June Activist Newsletter Content

IRAQ

Last month, President Bush sent Congress a $70 billion emergency supplemental request to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. House leaders chose to separate the war funding bill into three measures:

• Amendment 1: a clean funding bill for the Iraq war
• Amendment 2: a withdrawal, timeline, anti-torture provisions, a ban on permanent bases in Iraq and troop readiness requirements
• Amendment 3: domestic and international priorities, including enhanced education benefits for veterans (GI Bill)

The White House says it will veto any bill that includes spending other than what Bush requested. The House passed only the war policy and domestic priority amendments (2 and 3) while rejecting the war funding measure (1).

The second amendment sets December 2009 as the goal date to begin the withdrawl of combat troops from Iraq, requires that the Iraqi government "match U.S. reconstruction funding dollar for dollar," and mandates that "any agreement between the United States and Iraq committing U.S. forces to be specifically authorized by Congress." In addition, troops "would get more rest between combat deployments, and every branch of government would have to abide by the Army Field Manual's guidelines on interrogation, which bans actions that amount to torture."

The U.S. Senate voted to continue funding, without restrictions, the war in Iraq, and also passed amendment three. But the number of senators voting against unrestricted funding continues to build, a signal that Congress is beginning to acknowledge Americans’ staunch opposition to the war.

This week, the House and Senate will reconvene after the Memorial Day break to decide what to do with the bill.See the action alerts section for information on ho to make your voice heard!

On May 22^nd, the Senate decided that veterans should be able to afford a college education despite high tuition and overwhelmingly passed what has been called the GI Bill for the 21^st century. The legislation improves education and other benefits for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House of Representatives passed similar legislation the previous week. Judging by op-eds in campus newspapers, students have mixed feelings about the plan.

If you are a college sports fan, you might be interested to know that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released an interesting report that shows athletics are costing colleges even more money, and generating less revenue through ticket sales. Is your campus buying footballs instead of awarding need-based scholarships or hiring more professors? The NCAA won't release campus-specific information, so too bad.

In other news, the Department of Education announced its plan to comply with a recently enacted law seeking to ensure that the credit crunch will not result in students losing access to federal loans. There are some concerns about aspects of the DOE’s plan.

We should all be worried about the student debt burdens of medical students, who have been abandoning primary care for more lucrative specialties because of their student debt burdens.

Finally, California budget cuts to higher education were scaled back a bit by Gov. Schwarzenegger, but they are still large enough to cause campuses across the state to raise fees and restrict new admissions. California students continue to work against the cuts, despite looming finals, through rallies, statewide “study-ins,” and a video contest to educate lawmakers.

The Lieberman-Warner America’s Climate Security Act just picked up a new co-author, environmental champion Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and also got some tougher language on coal ‘safety valves’ and offsets. The blogosphere is surprisingly united in its opinion that the only viable climate bill in the Senate has no chance of passing, and will do close to nothing to address climate change. Nonetheless, some argue that it is still vitally important for climate-friendly senators to vote in favor while proposing amendments to strengthen the bill.

Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) just announced a new and ambitious climate plan at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Calling for cuts of 95% of CO2 by 2050 and making sure most carbon emissions cost polluters, Markey’s plan seems to fit the bill for what is needed to save this planet from a lethal fever.

There is more good news: one of the fundamental policies needed to ensure future investments in the deployment of renewable energy seems to be finally making its way through the House of Representatives.  The bill would provide the necessary tax incentives to ensure the continued and exponential growth of wind and concentrated solar thermal power.

After Ward Connerly’s early failures in Oklahoma and Missouri, civil rights and student groups continue to work to thwart his anti-affirmative action ballot initiatives in the remaining states – Colorado, Arizona, and Nebraska. Advocates are calling attention to the deceptive signature-gathering practices used by Connerly and his supporters.

In Colorado, Connerly submitted signatures by the March deadline but the validity of the signatures is being challenged in the Denver District Court by the “No on 46” Campaign. The coalition argues that the signatures should be invalidated because they were gathered through fraudulent activities, including deceiving voters of the actual effects of the initiative. The Denver District Court's decision on the validity of the signatures is expected in the coming weeks.

In Arizona and Nebraska, attempts by state legislators to allow Connerly to bypass the petition process by placing his anti-equal opportunity initiatives directly on the ballot were unsuccessful. In both states, Connerly faces an early July deadline to collect and submit the signatures needed to place his initiative on the November ballot.

(For more information on what’s happening on this issue, check out www.fairchance.org)

Connerly, who blames “harassment and political conniving” for his failures thus far, claims that the historic Democratic presidential race proves his contention that racial and gender preferences are no longer justifiable public policy.

"The argument for it is that society is racist and sexist, and that argument is totally collapsing," Connerly said. "We should go to socio-economic affirmative action ... but don't put race into the equation."

Apparently, students in Arizona, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri don’t agree. Neither do we.

Johanna Bronk

What groups/organizations are you involved with?

Presently, my efforts are focused on Oberlin College's One Big Bike Movement, an organization working to promote environmentally sustainable community building. Our current campaign, "Shifting Gears" will take us across the country (from Ohio to California, via IN, IL, MO, KS, CO, UT, and NV) on bicycles, supported by a biodiesel (recycled veggie oil) powered support vehicle. We will stop in communities along our route and facilitate workshops on environmental sustainability.

How did you become politicized? What got you to where you are today?

When I was young, my family and religious community fostered in me a sense of responsibility for my environment. At the age of nine, I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet because of my desire to preserve life. When I matured, I decided that I wanted to act in defense of animal, human, and environmental health in a greater way than simply by modifying my diet. My parents, brother, and colleagues demonstrated to me that community service and social and political activism and education are critical and effective ways to affect and better my community and environment.

Are there any activism success stories (either your own or that you heard) that stand out and inspire you?

Greensville, KS last year suffered colossal damages from an F5 tornado--over 90% of their town was destroyed. The town leadership decided that they were going to rebuild their town entirely according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. Their dedication to rebuilding their community in an environmentally sustainable way deeply inspired me to work harder on the environmental campaign. After all, if a completely devastated town can find the strength and resources to rebuild their community, then I, a healthy young woman with a home and education, certainly can too.

What are you working on right now? How do you think that fits into the broader progressive movement?

There are many movements in our country and internationally that are working to stop the process of global warming, and environmental and human exploitation. The One Big Bike Movement's mission is to help foster these ideas in people across the USA, and present them with practical techniques for attaining these goals.

How did you hear about Campus Progress? What role does it serve in your activism?

My colleague, a member of the One Big Bike Movement, referred me to Campus Progress. We are extremely grateful to CP, for without their monetary sponsorship the One Big Bike Movement would have had a much more difficult time funding our campaign.

What are your next steps? What's next for you on campus in terms of activism or personal goals?

I plan to bring back to my campus what I've learned from the communities with which One Big Bike Movement engaged on its cross-country tour. I hope to recruit new members to the One Big Bike Movement, and serve as a mentor for those who would like to design their own environmental bike tour.

Any words of advice for other young progressives?

Identify what cause most resonates with you, educate yourself, and find a community of like-minded activists. Stay empowered!