Republican Congressman Survives Longest Vote Count
Republican Congressman Survives Longest Vote Count By Nov. 15, 1928, the ninth day of the recount, the lead of Rep. Harry Wurzbach, the only GOP member of the Texas delegation, had shrunk from 427 votes to 164. The four-term incumbent was not the victim of a Democratic dirty trick but a rival Republican
Your Turn
Your Turn It
Which Of The 12 Are You?
Which Of The 12 Are You? One of the “essentials” of moviedom is a picture made in the late 1950s entitled “12 Angry Men,” which boasts of a highly talented ensemble cast and is tightly and dramatically written. It
If He Can
If He Can
Always Call For Back-up When Talking Turkey
Always Call For Back-up When Talking Turkey Two years ago this week I was the victim of an unprovoked and extremely frightening turkey attack. In my defense, there were five of them (technically known as a “gang” of turkeys) involved in the assault, which started because of my proximity to a preening female turkey who had apparently snubbed her suitors in favor of me. Possibly because she was confused by my chicken legs. Whatever the reason, the male turkeys didn
Letters To The Editor
Hi again Mr. Smith, Would you please print this for “All The People.” I feel the miracle of recent history but after tuning into FOX News I
You Gotta Stay Hungry: How To Starve Your Way To Profitability
You Gotta Stay Hungry: How To Starve Your Way To Profitability As Uncle Hugh used to say, “We
Length Of Iraq War Surpasses U.S. Involvement In WWII
Length Of Iraq War Surpasses U.S. Involvement In WWII As the bloodbath in Iraq continues, the U.S. involvement in “Bush
Saddam Not Given Fair Trial: Group
NEW YORK
Divine Strake
WASHINGTON
Angry Indonesian Citizens Protest Bush Visit
BOGOR, Indonesia
AIDS Infects 39.5 Million World-Wide: U.N. Report — Waco Group To Observe World AIDS Day
Waco Group To Observe World AIDS Day UNITED NATIONS The United Nations reported last week that about 39.5 million people around the world are infected with the AIDS virus. About 17.7 million women of that estimated total include women. The deadly virus has already been dubbed the most destructive illness in history, taking 25 million lives since 1981. While the spread of the disease is stable in Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, the same can’t be said for Sub-Sahara Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. Sub-Sahara African still leads the world in the number of AIDS infected people with 24.7 million cases, 59 percent of whom are women. Cases of HIV in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have jumped by 21 percent in the last two years. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, though, have experienced a 70 percent increase in infections in the same time span. New infections rose by 15 percent in South and Southeast Asia and by 12 percent in North Africa and the Middle East since 2004. The U.N.’s AIDS epidemic update report failed to breakdown the estimated AIDS cases by county, but with the 1.2 million people living with HIV last year, the United States is in the top 10 of countries with the highest number of infected people. The epidemic in the United States has infected more racial and ethnic minorities than Caucasians. African Americans make up half the AIDS diagnoses from 2001-2004 Hispanics, 20 percent. The joint report by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization was released two weeks prior to the World AIDS Day Observance. The McLennan County World AIDS Day Observance will be held Friday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. World AIDS Day will be observed by in McLennan County on Friday, Dec. 1., at the Eddie and Velma Dwyer Community Center, 507 Jefferson (corner of 5th and Jefferson) in Waco. This observance sponsored by McCARES, McLennan County AIDS/HIV Resources and Education Services will include music and speakers paying tribute to those who are living with or have died from this pandemic and a candle lighting ceremony to end the observance. The international theme for this year’s observance is “Stop AIDS, Keep The Promise.” For more information on the McLennan County observance, contact John Park or Parker Willson. INFO Willson
Park
johnpark@grandecom.net
722-2832
Opposition Grows Against ‘Assassination School’ — At Least 13 Arrested At Georgia Military Base
At Least 13 Arrested At Georgia Military Base COLUMBUS, Ohio At least 13 people were arrested and are likely to face six months in federal prison for crossing onto the military base at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 17th annual protest against the combat-training school for Latin American soldiers known as the “assassination school” gathered a record number of people 22,000 from every corner of the United States. Over the last 16 years, 211 people spent time in jail some up to two years for participating in civil disobedience there. This year, survivors of torture inflicted by the school’s graduates in Latin America returned during a symbolic funeral procession outside Fort Benning. The increase in public participation to close the school has been attributed to the resumption of the activities there and the acceptance of pro-torture legislation by the Bush Administration. Due to pressure on Congress, the “School of the Americas” almost closed earlier this year, but it reopened and had its name changed to the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.” However, 34 representatives who opposed the closure lost their seats in mid-term elections earlier this month. The school has lost support in Latin America. The governments of Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela have all recently announced that they would stop sending their soldiers to train there. Protests against the school were held simultaneously in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru the weekend of Nov. 18. The popularity of the 60-year-old school dropped significantly in 1996 when training manuals used at the school were released. The manuals gave instructions on who to torture, extort and execute people. No independent investigation into the complex has been performed.
Oaxacan Schools Open, People
OAXACA, Mexico
Party Rebuilding — Former Texas Lt. Gov. Barnes Offers Advice To Democrats
Former Texas Lt. Gov. Barnes Offers Advice To Democrats Interview With Ben Barnes, Political Consultant AUSTIN Ben Barnes has seen the Texas and national Democratic Parties during the height of political power only to slip away from public favor over the last 33 years. At one time, the farm boy from Comanche County, Texas was being groomed to be a Democratic contender for President of the United States, but those aspirations were laid to waste in the aftermath of the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal in the early 1970s. After working his way up through the political ranks to become Lt. Governor arguably the most powerful position in Texas government next to Speaker of the House Barnes and every one of the incumbent Democrats holding statewide office felt the political heat of the scandal. The scandal itself involved state officials who turned a quick buck as a result of a bank-financed stock purchase given in return for legislation passed in favor of Houston businessman Frank W. Sharp. Though he himself was not indicted nor convicted in the scandal, Barnes’s career in electoral politics ended when he lost his bid for Texas governor in 1972. Barnes blames Republican President Richard Nixon for hastening the demise of his political life since the rising star in the Democratic Party, as Barnes was, made him a prime target. During his time in public office, Barnes advanced quickly under the political tutelage of Lyndon B. Johnson and John Connally. At 21, with grassroots campaigning, he won his first election to become a state representative. By 1963, he had become chairman of the Rules Committee. In 1965, he was recognized as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Men in America” by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Also, in 1965, Barnes became the youngest Speaker of the House in Texas, serving in that capacity for four years until he successfully ran for lieutenant governor in 1969. Since Sharpstown, Barnes has re-emerged in the media spotlight from time to time, and has kept his ties to the Democratic Party establishment. He made and lost money in real estate in the 1970s and ’80s. In the 1990s, he became a successful lobbyist, business executive, and civil leader. His most notable clients, partners, and/or bosses have included SBC Communications, American Airlines, Dallas Bank and Trust, Grumman Systems Support Corporation, Laredo National Bank, the Barnes/Connally Partnership, and GTECH Corporation. Barnes has also generously donated to Democratic Party causes and, through the Ben Barnes Group, helped companies and special interest groups work with Democratic officeholders. Prior to then-Gov. George W. Bush’s first campaign for U.S. president in 1999, Barnes told reporters that he had helped the rich, 19-year-old congressman’s son into the Texas Air National Guard to avoid service in the Vietnam conflict. Barnes confessed the same story while campaigning for fellow Democrat John F. Kerry in the Massachusetts senator’s bid for president in 2004. Earlier this year, Bright Sky Press published Barnes’ book Barn Burning Barn Building: Tales of a Political Life, From LBJ to George W. Bush and Beyond. The book not only tells of Barnes’ trip through Texas politics but also gives advice and perspective to the next generation of politically-minde
