What the other side is saying

The other side…

Briefs from Sojourners (sojo.com)

Stop the Games in Congress

by Duane Shank 12-03-2010

In just the past few days, the U.S. Catholic Bishops have reiterated the moral case for the New START treaty as “a modest step toward a world with greater respect for human life.” The secretaries of state for the past five Republican presidents have reiterated the national security case for “an agreement that is clearly in our national interest.”  And Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that if the treaty is held up, Russia will “have to react” and may increase the number of its nuclear weapons rather than reducing them.

And the Republican response? All 42 Senate Republicans signed a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid vowing to block any legislation except extending the Bush tax cuts and financing government operations.

This “if you don’t play my way then I won’t play” attitude is now threatening the future of the world. Taking another step toward reducing the number of nuclear weapons is too important for partisan games.

Duane Shank is senior policy advisor at Sojourners.

Top News for Dec. 3

DREAM Act. Legislation carving a path to legal residency for thousands of illegal immigrant students will hit the House floor next week, according to a leading Democratic supporter.

Unemployment Rises. U.S. employment barely grew in November and the jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to a seven-month high, hardening views the Federal Reserve would stick to its $600 billion plan to shore up the fragile recovery.

Afghanistan. Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables covering recent years of Afghanistan policy portray an unremittingly bleak landscape in which U.S. officials have alternately cajoled and pressured an erratic Afghan president, been repeatedly exasperated by corruption and seemed destined to repeat the past.

Quote of the Day. "The ethical and moral issues that face people in the U.S. have a great deal to do with how we see the world, whether we see it as interconnected or not, our responsibility for our neighbors nearby and far away, how we're going to use the resources and the gifts we have to the benefit of somebody beyond our own selves." Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who sees the relationship between faith and science as a way of making those connections. (Chicago Tribune)