On August 22, at the Villanova Conference Center, JSPAN will offer its first program with CLE credits. Entitled "Redistricting: Limiting Your Right to Vote," the 2-hour course will present Prof. Bruce Cain of the University of California - Berkeley and Montgomery County Legislator Daylin Leach. Joining JSPAN as cosponsors of the program are the Montgomery Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Committee of Seventy.

Non-lawyers are welcome. Register for CLE credit with the Montgomery Bar at 610-279-9660 ($70 including credits and breakfast). If you are not a lawyer seeking credits, you may register with JSPAN at 215-635-2554 ($20 including breakfast).

Decennial redistricting is coming, the season when the gerrymander flowers in Pennsylvania. Join this CLE and learn why and what can be done about it!

For more information click here.

The exploration of Americans' need for health insurance is solid material, well worth viewing. But Moore never seriously addresses how to get there, or what sacrifices will be needed. He misses a great opportunity to seriously examine the plans in the foreign countries he visited. Sicko has lots of drama, will surely raise public awareness, but misses the chance to contribute meaningfully to the debate.

A more useful discussion is the article titled "A 10-Point Plan for Universal Health Care Coverage" by Laurence Kotlikoff, appearing in the August 8, 2007 issue of the Forward. Kotlikoff observes that the ranks of the uninsured are growing, both in numbers and as a percentage of the population. And the uninsured can expect to require more health care than the insured, on average. Kotlikoff notes the Presidential candidates' various proposals for health insurance coverage, but dismisses them for failing to address the full problem and the "massive" financial obligations at stake.

The 10-Point Plan that he advances would give each American a health insurance voucher which would be sufficient to purchase a basic insurance policy as defined by the government. The government would decide annually what portion of the GDP will be applied to pay for health care, and that would set the value of each voucher. Kotlikoff expects insurance companies to compete to attract voucher customers under his plan.

Click here to read Laurence Kotlikoff's "A 10-Point Plan For Universal Health Care Coverage."

The charge of amnesty defeated comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate this summer. It is too important, and there has been too much legislative investment, not to try again. The time to do so is now...

The main objective in legalizing the 12 million was to eliminate their fugitive status, allowing them to live in the United States without fear of being detected and deported or being abused by unscrupulous employers. We should consider a revised status for those 12 million people. Let them hold the status of those with green cards -- without the automatic path to citizenship that was the core component of critics' argument that reform efforts were really amnesty. Give these people the company of their spouses and minor children and consider other indicators of citizenship short of the right to vote (which was always the dealbreaker).

The Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) is supporting the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act, HB 180. This Bill passed the House and is now in the Senate. It would protect States that divest holdings in companies that fuel the genocide in Darfur, and would prevent the federal government from entering contracts with those companies. JCPA states that American companies are not affected.

The White House aside, Congress has been unable to agree on the simplest greenhouse gas rollback, namely an increase in motor vehicle fuel efficiency standards (CAFÉ).

Now California is pressing forward with its own rules on motor vehicle emissions which will inevitably force auto makers to do much better on fuel economy. California needs EPA's consent for its proposed action, and has started legal procedures to get it directly or in court. Thirteen States plan to adopt the California rules when they take effect.

Become a member of JSPAN or renew your membership now. It's easy to do on our website by credit card, or you can mail in your donation. JSPAN is your progressive voice and action agency, and needs your help now!

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