Bus canceled; local residents will drive to Crawford for rally
Friday August 26, 2005
News
Bus canceled; local residents will drive to Crawford for rally
From staff and AP reports
A caravan of a few vehicles, rather than a chartered bus, will take Brown County residents to a pro-Bush rally in Crawford on Saturday, Brown County Veterans Services Officer Billy Murphey said.
Murphey said Thursday that he had decided to cancel the bus because there weren't enough riders to help defray the $1,300 charter fee. Riders would have been asked to donate $25 each toward the cost.
Murphey, who is helping organize the trip, had made tentative plans to charter the 55-seat bus, but said Wednesday that only seven riders had signed up.
to read the entire article please go to http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2005/08/26/news/news05.txt
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Friday September 9, 2005
News
Brownwood Bulletin
Oregon group questions Murphey's caravan involvement
By Steve Nash -- Brownwood Bulletin
The founder of an Oregon-based veterans' rights advocacy group asked Brown County Veterans Services Officer Billy Murphey if he used government resources to "(organize) a rally in support of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq."
Murphey responded to Jeffrey Trueman, founder of Veterans Equal Rights Protection Advocacy (VERPA), Inc., that he helped organize "a caravan of vehicles of private concerned citizens to travel to Crawford, Texas, to attend the rally organized by MoveAmerica Forward.org."
"I did not use the auspices of this office to do so," Murphey wrote in his letter to Trueman.
Brown County Judge Ray West also wrote a letter to Trueman stating that he believes Murphey was involved with the rally "as a Marine Corps veteran and he did not participate in his capacity as our (veterans services officer.)"
West brought up the topic of Trueman's letter at commissioners' Sept. 6 meeting. Commissioners signed West's letter to Trueman.
"I find it somewhat contradictory for you to state that your organization does 'not take political sides,' and then you devote an entire page of your two-page letter criticizing the current administration in its handling of the Iraq conflict," West wrote. "You are obviously less concerned that (Murphey) participated in the rally than you are in the message the rally promoted."
Murphey said earlier that he was helping organize a small caravan to travel to Crawford to attend a pro-military rally.
According to the Associated Press, activists and military families were en route to Crawford from California that week on a tour called "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" The tour was in response to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and her supporters. The caravan from California, coordinated by Move America Forward, held the pro-Bush rally in town.
In his letter to Murphey, Trueman, referring to the "rally" he believed Murphey had organized, asked Murphey "what, if any, statute allows you to engage in such conduct?"
" ... What concerns us is whether you took it upon yourself to organize this rally on your own personal time," Trueman wrote. "Did you use a government phone at all to organize this rally? If so, we believe it to be most definitely unethical and an abuse of public funds.
" ... I am greatly disturbed by your political activities ... I hope you will respond to set the record straight. If I do not hear from you, I will proceed with a formal complaint with the Texas Veterans Commissions and the (Brown County Commissioners Court)."
Murphey wrote back that he used his home telephone and personal cell phone, and received and placed a few calls related to the caravan from his office.
"Should we not, as veterans advocates, show support for our military and our country as we see it should be supported?" Murphey wrote. "I do not stop being a county veterans service officer when the bell tolls 5 p.m.
" ... Your (letter) has been the only negative aspect to come out of this rally to support the troops and their mission. Pro-troop supporters and pro-Bush supporters are taxpayers also."
Murphey said on Thursday that he has not heard back from Trueman.
source: http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2005/09/09/news/news03.txt
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