Most political activists in North Texas are familiar with the IndyMedia movement and with musician David Rovics. David has sent the following personal note regarding the recent killing of New York IMC reporter Bradley Will (with David's permission to reprint):
"brad will was a dear friend, and a true revolutionary. he died the way countless and uncounted numbers of beautiful people have died in recent centuries -- he was shot in the chest by rightwing paramilitaries. he was filming the scene around one of thousands of barricades that have shut down oaxaca city since last june, when the governor there tried to ban public expressions of dissent, thus throwing one more historical spark into one more historical powder keg.
"brad embodied the spirit of indymedia. he was not just covering stories that the "mainstream" press ignores, such as the exciting, violent revolutionary moment which has gripped oaxaca for several months now. brad was not risking his life to get a good shot of a confrontation at a barricade because he might get a photo on the cover of a newspaper, get some (perhaps well-deserved) fame and money -- he was posting his communiques on indymedia, for free.
"sure, brad was filming in order to cover history. but he was there also to make history. brad knew that a camera is a weapon, or hopefully a shield of some sort, and sometimes can serve to de-escalate a situation, to protect people from being violated, beaten, killed. and brad knew that if the independent media didn't document history, nobody else would.
"brad deeply appreciated the power of music and culture. if he didn't have a camera in his hands, he often had a guitar. during some of his many travels around latin america he wrote emails to me about the musicians he met, with whom he shared my songs and recordings. he particularly liked my song "saint patrick battalion," and reportedly shared his rendition of it with lots of people. he would not live to know just how much his life and death would resemble the san patricios, who died fighting for mexico during the first u.s. invasion of that country in the 1840's.
Feature continued on newswire >>
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An interview with Charles Waterbury, Green Party candidate for Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, focusing on his reasons for running and the development of his legal philosophy.
DALLAS, TX--With three weeks until election day, Charles Waterbury is oddly upbeat for a candidate in his position. Battling a well-ensconced Republican, it seems unlikely that Waterbury will unseat the incumbent Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Forget, for a moment, that Republicans hold every statewide elected office in Texas. Beyond that, Waterbury's write-in status reduces the odds of victory even further. Add to that his representing the Green Party of Texas--"There's a Green Party in Texas?!"--and the scenario becomes a downright anomaly in the Lone Star State.
Why the lack of concern?
"I have nothing to lose," says the father of two, smiling affably as he speaks. "No one expects me to get any votes at all. By all appearances, my opponents aren't even campaigning. So, every vote I earn is a small victory."
Such confidence belies the current condition of third party politics in Texas, one of the most difficult states in the nation to achieve ballot access. But as the conversation continues, it becomes clear that Waterbury, an immigration and personal injury attorney, is exactly the kind of candidate groups like the Green Party need.
related link: http://www.charlesforchief.com Feature continued on newswire >>
In solidarity with the National Wolrd Can't Wait Campaign to Drive Out the Bush Regime a street theatre performance was held to let the world know that the people are tired of the current administration.
On October 5, 2006 UNT Students for 911 Truth hosted activists from all over the North Texas Region to indict the Bush Administration with an array of charges ranging from violations of the Geneva Conventions to contracting improprieties. Starting at 11:30 am and again at 12:30pm, a street theatre performance was held to let the world know that people are fed up with the current administration. The action was presented to almost 100 passers by.
related link: http://www.worldcantwait.org Comment on this feature >>
I travelled to Ft. Hood with Desiree Fairooz, who organized the action, and Nel Labar. We stopped at the Crawford Peace House to meet up with a few more people on our way to Killeen.
It was a warm, muggy, overcast day when we arrived. We parked at an abandoned gas station lot on one corner of the T-intersection leading to the East Gate of Fort Hood, with a wide 4-lane bricked roadway and a huge decommissioned tank perched at the entrance to welcome us.
Shortly after we arrived we were visited by 3 police squad cars. The polite young police officers asked us what we were doing, how long we would be there, pointed out the specific areas where we could and could not stand and told us what we could and could not do: don't impede passage on the sidewalk or streets, no more than 6 participants at any time ( more than that requires a permit), no soliciting of funds, no distribution of literature in the roadways.
Ft. Hood property lines were pointed out, and the city police told us that if we were to stand along the roadway beyond a certain point that we would be on Ft. Hood property and would then have to deal with their security people.
The traffic was light, this being a major holiday, but it was fairly steady throughout the day. Channel 6 from Waco came and interviewed several of us early in the day. I was carrying an upside-down US flag, generally recognized as a "signal of distress. This did receive a small number of shouts from passers-by, telling me to "fix that flag."
One man shouted at me from across the street to do just that. He crossed the street to confront me and the cameraman followed him. The young soldier in casual civilian clothing, maybe in his late 20's or early 30's, angrily shouted at me that I was disrespecting him and the flag and his military service by displaying it in such a manner. While the cameraman filmed this exchange, I quietly replied that is was a recognized symbol of distress and would remain that way the rest of the day. The young man walked away angrily.
related link: http://www.codepink4peace.org/ Feature continued on newswire >>
I thought that Memorial Day in Denton [Texas] should mean something more than just a temporary forest of flags sprouting in the downtown business district, so I did something about it.
A few days before the holiday, I emailed another Veterans For Peace guy here in town, with a copy to the local VFP chapter president about 30 miles down the road in Carrollton. I asked if they were interested in doing something public to show the flag a bit on Memorial Day?
I suggested that we stand by the freeway to be seen by as many people as possible. I was pleasantly surprised when the one or two guys I expected to show up turned out to be a dozen men, women, and children willing to spend a couple hours in the steamy Texas sun to share our message.
We had a couple of large VFP banners showing the logo and the website address. There were assorted signs, and maybe half a dozen US flags. I even turned my flag right side up on the pole for the first time in four years. I would be soliciting donations on this day, so I did not need the distraction of my inverted flag as a guaranteed conversation starter.
related link: http://www.veteransforpeace.org Feature continued on newswire >>
As soon as the order is signed by the Governor, troops will move to the Mexican border "as quickly as possible."
The Texas National Guard and the Governor's Office have been working up preliminary plans for deployment of troops to the Mexico border, and both offices are expecting the Governor to sign a Memorandum of Agreement in the very near future that would put the troop deployment into action.
The preliminary planning has involved five chiefs of the National Guard border sectors, including Laredo, El Paso, and Marfa. And their preliminary plans call for deployment of expertise in "linguistics, engineering, and transportation" says Chief Moncada of the Guard public affairs office in Austin.
A spokesperson for the Governor's office says the operation is in "final stages of planning" and that the memorandum of agreement "has been drafted and is being finalized for signatures".
"We hope to get personnel to the border as quickly as possible," said Rachael Novier from the Governor's press office.
related link: http://texascivilrightsreview.org/ Feature continued on newswire >>
--On Thursday, May 4, two sisters from Women in Black were the subjects of a Homeland Security sting in front of the Federal Building on Houston Street .
We had stood in front of the building every Thursday for several weeks, without incident when three Homeland Security cars zoomed onto the scene and officers handed out citations for blocking the entranceway when we were six feet from the door. We returned the following Thursday, May 11, at our regularly scheduled time.
In a week’s time, word had circulated and an action of two became a cause for many. We were joined by an ACLU observer and members of Code Pink, Camp Casey Alumni, Pax Christi, Veterans for Peace, the Dallas Peace Center, Camp Casey Dallas, North Texas for Justice and Peace, Richland College Institute for Peace, Cathedral of Hope and the Peace and Justice Center-Arlington. The Veterans for Peace bus, driven by Jim Goodnow, literally made the rounds for the duration of the vigil.
related link: http://dallaspeacecenter.org/?q=node/968 Feature continued on newswire >>
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