2007 list of victories for the environment

Since we’re approaching the end of 2007, I thought I’d take a minute to highlight some environmental victories:

• Official protection for Puerto Rican Coastline -- On October 4, Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila signed an executive order to establish a 3,240-acre natural reserve that will effectively protect all of the lands in the corridor.
  

• Congress passes landmark Energy Bill -- Congress gave America a big holiday gift in the form of an energy bill that included increased fuel economy standards, a massive increase in the production of homegrown biofuels, programs to train workers for 3 million green jobs over the next ten years, dramatic increases to the efficiency of our buildings and appliances, and more.
  

• Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency -- The Sierra Club won a landmark Supreme Court ruling stating that the EPA has the power to and must regulate carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels as a pollutant.

For a complete list 2007 Sierra Club Victories, click here.

Putin Named Time's Person of the Year

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2007. This honor was bestowed upon Putin even though many, in Russia and the United States, feel that he has done little to further human rights in Russia, and has perhaps even diminished these rights.

Some Russians see this honor as acknowledging the role Putin has played in “helping to pull Russia out of the economic and social troubles of the 1990s”. In fact, it is reported that Russia’s economy grew “an average of 7 percent yearly for the past half-decade and that Moscow had repaid a foreign debt of nearly $200 billion.”

While reporting these economic successes, the magazine also acknowledges Putin’s “curtailment of democratic freedoms”. Similarly, opposition leaders in Russia “agreed Putin had been a newsmaker but accused him of oppressing rival political parties, rigging the recent State Duma elections and ignoring the needs of ordinary people.” Some in Russia have gone so far to claim that “antihero of the year” would be a more fitting title, and that the economic growth can be directly attributed to the rise in oil prices and such growth would have resulted with or without Putin.

Time defends its selection of Putin by claiming that this honor is only recognition of the fact that Putin had made the biggest impact on world events in 2007 and is not an endorsement of anything Putin has done. Unfortunately, allies of Putin are using this as support for the President, and state controlled television in Russia is only broadcasting the positives written about Putin in the article.

Although Time cannot in any way be held responsible for the use of the award by the Russian government and its supporters, the choice still seems rather questionable. In a year when a person such as Al Gore, a runner up for this award, has tried to positively affect the world and make others aware of the environment, it would seem that there may have been available choices that had similar impact on world events. Instead of choosing an individual who has done little in the way of advancing human rights in his country, and who now has further support for his “effective” leadership style, it appears that a better choice may have been an individual who has not done such damage to the advancement of these rights.

Addendum to Carnivore Politics: The Question of Seafood

While writing about meat-eating and some of its associated implications, it didn’t occur to me that in addition to beef, pork, and poultry, I should consider seafood as well. For me, it’s often easier to overlook the ethical issues that are associated with seafood, probably due to a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” I don’t live in an area that produces it, and my closest connection to squid and shrimp (two of my favorites) is when I purchase them at the grocery store or order them at the restaurant. Nevertheless, it’s just as important to understand what we are eating when we consume seafood, and it’s even possible to draw parallels between mass-produced seafood and their land-based cousins.

The New York Times provides an excellent example of this in an entry for their current series on China’s “epic pollution crisis” (series overview here). David Barboza focuses on the southern coastal city of Fuqing, which has become a major domestic and international source for farmed fish, including crab, shrimp, and eel. As he argues, Fuqing is part of the aquaculture system that has made China a “seafood power” since the 1990s, but their farming methods come with a high environmental and public health cost:

“Government records document the environmental ills in the region. The nearby Dongzhang Reservoir, a water source for agriculture and more than 700,000 people, was recently rated level 5, near the bottom of the government scale, unfit for fish farming, swimming or even contact with the human body.

“The Long River, the major waterway in Fuqing, has been degraded by waste dumped by paper factories and slaughterhouses. The government this year rated large sections of the river below level 5, or so highly polluted that it is unfit for any use. And nearby coastal waters which are also heavily fish farmed are polluted with oil, lead, mercury and copper, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration in China.”

Barboza notes that while “industrial waste and agricultural runoff” are responsible for the polluted water supplies upon which aquaculture farmers rely, “[t]he fish farms, in turn, are discharging wastewater that further pollutes the water supply.” Moreover, the farmers have resorted to treating fish supplies with a variety of chemicals and antibiotics that are not only illegal, but also include carcinogens and other human health hazards. Consequently, the U.S. has rejected over forty seafood shipments from Fuqing this year, all of which “involved the use of illegal veterinary drugs.”

As I read about this, I noticed that what Barboza was describing bore striking similarities to U.S. factory farming. Both factory farms and Fuqing’s aquaculture farms are attempting to defy nature by packing a high concentration of animals into confined spaces while keeping them fit for human consumption. Both negatively affect (and are negatively affected) from their surrounding environments, especially with regard to waste disposal and access to uncontaminated water sources. Both face high risks of disease outbreaks among their stock due to confinement, and both rely upon the use of chemicals and supplements as a primary response method. Finally, because of the above practices, both place human consumers at a greater risk than we should tolerate.

The irony of aquaculture farming is that it’s theoretically supposed to counterbalance the quite serious problem of overfishing, which has depleted numerous species and upset delicately balanced ecosystems worldwide. Yet if farmed seafood can be unsafe for consumption and results in environmental damage, how do we proceed in determining what types of seafood to purchase? The best resource I have found is Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which includes a seafood guide for consumers. The guide is particularly helpful because it not only classifies popular edible seafood into three categories (Best, Good and Avoid, with corresponding green, yellow, and red signifiers), but also briefly explains the harvesting methods for particular species and why it does or doesn’t make a good choice based on environmental and marine factors. (Unsurprisingly, they aren’t too keen about the harvesting of sea turtles.)

As I wrote in my previous entry, we’re not always going to make the ethical and/or sustainable choice that we probably should. Following the Seafood Watch recommendations definitely requires some adjustments, especially since some popular types of seafood—Atlantic cod, farmed shrimp and salmon, and certain types of halibut and flounder—have Avoid warnings. The good news is that there are plenty of environmentally sound and personally safe choices on their list, and, thanks to federal law, we can also determine the source of unprocessed seafood at the store, as well as whether it has been farmed or wild-caught. Keeping these two things in mind provides us with a basic awareness of what we eat when we eat seafood.

Private Medicare Health Plans and Unscrupulous Practices

The New York Times has an article today discussing a disturbing trend practiced by some unscrupulous insurance salespersons. According to the article, some salespersons are misrepresenting and “hard-selling” their product in order to have elderly men and women unwittingly sign up for private Medicare health plans.

In order to prevent such tactics, the Bush administration has taken steps such as fining companies, issuing warnings to companies and using “secret shoppers” at some sales events hosted by these companies. According to the acting administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, such steps have reduced the number of reported issues; however, the New York Times, based on interviews conducted in Mississippi and Alabama, concludes that the problem still exists at a higher level than the government is acknowledging. Studies by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee Commission appear to confirm the conclusions reached by the New York Times.

Enrollment in these private plans has increased by more than 8.9 million subscribers from December, 2005 to November, 2007. For sales of these plans, each agent receives anywhere from $350.00 to $600.00 in commission, providing incentive to push these programs.

Aside from being elderly, the main targets of the salespersons appear to fall into the low-income category. As stated in the article, “Most people who sign up for private Medicare plans are locked in for a full year, but many low-income beneficiaries are allowed to switch plans each month.” As these low-income beneficiaries can switch their plans more easily, the salespersons do not have to necessarily wait an entire year in order to sell their product.

The idea of taking advantage of the elderly who, as the New York Times states, “just have a hard time saying no” is rather disturbing. Add to this the fact that many of those targeted are low-income beneficiaries, and the practice is even more problematic. Many of those approached need no additional insurance, but the article states that the salespersons disregard this fact and continue to push. Even if those approached do desire additional insurance, the misrepresentations made by the salespersons do not allow the person to make an informed decision. Such practices by these few salespersons may also cast a bad shadow over all insurance salespersons in the eyes of those affected, preventing those who desire additional insurance from knowing whom to trust and what to believe.

It is admirable that the government is taking steps to try to prevent these practices. However, it is naïve to think that the government, through mere threats or fines, will be able to completely eliminate these practices. This fact is evidenced by the interviews conducted by the New York Times and the studies performed by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee Commission. It would seem that the insurance companies themselves would need to create more stringent policies and possibly reduce the commissions for sales of these types of private Medicare health plans. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that such steps will be taken.

Carnivore Politics (Part III): Final Thoughts

--CHOW has an interesting analysis of the Bill Buford essay for the New Yorker that I discussed in my first post for this series. Miriam Wolf argues that Buford’s three subjects—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Martin Picard, and Stéphane Reynaud—“reflect the three streams of thought that have led to the re-adoption of meat as our most treasured foodstuff.” In her view, Fearnley-Whittingstall represents the “sustainable farming” movement that Michael Pollan promotes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Picard is part of the meat-for-meat’s-sake crowd that isn’t really concerned with ethical implications; and Reynaud espouses a “slow-food” approach that originated in Europe and is becoming more popular in the United States.

I think Wolf is generally correct in her interpretation, but it’s important to remember that these “three streams of thought” she identifies aren’t inherently separate. For example, Pollan’s arguments for a more sustainable mode of eating are favorable toward the Slow Food movement; there’s actually a fair amount of common ground between the two, especially on emphasizing the benefits of local livestock and produce sources. (He also partnered with slow-food adherents for this fundraiser last year.) Also, Wolf obscures the fact that Picard and like-minded unrepentant meat lovers still express ethical considerations about where their meat originates, even if they don’t directly voice those considerations. As I wrote in the first post, the fact that “Picard relies on local suppliers for his Montreal restaurant and ‘rarely offers beef in his restaurant, because he has yet to find a producer he trusts’ ” is telling. Picard relies on local suppliers for his Montreal restaurant and “rarely offers beef in his restaurant, because he has yet to find a producer he trusts” It is highly ethical even if his primary concern is simply whether his beef sources are “good” or “not good.”

--I’ve mentioned Michael Pollan and his 2006 book The Omnivore’s Dilemma repeatedly in this blog, and there’s a good reason for that; it's become one of the most important books on food this decade due to Pollan’s crack research (particularly on how large a role corn plays in the American diet) and his willingness to ask tough questions about what’s on our dinner plate and how it got there. It has inspired plenty of praise as well as some inspired criticism, leading to larger debates about food production, including what organic food really means. And Pollan already has a sequel of sorts that is due for release early next month.

--A final point: When it comes to purchasing and consuming our meat from ethical, sustainable sources, it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to be completely consistent on our decisions. Heaven knows I do a pretty poor job overall, and even though I’ve made some changes that I’d like to think are for the better (buying organic free-range eggs and vegetarian-fed beef, for example), I doubt that they’re even that adequate. With that said, awareness is a necessary first step, and if we make the effort to figure out the source of our meat and what it does and doesn’t contain, then that alone is huge.

Bali Climate Change Conference Ends With A Deal

It seems that an agreement has been reached at the Bali Climate Conference. The United States had originally rejected the compromise, but ultimately accepted. The pact provides for negotiating rounds until 2009. The Conference was scheduled to end yesterday, but was extended a day because no deal had been struck.

It appears that the United States wasn’t in a position to leave without signing. I think that the United States realized what leaving without an agreement would do to their image. If nothing was decided it would be a black-eye for Americans, so they decided to cave in and continue to make “energy intensity” reductions.

Two interesting quotes from Reuters:

"The U.S. has been humbled by the overwhelming message by developing countries that they are ready to be engaged with the problem, and it's been humiliated by the world community. I've never seen such a flip-flop in an environmental treaty context ever," said Bill Hare of Greenpeace."

"At the end of the day, we got an extremely weak agreement," said Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and the Environment in New Delhi. "It's obvious the U.S. is not learning to be alive to world opinion."

U.S. Senate Approves Scaled Back Energy Bill

The U.S. Senate passed the amended Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) yesterday evening, 86-6. The House of Representatives is set to approve the bill next week.

The energy bill will help reduce America’s oil dependency and will be an critical step in reducing global warming pollution. However, according to Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, the bill does not close $13 billion worth of tax loopholes and subsidies for the oil industry and reinvest the money in clean and renewable energy technologies. On Thursday morning, 40 senators lined up behind big oil companies, instead of American families. Oil companies have contributed $8 million to senators over the past four years.

Democrats noted disappointment at the demise of the tax package and the removal of a renewable electricity standard but said the final bill is still a historic achievement.

The centerpiece of the final bill is language requiring a 40 percent increase in vehicle fuel economy standards, raising the average fleet standard to 35 miles a gallon by 2020.

The provision, which drew reluctant support from the U.S. auto industry, is expected to save 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and save consumers some $22 billion in 2020. Proponents say it will also make a significant dent in U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, equivalent to taking some 60 million cars off the road.

Although is not the bill that environmentalist had hoped for, it at least shows effort on the part of the United States in the fight against global warming.

President Bush had threatened to veto the bill over the tax package.

Charity Through the Internet

Starting this afternoon (3:00 P.M. on 12/13/2007), a “new” concept will be tested to determine the role of the Internet in aiding charitable causes. The Case Foundation is sponsoring a contest which will award two prizes, one of $500,000 and one of $250,000, to people who enter either via Parade Magazine or through the Causes section of Facebook. According to the sponsors of the contest, “[t]he prizes will go to the charities and causes that attract the greatest numbers of unique donors, rather than the one that raises the most money.”

According to Jean Case, co-founder of the Case Foundation, the purpose of such a contest is to endorse the belief that“[p]hilanthropy shouldn’t be defined as a bunch of rich people writing big checks”. Instead, such a contest hopes to encourages and demonstrate how a large number of smaller donations can be just as effective as a single large donation. Along with the Case Foundation, it appears that Facebook is seeking to send a similar message, as evidenced by the following description obtained from their “About” section:

“The goal of all this is what we call ‘equal opportunity activism.’ We're trying to level the playing field by empowering individuals to change the world. Existing nonprofits must raise hundreds of millions of dollars and leverage massive direct marketing campaigns to attract members. We're democratizing activism by empowering activists with an arsenal of tools for users of Facebook who want to leverage their network on Facebook to effect positive change.”

The Case Foundation and Facebook appear to be seeking the most beneficial way to further charitable endeavors through the use of the Internet. Aside from this contest, the Chase Foundation is supporting ThinkMTV.com, aimed at getting youths involved in their community and charitable causes. Facebook’s efforts have raised what some call “modest” amounts; but even the $52,240.00 raised for Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the top cause on the site, would seem to amount to much more than what any of these users alone would contribute.

Targeting Facebook and other social networking sites, as well as cooperating with companies such as MTV, would certainly seem to, at the least, make these opportunities known to a previously untapped audience and get this audience to think about their participation in charitable causes. The Internet is already being successfully used for the purposes of acquiring signatures on petitions; this success seems to stem from the fact that the Internet creates greater awareness and ease of participation. It would seem that other charitable causes could just as easily take advantage of these same benefits the Internet provides. If organizations such as the Chase Foundation can promote their causes through the use of the Internet as effectively as proponents of these petitions have, they will have an excellent opportunity to make people aware of this “equal opportunity activism” and demonstrate how even small donations can be effective. If such effective use can be implemented by these organizations, it is believed that these projects will encourage participation and will be successful, leading to greater participation in charitable endeavors.

Carnivore Politics (Part II): Reconsidering Veganism

When I was seventeen, my family went on vacation to the Cayman Islands, which I, as someone from rural Indiana, found to be an incredible area—clear blue water, good restaurants, and agreeable weather (this being a period without hurricane threats). Our activities included a trip to the Cayman Turtle Farm, and I loved having the opportunity to witness such a large concentration of sea turtles up close. Then I noticed the farm’s small indoor snack bar, with a sign in front of the door advertising that day’s special: “TURTLE SOUP.” Having naively failed to yet notice the clear implication of the word “farm,” I felt ashamed, and almost immediately asked myself a question that is common for teenagers becoming conscious of their diets: should I become a vegetarian? I had made the connection between the turtles—sixty percent of which the farm raises for food—and the snack bar, and wondered if my love for meat was wrong.

It didn’t take long for me to move past my ethical dilemma at the sea turtle farm, and I continued to regularly consume meat. If anything, I think I’m guilty of being overly defensive about being a carnivore/omnivore. I have vegetarian friends, and think it’s admirable that they’re able to make such a commitment to their diets. Yet my attitude has largely been along the lines of “Why would you want to do that?”—as if my own self-reflection in the Caymans was simply a youthful and silly matter. Things become even worse with regard to vegans, because I often conveniently resort to negative stereotypes as a means of safeguarding my own eating habits. It’s often been easier to espouse an attitude of “look at those crazy vegans!” rather than seriously consider the validity of their claims. Even when I read Michael Pollan’s respectful critique of veganism and its sustainability in The Omnivore’s Dilemma (you can get the general idea here), my own reaction was less gracious; it was as if I’d found a personal apologetic for eating chicken and pork. Besides, how can vegan food be consistently good anyway without the benefit of so many ingredients?

That last one is a stickler for me and for many others who aren’t vegan. No meat is one thing, but cutting out meat, dairy and trace animal-based ingredients (such as gelatin) is quite difficult, especially in the Midwest. I don’t tend to handle dairy very well, and many of the dairy substitutes I’ve tried have been disappointing; rice and soy milk are okay, but nothing seems to match the richness of real butter and cheese. I “cheat” every so often, but vegans don’t really have that option, and it leads to the question of how they approach certain types and categories of food. This is especially true for dessert, where milk, cream, and butter are traditional fixtures.

Enter Patty Cake Vegan Bakery. I became more curious about vegan cookies earlier this year after stumbling across a couple of bakery websites that offered several different varieties available for online ordering. Patty Cake was another accidental find, and, looking for an excuse to go to Columbus, my girlfriend and I first went there in October. She voiced the question that we both had on our minds—would this be good for being vegan? We collective purchased several cookies, buckeye bars, and whoopee pies, and took them home for the test.

Oh. My. Word.

Any of their cookies are just as good as their well-made and non-vegan counterparts, and two kinds in particular—the molasses crinkle (which is probably oil-based regardless of dietary concerns) and peanut butter chocolate chip—are easily among the best cookies I’ve ever put in my mouth. The buckeye bars and whoopee pies are equally excellent. On a recent return trip, my girlfriend bought two different types of cupcakes, and one bite of the first one (chocolate with chocolate icing) left her raving. I merely had what was arguably the best sticky bun of my life. Patty Cake single-handedly refutes the notion that vegan food can’t taste good; I can honestly say that I’m more willing to make the two-and-a-half hour round trip to buy their products than to search for something similar that’s closer to Dayton.

Yet Patty Cake also reminds me of how I’ve been wrong in my attitudes. Their employees are friendly, and though they’ve asked me if I’m vegan, it’s simply out of curiosity. (Another dumb assumption on my part—what else should I expect?) In a consumer society that encourages a “fast and cheap” approach to food, they offer the best kind of counter-example—an ethical business (organic ingredients, sustainable practices) that sticks to its convictions while selling superior product to believers and (initial) skeptics alike. This approach is educative to those of us who use and consume animal products. Even if we disagree with certain core tenets of veganism, it’s important to consider not only the merits of the “cruelty-free” paradigm, but also that adopting such a philosophy doesn’t mean having to sacrifice as we think it might. On a personal level, it additionally means that I need to more fully develop a critical awareness of how I view the food options of others, especially if those options are attempts to circumvent our unhealthy attitudes towards food.

Good cookies with a lesson? It’s hard to argue with that.

Human Rights Day 2007

Today is Human Rights Day, marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme for the coming year is “Dignity and justice for all of us”, which is meant to reinforce the idea of “vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice.” In a ceremony today Ban Ki-moon, General Secretary of the United Nations, has promised that the coming year “would see all UN bodies taking part in a campaign ‘to promote the declaration's ideals and principles of justice and equality for everyone’.”

The UDHR itself is a “commitment to universal dignity and justice”, with a goal of ensuring the protection of human rights through the education of what human rights entail. In order to spread knowledge on the subject of human rights, the UDHR “is now available in over 360 languages and is the most translated document in the world – a testament to its universal nature and reach.” According to Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UDHR is “not a product of Western cultural values but a ‘composite synthesis’ of views derived from many backgrounds, regions and legal traditions.”

Human Rights day has set the stage for statements by several activist groups regarding the violation of human rights. In France, the government was criticized “for hosting a state visit by Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi on the same day as the anniversary.” In China, Reporters Without Borders has complained that they had been banned from entering mainland China. In Russia, activists have used the day to bring forth accusations of human rights violations by President Vladimir Putin.

As Louise Arbour states, it is hard to “accept [that] there's any culture, religion or tradition that should supersede the fundamental principle that all human beings are born equal”. It is hoped that the continued work of the United Nations will ensure that all people are one day soon treated equally with equal rights; as the United Nations and all member nations work towards this goal, it is important that activist groups continue to report human rights violations, keeping people aware of, and fighting against, these transgressions not just on Human Rights Day, but throughout the entire year.

Carnivore Politics (Part I): “What Do We Eat When We Eat Meat?”

In an essay for the New Yorker, Bill Buford discusses three recent books with different authors—“a farmer, a chef, and a pig-slaughtering, bacon-loving descendant of butchers”—that “are remarkably alike in their gleeful chauvinism about being carnivores.” He remarks that this collective attitude towards meat-eating perhaps signifies that “it’s finally cool to be a carnivore” after vegetarianism and veganism have become increasingly attractive from an ethical standpoint. At first, this redemption of meat-eating seems somewhat improbable. Buford’s brief rundown of the meat industry’s remarkably unhealthy and destructive practices (rampant hormone use, toxins, and environmental degradation) are just highlights of what Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan have documented through their research. Moreover, Schlosser notes that until we are willing to accept higher food prices, cheap industrial meat in particular will result in a terrible long-term health cost.

In light of these realities, the above-mentioned unrepentant carnivores—British farmer and food celebrity Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, French-Canadian chef Martin Picard, and French butcher Stéphane Reynaud—do two important things in their respective books. The first is that they acknowledge (either overtly or implicitly) how, as Buford writes of Reynaud, “we’re losing our connection to our animals.” Although Pollan does an excellent job of tracing the farmyard-to-plate pathway for beef and chicken in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, it safe to assume that many of us (myself included) either don’t know or properly consider the origins and production methods of the meat we consume. Buford finds that for Fearnley-Whittingstall, this requires a stark reminder that we are eating an animal:

“For all the disarray, there is a coherent ideology [to Fearnley-Whittingstall’s The River Cottage Meat Book]. It is evident in the opening pages, an eleven-photograph sequence that shows the author taking two cows to slaughter…There is little accompanying text, apart from a rhetorical aside: Why is it considered entertainment when a predator kills another animal in a wild-life film, Fearnley-Whittingstall wonders, ‘whereas the final moments of human predation of our farmed livestock are considered too disturbing and shameful to be made available even for information.’ The reader understands the point. Meat comes from an animal—a banal connection that has been obscured by the way supermarkets prepare and present our food—and the animal has to be killed. If you fear the sight of a carcass, you shouldn’t be eating from it.”

And this last point is what Buford intends as an answer to his essay’s subtitle (“What do we eat when we eat meat?”). My own recent personal reminder came the week before Thanksgiving, when I was preparing to roast a turkey for the first time. Wrestling to rinse the fifteen-pound bird and properly arrange it in the roasting pan, it struck me that I was handling what had once been a living, free-ranging animal—a fact that often escapes me, even though I eat meat on a daily basis.

This leads to a second element that Buford’s subjects argue is equally important: “What do we eat when we eat meat?” also means “What quality is the animal which we are eating?” Fearnley-Whittingstall completely distrusts mass-produced meat and raises his own animals; Picard relies on local suppliers for his Montreal restaurant and “rarely offers beef in his restaurant, because he has yet to find a producer he trusts”; and Reynaud insists that it’s impossible to “ ‘get good hams from good pigs,’ ” with “good” meaning naturally raised and slowly tended swine. Again, this is something that is easier to overlook if our meat is coming from, say, Wal-Mart (which is where I bought my hamburger patties in college) as opposed to a local farm or a company like Niman Ranch. Fortunately, all-natural meat often sells itself on taste alone if we’re willing to try it; the experiences of eating Niman Ranch ham or the Trader Joe’s turkey that I roasted have been compelling. When combined with its ethical advantages, good meat becomes worth its extra price tag, and not only brings us closer to the animals from which it came, but also moves us away from a system of production that blinds and harms us.

ABA announces top 100 blawgs

The December 2007 issue of the ABA Journal has named the top 100 law blogs, a.k.a. blawgs, from around the country. While notabibliothecae wasn’t honored with a nod this year, keep an eye out for us next year! Click here to see the full list. The top 100 is a nice list of blogs that give advice, cover legal news, and share ideal chitchat.

University of Dayton will offer human rights degree

The University of Dayton’s (UD) board of trustees recently approved one of the nation’s first bachelor’s degrees in human rights studies. The degree will prepare students for careers as human rights advocates and humanitarians as well as law school or other advanced degrees.

As part of the degree, students will be required to be proficient in a foreign language, complete an internship and take a course in research methodology.

Christopher Duncan, chair of the political science department at UD said, “Human rights have become the language in the political and international community for talking about social justice and morality. Students interested in social justice and issues of peace and peacemaking have gravitated toward human rights. This degree captures the mission of a Catholic, Marianist university. It prepares students for professional careers as leaders in service to others.

UD, one of the nation's preeminent Catholic universities, is a pioneer in human rights education. In 1998, UD launched the country's first undergraduate human rights program that included both an international studies degree with a concentration in human rights and a minor in human rights.

College students are facing a world wrestling with poverty, terrorism, genocide and torture. There are no simple answers. By providing a degree in human rights, UD is arming the leaders of tomorrow with the tools they need to face humanitarian challenges, and hopefully bring peace.

Chiquita, Terrorism, and Blood Bananas

My familiarity with Corporate Counsel doesn’t extend beyond the title, but their latest issue features an informative and comprehensive account of Chiquita’s financial ties to Colombian terrorism. In March, Chiquita pleaded guilty in federal court to paying $1.7 million to Autodefensas Unidas de Columbia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group specializing in kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder. As Human Rights Watch has documented, AUC’s terrorism against civilians included a January 17, 2001 attack in the village of Chengue, where they bludgeoned twenty-four men to death with stones and sledgehammers. This obviously begs the question of how and why Chiquita became involved with AUC in the first place. Corporate Counsel’s Sue Reisinger explains:

“According to court records, Chiquita's Colombian subsidiary, Banadex S.A., first began funding the group in 1997 after receiving veiled threats directed at its property and employees. (Before that, Banadex paid the left-wing terrorists who had controlled the region.) Chiquita sent money to the AUC roughly each month ‘to protect the employees and property of Banadex,’ court records say. Payments were always disguised as either a check to a third party who passed the money to the AUC, or as income to a Banadex employee who paid the AUC in cash.

“[Former Chiquita general counsel Robert] Olson was aware of the AUC's true nature…Whether to pay them was strictly an ethical question, because at that time it was not yet a crime in the United States or Colombia to give money to terrorist groups. Olson and the in-house attorney reported the study's results to the audit committee of Chiquita's board of directors. The lawyers' report concluded that making the payments was extortion and ‘not a voluntary decision,’ the records say. However, the directors decided to continue the payments” (emphasis mine).

This last sentence offers the crux of the matter. Chiquita had already established an unethical pattern of paying off terrorists before AUC threatened its Columbian holdings, thus apparently making it easier to justify paying AUC, even though Olson determined that such an action would be extortion. Yet Resinger notes that Olson and Chiquita executives chose to continue payments after the AUC made it onto the federal “foreign terrorist organization” list (making the payments illegal); after the company learned that what they were doing was illegal; and even after outside counsel urged them to stop. When repeatedly faced with the opportunity to end their financial relationship with AUC, they only stopped after being served federal warrants in March 2004.

As part of a plea agreement, Chiquita has agreed to pay a $25 million dollar fine. This is certainly a significant amount, but we should also consider that from September 10, 2001 (when the US officially recognized AUC as a terrorist group) until payments ceased in 2004, they made nearly $50 million from their Columbian holdings. In short, part of Chiquita’s business was blood bananas, and business was ultimately good. Consequently, while the company found itself in a difficult position, I have a hard time accepting current general counsel James Thompson’s argument that it ultimately made the “morally right” decision. As Reisinger writes near the end of her article:

“Professor Deborah Rhode, head of Stanford Law School's Keck Center on Legal Ethics and the Legal Profession and founding director of Stanford's Center on Ethics, doesn't condone what Chiquita did-but she acknowledges that Olson was faced with a difficult decision. ‘This is a really hard place for a general counsel who wants to do the right thing,’ Rhode says. Yet Rhode believes Chiquita's actions, however well-intentioned, were wrong because the AUC used the money to buy weapons that killed innocent people.”

When Chiquita generates profit from transactions that lead to murder, morality has flown out the window.

Non-citizens and Voter Registration

The Chicago Tribune offers a story today talking about the plight of Beth Keathley. According to the article, Ms. Keathley was in the process of becoming a permanent legal U.S. citizen, having already been issued a Social Security card and a state identification card, when she made the “mistake” of voting in a U.S. election. Due to this “mistake”, Ms. Keathley has apparently lost her job, and her citizenship application may now be in question which could lead to her eventual deportation.

According to U.S. law, non-citizens are not permitted to vote in U.S. elections. The crime committed by Ms. Keathley is one that apparently “trips up hundreds of immigrants each year”. What causes this issue in many instances, and aided in the mistake made in this case, is the ease in registering to vote. Voter registration locations are available in a wide variety of locations, encouraging people to participate in the election process.

However, it seems that state officials are “prohibited by federal law from seeking confirmation of citizenship before registering people to vote.” Although Ms. Keathley presented her Filipino passport at the time of registering, it seems that nobody either attempted to ascertain whether she was a legal citizen or advised her of potential ramifications of her voting illegally. In defense of their position in matters such as this, “federal officials say the question on the registration form that asks applicants to affirm they are citizens is clear enough.” However in this case, and presumably a number of others, “[s]he figured that if a state employee offered her the opportunity to register, it must be all right.” The federal government's position further loses support by the fact that many registrants leave this citizenship question blank and are still issued voter registration cards.

I believe the issue here, and in many similar cases, is neither the ease of access to voter registration nor the law preventing non-citizens from voting; instead, it would seem that there is a flaw in how the registration is performed. This case seems especially difficult to understand as a Filipino passport was presented as proof of identification for registration purposes. However, due to a federal law, the person assisting Ms. Keathley apparently had no choice but allow her to register, assuming she fully understood the application and that she could possibly be deported for improperly voting. As stated in the article, she relied on the fact that somebody, a state employee, had allowed her to register; for many, it would seem that the acts and/or words of such an individual would override any wording written on an application.

It is understandable that the government is attempting to prevent voter fraud, and as such “they have to enforce the laws”, but this case, and presumably many others, are simple cases of people not fully understanding their rights and relying on persons in authority positions to clarify these rights. A simple question of whether the person is a U.S. citizen – a question now forbidden to be asked under federal law – would seem to end any confusion and such problems with people who make honest mistakes. Such questions would seem especially appropriate when the person registering presents a foreign ID to the government official at the time of registration.

“To Read or Not to Read”: America Chooses the Latter

Several media outlets have noted the National Endowment for the Arts’ new report on national reading habits, “To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence.” As its title belies, the report offers a grim set of statistics and correlations that collectively indicate declines in both average time spent reading for pleasure and reading proficiency. The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Jennifer Howard notes some of the more damning indicators:

“…Just how reading-averse have Americans become? In 2006, the study found, 15-to-24-year-olds spent just seven minutes on voluntary reading on weekdays— 10 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays. They found time to watch two to two-and-a-half hours of television daily.
“Older and presumably wiser— or at least more bookish— generations didn't do much better. In 2006 people ages 35 to 44 devoted only 12 minutes a day to reading. Even the best-read group, Americans 65 and older, logged less than an hour each weekday and just over an hour on weekends.”

Considering that average reading scores among elementary school children have increased, NEA chairman Dana Gioia argues in the report’s preface that “all [measurable] progress appears to halt as children enter their teenage years,” leading to a “general decline” among teenagers and adults. The report goes on to suggest how reading skills relate to employment and civic participation, as the Washington Post’s Bob Thompson writes:

“Thirty-eight percent of employers rate high school graduates as "deficient" in reading comprehension, while 72 percent rate them deficient in writing. Good reading skills correlate strongly with higher earnings and more job opportunities. Reading skills also correlate with increased voting, volunteerism, charity work, attendance at cultural events and even exercising and playing sports.”

What should we make of the NEA’s findings? First, it’s important to note that while “To Read or Not to Read” accounts for online reading, Gioia has admitted that the methodologies to track specific data about online reading habits isn’t yet reliable. This is significant, for it’s possible to imagine a slightly more positive set of statistics based upon Americans teenagers and adults doing more of their reading from Internet sources. (Both Thompson and the New York Times’ Mokoto Rich cite critics of the report that argue along these lines.) Conversely, the Internet could be a culprit as well, and Gioia doesn’t dismiss this idea; while he argues that the report “is not an elegy for the bygone days of print culture,” he claims in the preceding sentence that “newer electronic media…provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading.” Howard also includes his comment during a news conference about the report that it’s easy to “become distracted as a society,” leaving little doubt of what he views as the distractions.

I admit that I’m biased, but I think he has a point. The report’s claim that reading “competes with other media” (page 9) is a perfect description of how profoundly our media culture has changed in the past decade, let alone over the past few decades; books have simply become one option among many during our leisure time. What would be helpful is to see a future study that, assuming the development of better methodologies, examines both how we read online and how what we read online relates to proficiency—especially given that online access will only be increasing in the near future. This notwithstanding, it’s reasonable to take “To Read or Not to Read” at its word and immediately focus on how we can reverse the downward turn in reading and its negative consequences.

AMP-Ohio proposes new coal plant in Southeast Ohio

In October 2007, Ohio Citizen Action and other environmental organizations announced the largest environmental settlement in American history, forcing American Electric Power to put pollution controls on its coal-fired power plants. For more on Ohio Citizen Action et al v. AEP et al., click here.

Ironically, American Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) has now proposed to build a new coal plant in Southeast Ohio. The proposed plant would use traditional pulverized coal technology and would add 20,000,000 pounds of dangerous pollutants to the air each year. This pollution can cause heart disease and asthma attacks, and damage the environment with acid rain and greenhouse gases.

Gatling Ohio LLC is buying up land and mineral rights in Meigs County. It is seeking state permits to mine 1,895 underground acres near Racine, Ohio. The mine is expected to operate for 40 years; however, if you look at Ohio's 200-year history of coal mining you will see that that the damage lasts much longer. There are only two ways to get coal: surface mining and underground mining. Both devastate the environment. With surface mining, the soil and rock above or around the coal is removed to expose the coal bed. With underground mining, miners create underground rooms, and then a continuous mining machine is used to cut coal away from the walls.

AMP-Ohio has asked over 70 Ohio communities to finance the plant - placing the financial risks of the skyrocketing costs of constructing and operating the plant on the municipalities. Communities have until March 1 to withdraw from the contract.

As the world looks to cleaner and more efficient sources of energy, Ohio should not lock itself into 50 more years of highly-polluting coal plants.

Warrantless Searches in Boston

In an article today on Time.com, it is reported that a plan is in place for Boston police officers to begin searching homes in what are deemed to be “several impoverished, high-crime neighborhoods.” Much like the searches written about here, these searches will be conducted without warrants. However, although searches in both Boston and San Diego share the facts that they are performed without warrants and seem to target low-income families, there are a few differences which would seem, as proposed, to make the Boston searches much less objectionable.

First and perhaps most importantly, is that it appears that parents in Boston will actually have free choice to consent to any searches. According to the article, “[t]hree plainclothes officers and a clergyperson or community activist will show up at the youth's home” and “ask parents to sign a form allowing the search of the home, including the child's room.” In San Diego, the policy is basically to let the police search the person’s home or be denied any government assistance.

Another significant difference between these searches is that they will only be performed in Boston after “teams of police officers assigned to Boston's public schools [have] hunt[ed] for leads on youths believed to have guns.” In San Diego, although the justification for such searches were to investigate fraud, no probable cause was required before conducting searches of the homes; in Boston, it seems that some evidence of probable cause will be required before any search will be performed.

Unlike the searches in San Diego, the potential punishment associated with the search is less severe. In San Diego, any finding of fraud or refusal to allow the search will result in denial of benefits. In Boston, “[w]eapons found in the child's possession will be seized, and no charges will be filed unless the weapon is linked to a violent crime.”

Still, the ACLU has taken a stand against both the searches in Boston and San Diego. The ACLU alleges that people are not aware of all the potential issues that can arise from allowing these searches, and many of those being searched in the Boston neighborhood, being from third world countries, may not feel they have a choice when asked to consent to a search. Unlike in San Diego, it seems that the ACLU has yet to garner substantial support in Boston.

Others claim that other ramifications may come from allowing such warrantless searches. Although it appears that people in Boston will not suffer directly by disallowing the searches (unlike the mandated policy in San Diego to refuse benefits to those not consenting to a search), it is feared that those who do refuse will be more closely watched by the police and other authority figures. Also, it is feared that this program could lead to allegations of racial profiling.

As of now, there seems to be no pending litigation regarding the Boston searches; however, this may be due to the fact that the program is not yet in full effect. It may take some time for many of the issues to surface, as the initial acceptance of the searches may soon wane once people realize how the program actually functions. The issues of racial profiling, indirect or direct consequences for failing to consent to a search and perceived oppression may eventually come into play and cause litigation very similar to what is now happening in the San Diego case. If any or all of these issues do in fact arise, then, much like in San Diego, the “consent” given to searches in Boston most likely would be more coerced than freely given and such searches would violate protected liberties and rights and would need to be ceased.

It would be unfortunate if these potential issues do come to fruition as the program in Boston, on paper, seems like it has been tailored to meet an important goal, the prevention of violence, while also protecting the rights of those being searched (by requiring probable cause and seeking what appears to be true consent). The problem arises in that what appears ideal on paper does not always prove to be ideal in practice.

Following up on…

--David Simon and The Wire: In response to my post last month, Bob Andelman provided a link to his own interview with Simon from earlier this year. It’s definitely worth checking out, as Andelman’s questions draw expansive responses from Simon on what the show means within the broader context of television and (post)modern society. Two particular highlights: 1) addressing the issue of the show’s graphicness (“We’re not saying dirty words to be naughty… and we are not using any more violence than would otherwise be necessary to address the plot”); and 2) mentioning how the show’s budget has been both a survival strategy and point of pride (“…and we are always under budget. We always turn a little bit of money back in almost as a good faith gesture”). There is a potential spoiler for those who haven’t seen Season 4 yet (as I haven’t), so be careful when reading.

--China and the 2008 Olympics: I admit I’ve kind of punted on this idea (after posts here and here), and the primary reason why was my discovery of Human Rights Watch’s thematic page on the multiple human rights concerns leading up to the Games next August. HRW also wrote an article on November 6 (Journalists’ Day in China) concerning the country’s unwillingness to follow through on its pledge to allow media freedom for foreign journalists—a pledge that was part of its original bid to the International Olympic Committee.

I’d still like to occasionally note articles/commentary relating to this issue that I find relevant, and Get Religion’s analysis of how China will address religious freedom during the Games fits the bill. Given that government officials haven’t done so well with the foreign press lately, there’s also cause of concern on how they’re already handling this issue, especially when they’re using phrases like ‘detrimental to China’s politics, economy, culture and ethics’ as qualifiers. As Daniel Pulliam notes, it’s going to be up to the major media outlets to “stoop down and look under those rugs” as a means of holding China accountable.

Supreme Court Denies Hearing San Diego Fourth Amendment Case

Today, the United States Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal filed in the case of Sanchez, et al., v. San Diego County, et al. (07-211). Appellants in the case were challenging San Diego’s policy of conducting searches of the domiciles of welfare recipients; these searches are conducted without warrants, and people who refuse access to the agents are denied government assistance.

Although these searches are said to be conducted to ensure there is no fraud on the part of applicants, no allegations of fraud are required prior to the searches. Additionally, agents conducting the searches of the residences are not limited in their searches, as searches often “include peeking into closets and cabinets.”

The ACLU had challenged these searches on Fourth Amendment grounds, arguing that these searches constituted unlawful searches and seizures. In upholding this practice in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that “the visits do not even constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment in part because people are free to turn away the investigators.” Judge Fisher, the lone dissenter, wrote that San Diego’s practice was unlawful as it allowed agents to go “walking through the applicant's home in search of physical evidence of ineligibility that could lead to criminal prosecution either for welfare fraud or other crimes unrelated to the welfare application."

The local government asked that the Supreme Court not interfere with the program, offering evidence that "[n]o applicant has been prosecuted for welfare fraud based upon anything observed or discovered during a home visit that contradicted information provided by the applicant". In denying to hear the appeal, the United States Supreme Court offered no comment as to their decision.

It would appear that the 9th Circuit’s reasoning that “people are free to turn away the investigators” is flawed; such action would, as dictated by the policy, cause applicants to be disqualified from receiving government aid. For many, the decision comes down to “allowing” agents to search their house or lose these benefits which they require to purchase necessities; given such a “choice”, it is not surprising that they “choose” to allow agents access to their homes.

The 9th Circuit’s reasoning, aside from the opinion put forth in the dissent of Judge Fisher, offers an unconvincing justification for allowing the local government to circumvent the applicants’ Fourth Amendment rights by permitting searches without requiring warrants and probable cause. As the United States Supreme Court has denied hearing the case without offering comment, it appears that at least a majority of the Justices agree with the 9th Circuit and feel that such searches can be continued, seemingly in violation of these applicants’ rights.

Article link: Washington Post

Reactions to God’s Harvard (Part II)

In addition to considering the ways in which Patrick Henry College’s students disagree with founder Michael Farris, it is also important that Rosin documents the growing pains of the university and how even many of its professors become discontent with Farris’ vision. In Lauren Sandler’s 2006 book Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement, Sandler cites Robert Stacey’s “Freedom’s Foundations” course as just another example of an “education that constantly circles back to the Bible” (173). Rosin’s impressions, on the other hand, are completely different: Stacey challenges what he calls “Christian revisionism” regarding the Founding Fathers, and teaches his students “to read widely and critically…to question all received wisdom” (112). When Farris eventually fires Stacey after a power struggle over his teaching methods, the students refer to the crisis in terms of 9/11, and the resulting fallout eventually leads to the (voluntary) departures of several other professors. Rosin acknowledges the possibility that Farris’ curriculum can create ready-made, power-hungry future politicians, but she also convincingly points out that the school’s inability to reconcile its faith objectives with classic liberal arts is ultimately not conducive to producing the expected ends.

While these documentations of subjectivity and infighting may not seem all that remarkable, they are extremely significant when considering the broader context of God’s Harvard. As Jeff Sharlet recently analyzed for The Revealer, many non-evangelicals who write about evangelicalism often lapse into oversimplified generalizations, including framing the subculture as a monolithic movement or a voting bloc without much diversity or dissent. This tended to be a problem with the aforementioned anti-religious right books from last year, where many of the authors tended to paint a rigid, conformist picture of their subjects. There are certainly severe problems that have manifested within evangelicalism due to insufficient critical self-analysis, and I think Rosin’s narrative demonstrates how the inherent myopia of Farris’ mission can negatively affect PHC students. Yet it’s crucial to remember that evangelicals rarely find agreement among even theological issues, and while conservative evangelicals in particular have formed majority opinions on certain social policies, those opinions remain malleable and are rarely transferred to future generations in a tidy manner. In short, evangelicals are much like any other subculture: internal conflicts arise as cultural and historical changes affect their priorities. Rosin—who is Jewish and an East Coast native—understands this quite well, which is what makes her study so compelling.

With that said, I still would have liked to see Rosin wrestle more with the question of how those who disagree with PHC’s mission should respond, especially if it is able to overcome its problems and gain tangible ground in the culture war. Her bigger-picture outlook in the book’s conclusion is limited to statements such as, “Evangelicals are far too entrenched in American politics and culture to drop out en masse” (271). In a recent Beliefnet debate entitled “Evangelicals in Power,” she offers some important insights, such as arguing against having “political disagreements” that are “loaded with the weight of sin and evil.” This is helpful (as is the rest of the debate), but it would have been nice to see her articulate such thoughts in God’s Harvard. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent book, and her strong research and engaging analysis provides a model for future investigations of evangelical politics.

New Jersey Seeking to Repeal Death Penalty

Having not executed anybody since 1963, the New York Times is reporting today that New Jersey is currently in the process of becoming the first state to repeal the death penalty. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already approved the measure, and it is expected that both of the houses in the state will review the proposal in the next several weeks. New Jersey’s Governor, Jon S. Corzine, has indicated that he will approve the bill should it pass both houses. Passage in the Assembly is seen to be highly probable, but it is unsure whether the measure would pass the Senate.

One driving force in this repeal appears to be the growing number of exonerations throughout the United States based on newly available information and scientific evidence. The Washington Post is reporting today on a murder case in which there was evidence presented matching lead content in bullets of the gun owned by the accused and the gun used in the murder; such evidence aided in the conviction of the accused murderer. However, it has recently come to light that the expert who presented this evidence had provided false credentials and inaccurate statements to jurors. Additionally, “Two years before, the FBI crime lab had discarded the bullet-matching science that it had used to link Kulbicki to the crime.” Now, the Court must consider the propriety of overturning the conviction.

Aside from this specific instance of improperly presented evidence leading to the conviction of an accused murderer, in general it is being recognized that there have been problems with misidentification. Accordingly, many prisons are providing prisoner access to DNA evidence to prisoners, which has led to a significant number of exonerations (see my previous post here for more).

Another issue aiding in the reconsideration of the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. As noted in a previous post, many states have placed executions on hold while the United States Supreme Court considers this question. In these states, such executions have been primarily suspended by the Court or Governor; New Jersey would be the first state where the legislature is the body enforcing any cessation of executions.

Those opposing the New Jersey bill point to the deterrent effect that the presence of the death penalty provides. Opponents of the death penalty see New Jersey’s bill as an opening to reexamine death penalty laws throughout the United States. It is reported that one State Senator is pushing for more of a middle ground – a bill that would maintain the death penalty, but apply the sentence in more limited circumstances.

Whether lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment is an issue that is currently being left to the Supreme Court and is a question that can not be accurately answered without in depth scientific study. Also, whether the death penalty for certain crimes is a greater deterrent than other punishment, such as a life sentence without parole, is a question that I imagine has been studied in depth by a great many scholars who have much more in depth knowledge of such issues.

With the answers to these questions being uncertain, the issue of the death penalty is certainly one that is not cut and dry, nor is it an issue that has a ready solution. Even so, the case of the Maryland murder case described above is a concrete example of why such punishment should not be rushed into; while extended wrongful imprisonment (as is the case in Maryland where it does not appear the accused was sentenced to death) is a serious matter, even worse would be the discovery of new scientific evidence (or evidence of improperly applied scientific evidence as in the Maryland case) after the accused is executed due to an improper conviction.

Reactions to God’s Harvard (Part I)

I’m currently in the process of reviewing Hanna Rosin’s new book God’s Harvard for PopMatters. I think Rosin is an insightful reporter (see my previous post), and her study is an important one considering its subject matter. As a private college in Purcelville, Virginia with a student body of around five hundred, Patrick Henry College (PHC) targets evangelical homeschoolers with high scholastic potential; the average SAT score range that Rosin cites is 1230-1410, on par with the University of Virginia and Rice (46-47). Michael Farris, a constitutional lawyer and conservative political activist, founded the school in 2000 with the intention that the school “would enlist the purest of born-again Christians in a war to ‘transform America’ by training them to occupy the ‘highest offices in the land’ ” (3). To fulfill this goal, PHC’s curriculum is primarily designed to prepare students for political and cultural leadership roles, with the first two years focusing on classic liberal arts (literature, philosophy, history), and the second two years involving government and political science courses, internships, and a senior research seminar.

Despite PHC’s size and newness, Farris’ overarching vision has, in some ways, been quite successful to date. Rosin finds that out of roughly one hundred White House internships that are available yearly, PHC has “taken between one and five of those spots in each of the past five years—roughly the same as Georgetown” (47-48). Many other students have landed internships with Congressional Republicans, and graduates have worked for the White House, FBI, CIA, and various conservative think tanks. Liberal critics have interpreted these accomplishments (particularly the White House internship rate) as a dangerous alliance between church and state. It’s not an accident that out of the several anti-religious right books released in 2006, more than one discussed how PHC is 1) evidence of 1) how certain evangelicals and fundamentalists seek to conquer American government; and 2) the intellectual tragedy that occurs when PHC students are indoctrinated into an overly certain and narrow worldview.

In contrast, Rosin relies on her thorough research—which included extensive observations during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years—to present a more nuanced (and more plausible) picture. True, there is some corroborating evidence in relation to the studies cited above. For example, she notes that PHC students “generally cleave to [the] orthodoxy” of the religious right, and that the campus newspaper “almost never deviated from the White House position” (5, 105). In her profile of Derek Archer (who was a freshman when she began her reporting at PHC), she describes his encounter with an upset deacon while helping younger kids distribute flyers in a church parking lot for Republican gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore. As Rosin writes, “It had never really occurred to him that a church would consider campaigning and worship to be at odds with each other; in his mind, they served the same purpose. Now he could see, ‘it’s rather controversial’ ” (157). Finally, she notes at the end of the book how the imperative to take back the nation “haunts” graduates “even more strongly than it did while they were in school,” and expresses her doubt that any of the students “would ever moderate their views enough to win my vote—not for president, congressman, or even city councilman” (273-274).

Yet Rosin also documents the cognitive dissonance and agency among the PHC students, and the extensive time she has spent with them has helped her delineate between Farris’ dreams of creating incorruptible culture warriors and their own personal goals for the future. Girls in particular struggle with campus rules that are skewed against them (such as a dress code that monitors bare midriffs and exposed bra straps) and the traditional gender expectations that are placed upon them (including chastity and what is known as complementary gender roles, which emphasizes gender differences and male leadership within relationships). Farahn Morgan’s efforts to counter these forms of inequality are particularly noteworthy. Rosin writes that although she shares many of the conservative characteristics of her peers, “Farahn seemed highly conscious that she was blooming in a very tight space”; her acute sense of fashion and “innate fatalism” (where she describes herself as a “Christian nihilist” and life as a “tragedy”) are certainly at odds with what Farris intends (149-150). Even more conventional female students recognize the difficulty of planning their career ambitions within what is basically an environment of institutionalized sexism, and their small forms of resistance—particularly moving off-campus—become symbolically significant.

IPCC report warns that climate change is irreversible

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved the final installment of its four-part landmark report on global warming Friday, concluding that even the best efforts at reducing carbon-dioxide levels will not be enough. The world must focus on adapting to "abrupt and irreversible" climate changes.

The report from the IPCC summarizes thousands of pages of research produced over six years by delegates from 140 countries. It will be used as a "how-to" guide for governments meeting in Bali, Indonesia, beginning Dec. 3^rd to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in five years.

The panel and former Vice President Al Gore were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their global-warming work.

The report says that governments will have to spend billions of dollars every year to mitigate the effects of increased temperatures, but even that will not be adequate, and many countries simply will have to learn to live with the changes.

The report stresses that global warming is "unequivocal" and that there is high confidence that humans are responsible. Global temperatures have risen about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.

The panel estimates that temperatures could increase by an additional 3.2 degrees to 7.8 degrees by 2100. Sea level could rise seven to 23 inches over that period.

According to the panel, adaptation is now as important as reducing carbon dioxide. In its most basic sense, adaptation is the construction of walls to protect coastlines from rising sea levels or draining glacier-fed lakes in the Himalayas to prevent flooding of villages below. For some places, adaptation is the only option.

My hope is that this UN report will mobilize the world to act together and take action with regard to carbon dioxide emissions in order to avoid catastrophic events. The United Nations and many countries favor strong mandatory reductions of the greenhouse gases that drive global warming; unfortunately, the Bush administration wants voluntary measures and wants developing countries to share the burden of cuts.

National Wildlife Federation's "Final 50" Campaign

If you wanted to know who the final 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives that haven’t committed to sponsor global warming bills, then just ask the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). They have launched a campaign that targets these “Final 50” representatives who have supported past global warming solutions, but have yet to join the 170 other representatives who have co-sponsored either the Safe Climate Act of 2007 (HR 1590) or the Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 (HR 620).

Larry Schweiger, President & CEO, NWF believes that if these 50 lawmakers step up and sign onto one or both of these strong global warming bills, we’ll surpass 218—enough support to secure passage of a bill that cuts global warming pollution by 2% per year.

Both the Safe Climate Act and Climate Stewardship Act include important provisions to cut global warming pollution by 2% per year and encourage alternative energy innovation, providing the pillars of a national plan to address global warming.

A 2%-per-year reduction in U.S. global warming pollution will, by mid-century, add up to what most scientists say is necessary to avert catastrophic climate change.

For a complete list of members included in NWF's Final 50 list, please go to www.final50.org.

Military Funds Approved by House

Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a portion of the funds requested by President Bush to be used to aid military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the New York Times reports that this approval comes with several qualifications; with the addition of these qualifications, the Senate is expected to block the passage of any such measure.

As expected, one of the qualifications placed on the expenditure of funds is that troop withdrawal begins within thirty days, and all troops are withdrawn by December, 2008. In preparation for withdrawal, focus of the mission in Iraq would turn to counterterrorism and ensuring that Iraqi security forces are properly trained and prepared.

Aside from troop withdrawal, the House has also included as part of their approval measures intended to counter acts of torture. In order to end these practices, the bill would require “all American personnel, including C.I.A. operatives, to follow Army Field Manual rules on torture, among them a ban on waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning without causing death.”

After a two hour debate, the bill passed by a vote of 218-203, with only four Republicans voting for the approval of the bill. In a statement released by the Press Secretary, it is alleged that this party-line vote calls for an “arbitrary withdrawal” date and fails to take into account “the needs of our military and their mission.” It is indicated in this statement, that should the legislation get passed by Senate (which appears unlikely), the President would veto the bill. The Press Secretary argues that “Congress has had ample time to pass legislation to fund our troops” and “because Congressional Democrats insist in going through another round of political votes and vetoes, Pentagon planners will be forced to focus on accounting maneuvers instead of military maneuvers.” In reading this statement, it certainly seems that the issue in contention is the troop withdrawal rather than any requirements that would help ensure the cessation of torture practices or aid in the training of Iraqi security forces.

Having had only access to the various news articles presented on this topic, it would seem that the Press Secretary makes a valid point that the House, in adding qualifications to the approval of the requested funds, is knowingly delaying actual aid to the troops as it seems somewhat clear that these measures will not get past the President, and perhaps not even past the Senate. While the withdrawal of troops is a worthy goal, while the troops remain overseas it is necessary to ensure that they are properly supplied. As the well-being and safety of the troops appears to be riding on the provision of proper funding, it would seem that the ideal goal would be to ensure that the proper funds are available when needed, and push for troop withdrawal in a separate measure either concurrently or at a later time. Of course, as is the case with most ideal situations, this seems unlikely as I imagine that the approval of funds may be the only bargaining chip Democrats have to ensure that they can advance their goal of troop withdrawal. The issue then comes down to Democrats and Republicans reaching an agreement that will guarantee that both the goal of the required funding and the goal of eventual withdrawal of troops are met. It is hoped that such an agreement can be reached quickly and efficiently so that no military personnel suffer due to a lack of funds.

CGS and Faith on the Left

With the current Democratic presidential candidates acknowledging and addressing issues of faith in a more substantive factor than in 2004, Hanna Rosin and Jason Byassee’s separate articles on political consulting firm Common Good Strategies (CGS) help us understand the slowly increasing role of faith within other levels of the party. Both authors note that CGS is noteworthy because its seven clients during last year’s elections—including gubernatorial candidates Ted Strickland (Ohio) and Jennifer Granholm (Michigan)—not only won all of their races, but also (in Rosin’s words) “made astonishing gains” among white evangelical voters that were disproportionate to the Democratic Party’s overall slight narrowing of the “God gap.” Byassee explains the reason why in his interview with CGS co-partners Maria Vanderslice and Eric Sapp:

“So what do these consultants actually do for candidates? Vanderslice and Sapp stress that they mainly help candidates be themselves and speak publicly about the faith that is already in them. ‘Our candidates don't all sound the same,’ Sapp insists. Which is true. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was a conservative Catholic and outspokenly pro-life before he ran for the Senate; Ted Strickland was a United Methodist minister and longtime advocate for the poor before he ran for governor of Ohio. But for Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, a middle-of-the-road Democrat, it was something new to be talking about God on the stump, as she did during a campaign speech at Hope College in the conservative Christian region of the state. In the end, she performed much better among white evangelicals than Democrats tend to do, garnering some 35 percent of that vote. CGS would argue that faith was in her all along; it just needed to come out.”

It’s notable that the ways in which CGS help their candidates articulate their faith involve quite proven strategies. In particular, reframing language in order to discuss controversial social issues may be a newer idea for politicians left of center, but it is a tactic upon which conservative politicians—particularly religious conservatives—have successfully capitalized for quite some time. Yet where CGS has to be careful is ensuring that their candidates subsequently avoid falling into a style-over-substance trap. As an example, the CGS slogan “poverty is a moral issue” that Byassee cites is a variant of a line from Jim Wallis, arguably the top leader of the “religious left” movement: “Budgets are moral documents.” A terse, powerful statement upon first glance, to be sure, but Wallis has now recycled it enough (examples here and here) that its substantive content becomes a bit more murky. This isn’t to say that Wallis is inauthentic—I don’t necessarily believe that to be the case—but rather that it becomes easy to, as Rosin alludes, turn discussions of faith into “rhetoric” that is less than convincing.

Yet I find the efforts of CGS to be generally encouraging, for they’re helping to demonstrate that left-of-center candidates can incorporate their faith in positive and productive ways. This is especially true for Strickland, who has maintained high approval ratings and healthy bipartisan relationships during his first year in office.

The President, Congress, and Veterans Day

With today being Veterans Day, Congress and most government offices are closed. Still, just like many of Americans, Congress and the President continue to keep present and future veterans in their thoughts.

On Sunday, President Bush delivered a speech in Austin, Texas honoring those who have fallen in Iraq. During this speech, the President assured the families of the fallen soliders that, “their sacrifice will not be in vain.” Calling the troops in Iraq “tomorrow’s veterans”, President Bush detailed how the troops in Iraq are helping to ensure that, by fighting enemies in their home countries, attacks such as those that took place on 9/11 will not happen on American soil again. The President praised the soldiers in Iraq for their work in protecting our country, the veterans of previous wars for their examples set in serving their country, and the families of all for their support of those who have served and are currently serving their country.

As for Congress, prior to leaving for the Veterans Day break, Congress had written a letter to the President indicating the importance of opening communication over how to resolve issues regarding spending for the military. Last week, Congress had sent a health, education and labor bill to the President; according to the New York Times, this bill also included millions of dollars to be allocated for employment and rehabilitation for veterans. It is expected that President Bush will veto this bill as the allocation of funds exceeds his proposed budget by almost ten billion dollars.

Congress is also in the process of considering a fifty billion dollar measure to provide funding for the war in Iraq. Part of the goal of this measure is to set a deadline for troop withdrawal for December, 2008. As Democrats and Republicans appear divided over the measure, it was decided to postpone consideration of the measure in light of the Veterans Day weekend. “Democrats already uneasy about the measure argued that fighting with Republicans over troop withdrawals might not be the best way to head into the holiday weekend given all the effort Democrats have put into courting the veterans constituency.” The measure may not be considered now until December.

It seems that Veterans Day has put the men and women of the armed forces in the forefront of all our minds, as it rightfully should. Hopefully, President Bush’s statements as to the necessity of the war in Iraq prove true and prevent any further attacks on U.S. soil, and that any death of any U.S. soldier in any war is not in vain. It is also hoped that Congress and the President can work together to ensure proper care for veterans as needed once their service is completed, and can work together to ensure the safety and withdrawal of troops from Iraq in a reasonable timeframe.

For all the military is doing to protect, it is good to remember present and future veterans not only today but everyday for the service they have and continue to provide to our country.

Hiroshima and A Good War Is Hard to Find (Part II)

As mentioned in my previous post, my interest in John Hersey’s Hiroshima originates from David Griffith’s A Good War Is Hard to Find: The Art of Violence in America. While not a classic, A Good War is nonetheless excellent, and its essays—all of them grounded within Griffith’s personal experiences—are valuable in that they pose some challenging and necessary questions about our relation to violence in contemporary society. Additionally, while Griffith’s analysis mostly involves cultural and media criticism (as opposed to Hersey’s on-the-scene reporting), he (whether consciously or not) is able to identify and theorize about the nature of violent motives that, while implicit, are undeniably important to the narrative of Hiroshima.

The 2004 Abu Ghraib scandal is the historical event on which Griffith centers his writing and derives his primary argument. Using the stories of Flannery O’ Connor as an interpretive lens, he argues that photographic evidence of the scandal demonstrates what O’ Connor once referred to as an “acute ‘disjunction between sensibility and belief’ ” (115). As he writes in an online response piece last spring, violent photographs like those that emerged from Abu Ghraib “have the capacity to wake us up to the ignorance and ugliness of our beliefs and cause us to meditate on those beliefs.” Yet not only do we routinely ignore this potential for critical reflection, we also are prone to excusing the actions that are documented. They become aberrations that simply result from “a few bad apples,” or are a byproduct of our (in this case, “our” meaning “American”) larger mission to assert our moral status in the world. As Griffith comments in the piece above, when this happens, it is easy for the suffering of others to be “beyond concern” to us.

Griffith uses this general argument to drive home an important point that reemerges in different forms throughout the book:

“When we deny that we have anything in common with [Army Spc. Charles Graner] and the others who are pictured in the [Abu Ghraib] photos, we allow all that is most despicable and ugly in our nature to thrive. If we are too proud to see ourselves in those photos…then we have no hope of finding any meaning whatsoever in them” (136).

What this means is that when we create a moral binary contrasting ourselves as “good” against certain other people that are “evil,” we are ignoring the ambiguous nature of humanity. This is why Griffith relies on O’ Connor, for “[h]er stories reveal the hidden evil residing in the human heart, the pursuit of good that masks a secret pride” (34). Even when we think we are incapable of committing the type of violence and torture that occurred at Abu Ghraib, the photographs tell a story of how ordinary people are capable of committing extraordinary acts of evil. To ignore this less is to perpetuate a “profound misunderstanding of sin and evil” (100).

How does this relate to Hiroshima? For Americans, World War II has become a source of nostalgic pride, where the “Greatest Generation” fought the “Good War” against the tyranny of fascism and the recklessness of Japanese imperialism. When we accept the parameters of these designations, then the use of an atomic bomb upon Hiroshima (and later Nagasaki) becomes more or less a justifiable means to an end—tragic, sure, but the final action that ensured the end of the war and prevented the further loss of American life. I believe that Hersey’s book quietly argues against this. The gruesome details of physical and emotional suffering, the inability of the survivors to fathom what had destroyed their lives, and the tremendous barriers that they faced simply to recapture a life close to being normal—all speak of an event so horrifying that it remains, in many ways, incomprehensible for anyone that didn’t directly live through the blast. The question of viable strategic alternatives to the atomic bomb is one that historians have wrestled with for decades, and Hersey is careful not to weigh in on the decision. Yet he clearly delineates the high cost of its use, and it becomes foolhardy to argue that inherent goodness lay behind the mass destruction of civilians and their city.

Consequently, although Hersey and Griffith forward different styles of argument, they ultimately converge in their rejection of dualistic notions of good and evil, demonstrating that the truths of Hiroshima and Abu Ghraib fundamentally resist such an oversimplification. It is by acknowledging the internal struggle of good and evil that we are able to acknowledge these truths—difficult as they may be—and fruitfully apply them within our lives; short of that, we are committing a delusion.

Norman Mailer, The author of The Executioner’s Song, has died

Norman Mailer, the accomplished writer whose public head-butting and machismo often overshadowed his Pulitzer Prize-winning style that challenged society's views of politics and sex, died today at the age of 84.

Mailer published his first novel, The Naked and the Dead in 1948, and won The Pulitzer Prize for The Executioner's Song. The true life novel depicts the events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder.

Gilmore gained international notoriety as the first person executed in the United States after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 after Gregg v. Georgia lifted the four-year moratorium instated by Furman v. Georgia.

Based almost entirely on interviews with Gilmore’s family, his legal team, the prison officials, the media, the publicists and to a lesser degree, the victims' families, the book is exceptionally detailed in its account of the nine months between Gilmore’s parole and his eventual execution. Mailer focuses on the events leading up to the murders and the trial and execution of Gilmore, including full documentation of Gilmore's court appearances and his decision to demand his execution rather than to continue the appeals process. Mailer did an excellent job at not only telling Gilmore's story, even though he never met him, but also breaking down the justice system.

If you have time and want to reacquaint yourself with Norman Mailer, an innovator of creative nonfiction, then The Executioner’s Song is worth a read.