| Commentary Experiment in Self-Governance We have a long history of striving to make our system more inclusive, fair, and equitable. President John Adams (a Unitarian) said, “Government is instituted for the common good: for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.” At that time, Abigail Adams told her husband, “Remember the woman.” It can be a struggle to recognize some rights. The Declaration of Independence declared that people can govern themselves. But, the Articles of Confederation proved to be ineffective in paying and equipping the Revolutionary armies. Wealthy white men again debated how to best provide an effective system — with adequate checks and balances in sharing power. In 2024, we again find ourselves pondering the best way to govern ourselves. Many people have “buyer's remorse” after the 2024 elections. The checks and balances in the Constitution have not worked as intended. Let the pundits assess the failures of this party or that party. It is time for us to assert our principles and values in how we govern for the common good. Today, wealthy, white business executives can amass wealth greater than many nations. Some feel that their wealth and their corporate influence make them the “kingmakers.” How will they influence decision-making if their primary concern is personal profit and expanding their business base? [Continue Reading] |
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 | Ken Shilling Ken is a UU of 47 years, a volunteer with the UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland, and a Chalice Dancer with Paint Branch UUC. Husband to Rev. Karen Lee Scrivo and father to one son. Ken is a retired contracting officer. His passion for social justice engagement comes from belonging to a beloved community. |
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| | | Vigil: Faith In Democracy: Interfaith Prayer Vigil
Hosted by the Franciscan Action Network (FAN), co-sponsored by UUSJ Sunday, January 5
3:30 p.m. ET • 2:30 p.m. CT • 1:30 p.m. MT • 12:30 p.m. PT
RSVP for this hybrid vigil
7th St & the National Mall (btwn. Madison & Jefferson Aves.)
Live Streamed on FAN's YouTube Channel Join the fourth annual “Faith in Democracy” Interfaith Prayer Vigil, a powerful moment of prayer, reflection, and unity. This hybrid event will be live-streamed and held in person at the National Mall opposite the US Capitol. FAN is partnering with many faith-based organizations, including UUSJ, to bring together faith leaders and believers from various traditions, all speaking from sacred texts that guide us to protect the rights of all and resolve our differences without violence. In the United States, we do this through a properly functioning and fully representative democracy. |
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| Action: Don’t Obey in Advance: Faith-Based Call to Action to Save Democracy
Co-sponsored by UUSJ Monday, January 6
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP: Online On the fourth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, join us for an organizing call on how faith communities can take action to ensure that all Cabinet nominees are highly qualified to perform their duties and are committed to upholding our Constitution. We will ground ourselves spiritually to prepare for activism in the coming years. Action will include a petition to sign and a link to call senate offices regarding the Cabinet nominees. Also see, Feeling Anxious About Trump’s Nominees? Here’s What to Do by Adam Russell Taylor, President of Sojourners. |
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| Democracy Leaders' Gathering
Hosted by the UUSJ Democracy Action Team Thursday, January 9
7:30 p.m. ET • 6:30 p.m. CT • 5:30 p.m. MT • 4:30 p.m. PT
RSVP: Online The threats to our democracy have shown themselves as the transition to a new administration unfolds. The need for a strong, inclusive, pro-democracy movement is real. Our series will continue to provide guidance and explore what the threats require in response. |
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| Unequivocally Scared: The New Reality For Farm Workers Tuesday, January 14
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP: Online Have you wondered about our Farm Workers in response to the public discourse about Mass Deportations and tariffs? Are you asking yourself what can be done? What is being planned to help them in light of the incoming administration and its policies? How might the Farm Bill impact these matters? Join UUSJ for a session with Julie Taylor, Executive Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM), on Tuesday, January 14th, and a talk about the current state of play from the perspective of those working on our farms and with those laborers. If you are concerned about social justice and want to know more about the intersectionalities and realities for farm workers, attend this talk. |
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| Witness: The People’s March: UU Meet-Up in DC Saturday, January 18
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
Meet Up Location TBD
RSVP to meet up with UUs in DC We are several short weeks from the People's March in Washington, DC, and nationwide. Tens of thousands of people are expected to march to demand and defend our freedoms against fascism and the attacks on our communities. Did you attend any Women’s March? Will you turn out as they go wider, rebrand, and reorganize for the fight ahead? UUs are already planning to attend. UUSJ and All Souls Church, Unitarian, DC, are organizing and mobilizing. Will you join us? Please RSVP now so we can inform you where UUs will gather in DC if you want to volunteer to support the UU gathering, email info@uusj.org. General March information: |
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| Policy Talk: U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu
(and Unitarian Universalist)
The Path Forward To Meet The Moment Monday, January 27
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
Online: Tickets Here Join us in hearing from Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-CA-28, as she advises us in our fight for justice in the federal forum. Representative Chu, who has served since 2009, is one of the few Unitarian Universalists serving in Congress and is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. See her profile in UU World magazine, If Our Voices Are United, We Can Make a Difference. In the coming season, “Meeting the Moment” (GA 2025 theme) will require us to defy autocracy and defend the policies our UU faith values compel us to champion. This remains a season for federal engagement. Join us! This fundraiser event will support UUSJ's work toward mission fulfillment. Invite your friends: bit.ly/Forward_RepJudyChu |
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| | Meeting the Moment, GA 2025 in Baltimore Do you think General Assembly 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland, will be more important than anticipated as we UUs gather together to Meet the Moment? Would you consider volunteering with us to help plan our presence at GA 2025, whether you plan to attend or not? GA 2025 will be within figurative "earshot" of the National Capitol, so we have unique opportunity to both showcase UUSJ and focus UU attention on the federal forum. We are therefore looking for volunteers to help us plan a strong showing. We can fit you and your skills into our approach for GA 2025 in many ways. Volunteering with us in preparation for GA is a great opportunity to provide behind the scenes support for social justice. The first step is to know who is willing, and available, so please fill out our interest form. |
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| Defending Our Democracy
Fred Van Deusen, Democracy Action Team Convener (Democracy@uusj.org) |
| | Tune Up Your Defiance UUSJ democracy action team members recommend listening to the “Refuse Fascism” podcast Samantha Goldman (New York City) hosted. The episode on Refusing Trump’s Orders: Military Resistance to Mass Deportation caught their attention. The format is a recap of recent events by the host, followed by an interview. Past podcasts are accessible; the interviewees are political thinkers, academics, and activists. |
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| Preserving the Power of Whiteness In a post for the Christian Recorder, that has buzz among various faith-based advocates, Rev. Cassius L. Rudolph, former National Field Director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Special Assistant to the Reverend Dr. Jesse L. Jackson says, "At its core, this election was about preserving power and protecting the status quo of whiteness—a system that is deeply rooted in America’s DNA." See the full post Preserving Power: How Whiteness Protects Itself in America’s 2024 Presidential Election. |
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| Civil Service System to Backslide 140 Years In an interesting perspective on the Trump effect in governance, Hugh Tomlinson, Washington Reporter for the Times (UK), reports Washington bureaucrats race for exit as Trump vows to drain ‘swamp’ and “Twice as many staff than in previous transitions are clamoring for a parachute before Trump takes office on January 20.” Trump’s pledge to ‘dismantle the deep state’ has initiated a wave of fear among hundreds of thousands of US federal employees and threatens a u-turn in civil service back to the “spoils” system of patronage. |
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| Environmental and Climate Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org) |
| | Does AI Mean a Return of Nuclear Energy? Activists have been buzzing about AI and nuclear energy since the White House convened a meeting on fast-tracking data centers, Politico PRO. New technologies are making the nuclear option affordable for business and engaging for corporate actors, especially in tech and AI spaces. But the idea of small nuclear generators being operated “in a warehouse near you” has lots of folks wondering about the liabilities and whether anybody still has their “no-nukes” placards from the 1970s. |
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| Two Wings of the Same Bird In a recent blog by the Tax Justice Network, Breaking the silos of tax and climate: climate tax policy under the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, authors Franziska Mager and Bob Michel work to show that climate and taxation policy are inextricably linked, especially if we are going for magnitude of intervention impact. They argue, “the future of inclusive tax cooperation on the interface of tax and climate lays with the U.N. Framework Convention for International Tax Cooperation, negotiations on which will start in 2025.” Further, their recent State of Tax Justice 2024 report argues that “countries lose US$492 billion of tax revenue a year to multinational corporations and wealthy individuals using tax havens to underpay tax.” Those are funds that could be used to address the climate crisis. |
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| Immigration Justice
Steve Eckstrand & Terry Grogan, Immigration Action Team Conveners (Immigration@uusj.org) |
| | As Mass Deportations Become More Real Our Immigration Action Team is tracking and assembling ready-to-use resources: How communities are preparing: |
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| Sanctuary Movement Rebirth Immigration advocates are working to remind folks about Sanctuary basics. See: For UU focused resources, see: |
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| Ending Birthright Citizenship Trump has suggested he wants to limit birthright citizenship to newborns with at least one parent who is either a citizen or legal permanent resident. H has suggested this is a goal for his second term. See the ACLU’s Trump’s Remarks on Birthright Citizenship, Explained. Many wonder, is that possible? See Reuters, What is US birthright citizenship, and can Trump end it? Also, Most Voters Disagree With Donald Trump on Birthright Citizenship: Poll, Newsweek. Unfortunately, it's not a slam dunk "no." Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, Doesn't Think Birthright Citizenship Is Enshrined in Constitution, Newsweek. It appears that the new administration couldn't end Birthright Citizenship very quickly, but it may be a battle they consider worth waging. While the 14th Amendment of the Constitution says "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" are citizens of the country, reporting suggests Trump staff are drafting measures to challenge that interpretation. See, Trump could end birthright citizenship, The Week. |
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| Immigrants Build the Workforce Recent census data shows that U.S. population growth remains primarily due to immigration. See, the US sees the highest population growth in over 2 decades. What's the cause? USA Today. Based on prior reporting, our team thinks this means that workforce growth is being driven mainly through immigration since few immigrants are of retirement age. - NEW REPORT: Immigrants are Fueling Economic Growth, Revitalizing Communities in Great Lakes States, AIC
- The Importance of Immigrant Labor to the US Economy, CMS
- Unprecedented U.S. immigration surge boosts job growth, output, FRB-Dallas
- New Data Analysis: Immigrants Driving Opportunity, Prosperity in the U.S., Including in Swing States, AIC
- Rising Immigration Has Helped Cool an Overheated Labor Market, FRB-KansasCity
- How immigration is driving U.S. job growth, Axios
- Immigrants Are a Vital Part of America’s Future, IRI
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| The FPAAA Fizzles for 2024 UUSJ and it's immigration action team tried to get the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (FPAAA) included in the 2025 National Defense Adjustment Act (NDAA). Unfortunately, this did not occur despite our best efforts. We thank our members for your support in this endeavor. Please know we will continue to fight for an Afghan adjustment. The FPAAA would have recognized the efforts of our Afghan allies and their families over the course of that 20-year war. It would have allowed them permanent residency in the United States. Because Congress failed to pass the FPAAA, many Afghans are left with no commitment to remain in this country. This was a great disappointment and effectively ends our efforts for the 118th Congress. We will take up the fight in the 119th Congress -- as soon as the legislation is reintroduced. And we anticipate an uphill fight. Despite this loss, we did have important successes: - We increased the number of vitally important Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) that are essential for getting Afghans who supported us into the US. It has been and continues to be a tool that mitigates the family separations caused by our chaotic withdrawal.
- We also managed to get H.R. 8368 included in the NDAA. This Bill reauthorizes the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) for three years. It means CARE can continue its vital, life-saving work. CARE works to process at-risk Afghans who were left behind in the August 2021 withdrawal and evacuation of Afghanistan. Over the past two years, this office housed in the U.S. Department of State has made incredible gains in relocating and resettling Afghans eligible for refugee resettlement and the Special Immigrant Visa program for those who worked directly with the United States military and intelligence community during the war. It also works on addressing the protection risks and barriers that Afghan women and girls face under Taliban rule.
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| Economic Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org) |
| | Lowering Costs for Working Families See the Economic Security Project’s recent report, The Equity & Prosperity Agenda: A Tax Plan to Promote a Fair, Inclusive, and Competitive Economy. Congress could do this. The expiration of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2025 is a critical opportunity to set economic policy for the next decade. The TCJA has been an abject failure for American families. Every year since it passed in 2017, it has diverted taxpayer money to exorbitant tax breaks for the ultrawealthy and powerful corporations while everyday Americans have struggled to make ends meet. |
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| Homelessness Doubled "A government committed to the working class would have no difficulty matching up those without homes and those currently unoccupied or deliberately left vacant to drive up prices and rents," argues Patrick Martin for WSWS.org. Recent release of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "Point-In-Time Count Report" reminds us of how far off the mark we really are. Martin disagrees with the characterizations offered by HUD, "According to HUD, 150,000 children experienced homelessness on “count night” in January 2024. This figure is again a lowball estimate: there are more than 100,000 homeless children enrolled in the New York City public school system alone." Many cities and counties will be conducting their 2025 counts during late January. |
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| What, What? A Muscular Elon Arrives in DC In case you missed it, Elon Musk, who is unelected, flexed his new informal political power in DC during the Continuing Resolution (CR) fight to fund the Government in late December 2024. Will this be the norm for the new administration? Level Set: a non-elected billionaire lobbed grenades into the CR deal using inaccurate, perhaps even patently false, information. Elon Musk fueled backlash to the spending plan with false and misleading claims, Politico. This was with the apparent support of the President-Elect. It seems we should expect gobsmacking influence from the billionaire class in the new administration. If you are wondering about that bunch, see The First Seven Billionaires Trump Has Tapped for Top Jobs, Inequality.org. Advocates speculate the strategy was to get the debt ceiling attached to the CR in order to cut healthcare and food programs while giving billionaires tax cuts without consequence. If you want a summary on debt ceiling matters, see Hitting the Debt Limit: 3 Things to Know by CBPP. In related political news: |
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| Tax Policy Content and Clippings: - Trump is stacking his White House roster with uber-rich backers, CNBC
- How One of the World's Richest Men Is Avoiding $8 Billion in Taxes, NYT
- A Murder on the Streets Has Fear Rising in the Suites, Inequality.org
- Going Once, Going Twice...Nominated? Meet Auctioneer Billy Long, Trump's Unlikely IRS Pick, WSJ
- How billionaire Charles Koch's network won a 40-year war to curb regulation, WaPo
- The Silicon Valley Billionaires Steering Trump's Transition, NYT
- The IRS is at risk of losing $20 billion in funding without legislative intervention, AP
- Twelve U.S. Billionaires Now Have a Combined $2 Trillion, Inequality.org.
- A tax bill is coming next year. But investors may 'need to wait' for clarity on what's in it, Yahoo Finance
- Fast-Moving GOP Agenda Could Punt Tax Law Fight to Later in 2025, Bloomberg
- The Rich Are Hoarding Their Wealth Using Charity Funds, Jacobin
- Who has capital gains?, TPC
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| UUSJ is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. |
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