Jim Moore’s blog: Innovation, Strategy, Public Policy

John Kenneth Galbraith was not only a beloved economist, he was also a
local whose towering strides, slowing as he aged, were a common site on
Church Street, Brattle Street, and in and around Harvard Square. 
There was something enormously calming about his presence, and
something reassuring about seeing him striding through the square.

He was the steward of a dependable garden of care and wisdom and
stability for the
community, both literally–wthin his sheltered yard and home on Francis Street–and
figuratively.  He often had students living in his third floor
apartment.  My friend Sue Lowe Franklin lived with the Galbraiths
for years.   The annual garden party, timed for Harvard
graduation,
was a low-key inclusive event mixing Nobel prize-winners with activists
with students with friends.  Within his professional radiance,
generations of humanistic, caring, policy-oriented economists,
historians, and public servants were encouraged.  He exemplified
Eric Erickson’s “generative” person..using his magnificent talents to
establish and extend fertile ground upon which others could plant and
tend their own gardens and vinyards.

He died yesterday here in Cambridge.

Earlier today, President Bush met with leading Darfur advocates to discuss the
situation in Sudan. Speaking about the urgent need for global attention, the President
said, “that thousands and hundreds of thousands of our citizens urge the world to unite
with the United States in concerted action. I want the Sudanese government to
understand the United States of America is serious about solving this
problem…genocide in Sudan is unacceptable”.

You will find a complete transcript of the President’s remarks below.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________ _
For Immediate Release April 28, 2006

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AFTER MEETING WITH DARFUR ADVOCATES

The Roosevelt Room
1:50 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I just had an extraordinary conversation with fellow citizens
from different faiths, all of who have come to urge our government to continue to focus
on saving lives in Sudan. They agree with thousands of our citizens — hundreds of
thousands of our citizens — that genocide in Sudan is unacceptable.

And there will be rallies across our country to send a message to the Sudanese
government that the genocide must stop. Those rallies will also be an indication that
thousands and hundreds of thousands of our citizens urge the world to unite with the
United States in concerted action.

We have got AU troops on the ground; those troops need to be augmented and
increased through strong United Nations action. And the United States strongly
supports a U.N. resolution to do that. I believe it’s important for the United States to be
involved, and the best way to be involved with the AU troops is through NATO. I’ve
worked with the Secretary General of NATO and our allies in NATO to provide a firm
response to the actions that are taking place on the ground. I want the Sudanese
government to understand the United States of America is serious about solving this
problem.

I’m proud of our nation’s generosity when it comes to aid, and the American
people ought to be proud of the taxpayer dollars that have gone to provide much needed
aid for those who suffer. But this government must understand that we expect the aid
to get to the people and we expect there to be a solution to this problem.

There will be rallies all across the country. And for those of you who are going
out to march for justice, you represent the best of our country. We believe every life is
precious, every human being is important. And the signal you send to the world is a
strong signal, and I welcome your participation. And I want to thank the organizers for
being here.

I want to thank this good man right here — he sits here next to his President,
and it wasn’t all that long ago that he was a slave inside Sudan. He sits here to
represent the thousands of lives who have been affected by a government that must
honor human rights.

And, Simon, I’m proud to have you here as a fellow American; proud to have
you here as a friend.

Thank you all for coming.

END 1:54 P.M. EDT
_______________________

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 28, 2006
Event Backgrounder:

The President meets with Darfur Advocates

BACKGROUND
The President will meet with leading Darfur advocates who are taking
steps to bring global attention to Darfur. The meeting gives the
President an opportunity to highlight his commitment to improving
security in Darfur, finding a political solution to the crisis, and
meeting urgent humanitarian needs.

BIOGRAPHIES OF PARTICIPANTS

David Rubenstein, Coordinator, Save Darfur Coalition (Washington, D.C.)

The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of more than 100 faith-based,
humanitarian, and human rights organizations whose mission is to raise
public awareness and mobilize an effective unified response to the
atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur
region. The Coalition formed on July 14, 2004, when the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum and American Jewish World Service organized a
Darfur Emergency Summit to address the situation and push for a global
response.

Elisa Massimino, Washington Director, Human Rights First (Takoma Park, Maryland)

Human Rights First is a leading human rights advocacy organization
based in New York City and Washington, D.C. Since 1978, they have
worked at home and abroad to create a secure and humane world,
advancing justice, human dignity, and respect for the rule of law.
Massimino is the organization’s chief advocacy strategist, an expert on
a range of international human rights issues, and a national authority
on U.S. compliance with human rights law.

Faith McDonnell, Director, Religious Liberty Programs, Institute on
Religion and Democracy; and Coordinator, Church Alliance for a New
Sudan (Annandale, Virginia)

The Church Alliance for a New Sudan (CANS) is one of several programs
of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, which is celebrating 25
years of working to reform the social and political witness of American
churches, while promoting democracy and religious freedom at home and
abroad. McDonnell has been leading CANS since 1998 and has spoken out
publicly regarding the Darfur issue.

Reverend Gloria White-Hammond, Chairwoman, Million Voices for Darfur Campaign (Boston, Massachusetts)

Million Voices for Darfur seeks to collect one million signed postcards
urging the President to take action in Darfur. Individuals can send a
postcard simply by visiting the campaign’s web site. The messages will
be delivered to the White House and Capitol Hill. The group is using
this campaign to garner national and local media attention for the
crisis in Darfur. The campaign,  which began on April 2, is
already halfway toward its goal. White-Hammond is also Co-Pastor of
Bethel AME Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jerry Fowler, Director, Committee on Conscience, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Arlington, Virginia)

Jerry Fowler is the first staff director of the Committee on
Conscience, which guides the genocide prevention efforts of the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). When the President’s
Commission on the Holocaust recommended the creation of a living
memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, it observed that no issue was
as perplexing or as urgent as the need to insure that such a totally
inhuman assault as the Holocaust or any partial version thereof never
recurs. To address that need, the Commission recommended the creation
of a Committee on Conscience, which the USHMM unanimously approved
shortly after its opening.

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (Washington, D.C.)

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) has been the hub of
Jewish social justice and legislative activity in Washington, D.C., for
over 40 years. It has educated and mobilized the American Jewish
community on such issues as Israel, international religious freedom,
economic justice, civil rights, international peace, and religious
liberty. The RAC is the Washington office of the Union for Reform
Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America
encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of
American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 1,800 Reform
rabbis.

Reverend Keith Roderick, Executive Director, Sudan Campaign, Christian Solidarity International (Fredericksburg, Virginia)

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is a Christian human rights
organization for religious liberty helping victims of religious
repression, victimized children, and victims of disaster. Founded in
Switzerland in 1977 by Reverend Hans St�ckelberger, CSI is a
non-profit, independent organization that seeks to bring together
Christians of all denominations to meet urgent needs.

Simon Deng, Former Sudanese Slave (New York, New York)

Simon Deng initiated the Sudan Freedom Walk in which he traveled 300
miles from New York to Washington in an effort to raise awareness and
support for bringing about an end to the genocide in Darfur and
establish a comprehensive peace for all of Sudan. The walk ended on the
steps of the U.S. Capitol on March 16 2006. At the age of 9, Deng was
caught up in the struggle between the Arab-dominated government and
African villagers in Sudan. He was kidnapped from his village in the
southern region of the country and forced to work for a family. With
the help of a stranger he met who happened to be from his village, Deng
was smuggled back to his family after almost three years of forced
labor.
# # #
_______________________
Jay S. Zeidman
The White House
Office of Public Liaison

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