The Texan of the Year with the most negative impact would be Senator Ted Cruz. Of course, a survey is warranted to see if his popularity is hyped by tea party propagandists or if he is really popular in Texas. We cannot ignore this guy. Let me list the long and short term impact of his acts on our society. - Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: Who would be your Texan of the Year?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
8:08 pm on November 5, 2013 | Permalink

A horseman alongside Dallas' Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
(Jason O'Rear)

We are headed into the end of the year, where there will be a lot of look backs at 2013. This newspaper participates in the annual ritual, too.

Each December our editorial board presents its Texan of the Year. Over the last decade, we have selected political figures like George W. Bush, groups of people like the heroes who endured the Fort Hood killings and unknown people like Roy Velez of Lubbock, whose two military sons died in Middle East wars. The strongest response we received about any choice was when we named Illegal Immigrants as Texans of the Year.

The criterion we use is simple: Uncommon impact by someone identifiable as a Texan. (That impact can be negative as well as positive.)

The person could be in public service, the arts, law, education, research, sports — you name it.

The nominee doesn’t have to be a big shot or household name. It could be an obscure genius who’s having quiet but important impact that’s being felt this year.

The person (or group) could be making a difference outside of Texas, as was the case with Admiral Bill McRaven. He was our 2011 Texan of the Year for heading up the bin Laden raid.

Here, then, is my question:

Who would you nominate as Texan of the Year for their uncommon impact?

Read on for the panel’s answers:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, and speaker on interfaith affairs, Dallas

The Texan of the Year with the most negative impact would be Senator Ted Cruz. Of course, a survey is warranted to see if his popularity is hyped by tea party propagandists or if he is really popular in Texas.

We cannot ignore this guy. Let me list the long and short term impact of his acts on our society.

First, he has not denounced his father’s statement unequivocally calling on Obama to go back to Kenya. What a shame! I am an Indian, and no one will bother me if I remain a small guy. But if I were to run against him in 2018, would his bigotry come alive again? Since I would be challenging him for the Senate, would he tell me to go back to India or Mexicans to go back to Mexico? I can imagine Ted Cruz smiling at his father for that support.

A corporation would rather have productive employees than the ones who get sick frequently and lower its productivity. It behooves us to invest in health care. Healthy Americans make a healthy nation. A good health care system is an investment in human capital, not a charity or a subsidy. Ted Cruz is bent on destroying America and its systems.

It is illegal to rob a bank at gun point, and it is illegal for me to block Ted Cruz from entering his office and doing his job. If I were to interrupt, I would be arrested. Yet he violated the rules and shut down the government with no consequence.

The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress, signed by the president and ratified by the Supreme Court. It is a shame for Republicans to claim that no Republican voted for it. That is a gross disrespect to our system.

We honor all legislation passed by elected representatives. Ted Cruz’s act was a dishonorable act and possibly illegal. Shouldn’t there be consequences for breaking the law? Isn’t he supposed to uphold the laws of the land? He did not respect the due process and acted like a Third World politician.

Ted Cruz sounds like a classroom bully who frightens kids and gets away with it. He is excess baggage for the Republican Party.

To read the response of all the Panelists, please visit Dallas Morning News at - http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/texas-faith-who-would-be-your-texan-of-the-year.html/#more-31282

Thank you
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
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It’s painful to bear what happens to innocent Lauren, and fearful to know that one among us is doing this. Our safety hinges on figuring ways to prevent these through vigilance, enforcement and education. God has given us guidance and free will and it’s up to us to figure out a societal balance for our own good. - Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: Where was God in the ordeal that young Lauren Kavanaugh faced? By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist wmckenzie@dallasnews.com 4:03 pm on October 29, 2013 | Permalink

Over the last week, the Dallas Morning News has run a series on the story of 20-year old Lauren Kavanaugh. In “The Girl in the Closet”, you will read a devastating, demoralizing account of depravity. (To access these stories, go to the chapters portion on the toolbar.)

The report tells the story of how young Lauren was locked in a closet, deprived of food and sexually abused by her mother and stepfather over several years. It will tell you how she rose above that horror to later be sexually abused again in her teen-age years. Throughout the story, you will learn of the rise and fall and rise of this young girl. You also will hear many an expert say this was as bad a case of victimization as they have seen.

Here, then, is my question: Where was God in the ordeal young Lauren faced?
Of course, this is an age-old question, but I would like to hear your views.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker, interfaith affairs, Dallas


Lauren Atkinson’s story brought tears to my eyes. The helplessness she faced was difficult to bear, her whole being was violated. When there is so much pain, does one lose hope? What becomes of living? Where was God in the ordeal young Lauren faced?

The word “helplessness” conjures up images of men, women and children during the Holocaust and Genocides. The looks on their faces showed the betrayal they felt when their friends and the people around them turned their faces away. With no choices available to them, they endured that humility with dignity and most of them gave up on life.

Where was God for them? Did God betray them too?

Trust is the most critical value for humans to survive amidst the perceived barbarism and law of jungle. Trust gives us comfort to get out of the house and drive knowing that others will follow the traffic rules as well. And trust allows us to drop off our children at school and pick them up later.

Rules are made for the safety of all. Survival mode kicks in when they are not followed, which is how we can live without apprehension and fear.

Of course, we can lose faith in the system. At that point, we either we violate the trust of others or become a recluse. It is in those critical moments we doubt the existence of God, the just and merciful God. Where the hell was he when he was needed most?

It took me years to understand the idea of God, a G_d that is not a thing or a being, a G-d that is formless and simply an indefinable, imaginary but real energy that caused life and sustains it, as we witness it.

Whatever or whoever created the matter, tuned it to be in balance. The planets and stars are programmed precisely to do exactly what they do. However, humans were not designed to be in self-balance. Instead, they were equipped with a device called “mind,” which works on creating the balance needed for its own survival.

For convenience, call it a spiritual or a God-balance that societies seek to preserve through laws. However, like traffic violations, we also violate the rules and pay a price for it.

It’s painful to bear what happens to innocent Lauren, and fearful to know that one among us is doing this. Our safety hinges on figuring ways to prevent these through vigilance, enforcement and education. God has given us guidance and free will and it’s up to us to figure out a societal balance for our own good.

To see the other panelists take, please visit Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/10/texas-faith-where-was-god-in-the-ordeal-that-young-lauren-kavanaugh-faced.html/#more-30919

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
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As a torch bearer of the Democratic Party, the president has a lot to appreciate in Ted Cruz, who with his singular jihadist act assured a gain for the Democrats to have a stronger say in the next Congress. That will preserve and protect his legacy: The Affordable Care Act, job growth in his second term and the continuance of a Democrat in the White House. Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: What can Obama and Cruz learn from each other?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
5:37 pm on October 22, 2013 | Permalink

You’ve read the coverage in the paper or online, followed the play-by-play on television news and probably even heard chatter around the water cooler about the government shutdown. So, I don’t need to replay the details for you about the last few weeks in Washington.

But, for this week’s discussion, I would like you to draw upon your training and/or beliefs to offer some advice to the two most identifiable people in the latest budget drama: President Obama and Texas’ own senator, Ted Cruz.

For them, and the country, to move ahead, some kind of breakthrough in human relations needs to occur. For that to happen, they need to understand each other better.

Of course, many major religions emphasize understanding “the other,” even welcoming the stranger. So, here is my question for this week:

What one strength of Ted Cruz’s would you suggest President Obama appreciate? And what one strength of President Obama’s would you suggest Sen. Cruz appreciate?

Read on for some surprising answers.



 MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas

All the good and bad things in the world, like war and peace, invention and destruction, progression and regression, were caused by one individual. Indeed, one man can really make the difference in shaping the world.

We have two individual politicians at odds with each other. Both have made a difference in their own way and will continue to be discussed through midnight, November 4, 2014.

President Obama should appreciate the Jihadist mindset of Sen. Ted Cruz. The man would not listen to the polls, public or peer opinions, but just believed in himself and passionately worked on his belief, however wrong that belief was. He is a bulldozer; and nothing matters to him when he rolls on the terrain. Mahatma Gandhi and Hitler had a similar passionate mind set. One believed that truth will ultimately triumph and non-violence will trump oppression. The other believed in the dominance of a superior race.

As a torch bearer of the Democratic Party, the president has a lot to appreciate in Ted Cruz, who with his singular jihadist act assured a gain for the Democrats to have a stronger say in the next Congress. That will preserve and protect his legacy: The Affordable Care Act, job growth in his second term and the continuance of a Democrat in the White House.

As a motivational speaker, Cruz is my subject. He was successful in bringing the mighty United States government to a grinding halt. If this passion were applied towards peace and prosperity, the world would be a better place.

Now turning the table, Sen. Ted Cruz can really appreciate President Obama’s patience and his passionate belief that the Affordable Care Act is good for America. He can also appreciate the president’s will to make it his legacy is stronger and has greater support than the senator’s own whim to undo it.


Sen. Cruz can also appreciate the president for not accusing him of being disrespectful to the law of the land. ObamaCare is the law of the land, and not upholding the law amounts to contempt of the Constitution and the procedure it requires to become the law.

I am sure he realizes that we have the best government in the world because we are a nation of law. The process it takes to change must be adhered to be a genuine constitutional conservative. 

To read the other panelists take, please visit Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/10/texas-faith-what-can-obama-and-cruz-learn-from-each-other.html/

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ghouse
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Thanks to JFK, his immortal words will become the crutch to great men and women of our future, a corollary of which will become a standard for them, “I am not the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or Wicca candidate for president. I am the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to belong to the respective faith. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”
 - Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: Did JFK have a greater impact on religion than any modern president?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
4:28 pm on October 15, 2013 | Permalink

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John F. Kennedy speaking as a candidate to Houston ministers in 1960

The nation and certainly the city of Dallas are coming upon the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. There are many parts of his presidency and death that our paper and others are starting to examine, from the legacy of his foreign policy to his imprint on civil rights to his use of television to communicate.

One area that hasn’t gotten much coverage is John F. Kennedy’s impact on religion in America. Often, we read about how Jimmy Carter and then Ronald Reagan awakened evangelicals and changed the face of religion in America, particularly in politics.

But did JFK have a greater effect than perhaps any modern president on religion in America?

Read on for some insightful answers.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas and speaker on interfaith matters

JFK had the most profound effect on religion in America than any other modern president. Indeed, he led the inclusionary trend in America.

A Catholic could have never dreamt of becoming president of the United States. Yet, there he was, the first one to break loose the unwritten Protestant monopoly on the White House with his sheer personal charisma and ability to communicate the right message. He paved the way for any American who aspired to lead the nation regardless of race or religion.

JFK had to be twice as good to win the hearts of Americans, just as African-Americans and other minorities have to be twice as good to be on par. He precisely communicated his adherence to his faith and the loyalty to the ideals of our Constitution without compromising. Perhaps, for the first time in our history, we became acutely aware of the separation of church and state, and understood what it meant.

On September 12, 1960, JKF delivered this powerful message:

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote;” and he continued, “I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation, or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.”

America will continue to grow to reflect our deeply held values that all men are created equal. Thanks to JFK, his immortal words will become the crutch to great men and women of our future, a corollary of which will become a standard for them, “I am not the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or Wicca candidate for president. I am the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to belong to the respective faith. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

His impact on the civil rights movement is lasting. On June 11, 1963 Kennedy defined the crisis as a moral one, as well as a constitutional and legal one. He announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to the Congress to guarantee equal access to public facilities, to end segregation in education, and to provide federal protection of the right to vote.

Most importantly, in behalf of all immigrants, I want to express my gratitude to JFK and MLK. Thank you, we are here today contributing to the richness of America, because of the Civil Rights Act and you two.

To read the other panelists take, please go to Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/10/texas-faith-did-jfk-have-a-greater-impact-on-religion-than-any-modern-president.html/#more-30501
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
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