The Cowtown Humanist
The Official E-Mail Publication of the Humanists of Fort Worth
http://www.hofw.org; E-mail: info@hofw.org
A chapter of the American Humanist Association
and The Alliance of Secular Humanist Societies.
September 2002 Volume 4, No. 6
___________________________________________________
FLASH!:
MEETING DATE CHANGE
The date of our next meeting has been changed. It will be on Thursday,
September 12 instead of Wednesday. Our host facility, the Westside Unitarian
Universalist Church is having a "Service of Remembrance" on
Wednesday, September 11 at 7 PM (our usual time and place).
So join us on Thursday 9/12 at 7 PM at the
Westside UU Church. It's in the northeast corner of a small shopping center at
6901 McCart Ave., Suite 125, in south Fort Worth. (Just south of the first
traffic light south of Alta Mesa.) There will be a pre-meeting dinner
get-together at Luby's Cafeteria, 5901 S. Hulen Dr. at 5:30 PM. The location is
on the east side of Hulen, just north of Granbury Rd.
NEXT MEETING TOPICS
Chairman Haney and the board decided
that our next meeting should be an open membership meeting. They want YOU to
determine what YOUR Humanist group should be -- and what you want us to do for
you in the months ahead.
We have heard some of our astute members
expound unofficially on what they think we should be doing -- or NOT doing. Now
is their -- and YOUR -- chance to help set the future direction of our small
(but hopefully growing) group.
What should we do at our meetings? Who
should we invite to speak to us? What should the topics be?
What should we do between meetings? What projects should we be engaged in? How
should we try to interact with the community?
What other groups should we interact with,
or affiliate with -- and to what degree? Should we tie ourselves more strongly
(including monetarily) with one or more of the national organizations? Which
ones? Would you pay increased dues to belong to one of the national groups as
well as the local association?
What do we need money for? How much should
our dues be, and how will we spend it?
Your elected leaders want to have YOUR
input. So whatever YOU decide, in concert with your fellow members, will
determine who we are, collectively, and what we will be doing as a group in the
near future.
Of course, that's providing you are
currently paid up with your dues, because only dues-paid members will be
able to vote or speak at the meeting. But if you have been meaning to pay,
and just haven't gotten around to it, you CAN pay your dues at the meeting.
Or, if you want to determine your present
status, you may contact treasurer Dolores Ruhs at 817-249-1829, or
ruhsd@myexcel.com.
OFFICER UPDATE
At the August meeting, Chairman Shane
Taylor resigned. With his resignation, per the bylaws, the vice chairman
automatically succeeds to the chairmanship. Wallace Harrison was inducted into
the position, with the corollary duties of newsletter editor.
MEET YOUR NEW CHAIRMAN
Mike Haney is a native of Dallas and
attended high school there. He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in
Mechanical Engineering and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Ordinance
Corps during the "Vietnam Era". He is a retired Program Manager for
ElectroCom Automation in Arlington, a manufacturer of automated mail sorting
equipment for the USPS. He is married and has two grown children. He currently
divides his time between running a one-man engineering services company, helping
his wife with her insurance business, serving on the Board of Directors for The
Fort Worth Public Library Foundation, and since last month, being the
Chairperson for the Humanists of Fort Worth. He was baptized and confirmed as
an Episcopalian, but has not been a church goer for over thirty years. He now
considers himself a Secular Humanist.
Mike has accepted his new responsibilities
as chairman of our group with enthusiasm. He wants to make this organization
representative of the desires of the membership, and wants to see the
organization grow to fulfill it's potential of service to area Humanists.
YOUR OFFICERS, AND HOW TO REACH THEM
Chairman: Mike Haney, Fort Worth
76114; Ph. 817-737-7047; mhaneyinfw@charter.net
Vice Chair and Newsletter Editor: Wallace
Harrison, Fort Worth 76109; 817-923-4698; w.s.harri@att.net
Secretary: Reed Bilz, Fort
Worth 76133; 817-292-7974, rbilz@earthlink.net
Treasurer: Dolores Ruhs,
Benbrook 76126; 817-249-1829, ruhsd@myexcel.com
Immed. Past Chair: Shane
Taylor, Dallas 75219; 214-526-8258; s-t-t@juno.com
AHA MEMBERSHIP CHAPTER OPPORTUNITY
The Humanists of Fort Worth has been a
chartered chapter of the American Humanist Association (AHA) since June, 1999.
At their recent national convention in Houston, the AHA created a new category
of affiliation: the Membership Chapter. If we decide to become a Membership
Chapter, we would receive $15 of the $35 dues paid by those AHA members who
elect to affiliate with our chapter, as well as increased support from the
national association. While only AHA members would be considered members of our
local chapter, the AHA will also maintain a list of non-members who want to
receive our mailings and attend meetings, as they do now. We will also be
permitted to maintain our relationship with the Council for Secular Humanism.
We will be discussing this opportunity in the upcoming months, with a view to
reaching a final decision prior to the end of our fiscal year in March.
In the meantime, all those interested in
seeing our association succeed should pay their chapter dues for this year, if
they have not already done so.
LAST MEETING REPORT
Mr. Samir Mavrakis of the
Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee came to speak about how he feels
the new anti-terrorism laws have impacted our civil rights, and in particular,
the rights of Arab-Americans.
Mr. Mavrakis provided some personal
background, including the following:
He was born and raised in Libya. After Moammar Khadaffi seized power with a
coup in 1969, he got caught up in the anti-Khadaffi movement, and became a
political refugee. He came to America, worked in information technology
consulting, and eventually started his own business. His wife was born in St.
Louis, but was raised in Westchester County NY. As any other American, he felt
and reacted to the tragedy of 9-11 with disbelief, and indignation.
As advertised, he offered some insights,
including personal experiences about the negative stereotyping and harassment
of Arab-Americans during the past year. Mr. Mavrakis presented some statistics
about our American citizens of Arab descent, including:. 77% were born outside
the US; 43% have some college education; they are younger than the general
population (14% are between 18-29); and more likely to vote (69%) than the U.S.
citizenry as a whole. Their religious persuasions are: Catholic 42%, Muslim
23%; Orthodox 23%; and Protestant 12%.
Mr. Mavrakis' freely responded to pointed
queries on many subjects. Some of the responses were that the government is
passing laws "off the shelf," which could adversely affect any
present or future minority, and that the U.S. supports Egyptian monarchs,
including Khadaffi.
BULLETIN BOARD
DEBATING THE DEATH PENALTY
On Monday, September 30, the Tarrant
County League of Women Voters, the Greater Fort Worth ACLU, and the Texas
Wesleyan School of Law will present an educational forum on capital punishment.
The event will be held from 7 to 9 PM at the Intermodal Transportation Center
in downtown Fort Worth (next to Fort Worth Rail Market). Edith Jones from the
League will moderate the panel of three consisting of Professor Earl Martin
providing basic information; Professor Don Jackson speaking against; and Chuck
Mallin speaking for keeping the death penalty in the State of Texas.
Professor Martin is Professor of Criminal
Law at Texas Wesleyan School of Law; Professor Jackson teaches at TCU and is a
member of the local ACLU Board; and Mr. Mallin is an Assistant Tarrant County
District Attorney who is Adjunct Professor of Criminal Procedure at Texas
Wesleyan School of Law. Following the presentation by the panel members, the
floor will be open for written questions.
GODLESS MARCH ON WASHINGTON
On Saturday, November 2, 2002,
"Godless Americans" -- individuals and representatives of the
nation's diverse community of non-religious people -- will make history and
march on Washington.
There are millions of Godless Americans.
The latest American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reflects that nearly
13% of the population has no religion. This includes millions who identify
themselves with labels such as Atheist, Freethinker, Humanist and others. There
are over 30,000,000 of us, a figure larger than most American religious
denominations.
"Godless Americans" have been
marginalized and excluded in everything from electoral politics to the public
events commemorating the tragedy of September 11, 2001. No other group would
tolerate such bigotry and exclusion! It's time to speak out and be heard!
The event is currently scheduled for
Saturday, November 2, 2002. It will be held on the National Mall, west side of
the U.S. Capitol Building from approximately 11 AM to 2-3 PM. We are currently
negotiating with the Service and other area agencies for a March down the mall
(beginning on the east side of 14 St., Washington Monument area) to the rally
location. The rally will include speeches from representatives of various
Atheist, Freethought, Secular Humanist and other related national, regional and
local organizations. Contact group leaders at http://www.godlessamericans.org/