[Dialogue] Fwd: UPDATE FOR SMU PETITION SIGNERS May 10, 2008

Sat May 10 13:52:06 EDT 2008

Here is the latest note I have on the SMU - Bush Library issue.

George Holcombe
14900 Yellowleaf Tr.
Austin, TX 78728
Home: 512/252-2756
Mobile 512/294-5952
geowanda at earthlink.net

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Andrew Weaver" <aJWEAVER711 at AOL.COM>
> Date: May 10, 2008 9:48:11 AM CDT
> To: "George Holcombe" <geowanda at earthlink.net>
> Subject: UPDATE FOR SMU PETITION SIGNERS May 10, 2008
> Reply-To: listmanager at vitalvisuals.com
>
> I am Andrew J. Weaver, organizer of the petition at  
> www.protectSMU.org   and an ordained United Methodist clergyman and  
> research psychologist.  I am a graduate of SMU and live in New York  
> City.   There are over 11,800 petition signers from every state and  
> ten nations.
>
> The Legal Case Is In Place
>
> Our legal team tells us that we need to go to court to give us the  
> best chance to protect the property rights and voting rights of the  
> 290 Jurisdictional Conference delegates who are the elected  
> representatives of the property owners, i.e., the 1.83 million UMC  
> members of the South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ).  To do so we need  
> at least one delegate who is willing to step forward and be the  
> plaintiff in the case.   We have not found such a delegate.   Many  
> fear the consequences to their future ministry if they appear to  
> challenge their bishop, while others fear being countersued by the  
> Bush Foundation.
>
> The lawyers, including Judge Jim Parsons ( jparsons at jimparsons- 
> law.com ), who it would be nice to send a thank you note to for his  
> efforts, have worked hard for us.  Parsons is a devout United  
> Methodist and former head of the Texas Bar Association, who has  
> given us free counsel and legal research for months.  Our lawyers  
> believe we have a solid legal case and that we have a very good  
> chance to win.   Through your wonderful generosity we have  
> approximately $10,000 on hand.  You have my deep appreciation for  
> your faithfulness and generosity.  Unfortunately, without a delegate  
> we cannot go forward with the court case.  We now must consider an  
> alternative course of action.
>
> An Alternative, Second Course of Action
>
> The South Central Jurisdictional Conference will meet in Dallas at  
> the Hilton Anatole Hotel, July 15-19, to vote on the use of UMC land  
> by the Bush Foundation.   The money we have on hand would give us  
> the capacity to do a high-quality professional educational campaign  
> opposing the Bush institute's presence at SMU.  The campaign would  
> raise public awareness during the next two months about plans to  
> create a partisan institute having no oversight by the university.
>
> We also would use some of the funds to expand the petition.  We  
> believe at least 50,000 folks would sign the petition if they knew  
> of its existence and the opportunity it provides to voice their  
> opposition.  The petition will be presented to the SCJ College of  
> Bishops, Bishop Palmer (the new president of the Council of  
> Bishops), SMU President R. Gerald Turner, and the Chair of the SMU  
> Trustees on July 15, 2008.
>
> If you consent to your donation being used for an intensified  
> educational campaign, you need do nothing.  Beginning May 20, we  
> will proceed with plans as described above and give you a regular  
> accounting of the project.  If you wish to have your money returned,  
> we will do so with a note of appreciation.   Simply write me at ajweaver711 at aol.com 
>  with your request no later than May 20, 2008, and state the amount  
> of your donation.  I will forward the information to our treasurer  
> who has placed the funds in an escrow account.
>
> If you wish to make a donation to the educational campaign fund  
> please send it to Rev. Bob Weathers, 2420 Willington Avenue, Fort  
> Worth, Texas 76110.   Rev. Weathers is a highly regarded member of  
> the Central Texas Conference and a former District Superintendent.   
> Please make checks to “Protect SMU Fund.”  I hope we can raise  
> enough additional money to put advertisements in the Dallas Morning  
> News and other newspapers.
>
> Can We Win The Vote in July in Dallas? – Yes
>
> Over the past several months we have systematically analyzed the 290  
> delegates of the SCJ with the help of delegates or clergy from each  
> annual conference.  I have personally spoken with over 40  
> delegates.  We identified about 130 progressives, 100 conservatives  
> and 60 moderates in the 11 annual conferences.   We need 146 votes  
> to win.  If we can educate the delegates about the dangers of the  
> Bush partisan think thank to the academic integrity of SMU and the  
> good name of our church, we can win the vote.  Most United  
> Methodists, including most bishops, are people who seek to do what  
> is right and good.
>
> The majority of the delegates feel they can live with the library,  
> even with its current limitation -- censorship by the president and  
> his heirs in perpetuity through his Executive Order 13233, signed  
> soon after 9/11.  What many delegates are disturbed by and will vote  
> against is the partisan think-tank to honor George Bush, which is  
> being organized by Karl Rove.  Neither SMU nor the United Methodist  
> Church will have any control over the direction of the partisan  
> institute, and that deeply troubles many.  If given an opportunity  
> by the SCJ bishops to vote, there is a good chance that the  
> delegates will reject the partisan institute.
>
> Torture Is Not a Methodist Family Value
>
> My friend James M. Wall, a UMC clergyman, asked me to write the  
> first guest column for his new blog, sharing the SMU/Bush story.  It  
> is titled Torture Is Not a Methodist Family Value . Wall is  
> currently Senior Contributing Editor of the journal, Christian  
> Century , based in Chicago.  From 1972-1999, he was its editor and  
> publisher.  He launched a personal blog on April 24, 2008.  Sign on  
> to it ( wallwritings.wordpress.com ) and you will be able to read my  
> piece.  And while you're there, check out the other postings too.
>
> Growing the Petition
>
> Finally, please continue to encourage your friends and colleagues to  
> sign the petition.  Each name is important.   We need to tell  
> officials of the UMC at every level that we find that a partisan  
> institute honoring George W. Bush at SMU “utterly unacceptable.”
>
> With best regards,
> Rev. Andrew J. Weaver, Ph.D.
>
> P.S. Links to more Information on the SMU Bush Project :
>
> www.jimhightower.com/node/6420
>
> www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/042708dnmetbushliblegacy.3526b33.html
>
> www.usnews.com/blogs/faith-matters/2008/2/4/tempest-in-a-texas-teapot.html
>
> www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/DN-bushhistory_16met.ART.State.Edition2.460fd24.html
>
> www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=196
>
> www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=171
>
> www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/02/25/smumedia.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2008/01/31/News/Bush-Library.Opponents.Up.Ante.With.New.Letter-3179148.shtml
>
> www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011907dnmetbushmethodist.511bb5f9.html
>
> www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=4097685&content_id= 
> {2F430FD7-29F5-42FD-8370-3FDD6FE8E3CB}&notoc=1
>
> www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/us/30smu.html?_r=1&ex=1202360400&en=b6c2adabd5ad96db&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin 
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