Celebrity bishop Gene Robinson in town

Bishop Gene Robinson at the Center for American Progress/Patricia Leslie

 

Retired bishop Gene Robinson, whose homosexuality spawned the departure of some conservative members from The Episcopal Church in 2003 when he was nominated for the episcopate, was in Washington last week where he attended a religious liberty presentation at the Center for American Progress.

The discussion centered on the creeping growth of religious expression which threatens to usurp civil rights and is increasingly found in legislation on state and federal levels to discriminate against gays, for example.  Panelist Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign said religious liberty exemptions would give license to bully those who are different. 

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance said he was "so proud of the ACLU because they are taking on the Catholic bishops," referencing  a case in Michigan where a pregnant woman at a Catholic hospital was given insufficient information leading up to the miscarriage of her fetus. Panel member Eunice Rho of the ACLU provided elaboration.

Sitting in the rear of the audience, Bishop Robinson was recognized by a panel member who asked him for a comment. 

Robinson, whose national identity and honesty have helped increase Americans' acceptance of gays, said to combat discrimination "nothing works better than personal stories…. [and] getting people to tell stories about spiritual pain."

Said Mr. Gaddy: "You can't substitute anyone's holy book for the Constitution because the Constitution protects everyone."

Lissy Moskowitz from NARAL Pro-Choice America was another panelist.  CAP's Sally Steenland served as moderator, and Tom Perriello made opening remarks.

A report by CAP's Joshua Dorner which outlines the current debate, Religious Liberty for Some or Religious Liberty for All?, was available at the meeting.

According to the report, almost 70 percent of Americans believe civil rights trump religious beliefs and that business owners, for example, should not be permitted to discriminate against those whose lifestyles do not match their own.





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Veterans' services see possible funding cut of 9%

Participants in the 2010 Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. carried photos of troops who gave their lives for service for the United States/Patricia Leslie

At the Center for American Progress last week a packed audience sat and listened intently to a discussion about the plight of American veterans who need jobs and services. 

Unless Congress fails to act and compromise on the debt ceiling, services for veterans will be cut 9.1% this January.  Troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan are expected to bring about 100,000 veterans home to the U.S.

On a CAP panel to discuss veterans' needs were Tom Tarantino, deputy policy director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Koby Langley, Corporation for National and Community Service, and CAP's Lawrence Korb.

Mr. Tarantino held the microphone the most, meaning he talked the most, too.

We do a great job of training troops for combat, Mr. Tarantino said, but transitioning from military to civilian life and finding a job, is very, very difficult for many servicemen and women.

It is time to train employers how to hire veterans.

Most employers "have no idea what a military resume is." Veterans sometimes omit their service dates for fear of being tagged with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The present generation of employers is the first which has not served in the military, a contributing factor to lack of veteran hiring. Modern employers "look at (military) service as a 'black hole,'" Mr. Tarantino said.

When Army captains in their late 20s leave service, some find jobs as interns because employers do not understand their military resumes.  U.S. troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan number 2.4 million; 5 million saw duty in Vietnam.

At the presentation, the Veterans Administration came in for sharp criticism for its continuing poor treatment of female service members who are the fastest growing segment of the homeless veteran population. At the VA women are often treated like spouses rather than members themselves.

The VA is not a very welcoming place for women vets, Mr. Tarantino said, describing a scene he witnessed at the VA Medical Center in Washington where a female service member had to almost get physical before she convinced a staff member she was a vet and not a spouse.

Programs are needed to educate veterans about the hazards of payday lending and about for-profit schools, some which have low completion rates.

It was good to see attention devoted to veterans and reminded one audience member of a recent "military night" at a Capitals hockey game at the Verizon Center when armed forces shared more of the spotlight than usual, and wounded vets played hockey in-between game periods. The hearts of the silent crowd ached as fans watched with admiration, the wounded warriors without legs shoot pucks from specially equipped sleds. And hoped they would be the last.

One of CAP's briefing papers available at the presentation listed alternative expenditures to the 60% defense budget growth over the last 10 years:

$ Instead of $25 million for one Trident II nuclear missile, why not spend it on a proposed cut of $23.3 million for veterans training and employment services?

$ Instead of $468 million for six V-22 Osprey helicopters, why not spend it on a proposed cut of almost $410 million for energy assistance for low-income households, one in five which has at least one vet?

$ Instead of $7 million for 54 active-duty personnel in Europe and Asia, why not spend $6.8 million on proposed cuts to housing for homeless veterans?

$ Instead of $35 billion on half the cost of Defense Department overruns, why not spend $38.6 billion on proposed cuts to veterans' services?

Money for people, not weapons, not things.