Closest Texas Came To Getting Carved Up
Closest Texas Came To Getting Carved Up When the Reconstruction constitutional convention reconvened on Dec. 4, 1868, Radical Republicans sharpened their knives in eager anticipation of carving up Texas like a Christmas turkey. Any Texan, who passed the required courses in junior high, knows that as a condition of admission to the Union, the Lone Star State retained the right to subdivide into as many as four separate parts. Less well known is how often the idea of two, three, many Texas
Crickets….The Battle Goes On
Crickets….The Battle Goes On We
Home For the Holidays
Home For the Holidays The holidays are filled with family, friends, laughter, parties, decorating, shopping, cooking
Why Iowa?
Why Iowa?
Iowa is a really nice place. I know people who live there and I know people who come from there. I
Nowhere To Hide From This Fashion Faux Pas
Nowhere To Hide From This Fashion Faux Pas Fashion (or whatever it is you call the ugly clothes, haircuts, etc., that we subject ourselves to at any given time) is a funny thing. You never know what fad
Part II: Texas #1 In Costly Insurance Premiums
Part II: Texas #1 In Costly Insurance Premiums Misleading statements won
If You
If You
Those Lovable Peterson Boys
Those Lovable Peterson Boys What is it with guys named Peterson, and why is the mainstream media so enthralled by them? We all know the tale of Laci Peterson, the eight-month pregnant beauty gone missing Christmas Eve 2002. After months of finger-pointing and denials of wrongdoing by her husband, Scott, plus unwavering parental support of his innocence (even to the point of covering for the schmo), her body along with that of their unborn child washed up in the very same bay where he had “gone fishing” on that fateful day. How coincidental. From the first report, I smelled a disgustingly fetid aroma. My initial thought was, “Who goes fishing on Christmas Eve, especially with a wife at home ready to drop a baby any moment? And, if a guy has to go fishing on the biggest holiday on Earth, why would he go alone?” A fishing excursion with buddies would seem more logical, leaving the women at home to prepare for Christmas. Only a self-involved, ego-challenged creep would not want to spend Christmas Eve with his pregnant wife. One of the more telling reports of Peterson
A Day In The Life Of An Unwilling
A Day In The Life Of An Unwilling
American Gangsta: Selling Gold To Our Mothers & Heroin To Our Kids
American Gangsta: Selling Gold To Our Mothers & Heroin To Our Kids
Just exactly how far will corporations go these days to make a buck? Sell deadly DDT to Africa on the pretext that it stamps out malaria when they know full well that it doesn
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, On Nov. 15, 2007, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton announced the arrest of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila on drug smuggling charges. Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the drug smuggler that testified against Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, was finally arrested for smuggling drugs at a U.S. port of entry. It
Stupidity Evolves At TEA
Stupidity Evolves At TEA As Uncle Hugh used to say, “Beauty may only be skin deep, but stupidity goes plumb to the bone.” The Texas Education Agency (the greatest oxymoron since the invention of moronic oxen) has begun its Night of the Long Screwdrivers with the firing of its science curriculum director for attempting to thwart the state religion. Ms. Chris Comer dared send an email advising people of a presentation by Barbara Forrest, author of “Inside Creationism
Patriot Act Lite
Patriot Act Lite Congress should have killed the USA PATRIOT Act on arrival back in 2001. The new Democratic majority, if it had any sense by now, should have also ended the president
Housing Crisis Hurts Minorities More
LOS ANGELES, Calif.
Sen. Kerry Fights
WASHINGTON D.C.
Bush Ally Loses PM Election In Australia
SYDNEY, Australia
Kosovo Unification Talks Stalemate
VIENNA, Austria
Tasers Equal Torture: U.N. Panel
UNITED NATIONS
Peace Before Pigskin — Immigrant Advocate, Muslim Rights Group Receive Peace Awards
Immigrant Advocate, Muslim Rights Group Receive Peace Awards DALLAS, Texas Note to the board of directors of the Dallas Peace Center: Next time, please schedule your annual Peacemaker of the Year awards dinner to avoid when the Dallas Cowboys play. True, it was almost a fluke that the National Football League gave “America’s Team” back-to-back Thursday night games at home nonetheless. But still, it is bad form to cross schedule for no other reason than making football fans choose between peace and the pigskin. Aware of their plight, the 2007 Peacemaker of the Year award recipient stepped up to show appreciation for the diehard peacenik Cowboy fan minority in attendance at the Grand Ballroom of the Double Tree Hotel in Dallas. “On a really important note for Cowboy fans, it’s halftime. The score is 27 to 17. Cowboys,” said a sympathetic Elizabeth Villafranca. “I know this was a huge sacrifice for many of you who are Cowboy fans. I applaud you and thank you so much for being out here.” In the end, the Cowboys defeated Green Bay, 37-27, to secure home field advantage in the playoffs after a 10-year losing streak and to be the first team in franchise history to have an 11-1 record. Last Thursday night was also filled with firsts for the peace and justice community in North Texas. Villafranca became the very first Latina Peacemaker of the Year award recipient. (Her seven-year-old daughter, Natalie, also received another first, a silver locket with a picture of her mother.) Villafranca took it upon herself to stand up to an ordinance that restricted the residence of undocumented workers in Farmer’s Branch back in 2006. DPC Board President Delia Castillo in her introduction said Villafranca’s humility, her family’s participation, and ability to motivate “accidental activists” in her community caught the attention of the board. “We were impressed that her grassroots work inspired others to become informed and participate in a non-violent, democratic way to take action and to embrace different communities,” she said. Villafranca is currently fighting for compassionate interdependence among those in her community. “I think whether you are Jewish, Muslim, or Christian, we are all children of God. That makes us all brothers and sisters,” said Villafranca to applause. “We need to love each other, even though it’s not always easy to love the people right next to us. It’s real easy to love people in Africa and Honduras faraway where we can’t see them.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Dallas-Fort Worth chapter (CAIR-DFW) was the first organization to receive the Peacemaking Organization of the Year award. (Co-founder of the Crawford Peace House, Hadi Jawad, back in 2005 was the first Muslim to ever be awarded a POY.) This organization was formed in the early 1990s to advocate on behalf of the Muslim community in the United States and Canada and promote peace and justice in their communities. “‘Islam’ means ‘enter into peace,’ and no one else understands the meaning of peace more than Muslims,” said Dr. Asma Salam, the DPC board member who presented CAIR-DFW’s award.
