American Indian Heritage Day

Your Signature is requested for
NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY
NOTE - DRAFT LETTER

 We beam all day long when we do a good thing; here is an opportunity for us to earn a cheer.

The Native Americans and the American Indian Heritage Day Committee is asking you to consider supporting H.B. No.174, a bill to create the American Indian Heritage Day.


With enough signatures from fellow Texans, it will make it easy for the state representatives to pass the bill, that will create an "American Heritage Day" to honor and appreciate the Native Americans. Every community, and every nation on the earth has a national day, except fellow Native Americans. We all have to participate and contribute towards each others pride.

All you have to do is copy the following letter below or modify to suit your reflections, write your name, address and email to: roberto.alonzo@house.state.tx.us and copy to pslarney@gmail.com. You are welcome to copy me as well at MikeGhouse@gmail.com.

This information is also available at www.MikeGhouse.net and at http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2013/02/american-indian-heritage-day.html
The full letter is appended below

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
America Together Foundation

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DRAFT LETTER (modify to suit your expressions)

To members of the Texas Legislature and other elected officials:

Please accept this letter and my signature below as my strongest possible request that you lend your immediate support to passage of H.B. No. 174, a bill to create "American Indian Heritage Day" in the State of Texas.

This bill deserves passage and will bring deserved recognition of the historic, cultural, and social contributions those American Indian communities and leaders have made to this state.

We, the thousands of American Indian tribal members and friends of various tribes, have waited long to finally receive this deeply deserved respect and recognition from the State of Texas. With the passage of this bill, you have a unique opportunity and responsibility to celebrate the rich traditional and contemporary American Indian culture in this state.

We hope you will realize that Texas ranks 4th in the nation in numbers of American Indians living in the state.  Additionally, we urge you to take note of the presence of tribal members in Texas from over 120 different American Indian tribes, eight federally funded Indian Education Programs in the state, one Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas, and the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas. Some writers have called our people "the invisible people" and certainly passage of H.B. 174 will help to create much needed awareness of our impact in the state.

We thank you in advance for your help in passage of H.B. 174 in the Texas Legislature in the upcoming session. This is a proud moment for our people and we hope you will lend your support to officially celebrating this state's rich American Indian heritage and history.

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Signature                                                                           Date

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Name Printed

___________________________________________________________

Address

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City/State/Zip

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By:  Alonzo    H.B. No. 174

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

relating to creating American Indian Heritage Day.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 662, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 662.056 to read as follows:

Sec. 662.056.  AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE DAY.  (a)  The last Friday in September is American Indian Heritage Day in recognition of the historic, cultural, and social contributions American Indian communities and leaders have made to this state.

(b)  American Indian Heritage Day shall be regularly observed by appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs in the public schools and other places to honor American Indians in this state and to celebrate the rich traditional and contemporary American Indian culture.

SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

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January 2013                   

 TIME SENSITIVE CORRESPONDENCE

RE:  American Indian Heritage Day of Texas

It is inappropriate for Indian children and children of America to celebrate a day honoring a person for discovering a nation of people and not having a holiday paying tribute to the people of those nations.  Therefore, the American Indian Heritage Day Core Committee is asking that you consider supporting H.B. No.174, a bill to be entitled an act relating to creating American Indian Heritage Day.

Representative Robert R. Alonzo, D-Dallas, will be introducing H.B. No.174 to the Committee Reading of the 2013 Texas Legislature that could be as early as mid- to late February.  We hope to receive at least two weeks notice so that we can announce the date and make preparation for appearance at the Committee Reading.

1.  Letter of Support

We are asking that you support H.B. No.174 with a Letter of Support AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  Attached is a draft Letter of Support that you may use to develop your own or just sign the draft Letter of Support and forward.  We ask that you either email or fax the Letter of Support to Texas Representative Robert R. Alonzo at Robert.Alonzo@house.state.tx.us or Fax 512-463-1817.  Please send me a copy at pslarney@gmail.com

2.  Testimony

We invite that you consider in presenting personal testimony to support H.B. No.174 either in person at Austin or have the testimony recorded in a journal to be presented to the Committee Reading.  We expect to receive a very short notice to the day the Committee Reading will hear H.B. No.174.  Again, submit the testimony to Representative Robert Alonzo's office for recording.  Please send me a copy at pslarney@gmail.com  ----   so that I may keep a log of possible presenters.

3.  For Further Information

We ask that you share this information with your families, friends, and community and ask them to submit a letter of support or a testimony.  We need a Texas-wide support.  Please contact your local elected officials and inform them of the upcoming H.B. No.174 and solicit their support.

Peggy Larney, Chair-American Indian Heritage Day Core Committee

pslarney@gmail.com or  214 943 9616 

Attachment:  Draft Letter of Support and Copy of H.B. No.174

Muslims condemn destruction of HIndu Temple in Paksitan

URL: http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/muslims-condemn-destruction-of-hindu.html

We condemn this disgraceful act of destroying the Hindu Temple in Pakistan, and request the Government of Pakistan the following actions:


1. Punish the Builder and the miscreants involved in the destruction of the temple. 
2. The builder to rebuild the Temple or the Government of Pakistan to rebuild it, as it has restored Krishna Temple in Lahore several years ago.
3. Request the Government of Pakistan to ensure safety of all of her citizens.

Three years ago, a similar incident took place in Indonesia, where the bad guys burnt a Church, and an appeal was made to the Muslims around to contribute towards rebuilding the Church, fortunately the Government of Indonesia took care of it.  I am asking all in general, but Muslims in particular to be ready to contribute funds to rebuild the temple. 

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress
Dallas, Texas
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‘They can shoot me, but I will not let them in with shoes’

our correspondent

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-146201-They-can-shoot-me-but-I-will-not-let-them-in-with-shoes

Monday, December 03, 2012
From Print Edition

New 0 0 0

Karachi
When Laxman saw four men entering the Hindu temple with their shoes on, he instantly yelled at them to stop in their tracks. But the only reward he got for trying to protect the sanctity of his place of worship was a beating. With every punch and kick, he was called names like Bhangi (sweeper) and Kafir (infidel).


“I can’t explain how I felt at that moment. I was both enraged and terrified,” said the 35-year-old resident of the Shri Rama Mandir compound in Soldier Bazaar.


The demolition of the century-old temple stirred a sense of insecurity among the already frightened Hindu community in the city and reaffirmed its belief that people practicing the religion existed as second-class citizens in Pakistan.


“I said they can shoot me if they like, but I won’t let them go in with shoes,” said Laxman, a man partially paralysed by a stroke.

“Half of my body does not work, but at that moment, Rama Pir gave me the strength to fight, and I did what I could,” he said.


The men put the statues and tridents from the temple out on the ground. Then a bulldozer reduced the pre-partition Mandir to rubble. A number of houses in the compound were also demolished, rendering around a dozen families homeless. They even pried opened the donation box and took away the cash and jewellery, the residents alleged.


“We have been living in this compound since the British era”, said Maharaj Badriram, the priest of the Shri Rama Pir Mandir. “We never had any problems with the larger community, but the treatment meted out on this occasion was inhumane. People look to me for help, but now, I find myself helpless,” he said.


A 17-year-old Hindu boy, who took video footage of the planned demolition, claimed that some bearded men associated with a political party oversaw the destruction. “I don’t understand how people can insult the religion of others and expect respect in return,” he said.


The President of the Schedule Caste Federation Pakistan, Kalidas Khandara, said that people in the country take Hindus for granted. “They think we are weak, so they can intimidate us, but this time, it won’t happen.”


Protest

Hundreds of people from the Hindu community staged a peaceful rally from Doli Khata, Soldier Bazaar, to the Karachi Press Club to protest against the demolition of the Shri Rama Pir Mandir, which was illegally demolished on Saturday.


“Every time a temple is threatened, we have to run to the courts. It is the third time it has happened this year,” said Ramesh Kumar Wakwani, the head of the Pakistan Hindu Council.


“There should be a stipulated policy for our properties in this country; we are also a part of Pakistan.”


The protestors demanded that the government immediately restore the temple with all its dignity.


Wakwani said that the double standards against Hindus in the city could be gauged from the fact that those coming from outside and building shanty towns in Karachi get leases, but Hindus living here for more than a century were still considered illegal.


Speaking about the demolished temple, Kalidas Khandara of the Scheduled Caste Federation said that Ramapir Mandir was restored by the government in the year 2000, which went to show that the place of worship was not only registered, but received government grants as it was a\deserving heritage site.


Sources in the community informed this scribe that representatives of Hindus were planning to register a blasphemy case against the real estate builders and government officials, who flouted court orders and destroyed a religious site.


Demolition condemned


Leading activist and former federal minister for human rights, Ansar Burney, strongly condemned the demolition of the Hindu temple in Karachi and demanded that strict action against be taken against the builders. He also called on authorities to ensure the safety of the Hindu community, PPI adds.


Burney said the demolition of the century-old temple on Saturday by a builder triggered large-scale protests by human and civil rights activists as well as the Hindu community.


Burney said the builder not only demolished the temple, but in a blasphemous act, his workers disrespected the idols of Hindu deities placed inside the temple.


He said some people allied with the builder physically hurt some members of the minority. “Everyone should be free to practice his or her religion and it is the duty of the government to ensure the safety and security of minorities living in Pakistan,” Burney stressed.


He said many Hindu families of Pakistan had already migrated to India due to persecution and humiliation at the hands of fundamentalists.


“The builder claims that the land, where the temple is constructed, has been encroached upon. Even if that is so, the builder should not have demolished the temple as a humanitarian gesture,” he said. The human rights activist concluded that he would take up the issue with the local authorities to ensure that the minority gets justice.