets, absorbing 2%-3% of our GDP a year. But the price of not acting is enormous.

OBAMA

Last night was truly a historic event. After 151 days, 56 primaries and caucuses, and 8 Democratic candidates (remember Mike Gravel), The Democratic Party has chosen Barack Obama as the first African American Presidential Nominee in the history of our nation. A man who, if successful, will usher in a generational change in power in this country. As the nomination ends I am feeling very nostalgic. This has been a strange and wild ride and it's also been pretty exciting overall. When this campaign started, Hillary Clinton was expected to win easily and quickly in a boring campaign because of her superior money, organization, and positive name brand. I never imagined Obama could pull off a political upset.

For me, the fascination (some have described it as a man crush) with Obama began on July 27, 2005 when Obama delivered an electrifying speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention to nominate John Kerry. I became an Obama supporter when I heard him deliver these words:

For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we’re all connected as one people. If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drugs, and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandparent. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief, I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family:

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

With this speech, Barack Obama changed everything. He helped restore faith in our American Political System and offered a new vision. A vision that saw the divisive politics of gays, guns and God as only a distraction from what we should really expect and demand from our leaders. These words serve to incite all that is good within us--a living portrayal of our purpose in life. They challenge us to re-prioritize our values and re-shape our worldview. Shifting from attitudes and policies that erect walls around us--walls made up of apathy, judgement, and fear; to living with a passion for personal relationships and community responsibility.

We need a President to lead America into a new direction where our policies are shaped with the understanding that we can't subsidize the poor, rather we should empower and instill within them the tools needed to lift themselves out of poverty. And that we need for the Government to partner with us as individuals and as a civic society in providing these tools, and ensuring equality and justice for the oppressed. We need a President that understands we need a more humane and effective health care system based on the principle that health should be a human right and not a commodity for sale, and that wealth should never dictate one's ability to treat and heal from diseases and illnesses. A President that understands war only serves to escalate global conflicts over culture, religion and power. A President that understands we are called to be stewards and protectors of God's creation, and that money, profit and our addiction to consumerism are NEVER an excuse for the degradation of God's creation. A President that understands poverty is not okay in a land of so many luxuries, wealth and comforts. These are a few of the many examples of the leadership qualities I believe are best embodied within Barack Obama.

The General Election season has officially begun. I must admit as a political junkie this has been one of the most entertaining 6 months, and I expect the next 5 to be just as entertaining.