SUPER PACS ARE A BANE ON POLITICS

Super pacs are an anathema to democracy and our way of life. A few with money can buy their influence with sound bites and mis-information. Your single vote will not mean anything anymore; many of us will be deprived of listening to the candidates first hand and making your own decisions. 

 We have committed blunders upon blunders in ruining our economy, banking and politics through deregulations. There is no accountability to the public or public funds; we need to regulate all those acts that affect the public severely like Banking, financing, mortgage and Super Pac’s. We need to banish this evil.

Until we see Obama Super Pac’s rip Romney apart, we will not realize the evil of this monster.  Who are the losers? Of course, it is the American public.  Obviously, it is the Radio and Television media who has everything to gain with the bumper income.

Because of the lawlessness of deregulation, we are losing some great candidates out there who may have personal flaws but could be the best governors and president. They don’t want to be in the fray and spend the time in defending their personal lives rather than working for the country.

As a nation we need to seriously think about qualifying the candidates and relaxing the inquisition to allow great candidates to run our nation.   

The rich need to realize that they will not make the money if the consumers aren’t there to spend.

 Mike Ghouse committed to a cohesive America. www.MikeGhouse.net  

NEWT THE LOSER - YOU AIN'T REAGAN

NEWT THE LOSER - YOU AIN'T REAGAN 

Why would anyone want to elect you who cheated on his wives in hospital?
Why would anyone want to man who is not himself, but lives on Reagan Name?
Why would anyone want to elect a man who was dumped for ethics violations?

ROMNEY LOST TO OBAMA BECAUSE

My fellow Republicans like you had f'd up the country
Because Bush had destroyed America, and
Because Obama gave hope to a nation desperately needing it

IF YOU GET THE NOMINATION
OBAMA IS GUARANTEED TO WIN...
YOUR ARE A BIGOT MR. GINGRICH

Look up in the mirror and just read the excuses and apologies you have made in just a few weeks. You owe an apology to a lot of fellow Americans... Until you regret and repent and confess... You don’t have place in governance.

Go home and rip Freddic Mac or Join me in building a cohesive America where no American has to live in discomfort or fear of the other... then you should win the presidency. We need leaders who care about every American.

Misapplied Laws - Sharia in Iran, death penalty in America

Ron Paul is against death penalty. 2:00 to 2:30 Minutes segment of the video

Innocent people are put to death with the misapplication of our laws,
just as people put to death due to misapplication of sharia laws
The problem is not with the law, but its misapplication.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1aO5FO-c47k#!

PERRY GET THE HELL OUT OF SOUTH CAROLINA

114 Evangelicals met in Texas and gave 85 Votes to Santorum, 24 to Gingrich and a shameful 5 for Perry. The were all anti-Americans and anti-Republican who believed Merit does not matter, but faith does. They don't care about the separation of Church and State.

Perry must get the hell out of there before South Carolina dangles a mere 5% for courtesy.

Evangelical leaders ganged up on Romney

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/texas-faith-evangelical-leaders-finding.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

GOOFY RIGHT-WINGERS MAY HELP ROMNEY

Goofy right wingers may help Romney with their divisiveness, they want their candidate to win, but all they do is opposite of what they want to do. It's like security for Israel, the goofy right wingers do the opposite to deny Israel it's security and justice to Palestinians, they do the same with Iran, causing Iran to dig in their heels.

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

Sour Grape Santorum wants Iowa Recount

If he could not rise over 10% in NH, what makes him want a recount, sour grapes?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71443.html

Dallas school districts controversial use of religious buildings

Dallas Morning News writes a report on the topic and includes some of my comments in the article following my notes.

The School District’s decision to hold the commencement ceremonies at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious buildings without restrictions does not bode well in the long haul.

A few religious places will be generous in their offer; however, it implies an association with that place of worship and carries the baggage in the long haul. What if the new pastor is a bigot and has a problem with gay or lesbian kids or kids of other faiths. It is always the individual that drives the society towards ill-will or goodwill. Why do we need to subject ourselves to such whims?

We are a pluralistic society and deeply want our kids to grow up and interact with the real world out there that comprises people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and sexual orientation. A religious building does not offer such an environment, even with a few exceptions.

The Federal court just rejected a referendum in Oklahoma to ban families from seeking guidance from international or Sharia law to resolve disputes among family members even though 70% of the voters had approved it. In California proposition 5 met the same fate years ago and the Farmers Branch overwhelmingly approved the anti-immigration bill, which is in the courts now.

I would suggest the board members not to vote for this motion; the school will end up squandering money on legal suit rather than children’s education.

As a pluralist, I do welcome this, but since we are still not there we have to hold this off.

Full story - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/dallas-school-districts-controversial.html
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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

TEXAS FAITH: Evangelical leaders finding an alternative to Romney

The Dallas Morning News' Wayne Slater and Texas Faith moderator Wayne Slater reported last week that a group of prominent conservative evangelical leaders are gathering at a Texas ranch this weekend to decide about a candidate they could unite behind as an alternative to Mitt Romney.

The invited include James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee, Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Institute and Don Wildmon of the American Family Association. Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler is hosting them. With that as the background, here is this week's question:

If you were invited to join other religious leaders in coalescing behind a candidate, would you attend? Ten Texas Faith panelists respond to the question in Dallas Morning News, here is my response:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Yes, I would attend.

If they are considering endorsing a candidate for the presidency of the United States and possibly inviting me, it becomes my responsibility to attend and be a part of the decision making in agreeing with them or asserting a nay, regardless of the outcome.

To disengage ourselves from people we don’t agree with is to give them a tacit approval to go ahead with their plans; by refusing to attend we are giving them a reason to dig in their heels.

Can the Pastor of a Church publicly endorse a candidate without influencing or dividing his or her congregation? Is that a fine line that blurs the separation of Church and state?

The wise men have said it all along, bad things happen in the society not (exclusively) because of bad people, but because good people do nothing about it. I do not want to abdicate my responsibility of speaking up.

No American needs to beg for approval if he or she is qualified, I may or may not vote for Romney but I will stand up for his right to contest and the right to serve our nation. The qualifications and abilities of the candidate should matter to us and not his faith,

The evangelicals rightfully condemn the persecution of Christians in Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Israel, China, India, Sudan and elsewhere, and as Americans we have rightfully condemned all of that plus the persecution of Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Jews, Hindus, Wicca, Sikhs, Buddhists, Pagans, Ahmadiyya, Shia and other Muslims in other parts of the world.

Should we not be ashamed of our duplicity towards Mormons, Muslims and Gay communities in America? What message are we sending to the bigoted nations out there? Do more of what they do? Are we worth emulating?

To push Romney aside for his faith is Anti-American, bigoted and unpatriotic, at least that seems to be the intention of the six individuals gathering up.

We need to be a part of the society and not let a whimsical few run our nation. Indeed, I will attend and speak up for a cohesive America where no American has to live in discomfort, apprehension or fear of the other.

Wasn’t that what Jesus wanted? Isn’t that what Americans want?

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To view all the 12 opinions, please visit Dallas Morning News link - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/01/texas-faith-evangelical-leader.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

Romney wins New Hampshire

Mitt Romney wins 39% of the votes, followed by Ron Paul -23%, Jon Huntsman -17% and in the 4^th and 5^th place is Gingrich and Santorum with about 9.5% each, Perry was not even in the picture.  By the way, it is the first time a Republican candidate has won both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Personally, I like Ron Paul, but he does not have the nationwide support and may not administer his policies well, same goes with Huntsman, a moderate Republican and I relate with him, he does not have the support system either at this time, but he will be a real threat to Obama.  That leaves us with Romney, he needs to clean his slate, he has got a few wrong advisors on his team and Obama will run the mower down on him.  If the economy turns around and unemployment drops to 8% -Obama is a sure win, Americans are sick of what the Republicans are doing to the country and Obama becomes a clear choice for the Middle America.

The first state where the party members cast their vote is Iowa; from there it is New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and the other states.


Gingrich attacked Romney calling him corporate raider, which rightfully made the made the Party Leaders speak out, that is going too far. Both Gingrich and Santorum are extremists in their approach to finding solutions and I hope the voters recognize and dump them early on. Perry should drop out and not be an embarrassment to himself, let alone Texans.  The more he talks, the more he makes an ass of himself.

Mike Ghouse committed to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. MikeGhouse.net 

JEWISH COMMUNITY TENSIONS

Throughout the history of mankind, the tensions between the conservatives and liberals have existed in one form or the other. In the United States and in the Middle East or among Jews, Muslims or Christians the conservatives are no different.

Conservatives are gripped with a fear that their way of life is going to be ‘destroyed’ with changes; they are like rail car on the tract and cannot see any variations. Almost all of the conservatives invoke God for their position. On the other hand the liberals are willing to jump off the cliff without knowing where they may fall. Both sides need to learn to see each other’s point of view to allay their fears and calm them down.

The Jews and Muslims have the same streak running in them, to fight for the ritual correctness and both are willing to declare the other as not Jews or not Muslims. The Evangelicals act like Talibans, they want to impose their values on the others. It is time for everyone to back off, and let everyone live his or her life as long as he or she is not robbing a thing from them.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1370815286001/religious-secular-tensions-among-jewish-community/?playlist_id=86857

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

DAWN OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

Sean Hannity and I have debated about this issue for over one year now, even though the Brotherhood is deemed an extremists organization that disregards the rights of its minorities and women, it is better to have a dialogue with them, it will open the doors for us to have a say if we have a conversation. If we reject them, they dig in their heels, and we will ruin the possibilities of bringing any good even to the Coptic Christians, Baha’is and Women. Thank God, Obama makes sense in this instrance; this is the right thing to do.

Bush made the biggest blunder of his life time by not recognizing Hamas, a democratically elected government. Had he done that, the scenario would have been different. Obama made another blunder of his time – by vetoing Palestinian statehood in the UNO, had he done that the security for Israel and justice for the Palestinians would have been imminent.

“For US, Brotherhood is not just a Bible word, but it’s much more beyond that! A once reluctant United States is reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood in a nod to Egypt's new political reality, but concerns linger about the group's attitude toward minorities, women and the peace treaty with Israel."


Hindustan Times:

• http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/US-reaches-out-to-Egypt-s-Muslim-Brotherhood/Article1-793066.aspx

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. www.MikeGhouse.net.

DILIP KUMAR IN GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

India has three legendary actors - Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, all were born in the early 20's and each one has set the standards for the cinematic acting, they were pioneers. Dilip Kumar is one of the most emulated actors in India, he is an institution. Dev Anand just passed in December 2011 and I wrote a tribute about him and Raj Kapoor passed some ten years ago.

I have had the honor of spending a lot of time with Dilip Kumar when he was in Dallas. Taj Bhai and I went to pick them up from the Airport and due to the traffic, the four of us were on the road for about three hours and then I was assigned the task of coordinating media interviews for him. The experience was a delight, what a great and humble man he was. I will write about him when I get a chance. We talked about the Ganesh Miracle, which was the biggest news in India at that time, and talked about Prophet Abraham. The way he spoke will remain etched in my memory for ever and I have to write those dialogues some time, they are worth reading. Dilip is a great human being... here are two quick stories.

1. Raj Sharma came to see Dilip and said he was a student in acting, as usual he touched Dilip's feet and sat down on the floor, Dilip would not let him do that.. he said sit by me, you and I are equals, we are in the same profession... you can imagine all that you want from this.

2. Checked Dilip and Saira into Omni hotel which was not a five star hotel, Saira was not happy with the pillows and the room size... they are the mega stars of India and this is what they get? Dilip explained to Saira, let's stay here, the money saved by the organization goes to the education of children... I almost burst into tears with such a pure emotion...

I will write more about it, meanwhile, here is what the report reads:

Veteran star Dilip Kumar recently bagged a prestigious entry into the Guinness World Records. He earned the honor for being the only living Indian actor to have won the maximum number of awards.

 Dilip Kumar will soon grace a special show produced by Guinness, where he will be interviewed by Preity Zinta. Read more: http://?143masti.blogspot.com/2011/?03/?dilip-kumar-enters-guinness?-records.html#ixzz1MARAxpK?H

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

RETHINKING ISLAMIC REFORM

RETHINKING ISLAMIC REFORM

Hamza Yusuf & Tariq Ramadan

Two of the many great thinkers of Islam in the market today, this three hours conference video is worth watching. I wish someone can cut the fluff and reduce it to one hour.

Hamza Yusuf understands Islam more than most of the scholars, his roots in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society of America resembles the society that Prophet Muhammad lived in. I was happy to hear him make references to our constitution, the Native Americans and other religions. I can relate with him as almost all of my writings weave through different religions, sharing their wisdom without ever feeling the arrogance that we have it better… it is the coalescing different thoughts that makes Islam universal. A few Muslim scholars shy away from quoting and learning about other religions as if it will reduce their own faith. Learning about other faiths enhance and enriches your own faith knowing that it is the truth that everyone is seeking and wanting to create a heaven on the earth for people to live in comfort.

Tariq Ramadan was criticizing by the Bush Admin, don’t know why. He is as pluralist as anyone can be, he wants the Islam as it was, inclusive, respectful and caring about humanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY17d4ZhY8M&feature=related


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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed atwww.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

INSIDE IRAN – AMAZING PICTURES

INSIDE IRAN – AMAZING PICTURES
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/01/a-view-inside-iran/100219/

Also the shameful suppression of Music. Why are we letting these men dictate others what one listens to, believe or eats? Let people do what they want, as long as they are not robbing or hurting you or the society. If they don’t believe certain things, they will answer to God, not you. This is one bad thing among us Muslims to have allowed a few to dictate others. Mind your own business fits in with Islam - on the Day of Judgment you really mind your effing business, you are on your own and you must be on your own in this world too. 

AMERICANS SAVE IRANIANS

If we can get rid of all the right wing foreign policy advisors in America, we will be cleanest government on the earth, our honesty and integrity will be appreciated, if we can just do what is good for America without kissing any damned foreign government we will rule the world with freedom and justice. Others would listen to us for our honesty and integrity.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/world/middleeast/iranians-tell-of-six-weeks-of-fear-with-somali-pirates.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1


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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker available to speak on pluralism, politics, islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed atwww.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com