Ken is a member of The Democracy Action Team of UUSJ and is participating with UU the Vote at his congregation, First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, Maryland. He was a professor of Political Science at Mississippi State University and a visiting Professor of Public Management at the University of Warsaw, Poland, and the University of Tampere, Finland. He is now blind. Ken thanks Paige Bacon-Ortiz for transcribing his notes and being a dear friend in the work.

A Democracy If You Can Keep It
by Kenneth Mitchell

As we look forward to this year’s federal elections, I want to spotlight one of the fundamental values of our American democracy. Our founders established a political system in which no single person or an elite group, such as a king or an aristocracy, could gain control of the decision-making processes.

James Madison laid out a constitutional structure that divided authority and government functions among three independent and co-equal branches. In the same document, he added checks and balances that assured the three branches would have to cooperate in order to perform the work of government. To further ensure that this structure works democratically, the rule of law, majority vote, due process, an independent judiciary, and civil liberties and rights were added. 

Nevertheless, a political system that is ruled without a regal leader proved to be complex and labor intensive. Read Ken's full commentary

Ask Your House Member to Support and Cosponsor H.R. 598
Take Action and use our poster for tabling after services.
View a short video about the Earth Bill

The Earth Act to Stop Climate Pollution by 2030 (H.R.598), popularly known as the “Earth Bill,” focuses on electricity, cars, and food as industries in which Americans support change–most Americans agree that our electricity should be renewable, our cars electric, and our food should be produced using healthy practices.

Let’s make noteworthy progress toward sustainability by 2030. As the Center for Biological Diversity finds in its report Out Polluting Progress, if we continue with the status quo approach, it won’t happen.

The Crisis of Our Neglected Public Housing Stock

Housing insecurity is deepening in the United States. Our public housing system, marred by decades of neglect and racial injustice, is crumbling under a staggering $70 billion maintenance backlog. Residents face severe health risks from mold, lead, poor air quality, and dangerous temperatures. The financial strain on families in public housing is profound. Today, 11.3 million households spend over half their income on housing. This is also a climate crisis matter. Low-income families spend an average of 8.6% of their income on energy costs—nearly triple the percentage that other households pay. 

The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act (S.1218, H.R.2664)(Bill Summary) proposes $234 billion to renovate housing into zero-carbon, energy-efficient homes over a decade.

Take action Tell Congress to confront the public housing stock crisis

Tell Citi: Stop Investing in Environmental Racism

Join Rise St. James and Friends of the Earth, allies in the People vs.Fossil Fuels coalition, asking Citi to divest from Formosa Plastics’ toxic Sunshine Project in St. James, LA.

Citi is the world’s second-largest financier of fossil fuel projects, providing $333 billion to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris Agreement was signed in late 2015. Fossil fuels — coal, oil, and gas — lie at the heart of so much racial injustice, as BIPOC and other marginalized groups bear the brunt of the harmful effects associated with extraction and downstream production. Citi is also one of the most prominent U.S. financiers of Formosa Plastics Corporation and its subsidiaries

Take action with this petition and ask Citi to stop financing Formosa Plastics.

Farm Bill May Cut SNAP Benefits

Since beginning negotiations on this most recent Farm Bill proposal, UUSJ has supported the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the basis for SNAP benefits.

In an alarming opinion post for Agri Pulse, Chairman Thompson (R-PA) signaled a willingness to cut the program: “The 2024 Farm Bill will reassert Congressional intent by prescribing a cost-neutral process.” In response to his opinion, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities counters Chair Thompson’s Plan to Cut SNAP Benefits and Ignore Scientific Evidence in Thrifty Food Plan Updates.

Take action Tell Your Legislators to Safeguard SNAP

Ranked-choice Voting and Multi-member House Districts

The Fair Representation Act (FRA) (H.R. 7740) would require ranked-choice voting for the House of Representatives, establishing multi-member House districts in more populous states, and ending gerrymandering. Watch a short video by Fair Vote on why we need FRA.

In supporting FRA, it is our pleasure to join Fair Vote and other advocates working to improve the fairness of our democratic systems. See the democracy section for more details.

Take action and Tell your House Member to cosponsor FRA!

A New Equilibrium on the Cost of Climate Change

In a recent paper in Nature, The economic commitment of climate change, Maximilian Kotz, Anders Levermann, and Leonie Wenz find a shocking result: the current impacts of climate change on economic growth will result in a 19% reduction in income for the world economy within the next 26 years. 

The authors find that the outcome is independent of our choices regarding future emissions. With such a “cost” due to climate change, the existing damages outweigh the projected mitigation expenditures to limit global warming to 2 °C. 

This analysis would imply that the funding needed to fix our emission problem is now lower than needed to continue the same emissions pattern. It seems we have reached a new equilibrium point. This is another solid data point showing it is time to act.

Climate Justice Revival: Reimagine Together
From an Extractive Age to a New Era

Co-sponsored by UUSJ, among others

September 28-29 
Learn more: uuclimatejustice.org

The Revival Planning Team will provide everything you need to engage, including facilitation toolkits, training, music, projects, coordinated justice action, and more—all designed to equip UU congregations to enter a new era of climate action. An era that intentionally and faithfully breaks down silos and cultivates relationships that lead to flourishing collaborations transforming our congregations through climate justice. Designed for every UU congregation of every size and budget, all you need to do is to appoint two volunteer facilitators, whom we will train to participate. See Frequently Asked Questions.

In short, no matter your congregation’s size or resources, you can join the effort to revive, reimagine, and reinspire climate justice! Together, we can move from a deadly extraction era to a flourishing era of connection. Ready to sign your congregation up? You can do so here.