A new faith based organization has come out against building the Bush Library in Dallas. Hope for Peace & Justice seems to have two main arguments against the Presidential library being built here:

-It will make us a terrorist target

-We are already known as the city that killed Kennedy, so why would we want to be viewed as more conservative?

I think there are some very good reasons why someone would not want the Bush Library built at SMU or in Dallas, but these are the kind of silly arguments that make everyone against building the Bush Library here look bad.

Here is Hope for Peace & Justice's full press release:

Hope for Peace & Justice, a faith-based social justice organization, has launched a campaign to stop the George W. Bush Presidential Library and political think-tank from being built at Southern Methodist University (SMU) over concerns about the reputation of Dallas and safety of local residents.

"The Bush Library will no doubt be a terrorist target," said Rev. Michael Piazza, President of Hope for Peace & Justice. "The library will be a symbolic target, and local residents need to be aware of the consequences."

Many have also raised questions about building the infrastructure to handle the hundreds of thousands of potential visitors who will need additional roads and lanes of traffic built along US 75 and Mockingbird Lane.

Today, Rev. Piazza sent letters to the mayors and councilors of three area cities, Dallas, Highland Park and University Park, encouraging them to pass a resolution against the Bush Library, citing the above reasons. The letter is available on-line at http://www.stopthelibrary.com". There, people can sign a petition that will be delivered to the mayors and city councils of the three cities. The petitions also will be delivered to Gerald Turner, President of SMU, and the Board of Trustees of the university.

"Dallas has worked for decades to escape the reputation as the 'City that killed Kennedy,'" said Rev. Piazza. "We do not need to return to that right- wing reputation. Playing host to Mr. Bush's well-funded, neo-conservative think-tank will taint our reputation indelibly. Residents need to guard their reputation and say, 'No thank you Mr. President.'"

Stopthelibrary.com represents a non-partisan coalition of organizations, SMU faculty and residents seeking to bring awareness to the consequences of building the Bush Presidential Library in Dallas.

People concerned about the consequences the Bush library might have on the region are encouraged to go to http://www.stopthelibrary.com/ for more information and to sign the petition.