Christian Life Commission

In The News – July 2010

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:14:34 +0000

ALCOHOL | ADDICTION

BUDGET

CHILDREN

At 13th fattest in U.S., Texas adults outweighed by their children, who rank 7th | Programs are underway to tackle childhood obesity, but much more needs to be done, experts say.

CHURCH/STATE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENT

GAMBLING

HUNGER & POVERTY

IMMIGRATION

PAYDAY LENDING

Baddour: Close the state loophole on predatory lending

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Good News Goods – July 2010

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:45:09 +0000

How does buying Fair Trade fight Human Trafficking?

This may be a question you are asking whether you are already a committed buyer of Fair Trade products, or even if you have not bought into the Fair Trade idea yet. Maybe this correlation will stir and motivate you to begin buying Fair Trade and be an advocate for ethically produced products. Either way, it is important to understand the far-reaching implications of Fair Trade and how a simple purchase goes a long way towards fighting global systems of injustice and restoring people’s lives to reflect the Kingdom of God.

So here is the startling reality about Human Trafficking, also known as Modern Day Slavery. After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing. It is estimated that up 27 million people are currently enslaved in various forms of sexual and labor exploitation throughout our world, more than at the height of the trans-atlantic slave trade (Kevin Bales, www.freetheslaves.net). The U.S. Department of State estimates that approximately 800,000 people–80% of which are female and 50% are children–are trafficked across international borders every year (This estimate does not include domestic trafficking).

According to the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, “The movement to stop human trafficking includes significant efforts to address factors that ‘push’ victims into being trafficked, but it also recognizes a ‘pull’ factor as part of the cause…One key to addressing such demand is raising awareness about the existence of forced labor in the production of goods…In the global marketplace for goods, ensuring that complex supply chains are untainted by forced labor is a challenge for both businesses and consumers…Any successful effort to combat human trafficking must confront not only the supply of trafficked humans, but also the demand for forced labor and commercial sex that fuels it.”

In regard to fighting Human Trafficking, Fair Trade works through three avenues:

Prevention by creating dignified and safe employment for vulnerable populations
Alters the market demand for cheaply produced, slave-made goods. A corporation’s “race to the bottom” can lead to or result in exploitive and abusive work environments for the most desperate and impoverished people groups.
Rehabilitation, hope, and healing for survivors by earning a living-wage, as well as sometimes being provided with on-site child-care, job skills, education, and counseling.

Good News Goods is proud to partner with Rahab Bazaar, Nightlight, and StopStart, all of which are innovative, socially minded businesses who work with vulnerable populations and/or rescued victims, giving them dignity, stability, and a chance to start over. Their work addresses the various hurdles faced by rescued victims, as they search for ways to support themselves and their families while also protecting themselves from falling back into the same trap. You can read more about and purchase from our Fair Trade producers at goodnewsgoods.com.

There are many avenues to combat human trafficking, such as raising awareness in your community, voicing your concerns to your local, state, and US representatives, or donating to an anti-trafficking organization. Possibly the easiest and most effective way, however, is to continually use your consumer power to support abolition with your wallet by purchasing fair trade certified products and gift items made by survivors of human trafficking.

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TBOWH Updates – July 2010

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:39:19 +0000

NEW DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO FOR YOUR 5TH SUNDAY PROMOTION

WORLD HUNGER OFFERING DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO EVANGELISM
FORT WORTH – Anchorless, Danny was drifting. He coasted into a debilitating drug addiction that cost him jobs, his home and ultimately time in jail. Upon his release, he wandered the streets not knowing where he would find his next meal, safe place to sleep or a solitary member of society who cared about. Drugs may have driven him to the streets, but trying to survive there killed his will to live.

“It’s like you don’t have any dreams anymore,” Danny Evans said of living on the street. “Society has just sucked you in and taken everything from you. You don’t dream, you don’t set goals, you don’t have no ambition anymore. It’s just about trying to make it day-by-day on the street.”

Having lost everything, Evans found himself at the front door of Union Gospel Mission, a Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger-supported ministry that serves roughly 75 percent of the city’s homeless through a variety of aid programs.

“They’re breathing life into you here,” he said. “They’re letting you know there is hope, there is life out there if you want it. Go out there and apply yourself and take the next step, there is a chance for you to make it no matter what you’ve been through in your past.”

He became one of the mission’s 325 residents, each of whom are attempting to get on their feet after falling flat for one reason or another. Through the mission’s connections, he entered a narcotics anonymous program and accepted a part-time job on the premises. Workers and fellow residents have pushed him to examine his life, make needed changes while encouraging him and keeping him accountable.

Danny’s enrolled in Tarrant County Community College and will begin taking classes this fall – one of several small goals he’s set for himself as he seeks to turn his life around.

“Without this mission, I don’t know where I’d be. Being out on the street is a tough thing for someone who’s never been there before. It’s stressful. And it can break you if you’re not strong minded.”

But Danny’s change is more than quitting drugs and going back to school. He credits this drastic change in outlook to a new relationship with Christ.

Sitting in the mission’s daily chapel service, Danny heard a minister preach on Psalm 40: “I wait patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

The man couldn’t have been talking about Danny more if he’d called him by name. God placed Danny at the mission, he said. There, Danny found God and embraced a relationship with Him, forever altering the way he viewed life.

“This was my rock,” Danny said. “I was just out there. When I got here, my life began to get stable. I began looking at life a different way.”

Danny admits he still has many steps before him until his life is how he would like. But when times get tough, he knows he has two places where he can turn – the loving people at Union Gospel Mission and a God who cared enough about him to send him there.

In 2009, Union Gospel Mission served about 247,000 meals. Leaders expect that number to increase 20 percent in 2010. For more information about the diverse ministries that are supported by the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, visit www.texasbaptists.org/worldhunger, where people can also find promotion materials such as videos that can be used during services. To give online to the offering, visit www.texasbaptists.org/give.

Because you give, we are able to give back to those in need.

Donate now!

NEW DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO FOR YOUR 5TH SUNDAY PROMOTION

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Public Policy Update – July 2010

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:31:24 +0000

Gambling

On June 30, 2010, the Legislative Study Group (LSG) of the Texas House held a hearing to begin the discussion of the benefits and consequences of expanding gambling in the next legislative session. Representative Garnet Coleman chairs the LSG and at the outset reminded all those in attendance that the informal group of legislator’s goal is to consider policies from the perspective of the average, tax-paying Texas family.

Numerous representatives of the gambling industry were invited to testify and share with members what their particular form of gambling can bring to the state. Both Suzii Paynter and consultant Rob Kohler testified on behalf of the CLC. Mr. Kohler’s testimony highlighted the inefficiency of generating tax revenue from casinos by noting that, to produce a little over $1 billion from a casino, the public would have to wager nearly $52 billion dollars. Mrs. Paynter underlined the history of broken promises made in previous gambling proposals, especially from pari-mutual wagering, and pointed out that the entire state of Nevada only generates around $1 billion dollars in tax revenue. At the end of her testimony she asked the representatives: “If you don’t gamble, and wouldn’t use gambling to solve your own problems, why would you use it to solve the state’s problems?”

The legislators in attendance asked tough questions of the gambling industry representatives and, we believe, moved the debate in a positive direction by calling into question the outlandish promises of revenue. Many members seemed to be concerned with where and who the revenue would come from and the negative consequences that would come with increased gambling addiction in Texas.

On July 8, the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee of the House held a very similar meeting that once again featured many members of the gambling industry. The meeting appeared to be little more than a forum at which proponents of casinos in Texas could again air their lofty promises. A member of the state comptroller’s office had the only new information presented. The basic facts he recited regarding the scope of gambling across the country and the revenue generation in other states added a dose of reality to the otherwise rosy projections.

Lone Star Stewards

People of faith securing renewable energy leadership for Texas

At present, Texas leads the nation in wind energy production, but in order to further energy independence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create sustainable energy options, and drive a new clean energy economy, we must continue to diversify our energy sources. By doing so, Texans stand to gain thousands of jobs while simultaneously improving our environment.

In response to the need to support these economic opportunities for Texas, The Texas Clean Energy Coalition has launched an effort to identify and recruit new voices advocate for clean energy, energy efficiency and the economic development for Texas communities. The Coalition will focus on competitiveness, economic development, job growth, energy efficiency and Texas’ energy leadership for the long term.

The Christian Life Commission and Texas Impact and are partnering together to encourage people of faith to join the effort. This new group of voices will be called the Lone Star Stewards. Forums will be held throughout the state in order to engage pastors, rabbis, imams and lay leadership in order to educate and motivate them into leadership in their local communities. Each forum will feature experts in both renewable energy and economic development as well as representatives of the local region and religious leaders. The dates and locations of the meetings are as follows:

August 30, 2010 | Central Texas Regional Forum | McKinney Roughs, Bastrop, TX | 11:00am-4:30pm
September 27, 2010 | North Texas Regional Forum | Brite Divinity School of TCU, Ft. Worth, TX | 2:00pm – 5:00pm
October 25-26, 2010 | West Texas Regional Forum | Indian Lodge, Ft. Davis Mountains, TX | 6:00 pm October 25-breakfast October 27

Through education and advocacy, we can help make sure Texas remains a leader in energy in the 21st century. There is no registration fee to attend. For more information contact Charlotte Bumbulis or Julie Valentine or call 512-473-2288.

Texas Food Policy Roundtable

The Texas Food Policy Roundtable met on July 20, 2010 for our 3rd quarterly meeting.

The meeting was devoted to discussing and voting on legislative priorities for the upcoming 2011 legislative session. Many of the Roundtable’s participating organizations were in attendance and shared their top policy ideas to address the problems of hunger, obesity, and access to nutritious food in Texas. Representatives of state agencies and elected officials were also invited to this meeting. The top policy priorities for the Roundtable will be determined by a democratic process and will be announced shortly. Our next quarterly meeting will be October 19, 2010. For more information on how you or your organization can be involved please contact Anne Olson and visit the Roundtable website.

:: Food Policy Affects All of Texas (pdf)

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A Word From Suzii – Religion and Foreign Policy, the world is on the doorstep

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:16:14 +0000

“Once considered a private matter by western policymakers, religion is now playing an increasingly influential role – both positive and negative – in the public sphere.” This is the opening sentence of a major foreign policy report “Engaging Religious Communities Abroad. A New Imperative for US Foreign Policy.” Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs.

Historically, US government leaders and foreign affairs professionals have considered the light of the faithful firmly under a bushel – at least when they made decisions about public policy. But as global connections are more interrelated and policies cross boundaries of culture and belief, the old paradigm of ignoring religious content and context is changing. Dialogue and nascent relationships have begun. Major universities, think tanks, government agencies, denominational representatives and worldwide compassionate ministries are coming together.

Religion has gone from being virtually ignored in foreign policy to being acknowledged. This is clearly stage one of a relationship and is accompanied by many of the same awkwardness of any new encounter. If religion is being acknowledged in policy circles, the relationship is soon to advance to a process of more integration. In the past three years, I have participated in several forums that bring religious and foreign policy leaders together. Both sides are learning. The public policy folks are often strong on persuasion and information. The religious leaders are almost always trying to convey the diversity of religious interests and voices – there is no religious monolith in the 21st century either within religious traditions or among religious traditions.

One clear development is the inclusion of the study of religion and foreign policy at prestigious academic institutions. The level of analysis and the intriguing studies of religion and foreign policy are building a body of complex data and reference for current and future engagement. As a result of its robust initiative on Religion and Foreign Policy, the Council on Foreign Relations convenes a group of religious leaders with leading policy makers to focus on specific issues and countries every summer. The meetings have become robust and the reading list is growing as scholars add their important voices.

The next stages of engagement will surely be marked by more textured integration of religion and foreign policy. But when moving beyond curiosity and polite protocol to true engagement the defining questions for both the religious sector and the public policy sector yield powerful and complex responses.

At a recent consultation at Wheaton College, hosted by Bread for the World, the Micah Challenge and the Center Applied Christian Ethics, the topic was “Government, Foreign Assistance and God’s Mission in the World.” I am not sure I ever expected to see those topics together on a dais, but the reports and reflections from mission leaders and USAID program planners was unexpectedly robust. The consultation was guided by three questions: How do we understand the biblical and theological grounding for the government’s role in addressing global poverty? Why, should, and how can churches engage in the larger discussion of government responses to global poverty? How do we understand the church’s global poverty advocacy role in the context of God’s mission in the world?

The group of about a hundred evangelical leaders worked to articulate a position statement on Government, the Poor and Gods Mission in the World. It was valuable to articulate biblical and theological affirmations, and to begin to try to describe informed Christian engagement. Although the declaration is still a work in progress, it is clearly a discussion that needs to continue and my hope is that Texas Baptists can be an integral part.

Are you asking yourself about now, what does this have to do with Baptist Church, County Seat Texas? More than you think. Do you send or support missions in other countries the world? Do you have a returning veteran in your congregation from Iraq or Afghanistan? Are your church members relocating around the globe for school, work or for short term missions? What if the worldwide definition of religious liberty changed tomorrow to be only a position of anti-defamation? (no disparaging remarks) with no protection of free speech (especially for Baptist minorities)? Returning to the compelling report of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (opening quote) it asserts important patterns of the intersection of religion and foreign policy that will affect our future:

The influence of religious groups is changing virtually every sector of society –politics, culture, business and science.
Patterns of religious identification are changing worldwide. (For example: African nations are more than 80% religiously converted since 1980.)
Religion is being transformed by globalism.
Religion plays a role that government cannot and will not.
Religion is being used to escalate tensions in many areas of worldwide conflict.
The growing significance of religious freedom as a universal human right and the source of social stability.

“For God so loved the world” is still our call. The conference table of the 21st century has a chair marked for our participation.

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Living the Christian Life – July 2010

CLC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:44:02 +0000

The Baptist World Alliance convenes our World Congress this week. Baptist Christians from more than 500 hundred countries are represented by the BWA. Among the very good friends that we will see are our mission partners from the countries supported by the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia, India and the Philippines.

It is perfectly clear when standing shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters from this beautiful Baptist world family that God’s great kingdom mission is global and it is spirit led. As Texas Baptists, our international participation, whether through mission trips or in Congress of Baptist leaders, provokes an overwhelming feeling of stewardship. We are stewards of a great family of God’s people. As US Baptists we are also stewards of a wealthy, free, expressive church. These gifts are not universal nor or they to be lavished only on ourselves; our gifts are to be used in stewardship for God’s great kingdom and His family worldwide.

At Wheaton College, during the recent Evangelical Consultation on Government, Foreign Assistance and the Kingdom of God ( see my column) a group of about 100 evangelical leaders were convened by Bread for the World and spent several days listening, talking and intentionally framing some important principles about the intersection of our Christian witness, the relationship of the church’s missional efforts and US foreign assistance. Here are some excerpts of that discussion. Discussion that will surely be revisited and reflected upon this week at the BWA Congress

Christians in the United States and other northern and western countries are being changed as we listen to voices from the Global South and from multiple social locations in each country affected by interaction with western mission efforts and government policies. In a spirit of humility we must always be open to new perspectives and corrections in our advocacy and service.
Church leaders have significant educational responsibilities in instructing their communities about the realities of structural injustice, the need for government responses of sufficient scale to address these injustices, and both the possibilities and the limits of government foreign assistance.
Christians must always live what we advocate. We realize that Western and US Christians are now called to a journey of lifestyle change so that our buying, eating, spending, and investing, and so on all bend toward justice for the world’s poor. Our advocacy has as much credibility as our lives.
The great growth of short-term mission projects among US Christians poses an educational and missional opportunity in this era. While legitimate criticisms can be offered of the actual benefits in proportion to costs of these mission efforts, with proper education and follow up these mission experiences can be used to expose an entire generation of Christians to the needs of the world’s poor and the complex challenges involved in addressing them well.
Communication advances now enable the global Church to function more and more as one truly global Church. That church is already involved every day around the world in meeting the needs of the poor. Western Christians must be in ongoing and respectful dialogue and conversation with their Christian brothers and sisters in the Global South. This is important both for Christian community and for shaping and informing our missions and advocacy.
We agree that Christian activity for and with the poor must remain an ongoing aspect of Christian discipleship no matter what governments do. We agree that even if church-related groups receive government funds to serve the poor we must never become subservient to government, and must be willing at any moment to refuse such funds if conscience requires it. However, we also agree that advocacy related to foreign assistance and other aspects of government policy is an appropriate expression of our Christian discipleship, and that partnerships with government are both possible and necessary under many circumstances.
There are sound foreign policy reasons rooted in national interest for why our government should give generously to effective foreign assistance programs. These are widely recognized in the United States government and among foreign policy intellectuals. As Christian citizens we are grateful to God that the interests of the state and the interests of the kingdom of God in this case coalesce. We know that this is not always the case, and that as Christians we will need to continue to offer our witness and do our work regardless of what governments and states decide to do. But we can work toward shared ends with groups who do not share our worldview, whenever this is possible.

Would you like to join this discussion? Let us know at info@christianlifecommission.com. Your voice is needed because the worldwide conversation is growing.

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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

ISAAC Updates – June 2010

CLC — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:55:17 +0000

It has been an exciting six months for the ISAAC Project. In February, I attended a training seminar offered in Washington, D.C. by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. It centered on building capacity and positioning networks such as ISAAC so that they can reach out more efficiently to the immigrant community and to the agencies affiliated with them.

It was at this seminar that I learned about different grants offered by the Federal Government through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. One in particular about integration services for legal permanent residents seemed within the reach of the ISAAC Project. After a few months of hard work, the grant was written and submitted. It would not have been possible without the help, expertise and the many talents of Suzii Paynter, Charlotte Bumbulis, Anne Olson and Julie Valentine.

The grant is in the amount of $100,000, and, if granted, will serve the population of south San Antonio and surrounding areas through ESL classes for eligible legal permanent residents. It will also be used to start a federally recognized and accredited immigration service agency there, which is named Proyecto ELIM and is sponsored and hosted by Baptist University of the Américas. This agency will submit its application for federal recognition and accreditation at the end of June. It will be an affiliate of the ISAAC Project.

One of the goals of the ISAAC Project is to build relationships with interfaith coalitions and other groups outside Texas doing immigration ministry centers. This goal has begun to unfold as Comunidade Evangelica de Miami, an Evangelical church that serves the Brazilian population, recently joined the ISAAC Network. Diana Pinto, a passionate lady with experience as an immigration law clerk at a Miami law firm, will lead the Immigration Service and Christian Aid Center. This is a milestone for the ISAAC Project and the first step in the process of creating a national network.

Another interfaith organization has recently joined the ISAAC Network: the Christian Community Development Ministries for Korean Churches, based in Dallas, Texas, will be requesting federal recognition and accreditation for the Dallas Immigration Services Center. This effort will be led by Pastor Samuel Song.

A recent development for the ISAAC Project has been the creation of an advisory board. Seven people committed to Kingdom work from all over Texas will contribute their vision and passion for immigration ministry to ISAAC. The first meeting of the board will take place during Convención in San Antonio, on June 28.

Developments in the area of immigration at the national level, such as the recent measures signed into law in Arizona, are cause for concern. But there may be a silver lining: as State governments and municipalities toughen their stance on undocumented immigrants, the issue comes back to the forefront of political dialogue. It is there that it justly belongs. These developments will hopefully make our political leaders get back to the table, dialogue and find the consensus needed to work toward a much needed comprehensive immigration reform.

Our prayers are with them as the ISAAC Project positions itself to better serve communities all across the nation when our broken immigration system is finally repaired, and hopefully, sooner than everyone expects.

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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Public Policy Update – June 2010

CLC — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:52:17 +0000

House Committees Meet on Human Trafficking

On June 3, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence (pdf) held a joint hearing to discuss their interim charge regarding human trafficking. The charge asks specifically for the committees to make recommendations on best practices in the areas of investigation, prosecution, and tracking of the victims of trafficking crimes, and study whether victims are allowed to effectively recover from their attackers in a civil cause of action.

At this hearing, legislators heard testimony regarding Texas’ response to domestic and international sex trafficking from local law enforcement officials, attorneys and child advocates from around the state. A few witnesses were also members of Attorney General Greg Abbott’s task force on human trafficking, a group assisting with recommendations for upcoming legislation, which is divided into four work groups: Law Enforcement, Training & Outreach, Victim’s Services, and Legal Review.

Witnesses asked for the committees to consider an extension on the statute of limitations for human trafficking cases, pass a statute to align Texas’ definition of “sex trafficking” with the federal definition, and help with safe harbor efforts in the future to help break the cycle of trafficking prostitution in the state. A major focus of the hearing was on domestic trafficking, or the trafficking of minors who are United States citizens and are forced into prostitution. A vast majority of these children are runaways.

Because human trafficking often climbs around large events such as the Super Bowl, a regional North Texas task force is preparing strategies to combat this type of illegal activity at the 2011 game in Arlington. Legislators and witnesses both agreed that human trafficking crimes are much harder to track and prosecute than drug crimes, though they are often connected, and they agreed that a major public awareness campaign is key to ending human trafficking. Texas law enforcement is, however, making progress. One witness gave an astounding statistic: the state of Florida and the city of Houston, Texas, prosecute the most human trafficking cases out of any one of the 42 known regional task forces in the country.

No legislator or witness denied the enormous problem human trafficking is, however the some legislators did express concern that the issue is much more complicated than first appears. By adding more felonies to the codes on criminal justice, a heavy cost and capacity strain is put on the criminal justice system. During session, as hundreds of crime bills are filed, it will be imperative to raise awareness in the Capitol of the horror of human trafficking to ensure attackers are punished to the fullest extent.

Literacy Coalition Honors Legislators with Literacy Champion Awards

The Literacy Coalition of Texas, a group with which the Christian Life Commission is a member, and the Mayor of San Marcos, Susan Narvaiz, honored state elected officials who have played a major role in support literacy efforts in Texas. The coalition honored Senator Florence Shapiro, Representative Rob Eissler, Representative Mark Strama, Representative Scott Hochberg, and former Speaker of the House Gib Lewis for their efforts in passing ground-breaking legislation during the last session. About one in five adults in Central Texas cannot read or write well enough to fill out a job application. Yet less than one in twenty of those adults has access to a program to address their needs. With this reception and awards luncheon, the Literacy Coalition helped raise awareness of the adult education needs in the Central Texas community.

Representative Hochberg is a Literacy Champion especially as Chair of Appropriations Subcommittee on Education to advocate for funding for adult learners and job development. He also serves as Co-Chair of the House Committee on Public Education.

Representative Strama is a Literacy Champion especially in the establishment of Interagency Literacy Council. He also serves as Chair of the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development, and Workforce. His committee is currently overseeing two Interim charges which are to review ways in which communities can meet increasing demand for child-care services while preparing children to succeed in school.

Representative Eissler is a Literacy Champion especially as an advocate for adult learners and job skills programs within TEA and as a promoter of cooperation between agencies for funding, accountability and impact for programs serving adult learners. He also served as Chair of the House Committee on Public Education and sponsored multiple bills to assist with job training and education.

Senator Shapiro is a Literacy Champion especially for promoting and advancing cooperation between agencies: Texas Education Agency (TEA) & The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) & Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) on behalf of adult learners and as an advocate for adult learners and job skills programs within TEA. She also serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Education.

Speaker Lewis, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, is a Literacy Champion in his capacity as education lobbyist. He has a special interest in, and works persistently on behalf of, adult learners.

Gambling Update

With a looming state budget shortfall as high as $18 Billion by some estimates, the pressure on the 82nd Legislature to cut state services and find new sources of revenue will be immense. As expected, the various segments of the gambling industry are already out in force claiming to have just what the state needs – electronic casino style gambling. House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) recently told the press that the state should look to all potential revenue sources to help close the budget gap and specifically recommended considering casino gambling. As in the past, there are competing segments of the gambling industry all claiming to be the best option for Texas to the exclusion of others. The players include current horse tracks and license holders, Native American Tribes, poker players groups, those that favor building “destination resort casinos” and the current charitable bingo operators. It is the position of the CLC that any expansion which includes electronic, slot machine style gambling is a bad bet for the state and that the introduction of such “class III” games will have dire consequences our of the control of the state as it relates to tribal casinos.

The CLC believes that the state should certainly be looking to raise revenues, not just cut an already thin state budget. However, there are many other options for generating revenue that don’t come with such an extreme costs to individuals, families and local economies. Casino slot machine style gambling is an inefficient, unreliable and regressive form of revenue generation that preys upon the poor, relies upon addiction for profit and cannibalizes the local economy. The state of Texas has no business partnering with and profiting from a business model that plays its citizens for suckers.

In the interim, the CLC has been educating folks around the state about the negative consequences of gambling expansion. Our staff and consultants have been meeting with candidates, elected officials and their staffs, like-minded advocacy organizations, the staff of the Texas Lottery Commission, our CLC Commissioners, our Board of Consultants, and making presentations on the subject (mp4).

Watch Videos:

Stephen Reeves and Rob Kohler – “Better than Luck–Why the Lottery and Gambling are for Losers” (mp4)
Steven Reevs Interview (video)
Rob Kohler Interview (video)

In the coming months we will be intensifying our efforts to educate the public. We will be producing new educational resources and making them more widely available. We encourage you to educate yourself and talk to your neighbors about this issue. The pressure on legislators will be huge and we will be up against industry funded multi-million dollar lobbyists. If we are to push back the forces that seek to prey upon our fellow citizens we will need your help.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Central Dallas Ministries Needs Your Help This Summer

CLC — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:28:29 +0000

Currently, only about 9% of eligible children in Dallas are being fed through the summer – 91% of eligible kids will be hungry?!

Community Care in Advocacy Care is working with the Texas Hunger Initiative, Dallas Baptist Association and the Dallas Food Planning Association to assist in Summer Feeding of the children in Dallas.

Here is some information of an opportunity in a local missions project to work with their mobile distribution endeavors through Central Dallas Ministries. They need groups that will commit to a week at a time – a schedule is at the bottom – they will do trainings on Monday mornings for the groups.

The Nurture, Knowledge, & Nutrition Department at Central Dallas Ministries seeks to improve the quality and quantity of meals consumed by children under the age of 18 throughout various urban areas in the city of Dallas. Our goal is to strengthen our connection to the community, which positions us to make a significant change in the lives of thousands of children each day. Through three distinctive program aspects, NKN works directly with both Texas and United States Departments of Agriculture to implement meal service programming that is suitable according to the guidelines and regulation implemented by these entities. Volunteer positions are designed for assisting staff members with the NKN Mobile Summer Food Service program operations and services through many supporting roles.

The Nurture, Knowledge, & Nutrition department is seeking out qualified individuals partake in a 9 week mobile summer food program beginning June 14, 2010. The program will allow students to interact with various community outreach programs for children while incorporating the fundamental values and beliefs of true mission work. Mileage reimbursement of $0.50 per mile in mileage obtained through travel occurred as related to the program (one mileage reimbursement per group 4 individuals) in addition to a daily lunch reimbursement will be provided for each participating individual. The following areas list the primary responsibilities and required standards for each candidate who participates in the program:

Assist site supervisors in controlling and maintaining lines for participating children.
Assist with passing out meals to participating children.
Assistance with controlling and eliminating any leftover trash and/or meals from each location.
Assisting site supervisors with crowd control.

In addition to these responsibilities, the following requirements are necessary for each group of candidates who are seeking to participate:

A minimum of one full week (Mon.- Fri 8:30am-5:00pm) of participation
Reliable transportation and ability to travel frequently throughout the city of Dallas and surrounding areas. (1 car and driver per each route)
Ability to work in a fast paced environment that requires a lot of one on one interaction
Basic communication skills including interaction with children, crowd control, etc.

As noted in the requirements, is group is asked to dedicate a MINIMUM of 1 FULL week (Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm). Please choose from the following weeks:

June 14- June 18
June 21- June 25
June 28- July 2
July 5- July 9
July 12- July 16
July 19- July 23
July 26- July 30
August 2- August 6
August 9- August 13

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ashley Douglas, Program Manager
Nurture, Knowledge, & Nutrition
Central Dallas Ministries
409 N. Haskell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246
P: 214-828-1085 Ext. 140
F: 214-828-6392
www.centraldallasministries.org

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And Justice For All: Enforcing Human Rights for the World’s Poor

CLC — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:26:37 +0000

By Gary Haugen and Victor Boutros

Excerpt:

……Efforts by the modern human rights movement over the last 60 years have contributed to the criminalization of such abuses in nearly every country. The problem for the poor, however, is that those laws are rarely enforced. Without functioning public justice systems to deliver the protections of the law to the poor, the legal reforms of the modern human rights movement rarely improve the lives of those who need them most. At the same time, this state of functional lawlessness allows corrupt officials and local criminals to block or steal many of the crucial goods and services provided by the international development community. These abuses are both a moral tragedy and wholly counter-productive to the foreign aid programs of countries in the developed world. Helping construct effective public justice systems in the developing world, therefore, must become the new mandate of the human rights movement in the twenty-first century.

……This problem is made worse by the simple scarcity of lawyers in the developing world. The average person in the developing world has never met a lawyer in his or her life. In the United States, there is approximately one lawyer for every 749 people. In Zambia, by contrast, there is only one lawyer for every 25,667 people; in Cambodia, there is one for every 22,402 people. There are more lawyers in the New York offices of some major law firms than there are in all of Zambia or Cambodia. Of this small class of lawyers, prosecutors represent an even tinier subset—and some of these are not even trained lawyers, and others, much like the police, extract bribes to drop cases. When cases are reported and referred for trial, there are frequently too few public prosecutors to handle the volume. This creates an enormous backlog, allowing cases to languish indefinitely on overloaded dockets.

……Some experts, for example, have estimated that at the current rate, it would take 350 years for the courts in Mumbai, India, to hear all the cases on their books. According to the U.N. Development Program, India has 11 judges for every one million people. There are currently more than 30 million cases pending in Indian courts, and cases remain unresolved for an average of 15 years.

……The modern human rights movement must enter into a new era, shifting its focus from legal reform to law enforcement. In other words, the time has come to move human rights from wholesale to retail— to take the human rights promises stored in the warehouses of national law and deliver them to the poor standing in line for justice. Admittedly, creating functioning public justice systems in the developing world will be difficult. It will require political will, steadfastness, and local knowledge and creativity. On the local level, approaches must focus on directly cultivating the political will and capacity of the police, prosecutors, and judges who are supposed to enforce the law on behalf of the poor. This could include providing financial assistance to build police and judicial units with salaries high enough to make petty corruption less likely; material resources that give police, prosecutors, social workers, and judges the basic tools of their trade; practical on-the-ground casework training; and legal aid and social services to the poor. These would be expensive investments, but they would represent a small fraction of the trillions of dollars that governments have spent on development aid—much of which has been of questionable long-term value given the absence of effective law enforcement systems for the poor. Indeed, rule-of-law aid and development aid are mutually reinforcing: as functioning public justice systems in the developing world mature, the poor will begin to fully reap the benefits of the enormous investments in development being made on their behalf.

……At the state level, aid must focus on developing both the political will and the capacity of government elites to enforce existing laws. This aid should target the diplomats, politicians, and policymakers who set the agendas for the large cadres of enforcement personnel under their authority. To push this along, developed-country governments should link their international development assistance to the willingness of developing-country governments to improve their public justice systems. One example of such a strategy is already working its way through the U.S. Congress: the Child Protection Compact Act would authorize U.S. government grants to developing countries that have demonstrated a commitment to combating child trafficking with effective tools, measured by concrete benchmarks. Likewise, the United States and other governments in the developed world should cut off or limit foreign aid to countries that are unwilling to improve their capacity to protect the poor from abuse and violence—especially since rampant lawlessness is likely to make any such assistance unproductive in the first place.

……To accomplish this goal, the human rights and development communities will have to restructure themselves to include those with the backgrounds and technical skills to diagnose and repair the ailments of broken public justice systems. Of course, these experts will not come with ready answers or quick solutions—but they will know where to start looking and will recognize what matters and what does not. And given even a small fraction of the time and money that have been devoted to fixing roads, improving health systems, providing clean water, and building schools in developing countries, they will begin to enable the poor to retain the benefits of such development assistance. On behalf of the billions of poor people in this world who are made small under the vast shadow of lawlessness, the time has come to construct a shelter of justice.

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