Let's see; I was born at a very early age.... I know; old joke: sorry. How old am I? I was born between V-E Day and V-J Day; go do your homework. Anyway, I was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and lived there through high school. I left home to attend Rice University in Houston, where I graduated in 1967 with a B.A. in math (computer science emphasis) and a commission in the U.S. Army. From there I went to Purdue University in Indiana, where I got an M.S. degree in Computer Science.
I served as an Army Signal Officer from 1970 to 1972, stationed at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. By then I had come to realize that the Vietnam War was both illegal and immoral, and that the Nuremberg treaties actually obligated me to refuse to take part. I told my superiors and the Army Signal Officer Personnel office that if I were ordered to Vietnam, I would refuse the order, stand trial, and use the trial as a public forum to publicize the illegality of the war. I was not ordered to go.
I moved to Austin in 1972 and have lived in the Austin area ever since (except for the six months I lived in Paris for my job with Lockheed). For 15 of those years I lived in Dripping Springs, where I was a member of the Dripping Springs Volunteer Fire Department, one of the founders of the Dripping Springs Youth Soccer Association, and the chair of the committee that managed the planning, design, and construction of the United Methodist Church there.
I have three children, all of whom I love very much and am very proud of. My son Dietrich lives in Conroe, north of Houston; and my daughters, Genevieve (Genny) and Dawn, live in northwest Austin. I have two grandchildren, Chloe and Chase, both of whom are also really great people.
In Austin I have worked for Scientific and Engineering Software, Computer Automation, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Dell Computers, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, and St. Edward's University. At St. Edward's I was an Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and taught courses in computer science and critical inquiry. I am now retired.
I started being politically active again in 2000, when I joined the Libertarian Party and ran for Texas State Senate, District 14 (Austin's district), getting 18% of the votes cast. I had a monthly segment entitled Liberty and Justice for All on the weekly Libertarian public-access TV show "Live and Let Live." If you ever have a chance to watch one of my shows in rerun, you'll see that I've been warning people about the evils of the Bush administration since before they were first inaugurated - right after they stole their first election.
In 2005 I left the Libertarian Party and joined the Greens, and I am currently the Treasurer of the Travis County Green Party and a member of Veterans for Peace. I was on the original planning committe for the AustinImpeach.org organization in Austin.
As a member of the City of Austin's Human Rights Commission, I am deeply involved with issues of justice for the people of Austin, and will continue with that as your junior Senator in the United States Congress.