Blogs

Tax reform lasts a long time. 1986 was the last time the tax code was changed. Today's tax plan will linger on the backs of women, students, disabled and seniors for another generation as well, if not longer. * 

The extremely wealthy, which includes Donald Trump, his family and corporations, seem to be the only ones that will benefit from this draconian bill.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that Jews and non-Jews can share in celebration together as Americans regardless of religious affiliation. It's a time to pause in our busy lives to reflect on the past year and to take the opportunity to recount those things we are grateful for. 

Refusing to remain silent and still, women are flexing their political muscle in new, energetic ways. A record number of women are running for every office across the country.

Voters elected history-making women to many offices Tuesday night, including the first transgender woman, the first female African-American lieutenant governor, Seattle's first lesbian mayor, and the first black woman mayor of Charlotte, N.C. 

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. That watershed moment gave birth to the Jewish homeland and turned a dream into a reality for Jews everywhere.

Israel certainly didn't have an easy start and throughout the years its strength and fortitude has been tested with violence and bloodshed. Its neighbors seek Israel's destruction. World opinion is often not on Israel's side.

Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake's announcement this week that he will not seek re-election was met with mixed signals from both sides of the aisle. It is usually harder to defeat an incumbent. Therefore an open senate or house seat is usually seen as a great opportunity. However, in this case, the now-presumed GOP nominee, Kelli Ward,is an extreme candidate with a strong anti-choice record. Her candidacy will no doubt, energize supporters that thrive on messages of hate and divisiveness. The Democrats will have a more difficult time winning this seat.

This week President Trump spoke to the Family Research Council's (FRC) Values Voter Summit. The FRC has been described as the most powerful and influential political organization on the evangelical far right. The Summit's gathering was an opportunity to engage the extreme religious right's mission "to preserve the bedrock values of traditional marriage, religious liberty, sanctity of life and limited government that make our nation strong," according to the group's website. 

First Hurricane Harvey arrived, then Hurricane Irma, and then the forest fires in Northern California. But this was still not enough proof for President Donald Trump that climate change is human-made and quickly throwing our world into crisis. On Tuesday, he rescinded the carbon emission rule that President Obama established to help stem global warming.

The emission regulations, a cornerstone of Obama's environmental policy, would have reduced emissions from U.S. power plants twenty-five percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and thirty percent below those levels by 2030.  

We woke up the morning of Nov. 9, 2016 having elected Donald Trump as our nation's 45th President. There was deep shock then, and there is deep shock now. At that pivotal moment, our country changed in ways that we still struggle to understand.

Trump won because only 58 percent of eligible voters participated in the election; and he won because people thought he wouldn't win. Complacency  and apathy were the big enemy. According to the Pew Research group, the U.S. trails most developed countries in voter turnout.

It was an emotional week.

Houston's cleanup from Hurricane Harvey barely started when Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. Rebuilding physically and emotionally will be slow and painful. It has already been one of the most intense hurricane seasons in recorded history and the season isn't expected to end until November. Evidence continues to mount that these catastrophic events are not coincidental, but explicitly due to climate change. 

Each one of us has a story to tell about a parent, grandparent or great grandparent that landed on the shores of this country in hopes of building a better life. Many sought refuge from political and religious persecution. They worked hard, struggled and persevered, always striving for the American dream. In the process,  our immigrant relatives helped to build our country.They went to school, got better jobs, purchased  homes, and started businesses. They were not very different from today's DREAMERs.