Meet Elena Kagan, Hillary Calls for Fewer Nukes‏

June 22, 2010

A MESSAGE TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE GULF

The BP oil spill is an environmental disaster for all of America, and the world's precious resources, but it is a particular tragedy for those who live and work on the Gulf. BP must meet its responsibilities so that you have the resources you need to rebuild - you deserve to get your lives back! For a first-hand report on the impact of the spill on one community, read more here.

MEET ELENA KAGAN

On Monday June 28th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on the confirmation of Elena Kagan, nominated by President Obama to serve as Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Kagan's nomination was greeted with applause from a wide array of legal experts, from Charles Fried, Solicitor General for Ronald Reagan, to Walter Dellinger, who held the same position for President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and dozens of the nation's law school deans. Political commentators have noted that opponents are having a hard time finding a strong argument against her - but that doesn't mean they won't try. So here are some facts about Elena Kagan to keep in mind as the debate begins:

A Record of Historic Achievement: An outstanding student at Harvard Law School, Elena clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. After serving in the Clinton White House, she was appointed a professor at Harvard Law School in 200l, and Dean in 2003.

As "the opera-loving, poker-playing, glass-ceiling-shattering first woman to be dean of Harvard Law School," Elena Kagan led the school to move forward with new courses and new hires. While expressing her opinion that the military's discrimination against gay men and lesbians was "a moral injustice," she also made clear her personal support for students who had or would serve in the military.

In 2009 she was the first woman ever appointed Solicitor General, representing the United States in arguing cases before the Supreme Court. (Incidentally, when confirmed, she will be the youngest member of the Court - and bring the number of women to a historic three!)

A Commitment to Justice: From negotiating with her rabbi for an equal role for women when she was twelve years old, through serving as clerk to the great Justice Marshall; from her years at the White House Domestic Policy Council, to her leadership at Harvard Law School: Elena Kagan has stood - and spoken out - for justice.

Announcing her nomination, President Obama said: "That understanding of law, not as an intellectual exercise or words on a page, but as it affects the lives of ordinary people, has animated every step of Elena's career."

Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy has said he hopes for a committee vote in July. We'll be watching - and if we need to speak up for Elena, we'll be ready!

Click here to become a member of No Limits Foundation.

FEWER NUKES = A SAFER WORLD; HILLARY SPEAKS ON NEW ARMS TREATY

Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia still maintain thousands of nuclear weapons. The new START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) Treaty calls for the two nations to slash the number of weapons in their nuclear arsenals, and establishes a verification program to keep nuclear material out of the hands of rogue nations or terrorists - big steps forward toward a safer world.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is working to build support for the treaty. Last week, she testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee:

"This is a treaty that, if ratified, will provide stability, transparency, and predictability for the two countries with more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons," she said.

Addressing critics such as Senator John McCain, Hillary explained the treaty will make America more secure: "By bringing the new START treaty into force, we will strengthen our national security more broadly, including by creating greater leverage to tackle a core national security challenge - nuclear proliferation." Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen agreed, testifying that the treaty has their full support and should be quickly approved.

The START treaty has been signed by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev; 67 Senators must vote to ratify for it to take effect.

Hillary made the rounds of the Sunday news shows in April with Secretary Gates to speak about the treaty.

AN IMPORTANT BRIEFING ON U.S. - SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN RELATIONS

Vice President for Policy, Leecia Eve, and Allida Black, Chair of our Human Rights Task Force, represented No Limits at an important State Department briefing focused on the United States' priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

So many of the issues that we care about - the lack of access to primary education for more than 72 million girls and boys, the more than 215 million children who are victims of child labor, extreme poverty, poor maternal health and unnecessary deaths, human rights abuses against LGBT persons, and violence against women, particularly rape as a tool of armed conflict - are unfortunately very much present in many African nations. Briefing attendees discussed the issues and learned more of steps the U.S. is taking, with Secretary Clinton's leadership, to address some of the most difficult challenges.

For more about this historic conference, check out Leecia's blog post here.

Watch a video of Secretary Clinton and read her remarks here.

FROM FLORIDA TO UZBEKISTAN: Meet the Heroes Fighting Modern Day Slavery

"Modern slavery - be it bonded labor, involuntary servitude or sexual slavery - is a crime and cannot be tolerated in any culture, community or country. It is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as she introduced the 2010 Report on Trafficking, a report that for the first time included the United States. We reported on Hillary's speech last week; if you haven't seen it, you can find it here.

No Limits intern Rebecca Kamas went to the State Department the next day to hear more about the 2010 Heroes Against Trafficking: activists from Brazil, Burundi, Hungary, India, Jordan, Mauritania, Mongolia and Uzbekistan and yes, the United States - who are fighting against modern slavery in their countries and communities.

Read Rebecca's report and learn more about the heroes here.

This is such a critical issue. Join us in our fight for a 21st century human rights agenda.

THE LAST WORD

"It takes a village to raise a child; it takes a whole community to fight slavery."

- Laura Germino, founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and one of the 2010 Heroes Against Trafficking.