In
this Issue:
Earth Killer Award
H4PJ to recognize Rep. Barton’s environmental record
 Dallas,
Texas – Hope for Peace & Justice
will present Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), Chair of the
United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with
its first Earth Killer Award on Sunday, April 23 at the
Cathedral of Hope during its 9 and 11 a.m. worship services.
The Earth Killer Award was created to recognize those who
have worked tirelessly to remove and prevent regulations
that would ensure clean air and water for future generations.
The Cathedral of Hope is located at 5910 Cedar Springs
Road; Dallas, TX 75235. The services are free and open
to all.
In the
last five years, Congressman Barton has cast only three
pro-environment votes out of a possible 65. He was selected
as Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2004,
after receiving zero percent on the National Environmental
Scorecard in 2003 from the League of Conservation Voters.
The Earth Killer Award will be presented in conjunction
with the Cathedral of Hope’s observance of Earth
Day. Congressman Barton has been invited to attend in order
to receive the award in person, but he has not yet accepted
the invitation.
Rep. Joe Barton
An Enemy of the Environment
In the
last five years, Congressman Barton has cast only three
pro-environment votes out of a possible 65. He was selected
as Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2004,
after receiving zero percent on the National Environmental
Scorecard in 2003 from the League of Conservation Voters.
The Earth Killer Award will be presented in conjunction
with the Cathedral of Hope’s
observance of Earth Day. Congressman Barton has been invited
to attend in order to receive the award in person, but
he has not yet accepted the invitation.
Rep. Joe Barton has been representing the Sixth District
of Texas (Waxahachie area) in the United States House of
Representatives since 1984. In 2004, he was elected chairman
of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees environmental
legislation. Rep. Barton has recently made news with his
vocal skepticism of global warming and for being one of only
11 House members to vote against the Hurricane Katrina Emergency
Relief Bill.
As the leader of this powerful committee, it is important
to note that Joe Barton has been touting his anti-environmental
agenda for years. Since 1989, Joe Barton has received over
$2,600,000 in campaign contributions from oil, gas, utilities,
chemicals and manufacturing companies which has undoubtedly
played a role in his consistent disregard for environmental
protection. In the last five years, Joe Barton has cast only
3 pro-environment votes out of 65 opportunities, earning
him a 0% rating in 2003 by the League of Conservation Voters.
In 2005,
Rep. Barton sponsored H.R. 3893, a bill “to
expedite the construction of new oil refining capacity in
the United States by providing incentives that include waiving
environmental protections and allowing refineries to be located
in national wildlife refuges.” Barton also sponsored
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 “that subsidizes new
fossil fuel development at the expense of the environment,
while largely ignoring efficiency and clean energy technologies
that can reduce oil dependence, and lower greenhouse gas
emissions.” These two legislative acts have gained
negative attention from Republicans as well as Democrats,
leading to Barton receiving the lowest rating of any House
member on the Republicans for Environmental Protection 2005
Congressional Scorecard.
Unfortunately,
Joe Barton’s actions are not confined
to Washington. In the summer of 2003, he was given the nickname
Smoky Joe from environment groups during a two-year battle
over emissions from nearby Ellis County’s cement plants.
Barton petitioned the EPA to lower federal emission standards
and was unsuccessful in his attempts to exclude Ellis County
from the North Texas region. The EPA says the plants are
not in compliance with federal clean-air requirements.
Unsurprisingly,
the owners of the cement plants, TXI and Holcim, are largely
responsible for over $60,000 that Barton has received in
campaign contributions from the cement industry since 1998.
In this case and many others, Joe Barton has intentionally
overlooked the environment and the health of his constituents
in order to further the financial gain of his major campaign
contributors, making him the obvious choice for HP4J’s
first Earth Killer Award.
What we Believe
H4PJ Position Statement
 The World Health Organization estimates that up to 160,000
people die each year due to the direct and indirect impacts
of global warming. That is the same as experiencing the 2005
tsunami every year. If they all had died in a single hour
would millions of Americans have risen up to demand that
the United States change its attitude toward environmental
issues? Or do we simply not care about children choking for
lack of air, climate changes that result in the starvation
of millions or the fact that much of our coastline may disappear
in our lifetimes?
On National Public Radio, the Rev. Jim Ball, Executive Director
of the Evangelical Environmental Network, said:
“The impact of global warming will get much worse as
the century progresses. Millions could die. God’s other
creatures will suffer as well. A report in Nature magazine
suggests that up to 37 percent of God’s creatures could
become extinct in this century due to climate change, their
songs of praise to their creator snuffed out forever. On Wednesday,
[February 16, 2005] much of the developed world takes an important
first step to address global warming as the Kyoto Protocol,
the international climate treaty, goes into effect. The United
States, however, is not participating. While I believe President
Bush cares about the plight of the poor, this is not reflected
in his climate policy. As a country, and as the world’s
No. 1 source of green house gases, America needs to do
much more.”
In that same story, the British Environmental Secretary noted
that developing nations were not among the 140 countries
who signed the Protocol because it would require some to
make choices between environmental protection and feeding
the starving. What she was graceful enough not to note
was that the richest nation on earth was almost the only
developed country not to sign the treaty. After the Clinton
administration had been a party to drafting the treaty, the
Bush Administration refused to sign it. The whole world was
stunned by the arrogance of the nation best able to afford
to honor the protocols and the nation most responsible for
many types of pollution. What does this say about the kind
of people we are?
Hope
for Peace & Justice calls upon
the United States government to recognize that
global warming is a series and legitimate crisis facing
the world. H4PJ
also calls for the signing of the Kyoto Protocol.
H4PJ to launch ad campaign
Our values are simple. The journey is not.
 Hope
for Peace & Justice has come a long way since starting
in 2005. We have been able to recruit staff, organize
volunteers, march in the streets on your behalf, and
implement programs and workshops to equip you to speak
out against the hypocrisy of the Religious Right.
There
is a great need for an organization like Hope for Peace & Justice
that will speak to the values of progressive
people of faith. Seeking justice for the marginalized and
advocating for peace have been, and continue to be, actions
deeply rooted in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam.
Although
we have been able to do many things, Hope for Peace & Justice
lacks national name recognition. This is a problem if we
hope to take on the extremism of the Religious
Right and fight for equality for
GLBT people, the protection of God’s creation the environment,
equal access to health care and adequate education for
all people.
In order
to build name recognition, Hope for Peace & Justice
has developed an ad campaign that centers on the idea that our
values are simple. The journey is not.
Hope
for Peace & Justice hopes to raise $25,000 to place
our ad in popular liberal blogs and magazines and
produce a public service announcement that would air on radio and TV.
Help
us build a national audience today so future generations
won’t have to face the same problems tomorrow!
Click
here to donate to H4PJ.
Click
here to send this to a friend.
This
Sunday, Hope for Peace & Justice will present its first Earth
Killer Award. While we hope to receive local media
attention, without the national name recognition of organizations
like the ACLU or the Sierra Club, we fall to the whims
of local reporters. This ad campaign will boost not only
our visibility, but it will introduce H4PJ to fellow progressives
who believe that peace and justice are religious values.
Hope
for Peace & Justice will be a national organization
that confronts the Religious Right on true moral values.
We will only be that with your support. Donate
to H4PJ today and tell
a friend.
 |
Bob
Munro has generously offered a 15% donation to H4PJ
for every piece of art sold through Hope for Peace & Justice.
Please visit Sacred
Pause online. |
Support
H4PJ at PAGEANT
Presented by Hope for Peace & Justice
An Uptown Players Production
Special One-Time Benefit Performance
Sunday, April 30
7pm | Trinity River Arts Center
 Support
Hope for Peace & Justice on this special night. The cast of Pageant has donated
a special performance to Hope for Peace & Justice. By purchasing your tickets
to Pageant through Hope for Peace & Justice, you help us raise money for
important campaigns, programs and workshops.Your $50 ticket includes an invitation
to a post-show dessert reception.
Click
here to buy your tickets.
Book
and Lyrics by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly
Music by Albert Evans
Conceived by Robert Longbottom
You've
never seen a beauty pageant like this one! Pageant pits
six beauty queens (all played by men) against each other
in an extravaganza of evening gowns, bathing suits, and
not-to-be-missed talent.
While
les girls swirl around the charming host in the funniest
beauty contest ever seen, judges selected from the audience
decide who will be crowned Miss Glamouresse. A different
winner each night ensures non-stop nail-biting fun!
Theatre:
Trinity River Arts Center
2600 Stemmons Freeway, Suite 180, Dallas, Texas 75207
The Trinity River Arts Center Theatre is located across from the KD Studio
in the same building complex.
Click
here for more information.
H4PJ Ready to Launch Peace Training Program
 Hope
for Peace & Justice is working to heal violence and
bring about peace and justice through education and nonviolent
activism. Our task is to train and equip people to be Peace
Practitioners, those who reconcile conflict in
all types of human relationships.
Sound
like a monumental task? It is. However, the need for peace
in our lives, communities, nation and the world is urgent.
So is the need for your support.
In May,
H4PJ will be taking Empowering Cultures of Peace:
A Two-Part Basic Seminar for Peace Practitioners on
the road. H4PJ hopes to send Rev. Shelley Hamilton and
conflict resolution specialist Dennis Bolin across the
nation to train Peace Practitioners in 100 cities by
the end of 2007. However, Hope for Peace & Justice
needs your financial support to defray the costs of publishing
the comprehensive materials and travel for the speakers.
Click
here to support this program.
H4PJ
hopes to raise $50,000 for the immediate costs of this
program. I hope that you will be able to support us. The
H4PJ Curriculum Team has completed the work for the initial
seminar. We believe this program will change people’s
lives.
A
gift of any amount will help H4PJ bring peace to our
work. Click
here to donate.
You are Invited
Empowering Cultures of Peace Scheduled on April 21 & 22
| Friday,
April 21 |
6:30pm |
Dinner
Together |
|
7:00 |
Plenary
Address and Q&A |
Rev.
Michael Piazza |
8:00 |
Overview – Culture
of Peace, Conflict and Violence |
Rev.
Shelley Hamilton |
|
|
|
| Saturday,
April 22 |
8:30am |
Gathering
and Continental Breakfast |
|
9:00 |
Understanding
Conflict- Ourselves, & Others |
Rev.
Shelley Hamilton and Dennis Bolin (Credentials) |
12:00 |
Lunch |
|
1:00 |
Using
Creativity to Resolve and Transform Conflict |
Rev.
Shelley Hamilton and Dennis Bolin (Credentials) |
4:30 |
Seminar
Feedback |
Rev.
Shelley Hamilton |
We invite
you to participate in this process because we know you
to be people striving for peace and justice.
If you would like to attend, please email Rev.
Shelley Hamilton at shamilton@h4pj.org
 |
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TO HOPE FOR PEACE & JUSTICE
Donate
Now to support us as we seek to create a
culture of peace, inclusiveness, compassion.
CONTACT US
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