Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore are among those who have posted this message from the owner of the Crawford Peace House, who needs help if he is to keep it beyond this Tuesday. It would be wonderful if we could save it and turn it into a peace museum and resource center. In my opinion, it would need a new owner and management, but that’s an issue to take up if we can save it. I just cringe to think of how an unfriendly buyer will turn the place against the movement that created something powerful there in 2005!

I thought you might want to know the situation, and possibly want to help and spread the news — but time is of the essence. There’s an email address for Johnny Wolf, the house’s owner, in his letter below, which you can use for contact and/or to send a donation via Paypal.

FROM JOHNNY WOLF:

The Best investment I ever made

Seven years ago, I made a down payment on a house in Crawford Texas. On Easter Sunday 2003, it became the Crawford Texas Peace House.

We committed to being there until Bush was out of the White House, and we kept that commitment. Those years were important years for me and for the peace movement.

For a little over a year we have had a new administration and the wars we set out to stop continue and have to spread to Pakistan and still threaten Iran. The relevance of Crawford’s Western White House and our resistance has all become a significant part of history.

No, the mortgage did not get paid. I have not been able to meet my financial obligations on the Peace House, and I am five payments behind.

The Peace House is scheduled for a Foreclosure Auction on Tuesday morning on the steps of McLennan County Court House, April 6,

There is an offer to purchase the house for 10,000.00 less than what is owed. My personal situation will not allow me to take the offer. It needs a new owner 48,000.00 is owed on the mortgage. 4,000.00 will bring it current and cover legal fees.

If you are interested in a future for the Peace House please email me at WOLFISHQ@gmail.com

If an unfriendly entity purchases the house we will be served an eviction notice and must vacate the premises.

Thanks for all the Brave Souls that came here to make a difference.

In Peace and in Loving service,

Johnny Wolf
Co-founder, Crawford Texas Peace House

Background on Winter Soldier here.

We are outreaching to Iraq War vets in Oklahoma who would be willing to testify at the hearings. Please use the contact form on this site to email us.

if you can help us support these vets, and get them to Austin for testimony, donations would be much appreciated.

WINTER SOLDIER HEARINGS COME TO AUSTIN, TEXAS

WHAT: Winter Solder – South Central Region, Eyewitness Accounts by Iraq Veterans Against the War

WHO: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), with support from many local groups

WHEN: Saturday, February 28, 1PM-5PM

WHERE: Central Presbyterian Church, 200 E. 8th Street (Brazos & 8th), Austin, Texas

In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War held a national Winter Soldier event in Baltimore, Maryland. Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan featured testimony from U.S. veterans, giving accurate accounts of the true nature of those occupations. This four-day event brought together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan – and present video and photographic evidence. In May of 2008, for the first time since the Iraq war began, boots-on-the-ground veterans testified under oath before Congress about the effects of the occupation. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War presented their testimony to the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Winter Soldier hearings continue to be held regionally across the U.S. Now Iraq Veterans Against the War, will bring Winter Soldier hearings to Austin. Veterans from New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas will join together to publicly share the experiences of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the tradition of other Winter Soldier events, live testimony, panel discussions, along with supporting video and photographic documentation, will focus on the human impact of war. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

Winter soldiers, according to founding father Thomas Paine, are the people who stand up for the soul of their country, even in the darkest hours. The event was named Winter Soldier in honor of a similar gathering in 1971. The “Winter Soldier Investigation” was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War. A complete transcript of those hearings was later entered into the Congressional Record by Senator Mark Hatfield, prompting the Fulbright Hearings in April and May 1973, convened by Senator J. William Fulbright, chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

For more information, go to www.austinivaw.wordpress.com.

We are asking Oklahoma activists, veterans and family members to help promote the event by printing and distributing the flier among their networks.

Winter Soldier flier for Oklahoma, 2 up

Bill Holloway, Texas peace and justice activist, passed away yesterday

Bill lived in Austin, but I believe he was from Oklahoma. He was very active with the Texas Green Party, and I met him in Crawford in August 2006, where this photo was taken.

Kat Swift, of the Texas Greens, sent out this statement.

The Passing of Green Party Leader Bill Holloway

The Green Party of Texas mourns the tragic loss of Bill Holloway. Bill was a dedicated leader who was currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Travis County Green Party in Austin, TX. He will be missed as a mentor and a friend.

Through his kind-hearted activism, Bill touched the lives of so many people. He was an active Green Party contributor at the local, state and national levels. Bill served on numerous committees in the Green Party and in other organizations as well.

Bill Holloway passed away unexpectedly last weekend at his home in Austin, Texas. Given the unexpected nature of his death, we know many will have questions regarding details. Out of respect for Bill, his family, and his lengthy legacy of community service, we hope you understand our reluctance to speculate and request that others will also be circumspect in their communication.

Our heart-felt condolences go out to all of Bill’s friends and family. Bill was a very special person who will be sorely missed.

There will be a memorial service in Austin, TX, on Friday, January 16, and his funeral will be in Oklahoma City, OK, on Wednesday, January 14.

For the memorial, a book is being compiled for his parents. If you would like to contribute, please write down a story or memory of Bill, with a photo if you have one and send it to Sondra – lonestarsondra@gmail.com by January 15th. His family never met most of his friends and, we suspect, had no idea of the difference he made in so many lives. The book is being put together to let them know how many people were touched by and loved him. If the photo and the text can be pasted onto one page, that would be ideal, but whatever people can contribute would be appreciated.

Whatever your beliefs, please keep Bill and his family and vast network of friends in your thoughts, prayers, and/or rituals.

In solidarity,

kat swift
co-chair
Green Party of Texas
210.471.1791 – txt okay
kat@txgreens.org

Bill impressed me very much during our brief meeting (we also corresponded a little by email, though not recently). He was gentle and very kind. He worked hard and gave generously. What a great loss for our movement.

I met Scarlett P. when he was at CC3. Not at all what I expected, but in a good way. Quiet, understated.

Cool pics of anti-Bush signs in Texas if you follow the link. I wonder how long those signs lasted. Imagine the scene that probably too with them being found by a car full of rednecks. yikes!

Many Texans are all over this immigration debate, outraged that folks from countries south of us are coming into the US without papers, or “illegally.”

So, I suggest that instead of creating yet more fuel inefficiency (among other disadvantages of faster driving), that these “illegal drivers” be returned home, forced to stay there, have their vehicle taken away, and be stiffly fined.

Diane Wilson: The feminist movement has not made it to the Gulf of Mexico. Never seen that movement. I became a boat captain because I loved the water and had been on a boat since I was eight. I captained the boat by myself because I liked being alone. Probably if I had a male deckhand on the boat he would have tried to gain control over the wheel. Running a boat isn’t that hard. Just takes doing. Most or all women I ever knew were discouraged from running boats, but it was too late with me.

DALLAS – A man who spent 18 years behind bars for allegedly attacking a woman in her home has been released after DNA testing excluded him as the attacker.

“I don’t know how to apologize. I don’t know where to start, but I’ll start with me and “I’m sorry,”‘ District Judge John Creuzot said Monday as he released Gregory Wallis, now 47. Creuzot was not involved in the original trial.

Wallis was a 29-year-old warehouse worker when he was convicted in 1988 of burglary with intent to commit sexual assault and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

[snip]

At some point these DNA exoneration stories are going to reach a critical mass, one would hope, and changes will be made in the system, including the elimination of the death penalty altogether. But in the meantime, we can all wonder just how many innocent people are sitting in prison, their lives and families irrevocably harmed.

While wondering, hop over to Amnesty or NCADP and show some love.

Hattip to JMBZine.

I’ve been somewhat queasily supporting Kinky, because I think his independent candidacy can help raise awareness about the grossly unfair ballot access laws in Texas, but his going for W in 2004 indicates a real lack of moral fiber, not to mention decent judgement of people (note the “humorous” quote about how Bush is a good man trapped in a Republican body). I appreciate honesty, and I think Kinky is refreshingly honest, but being honest, and being committed to justice, are very different things. He should have sat out voting in 2004 as well — or refrained from making a selection in the presidential race.

I will try to get a fuller version of his statement on this, since it’s possible that it’s out of context, or miscontrued, or simply wrong — or disinformation from the Democratic camp or elsewhere. But I cannot responsibly support him if this is confirmed by his campaign. There may be little chance of him winning and becoming governor, but I’d like to know that the person I vote for, if elected, is a member of the “reality-based community” and no one who willfully voted for George Bush, a known quantity, in 2004, can claim to be one.

Willie Nelson Releases Gay Cowboy Song

“Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)” may be the first gay cowboy song by a major recording artist. But it was written long before this year’s Oscar-nominated “Brokeback Mountain” made gay cowboys a hot topic.

Available exclusively through iTunes, the song features choppy Tex-Mex style guitar runs and Nelson’s deadpan delivery of lines like, “What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?” and “Inside every cowboy there’s a lady who’d love to slip out.”

The song, which debuted Tuesday on Howard Stern’s satellite radio show …

Ok, my head just exploded!

Update:

Towleroad has some more info, which makes the story all the more interesting. Seems an old friend and employee of Willie’s came out to him, prompting him to dig out the song and release it. What a nice gift and public statement of support. Love ya, Willie! Texas needs more native sons like you.

Update 2:

Via Pam’s House Blend, see Law Dork’s full history of the song, which did not, in fact, just fall out of the “closet.”