“We’re not trying to make a buck, we’re trying to make a statement.” That’s the battle cry of the emerging “Stop War Run More” campaign, a shoestring endeavor of Jodi Harris and Jeremy Edwards. The Austin couple is trying to raise $2,500 to cover the cost of printing 1,000 T-shirts bearing the aforementioned anti-war slogan — to be worn by like-minded runners in the Feb. 16 Motorola Marathon and offered free to participants at the pre-race Run-Tex Runners’ Expo, Feb. 14 and 15. (Neither Motorola nor Run-Tex are affiliated with this anti-war effort.) “We are asking people to basically sponsor runners by sending in a donation that will pay for several shirts to be made,” says Edwards. “If this turns out to be successful, we might keep it going, and try to do it again at the Capitol 10K, maybe.” For details go to www.stopwarrunmore.org or e-mail stopwarrunmore@hotmail.com. — Amy Smith
A coalition of more than a dozen student groups calling itself Peacerising is organizing a student walkout from UT classes for Feb. 12 at 11:30am, to demonstrate broad student opposition to a possible war in Iraq. Students and supporters will gather at the East Mall and march to the South Mall for a noon anti-war rally, under the slogan “No War in Iraq.” For more info, contact nowarlonghorns@hotmail.com.
On Saturday, Feb. 15, Austin Against War will hold a march and rally at the state Capitol to oppose the war on Iraq. UT prof Robert Jensen will emcee the event, which begins at 1pm. For more info, visit www.austinagainstwar.org.
“History may not repeat, but it sure rhymes a lot.” That was U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett last week (paraphrasing Mark Twain), touching base with Naked City on the death of Maury Maverick (see “Capitol Chronicle”). Doggett said “there’s a lot of rhyme” between Maverick’s battles against McCarthyism in the Fifties and the current political atmosphere. “When we feel outnumbered on some of the troubling issues that we face today,” Doggett continued, “we can take inspiration from his toughness and his willingness to speak truth to power. That’s what he did during the McCarthy era, and when we think of [Attorney General] John Ashcroft’s era and the problems we face on the international scene, Maury was just the kind of guy who would carry on that struggle, no matter how big and overwhelming it appeared.” Asked if there’s any reason to believe that the U.S. won’t be at war in Iraq in the next few weeks, Doggett said, “The rush is clearly on.” He said he was “really encouraged” that the Austin City Council is considering a resolution to oppose the war, concluding, “We cannot accept the inevitability of war. We have to keep speaking out forcibly against it. It’s really going to have ill consequences for us.” — Michael King
This article appears in February 7 • 2003.