Conference of Independent Trade Unions in Palestine

Via Labour Start

On behalf of the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine, We would like to invite you to A Conference of Independent Trade Unions in Palestine on July 27 and 28, 2007, In Ramallah, Palestine

Democratic and independent unions in Palestine have decided to join together in order to make their voices heard.

Currently, there are four competing labor federations in Palestine—three controlled by Fatah and one by Hamas. None of these federations have had genuine democratic elections of their leadership in recent years and appointments and distribution of positions in the executive boards are made on a political basis.

This situation has considerably weakened the trade union movement and it has become necessary to create a movement independent of political factions in order to truly represent the will of Palestinian workers.

The goal of the conference is to strengthen independent trade unions and to liberate the labor movement from the hegemony of political factions and the Palestinian Authority.

Independent and democratic unions in the following sectors will participate in the founding conference: financial, health, pharmaceutical, university professors and employees, telecommunications, municipalities and electricity.

Your participation will allow you to become acquainted with the grassroots Palestinian trade union movement and with union leaders elected by their peers to lead the day-to-day struggle for decent work, social protection and equality.

We look forward to count you among us for this memorable event. Should you be able to come, please notify us as soon as possible. The detailed program of the conference will be available within a week.

Sincerely,

Hasan Barghouthi
General Director

Normally, I have a bias against dual unions, but this is a different case. I suspect that the existing unions are really not unions, but ideological structures of Fatah and Hamas. The cause of independent and democratic unions in Palestine should be supported.

New blogs

Some interesting new blogs

George Packer's Interesting Times

Open Left

a news, analysis and action website dedicated toward building a progressive governing majority in America. The three founding partners are Chris Bowers, Mike Lux, and Matt Stoller.

For more information on the term "Open Left," please see the article "What Is OpenLeft.com?" by Matt Stoller.

Progressive Strategy Blog

"This blog reports and comments on the most significant insights and debates contributing to the formulation of a strategy for building progressive power in the United States.

Wolfgang Brauner, the editor, is principal researcher and project manager of the Progressive Strategy Studies Project"

Last survivor of Ludlow massacre dies

The Pueblo Chieftain recently reported that Mary Benich-McCleary, the last known survivor of the Ludlow Massacre, died of a stroke on June 28. McClearly was 18 months old when the Colorado militia attacked striking miners and their families on April 20, 1914 at the Ludlow mining camp north of Trinidad during a labor strike.

Wikipedia has good historical survey of the Ludlow massacre

17 people were killed during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado in the USA on April 20, 1914. These deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard. Two women, twelve children, six miners and union officials and one National Guardsman were killed. In response, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines, destroying property and engaging in several skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard. This was the bloodiest event in the 14-month southern Colorado Coal Strike.

According to Wikipedida, the Colorado Coalfield War was the bloodiest conflict in US labor history.

The University of Denver Anthropology Department has an informative website on the Colorado Coal War

The Colorado Bar Association prepared a historical background on the Ludlow massacre for the 2003 mock trial competition.

Here's a little from the Wikipedia entry on the aftermath.

A United States Commission on Industrial Relations, headed by labor lawyer and Democratic activist Frank Walsh, conducted hearings in Washington, collecting information and taking from all the principals, including Rockefeller. The commission's 1,200 page report suggested many reforms sought by the unions, and provided support for bills establishing a national eight-hour work day and a ban on child labor.

The UMWA eventually bought the site of the Ludlow tent colony in 1916. Two years later, they erected the Ludlow Monument to commemorate those who had died during the strike. The monument was damaged in May 2003 by unknown vandals. The repaired monument was unveiled on June 5, 2005 with slightly altered faces on the statues.

There is a memorial service every June and info on the Memorial site can be found here.

Fact checking Brent Castillo on immigration

Brent Castillo is the Wichita Eagle's designated right-wing Christian columnist. He can be counted on to regurgitate the talking points, snipe at liberals, and distort the facts.

Take his latest column "it's not anti-immigrant to want to secure the border."

Here are some pronouncement by Castillo and the facts as shown by polls which can be found here.

CASTILLO: President Bush and a handful of Republican senators joined the Democrats in pushing for the failed legislation. But an outpouring of negative response from their constituents persuaded many who were waffling, such as our own Sen. Sam Brownback, to vote it down.

It was the right thing to do.

FACT: Castillo apparently is unable or unwilling to distinguish between the number of phone calls generated by a rapid anti-immigrant minority and the views of the majority.

A June 22-24 CNN poll asked "Do you oppose the Senate immigration bill MOSTLY because you think it goes too far toward helping illegal immigrants, or MOSTLY because it does not go far enough toward helping illegal immigrants?"


They found that only 28 percent opposed the bill because it went to far. In contrast, 30 percent supported the bill and 15 percent opposed it because it didn't go far enough.


CASTILLO: The majority of Americans want to see our southern border under control before they're willing to talk about roads to legalization.

FACT: LA Times/Bloomberg poll "When it comes to dealing with illegal immigration, do you favor an approach that focuses only on tougher enforcement of immigration laws, or an approach that includes both tougher enforcement of immigration laws and also creates a guest worker program that allows undocumented workers to work legally in the U.S. on temporary visas." Only Tougher Enforcement 40 percent; Guest worker program too 55 percent

CASTILLO:A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll from June asked: "Compared to other problems facing the country, how big a problem is illegal immigration?"

Eighty-six percent said illegal immigration was one of the most important problems facing our country.

FACT: Only 31 percent said that illegal immigration is one of the most important problems facing the country.

CASTILLO: A Quinnipiac University poll from late last year asked if, in regard to a border fence and increased security, "additional measures are needed from Congress to deal with illegal immigrants entering the country, or do you think this is enough for now?

FACT: The same poll showed that 65 percent favored a guest worker "would allow illegal immigrants to register for temporary legal status and employment." 69 percent were in favor of allow[ing] illegal immigrants to register into a guest worker program, should that program offer them the ability to work toward citizenship over a period of several years.

CASTILLO: The majority of Americans want to see our southern border under control before they're willing to talk about roads to legalization.

FACT: This is a right-wing anti-immigrant talking point. I couldn't find a poll question that asked anything of the sort.

A May CNN poll asked people whether they would favor a number of measures dealing with immigration.

Building a 700 mile fence 45 percent favored, 53 percent opposed.

Creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to stay in this country and apply for U.S. citizenship if they had a job and paid back taxes 80 percent favored, 19 percent opposed.

CASTILLO: "our border crisis goes unresolved even though a majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, want the problem addressed."

FACT: It is not only a border crisis. It is a crisis of 10-12 million undocumented and exploited workers in the United States. It is a crisis in which major sectors of the American economy are complicit. It is a crisis of exploitation and poverty in Mexico and Central America.

CASTILLO: We need to have an open and honest discussion about what's best for our country.

FACT: Consistently misrepresenting what the polls show about American opinion on immigration is no way to begin an honest discussion. Starting your column with dishonest swipes at the Democratic leadership in the Congress, while ignoring the obstructionist tactics of the Republicans does not show a desire for dialogue.

Brownback was for immigration reform before he was against it

From NBC Carrie Dann

GOP presidential hopeful Sam Brownback was very nervous for 11 minutes this morning. That's the time that elapsed between his initial "Aye" vote for cloture on the Senate's immigration bill today -- essentially an expression of support for the Bush-backed overhaul -- and a change to "Nay" before the vote was over.

Brownback likely recognized that a vote in favor of the bill, which is deeply unpopular among many Republicans who consider it "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, would not play well in the GOP presidential race or in a potential re-election bid in his native Kansas (he's up in 2010). He's supported the bill up until now, and voted to bring the measure to the Senate floor earlier in the week.

***Update*** At 2:10 pm ET, Brownback's Senate office issued a press release entitled "BROWNBACK VOTES AGAINST CLOTURE ON IMMIGRATION BILL," but it didn't mention he voted for the bill today before he voted against it.

Dr. Bill Roy asks who'll retire Pat Roberts

Dr. Bill Roy, who almost defeated Bob Dole in the 1974 Senate race, has a column in the July 3 Wichita Eagle taking a look at who will retire Pat Roberts.

He writes

his most potent opponents have other things to do. Jim Slattery or Dan Glickman or Kathleen Sebelius would be not just good senators but, nearly certainly, great ones

After a nice survey of those three, Roy concludes

All I'm suggesting is we help [Roberts] graciously retire in a timely manner.

Because, let's face it, Roberts has been running around with a bad crowd -- which he probably recognizes, judging by his early, near-frantic political activity.

So if the big three have reasons not to make a race, who might make a race?

The second tier might be Representatives Dennis Moore, Nancy Boyda, Attorney General Paul Morrison, and Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson. Boyda is in a tough re-election fight and is only a freshman. Moore's seat, once very marginal, now looks safe for Dennis, but maybe not for another Dem. I've heard Morrison make some Jim Webb-like populist sounds, but he's a career prosecutor, not a career politician and probably wants to stay where he is. Parkinson hasn't been a Democrat for long and is probably planning to run to replace Sebelius.

An effective challenger to Roberts doesn't have to come from one of these tiers. Think of Paul Wellstone, a college professor elected to the Senate in Minnesota, or John Testor, a State Senator elected to the Senate from Minnesota.

Dr. Roy is right there is a need for a credible challenger to Roberts. Finding and recruiting such a challenger is one of the three big tests for Kansas Democratic party leaders in 2008. The other two being re-electing Nancy Boyda and increasing the still depleted ranks of Democrats in the Kansas House and Senate.

Labor History in July

DBet you didn't know that all these important labor events happened in July?


July 1 National railway strike with one over one million out (1922)

July 3 Children's Strike for 8-hour day Patterson NJ (1913)

July 5 National Labor Relations Act passed (1935)


July 13 Southern Tenant Farmers Union formed (inter-racial union)

July 14 Sacco and Vanzetti convicted (1921)

July 16 San Francisco General Strike (1934)

July 19 First Women's Right Convention Seneca Falls NY

July 29 Grape boycott ends (1970)

July 30 Lettuce boycott starts (1970)


I know because I downloaded the very cool free July calendar from Northland Poster Collective.
They've been doing great work since 1979, but are having to deal with some critical financial issues, so if you have a wall that needs a statement, order something or make a donation.

Reagan Lied about his Commie connections

Yes, children, Ronald Reagan, the icon of the right, had CP connections during the 1940s. And in 1966, he lied about it, ccording to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

(Via Rick Perlstein's blog.)

As governor, Reagan would have access to UC's atomic research data. The Atomic Energy Act required the FBI to conduct a comprehensive background investigation of him.

The process started on Dec. 18, 1966, when Reagan filled out a Personnel Security Questionnaire that asked, among other questions:

"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of any organization which has been designated by the United States Attorney General as required under the provisions of Executive Order 10450?

"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of any foreign or domestic organization, association, movement, group, or combination of persons which is totalitarian, fascist, communist, or subversive . . . ?"

Applicants were required to list any such groups and the dates they were involved with them.

Reagan answered "no" to both questions on the form, which contained a warning that "any false statement herein may be punished as a felony."

Reagan received shining recommendations from everyone the FBI interviewed.

But files of the Los Angeles FBI office showed that in 1946 Reagan had been a sponsor and director of the Committee for a Democratic Far East Policy, which had been designated as subversive by the U.S. Attorney General under Executive Order 10450.

The records also showed that also in 1946 Reagan had been a member of the American Veterans Committee, the California section of which had been cited in a report by the predecessor of the Burns committee as "communist dominated and (as) a vociferous, decadent minority in national AVC affairs."

But Grapp, head of the L.A. office, approved a report that conformed to Reagan's Personnel Security Questionnaire -- omitting Reagan's association with the two groups officially deemed subversive.

When FBI officials in the bureau's headquarters read Grapp's report, they ordered him to amend the document to include Reagan's role in the groups.

The bureau could not risk the omission. Hundreds of people in the late 1940s and early 1950s had faced hearings and sometimes dismissals from federal employment for failing to disclose memberships in groups deemed subversive.

But the final report to the Atomic Energy Commission, prepared by FBI headquarters, did not mention Reagan's false statement that he had never belonged to a subversive organization, which by law could itself be reason to deny a security clearance.

Needed: a reality-based peace movement

Shouldn't a proposal to effectively mobilize the American public be--at a minimum--
reality-based? A popular proposal by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith is being widely circulated on the internet and beyond. Like many statements by very prominent anti-war spokesmen appears to be based on either wishful thinking or propaganda braggadocio or willfulignorance.

"Over 60% of Americans want this war over--yesterday," Brecher and Smith shout.

There is huge difference betwen poll questions which ask whether the war is/was a mistake or do you approve of George Bush's handling of the war and questions which ask whether people favor an immediate withdrawal.

These polls can be found with great ease on the internet. They can be found here http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm

Here are three polls from early June.

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll

"More specifically, do you think that we should have an immediate and
orderly withdrawal of all troops from Iraq, or not?"

Should 37% Should Not 59%

LA TIMES

"In your opinion, should the United States withdraw troops from Iraq right away, or should the U.S. begin bringing troops home within the next year, or should troops stay in Iraq for as long as it takes to win the war?"

Withdraw right away 25%
Withdraw within a year 43%

USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL

Are you more likely to support a Presidential candidate who
.
"Supports legislation that would cut off funding for the war in Iraq"

More likely 33%
Less Likely 60%

The fact is that only a minority of Americans support the out now position and it is a act of movement-delusion to pretend otherwise. Cute tactics may make small groups of anti-war activists feel warm and fuzzy and make them feel justified in denouncing the sell-outs of the Democratic Party, Move-On, and UFPJ. (To be honest, I suspect that the UFPJ and even DP
activstis are not immune for this wishful thinking syndrome.) But it won't do much to end the war or build a progressive majority.

If the majority are with you then you only have to come up with some magic formula so that the you can shout so loud that the media can't ignore you. But an entirely different approach is needed if only a minority is with you and there is a potential majority which might be organized-- if not to your most preferred position then to something close to it.

____________________________________________________________________

Beecher and Smith Proposal

IRAQ MORATORIUM September 21 and every Third Friday thereafterToday the Iraq Moratorium project steps onto the public stage!Over 60% of Americans want this war over--yesterday. The political processis moving glacially, at best, to make that happen. It's got to stop! We'vegot to stop it!The idea is simple. On September 21 and on every subsequent Third Friday,millions of Americans will break with their
daily routine to take someconcrete step to demand an end to the war and the
return home of thetroops.The hallmark will be the wearing of black ribbons
and armbands, inmourning for all of those who have died in this
senselessadventure--Iraqis, American and other coalition troops, and others.
All ofus who want this war ended can decide what steps we will
take,individually or with others, on September 21. Together, acting where
welive, work and study, we will create a mighty shout so loud that the
mediawon't be able to white it out and the politicians won't be able to
ignoreit.The Iraq Moratorium is not an organization. It was initiated by a
smallgroup of anti-war activists from very diverse backgrounds. We see it as
aproject that will strengthen the work of existing anti-war groups. Evenmore
important, the clear and simple message, the local focus and thevariety of
activities it can encompass will bring into motion greatnumbers who have not
yet taken any action against the war.It is a 21st century project: the reach
of the Internet and the Web willhelp reach tens of millions with this
message. Please help by forwardingthis message widely.To learn more, to
pledge to take part in the Iraq Moratorium, and to getinvolved, please go to
http://iraqmoratorium.org

Slave Labor in China

National Public Radio had a shocking report today on slave labor in China. Here's their blurb

The son of a local Communist Party leader has been implicated in forced labor in China's Shanxi and Henan Provinces, where impoverished people, many of them children, have been abducted or lured to brick kilns, locked up and forced to work without pay. The central government expressed outrage at the abuse following reports in the Chinese media.

Families of many of the enslaved workers hadn't known why they vanished or where they were, and parents are searching for missing children.

LISTEN HERE

Bush unpopular in even Kansas

President George Bush came to Kansas this week among other things to appear a a fundraiser for Kansas Senator Pat Roberts. Notably, this was a fundraiser in a private home, not in any sort of public forum. It raised a fair, but not outstanding, amount.

Survey USA's latest poll on Bush's popularity in Kansas shows

38 % approval
56% disaproval

Compare that to the rating for Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius

65 % approval
31 % disapproval

By the conventional wisdom, Roberts should be a shoe-in, but I've been making the case that he is far more vulnerable. The three biggest things Roberts has going for him is that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is unlikely to enter the race and the lure of an open seat in 2010 when Sam Brownback says he won't run for re-election. And, the perception that Kansas can't elect a Democrat to the Senate.

I don't think there is any real chance that Sebelius will make a run in 2008, but that doesn't mean that someone else can't make a race of it. It might be easier to capture an open seat in 2010, but there's always a chance that Brownback will get a message from God and change his mind. To be a little more serious, there is a good chance that 2008 will be a strongly anti-GOP year, while 2010 the terms of debate framed by the popularity of a new Democratic President who is pushing through an agenda which would mobilize traditional GOP voters.

Now for the third reason. Is there a potential for a Democrat to win a statewide race.

The same SURVEY USA poll has a break down of party identification in Kansas.

Republicans 43
Democrats 33

That's a lot closer than the official registration figures are about 46% Republican, 28 % Democratic and 26 % independent.

National polls which ask independents which way they lean are producing a big margin in overall identification for Democrats. If this Democratic trend holds true for Kansas the party identification might be pretty damn close. In fact, a Gallup poll earlier this year did a state by state breakdown and showed a slight Democratic advantage in Kansas when leaners were included.

Wichita Eagle: Tiahrt's had better weeks

The Wichita Eagle's editorial board raised a gentle question on Saturday about Fourth District Congressman Todd Tiahrt.

Because the power in Congress has shifted to the Democrats, two measures closely associated with Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, have targets on them and soon could be history. His constituents in the 4th Congressional District need to follow the legislative drama in the coming days, and realize the role Tiahrt is playing -- fairly or not -- in policy debates far from Kansas.

In 1998, Tiahrt pushed through a measure preventing the District of Columbia from funding a needle-exchange program aimed at fighting HIV-AIDS, because he believed such programs promote drug abuse and threaten children. On Tuesday, Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y., who now chairs a subcommittee that deals with federal appropriations to the District, stripped that ban from legislation making its way through the House. The Washington Post praised Serrano for taking the "first step toward ending this nuttiness."

Then Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, said Thursday that she would strip what's most often referred to as the "Tiahrt amendment" from a spending bill before her panel. That's the 2003 legislation on gun-tracing data that Tiahrt says protects undercover law enforcement officers and that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and 224 other U.S. mayors say impedes crime-fighting. This week also saw the mayors' group run a full-page ad in USA Today on the issue, pairing text such as "America can't afford a Congress that is soft on crime" with a photo of police officers carrying another officer's coffin. Law enforcement officers from across the country also plan a D.C. press conference Tuesday in opposition to the Tiahrt amendment.

In the 2006 election, Tiahrt's campaign ads were mainly the "he brings home the bacon" sort. They certainly didn't make the case for electing a conservative Tiahrt. If Democrats are going to continue to be the majority party in the Congress, what is the rationale fro electing Tiahrt? Might the voters of the fourth district be better served by elected a moderate, mainstream Democrat?

Bono--humanitarian or t ax dodger

Bono, the lead singer of U2, wants to be thought of as a humanitarian, but the sad truth is that he is a tax dodger. He chastises governments for not following through on commitments to Africa, while taking advantage of tax loopholes. For god sake, the man is a multi-millionaire. NPR interviewed him recently and the only tough questions they asked was why he wears sunglasses and what he talked to President Bush about.

Here's Lucy Komisar on the tax dodger

Bono’s protest at a Berlin news conference Monday might be taken more seriously if he and his U2 band were not contributing to the system that deprives developing countries of far more than western aid – much of which has to be repaid.

Bono is a tax dodger. The Irish Bono ran his music publishing company in Ireland, where he and his partners took advantage of a law that exempted musicians and artists from taxes on royalties. To dodge taxes on non-royalty income, Bono’s interests had the help of offshore nominee directors...

Bono’s Dublin company earned $110 million in 2005. Taking profits through the company rather than individually, Bono would have had to pay only 12.5 percent corporate tax, a rate still below that of the local bus conductor or plumber or school teacher.

But that apparently was too much for the man who has homes on the Irish Coast and in the South of France and New York City. So, last year, Bono “moved” the registration of his business to the Netherlands, where it will pay about 5 percent tax on royalties.

Maybe Ireland and the countries of the G-7 could provide more development aid if Bono and people like him didn’t dodge their fair taxes.

What might the people in the countries he wants to help think about this? The same “move your registration to the lowest tax rate” system that Bono uses is employed by multinational corporations to dodge taxes worldwide.

Developing countries lose an estimated $500 billion every year as a result.

As Africa is the continent Bono expresses most concern about, he ought to listen to what the African Union says: Tax dodging by foreign companies costs it $150 billion a year - three times what it receives in aid.

Carl Shier

Carl Shier, a kind giant of the labor and left died last week at the age of 89 after a long and productive live.

In 1982, Carl received the Debs-Thomas award at a Chicago dinner that celebrated the merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and the New American Movement to form the Democratic Socialists of America. William Winpisger, President of the Machinists was the keynote speaker.

(In the photo at the right, from an earlier dinner, Carl is pictured with Dolores Huerta of the Farmworkers.)

Here's what they said about Carl that evening

We honor you as an exemplary socialist and trade unionist

You have spent a lifetime in the effort to build a socialist movement. You have refused to succumb to disappointment and defeat. You have helped win the small and lasting victories that inspire others to join and continue in the struggle.

Above all, your life has been a constant act of sharing - sharing your time, energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, and constant good spirits with your friends and co-workers.

You have demonstrated that true comradeship is capable of breaking the bonds of generations, color, sex, and class which separate us from one another in this society - and will be broken forever in the society that we seek.

We honor you for living for others and the Norman Thomas - Eugene V. Debs Committee does hereby present you with its award on this 1st day of May, 1982.

The family requests that contributions be made to Dissent through its nonprofit foundation FSISI (310 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10025.)

Flock of Dodos comes to Wichita

The hilarious documentary Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus is being shown twice in Wichita in early Day.


First, on May 4, it will be showing at Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd. in Wichita, at 6:30 p.m. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion; tickets are $5, $3 for Exploration Place members. For further information, visit: http://www.exploration.org/events/index.cfm

Then, on May 7, it will be showing in Wichita State University's CAC Theater, at 7:00 p.m. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer panel discussion featuring director Randy Olson; the event is free and open to the public. For further details, visit:
http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/news/news.asp?__A=article&__NID=2629

For further details about the film, visit:

Workers Memorial Day

GLOBAL COST OF WORKPLACE DEATH AND INJURIES

Each year, over two million women and men die as a result of 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million new cases of occupational disease each year, figures that are supplemented by ILO/WHO estimates that occupational diseases alone cause over 1.7 million deaths, and that at least 268 million non-fatal workplace accidents occur each year. It is furthermore estimated that over half of the 355,000 on-the-job fatalities occur in agriculture, the sector with half the world’s workforce. Other high risk sectors are mining, construction and commercial fishing. Four percent of the world’s gross domestic product (US $1,251 billion) is lost through absence of work from injury, death and disease, sickness treatment, disability and survivor benefits. Illness results in a loss of four or more working days in at least 1/3 of all cases. The loss in GDP resulting from the cost of death and illness in the work force is 20 times greater than all official development assistance to developing countries. Each year, 12,000 children are killed on the job and hazardous substances kill 340,000 workers annually, while asbestos alone claims about 100,000 lives.

Source: ILO

AFL-CIO Worker's Memorial Day Page

Hazards, a UK based safety site has a round-up of Worker's Memorial Day events around the globe.

Masterson: Pay Raise for Me, Not Thee

Some nerve. I think I've got my nominee for Kansas hypocrite of the year.

Kansas State Representative Ty Masterson wants a pay raise--and a majority of the House Appropriations Committee agrees. He thinks that he and other legislators should be paid at a rate above the annual federal poverty level. And that amount should be adjusted for family size. (Materson has a wife and six children). And this for a part time job.

Serving the legislature is a part-time job. Presently legislators are paid $84.80 per day when they are in session, plus $99 per day for expenses. That adds up to about $17,000 per session in salary and expenses. Masterson would get $34,750 under his proposal.

But Masterson thinks it okay for other Kansas workers to live under the poverty level.

Kansas has a $2.65 an hour minimum wage. Masterson voted against raising it as did 62 other state reps.

But that's not the depth of Masterson's hypocrisy. He thinks $2.65 an hour is too much. He actually voted along with 54 others to abolish the Kansas minimum wage.

Yom HaShoah Event: : Escape Under Fire

Yom haShoah Ve'Hagvura or Yom HaShoah (יום השואה yom ha-sho’āh, יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה-Yom ha-zikaron la-Shoah v'la-Gvura), "Holocaust Martyrs' Remembrance Day" or, literally, "Remembrance day for The Holocaust and Heroism." It is held every year in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust

Wichita's Community Yom HaShoah event features Sobibor Escapee and Survivor, Philip Bialowitz

Philip Bialowitz's message is one of survival, hope and history. He was born in Izbica, Poland in 1929. He is one of only eight remaining survivors of the Nazi extermination camp, Sobibor, where an estimated 250,000 Jews were murdered. He participated in the famous revolt at Sobibor, which led to the Nazi's discontinuing killing operations at the camp. Bialowitz's story was featured in the movie "Escape from Sobibor".

"Most people only dream their nightmares. However, my fellow survivors and I actually lived this experience."

Bialowitz will be sharing his story with the Wichita community on Wednesday, April 11 at the Newman Univeristy De Mattias Fine Arts Center. The program will begin at 7:00 pm, and there is no charge for entry.

The Mid Kansas Jewish Federation is sponsoring this event in conjunction with Newman University, Wichita State, Inter-Faith Ministries, Congregation Emanu-El and Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation.

On April 15 at 3:00 PM, the movie Fateless will be shown at the Murdock theater. This looks like an extremely moving film.

Forward at 110

April marks the 110th anniversary of the Forward. Launched as a Yiddish-language daily newspaper on April 22, 1897, the Forward entered the din of New York's immigrant press as a defender of trade unionism and moderate, democratic socialism. Today, the Forward publishes weekly English and Yiddish newsmagazine and connects a new generation of Jewish social activists with labor struggles.

Here's a page with a number of special features on the history of the Forward.

They've also launced ForwardBooks in conjunction with W.W. Norton. They first titel title, in bookstores this month, is “A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life From the Pages of the Forward. Judging from the book's website, it will a stunning book with essays from an outstanding group of writers.

There's a national book check for details here (scroll to the bottom).

Two reports on Taner Edis Talk on Islam and Evolution

Taner Edis, a physicist at Truman State University, gave a talk Tuesday night in Lawrence on Islam and creationism and related topics.

Josh Rosenau at Thoughts from Kansas

... science in the Muslim world is seen through the lens of technology. Improvements in living conditions and advancement of a people or a nation through technological advances are good. Connecting those technical advances to broader theoretical frameworks has always been seen as a dangerous and potentially heretical act. Islamic philosophers have would argue that the Quran provides the necessary overarching framework, and that attempts by the sciences to usurp any part of that role have always found resistance.

Thus, efforts to harmonize science and Islam have tended to focus on finding ways to show that particular scientific discoveries are explained by the Quran. The Prophet referred to the seven levels of the heavens, so exegetes seek to identify seven meteorological or astronomical layers. Vague descriptions of the formation of a fetus are presented as perfect brief descriptions of modern embryology. As Edis writes, "it is striking how little writers of the science-in-the-Quran genre know about science. … [T]hey conceive of science as a set of practical applications and concrete facts to be collected and organized like stamps. This view is not even medieval; medieval science at least enriched its stamp collections with an elaborate God-centered perception of nature."

Red State Rable, notes the contradiction between the efforts of the the Discovery Institute to globalize ID and statements like the following on prominent ID blogs

"Islam is a cancer growing on the planet. It needs to be killed not accomodated

Unfortunatley, RSR seems to accepts the myth of Islamic tolerance.

RSR promises more posts on the talk in coming days.

Meanwhile, take a look at The Illusion of Harmony, the latest book by Taner Edis.