Dallas Dreamer's blog

Well, per usual, the media under-reported the attendance at this year's "Five Years TOO Long" Peace Rally.

Surely, at least one hundred people came out, opposed to the measley 50 reported by the media. That's double, after all.

But I've stopped kidding myself that the mainstream media will ever be our ally.

I'm not trying to hate. I'm just recognizing that getting mainstream media's attention should never be our primary purpose.

Instead, as we did for this rally, it should be about getting the community together, face-to-face, to see that we are not alone.

Read the Dallas News story on the rally here.

I was glad that the story prominently featured my good friend Yvette Richardson, a veteran who works with Peaceful Vocations (a counter-recruitment group) and her daughter Alicia. They are long-time supporters of the Dallas Peace Center and our events.

We also held an Interfaith Press Conference earlier in the day that received a review in the paper.

But, as usual, our friends at Pegasus News gave the roundest picture of us, featuring both the fringe and the middle.

But in the words of my dear friend Hadi Jawad, "In the heart of our hearts, please hope and pray we don't have to do this again next year."

My comments on this action. Press release follows. Sign the petition here.

I'm glad to see this boycott happening. It's needed to happen at this scale for a long time coming. I've not gone to ExxonMobil, BP, Shell or Chevron for years now. I choose QT and Racetrac for economic reasons, although I'm sure their oil is less than pure, as well.

I would like to put it out there that I do not support the whole dressing up as pirates spectacle. This is based on one activist's observation that the oil companies are like pirates because they grab all the booty they can lay their hands on.

Although I don't entirely disagree with this statement, we must face facts that the oil business is just that - a business. It's not operated differently than any other business out there.

We may disagree with their business practices, or even with the capitalist system in general, but I caution those that are engaging in this demonization of the Other for the sake of headlines.

Be careful of imitating what you criticize. How often have we scorned those who paint all Muslims as terrorists? How often have we condemned the fear that allows racism to ravage our society?

Do we really want to engage in the same tactics as those we want to change? Can we engage in dialogue and reconciliation (part of the Dallas Peace Center's mission), if we ridicule and stereotype them? Have they become less than human to us if we call them heartless pirates?

Just food for thought...If you have an opinion, in support or disagreement, please leave a comment. Thanks!

For Immediate Release:

The Big Three Oil Boycott to End the War, against ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, will be taken to the street on Saturday, February 23 in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas by the Dallas Peace Center and Consumers for Peace.org. This is part of a two-day international action with oil workers in Iraq and demonstrators in England, Indiana and Washington, DC.

“We are thrilled to act in Dallas, Texas, home to ExxonMobil, in solidarity with the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions as they protest in Basra and elsewhere in Iraq against the occupation and the attempt by Big Oil to ram an oil law through the Iraqi parliament that will harm the Iraqi people,” said Hadi Jawad of the Dallas Peace Center. “It is very moving to be part of an action that involves thousands of people who want to see Iraq liberated from the tyranny of military occupation and Big Oil.”

The Dallas/Fort Worth organizers will hold a press conference Saturday at 11 a.m. at Preston Road and Royal Lane in Dallas and then hold a rally at a ExxonMobil station at that location and at stations at Jim Miller Rd and I-30 in East Dallas. The rally will last until about 2 p.m. The protestors, some dressed as pirates, will offer passers-by boycott cards giving guidance on alternatives to the three boycotted gasoline brands. The demonstrations are endorsed by Code Pink of Greater Dallas.

Demonstrations in England, organized by Hands Off Iraqi Oil, will be held in London, and 10 other locations, including Birmingham and Manchester. Demonstrators will also gather on the 23rd at ExxonMobil, Shell and BP stations in Highland, Indiana.

The Texas/Iraq/London/Indiana actions will follow by one day a noon march on the Washington, DC office of ExxonMobil sponsored by Oil Change International, U.S. Labor Against the War, No War No Warming, Code Pink, Voters for Peace, AfterDowningStreet and Grassroots America.

“Oil companies are getting 20-30% more for their oil because of decreased Iraqi oil production and the volatility in world oil markets because of the war,” said Jawad. "It is unconscionable that they be allowed to laugh all the way to the bank as the blood of thousands colors the desert sands of Iraq.”

“ExxonMobil, Shell and BP have immense power to stop the war,” said Nick Mottern of Consumers for Peace. “Their war profits, that we estimate at $80 billion, must be given to those who have suffered most from the war: the families of Iraqi, American and other coalition war dead and wounded.  We call on the Big Three to do the right thing.”

Contact: Hadi Jawad, Dallas Peace Center (214) 392-2939
              Nick Mottern, ConsumersforPeace.org (914) 806-6179 

I could write about how surprising it is that John Edwards dropped out of the presidential race so prematurely, but...I'm rather bored of partisan politics at this point in my life...

So instead, I thought I'd write about one of the ways I try to practice peace in my daily life. There are many ways one can do this - from volunteering for a local non-profit (like the Dallas Peace Center, hint hint) to simply smiling at a stranger. How do you practice peace?

Yoga is a practice of peace for me, both spiritually and physically. I try to do a little bit every day, although I admit I don't always live up to my perfectionist standards. (Self-forgiveness is a part of practicing peace, too.)

Can someone explain those white posts on the new HOV lane for Central Expressway?

I was so excited to see the most-driven freeway in Dallas finally go green (so to speack). As the massive construction of the so-called "crown jewel" of mass transit, the High Five, emerged, I was dismayed to see a sea of concrete on the horizon.

But it didn't take me long to notice the strange bridge in the middle of the highway that seemed to lead to nowhere. It wasn't in use; it wasn't part of the lanes in use - it had to be for an HOV lane! I was so excited!

Hutto "Residential Center" (or, as I like to call it, "Prizon for Kidz") is more than an American Nightmare.

Here's why: 

In May of last year, a guard sexually assaulted a woman in front of her child.

The guard was ultimately fired, but charges were never brought against him for his crime.

Instead, the woman was deported.

Find out the whole story, reported in fine detail by the Taylor Daily Press's Tessa Molly, here. 

Last week marked the 6th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay Prison - a no-man's land of suspended constitutional rights and indefinite imprisonment.

A group of nearly 40 activists traveled downtown to express their outrage at this un-American institution. Check out the Pegasus News coverage of the event here.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is fast approaching (Monday, Jan. 21), and today is the great man's birthday, so I decided it would be appropriate to post his famous "I have a dream" speech (see below).

Also, the Dallas Peace Center will join with Jobs With Justice in the Martin Luther King Day Parade. The parade starts at City Hall Plaza, 1500 Marilla, and will cover 2.9 miles from Akard south to Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and east to Fair Park.

by Valley Reed

With the wings of a butterfly, a hurricane was started halfway across the earth. Sometimes the effects of one action can set something in motion so powerful it can pull the powers of the wind and the sea together creating an awe inspiring force.

Once in awhile, in the midst of the long struggle for peace and justice, an activist may see the effects of their heartfelt message break through the barriers of greed and ignorance. If we are blessed we will see the fruits of our actions turn from song and vigil for the oppressed and voiceless into freedom and justice.

Today's Event Details can be found below italicized.

A verdict without a trial. A hearing without a jury or judge. Imprisonment without a charge.

These are the fruits of the so-called “war on terror.”

How many of us lay in bed at night and ask ourselves this question?

My next question would be: Are we wondering it about THEM or US? In other words, do we think, what are we (the United States) doing, in an antagonistic, he's not my president sort of way, or is it, what are we (the Peace and Justice community) doing?