It was a smooth process! I asked
Google, “Where do I vote today” – it responded with the address of Marsh
Lane Baptist Church on Royal at Marsh Ln, that is where I went.
Had
a nice conversation with the folks in the line and inside the voting
room, I sought permission from the precinct Judge to take pictures and
here are a few. It was all efficient… within a few minutes it was all
done.
Outside the
building, I talked to people if they went straight party line or chose
the individuals – the answer was pleasant – all the 14 people responded
that they chose to vote individually. That’s how it should be, voting
for the individual and that takes time to go through the entire list, if
you chose party, it is just one single click. I hope it is a trend!
How did you vote?
Among the biggies, I voted Wendy,
Alameel – democrats and Marchant – a Republican and then for the state
representative and senator I went with Democrats but among judges, went
with the Republicans I knew, others went democrat. I was surprised with a
page full of names of only Democrat judges on the ballot without
contest; the same was with Republican judges on some pages. That easy? I
have always shared who I voted. We don’t need to play games to be
politically correct, you are who you are, and I am who I am and we need
to learn to accept each other. If someone does not like you for the way
you voted, and don’t want to be friends, their friendship was shallow
anyway, and I say good riddance.
...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day.
It is one of the most difficult decisions of my life to quit being a Republican.
The more people I talk to, the more confident I feel that the GOP has completely
lost its anchor values it was built upon, and the extremists have crept in and
ruined it beyond repair. I have written over a hundred pieces about this, and
all of them are listed in the links at http://CenterforAmericanPolitics.blogspot.com
and www.TheGhousediary.com
Finally, I have chosen to go independent. I am an American, and my
loyalty is to America, and not the party. I am neither a Republican nor will be
a Democrat. There are enough independents out there who choose the candidates
based on the good they can do for America, all of America and not just a segment
of America, I would rather be free than bounded by party politics.
As an independent, I will be voting for Wendy Davis (D), Alameel (D), Marchant (R) and will be selective with local
candidates.
Why did I choose to go independent?
I
have been debating about remaining with Republican party ever since
Bush and his cronies lied to the American Public about WMD, and in the
process terrorized and killed nearly half a million innocent Iraqi’s and
Afghans.
If an individual wraps bombs to his waist and kills a
bus load of people, we rightfully call him a terrorist; however, if a
head of a democratic nation wraps missiles on our jets and bombs
hundreds of thousands of people, we let him hide behind the word “war”,
as if it makes him less of a terrorist." It went in a different
direction.
The debates in mid-term 2006 elections and again in
2008 were shameful. There was no Republican in the forefront who would
talk about peace – everyone was eager to bomb and terrorize others; it
was sickening to hear McCain, Romney and the other insignificant men and
women in the Presidential debates. They wanted Americans to support
them based on hating and harming someone or the other, it was
demoralizing to hear them all. How can we fall for such stupidity, have
we lost our ability to see through the destruction they were causing to
America?
Millions of Americans lost their jobs causing thousands
of divorces, home and business foreclosures, people lost insurance and
several died for lack of it. Half a million innocent foreigners were
massacred for no good reason, and thousands of women were put on the
street to sell flesh. Thanks to the immorality caused by our
president. Middle East was a pretty stable region except the Israel
Palestine conflict – the Bush invasion gave birth to every damned
conflict and evil we see including the ISIS.
The Nation had a
surplus when Clinton left, and in 8 years Bush screwed America by piling
up $10 billion in budget deficit. Yuck, there was no accountability
for the wrong doing.
I shudder at the thought of Romney
Presidency, he was too eager to Bomb Iran, too anxious to please his
buddies Netanyahu and McCain. Of course he had nothing to lose and does
not give a flip about the 47% of the Americans. He would have completed
the destruction of America that Bush had left unfinished. There would
have been massive unemployment, divorces, home and business
foreclosures, increased crime rate and an unbearable budget deficit.
Yet
there was no significant dissent among Republicans, what do I take –
that Republicans are war mongers? They are a bunch of gutless obedient
conformists, and I am not and don’t belong there.
I was sick of
being a lone ranger in peace meetings, interfaith meetings and other
community service meetings, peace talks are anathema to them and rarely
do you find them in peace meetings.
They don’t know nothing about biology or mathematics or polls and have made the dumbest remarks about these issues.
They
are opposed to same sex marriages – opposed to women making their own
decisions about abortion. Do they know the meaning of liberty? I mean
the hot heads representing the party, and not the good for nothing
conformists.
The turning point was when Republicans voted against equal pay for women. That is gutsy and hope the women will remember that.
They
claim to stick to the constitution which is the biggest joke of the
century and goes to prove their hypocrisy. Facebook is loaded with their
bigotry- check out the postings of Republicans undermining the
president in discreet language.
This week, they are showing their
loyalty to a foreign leader over our president, that is disgustingly
unpatriotic. Shame on them.
This president has pulled the nation
from the doldrums, despite the blatant opposition of Mitch McConnell and
ugly acts of Ted Cruz and his racist father, blatantly going against
him by declaring that he will oppose every bill Obama proposes and
shutting down the government. Did any of the Republicans question that
racist father Cruz who wanted to send Obama to Kenya; did anyone tell
him to go to Cuba instead? Shame on us to a give a pass to these
radicals.
Thank God for Obama, gas prices are down and the
average service person can afford to pay for a tank full of Gas.
Unemployment will be low and by the time Obama is done he would have
fully restored the economic prosperity that Americans enjoyed during the
Clinton era, to be continued by another Clinton. Obama will also
leave a legacy of updated roads and bridges to last for two more
decades.
We have to be open to immigration; this nation was built
on immigrants. Sometimes the stinky Republican attitudes ( if the
majority of Republicans did not approve that attitude, they did not
condemn it either) and demonstrators at the border makes me wish, that
the Native Americans had put an electric fence around America to prevent
Columbus and his hordes from illegally entering America.
Most of
the mistakes made by our government are when the house, senate and the
administration are all from the same party. If we can wise up for the
sake of America, and give the Senate to Democrats and house to
Republicans, but not give them big majorities, the SOB’s will become
arrogant. Let them fight over the bills, debate extensively than slam
dunk with a majority or go against each other. At the end, they will
make good decisions for America with the checks and balances we build,
it is in our hands.
Finally, I have chosen to go independent. I
am an American, and my loyalty is to America, and not the party. I am
neither a Republican nor will be a Democrat. There are enough
independents out there who choose the candidates based on the good they
can do for America, all of America and not just a segment of America, I
would rather be free than bounded by party politics.
As an
independent, I will be voting for Wendy Davis (D), Alameel (D),
Marchant (R) and will be selective with local candidates.
References, links to my articles on Obama, Romney, and some of the many stupid things
More below...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day. THINGS REPUBLICANS HAVE SAID ARE HARD TO DIGEST
“I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense
of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life,
and accept what God has given to you… rape victims should make the best of a
bad situation.” Rick Santorum
"Some girls rape easy.” Roge Rivard
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole
thing down” Todd Akin
"As president, I will create 12 million new jobs.” –and
within 45 minutes he said this, ”Government does not create jobs. Government
does not create jobs.” – Mitt Romney
“white men who are in male-only clubs are going to do great in my presidency,”
according to an audio recording of his comments provided to CNN. […]”Lindsey
Graham,
“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” ~ George W. Bush
“Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t
even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful
gas.” ~ Rep. Michele Bachmann
”Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women
easier access to the mainstream of society.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
“I went to a number of women’s groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks,’
and they brought us whole binders full of women.” ~ Mitt Romney
”The feminist agenda is not about
equal
rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political
movement that
encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice
witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” ~ Pat Robertson (
do you remember a similar statement from a Saudi Cleric? He thought if
women drive, they would become Lesbians - How stupid are these guys!
“If this were a
dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the
dictator.” ~ George W. Bush
“Abortion Leads To Cancer, Birth Defects, And
Everything Else” – Richard Burgess
“Evolution
Is (Still) Out To Get Jesus” – Marco Rubio
“Good Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions.” ~ Jerry
Falwell
“How did [the Holocaust] happen? Because God allowed it to
happen… because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them
to come back to the land of Israel.’ Hagee
It is such a joy to read the following article about the Pope's stand on evolution. The word God-sent applies to him.
He is everything a true religious person ought to be - whether you are an Atheist (yes!) Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Earth Based Religions, Wicca, Zoroastrians or the other, he could be your genuine religious leader. The more I read about him, the more I like him. He is the first live person in my life, that I would humbly follow and take as my religious leader with of course a few differences.
Indeed, to this Muslim he is a genuine Muslim sans-rituals, and I am sure the Hindus, Jews and others feel the same about him, he is one of us, indeed, he belongs to all of us.
This is what Quran calls for (as other holy books do) - i.e., God is not the property of any one, but he is the creator, sustainer and changer of all the universes that we can see, hear, think and imagine.
Prophet Muhammad and all other peacemakers from Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David, Solomon, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Nanak, Bahaullah and an innumerable masters in native traditions, and civic leaders such as Gandhi, MLK, Mandela and others have done the same job - to build cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other. Pope Francis is getting there.
God created everything in balance and harmony, and all that he wants us to do is preserve it. Relgions are his expression of love for humanity, he gave his guidance to every tribe, nation and community, and all are legitimate means to seek peace and build cohesive societies.
Everything I had asked of him in my March 13 letter, he has delivered it more than I had asked for, and that more is in his following take on evolution. Mine is similar. He is my guru, the first one in my life I have wholeheartedly accepted him.
I have kept up
with Pope Francis, from the day he was appointed
through now. A press release was issued on March 13, 2013 and I
expressed my expectations of him, and since then I continue to
write about him, in all, I have written nearly 20 pieces about him.
Thank God, now, I can say, I have a religious mentor, even
though he is a Catholic Christian, I receive the same essence of
religion from him, if he were a pious Muslim. He is the most
genuine human being we have today. I hope to meet with him and
work towards a resolution to the Jewish-Christian,
Christian-Muslim and Christian-Hindu conflicts.
This is my dream!
Social conservatives in the United States who’ve been
unhappy with Pope Francis’ moderation today have one more reason to be
upset. Daniel Berger reported this afternoon:
Pope Francis broke with Catholic tradition Monday by
declaring that the theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real, and
remarking that God is not “a magician with a magic wand.”
“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of
imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything.
But that is not so,” the pope said at the Pontifical Academy of
Sciences, during a plenary meeting dedicated to evolving concepts of
nature.
The pope’s remarks came earlier today in a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
“The Big Bang, that today is considered to be the origin of
the world, does not contradict the creative intervention of God; on the
contrary, it requires it,” the Roman Catholic pontiff said.
“Evolution in nature is not in contrast with the notion of [divine]
creation because evolution requires the creation of the beings that
evolve.”
Francis described a vision in which living beings evolve naturally, “in accordance with the internal laws” ascribed by God.
It is important to note, as the report from the Religion News Service emphasized,
that this is not exactly a theological breakthrough: “Unlike much of
evangelical Protestantism in the U.S., Catholic teaching traditionally
has not been at odds with evolution. In 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed
there was no opposition between evolution and Catholic doctrine. In
1996, St. John Paul II endorsed Pius’ statement.”
When it comes to Christian hostility towards modern biology,
most of the opposition comes by way of Evangelical Protestants, not
Roman Catholics.
Still, Francis’ remarks are welcome for supporters of science in light of his immediate predecessor.
The msnbc report
added, The language was a significant departure from Benedict XVI and
his close advisers, who had voiced support for the idea that intelligent
design underpins evolution. In 2005, close Benedict associate Cardinal
Schoenborn wrote a New York Times op-ed in which he declared, “evolution
in the sense of common ancestry might be true, but evolution in the
neo-Darwinian sense – an unguided, unplanned process – is not.”
The Religion News Service report noted that Giovanni Bignami,
a professor and president of Italy’s National Institute for
Astrophysics, welcomed Francis’ comments, saying he had buried the “pseudo theories” of creationists.
“The pope’s statement is significant,” Bignami told Italian
news agency Adnkronos. “We are the direct descendants from the Big Bang
that created the universe. Evolution came from creation.”
We, the
people of the world, and particularly non-white immigrants from around the
world salute you to express our deeply felt gratitude for your courage in becoming a
catalyst in removal of the evil Apartheid practice from the United States. Dear Rosa, we thank you from the depth of our
hearts.
Today is her anniversary, she passed away 9 years ago today in Detroit, Michigan,
leaving a rich legacy of service to humanity. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an
African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called
"the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom
movement".
Had it not been for her defiant civil disobedience by courageously sitting in
the bus despite the orders to get up from the seat where only white people can
sit, and had it not been for the follow up by MLK, the Civil rights act would
not have been a reality, and perhaps none of the non-white immigrants would have
made it to the United States. You are one of the reasons I am here today in
these United States.
In Dallas, there were no more than 5 Pakistani and 10 Indian families prior to
the passage of Civil rights act in 1964, then a wave of immigrants came,
knowing that they don’t have to drink the water from a different fountain;
don’t have to sit in the back of the bus, or cannot eat in a restaurant and
forget all other privileges we enjoy today because of her bold step.
I just Googled “Rosa Parks Mike Ghouse” and to my delight, I found 4,710
entries, and felt good that I have expressed my gratitude adequately. Thank you Rosa, I would not have come to the
United States without the Civil rights act and I will do my share of work in
making America a great nation on the earth.
We, at the
Foundation for Pluralism paid our tribute to Rosa Parks at the 9th
Annual Thanksgiving Celebrations at Embassy Suites Hotel in Frisco in November 2005;
she had passed away on October 24 the same year. Narration of Thanksgiving was given by Mary
Ann Thompson-Frenk, and Tribute to Rosa Parks was read by Cheryl Smith and the
tribute to MLK was offered by Anne Marie Weiss and the plaque was presented to
Rev. Perry Crenshaw by TV Host Ester Davis. Julie Ann Turner and Najma Ghouse
were the other MC’s of the program and I delivered the Key note address “the Community
is a bus.” http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/TG2005_REPORT.asp
If you are in Dallas, we are holding the 16th
Annual Thanksgiving event on Saturday, November 22, and I am pleased to invite
you to join us – details at: www.ThanksgivingCelebrations.org
The following information is from Wikipedia.
Rosa
Louise McCauley Parks
(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-Americancivil
rightsactivist,
whom the United States Congress called "the
first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom
movement".[1] Her
birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both
become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in both California and
Ohio.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus
driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in
the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled.
Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. Others had taken
similar steps, including Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and
the members of the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit (Claudette
Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) who
were arrested in Montgomery months before Parks. NAACP
organizers believed that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a
court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama
segregation laws, although eventually her case became bogged down in the state
courts while the Browder v. Gayle case succeeded.
Parks' act of defiance and the Montgomery Bus Boycott became important
symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. She became an
international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and
collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Edgar Nixon,
president of the local chapter of the NAACP; and Martin Luther King, Jr., a new minister in
town who gained national prominence in the civil rights movement. At the time, Parks was secretary
of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. She had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee
center for training activists for workers' rights and racial equality. She
acted as a private citizen "tired of giving in". Although widely
honored in later years, she also suffered for her act; she was fired from her
job as a seamstress in a local department store. ...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day.
The
acronyms SOB, AH, BS and others are certainly uncouth, but they effectively
communicate a purposeful message, hence I made that choice. The Warning poster to Terrorist is a double
edged sword and is at the bottom.
The following comments have been received against the poster below.
“sometimes your brain goes on strike I guess”,
“Don’t jeopardize”
“Who gave you the authority to represent Muslims?”
“Not appropriate and
safe for you in today's hostile environment.”
“this is a
mindless drivel”
“You are not qualified to speak for Islam”
“Do you think your
severe warning will have any darn effect on these fanatics”
“I second it”
“it is appropriate
response”.
In a learning environment, good thoughts and concrete ideas
are developed with criticism and feedback; here is why this kind of response is
needed.
Don't bark at the
religion for the acts of bad guys. Punishment is set for bad acts, to restore the trust in a given society. When a
Rapist is running around in a neighborhood, everyone is apprehensive, but when
the guy is caught and nailed, peace of mind is restored in the neighborhood. Instead
of catching the guy, if we blame his raising, his family, his religion, his
race or nation, and his imam, rabbi, pastor or pundit – we will not restore
peace. I intend to aggressively communicate this idea, the right idea, and
intend to speak at various law enforcement agencies as well as religious
institutions.
The criminal ought to know that he will be punished; we will not allow the poor
alibi of religion, not at all. The Law enforcement and the media people also
need to get this in their heads, the purpose of investigations and chasing the
bad guys is to restore trust and not to aggravate by barking at a non-entity
like Religion. The more you bark at criminal’s religion, race or ethnicity, the worse it gets.
You cannot shoot, kill, hang, beat or bury the religion, then why bark at it?
72 Virgins are
promised. Both the terrorists and the communicators of the problem (Media and
Politicians) to the world at large have gotten it wrong. The poor guy needs to
be outraged at the recruiters that he was duped, and there are no 72 virgins
waiting for him, instead the SOB will rot in Jail if we Americans get him, or
killed mercilessly if he is caught by the opposite party. No Geneva conventions
will be observed by either the terrorist or his chasers. The Media needs to stop the BS of propagating
the falsity with nothing to back up in the Qur'an.
Both the criminal and
the law enforcement (coupled with the media and politicians) must be aware that
it is the Sin, and not the sinner we are after. The clarity should prevent us
from being unjust. We should not be
abusive in disciplining or punishing the wrong doer. As a civil society, we
cannot become the very evil we want to eradicate.
We should seek the
criminal to lead us to the source of recruiting material and the recruiters by
mitigating his punishment.
The Challenge to
“read the right translation/interpretation” of Qur'an applies to both the
criminal and the law enforcement. I am certain, the criminal will become a
genuine repenter, and the law enforcement will not buy or propagate the dished
out non-sense in the market or bark irrelevantly.
This is the right
time to forge peace to the society in general, and
American society in particular by boldly and loudly getting people to get
the message, and i.e.,
I am being assertive,
never has any Muslim or other communicated this so clearly and it is time we do
that, thank God for the opportunities he has blessed us with to find
solutions. If I don't, no one will
speak, and I sincerely hope many of us to speak up, do it on your own or join
me.
It is time we separate the evil from good.
Bottom line is to free Islam and Muslims from the stupid stereotyping, and focus
on punishing the bad guys and restoring trust in the society.
You
SOB, you are the damned murderer, you messed up the peace, and your ass will nailed big time.
Don’t give me the BS about your job, childhood,
parents, kids, siblings, spouse, imam, rabbi, pastor or the pundit. You did it and you'll pay for it.
I
am not stupid to buy in your argument that your religion made you do
that, and then bark at the religion endlessly. AH, you are the bad guy
and you are going to pay for it. I am here to restore justice in the
society and not be detracted and scream at your religion like a stupid
ass. I can hang you, shoot you, bury
you and beat you up to restore justice and trust in the society, and that is my goal
Note:
Mr. Terrorist, I don't condemn you, it is your sin I condemn. If you
claim to be a Muslim, just remember, those guys who recruited you, and
cheated you with false promises of Hoories and virgins in paradise were
dead wrong. There is no such thing nor is it mentioned in Qur'an,
instead you will rot in jail for life. Would you turn in your recruiters
for cheating you? Would you read the correct translations of Qur'an, we
might minimize your sentence? This should be the attitude of Law enforcement Authorized by Mike Ghouse, World Muslim Congress.
Thank
you Mike Ghouse (214)
325-1916
text/talk www.WorldMuslimCongress.com ...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.netand his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day.
Mike Ghouse on Hannity radio show today at 4:00 PM- check your local listing- warning to terrorists
My message is for the terrorists as well as the right wingers.
1. Don't bark at religion for the acts of bad guys 2. 72 virgins are robbed from you, there is nothing like that.
3. Instead you'll rot in the jail.
4. We need to punish the individual wrong doer
5. It's not the sinner, it's the sin we need to punish, which means more precise punishment.
I'll be on nationally syndicated Hannity radio show to elaborate on this
# # #
You
SOB, you are the damned murderer, you messed up the peace, and I will
nail your ass big time. Don’t give me the BS about your job, childhood,
parents, kids, siblings, spouse, imam, rabbi, pastor or the pundit.
Text is on the side, or click on the image to enlarge
I
am not stupid to buy in your argument that your religion made you do
that, and then bark at the religion endlessly. AH, you are the bad guy
and you are going to pay for it.
I can hang you, shoot you, bury
you and beat you up to restore justice and trust in the society, but I
cannot do that with your religion. I am here to restore justice in the
society and not be detracted and scream at your religion like a stupid
ass. This should be the attitude of Law enforcement
Authorized by Mike Ghouse, World Muslim Congress. Note:
Mr. Terrorist, I don't condemn you, it is your sin I condemn. If you
claim to be a Muslim, just remember, those guys who recruited you, and
cheated you with false promises of Hoories and virgins in paradise were
dead wrong. There is no such thing nor is it mentioned in Qur'an,
instead you will rot in jail for life. Would you turn in your recruiters
for cheating you? Would you read the correct translations of Qur'an, we
might minimize your sentence?
...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day.
Let me throw in the monkey’s wrench here, what if a Mosque was delivering
sermons that cause disturbance in the society, should the Mosque
hide behind First Amendment and not share its sermons? We all should be
open to scrutiny for public good and need to protect the rights of the
individuals that are being violated. Mike Ghouse TheGhouseDiary.com - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/10/texas-faith-religious-liberty-vs-equal.html
TEXAS FAITH: Religious liberty vs equal rights in Houston. Is it ever right to subpoena religious sermons? By Wayne Slater wslater@dallasnews.comPublished at Dallas Morning News 12:55 pm on October 21, 2014 | Permalink
The city of Houston sparked a firestorm when it subpoenaed the sermons of five pastors who led opposition to the city’s equal rights ordinance. Christian conservative groups and politicians, including Attorney General Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, denounced the action as an attack on religious liberty. Faced with the criticism, the city amended its subpoenas to remove any mention of “sermons.” But it still seeks “all speeches or presentations related to” the ordinance and a petition drive aimed at repealing it.
Opponents had mounted the petition drive but the city ruled there weren’t enough valid signatures to put the repeal issue on the ballot. Opponents filed suit. The case is set for trial in January.
The ordinance bans discrimination by businesses that serve the public and in housing and city employment. Religious institutions are exempt. Critics complain the ordinance grants transgender people access to the restroom of their choice in public buildings and businesses, excluding churches.
Mayor Annise Parker says the city wasn’t trying to intrude on matters of faith. She says it just wants to know what pastors advised folks about the petition process. But critics are deeply suspicious the Houston subpoena could set up a test case aimed at revoking the tax exemption of religious organizations that advocate political activity the government doesn’t like.
What to make of the balancing act between the city’s effort to defend its equal rights ordinance and pastors who encouraged people to oppose it in speeches and correspondence?
What are the limits, if any, of religious leaders to speak out as a matter of religious faith without facing a government subpoena?
We asked our Texas Faith panel of religious leaders, theologians, academics and faith-based activists what they thought of the clash between faith and politics in Houston. Their responses: diverse and provocative.
“I celebrate the courage of preachers who, like the ancient prophets, become critics of the political system,” said one Texas Faith panelist.
But another said: “Foolish paranoid irrationality aside, the city of Houston does not restrict preachers’ ability to pontificate on why some people should be given human rights, but others should not.”
And there was this: What if they had been mosques? Would Ted Cruz & Co. have been so quick to proclaim religious liberty?
If you think there’s consensus – even among those in the faith community – you’re wrong.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas
The problem started when the City of Houston passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against transgender identity in accessing restroom facilities in public and private employment.
The religious folks took it as an infringement of their rights protected under the First Amendment and started the petition to do away the ordinance or put it on the ballot as a referendum. Mayor Parker called in for the sermon notes to build up her case to stick with the ordinance, and then backed off saying that it was not the sermons but the notes.
The mayor ought to stick with the subpoenas with sermon notes and not let the issue be derailed; it will be a long drawn battle about First Amendment rights, but what we forget is those rights are in place when they do not violate the rights of others.
Let me throw in the monkey’s wrench here, what if a Mosque is delivering sermons that may cause disturbance in the society, should the Mosque hide behind First Amendment and not share its sermons? We all should be open to scrutiny for public good and need to protect the rights of the individuals that are being violated.
We have come a long way in becoming a civil society, one by one; we are becoming what God wanted us to be – to respect all his creation supported by our declaration that all men are created equal. It took us nearly 150 years to recognize that women were equal citizens, then the African Americans, and after many more recognitions we are reaching the pinnacle of civility by including the GLBT community as equal in every aspect of life and honor their legitimate needs in a civil society.
Here is a possible solution, in the process of becoming the most civilized nation, among other things, we have banned smoking, we have built ramps for handicapped individuals in public and private facilities, even though the percent of users is few and far in between. Now, we may consider adding a bathroom facility for the transgender. Let every American live in dignity.
The civility of a society is determined by how it protects its women, minorities, children, poor, the weak and the unprotected. In brutal societies, the state or the mob has all the rights, whereas the ordinary citizens don’t, and are subjugated to the whims of the mob. In civil societies on the other hand, the value of unprotected individuals is equal to the value of the ones in power or majority.
It is the responsibility of a society to safeguard the rights of individuals in their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. The civility of a society is reflected in fulfilling that requirement.
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated
Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News
and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at
www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other
blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day.
Diwali
is the Indian festival of lights and is celebrated on a large scale
throughout India and the Indian Diaspora. It is also celebrated in
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Guyana, West
Indies, Fiji, and of course, here in the United States. Diwali is about hope, Diwali brings light, Diwali signifies end of darkness and Diwali signifies end of ignorance and beginning of enlightenment. You can greet your friends with any one of these phrases, "Happy Diwali", "Diwali Mubarak", Diwali ki Shubh Kamnayein" and the very Best of Diwali to you.
Diwali
is spelled differently, and is called by many names. There is Divali
among others, and Deepavali, meaning the festival of lights. Although
Diwali is a Hindu tradition, many a people of different faiths
participate in celebrations - Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,
Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others of India and Indian origins.
People
decorate their homes with lights and Rangoli, i.e., colorful drawing in
the front yard of the home, sidewalks, even roads in India with
colorful powders or colorful pieces of chalk. Women and Children look
forward to expressing their artistic talent in this season. Their
surroundings filled with colorful lights to enliven the day, to mark the
dawn of a new era in one's life.
My childhood is filled with good memories of Diwali; the sparklers, the food and everything joyous you can imagine.
A
few years ago, Jyoti and Nishi Bhatia, former President of DFW Hindu
Temple and President of Dallas Hindi Association respectively, asked me
to speak about Diwali in a dinner gathering to a group of people from
different faiths and cultures, and I cherished it, I love talking about
Diwali, as its essence reflects the ideals of pluralism, and symbolizes
hope and positive energy, victory of good over evil; a new beginning.
It is indeed seeing the light at the end of tunnel.
Diwali
Celebration is a part of the epic Ramayana, and the Ram Lila (enactment
of the story on stage) is played out all night long in towns across
India. I grew up watching it in front of my house, and my friends played
different roles in the show. Indeed, one of my former relatives played
Hanuman’s role.
It
was a challenge for me to teach Ramayana to a group of people who knew
nothing about it. It turned out to be a successful program. I prepared
the nearly all white audience that I will be narrating the story through
the power point and along will be reinforcing the names and roles of
the key persons in the story and will ask them for feed back at the end.
Friends, I cannot tell you the joy, the Bhatias and I felt when each
one of them answered the questions from the story. They got it! It is a
powerful story and takes about 30 minutes to narrate.
The
epic is filled with educative tales, edifying poems, and fables. It is
probably through their constant retelling in the villages over centuries
that Hinduism is most efficiently disseminated from generation to
generation.
Whenever a society rots with adharma (wrong path), where no one cares about the other, lying, stealing and dishonesty become rampant, Lord Krishna says,I will emerge among you and restore the righteousness and trust in the society to function smoothly." Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Nanak,
Mahavira, Confucius, Tao and others served the same purpose. it is
almost like the laws of physics ; water finds its own level, and
righteousness finds its own existence.
Rama
is one such incarnation who reestablished the moral code for social
conduct and proper relation of mankind to divinity. He was truthful and
a just king.
Diwali symbolizes hope and positive energy
People wear new clothes
Share sweets as a symbol of happiness
Renew the relationships
Strengthen the bonds
It signifies a new beginning, starting out fresh.
for most businesses it is the new financial year
An inventory of assets is taken
An assessment of family and relationship
Last harvest for the farmers
New things are bought
To those celebrating Diwali, I wish you, your families and loved ones Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak.”
Today,
on this blessed day, we have a blank slate to start, let's plan on
filling it with doing good things for ourselves, to our family, friends,
community, nation and the world until next Diwali.
What
are good things? Words and actions that bring peace, Mukti, salvation,
Moksha, nirvana, Nijaat and freedom to us, yes us. There is so much of
joy waiting to be had. If we can remove hatred and anger towards others,
forgive others and ask for forgiveness (Michami Dukadam is a beautiful
phrase the Jain's use), then a blissful year is sure to come for each
one of you and me.
May this Diwali purge your heart, mind and soul from hate, malice, anger and ill-will;
May this Diwali open your hearts and minds towards fellow being;
May this Diwali brighten your life, and may this Diwali mark the dawn of a new era;
Muslims
are a big part of Diwali as well, and innumerable poets have written
poetries and songs about Diwali. Here is my effort, I wrote this seven
years ago on the occasion when Diwali and Ramadan were celebrated
around the same time.
ये मेरी दिवाली है, ये मेरी ईद है दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है
A meri diwali hai, a meri eid hai donon may khushi hi khushi hai -
दिवाली से नया साल शुरू होता है रमज़ान एक नया इंसान बनाता है
Diwali say naya saal shuru hota hai Ramzan ek naya insaan banata hai -
दिवाली मैं एक एक बात का हिसाब होता है रमज़ान में हर बात का रिव्यू होता है
Diwali may ek ek baat ka hisab hota hai Ramzan may her baat ka review hota hai -
दिवाली नए साल के लिए क्लीन स्लेट देता है रमज़ान पिछले साल का स्लेट क्लीन करता है
Diwali nayay saal ke liye clean slate deta hai Ramzan pichlay saal ki slate clean karta hai -
बात ही बात में मैंने एक नयी नज़्म लिख दी साहिर दिवाली और रमज़ान से सबका अच्छा ही होता है
Baat hi baat may, my nay a sher likh diya Sahir Diwali aur Ramzan say subka acha hi hota hai
Happy Diwali to you my friends, may this Diwali bring happiness, serenity and peace to you. Amen!
दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है
Thank
you mike Mike Ghouse (214)
325-1916
text/talk
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on
Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture,
ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at
www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are
at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10
other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
