(ARCHIVES: October 27) Peace through Commerce - How entrepreneurship and justice coincide

There's an old rule that if you give someone a fish he or she will eat for only a day, but once taught to fish, they'll eat always. A new corollary is that if you lend money as well, they'll open a fish market - possibly creating news jobs and becoming financially independent.

"Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty," the Nobel Committee said recently in bestowing the Peace Prize on Muhammad Yunus.

Understanding the connection between peace and commerce is what led Yunus, once an academic economist, to focus on micro-credit as way to help the poor. His notion, popularized first through Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, has spread around the globe in the past three decades and is said to have helped at least 100 million people become entrepreneurs and the country's per capita income to grow from $280 to $440 in twenty years.

The bank says it has lent $5.72 billion to 6.6 million Bangladeshi, 97% of whom were women, and today provides services in about 70,000 villages. As Delaware consultant Tom Noyes at Tommywonk writes of Yunus' award: "Capitalism without capital means nothing to the poor."

Recent research by Columbia University political science professor Erik Gartzke shows that economic freedom is about fifty times more effective than democracy in diminishing violent conflict. And so peacemakers should pay attention to trade, commerce and business issues as part of their overall strategy of creating a better world.

This notion of "peace through commerce" has become a new buzzword for social entrepreneurs who are starting innovative projects at home, mapping international ventures, and exploring new models of entrepreneurship on a daily basis. Ashoka, the Skoll Foundation and Flow, are just a few of the recent examples of social entrepreneurship. They combine social consciousness with business skill to create new virtual "cities of possibility".

For businesspersons and those with wealth look for truer meaning from life, new books have appeared: Doing Well and Doing Good: Money, Giving, and Caring in a Free Society; The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits; Principle-centered Leadership; The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time; Jesus CEO; The 86 Percent Solution...among others.

Planning for the future is taking center stage as entrepreneurs and thought leaders continue the quest for new models of sustainable and equitable living.

On October 28 social activists and entrepreneurs will gather in Austin for a conference to "liberate the entrepreneurial spirit for good." Led by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, and innovative educator Michael Strong, this Peace Through Commerce gathering will focus on the goals of "sustainable peace, prosperity, and happiness."

This is one of a handful of workshops, organizations, and new organizations that are growing to meet the need of a world in which people are addressing issues of wealth disparity through new wealth creation, creative models, and action.

Microfinance, or micro-lending, isn't just an overseas phenomenon. Accion Texas has been providing loans to small business owners lacking access to commercial credit since 1994. Accion has provided more than $44 million to 4,500 entrepreneurs in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Brownsville, McAllen, El Paso, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and 80 largely rural counties in Texas. Over 80% of borrowers have been Hispanic or African-American, nearly half are women, and most had incomes at or below federal poverty guidelines.

Texans for Peace support such leadership, bringing the best of peacemaking and business ideas together, at home and abroad. Here's what we've been doing:

The Women's Business Center of Baghdad project, begun in 2002, is working to help provide infrastructure support to entrepreneurs in Iraq who are struggling in the face of war, occupation, and economic turmoil. The project currently is working towards bring artworks to Texas for display and sale by professionals in Iraq who are unable to travel. Another project involves creating a streetlight manufacturing center using latest in LED and solar power technology.

Texans for Peace also hopes to become involved in projects in Mexico and Guatemala, both places where economic education and micro-financing a greatly needed.

Business and money certainly aren't the answer for all of life's problems. However, through the building of capacity, people are better able to make their own choices. In a world where each person has the benefits of a job or business, a home, food, education and healthcare, the opportunities for peace increase greatly.

Here's to Muhammad Yunus, the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and to peace through commerce!

Gulf bays face flooding

Texas coastal bays could face significant flooding during the 21st Century due to quickly rising sea levels, Rice University researchers have found in studies of seiment cores.

"Looking back over the past 10,000 years, we find the evolution of these bays is punctuated by rapid flooding events" that can result in shifts of tens of milles within a century or twp, said research John Anderson. "These flooding events can be triggered by either a rapid increase in sea level or a rapid decrease in the amount of silt flowing into the bay, and there's ample evidence to suggest that both of these will occur during the upcoming century."

Arming Students?

It's not enough that schools face the sometimes random acts of insane killers, now one district thinks it should spend time training students on how to deal with mad gunmen by getting agressive.

Burleson ISD is letting a British security expert tell students and teachers to throw themselves into the line of fire if a gunman attacks. Burleson has 14 schools and 8500 students and the independent school district hopes to have every student trained to respond to a gunman by the end of 2007.

While acknowledging the serious of such attacks, the local police department is appalled. What's next, arming the teachers and students with guns?

Moratorium March Oct. 28

The 7th Annual March to Stop Executions "Innocent People Have Been Executed" will take place Saturday, October 28th in Austin 3 pm at the Governor's Mansion.

Speakers and special guests include: Rose Rhoton, sister of Carlos De Luna, an innocent person executed by Texas. Bennie Cantu, brother of Ruben Cantu, another innocent person executed by Texas. Darby Tillis, who was exonerated from death row in Illinois. Sandra Reed, mother of an innocent man still on death row in Texas. Sandrine Ageorges from France. Jeanette Popp, mother of a murder victim. Howard Guidry.

The march is being supported by a host of religious and social justice groups from across the state.

Houston janitors strike for livable wage

Forbes magazine reports that Houston is home to 10 Billionaires. Meanwhile, in Houston, hundreds of janitors have gone on strike seeking to protest abuses and in a bid to earn a livable wage for their work.

Last week, contract negotiations broke down between the five cleaning companies and the Service Employees International Union, which wants a raise to $8.50 an hour, more guaranteed work hours and health insurance for the 5,300 janitors it represents. Company owners call such demands "extreme" in a city bursting with luxury goods and toys for the wealthy..

(ARCHIVES Oct 15) : Death penalty cheapens all Texans

Death, a cornerstone of Texas governmental justice, is a repugnant stain on the state and its people. We claim to be people of moral standing with concern for our fellow woman and man, yet we are often eager to seek public retribution for personal wrongs

The State of Texas remains one of staunchest abusers of the Death Penalty, invoking it on our citizens regularly. As "Texacutioners" we rank right up there with China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia...some of the most repressive governments in the world. We have become the butt of jokes and cartoons around the world for both our political intransigence and misguided morals.

But a growing movement of Texans is stepping forward and saying "no" to Austin-administered killing. Voices from within the state, and around the world, are increasingly calling for a moratorium on executions of those on Death Row.

Groups as diverse as the Dominican Sisters and the National Black Lawyers Association have added their names to the chorus call for an end to executions. On October 28 many of these will come together in Austin for the 7th Annual March to Stop Executions following a National Week of Faith in Action led by Amnesty International.

Arguments against the death penalty range from bias within the justice system to outright mistakes that lead to innocent persons being put to death. Even the American Bar Association has concluded that administration of the death penalty is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency."

History is replete with the use of capital punishment to kill innocent people Penalty - Christian martyrs, Salem "witches", Abu Ghraib detainees - but is no longer lawful in 86 countries. The trend is clearly towards a world in which only rogue nations execute their citizens.

While some focus on legal irregularities, others are compelled by a reverence for life and insight into the lives of those in prison. The 1995 film Dead Man Walking based on the real-life stories of Sister Helen Prejean helped awaken many Americans to the cruelty of the penal system and the value of compassion.

Pro-Death penalty advocates are quick to site Old Testament scripture but neglect Jesus' words of unconditional love and redemption. Based on their interpretation of scripture a host of activities beyond murder should also receive the death penalty: adultery, fornication, rape, homosexual behavior, kidnapping, occult practices, pre-marital sex, striking or slandering a parent, not observing the Sabbath, and loving anything more than God.

They twist meaning and intent to justify un-compassion, un-love.

Some supporters of the Death Penalty hold to unsupported beliefs that capital punishment reduces crime, act as a significant deterrent, or that criminals - once found guilty by a Jury - cannot be innocent. Some don't believe that criminals can be rehabilitated. A few view death as more humane than lifetime imprisonment. Others believe in a variety of myths.

They would continue to have laws based on belief rather than rationality.

However, no matter how it is viewed, the shear number of executions in Texas should be an embarrassment to us all. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982 in Texas, 376 people have been executed, some continuing to claim innocence even as they were injected. Most have been minorities and men but foreign residents and women have also been turned into statistics of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Texas accounts for a disproportionate share of all American executions. Of the 60 persons executed last year in the U.S., 19 were in Texas. Since 1973 122 US prisoners have been released from death row after evidence emerged of their innocence of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. There were six such cases in 2004 and two in 2005.

Moments are precious. Each of us passes only briefly through Texas during his or her life. That time shared will not be improved by the killing of one another. It is time for us to sing a different tune and abolish the Death Penalty in Texas.

S. Texans say no to border wall

The majority of South Texans are opposed to Washington's wall that is planned to be built on the Texas border with Mexico. One man, has begun a 200-mile walk to protest.

Jay J. Johnson-Castro, a Laredo innkeeper, has begun his 2-week walk to bring attention to the issue and spur his fellow Texans for action before the wall is built. "This is my personal expression against an idea that is as ugly as a wall," said Johnston-Castro. "Think of how we rejoiced when the Berlin Wall came down. It separated families." "And we're going to do the same thing? We can't allow it."

Righting racial injustice

Sandra Tanamachi recently won her 12-year fight against injustice when couty commissioners voted to assign a new name to a rural street known for too long as Jap Road in Jefferson County, near Beaumont. Sixty years ago her uncle Saburo Tanamachi, an American of Japanese descent, died fighting to save fellow American soldiers during World War II with the 442nd "Lost Battalion".

In the 1990s, Sandra Tanamachi and her husband moved to Jefferson County. But then she learned of the existence of Jap Road - .it was impossible to ignore the racial slur - and she took action. On her own, Tanamachi approached the Jefferson County Commission, asking them to rename the road.

Finally, in 2004 the road was renamed. Two months later, another Jap Road in Fort Bend County changed its name, and in 2005, another was changed in Vidor. “We no longer have any roads like that in Texas,” Tanamachi said.

With Mom and Dad at war

Community members have rallied to help students in the Killeen area whose mothers and fathers are off to war in Iraq. 18,500 soldiers recently headed off from that community, leaving loved ones behind. Thousands of families and children suffer in silence when they're "left behind".

Author Tamra Norton recently visited with students from Cedar Valley Elementary in Killeen Tuesday, to read and hand out her book, "Make Me a Memory" - a book written from a child's prospective about a father who is deploying to war. Norton hopes that in some small way she can help children understand why their parents are leaving.

Texas Monthly recently ran an article titled "Heartbreak High" about the high school students at Shoemaker HS who deal with their parent's gone. It illustrated the real impact that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is having on Texas families and the tragedy it brings at home. "It’s a loss of innocence overnight," says the high school counselor.

Odessa prof. honored for religious freedom stance

Steve Jenkins, assistant professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, was recently honored by the Texas Freedom Network for his work to expose proselytizing in the public schools.

Jenkins received the organization’s Samantha Smoot award for grassroots political activism for testifying before the local school board about the local course on the Bible and the course's biases towards one view.

(ARCHIVES: September 19, 2006) I WILL NOT KILL

I will not kill. Peace I will be.

September 21 is a day, recognized around the world, to focus on change: the International Day of Peace. It is scheduled just before the start of Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan and was established in 1982 to serve as a reminder of our individual and collective commitment to peace.

The day and week will be full of celebrations of all the worthwhile things in this world - cooperation, dialogue, peace - but also a time to reflect upon those who continue to suffer from personal violence, sectarian skirmishes and all-out war.

Thinking globally, groups throughout Texas are working hard to bring attention to the looming genocide in Darfur, spread of weapons around the world, collapsing governments, current wars and potential new threats.

Acting locally, a growing number of people are making a commitment not to join in the violence and to create peace instead.

One initiative "I Will NOT Kill" is helping students across the U.S. to make personal choices regarding their rights of conscientious objection and opposition to any future draft. This campaign, sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, affirms the right of youth to become peacemakers instead of killers by specifically educating high school and college age students of their options to military conscription.

The very concept of compulsory government service is counter to the principle of liberty and undermines the foundation of democracy (rule by the people) in a free society. It harkens back to an era when people were considered vassals of the king. An involuntarily requirement to kill also runs counter to the Abrahamic religious belief that all lives are sacred. Killing others is also uncivilized and irrational.

Albert Einstein summed up this concept in stronger terms, "He (or she) who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord (alone) would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble ware is. I would rather be torn to shreds that be part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."

With forcefulness and in the tradition of political and religious freedom, members of Nonmilitary Options for Youth have been countering well-financed military recruiting that turns peaceful students into killers, one student at a time. This group goes regularly to high schools and public events where students gather in Central Texas, to educate students and parents on their rights, options, and choices.

Recently, as a supporter of a local youth group, they were able to get the Austin Independent School District board to put some limits on military recruiting. Recruiters will no longer be free to roam the halls of schools to talk to students between classes, and all parents will receive clearer notification of their rights to opt out of having their child's information and record sent to the Department of Defense...a process that has been regularly occurring since the No Child Left Behind act was passed in 2001.

Throughout Texas, there are many other projects underway as concerned parents, educators, clergy and citizens work together to build towards the day in which war and killing have become things of the past.

Mennonites from throughout the U.S. will meet in San Antonio in November to focus on ways their denomination can counter the lure of military recruiters and increasing militarism in society. African-American and Latino congregants say that their communities are disproportionately vulnerable to military recruitment and have issued a strong call to respond to these aggressive recruitment efforts.

"We ought to be providing alternatives or helping people find alternatives. The church needs to be more pro-active in helping young people see what is available," says Titus Peachey, MCC U.S. director of peace education.

Near Midlothian, Texas, the Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship recently came together to "study war no more" and take action to head off a looming crisis between the U.S. and Iran. They joined with other religious organizations including the National Council of Churches and the National Baptist Convention, in a call for "Words, Not War, with Iran".

This project, also supported by former military leaders and officials, urges the Administration to engage in dialogue with Iran - long a White House nemesis - and to look to war as a last, not first, option of strategy.

And while adults may bicker over today's national agenda, children are being encouraged to lead the way to the future.

Hundreds of Dallas residents recently celebrated a Block Party Peace Festival, inspired by World Peace Day. Bishop Arts district merchants, Umbrellas for Peace, and the Dallas Peace Center planned this family-oriented event that included paintings by children in hope of building a better future.

"So many people are passionate about peace," said Adrianna Tobias, a Frisco resident and sophomore at Ursuline Academy. "No one know when it's (peace) going to happen, so an event like this helps to keep that hope up."

Nearby, five students at Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University recently published the World Citizens Guide an online site for the Business for Diplomatic Action. The goal of the project is to provide Americans traveling abroad with the attitude and tools become better world citizens: dialogue instead of monologue, pride without arrogance, understanding not imposing culture, honesty and compassion in relationships.

While groups multiply, individual Texans are taking responsibility through personal acts of conscience and courage: Parents and teachers are stepping forward to insist that nonviolent conflict resolution be part of the school curriculum. Texas soldiers are refusing to serve in ill-begotten wars, some facing prison at home and others leaving the country. Peace activists are facing arrest to bring the truth of war to the public. Grandparents are providing energy and inspiration to the younger generations. University professors are organizing peace conferences and lectures. And, prophetic voices of every race and creed are ringing out loudly in the public square.

Where do you belong?

Join a group or take action as an individual. There's a place for everyone who has confidence that things don't have to remain as they are, along with the merit of working towards a peace-filled world.

Peace. Be it!

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace

Moratorium on TX executions

Voices from within the state, and around the world, are increasingly calling for a moratorium on executions of those on Death Row. Even the American Bar Association has concluded that administration of the death penalty is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency.

As "Texacutioners" we have one of the highest rates of the execution of our fellow citizens but all of the most repressive governments around the world: China, Saudi Arabi, and Iran.

East Texans, others team up for Violence Awareness

October is national Domestic Violence Awareness month, and groups from every part of the state are scheduling activities to bring attention, and help stop, abuse.

In Longview, hair stylist are joining in "Cut it Out" to build awareness and educator salon professionals to recognize the warning signs of domestic abuse and take action. Because abusers often hit their victims in the head where it can't be seen, hair stylists often notice the abuse when others can't.

The project is being led by the Women's Center of East Texas. They will be assisted by the Texas Council on Family Violence provides a host of materials and strategies as part of the "Break the Silence, Make the Call" campaign.

Needed: 50 Texas Grandmothers

Imagine the courage of ONE THOUSAND GRANDMOTHERS standing together at the gates of the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. Imagine the gentle wisdom of one thousand CAREGIVERS taking action to stop the teaching of counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics.

This effort calls for grandmothers to come from every state to go to converge at the gates of Ft. Benning, GA on November 17-19, along with people of conscience from across the U.S. The goal: to close the "School of the Assassins" and make a change in U.S. foreign policy.

Let Justice Roll

A fast-growing partnership of more than 80 faith, labor and community groups is working to raise the
minimum wage at the state and federal leve through Let Justice Roll LIVING WAGE DAYS in October.

Organizations are being asked to or co-host a
worship service or event during the weekend of either October 7-8 or October 14-15 to inspire, educate and mobilize support for raising the minimum wage in Texas and across the U.S.

(ARCHIVES: Sept 1, 2006) New Feudalists and a Living Wage

Capital plus Labor generates Wealth.

Without the concrete production of goods and services by millions of workers around the world the Dollar wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on.

Wealth can be an instrument of freedom. But many Texans live in a plutocracy, not a democracy, denied full participation in the economic life of the country. They are paid wages for their work at rates little better than during feudal times.

Growing feudalism

Since the 1970s, the value of labor has been under attack by New Feudalists, those amoral disciples of Ann Rand who believe in the "Virtue of Selfishness" and reject altruism. Their policies of regressive taxation, usurious interest rates, wealth accumulation for the few, and dismantling of labor protections have led to a hollowing of the middle class and left one in six Texas families living in poverty.

Even for Texas families who earn more, the news is disheartening. The median household income in America in 2005 was about 10 percent lower than it was in 1999 after adjusting for inflation, down to $42,139, according to the American Community Survey, a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week.

Base income isn't the only problem that families face. Almost 46 million Americans have no health insurance, an appalling figure in the richest nation on earth.

While serfdom, indentured servitude and slavery have been officially outlawed, many of today's workers remain under the yoke of oppression when it comes to the amount of wages paid for a full day of labor ($41.50 per day, before taxes) under the Texas and Federal minimum wage laws.

Even those making $8-9 per hour are forced to go without basis necessities such as medicine, dentistry, telephones, and have seek out food shelters to feed their children.

Like oligarchs and overlords of yore, the New Feudalists pile up lucre as if the plight of their neighbors is of no concern. They rob the public till in order to finance greenbelts around their suburban habitats, tax the poor to build privately-operated sports stadiums and fine arts centers, and hide their wealth offshore, unwilling to pay their fair share of taxes.

"Immigrants" get blamed for economic strife and racial groups are pitted against one another while both liberal and conservative bourgeois shop at newly built luxury stores, build McMansions, and dine on the best the world offers.

One could almost compare the situation to pre-revolutionary France or Russia, except that these aren't the scions of inherited wealth or hereditary peerage, but simply ordinary Americans who have somehow become disconnected from their fellow travelers.

Bridges are needed to reduce the growing chasm between rich and poor, privileged few and the middle-class.

Wages for Living

What is needed is a living wage. Since the 1990's people of faith, business leaders, and labor groups have been building a movement for economic justice that is bringing hope to countless Americans. This community of conscience has challenged school districts, city halls, and other institutions to require living wages - wages enough for basic shelter, food, and utilities - for all Americans.

They know that increasing basic wages will result in stronger communities, better customers, and more stable families. The premise is that anyone working 40 hours per week should be able to afford housing and basic necessities.

Livable wage calculations are based primarily on the costs of fair market rents (FMRs), the grow rent estimates including shelter rent and the costs of utilities, except for telephone. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recommends that no more than 30% of income should be spent on housing.

For example in Texas a livable wage would be calculated as:
$470 - cost of a one-bedroom apartment*
$81 - utilities
$551 FMR

$551 / .30 = $1,836.67 gross monthly income or $22,400 per year.
*average costs for major cities

For a person who works 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year (2 weeks vacation), this would mean a wage of $11.02 is required just to purchase basic necessities. The shell game of trying to increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $7.25 is like giving a begger only a half-crust of bread and is not sufficient to address the real need.

Fortunately there are many Texans working on living wage issues and economic justice, from Millionaires to farm workers.

In San Antonio contractors doing business with the city are now required to pay at least $9.27 per hour to their employees after City Council action. Several school districts have also increased wages above the minimum.

Chicago recently passed an ordinance requiring big-box retailers like Walmart, Target to pay employees in that city a living wage - at least $10 an hour and $3 in benefits - by 2010.

A liviing wage ordinance in Los Angeles has improved the living conditions for 10,000 workers.

In 2000 Hidalgo County became the first county in Texas to enact a living wage standard for its employees. The county living wage ordinance brought the minimum wage for government workers up to $7.50 per hour…in an area of the state where 45% of families were living below the poverty line.

Anti-worker Myths

While arguments for increased wages make sense to most, opponents have created several myths throughout the years:

Myth 1 - Higher wages mean higher costs - Studies of places where wages have been increased have shown little impact in prices. Instead, due to the higher wages, consumers have more to spend and local businesses actually grow.

Myth 2 - Higher wages mean fewer workers - Studies of the impacts of increases in federal wages show that increased wages haven't impacted hiring. Rather, Economic slowdowns and reduced hiring, is primarily due to federal monetary policy or stock market downturns.

Myth 3 - Not all workers deserve better wages - This argument has been used by tyrants, slaveowners, and corporate chieftans and is immoral and undemocratic (Rex Lex is dead). At the same time, it ignores the fact that better wages and happier workers actually help grow the economy overall and make society more stable...something that benefits all.

Myth 4 - Workers in some parts of the world only receive $2 per day - This is a stawman argument. We live in Texas, not a third-world country.

While the silver-tongued politicians croon that a "rising tide lifts all boats" too many Texans are drowing in a sea of destitution, striving to grasp a cornucopia of materials goods which their labor can ill afford.

However, there are several approaches that can have a tremendous impact on the challenge of economic justice and a livable wage:

1. Churches and non-profits can make sure that they are paying a livable wage - from the custodian to the child-care workers. They should ask their members 1. if each is receiving a living wage at work and 2. each pays a living wage, if they are in a position to do so.

2. Business owners, large and small, can build their profit and loss (P&L) around a wage floor above the minimum wage and ask their suppliers about their wage policies.

3. Voters and consumers can demand that elected officials address the issues, join together with like-minded organizations, boycott employers who resist improvements, and set the expectation that all have a right to a decent and livable wage.

4. As individual we can share more of our resources with one another. Instead of purchasing a vacation home, find a family that needs transportation. Supplement another's wages with your own. Finance a child's education. If you have two coats, give one away. Be ready to go the extra mile.

Everything we need, we already have

The gross state product (GSP) of Texas during 2005 was $982 Billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, ranking our state as 10th among the world's major nations in gross revenues and 3rd (after the United States and California) in per-capita income.

Texas industries are world-class as are our universities, shopping centers,and arts. Our state ranks #2 on the Forbes list of best places to do business with 24 of the top 400 richest persons in the world. We do not lack wealth, only will (reminder: $250 Million of American taxpayer monies are spent per day in Iraq).

Labor Leader Samuel Gompers said in 1916, "The meaning of America lies in the ideal she represents. That ideal is liberty and opportunity. But beautiful as any ideal may be, it becomes of practical value (only) when it has effectiveness in the daily lives of men and women." Real liberty comes when all are able to enjoy the opportunity of a decent standard of living.

In the coming years join with Texans for Peace and other like minded organizations around the state to work towards social justice by improving wages and working conditions. Together, we can build a better future.

It's time to get back to our Texas roots where families worked and lived side by side and watched out for their neighbor.

We need living wages and an end to feudalism.

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace

AR, NC, FL workers earn more

Arkansas raised its minimum to $6.25 an hour, effective Oct. 1. The minimum in North Carolina is going to $6.15 next year. Florida pays $6.40, but the Texas minimum wage remains at $5.15 per hour.

Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business (TAB), thinks that the Texas Legislature should "take a wait-and-see approach" to any discussion to raising the minium wage in Texas.

The TAB was indicted in the Tom Delay scandal on felony charges of illegally spending corporate money in the 2002 election cycle.

Militarization of El Paso grows

The militarization of the El Paso area continues to grow as 500 new armed border agents are expected to join the 1,668 already stationed there.

Of the total El Paso County labor force of 290,119 (2003 figures), approximately 64, 390, or 22%, are employed by the federal departments of war (Ft. Bliss) and immigration. This is more than those working in either manufacturing or international trade.

Border patrols in Texas go back to the era of Eisenhower. Even then there were complaints that the flow of illegal immigrants came primarily from "powerful people" who fueled the flow.

Militarism is defined as "predominance of armed forces in the administration or policy (or economy) of the state."

Texan leads national effort to eliminate homelessness

Richard Troxell, of Austin, is a leader in national efforts to eliminate homelessness and has announced the 2nd nationwide "Bridge the Ecnomic Gap" day for September 5th.

This is a day of action, throughoutAmerica, where citizens join together to draw attention to the need for a living wage, with freeway signs, city council petitions, online petitions and more.

Why we need the ACLU

A Dallas teacher was hauled out of school in handcuffs and ended up spending 3 days in jail, because she forgot the court date on a $50 ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.

Theresa Dobbs, a high school orchestra teacher, spent a three-day stay in a crowded holding tank at the Dallas County Jail without a chance to see a lawyer, bail bondsman or judge. Her paperwork was apparently misplaced by jail employees. Last year a 69-year-old Texan was found after being forgotten in jail for 15 months after missing a hearing on a contempt charge.

These are just two reasons why the American Civil Liberties Union is needed in Texas. The ACLU was formed in 1916-17 by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, originally to suppport the rights of WWI conscientious objectors to war.