Senate Republicans are divided among themselves and at odds with House Republicans on what kind of immigration bill to send to the White House. That’s the good news—but there could still be trouble ahead.
Although the Senate Judiciary Committee, with help from Sen. Feinstein, produced an acceptable bill, Majority Leader Bill Frist is still threatening to push for rapid passage of a different bill that will match in some respects the terrible Sensenbrenner-King bill that passed the House and that criminalizes all undocumented immigrants. The greater danger here is that the Senate will pass a bill that can be reconciled with the House bill and signed into law.
PCU asks you to do three things:
Thank Sen. Feinstein for supporting a decent bill and urge her not to waver in the face of all the negative calls she is getting. Use these numbers and call (do not email or fax): 202-234-3841 at the Capitol; 310-914-7300 in Los Angeles.
Stay informed on this issue. Visit the excellent website www.immigrationforum.org for regular updates.
Talk about the issue in your house of worship. PCU can help you shape a conversation or study group; call us at (213) 989-1630 or if you want us to help you with this.
“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.�? – Mt. 25.35
“The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.�? – Lev. 19.33
Tom Barry is policy director of the International Relations Center.The following appeared today on TomPaine.com.
A common denominator unites the otherwise fractious immigration debate. That’s the widespread congressional concern with security—national security and border security. All the major players—whether anti-immigration conservatives or pro-immigration liberals—stress that any new immigration legislation must ensure that Americans are secure. The hard-line restrictionists in the House of Representatives, with their “Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Control Act of 2005,â€? established law enforcement as the baseline of any new immigration reform. In the Senate, security is also the leading component of the various reform proposals. The bipartisan bill that received early support from pro-immigrant and church groups was the “Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act,â€? sponsored by Sens. Ted Kennedy and John McCain. Read the rest of this entry »
Bill Moyers is President of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy. This is the prepared text of his remarks delivered on March 14 upon the establishment by Marilyn and James Dunn, of the Wake Forest Divinity School, of a scholarship in religious freedom in the name of Judith and Bill Moyers.
When Dean Bill Leonard asked James Dunn to join him here at Wake Forest’s new Divinity School, my soul shouted “Yes!” These two men personify the honesty and courage we need to meet the challenge of faith in the fundamentalist dispensation of the 21st century as radical interpretations of both Islam and Christianity seek, in the words of C.Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance, “to take over the government and use cause structures to advance the ideology, hierarchy, and laws” of their movement.
James Dunn and Bill Leonard are Baptists. What kind of Baptist matters. At last count there were more than two dozen varieties of Baptists in America. Bill Clinton is a Baptist. So is Pat Robertson. Jesse Jackson is a Baptist. So is Jesse Helms. Al Gore is a Baptist. So is Jerry Falwell. No wonder Baptists have been compared to jalapeno peppers: one or two make for a tasty dish, but a whole bunch together will bring tears to your eyes.
As you all know, a visiting preacher enjoys the luxury of not knowing anything about you. This morning I intend to luxuriate in my ignorance for a very particular purpose.
I want to play the proverbial man from Mars and engage in a thought experiment with you about the limits of misrule. And I will put my cards right on the table at the outset and tell you exactly what I think about the nature of the misrule that afflicts us today. After I have done that we can explore together the question of possible limits.
I am not going to do the obvious and begin by talking about the Bush Administration. The Bush Administration is not the sole source of our tribulations but rather one expression—albeit a very menacing expression—of a greater tribulation.
Let me start instead with the misrule represented by corporate dominance of our society and common culture. Read the rest of this entry »
