The New Jersey Legislature stopped short of acknowledging true civil rights for lesbians and gays today, but earned at least partial credit for obeying the New Jersey Supreme Court's mandate to provide at least some of the rights of marriage to same-sex couples. Jersey thus becomes one of the more enlightened states in the Union on the issue of marriage equality, though it's disappointing that legislators couldn't bring themselves to commit to genuine equality.

Still, as Blue Jersey points out, the train has left the station: full marriage rights are probably inevitable. Partial progress on matters of basic civil rights is frustrating, but it's encouraging to see marriage equality gaining momentum not just in the courts, but in the legislative arena. Rights shouldn't be subject to legislative approval, but there's no denying that the debate has moved significantly beyond where it was just a few years ago.

Meanwhile, credit is also due the New York legislature, who - as Dan notes, sent Governor Pataki packing today without key items from his wish list like civil confinement and an expansion of charter schools - despite the fact that it cost them a pay raise.

Every year I write a special note regarding Thanksgiving. I think it is always good to examine our national myths as well as our national realities. And, as I indicated during my recent comments on Columbus Day, my thoughts regarding America's foundation myths have been recently affected both by my realization that my own family never would have survived had America not existed as a haven, and by the realization, reading about King Leopold II of Belgium's genocidal regime in the Congo, that the effects of colonialism on the natives of a nation for centuries after that colonial regime ends. But this year I have more hopeful thoughts at Thanksgiving, after the election, than I did at Columbus Day, before the election. The hope of the election reminds me of the real intention behind Thanksgiving, separate from its myth and its reality.

First off, one thing that Americans seldom consider is that Thanksgiving is an ambiguous holiday when viewed objectively. I, like most of us, love Thanksgiving because it is essentially our main feasting holiday, the day we all get together with friends and eat as much good food as we can stuff into our bloated bellies. But Thanksgiving, like Columbus Day, has two basic messages beyond the excuse to eat lots of food. The first, and most commonly recognized, meaning is a celebration of key events that led to our nation’s founding. We celebrate those who made our life today possible. Many of us have a particular reason to celebrate these holidays because without the founding of the United States, our families would not exist. I come from a family whose roots go back to Jewish communities in Germany and Lativia. We came to the United States early in the 1900’s, escaping one of many waves of anti-Jewish attacks in Europe. We came to the US and succeeded. Those of my family who remained in Germany or Latvia would almost certainly not have survived World War II. German and Latvian Jews were largely exterminated in the Holocaust. So in a very real way, I owe my life to the events celebrated (in almost mythical form) on Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. Without these events, the United States may never have been founded and my family may have had no place to go and we would have been exterminated. These holidays represent the opportunity given many of our families to find better, safer lives apart from the Old World prejudices.

Working Assets (a company that also provides phone service and a credit card where a portion of profits go to progressive organizations) has a suggestion for Election day that combines fun and GOTV efforts:

Throw an Election Day Party...and Get Out The Vote

It's time to make voting fun again. Election Day is too often characterized by broken machines, long lines and exhausted poll workers.

It doesn't have to be that way. Imagine an Election Day celebration with free food, music, games, and community pride. Now, imagine if that event also increased voter turnout. Energizing and effective... it's a Party at the Polls.

Party at the Polls is a project to honor our democracy, build our communities and boost voter turnout. Across the country, volunteer hosts will organize non-partisan neighborhood celebrations on Election Day at or near polling stations. Studies have shown these events to be effective and cost-efficient ways to bring new voters to the polls -- and the data suggests that this may be even cheaper and more effective than knocking on doors.

We need you to be the host -- you decide what type of party, where and when. Your party doesn't have to be a major production; it can be as simple as pizza and music to raise energy in the afternoon, or donuts and coffee to grab voters during the morning commute. Join a network of hundreds of parties around the country, celebrating Election Day this November 7th.

Please sign up today:
http://www.workingassets.com/PollPartySignup

I have been absolutely horrifed by how the world is decending into chaos, even as our great leader is giving unwanted massages to the German Chancellor, and how so few people can find the compassion and balance to sympathize with Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese alike. Our world leaders, from Hamas to Kadima to Hezbollah to Bush, are failing. The result is death and chaos. The solution...just may be you and me and a thousand other regular people who care.

Sometime back I began a project that I called an Integrated, Grassroots Development project for East Africa. People responded well to it and one of the beneficiaries was Kiva.org whose efforts to generate microloans to small businesses originally in East Africa, now globally, were greatly aided by the blogsphere. Inspired by this I tried generating interest in a more global effort, which didn't get as much attention. I now want to apply my ideas regarding Integrated, Grassroots Development to the horrible situation in the Middle Easte. If not now, then when? If not us, then who? It is up to us.

It has been one of my little projects to develop within the blogsphere what I call an integrated approach to helping East Africa as a new vision for international development that can be applied anywhere the blogsphere wants to focus on. This approach was inspired by the wonderful efforts of KIVA, a microlending agency that connects small businesses with small investors like you and me. My intention has been to build on the idea of KIVA, creating an integrated context in which KIVA's efforts will be all the more effective. I will reiterate that contextual approach. But first, I think it is good to show just how successful our efforts can really be.

First off, KIVA has received a great deal of attention across the blogsphere. The result is that they have had the enviable problem of too much success. In the past month or so, they have three times had a batch of loans filled within 24 hours of posting them. I haven't plugged them for a while simply because they didn't seem to need my help. They have expanded the partners they work with (from one to five) and the number of countries they work in (more on that in a later diary) and yet they still cannot keep up with the willingness of people like you and me to help small businesses in developing nations.

For those who aren't familiar with how KIVA works, here's the deal:

Kiva's microlending directly connects small lenders (you and me) who can lend as little as $25, with small businesses who need small loans. Up until recently KIVA only worked in three nations in East Africa--Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Recently they have expanded to several other nations, but that will have to wait for a future diary. You get your money back within 6-18 months, though without interest. The business that KIVA works with have already gotten a boost from a partner agency and have shown some track record of success. For example, Kiva's first partner site, the Village Enterprise Fund, gives training and a small seed grant (usually about $100) to get a small business owner in East Africa started. Once a business that VEF has helped has shown promise, KIVA then helps that business get a loan (often around $500 worth, sometimes more, sometimes less) compiled from people like us to help that business expand. One way to help KIVA find more promising businesses to meet lender eagerness is to donate to Village Enterprise Fund so that they can help business at an earlier stage.

I have lent money to several KIVA businesses. The success of these businesses, helped by the loans I have participated in, is quite gratifying and shows how successful this approach can be. Let me give you three examples that I am proud to have been a part of.

1. Lakev Groceries is a small shop in Eregi, Kenya owned by Petronilla Shivachi, nicknamed "Betty" by her customers. She and her twin sister lost their father's land to neighbors because in Kenya girls cannot inherit land. They, due to lack of school fees, did not go to college, but rather married early. Petronilla was deserted by her husband and now is a single mother bringing up two children without any child support.

She started her business with assistance from VEF. After first establishing her small store, she received a $500 loan through KIVA. Petronilla used this loan to introduce new products to her store for which there is a demand but there had previously been little supply. Primarily she introduced new Mobile phone air cards. This new product brought in 70 new customers in 4 days! Her business has exploded thanks to the loan, bringing what appears to be a much-desired commodity to her town.

2. Fur Ber Fish is a fishmongering business in Tororo, Uganda owned by Penina Oburu. She received a grant in 2001 from VEF to start her small business and has gotten this business off the ground in a small, but successful way. She then received a $300 loan through KIVA, to hire a truck to go directly to Lake Victoria and buy fish for herself rather than having to go through a middleman.  Eliminating this middleman will allow her to sell her fish at a lower price.

With the KIVA loan Peninah Obure, has expanded her purchases of fish from 1-3 baskets to 10 - 18 baskets per day. This economy of scale allows her to sell more fish cheaper, at a profit of 45% as opposed to her previous 15%. She is also able to bring the fish closer to her customers, making their walk to get fish shorter. She uses her profits to support her family and to pay school fees (public education is NOT free in East Africa) and medical bills, and to buy clothes and bedding for her children.

3. Kuro Chiki Hotel is a restaurant (hotel means restaurant in Uganda), also in Tororo, Uganda, owned by Lovisa Asinde, a widow with five children. She started a small business baking pancakes, chapatti and mandazi with a donation of 100 dollars from Village Enterprise Fund in 2000. After receiving training in business skills from VEF, she decided to open a eating house in the local trading center. She received a $500 loan through KIVA to expand this eatery.

With that loan she bought a large amount of new kitchen equipment, hired new staff, and expanded her menu, allowing greater choice to her customers. She now serves around100 customers a day and makes about 80% profit. This allows her to buy new clothes for her children and to pay to send them to school.

You can imagine how gratifying it is to be a part of these women's successes. This is how an economy can be built in developing areas--through small businesses that slowly grow while serving their community. By loaning through KIVA or donating to KIVA or VEF, you can be a part of this process and help not only these small business owners, but their children as well.

KIVA and VEF (and KIVA's other partners) are doing wonderful work. But this cannot alone solve the problems of East Africa or any other part of the world. In my next diary on this topic I will once again discuss the education, environmental and economic context in which KIVA's efforts must exist and how we can help that context.

While extremism seems to be exerting itself once more ni the Middle East, with Hamas' victory and with illegal Israeli settlers in Samaria throwing rocks at soldiers sent to evacuate them, it is nice to occasionally hear that there still are moderates in the world. I want to share with you a couple of the small bright spots in the otherwise rather depressing situation in Israel/Palestine.

How about an Arab Holocaust museum designed to confer a better understanding of what Jews went through in the Holocaust to his fellow Arabs and Palestinians? From BBC News:

Khaled Mahameed admits his museum, in Nazareth in northern Israel, is small. But he believes it is unique...

The museum contains a collection of just 60 photographs depicting the genocide with Arabic captions explaining the scenes. The pictures were purchased from Yad Vashem - the Israeli national Holocaust memorial.

Mr Mahameed firmly believes that it is only by understanding the truth about how the state of Israel was created that Arabs can fully understand Jews and ultimately resolve the conflict between them...

Arab leaders, he says, think that by giving credence to the Holocaust they are legitimising Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

"But when Palestinians learn about the Holocaust they will understand the Jewish people better and can begin to develop a shared history," says Mr Mahameed enthusiastically...

He hopes to make contact with Palestinian militants Hamas and Islamic Jihad to offer them information about the Holocaust...

A conference organised by the centre in November attracted 30 people and Mr Mahameed believes that slowly - sometimes very slowly - he is changing minds.

How about Peaceworks a company that is promoting better ties between Israelis and Arabs through economic cooperation. And they use part of their profits to encourage moderates on both sides of the Israel/Palestine issue. from their website:

PeaceWorks is a not-only-for-profit company. We have proven that we can build and sustain a profitable company AND do a little good in the world.

Together with people striving to co-exist, we create and deliver unique and exciting specialty foods- only the freshest ingredients, always all-natural, always delicious.

PeaceWorks currently does business with Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, South Africans, Turks, Indonesians and Sri Lankans...

We are guided by the Theory of Economic Cooperation which reveals the following:

Profitable economic cooperation initiatives can cement relations between rivals in the same way that common-place business partners profit from exchange in today's market place.

In this manner, business can enable the conditions necessary to achieve long-lasting social understanding and prosperity in conflict regions around the world. PeaceWorks acts at the catalyst for economic interdependence.

Simply put, If wallets are married, relations can be stronger. PeaceWorks is founded on this theory -- and is proving to be a recipe for corporate success.

Peaceworks makes wonderful Tapenades (I have tried three of them...YUM!) that are produced in Israel using olives grown in Palestinian villages, glass jars made in Egypt, and sundried tomatoes from Turkey. They also have "Natural Energy Bars" and Fruit and Nut Bars that are made in Australia but 5% of the profits go to OneVoice, a PeaceWorks foundation, that fosters co-existence in the Middle East.

Finally, how about a group that is trying to foster peace through environmentalism? The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) is a regional center for environmental leadership. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies offers Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian and overseas students an intensive hands-on academic program focusing on our joint environment. From their website:

By encouraging environmental cooperation between peoples, the Arava Institute is working towards peace and sustainable development on a regional and global scale. The Institute is situated on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel's Southern Arava Valley - a desert in the Syrio-African rift near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. The Institute is home to academic programs, research and public involvement.

My hope is that small efforts like these are more significant than the larger shifts like the victory of Hamas and the even further rightward shift of Likud.

Last week I posted a diary about new East African businesses being featured on the Kiva microlending site, urging people to fill the loan need once again and suggesting many other ways of helping East Africa. Well, all outstanding loan needs have now been filled. We did it again! Thanks to all who responded to this need.

But there is still more that people can do if they want to. This aid to small businesses is just the start. On dKos my last diary got a request for a somewhat smaller bite of activism. I guess I put together too large a packet of information and some people wanted a series of more focused actions to help East Africa. Well, in that spirit I am focusing on two things people can still do even though no new Kiva loan requests are available.

Again, let me state my overall vision before I focus on two parts of this vision. My vision is this: a coordinated effort by the blogsphere that will focus on several interconnected issues with a view towards REGIONAL and COMMUNITY based development. The target area of Uganda/Kenya/Tanzania (roughly the Rift Valley/Lakes region of East Africa) is an excellent place to start because of the critical environmental issues, the presence of excellent groups like Kiva, and the fact that these nations have a chance for becoming more stable if some immediate crises can be survived.

My vision includes primarily economic, education and environmental issues and combines microlending through Kiva, purchases through Fair Trade organizations that operate in this area, and donations to particularly important organizations that focus on these issues in this region of Africa. In invite you to join me in this ambitious, difficult, and potentially historic effort. I should note that each of these nations are having political difficulties. Hopefully they are growing pains of democracy. But I am not currently focused on the political developments in these nations so much as on the plight of the people and the environment in these nations.

Now to focus on two things. Since it is the holiday season, I will give some gift ideas from Fair Trade companies doing business in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Then I will give an action that continues the one-on-one spirit of Kiva only this time focused on helping students get a secondary school education.

I have tried finding some Fair Trade groups that sell products from this region of East Africa. These can help you in selecting holiday gifts this year while helping the export economy of the same region that Kiva loans are helping. Here are some suggestions:

Fair Trade Coffee from Uganda. Most of us love coffee. Why not use your addiction to help out farmers in Uganda?

Fair Trade baskets from two companies in Uganda. Very beautiful looking items, if you are into baskets.

How about cool handicrafts from several companies in Kenya? All fair trade, these companies sell items like sculptures, jewelry and drums.

And there are a couple of handicrafts companies in Tanzania as well selling fair trade items.

Give a Fair Trade gift that also helps artisans and co-operatives in East Africa!

Many people like the personal connection they feel when they give a loan to a specific business owner. A comment from a dKos reader of my first diary suggested another way to get that personal connection, this time helping a student in East Africa pay for their secondary school fees. Here is what 2pt5cats says about her experience:

Secondary school in Kenya (and many other countries in Africa) isn't free.  We've paid for a girl's high school via a Canadian organization that arranges such sponsorships...

She writes us and even sends her grades; it's a great way to make a connection with someone in another country.

Here is the group that she recommends. You can help sponsor the secondary school education for a child in Kenya or Tanzania, though in this case you have to send a check to the Canadian Harambee Education Society. Find out more on their website. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. A secondary school education is so important that families in East Africa will do anything they can to raise the money for their kids. You can help!

Please purchase some fair trade products from these nations to help their economy and please consider sponsoring a child's education. We can make a real difference in people's lives in East Africa. Through Kiva we (and others) have helped more than 35 small businesses in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania with microloans. If we can help other small businesses through Fair Trade purchases and help students get a good education, we can make a real difference.

Liveblogging from The Tank's Mayoroke. This is so wrong, with all that is happening in the country, the horrid climate around September 13th and the million things I need to do, but I came anywhere.

Two things have happened to me in the past month that have strenghtened my resolve to reconnect New Yorkers and make New York City the great place it is to live.
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The day before Mother's Day I had gone out to do a bit of shopping for myself. Mother's Day was one or two weeks after the launch of The Daily Gotham and I was just exhausted. Still am, but more so then than now. I am not just a blogger. I have two kids. Scratch that, I homeschool my two kids, work as a web publisher, contribute to my community as a political activist and write on four blogs. So, when I go out, I don't just go out. I am usually multi-tasking, trying to fit-in one or two household errands in between my political activism and writing.

That day, I was managing grocery shopping and the like and my bag of Mother's Day goodies disappeared. Just like that. I had no idea where I left it or if I left it somewhere or if it is was stolen from me. Needless to say, all stressed-out and cranky, I just cried my eyes out for a whole day.

That's where the lovely people of Windfall Farms come in. I had gone to the Union Square Farmer's Market to treat my family to some organic salad greens (they're expensive, so we don't do this on a regular basis). In my tired haze I left my shopping bag on top of one of the tables. The market people left it just as I had left it there, waiting to see if I'd come back to claim it.

Unfortunately, by the time I reckoned I had lost the bag, they had packed up and gone. Later than week, when I reported the bag stolen to the Farmer's Market management, they suggested to go back to the stalls I had visited that day, just in case. Of course, I went to all of them and left the green stand for last. And what do you know! There, in their truck and quite prominently visible in the front seat (may I add), was my shopping bag. They had kept it, hoping that once I'd come back for more greens, I'd get it back.

Needless to say, now I am buying greens there every week for the rest of my life.

That was 3 weeks ago --and yes, I thought about writing about it but said, well, it's not politics. Well, now, I am going to write these because it gets better.

I took the kids to their last soccer meet this past Wednesday. We took the M8 over to Pier 40, where most homeschoolers in New York City have their weekly "physical education class". Well, I lost my wallet with half of my money and all my credit cards. This time I did not go berserk, but I was worried. Well, on my way out to The Drum Major Institute event that night, what do you know? I get a phone call from "Jerry", one of the office managers at the bus depot over on 40th Street and 11th Avenue. He had found my wallet on his way to work. He reckoned by the address that he was a neighbor of mine, so he took the wallet to the depot and gave me a call home. "I found your wallet on the bus, just come and pick it up whenever you can."

Needless to say, I thanked him profusely and shook his hand so hard it almost came out of its socket. I have no idea what to send him --flowers would be a bit ... fey. Should I do a fruit basket?

And this is why I HEART New York. It's not that it is an amazing city. The people that live and work here make it the place it is. I have to say, I've been blessed by the city that never sleeps.