Time to Focus on Jobs, Not Elections

by: Josh Tulkin

Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 16:15:43 PM EST

Jobs is the magic word. President Obama made job creation his top priority in the State of the Union, and job creation is a key component of the budget. Every other policy agenda is bending toward the  gravitational pull of this priority: climate legislation is now a mechanism for creating clean energy jobs, banking reform is a ticket to increasing small business jobs, and the list goes on.

But the issue of job creation is not just Washington buzz. Employment remains staggeringly high, and the Labor Department reported that the US shed an additional 20,000 jobs in January even as unemployment fell .3%. With the recession hitting low-income people first, this issue demands our immediate attention. So what is Washington doing?

The Saints: one battle won in a larger war for recovery

by: Jamie Beran

Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 12:00:21 PM EST

According to the New York Times "at long last, the Saints have arrived, and they brought New Orleans back with them."  And in many ways, this is true.  The game last night was amazing, even miraculous.  They came back from a 10 point deficit, tying the superbowl come-back record.  They took risk after risk, the biggest of which an onside kick to open the second half, and each payed off.  Pivotal calls fell in their favor.  And when they sealed the deal in an incredible forth quarter interception, they reminded America that New Orleans will surprise us, time and again.

My partner is a bit of a sports nut, and he regularly reminds me that sports, at their core, are not about competition and combat.  Rather they provide us an emotional escape - we get swept up in the drama and a winning franchise truly can capture the hearts and minds of a city.  Winning the Superbowl is the pinnacle of this - one game to prove to America that your team - and your city - is the best of this best.  

So the story of New Orleans winning the Superbowl, 4 1/2 years after Katrina, provides an even deeper emotional angle.  Images of the superdome filled with starving, homeless, desparate people are juxtaposed with quarterback Drew Brees holding the Lombardi trophy and all-night parties in the French Quarter. 

However, as we continue to send Service Learning groups to New Orleans as volunteers, support our Gulf Coast fellows in their organizing work, and invest in redevelopment, we know that New Orleans is not yet fully back...

Geux Gulf Fellows, Geux Saints!

by: Jeremy Burton

Sun Feb 07, 2010 at 08:58:08 AM EST

Its Sunday morning and I’m on my way down to South Carolina, where I’ll hopefully be watching the Super Bowl tonight at a retreat together with the Gulf Coast Fellows for Community Transformation (GCFCT); a fellowship in support of 17 of the most amazing community organizers from across 4 states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama), working to help their communities create a just and equitable recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. GCFCT is collaboration between JFSJ, the 21st Century Foundation and the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal, who joined forces two years ago to share our expertise and a long-term vision for the recovery.

The truth is that six months ago, when we scheduled the retreat, taking the fellows away for respite (so desperately needed by these tireless leaders) and skills building this week, we – the staff on the ground and at the sponsoring foundations – maybe lacked the imagination to foresee this Super Bowl Sunday and the monumental excitement being felt in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast today. But, despite the odds and a less than stellar track record over the last 4 decades, the Saints today are a living embodiment of the hopes, dreams and aspirations of a community that has been dealt, and dealt itself at times, a pretty bad hand over the past decades (the disaster wasn’t Katrina, it was the decades of failed leadership, lack of imagination, and poor planning that created the conditions for the storm to leave behind such destruction).

What the Saints have done this season, and what the 17 fellows do every day on the ground, is encourage and empower the people of the Gulf Coast to imagine something bigger and better. These fellows, working with immigrants, low-income communities, youth, the formerly incarcerated; working

The legacy of Dr. King extends far beyond service

by: Simon Greer

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 15:08:42 PM EST

"In the beginning of this trip, I was unaware about the hurricane and how strong of an effect it had on New Orleans. I knew this trip would be an eye opener but now as I sit on my sixth day here, my eyes do not shut."

Excerpt from a blog post by Julena Ariel Cone, a student at San Francisco State

Julena is one of the 113 young people that we engaged in service learning in the month of January. Traveling to New Orleans from New York City, San Francisco, Delaware and Binghamton, they renovated houses, built a wheelchair ramp, created community gardens, and renovated a church. Trading their energy and sweat for a deeper understanding of the slow progress of transformation, these young people gained valuable insight into the role our community can play in affecting change.

Many of these trips were held over the Martin Luther King Jr., holiday. And, with so much written about Dr. King last month, I couldn't help but ask myself: is this what he envisioned?

Chickens are a totally legit city animal

by: Mae Singerman

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 12:03:17 PM EST

Jeff Prussack is a program leader for our service learning trips. He also happens to live in New Orleans (where many of our service learning trips go) at the Moishe House.

Jeff just sent me pictures of the awesome chicken coop he built at the NOLA Moishe House. Having raised chickens myself and built two coops, I know they can be a pain to build. The two I helped with were super bulky. This one is so sleek, practical and cool looking. It’s the home to four laying hens- Pearl, Rose, Bubs and Girdie.

I’m in full support of all us city-dwelling Jews raising chickens. It’s actually really easy and rewarding. You can even order them in the mail! Fresh eggs everyday and if you’re really cruel (like me) backyard, organic chicken dinner for a special occasion.  What do you think? 

(Oh and for those who don’t know, Moishe House provides subsidized housing for young adult Jews to do cool things in a group home with and for Jews. There are 28 houses in 10 countries.)

If you want to talk chickens, Moishe House stuff or even because you want him to build you one of his cool coops, get in touch with me and I'll get you in touch with Jeff.

Great news about jobs! Also, terrible news!

by: Philip Bump

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 11:31:58 AM EST

As you may have heard, the government released numbers indicating that the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% in January. Hooray!

You may also have heard that the country lost 20,000 more jobs. Um, boo?

Your natural reaction (as was mine) might be: how does that happen? How do we lose jobs, but still have reduced unemployment? It's not that swine flu, is it?

Nope. As explained in this great blog post at NPR, the data come from two different surveys: one of employers (which gave us the 9.7% figure) and another of households (which showed the drop).  The differences between these two surveys are more fully fleshed out by a piece at FoxNews.com, which explains that while the Bureau of Labor Statistics' employers poll covers more people, the survey of households is statistically significant, covering over 100,000 homes.

The truth, of course, lies somewhere beyond these approximations. December's employment figures, for example, were recently revised  downward from an estimated 85,000 jobs lost to a whopping 150,000.

In other words, take a look at the numbers released today - but be prepared to revisit them in a month or two.

Victory for community development credit unions in new TARP policy

by: Jeremy Burton

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 21:31:11 PM EST

Are you as angry as I am about the bailout of the banks and ever bashed TARP program?  Well then, maybe you'll be as excited as I am about some great news that came our way today.

Our partners at the "Federation" (that would be the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions) wrote to us today to tell us that:

At a meeting with key leaders of community development credit unions (CDCUs) and community development banks, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced yesterday a major capital investment program for depositories certified as community development financial institutions (CDFIs).

JFSJ is ourself an investor in the Federation (which is a CDFI), as well as in many community development credit unions, through our Tzedec Economic Development Fund.  Cliff Rosenthal, CEO of the Federation, has been one of the leading Jewish voices for building access to capital in low income communities.

As the Federation's justly excited announcement explains:

Census Time

by: Mae Singerman

Wed Feb 03, 2010 at 17:15:17 PM EST

It's time for the US Census! Woohoo! Who's psyched to find out how many of everyone exists in the US? I know I am. I love data, especially when people put it in cool graphs. Everyone loves cold-hard unbiased facts, right? 

Too bad the census historically undercounts immigrant and poor communities. "The Census Bureau estimates that the 2000 Census missed 6.4 million people, who were disproportionally people of color and poor, and counted 3.1 million people – largely white and affluent – twice."

It wouldn't matter, except everyone treats the census like it's law, using it to distribute over $400 billion in federal funding, determining where and what kind of government programs happen and district boundaries. Great example of structual inequality and a good way to beat a favorite party debate "Is racism over?"

A coalition of NYC group have formed to make sure everyone is counted this year. They are grassroots, community-based organizations that are using the census count as a tool for mobilization around other political action. I'm excited to see how the campaign goes! The six groups are CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, Community Voices Heard, Domestic Workers United, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, Make the Road New York, and New York AIDS Housing Network.

Check out more about their campaign after the jump...

Jewoogle: Christians have the best sects...

by: Mae Singerman

Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 15:53:53 PM EST

So you may have noticed that if you do a goggle search, as you type in words, Google will suggest popular search topics with the first letters or words. Let’s try it with Jews and see what Google assumes we’re looking for based on millions of user searches.

Today, I looked up "Why do Jews" and "Christians have"

Why do Jews…
Have big noses
Wear yamakas
Have glassy eyes
Not eat pork
Not believe in Jesus
Fast on yom kippur
Put stones on graves
Circumcise
Break glass at weddings
Write g-d

Christians have…
The best sects
Authority over satan
Fun
Burnt each other

The questions for "why do Jews" are actually pretty thoughtful compared to any other searches that involve the word Jew, but aren't phrased as a question.

Howard Zinn, Radical Jew

by: Mik Moore

Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 15:06:33 PM EST

Howard Zinn, the modern historian most responsible for helping regular people understand U.S. history... differently, died last week. His most well-read book, "A People's History of the United States," presented a more complex history than most books before it, in which extraordinary people who were ignored are lifted up, and the flaws of lionized men are exposed.

I recieved an email written by an activist and friend of Zinn's named Eric Mann. He wrote, in part:

...as a footnote, it is commendable that so many of the most militant anti-racist whites are Jewish, as Howard (and I) are. When I was at BU, the key to my organizing was the opportunity to guest lecture at 500-person classes taught by Howard and another professor, Murray Levin. With Howard and Murray’s blessing, I spoke about Revolution and SDS 101. Levin, another faculty giant at the time, was Jewish--as were civil rights martyrs Mickey Schwerner and Andy Goodman, who were killed in 1964 with Black Mississippi native James Chaney. The historic and powerful relationship between Blacks and Jews in US Left history is an under-reported and interesting footnote to a far broader history--but one, with the passing of Howard Zinn, that is still worth noting.

I don't know much about how Zinn related to his Jewish identity, but as the excerpt above makes clear, it did not go unnoticed by others. Some Jews enjoy pointing out which Jews excell at sports; I prefer noting how many Jews excell at social change activism. 

For more on Zinn from a Jewish perspective, check out Shalom Rav.