(ARCHIVES: October 26) Voting for the Future - Nov. 6

¡Su Voto Es Su Voz! "Your vote is your voice" is a rallying cry for many around the world and in Texas, too. Use that voice on November 6 on Texas constitutional ballot propositions.

In today's multi-billion-dollar government bureaucracy, citizens seldom get a chance to vote on the public expenditure of their taxes. However, on November 6, we will have a chance to vote on, and approve, propositions that to invest in Texans' future.

Of the sixteen measures on the Texas Constitutional Amendment ballot, several center on investing in people and infrastructure - from college loans to new roads - mostly through bonds.

Texans for Peace encourages voters to become informed about each specific measure, while making recommendations on some that we feel would greatly benefit Texans overall. Listed below are our top picks along with descriptions of why we support a "Yes" vote on them:

Proposition 2 - $500 Million for Student Loans
Proposition 12 - $5 Billion for Highways
Proposition 15 - $3 Billion for Cancer Research
Proposition 16 - $250 Million for Water and Sewer

PROPOSITION 2 - $500 Million for Student Loans

Ballot: "The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance educational loans to students and authorizing bond enhancement agreements with respect to general obligation bonds issued for that purpose."

Background: The state's Hinson-Hazelwood College Student Loan Program provides loans for students attending college in Texas. The state sells bonds to finance the program, and pays the debt on the bonds as the students repay their loans. While the bonds are guaranteed by state taxes, the state has never needed to use tax dollars to repay any of the debt. Since 1965, a total of $1.360 billion in bonds have been authorized for the program, the most recent being $400 million authorized by the voters in 1999. All but $175 million in bonds will be used up by spring, 2009. Proposition 2 would allow the state to issue $500 million more in bonds to pay for more student loans.

Texans for Peace: Texas is growing and the number of we want to encourage as many students as possible to attend college. Because these bonds are for loans, no tax dollars will be used, but many more students will be able to receive low-interest loans.

PROPOSITION 12 - $5 Billion for Highways

Ballot: "The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds by the Texas Transportation Commission in an amount not to exceed $5 billion to provide funding for highway improvement projects."

Background: Proposition 12 would allow the Legislature to authorize the Texas Transportation Commission to issue up to $5 billion in bonds for highway improvement projects. The voters first authorized the state's use of bonds to build non-toll highways in 2001. Prior to that, all state non-toll roads were built and maintained on a pay-as-you-go basis, rather than by borrowing. Since bonds were first authorized in 2001, more than $5 billion in bonds have been issued for highway construction.

Texans for Peace: State bonding, or general revenue, is a much better way to build highway and road improvements than toll-roads. Even better would be an increase in the gas tax and rewriting the law so that all gas taxes are dedicated to road and highways improvements.

PROPOSITION 15 - $3 Billion for Cancer Research

Ballot: "The constitutional amendment requiring the creation of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorizing the issuance of up to $3 billion in bonds payable from the general revenues of the state for research in Texas to find the causes of and cures for cancer."

Background: Proposition 15 would create the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorize the state to issue up to $3 billion in bonds to fund research for cures for cancer. The funds from these bonds could be used for program operations, purchase of laboratories or facilities, and grants for research, in amounts up to $300 million each year for ten years. The bonds would be repaid by general state taxes. This is a new program for which no bonds have been previously issued. see Texans to Cure Cancer for more information.

Texans for Peace: Texas is already a leader in efforts to fight, and potentially cure, cancer. These funds would encourage more doctors and scientist to develop tools to treat and prevent cancer, while creating jobs in science and medicine throughout Texas. We prefer that the Legislature allocate surplus state funds for this type of effort, rather than issuing bonds, at some point in the future.

PROPOSITION 16 - $250 Million for Water and Sewer

Ballot: "The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $250 million to provide assistance to economically distressed areas."

Background: The Texas Water Development Board provides financial assistance to bring water and wastewater services to established residential subdivisions that have inadequate water supply or wastewater systems. The voters have previously authorized $250 million in bonds for these purposes, all but $12 million of which have been issued. This program also receives federal funds, but federal funding levels have been reduced. Proposition 16 would allow the Texas Water Development Board to issue up to $250 million more in bonds for this program.

Texans for Peace: Too many Texans still don't have access to good water and wastewater systems, particularly in unincorporated and economically distressed areas. These bonds would help provide infrastructure while improving the environment by reducing wastewater discharge and groundwater depletion.

Shared wealth

Texas is a rich state, and would rank in the top-10 wealthiest nation as its own country. More can, and should, be done to invest in the future of Texans. Texans for Peace encourages additional sensible investment propositions in the future.

We don't need more prisons, slush funds for corporate welfare cheats (see Corporate Welfare), tax breaks for billionaires and their businesses, or additional government waste. However, we do need to do more for the families and children of Texas, the destitute and the working poor.

The Legislature should tax some of the considerable wealth that is being created by investors and corporations that pay nominally lower percentage taxes and fund projects through general revenues rather than placing the burden of public funding on individual homeowners, wage earners and small businesses.

Taxes, their investment and equitable distribution, are important topics for peace and social justice development. Vote for future improvements on November 6.

(Thank you to State Rep. Scott Hochberg who has a great website with all of the ballot items: http://scotthochberg.com/amends.html )

Religious freedom upheld in Dallas

This week jurors in Dallas rendered their verdict in the nation's largest terrorism financing case, against the Holy Land Foundation - the largest Muslim charity that was shut down by the government in 2001. After 14 years of investigation, two months of trial, 19 days of deliberations and four more of waiting, the judge declared a mistrail due to lack of evidence in the case.

"Like Rosa Parks once was persecuted for simply sitting in a front seat of a bus, my dad was singled out for feeding, clothing and educating the children of Palestine," said Noor Elashi, daughter of Ghassan Elashi, one of the six defendents in the case.

Mahdi Bray, executive director of Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, said the government's failure to get any convictions was evidence of the power of religious freedom in the U.S.. "The American Muslim community is protected under the First Amendment," he said. "Feeding people is not a crime, and we aren't going to let the American government make it a crime."

Toxprosperous Port Arthur

Port Arthur will once again hold an energy title as Texaco/Motiva completes the world's largest oil refinery in that city. The residents of this East Texas town have seen the prosperity that comes from the energy industry. They have also had to bear the costs of toxic pollution.

"The only money here in the city of Port Arthur that amounts to anything comes from industry, from petrochemical companies," says ex-mayor Oscar Ortiz.

The EPA lists this city of 57,000 on its list of the most polluted communities in the U.S. But while the city is heavily dependent on the oil companies for jobs, very little of the wealth that is created is returned to local residents. The city of Port Arthur has at least 28 tax-abatement deals with refineries and chemical plants. Surrounding Jefferson County has at least six, including with Motiva, Total, and Valero, which will pay no property taxes for the first two years of a nine-year contract, and then pay 10 percent of the taxes it would owe for the next seven. Some companies pay virtually no taxes on the billions of dollars that are created.

Hilton Kelley worries about the toxic chemicals. As the city's most visible environmental activist, he has campaigned for more restrictions on industrial construction and stricter monitoring of plant emissions. Meanwhile, children and other living things die.

Texas tuitions rising fast

In 2003, the Texas Legislature voted to "deregulate" public college tuition in the state. The results are in...tuition is rising by 7-8 percent every year - thanks to the politicians who know little about fiscal responsibility and good public governance and instead believe in giving taxpayer dollars and tax cuts to billion-dollar corporations.

Prices at public universities across Texas rose 7.6 percent this year, again outpacing the rapid increases in tuition and fees nationwide, the College Board reported this week. Texans now are paying an average of $6,437 a year in tutition to attend the state's public universities, which is $252 more than the national average. Texas saw an average hike of 20 percent in 2005.

Help needed ending the War

President Bush has asked Congress for almost $200 Billion more to continue the occupation and wars in Irag and Afghanistan next yeardespite the majority of soldiers and military leaders also now calling for an exit. The President, and VP Cheney most likely plan to use these funds to launch an unprovoked attack on Iran in 2008.

Actual war crimes are now being committed every week by both contractors and U.S. troops. The documentary evidence is all too clear. Congress appears impotent and willing to let madmen control America's future. Each member has become an "accomplice" to these historic events. Your sons and daughters have become grist for evil.

The war the largely began in Texas, when our Governor and his team began taking over the White House, will only be stopped (short of a military disaster in Iraq) when Texans stand up and bring it to an end.

Texans for Peace, and other groups opposed to war, need your help. Your time, treasure, and courage are essential to peace and social justice, in Texas and our world. Already, people are being arrested in towns around the country as they try to block shipments of goods, military outposts, and the offices of politicians.

On October 27 there will be a host of demonstrations, in cities around the country, to draw attention to the war and demand that Congress not give in to further funding. Many Texans will travel to New Orleans to paricipate in a regional rally in that city. Please join with your neighbors to support these, and other activities, to end the war.

(ARCHIVES: October 3, 2007) Confronting violence begins
in our schools

"It was just a random act of violence," said Matthew Bobo in response to the death of University of Texas student Melanie Goodwin in September...19-year-old with a personality that "lit up the room". The violent nature of the attack in Carrollton left the community wondering what would drive a complete stranger - Ernesto Reyes - to take the life of another.

This case is just one of many horrific acts that Texans are involved in every day and little seems to be occurring to stem the tide. Whether the violence is at home, or at school, it is a daily occurence and an inescapable reality for most Texans.

Televised images of school shootings and hysterical parents frantically searching for their loved ones or the cries of children who have been traumatized by adults or other children shatter the myth that all is fine. The fact that too many Americans willingly accept arguments for genocide, war and nuclear holocaust - further contributes to violence. There has been too much "violence denial" and failure to take action to root out this growing threat.

Violence has become an epidemic and a public-health crisis. Homicide is the second most frequent cause of death among Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 (after accidents) and more Americans die at the hand of each other than are killed by either foreign terrorists or overseas wars. No other industrialized nation even comes close to the level of violence here.

And we know that violence isn't so much rooted in biology but a part of the national life that our children are raised in today. Factors such as hate, racism and sexism, availability of guns, bad theology and economic inequality - all contribute to a culture of violence.

In ''Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist," author Richard Rhodes described how conditioning trains people to maim and kill. After interviewing criminals, he broke socialized violence into its stages: ''brutalization,'' ''belligerency,'' ''violent performances'' and ''virulency." His that violence grows if not checked at an early age are consistent with children behaviorists who have studied the impacts of violence on children and affects of reward and punishment.

Like any disease, correct diagnosis is needed before solutions can be found. However, one area that both educators and parents agree, is that the threat of violence has become a serious problem in our schools. There are many contributing factors - bullying, intolerance of children who are different (disabilities, language, gay and lesbian, race, etc.) - but above all is a lack of systematic nonviolence and peace education as a part of the curriculum.

Most parent know that violence, and nonviolence, is learned at an early age. We teach our children to "use your words, not your fist" and to "share" as we show them ways to solve problems without violence from their infancy. At the same time, there are parents who send contradictory messages: spanking, slapping and verbal assaults.

We also know that violent behavior among older children is related to their beliefs supporting the use of violence, such a aggression as a legitimate means of settling conflict. This is particularly bad when it comes from "religious" or "political" leaders in the community.

Society and the media also bombard children with messages that violence is acceptable. Terrorists strike innocent people with violent destruction. Our national leaders launch the kind premeditated attacks on defenseless countries. Recruiters sign up students to become merchants of death. Games, videos and songs are filled with anger and sexual and racial violence.

Children who are exposed to violence need assistance from adults …. they can't be expected to learn nonviolence entirely on their own. Parents, educators, administrators, school mental health workers, police and safety providers have a responsibility to children to provide them with the safest possible learning environment as well as keeping themselves informed about the violent issues and experiences that children face every day. But, health professionals, clerics and peacemakers are also needed to provide educators with tools for teaching peace in the schools.

To turn the tide, children need to be taught a new lesson.

Schools, already places where social norms are incorporated into lessons plans, also need to include nonviolence and peacemaking elements at every level of the curriculum. It's not enough for children to read "The Diary of Anne Frank" and study the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. one day per year. They need to be systematically exposed to nonviolence as standard way of living, much as it is taught in other places around the world.

Costa Rica, which does not have a military, instead has a "Peace Army" at work. The army's "soldiers" are teachers and volunteers who work to increase social and emotional learning in schools across the country.

Similarly Sweden, Denmark and many other countries have programs that teach non-violent communication skills to students along with systems that provide education and support to parents. These are just two examples of countries that take a serious approach to nonviolence and peace education in the schools.

Texans for Peace, as a leader in peace and social justice issues around the state, began a "Teaching Peace in Texas Schools" conference with the express purpose of providing educators with up-to-date materials, strategies, and presenters who could help them incorporate peace and nonviolence in their classrooms. The conference focuses on five thematic areas: Creating a Culture of Peace, Personal Peace, Nonviolence Curriculum, Teaching Strategies, and Alternative Options for Youth.

Workshops and presenters have encompassed everything from using story-telling and art activities to dealing with gangs to adding "empathy" to math and science. These examples run the gamut of Kindergarten to grade 12 and are part of a growing body of materials for improving our schools.

In 1995 the Texas Legislature, concerned about safety in school, adopted a new state policy requiring that each school create alternative education programs. While the focus of these programs has been on student disciplinary options there remains a need for comprehensive curricular approaches to the issue of violence. Texans for Peace hopes to one day be able to provide an extensive set of curriculum for all grades and every subject area so that schools will become as violence-free as possible.

Every student deserves the opportunity to attend school in a safe and secure learning environment. Every educator - teacher, administrator, support person - also deserves a safe and secure environment in which to work. And, Texans for Peace knows, in the words of Edward James Olmos, that, "Education is the vaccine for violence" in Texas and throughout the world.

Student's free speech denied

A High School sophomore in Waxahachie ISD, Pete Palmer, was recently booted from campus - for wearing a John Edwards for President '08 t-shirt. In an abridgement of free speech, the district says that “T-shirts, other than WISD clubs, organizations, sports, or spirit t-shirts, college or university t-shirts or solid-colored t-shirts, are prohibited."

What a great way to discourage voting and political participation by our nation's youth. Score 1 for the brownshirts.

Texan-Muslims to celebrate at Six Flags

Muslims throughout Texas plan to celebrate "Muslim Familiy Day" at Six Flags over Texas - Dallas, on October 14. The event is sponsored by a host of organizations, including the Islamic Circle of North America and is touted as a time for Muslims to show their presence while enjoying time with their children. In addition to all of the rides, park goers will be able to sample Halal food and get literature from organizations that will be tabling in the park.

A few wealthy Texans, donate big

Political donations in Texas are led by a small posse of very wealthy Texas. Just 9 individuals gave at least $1 million to state candidates in 2006 and 142 wealthy Texans showered state politicians with $50 million more according to a study by the non-profit organization Texans for Public Justice. "A small handful of business tycoons control political money in Texas," said Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice.

The study is the first comprehensive review of fundraising by state candidates from governor to all 181 members of the Texas Legislature. Houston homebuilder Bob Perry was the state's biggest campaign contributor in 2006, giving $7.1 million to candidates. He is Gov. Rick Perry's biggest political donor, giving $1.4 million directly or indirectly through a GOP group to the Republican incumbent. Other top campaign contributors giving at least $1 million to state candidates included Dallas attorneys Fred and Lisa Baron, Dallas tax-consulting executive Brint Ryan and Dallas oilman T. Boone Pickens.

In the presidential race, Texas donors are only second to California in the amount of contributiions to candidates from both parties. Meanwhile, peace and justice organizations languish from lack of funds.

Houston: 1000 Lights for Peace

Texans will gather from around the Houston area on Sunday Oct. 7, to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi and his example of peace. Mayor Bill White will help kick off "1000 Lights for Peace" at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 5:30 pm as part of day-long activities sponsored by the Gandhi Library of Houston.

This is only one of the many Gandhi celebrations held throughout the Lone Star State during October. More than 75 organizations, including Texans for Peace, are participating in the Houston activities.

More Texas-Iraq oil news

In a follow on to last week's look into Texas companies profiting from war, we examine oil company connections in Iraq.

Houston oil tycoon and local philanthropist, Oscar Wyatt, last week pleaded guilty to funneling millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein between 2002 and 2003. The founder of Houston-based Coastal Corp. — now owned by El Paso Corp. — was accused of using front companies, including Cyprus-based Nafta Petroleum Co. and Mednafta Trading Co., to buy Iraqi oil under the Oil-for-Food program and then pay the surcharges demanded into a bank account in Jordan secretly controlled by the Iraqi government.

Two other Texas oil companies were in the news in September, due to their deals in Iraq. Ray Hunt of Dallas, CEO of Hunt Oil, cut a contract with the local Kurdish government, according to the Wall Street Journal. Prime Minister Maliki has said that such deals are "illegal" and that local governments lack authority to negotiate such contracts. The U.S. State Department has also slammed the deal.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization, or SOMO, last week sold 740,000 barrels to Exxon Mobil Corp, also of Dallas.

Alan Greenspan in The Age of Turbulence writes, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows. The Iraq war is largely about oil." I think we should fly an Exxon Mobil flag at military funerals just for the sake of honesty. If anyone doubts that this occupation is about oil ask yourself this: Would we stay in Iraq another day if there wasn't any oil there? I don't think so. It's still about oil.

(ARCHIVES: September 19, 2007) Texas Howdy: Welcoming those in our midst

You are always welcome here

With no favourits in my love
Never put myself above

You are always welcome here

There are pictures left to see
There are songs still left to sing

You are always welcome here

- Simple Life by Denison Witmer

Welcome, Stranger.

Americans are too socially isolated and most have on average only two close friends, according to a recent study of the American Sociological Review. New "loneliness numbers" show that we want closeness while at the same time are becoming increasing isolated from each other. We've moved further into suburbs where we cocoon while logging onto the net to see what's happening in the world around us.

So, what should folks do in the state where "friendship" is the state motto?

To begin with, we can tell the racists, bigots, and anti-immigration folks that's we're tired of hearing their whines about security and economics. We like people with a wide range of viewpoints, from countries all around the world and are happy to see Texas become a more diverse, culturally-mixed state. As Texans, we need to be the first to roll out the welcome mat to strangers - native born or newly arrived.

"The centrality of hospitality to the social practices of many societies attests to its almost universal importance. Necessary to human well-being, hospitality offers protection, provision, and respect to strangers while it also sustains fundamental moral bonds among family, friends, and acquaintances," begins a Sojourner Magazine article on what hospitality teaches us about justice.

In Jewish traditions, the "ger" - usually translated as resident alien - was a sojourner who lived with a Hebrew family or clan, was assured not only of protection against oppression and deceit, but also of love from the natives. This welcoming of strangers was an essential part of Middle East culture and still continues today.

As an non-Muslim American going into the war zone of Iraq, I can testify how important this concept of "hospitality to the foreigner" is. I have been the guest in many Iraqi and Jordanian homes, schools and hospitals and know, first-hand, how critical that hospitality is to our survival.

Texas is growing quickly, as new residents move here from every part of the globe (even California!) and hundreds of children are born here everyday. During the next decades the state is expected to add as many as 15 million more people. It's up to us who are already here to extend a hand of welcome and say "bienvenidos". This means we need to be as welcoming to the tattooed waif with colored hair as to corporate executives. Our homes, schools and small towns should be as inviting to the Muslim and Buddhist as to Baptists and Episcopalians.

Research on the interpersonal environment shows that even relatively mundane matters like getting a haircut, sharing coffee or tea and communal meals are almost universally important measures of connectedness. In modern times, cell phone calls and text messaging help provide a semblance of touch.

We need more, not less, of those things that made Texas a friendly place in the past: neighbors who watched out for each other, generosity in times of want, sympathy for those in need, kindness at all times.

Throughout the state, friendly Texans are gathering to discuss the current issue of immigration and see how they can work together to improve the situation. Many organizations have banded together in the No Texas Border Wall coalition.

In Brownsville on September 29, Bishop Raymundo J. Peña will keynot the No Border Wall Pachanga in Dean Porter Park. The Bishop, whose diocese oversees 103 parishes and
missions for the more than 800,000 Catholics who live in the Rio Grande Valley, has
been outspoken against the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The
Bishop’s opposition echoes the sentiment of the Vatican, where a top official has
called the U.S. plan to build a border wall “inhuman.”

In El Paso, "New Vision of the Border" events focus on human dignity and the rights that migrant families should have. There will be a conference on November 29-30 attended by represenatives of 100-150 cities.

After all, if "free trade" corporations can cross borders, why shouldn't workers?

And, shouldn't they receive a friendly reception while they're here?

In 2000, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops authored a unanimous pastoral statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. It called for Americans to "welcome the new immigrants and refugees who come to our shores" in all of their splendid diversity while cherishing our own ancestral heritage.

We Texans have our own southern traditions. For some, it might be the friendly nod to a passing truck on a lonely country road. For others, a "Mi casa, es su casa" on the lintel to our home. For the lucky few, sharing a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

Whatever your tradition, remember that many of us, too, "have been a stranger in a foreign land" (Exodus 2 v.22).

Texans Rally for LA neighbors

Hundreds of Texans participated in protests this week in Jena (pronounced "Jeena", Louisiana on behalf of the "Jena 6" who were arrested after racial threats on their high school campus. 17 buses were scheduled from Dallas and 10 more from Houston as people from throughout the Lone Star State expressed solidarity with their neighbors as Texans supporting the Jena 6.

Students from many of Texas' major colleges and universities also joined the peaceful protest. Traffic jammed the 2-lane road leading to the tiny town of Jena as a modern-day civil rights event got underway. Hotels were booked from as far away as Natchez, Miss., to Alexandria, La.

Georgine Guillory, and her sister Morline - two of the many Texans who attended the rally - said that they plan to educate children back in Beaumont. "There are pockets in America that have truly been living in the past ... this happened in a city that has been ignored. People don't pay attention to small towns because they are autonomous and they take care of themselves," Morline Guillory. "It is not just about blacks. It is about any race outside of being white and there are many, many pockets in the United States that are still this way."

TxDOT threatened with injunction

Texans who are against further toll roads and don't think that taxpayer monies should be spent by TxDOT to advertise them, filed suit this week to shut down such advertising. The suite claims that TxDOT violated Chapter 556 of the Texas Government Code, sections 004 (c) and 006 (a), which says state officials can't use public funds for political purposes or lobby for passage or defeat of legislation.

Texans United for Reform and Freedom announced that they are seeking an injunction to shut down TxDOT's "Keep Texas Moving" advertising campaign. The suit claims that the state is using deceptive advertising, has purposely held up road projects to make things appear to be a "crisis" and overstates the economic benefits of toll roads while understating the costs to Texans. The suit also targets TxDOT's efforts to get Congress to allow Texas to buy back parts of interstates so it can toll them.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE. ... STOP THIS TOLL ROAD FIASCO NOW," writes one angry Texan. "GOVERNOR (GOOD HAIR) PERRY NEEDS TO RESIGN."

Getting rich off of war

Here is the formula used by greedy investors, mostly from Texas, to get enormously wealthy from war. 1. leverage your corporate power to elect one of your own as President. 2. Launch a war that drives the price of oil through the roof (paid for by US taxpayers). 3. Sell a portion of your company to Middle-Eastern friends (who now have more money to spare, due to high oil prices). 4. Post the new monies to your balance sheet and go IPO. 5. Exit as a $20 billion company leaving institutional investors holding the bag. 6. Get your name on the Fortune 500 list along with other Texans like 33-year-old former Enron Trader John Arnold of Houston.

The Carlyle Group, established 20 years ago and partially owned by some of the world's savviest political leaders, like James Baker, Frank Carlucci, Colin Powell, Bin Laden family Madeline Albright, former President George Bush Sr., George Soros, Caspar Weinberger, and John Major, is planning to do just that. From their headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave, just a few blocks down from the White House, Carlyle Group leaders now plan a future IPO of $20 B on top of the $1.35 B that was brought in this week.

Carlyle is part of the "military-industrial complex" that controls both global political and monetary and that President Eisenhower warned about in 1961 as he was leaving office. P.S. their also your Texas neighbors.

End the War events continue

About 100 Texans made it to DC for an End the War in Iraq rally on September 15 in the nation's capital. Almost 100,000 people from around the country participated and 190 persons were arrested - about half military veterans - while trying to exercise their right of free speech when DC police barricaded the steps of the Capitol.

Other events were held around Texas on Saturday. On Monday, Texans met with the staff of several members of congress and continuine to pressure Congress to End the War in Iraq. More Texas activities are being planned.

(ARCHIVE: September 5, 2007) Little Soldiers: The militarization of our schools

Child molesters prey on the young, the innocent, and the weak whose decision-making abilities aren't yet fully developed. These predators leave behind broken minds and hearts. Often their victims die for their perverted needs.

In similar aspect, such is the fruit of war and recruiting by the military in our schools.

Neither sexual perverts nor the U.S. military should ever be allowed to prey on our children. They both should be kept out of schools - built for learning and knowledge - and relegated to back alley liaisons between consensual adults. War is an ugly thing and its handmaidens do not have the best interest of children in mind, no matter what they claim.

Public education, as envisioned by early Texas settlers, was to include learning along with the building of strong families and community. It was also considered a bulwark for individual freedom and liberty…not a ripe field for military recruiting.

Mirabeau B. Lamar, the Republic's 2nd president wrote, "The cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy and while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man, it is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge and the only security that freemen desire."

These Texians were so fearful of autocratic government and other forms of despotism that they attempted to construct a public school system of local control - "Independent" is their middle name - mostly free from statist interference. That spirit has slowly eroded during recent decades as politicians from Austin to Washington sought to impose a darker view on the nation's second largest state.

Today, more than 1,200 Texas school districts serve a total of over 4 ½ million youth in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Hundreds of thousands more of our state's best and brightest are enrolled in Lone Star colleges and universities. But in the halls of academia grows a deadly virus - military recruiting.

Children encounter these uniformed adults lurking in hallways, lunchrooms, afterschool programs and even bathrooms. All are being preyed upon by representatives of a nationalist government, militant supporters, and even teachers and parents who consider warmaking a career occupation.

These military scouts are intent on making "little soldiers" of the nation's youth while they militarize our schools.

In their view, "it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech……" Such antidemocratic nonsense has become a pervasive mantra for "patriots" who are willing to trade their liberty for the perception of safety in a world that is increasing complex and ever changing.

These followers of Sparta want to mold the next generation into "lean, mean fightin' machines" who treasure discipline, strength, and ideological righteousness over creativity, compassion, and global concerns. They elect your representatives, tax you for war, and create legislation that make schools less like places of nurture and more like breeding grounds for violence.

"No Child Left Unrecruited" is the newest slogan of supporters of what is arguably the most socialistic institution in government - the U.S. Department of Defense - and one that spends more than $1.2 Billion annually on recruitment activities.

In almost every high school, and increasingly in junior high and elementary schools, uniform-wearing students are instructed in national loyalty, the carrying out of orders, a military-view of history, and other arts of war. They are taught a Soldier's Creed that is devoid of concepts like individualism, tolerance, and peace. What next, stiff-armed salutes to der Führer?

While many of the supporters of school programs like the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) and other military programs earnest appeal to the "virtues" of the military, they are in reality helping to lead children - yours and mine - along with our nation, down a suicidal path. Their time, talent and resources are spent guiding students away from healthier occupations such as teaching, medicine, art, science, etc. that would benefit the world.

The warmongers' Student Career Plan ends in death. But, a $2-Billion-Per-Day addiction needs a lot of new fresh blood.

Since 2000, Congress and the President have passed laws that allow the Pentagon full access to all students' records (grades, health, home), provide full access to public schools at every level, and have pumped more and more dollars into on-campus recruiting offices. They regular pay for and sponsor everything from textbook covers to in-school courses and overnight slumber parties.

In the wake of severe cuts to extra curricular activities and counseling in high schools, recruiters have filled the void and become a regular part of the school day. The scandal of former US Representative Mark Foley hitting on teenage boys pales in comparison to the Pentagon's serial penetration of our high schools and the Armed Forces' barely-legal attempt to seduce every 16 to 18-year-old male and female.

The Pentagon builds video-games that target youth, takes students on outings to military bases, and even brings soldiers into Kindergarten classrooms for "show and tell" (except they forget to tell what it really looks like in places like Afghanistan and Iraq). They take extensive advantage of the web, chatrooms and e-mails to lure children in as well….just like the online sexual predators regularly portrayed on Dateline MSNBC.

"It (MySpace) is where prospects are," said Louise Eaton, media and web chief for the U.S. Army Accession Command. "We go to where they are to try to inform them of the opportunities we offer." And recruiters don't just stop there, they use their own sexual charm to hit on teenagers looking for company.

An Associated Press investigation revealed that in 2005 one in 200 frontline recruiters were punished for harassment and abuse. The Army alone had 722 recruiters accused of rape and sexual misconduct in the last decade and called for a recruitment stand down day in 2005. Recently, the Marine Corps announced a court settlement in a suit brought by two Ukiah, Calif., teenage girls who were raped by recruiters during a 2004 military-sponsored event.

Teachers and administrators find they have little say in whether recruiters get access to their students. They are up against a very slick, well-funded operation. Some examples from the 2004 Army handbook on recruiting: "Cultivate coaches, librarians, administrative staff and teachers." "Know your student influencers. Students such as class officers, newspaper and yearbook editors, and athletes can help build interest in the Army." "Deliver donuts and coffee for the faculty room." "Order personal presentation items (pens, bags, mousepads, mugs) as needed." The budget for this is more than $1 Billion per year.

Action by citizens and local communities is the only way that schools can gain back the power they once had and the plan is both simple and sound. School boards should enact policies that provide:

1. No access to, and recruitment of, any person under the age of 18
2. No regular access to school campuses by outsiders
3. No recruiting during education events

If enough districts begin to take this approach, they would still be able to collect federal funds and the Administration would have to back down. After all, they're our schools….not the government's. Austin ISD recently did just that. Now recruiters are treated like any other visitor coming to a campus. They must check in at the office and can no longer disrupt the school day.

The choice ahead is up to us. Do we want our children to be nurtured in schools that are safe from molestation? Do we want our nation to resemble ancient Sparta, or look more like Athens?

The ancient Athenians believed that government should be "of the people and by the people" and considered wisdom and knowledge as highest ideals. They were then, and sometimes now, mocked as lacking bravery, patriotism or courage.

They coined the term demokratia, from which we get Democracy.

Their neighbors the Spartans, in contrast, were ruled by a military oligarchy. They glorified physical perfection and the expansion of power. Everyone served the state and exposure to "foreign ideas" was limited.

At age 7, children were enrolled in the "Agoge" a rigorous education and training regime required of all citizens. It involved "separation from the family, cultivation of loyalty to one's group, loving mentorship, military training, hunting, dance and social preparation." The aim was to produce physically and morally steeled males to serve in the Spartan army. Sound familiar?

Ancient Greece, and later Rome, fell prey to self-serving militarists who rejected to Vox Populi (the voice of the people) while using the Army for personal gain. These despots affected personal and public license and were not above making slaves of children.

They had little soldiers, too.

Peace,

TX Judge violates Sikh's religious freedom

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas filed a lawsuit Friday after a Sikh man in Dallas County was ordered by the justice of the peace to remove his turban during a court hearing for a speeding ticket.

Amardeep Singh said in the lawsuit that he appeared in Justice of the Peace Al Cercone's court in June 2006 and was told by court employees that he was violating the "no hats" policy. Mr. Singh said he tried to explain the religious significance of his turban, but Judge Cercone wouldn't listen.

"I could not believe that here in the United States, a judge whose job it is to uphold the law would show such disrespect for my religion," he said in a written statement released by the ACLU.

Free Speech in Fort Worth

The issue of restriction of "free speech" reared its ugly head briefly at the American People's Poll on Iraq rally in Fort Worth. Essentially, police said that "any criticism President Bush or the U.S. government" would be a violation and would result in "pulling the plug" on the peace rally stage that was scheduled to be placed in the center of the street.

Organizers, including Texans for Peace, therefore were forced to move the stage to the nearby park area for which the event was permitted and the show got underway on time.

However, the rally went off without a hitch. And peace organizers, unlike the police, allowed pro-war sympathizers to come into the rally space and encouraged them to stay throughout the day even providing water for the small, but thirsty, counter-protesters. The local police were professional didn't interfere with the rally further.

TXDOT Gone Wild

Apparently it's not enough that most new road construction around the state is resulting in foreign-owned toll roads. Now the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has proposed placing tolls on interstate highways.

At one time Texas had some of the best highway financing in the U.S. Then, the Legislature started taking away the then-dedicate gas tax and began spending it on other areas (they also gave away the state funds suplus, when Bush was Governor). The result, under financing for roads.

TXDOT used to be the domain of engineers and financial wizards working in the public interest. Apparently it's now home to the same sort of corrupt "Free-Market" government spending that has plagued Washington in recent years.

Plundering and Pillaging in Texas

Texas Billionaire, T Boone Pickens, is apparently not rich enough and will do anything to get his way - including rigged elections.

In order to market Panhandle water to thirsty cities elsewhere in Texas he plans to build a 320-mile pipeline paid for with bonds that will be secured by a vote of only 5 people in Roberts County.

By abusing the system, Pickens will end up pillaging Texas for personal gain, while plundering the Ogallala Aquifer in the Panhandle. Bad idea, especially for a man who has contributed many good things to Texas.

(ARCHIVES: August 17, 2007) Rx for Tx: Healthcare for all

American babies are three times as likely to die during their first three months as children born in Japan. Only Latvia, with six deaths per 1,000 live births, has a higher death rate for newborns than the United States, according to the Annual State of the Mother's Report.

As a nation, we have become materially rich, but remain spiritually poor when it comes to ensuring that all citizens enjoy the fruits of progress. Medical technology has advanced at a miraculous pace, but that means little to those who don't have access to healthcare. Who needlessly suffer. Who die.

Texas, with a population of less than 24 million, would rank as one of the ten wealthiest nations if it were an independent nation. Yet, in the Lone Star State we top the nation in the percentage of citizens without health insurance. A full 24.2% of the population has no health insurance and our infant mortality rate of 6.6% (2003) puts the state on par with Croatia and Belarus. More than one million of our children are uninsured.

The prescription is obvious, even if difficult to get filled: Texans need access to universal healthcare coverage. But, how do we get there? Who will pay for it? When?

Politics

There are many reasons why we don't already have universal healthcare in the U.S. Since the end of WWII, the focus of government - at the national and increasing at the state level - has been towards rewarding large corporations and political cronies while reducing taxes on wealthy interest groups (and increasing the burden on the poor, middle-class, and independent businesses). The "public welfare" role of government now seems to mostly be defined as more military, security, prisons, and police.

Neocons (not to be confused with traditional conservatives) called the goals of the "Great Society" a failure and escalated attacks on government during recent decades. Their objective seemed only to amass lucre for themselves. They observed their fellow man and women with disdain and demonstrated that they would willingly sacrifice their neighbors' children on the altar of Ann Rynd, author of the Virtue of Selfishness.

At the same time, in Europe, Australia, and Latin America, something different has happened. Much of the world has devoted a portion of public treasury towards helping improving daily life, including social reforms such as universal health insurance. This different approach to the role of government is distinctly at odds with the approaches in the U.S. Any solution to American healthcare will need to address the concerns of those who consider "free market" solutions superior to government programs.

Economics

There are three models that are primarily used to fund universal healthcare around the world. These include Government Paid, Compulsory Insurance, and Single-Payer and mixed models that include both private and public partnerships.

Government Paid - In this model, health coverage is provided from the government and funded by taxation. Much of indigent care in the U.S. - such as city clinics and county hospitals - is already provided directly through local or state taxes, usually with some sort of option for payment on a sliding scale. Some countries - U.K., Cuba, and Israel - provide all of the medical services to their population through a government-administered system. Others, like Canada and India use a combination of government and private systems. Critics claim that such systems can lead to poor quality medical care once market forces are removed, while proponents point to significantly reduced costs due to better efficiency.

Compulsory Insurance - In this system, the theory goes, everyone (either individuals or employers) would be compelled to provide insurance coverage. Germany (with a mult-payer) and Switzerland are two examples of compulsory private insurance. In these systems, all residents are required to have insurance with tax-financed subsidies for those with modest means. Proponents say that this provides for universal care with private market incentives, while Opponents point to continued high costs and gaps. Texas implemented compulsory auto insurance in 1991. However it is estimated that 18% of drivers still do not have insurance, undercutting claims that compulsory insurance will lead to universal coverage.

Single-Payer - This term is currently used in debate in the U.S. to describe a model where costs are paid through a fund (combing both tax dollars and fees). Under such a system, health care might be funded via the fund, through a combination of fund and compulsory insurance, or a mixture of other mechanisms. Medical care would continue to be provided by the private sector (unlike the U.K.'s which is socialized) but would be financed through public mechanisms, similarly to how Medicare currently works. Proponents say that this would meet the goals of universal care with free-market mechanisms, while opponents say that it could lead to enormous federal debt.

Michael Moore's recent movie, Sicko, dramatically portrayed a few alternative approaches to healthcare in Canada, France, the UK and Cuba.

Will

The main impediment to implementation of healthcare for all, besides the politics and disagreement on financing mechanisms, is the will of citizens to make a change in the current status quo.

For those who are fully insured, there is sometimes a lack of understanding of the plight of their neighbors. Many families today live in fear of illness or injuries that would leave them financially devastated. Some postpone treatment or don't have access to preventative care, therefore becoming a burden to society as their health diminishes. Universal health coverage would dramatically improve that aspect of their lives.

For those who lack insurance, there is always the hope that as financial circumstances improve, eventually they will become covered….unless one already works for one of the many employers - like school districts - who won't, or can't, afford insurance. Of real concern is that already high tax burdens will become even higher on low income families or small businesses as private providers, insurance and drug companies continue to increase prices.

Texans - strong supporters of free enterprise and the needs of their fellow citizen - should be leaders in the national discussion on universal health care and ensure that a common-sense plan is put together that serves everyone in our great state.

There's a phrase seen posted in diners in Texas small towns. "Please don't laugh at our coffee. You may be old and weak yourself someday." What may be humorous also reflects a wisdom that if we approach the issue of universal health care soon, we can do something can be done before another generation passes by. We can change America for the better and demonstrate that we care for our brothers and sisters.

We can all be healthy Texans.

Texas link to Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Last week the world paused to remember the terrible destruction of Hiroshima and Nagaski, the only time that nuclear bombs have been used against people.

In Texas, work to build a new generation of nuclear bombs continues. Just outside Amarillo, at the Pantex facility, workers are adding to the almost 10,000 nukes in the U.S. arsenal while at the same time expressing concern about the storage of nuclear waste.

Since the 1940's, the U.S. has spent more than $5 Trillion on nuclear weapons and still spends more than $6 Billion each year to maintain stockpiles. Parade Magazine recently posed the question, "Do We Need New Nukes?" The Union of Concerned Scientists say that if we go ahead (with planned new bombs) we will "lead the world in the wrong direction."

Churches keep "peace" by ignoring war

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq pose thorny problems for many Christian pastors who extol the virtues and commands of the "Prince of Peace". On one hand there are plenty of biblical and theological injuctions against violence. On the other, many of their members may be busy rendering "unto Ceasar".

In Kileen, some churches have found a solution: ignore the issue altogether. “We just don’t talk about it,” said David Morgan, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Harker Heights, Texas, which is near the Army's Fort Hood. However, others have a different view. "The ancient Romans had a special genius for torture. It helped them keep order in a vast empire," says Mike Aquilina in Who Killed Jesus?

Although peacemaking is preached in general terms, the specific policies of the Administration and the U.S. contribution to violence around the world, is "hands off." Most parishioners prefer to put duty to country, over allegience to God and the principals of their faith. “If you’re a soldier, it is understood that you do not question the commander in chief, even at church,” says Morgan. Afterall, what does the Bible have to do with peace?

State ACT scores up but still lag nation

Texas students are improving on their ACT college test scores. The state's composite score was 20.5, an all-time high, according to the Texas Education Agency.At the same time, Texas is still below the national average of 21.2 despite the fact that only 30% of Texas seniors took the ACT last Spring (more prefer the SAT test).

There's much to be done. not only does Texas rank in the bottom half of the nation, but Texas high school students are outmatched by students from more than 20 other countries. Even students in poor countries, like Lithuania and the Czech Republic outscore their Texas counterparts.

Father holding newborn tasered

During the past five years, the use of tasers - and resulting deaths - to Texans has risen dramatically. Now, in Dallas, a father holding his newborn daughter has been tasered.

30-year-old William Lewis and his wife were leaving the hospital after the birth of their daughter, but hospital employees wouldn't allow it. An off-duty policeman working as a security guard was called and ended up tasering the father while he was holding his child. The father was arrested for "endangering a child," but the charges were dropped.

Tasers were originally billed as weapons to be used instead of guns, but the weapon has taken on a life of its own. Amnesty International has raised the issue of taser abuse. In Austin, taser use went up from 66 to 334 from 2003 to 2004 with several deaths.

"Healthy" vending machines?

Texas now has "healthy" vending alternative. YoNaturals, has introduced vending machines that have natural and organic snacks and beverages. "Our nation's overall health is in ruins. It's great that these machines will finally give people the healthy foods they've been craving for," says CEO Mark Trotter

Having healthy snacks readily available to people could certainly help solve the rising obesity levels here in Texas," says Anjum Malik, at Austin's House of Tutors learning center. Obesity rates for both adults and children in Texas are amongst the
highest in the nation.

Is this a sign of things to come, or just another attempt to get at student's discretionary income? And what do we do about all of those fried peach pies and Dr. Pepper sodas?

Texas Jail Project

An often neglected area of incarceration is the tens of thousands of prisoners who languish in city and county jails. A new organization, The Texas Jail Project (TJP), hope to bring attention to the neglect in these facilities and see that needed changes are made.

The organization was started after Diane Wilson, a populist activist from Houston, proposed found herself in a Texas county jail. After she served her sentence, she began to consider what could be done to improve the conditions of the thousands of people—mothers, fathers, brothers, sons, sisters and daughters who are still there.

The TJP plans listening projects, monitoring of jail standards, and other programs to help those imprisoned.

(ARCHIVES: August 1, 2007) Iraq - The war that began in Texas must end here

Texans bear great responsibility for the current wars and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and it can truly be said that the war started here, in Texas. And, it's time we brought it to an end (see Page 2 for 16 ways you can help).

A brief history on the war: Our inexperienced and corrupt Administration was mostly drawn from the Lone Star State. The number 1 financiers of the President's campaign were local oil men, insurance companies, Enron executives and lawyers. (Don't forget that the war that began in 1991 was also headed by a Texan - the elder Bush)

Texas' congressional delegation, the second largest of any state, served as a satrap when the Administration asked for war and Congress members of all political stripes continue to finance the largest military buildup in history while neglecting important American priorities. They use political hyperbole rather than facing real issues. "We are fighting for the freedom of our children more than any war we have ever been in," says Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

Tens of thousands of native sons and daughters traveled from the small towns and big cities of Texas to fight overseas, and many have already died or returned home injured. Their families grieve knowing that a new generation of loyal Americans may have fought in vain. They have been sacrificed on the altar of hubris, even worse than their Vietnam veteran fathers.

On the "home front" thousands more Texans work for and enrich themselves through military industries around the state that encourage continued war-making. They seek profit through unholy enterprises. From the nuclear bomb makers in Amarillo to startups in San Antonio, there are folks getting richer than Saudi princes from death and destruction.

Yes, Texas has played a significant role in a war that has already surpassed much of the scope of WWII and Vietnam. Yet George Bush and Dick Cheney, and their minions, are wooden-headed and unyielding when it comes to changing direction. They have ears that cannot hear, eyes that do not see.

This war won't end if we sit idly by while those who favor war-as-policy continue their impotent debates and more troops are sent to the meat grinder. It will only bring more destruction to the people of Iraq and the corrode principles of democracy, freedom, and liberty, at home and abroad.

The war that began here will only end when Texans stand up and say ¡basta! (enough!)

It's time we pitched a bit more ruckus about Iraq and the other foibles of government. Or, in the words of the late Molly Ivins, we need to raise more "hell." .

During the coming weeks, Texans will be turning up the heat and joining with their fellow Americans to engage in a wide range of activities and events to End the War in Iraq. There will be plenty of silent protests, boycotts, marches, teach-ins, and variety of others ways in which every person can - in ways small and large - demand governmental accountability and help bring the war to an end.

There's a peaceful revolution underway to assert the principles of Democracy and restore order in these United States. "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war," wrote Ivins, just before she died.

Listed below are 16 ways you can get involved and participate in helping to end the war:

1. Texas Rallies - Take part in a rally, bring your kids, your neighbors, your dog.

August 17 (AUSTIN) "The War is Over" Rally at the Capitol 5 pm, 6 pm March to City Hall for 6:30 Concert and Vigil.
September 1 (FORT WORTH-STATEWIDE EVENT) "American People's Straw Poll on Iraq" - A statewide rally, scheduled on the eve of General Petreau's report to the President and Congress on progress in Iraq and while the Republican presidential candidates are scheduled to speak to Texas. The rally is a chance for Texans to stand together and for Americans everywhere to "vote" on the war.

2. Wear Orange - Each Friday, put on an orange shirt, tie or neckerchief to provide a silent tribute against the current regime. Beginning week of July 23, nationwide.

3. Yard Signs - Make a yard sign expressing your view on the war, or pick up an "For Peace Now - Bring the Troops Home" (in Austin at Wheatsville Co-op, Planet K, Uncommon Objects and Monkey Wrench Books)4. Online petitions - Sign the Texans for Peace "End the War in Iraq" petition to Congress or the "Declaration of Peace" petition.

5. Letters to editors - Write a letter to your local newspaper editor briefly stating your viewpoint on the war. Editors like to receive letters from persons who haven't written in the past. Don't be shy, but also expect that you may need to write more than one before it gets published.

6. Local Congressional Office Visits - Every member of congress has local offices that are staffed Monday-Friday. Visit the staff, write a letter, give them a call, or schedule a meeting with your representative when they are in town (particularly during the August recess). These are the persons that have been elected to represent you in Congress. Senators Hutchinson and Cornyn have multiple offices around the state to serve you. Some groups like to take homemade cookies for the staff, in addition to materials. Texans for Peace can provide photos and stories of the impacts of war.

7. Call Congress - Congress is expected to vote to provide billions more for war in the 2007-2008 Defense Department authorization. Give a call to your senators and local congress person and briefly state your position. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 (every day, if needed) and ask to be connected to the offices of your senators and representative. Not One More Dollar for the War!

8. Assistance to GIs and Veteran's Families - There are many ways that you can help returning veterans and families of those serving overseas, and in doing so help to provide healing at home.
Fisher House - Housing for military families who are visiting veterans in hospitals.
East Texas Military Families and Friends - Sends care packages to troops.
United Service Organization (USO) - Provides entertainment, care packages and items for hospitalized veterans.
Military Child - Helps school-age children on military bases and local school districts, while parents are deployed.
Adopt a Soldier - Provides support for returning soldiers.
Stephen's Touch - Compassionate listening service for military family members.
Texas GI Rights Hotline - Assists members of the military with about discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights (needs volunteers)

9. Local Vigils and Rallies - There are weekly vigils in many Texas cities (El Paso, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston) at 5 pm on Fridays. If you don't see one, get with a few friends, make some signs, and find a busy street corner to remind your neighbors about peace.

10. Religious Observances & Activities

July 23-28 (BEREA, KY) - Baptist Peace Fellowship "Sustaining Faith and One Another as Empire Crumbles" conference
July 30-August 5 (ABIQUIU, NM) - Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and the Witherspoon Society "A Week for Peace, Global Justice and Creation" conference at Ghost Ranch.
August 10-12 (SEATTLE) - Pax Christi (Catholic Peace Fellowship) National Conference - "The Pursuit of Peace in a Culture of Violence".
September 16 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Christian Witness for Peace Worship Service near the Capitol.
September 16-21 (NATIONWIDE) - Christian Peace Witness for Iraq Prayer Vigils will launch a round-the-clock vigil/witness for peace and for the end of the occupation of Iraq. On that day, we hope to have many congregations/faith communities vigiling for the first 24 hours, with media coverage and visits to local congressional offices. Vigil/witness will continue.
September 21 (WORLDWIDE) - International Day for Prayer and Peace "an opportunity for church communities in all places to pray and act together to nurture lasting peace in the hearts of people, their families, communities and societies."
October 8 (NATIONWIDE) - The National Council of Church is calling local communities to create Interfaith fasts. The event theme is "Conquest to Community, from Violence to Reverence" and people of faith are invited to join their Muslim sisters and brothers who will be fasting for Ramadan.
October 19-21 (SAN FRANCISCO) - Pentecostal Peace Fellowhip Reconciliation Conference

11. Civil Disobedience in the Proud American Traidition
September 21-22 (Washington) - National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance, nonviolent direct action on Capitol Hill. Americans have been participating in sit-ins and other forms of "occupying" of congressional offices throughout the country. In Waco, residents refused to leave the offices of Congressman Chet Edwards until he would meet with them (two other visits did not produce a meeting. Congressional offices around Texas have been visited by several delegations. Other actions have centered around the offices of Senators Cornyn and Hutchinson. Create your own local "Occupation Project"
Participants in the Declaration of Peace are calling for nationwide nonviolent actions in the days leading up to September 21 (International Day of Peace). Declare yourself for peace.

12. Counter Recruiting - One way to stop a war is to stop the recruitment of new "cannon fodder" into the military. Parents, educators, clergy and activists are making headway in providing alternative messages to youth who are being actively recruited to join the war effort. Additional information and resources can be found at Non-Military Options for Youth and ArmyWrong.net

13. National Gatherings

July 23 (Washington, DC) - Impeach Cheney Orange Revolution - After Downing Street
July 29 (NEW YORK) - Gathering of Hearts in Central Park, sponsored by Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey.
August 6-9 (NATIONWIDE) - No Nukes, No Wars - Anniversary of nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki protests outside corporate offices and facilities of war profiteers including: Bechtel, Lockheed-Martin, Northrup Gruman, etc.
September 15 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Nationwide March on Washington, sponsored by the international ANSWER coalition.
September 21 (NATIONWIDE) - International Day of Peace local picnics and teach-ins.
September 22 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Critical Mass Convergence
September 22-29 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Encampment in front of Congress by the "People's Peace Conference", sponsored by the Troops Out Now coalition
September 29 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Mass March on the White House, sponsored by the Troops Out Now coalition.
October 21-27 (NATIONWIDE) - No War, No Warming - Week of activities to tie together concerns over war with those of the environment
October 27 (6-8 CITIES Nationwide) - National Demonstrations to End the War in Iraq, sponsored by United for Peace and Justice

14. Congressional Hearings and Visits

July 31 (WASHINGTON, DC) - National Cities for Peace Day, Washington DC - Congressional Testimony from Locally-Elected Officials on the Local Costs of War from the municipalities with Bring the Troops Home resolutions
Sept 17-20 (WASHINGTON, DC) - Congressional lobby days by peace activists with visits to the official of individual congress members, sponsored by the international ANSWER coalition.

15. Learn more about the war - You don't need to rely on corporate media to become more informed about what is going on in Iraq. Talk to a returning soldier, visit with Iraqis online, check out the alternative media information coming out of Iraq, participate in a trip to visit with Iraqi refugees living in Jordan or Syria. Better yet, ask any returning soldier for his or her view.
Daily News from the War Zone - Texans for Peace End the War in Iraq website
Dispatches from the Middle East - Dahr Jamail
Daily News Reads - Antiwar.com, Truthout.org, CommonDreams.org, Counterpunch.org and Buzzflash

16. Study Peace (Study war no more) - Peace isn't a just a goal, but a means. Gain more from perspectives on peace and nonviolence.
A Force More Powerful
Albert Einstein Institute
The Carter Center
M.K. Gandhi Institute
The King Center
Plowshares
Teaching Tolerance
Peace Quotations from Texans for Peace

If the events and activities listed above aren't enough for you, think of other ways that you can get involved.

Each thing that you do, no matter how small, is like a grain of sand slowly wearing down the machine of war while building a more peace-filled and just world. It's up to all of us to end the war that began in Texas. PEACE

Midwest farmers killing the Gulf

The "Deadzone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an area where shrimp and fish is dead, is growing at a rapid rate in part due to expanded planting of corn in the Midwest to meet new demands for ethanol. Farmers use nitrogen-based fertilizers for corn and the residue makes its way down the Mississippi to the Gulf and in turn feeds microscopic organisms that deplete oxygen levels and cause fish and shrimp to die.

According to scientists, the Gulf Dead Zone is expected to cover a record 8,543 square miles of Louisiana and Texas waters. "This is an area the size of New Jersey or potentially bigger where nothing can live," says Matt Rota, a program director at the Gulf Restoration Network, a coalition of environmental and civic groups. "If this were happening in the middle of the country, people would be outraged." What began as a good idea has become an ecological Catch 22.

Most of this destruction is occuring at the same time state and federal governments are creating subsidies to encourage ethenol consumption... but with dangerous results. "If our federal government subsidizes more corn, they're working against water quality," says Nancy Rabalais, chief scientist for a study team at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

Helping refugees make new homes in Texas

While folks decry the situation of refugees around the world, one student is helping refugees find a new home - in Texas.

Flour Bluff High School graduate Lauren Johnson is helping refugee families from as far away as Burundi and Burma to navigate their way through local laws, learn a new culture and language, and find ways to fit into their new home. She especially likes working with immigrant children. "They're so curious about everything. You point out an animal and say snake and they mimic you. 'Snake, snake.' They are so eager to learn," she said. "They are so excited when they know a word. It makes them happy when they can communicate with you. And it makes us happy, too."

A former Corpus Christi native, now a student at Texas A&M, Lauren represents the giving heart of Texans everywhere. "It's overwhelming and frustrating, and sometimes I think what could one little person do? But every person counts, and I can help one person, one child, one refugee," she says.

Pastors for Peace in Cuba

140 members of Pastors for Peace recently traveled through Texas on their way to Cuba. This humanitarian organization seeks to break the U.S.45-year-old embargo of that country with religious witness and delivery of medicine, school buses, and other materials.

This 18th trip "strengthens the bonds of friendship and the cultural and family exchanges between our two countries," said Reverend Lucius Walker.

Latinos boost Dallas economy...

The economy of North Texas is booming... thanks in part to a growing Hispanic population. Since 2000 the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area has been the second fastest growing metro area in the U.S. and 60% of that growth, along with $20 Billion annually, comes from Hispanics.

Retailers throughout the metroplex are the notable winners of this influx of new residents. According to a study conducted by Dallas-based Rincon & Associates, 3 in 10 of Latinos in Dallas plan to buy a new home and 25% plan to purchase a new car in the near future.

...and so does the Queen of Pork

Need some money from the Feds? Talk to Senator Kay Baily Hutchinson, the senior senator from Texas, who is planning to run for Governor.

A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hutchison is one of the "go to" people in Washington when it comes to bringing home the bacon. Hutchison is "the one with the juice to bring in earmarks," say Steve Ellis, vice president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Whether it's a $200,000 grant for Chuck Norris' Kickstart program or the Dallas Women's museum (see their new exhibit, Women in War!), the Senator is part of the a Congress that spends willy-nilly. She's also been instrumental in approving more than $3 Trillion in defense expenditures, including the $12 Billion per month to continue the occupation and war in Iraq.

Don't be the last to the trough, give Kay Bailey a call and ask for your slice: 202-224-5922

TX Muslims targeted

From Dallas to San Antonio, Texas muslims have recently been victims of attack.

In San Antonio last week, one Mulsim family work to discover hate-filled graffiti such as “f**k you” and “move out de hood" spray-painted on their car. The family, originally from Egypt, stated that the vandalism followed an incident the previous weekend in which eggs were thrown at their home.

In Dallas, thousands of Muslims have found themselves under suspicion as a trial began after the nation's largest Muslim charity - The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development - was shut down by federal officials. According to the defendents their money went for humanitarian purposes, such as schools and medical clinics and they fear a jury that will be tainted by anti-muslim bias. This trial a "witch hunt" and a product of "Islamophobia" that seeks to criminalize humanitarian aid.