intersections

Intersections book store

I've added an Amazon Bookstore widget to the left bar of my blog. This is my personal bookstore through Amazon Associates. You can click anywhere on the widget and link directly to my bookstore. By buying books through my bookstore I will earn a few pennies which will go to support the expense of maintaining this blog.

So, if you visit this blog and want to buy a book I'm recommending or that I've reviewed, buy it online through the Intersections bookstore.

S-CHIP Veto Stands

President Bush must be feeling very proud of himself right now, as the House of Representatives was unable to override his veto of the $35 billion expansion of S-CHIP over the next 5 years.

This legislation would have provided health insurance benefits to 4 million currently uninsured children. There are currently nearly 9 million uninsured children in America. I don't know what the next step is, but the debate has clearly been politicized. The right wing of the Republican party has bought the President's erroneous rhetoric about this being the first step toward government-run health care. No such thing has ever been discussed. As I've pointed out many times on this blog. The S-CHIP monies, administered by the States, more often than not funds health insurance for children through private insurers. But, misinformation, repeated often enough, becomes true - or at least truthy.

I'd say, keep sending him the same bill, over and over again. Don't pass any more spending bills until we get past this one. The vast majority of American's support this. The vast majority of our elected representatives support this. Don't back down!

House fails to override Bush veto on child heathcare | LA Times

House sustains SCHIP veto | Salon: War Room

Mayoral Housing Summit

I had the privilege yesterday of attending the LA Business Council's 2007 Mayoral Housing Summit, along with 4 other leaders and staff from LA Voice. It was held at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. The line up was impressive, from Council President Eric Garcetti getting things started, to Stuart Gabriel's very dense, but excellent review of the real estate market and the economics that are driving the current downturn, to the Keynote Address by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The LA Times reported on this Housing Summit by saying,

Developers gave Villaraigosa's plan mixed reviews. Some predicted it would stifle development in a city where the high cost of land and a cumbersome planning and permitting process already make it difficult to build affordable units at a profit. One industry representative urged the mayor to pursue a voluntary affordable housing program, enticing developers with incentives.
...
But some developers at the UCLA housing summit spoke favorably of Villaraigosa's plans. The mayor received unexpected applause after he announced his intentions, saying he had fully anticipated the audience to boo.

"It's time," said Greg Vilkin, president of MacFarlane Partners, a prominent development firm that helped organize the summit. "We have to put the public's good in front of everyone's gain. It's time for everybody to take a little pain."

I was one of the ones applauding, to the mayor's surprise. The direct quote from the mayor was, "I really thought I was going to get booed on that one!"

Regular readers of this blog will remember that just over two weeks ago, I and 9 others from LA Voice and our allies, met with the Mayor in his office to discuss our views about the housing crisis. The meeting went very well and we heard many of our concerns (though not all) reflected in his speech yesterday. That meeting with the mayor was the direct result of the Housing Town Hall that LA Voice held on July 17. So, yesterday's speech was something we've been working hard to influence for many months.

I wrote a letter to the editor this morning responding to the above quoted article. We'll see if they publish it. If not, I'll post it here tomorrow. That's the beautify of the blogosphere, isn't it! I can still publish it if I want to!

Mayoral Housing Summit

I'm at the Los Angeles Business Council's 2007 Mayoral Housing Summit with 4 others from LA Voice. At just after noon the Mayor will unveil his much anticipated housing strategy. I'm typing on my BlackBerry so more on that later. Some really positive signs and our faith-based social justice work is really making a tangible difference.

Later today I will submit or congregation's Community Beautification Grant application. My friend and church member, MaeKeng Chinn, is the Proj. Dir. and has done amazing work on this. Stay tuned on more about this, why we're doing it and what's involved.

Finally, if all goes well I'll be with a group with Calif. Interfaith Power and Light at 3 in Torrence to deliver a letter to Toyota (more later, thumbs tired).

Surveying Hollywood

Today I climbed up the Hollywood sign with my friend, Lennox, for the first time in the 2+ years I've lived here. It was a surprisingly short walk. There are a few good close up views on the route we took until we finally stood exactly behind the sign. Enjoy the pictures below.

It's amazing how a little perspective changes things. I can basically see the Hollywood sign (which is just below my feet in this picture) from my church. Yet, from here, I can't really identify my church. When I'm on the ground in Hollywood everything seems so important - all the rush urgency. From up here it all seemed so small and relative. It's nice to step away from the rat race like this and see my city from a different perspective. Thanks, Lennox! It was a great afternoon!

"HOLLY" from the back side. You can also see the Hollywood reservoir in the distance.

"WOOD" from the back side with Griffith Observatory in the distance (very top on left).

This LAPD helicopter was patrolling the sign the entire time. I have a feeling there are a lot of taxpayer resources dedicated to "protecting and serving" the Hollywood sign.

Calling Adventists in Maryland's 6th Congressional District

With the House override vote on SCHIP just a week away, many organizations, including PICO, are working on key Republicans to see if we can get this legislation passed.

I just heard today that one key Republican is Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, of Maryland's 6th congressional district. Mr. Bartlett is a Seventh-day Adventist who has this say in defense of his "NO" vote on SCHIP earlier this month.

“Only Democrat Congressional leaders could demand that a family earning $82,000 a year could qualify for their expanded S-CHIP program and simultaneously call that same family rich enough to force them to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. It just goes to show that what Democrats really want is to have the government control how to spend the money that American taxpayers earn." (Read the rest here).

So, I am in search of Seventh-day Adventists who live in the 6th district who think extending health insurance to 4 million additional poor children is a good idea. If someone would be willing to call his office, I would be more than happy to brief you on the key policy details and help you craft a simple, but powerful, message. Please email me at rjbell (at) hollywoodsda (dot) org.

Pick on someone your own size!

Over the weekend, the Democratic radio address was delivered by a 12-year old boy who was in a car accident with his family. Due to the fact that they were on S-CHIP he and his sister were able to receive the treatment they needed. He testified about how this program helped his family and asked the President to change his mind.

Now the right wing of the Republican party and the conservative blogsoshere has gone berzerk over this. They are literally attacking this boy and his family - and their facts are all wrong.

Read this post from The Carpetbagger Report (if you dare) and weep!

Recognizing and Assisting Victims of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is happening within walking distance of our church!

Approximately 70 people attended our training event - Standing in the Gap - this past Saturday. It was a privilege to partner with so many wonderful people and organizations. It was a real joint effort between churches and non-profits. JR Woodward and his congregation, Kairos Los Angeles, really came out and supported the event. It was wonderful for me to see our two congregations working together on such an important issues. Be sure to check out JR's blog posts about this training and the issue of human trafficking (here and here).

Our trainer, Bekah Cooke, did an incredible job of presenting the material in a way that people could really get their heads around. I heard from several people that they felt it was very practical and useful information.

In addition, we had the privilege of hearing from Chancee Martorell, Exec. Dir. of the Thai CDC and a founding board member of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). Chancee told a bit of the history of the El Monte case that she was instrumental in exposing. Also, my friend Dr. Siroj Sorajjakool, from Loma Linda University, spoke briefly his work with Thai girls in Thailand and preventing them from entering a life of sex slavery.

At the end of the afternoon, we watched the 40 minute film, Svetlana's Journey. The filmmaker, Michael Cory Davis, joined us for a few minutes and introduced the film and a bit about it's background. It is a tense and emotional journey into the heart of this horrible scourge. The room was dead silent as the credits rolled and we struggled to process what we had just seen.

All in all it was a fantastic day which I hope is just the beginning of some local work we can do on finding and freeing victims of slavery right here in Hollywood.

Today I learned more details from Bekah about the next training event (see poster below). This is specifically designed to equip people to join the outreach teams. These teams are actively going out into the community and looking for victims, gathering intelligence and reporting to law enforcements.

Anyone from the Hollywood Adventist Church up for that? Sex trafficking is happening within walking distance of our church!

We Are Hollywood

Here is the promo video for a new ministry that our church is doing. Check it out, visit the website - WeAreHollywood.org, then read the story of what this is about and why it's come up, after the jump.

Caricature of Me!

Kevin is a member of my church and a professional animator. He recently posted this caricature of me on my MySpace. I thought it was funny and wanted to post it here for your enjoyment! You can check out Kevin's MySpace here. He is a super talented young man. His current projects include the feature length animated film, The Golden Compass.

Thanks, Kevin, for the funny sketch!