Common Sense Plus

The 2nd Amendment - Then and Now

2011-01-28T21:21:00.000-08:00

Adopted in 1791 along with the remainder of the United States Bill of Rights, the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution has stood as a pillar of American Freedom. Yet the climate of the times, then and now, has changed radically.

The available arms of early America vs those in the year 2011 are oceans apart and I can hardly fathom that our founding fathers would feel comfortable with the sweeping language they used to pen the 2nd Amendment. “The right to bear arms” back in 1791 meant that citizens could own knives, swords and muskets, the simple arms of a simpler time. Had 1791 been able to produce the far more dangerous array of weapons available to today’s average citizen, the 2nd Amendment may have been written in far different terms or perhaps not written at all.

Food for thought... Now imagine the recent Tuscon tragedy happening all over again but only having the weapons of early America available. And picture, too, how different the current popular unrest of Cairo, Egypt might look if it was taking place here in the United States under today’s gun laws.

Perhaps it’s time to rethink our right to bear arms, eh?

The 2nd Amendment - Then and Now

Reach Out For New Allies

2011-01-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Perhaps this is a good time to seek out new allies who might respond positively to the recent trend toward cultural changes favoring secularism. It’s no secret that our American society is far from being a homogeneous one-religion package. Our US history teaches us that the rise of American Christianity was a gradual one, advancing little by little to become a very big player in today’s knee-jerk behaviors and thinking - it’s become a cultural bias that most people seldom even recognize. Yet, finding willing helpers with a natural motivation and ability to stem further evangelical efforts (in plain words, to quit their religious recruiting) may not be so easy... or will it?

Of all the institutions of our society, both public and private, big corporations may be ripe to consider a new change of policy. For their own good, large corporations are very interested in maintaining a positive public image; their degree of acceptability is without question directly tied to earning profit. Consider, for example, how the hotel industry and its hand-in-glove relationship with Gideons International has evolved. Since 1899 when the Gideons first began supplying free Bibles for hotel rooms, the practice has remained virtually unchallenged. Showing favor to Christian evangelical interests has been good for business. Hospitals, too, have fallen into the habit of accepting and distributing Gideon Bibles as a routine part of their service and it has done them no harm. But now the question becomes: Has today’s religious climate changed enough to merit amending the old policies that favor just one religion? Have we reached a point where no religious bias should be shown?

Let’s get serious about our expectations with regard to religion, and let’s tell the corporate world we care about it. Write letters to Hilton, Holiday Inn, Best Western and Ramada. Say something (on paper) to the hospital association in your state. Tell CEOs and corporate decision-makers about your feelings of religious alienation, about being second classed, and suggest to them that their making a small change of policy will help. It’s time to speak up and be heard where it counts. Make some noise.

Reach Out For New Allies

Ridicule. Ridicule. Ridicule... And, LOL!

2011-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

If you came across an individual, someone of reasonable intelligence on most matters, who persisted seriously to boast that he could fly completely unassisted by any human invention, just like a bird, wouldn’t you laugh out loud to his face? It’s ridiculous, right? Well... plan on laughing long and heartily this spring. On May 21st, this year, there will be a lot of people, believers all, expecting to Rapture their way to the heavens. Yup! They’re anticipating “Judgment Day” once again and they’ll be flapping their little imaginary wings off to beat the band and to fly happily into the lap of their lord, Jesus.

So... Plan on having a side-splitting day, and in honor of all our believing friends, why not through a “Holey Crap" party just for laughs. And be sure to tell everyone - the joke’s on them.

Ridicule. Ridicule. Ridicule... And, LOL!

Campus Groups - Today’s Better Tomorrow

2011-01-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

I’ve already dedicated several of my blog posts to starting up new secular/atheist community groups and to the importance of becoming personally involved as an activist for such projects. Here’s another and it’s darn near a slam-dunk, hands-down winner.

Without a doubt, today’s students are the leaders of tomorrow’s better society - a society that sets the nonsense of religiosity aside to favor secularism and it’s reality-based world view - all ripe with a newer set of youthful trend-setting critical thinkers and oodles of new reason-based decision makers. By extending your helping-hands, donations, and cooperativeness to a local Secular Student Alliance group on a college campus near you, the shape of tomorrow becomes insured. And if you find that the collage campus near you has no ready-made established group, there’s plenty of help available to start one up.

Look into getting involved right now... It’s important.!

Campus Groups - Today’s Better Tomorrow

Representation..?

2011-01-18T03:55:00.001-08:00

With the question of government funded health care once again on the table before Congress, a new poll was conducted by the press, A/P. What a reasonable thing to do, eh? The results in - it was found that only 25% (one in four Americans) opposed the current law. So, why consider this issue with an aim to defeat it with a “Kill the Bill” proposal? Have some of our Congress people gone mad? And who are they representing if not the average American?

These questions ought to be tossed around the floor of the House on Wednesday this week and it may be fun to tune in on what’s said and on who said it especially since the recent air surrounding Tucson's disaster has been telling us that hard line party politics must be set aside. I wonder.

2011-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Back to it...

It’s been a long while since I’ve taken time to live my life as I’d like to, but I’m ready to get back to it. This illness and hospital stuff has been no fun at all. And, that said, let’s talk activism.

If you live in a state with several secular/atheist/agnostic groups already started, have you done anything to get those groups coordinated? Have you exchanged ideas? Have you spoken out for yourself and others? Have you done anything to encourage and develop even more groups? If so, good for you - do more of it. If not, “Let’s get on the ball, Buck-o.” Start networking.

Starting up a new group is easy. All it takes from you is a little time and perhaps a few bucks. Start by reaching out to stranded individuals who might fit the bill to join-up in a new group. Use the Internet and sites like Facebook - there are plenty of enthusiastic candidates out there. Then check out Meetup.com. Start your new group and see where it leads you. And don’t assume it’s any harder to do in a nearby neighboring town. It’s not! Getting new groups off the ground is great fun and it’s very usefully needed activism.

Likewise, creating interaction between groups and group leaders is just as easy... Announce an event - a leaders conference. Try using video conferencing and chat rooms to coordinate your plans, group to group. Whether you host a big or small meeting right off the bat is up to you. Do what you can do easily, but do something! Go for it.

So... do you feel motivated to become a secular activist? I hope so.

Stay STD free - a guest post by Andrew Hall

2010-06-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

Andy Hall is the entertaining writer of "Laughing in Purgatory" and he's contributed a marvelously humorous post on a topic that might otherwise bring tears to the eyes, gnashing of teeth and a sense of burning to your privates. You'll recognize Andy's unique style from having read him in recent blog Carnivals. I hope you'll all enjoy this sample of Andy's writing as much as I have... Doc

Stay STD free - by Andrew Hall

Hi! I really shouldn’t sound so chipper. There has been something weighing on my mind… on my very soul. You see I’m and adulterer. It’s true I adulterate a lot and my wife of 15 years (or is it 16?) may not like it. On a slow day I commit adultery only 20 times or so (it’s difficult to keep count, I’m a busy guy). The days where I adulterate the most is when I go to the gym where there

are many hot women. I get a lot of adulterating done there. In an hour there could be well over 50 discrete episodes.

Wow! I feel better now. That’s a big load off my chest.

However, you may have some questions. You may or may not know it but I’m a fairly busy guy. I work full time, watch after my kids, cook, clean, do laundry, write/direct an occasional short film, and blog like a madman. What’s my time management secret to get all that stuff done and still squeeze in the adultery? There may also the question of my constitution. How can I commit adultery 50 times in an hour? I’m very motivated.

Kidding aside, I will let you in on how I do it. I put my faith in God almighty. All things are possible with him and in the case of adulterating I don’t even have to try very hard,

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28

See? Jesus Christ has said it himself! When I check out a woman God treats it's just like I'm having sex with her! God is sooooo wise. Sure, I'm going to burn in eternal Hellfire (it's for the best God is always right you know), but I don't have to worry about getting any nasty STDs. It's all part of HIS plan

What? You say God doesn't want me to commit "virtual" STD free adultery? Wrong my friends! If God didn't want adultery to occur then he wouldn't have created the male sex drive. I see this as damage control for the Big Guy. He made this insane instinct for us to procreate (I don't think using that word is a sin...evolution definitely but not procreate) as a way to spread the "seed." But we can't have seed spreading everywhere all time nothing would get done! So if he limits the spread of our seed via virtual means (our imagination) then everyone wins! Some seed will physically go where it needs to, stuff gets done, and an ample amount of imaginary adultery occurs that will cause every male to go to Hell for sure.

Am I saying the system is rigged?

Am I saying God wants us to go to Hell?

Am I saying I would like a corned beef sandwich on rye with mustard?

I have said many things and will continue to do so. My belief in God compels me regardless of the dictates of reason or common sense. That's what I all faith!

.Stay STD free - by Andrew Hall

Calling all God-believers: Pray for a 23 hour day.

2010-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

I wonder if we can get the help of Christians, Jews and Muslims to do a little prayer work? If they call on their God to spin the Earth a tad faster and give us a 23 hour day, we might be able to solve our global warming problem in short order.

I hope I've figured it out correctly... I'm thinking that a 23 hour day will yield a cooling effect on the atmosphere. (I'd hate to get it wrong and make things worse - so help me out her if I'm screwed up.)

But what about about it prayer people? You're hooked into the main man. Get us the "spin" we need and a few months of shorter days, 23 hour days. Let's see if that will help us all out of a jam.

(... or give up your wacko ideas about gods and prayer and sell that gas guzzling SUV.)

.Calling all God-believers: Pray for a 23 hour day.

A prescription for theists:

2010-06-05T20:09:00.001-07:00

Take thee of: one holy book and one black marking pen.
Instructions: line-out whatever does not suit your true beliefs.

Thomas Jefferson took an honest approach to his attachment to the Bible and he did exactly what I've suggested above. In fact, he selected out those passages he agreed with and cut and pasted them into his own personal book of Bible beliefs - the Jefferson Bible. As far as I know, his example hasn't been repeated by anyone, yet it should have become a common practice.

There is little doubt in my mind that people today, Christians for example, have severe doubt about what their Holy scripture says on many, many counts. It's obvious that Christians almost universally disagree with the Bible's attitude supporting slavery. Yet, they boast of believing their Bible. A great many people will also find the attitudes found in scripture toward homosexuality are reproachful, and so will there be those who would take intellectual issue with their Bible's ideas of crime and punishment, witchery, creation and miracles, etc..

Jefferson recognized that his own disagreement with certain notions of the Bible warranted taking liberty to edit-out what he could not find agreeable. In my opinion, it was a very wise step for him to take and it rewarded him by yielding a more useful book, his own personal Bible.

It just seems right that for anyone claiming to follow the Bible or the Koran or Torah to be able to make his claim as honestly as he can, his holy book ought to reflect not only what he believes but also NOT reflect what he does not or cannot believe.

Theists... today is a good day to begin. Grab your marking pens and read through (or line through) the scriptures. Be like Jefferson. Be honest with yourself.

.A prescription for theists:

Getting at the real deal:

2010-06-02T01:24:00.001-07:00

God-believers... try this. Whether you are a Jew a Muslim or a Christian (including Catholics and Mormons,) this is a "must do" exercise for all of you who wish to think of yourselves as being true to your belief. (I include Muslims in this Bible reading exercise simply because it is a religion as grounded in the Biblical God, the God of Abraham, as much as all the others and without which it could not exist.)

Right now, re-read and reconsider your thoughts about the first four words of the Bible - actually only the first three will be necessary for most of you, if you are honest. "In the beginning, God..."

If you haven't examined "In the beginning..." for its suggested meaning, its implications, do so now. Do you actually see any reason to think that a true beginning ever was? Is it true - could it be possible - that there was once a starting point before which nothing - absolutely nothing - was? (Even the Big Bang Theory rejects the notion of a "beginning".) Did everything that is (including your god if you believe that way) pop up from nothing as these words imply? Do you have any real experience or knowledge of anything at all from nature , from your own life or from the experience of others (other than this biblical proposed beginning) of anything real and tangible actually popping up out of nothing...? Has even science found anything - even the slightest thing - to suggest that something could possibly come for absolutely nothing - arising from no precursors at all?

In fact "In the beginning..." is quite a preposterous notion. It is so highly unlikely that a "beginning" from nothing could have been or ever occurred that choosing to read on to the next word of the Bible, "God", is moot.... quite pointless.

Think about it... religious beliefs are not grounded upon anything real. Not even from their beginning, beginning with the words "In the beginning..." Religion fails to adequately explain the reality of nature and of our being a small part of it. It's time to set religious nonsense aside.

.Getting at the real deal:

Black atheism is beautiful...

2010-05-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting a long time for this and its finally beginning to show up. Members of the black community who, like me, stand for separation of church and state and profess atheism and Humanism are stepping up to speak out at gatherings and conferences. Wow. I love it.

I have a few black atheist friends - very few - but that's only because non-religious black people are so far and wide between. If there is any single identity group in America that's drenched, totally, in religion any more than blacks, serve it up for lunch and I'll eat it along with my hat and yours. Blacks (and it is so surprising when you consider how derided and repressed by religion their people have been throughout history) represent perhaps the smallest atheist group in all America... That couldn't last for ever, of course, and now it's finally beginning to change. Whoopie...

Here's a treat. NPR (National Public Radio) did a terrific interview featuring Jamila Bay (here's her blog). Read the NPR interview yourself - read the whole thing. Interview

Tell me... are some days better than others, or is it just me.
.Black atheism is beautiful...

US Catholic schools: Should they go it alone?

2010-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here in the US it's a pretty good bet that a kid entering the Catholic school system has a better than average chance of turning out to be a decent adult. It isn't a 100% guarantee (there are plenty of good Catholic kids who get side tracked by drugs and other temptations) but, for the most part, a Catholic school education can be counted on. Moreover, it's such a good system that if the system itself doesn't toss a monkey wrench in the way of a developing child, and I'm speaking here of institutional child abuse and the degree to which Catholic priests have been implicated, the chances for just about every Catholic school child to go from kindergarten all the way through post graduate studies and on to receive an advanced degree and become one of our nation's success stories are, in fact, very good. And that good news leads us to a dilemma. What should US Catholics do to guard against losing such a great school system because the church is failing top down?

The Catholic church is currently investing heavily into some rather new and very risky expansion in Africa and other third world nations and all its trying to do this even as it faces costly problems of legal suits and decreased membership from its failing churches in Europe, other developed nations and even in some parts of the US. If this continues, the Catholic school system in the US will begin to feel the lost dollars and cents pain of sharing in the risk and it may see itself begin to fall financially apart at the seams. What to do?

Perhaps it's time for US Catholics to make a bold new plan and back away from their support for Rome... (and from church leaders here the US as well.) Perhaps it's time to demand a formal separation of US Catholic schools from all involvements with the church. This may be a good time to go 100% private by forming a secular corporation that stands completely on its own and (for very good reason) at more than arms length from the church. The schools, after all, have grown up entirely on donations and tuition fees paid directly by Americans. It hasn't been as though Rome was sending money here to develop schools. Oh no... Rome's place was skimming from the top - it's been doing that right from the get-go.

I wonder how well (in fact, I wonder how much better yet) a privately run (formerly Catholic) school system might work out if it was tried... The idea is good food for thought, anyhow. And I hope a few forward thinking Catholics, like principals and teachers, take up the ball. I'll hate seeing what happens if they don't.

.US Catholic schools: Should they go it alone?

UPDATE: Good news. I've learned through private conversation that some US Catholic schools are already somewhat insulated from the Vatican. Some are "owned privately" by orders of nuns such as The Sisters of Mercy, and by such special efforts and planning have been moved to put these US Catholic schools in a much better position to survive any failings of Rome.

Upon learning this, I was very pleased to hear myself respond "Hurray for the Sisters of Mercy." Imagine those words falling from my mouth - unbelievable, but it's true. I sincerely hope every US Catholic school will follow suit.

Thanks to Lana Coelho of Little Rock for this update information.

Its not an easy first step... but take it.

2010-05-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Dr Darrel Ray, author of "The God Virus" and creator of a network of support groups for people leaving their superstitions and beliefs behind, - RR (Recovering from Religion) - is someone to be admired for his compassionate work on behalf of others new to non-religion. He understands that people who have decided to call it quits with their religion face a difficult challenge. That challenge isn't embodied as much in adopting new ideology as it is in dealing with new social pressure.

A person leaving behind his former belief, the set of notions he has come to realize are unfounded by fact, has very little struggle understanding his own reason for deciding as he did. He knows his own mind and he's checked his perception of reality to satisfaction. The real struggle he faces is from outsiders, his former church friends. It comes from his own family and from his old friends who, with the best of intentions of course, try their hardest to prevent his new change of opinion and his decision to leave religion. Peer pressure falls hard on anyone leaving religion, and that's a fact.

Support groups like the ones Dr Ray has developed, while they may not be a "must do" step for everyone leaving religion, are a valuable asset for some. RR groups are a place tailor made for people who are new to non-religion. I recommend joining if you are just now walking away from religion. It makes good sense to have a friendly hand to hold, new or not, when faced with the kind of pressure that leaving religion can bring.

Taking the first steps to leave can be a tough decision. That's true enough. But the very first one, accepting yourself honestly as a non-believer is the easiest one... defending that decision, the next steps in leaving religion, is something altogether different unless one has the added strength of what RR offers. Leaving religion in the company of new friends makes the challenge so much easier. Join RR, find a friend to share with, and walk away.

.Its not an easy first step... but take it.

The bottom line...

2010-05-27T03:42:00.001-07:00

There's something, a general lesson, which must be learned by theists. And it's a simple enough something that they ought to be able to catch on pretty easily. It's this: What God wants an what God thinks and what God needs doesn't count.

When a preacher, a politician or anyone speaks of what God wants, there is actually no telling by anyone that what he said is true; and, in any case, it really doesn't matter either way. Here's an example: If someone claims that God wants everyone to drink more water, that claim can be questioned for its validity. Is it true or false? The fact is that nobody can actually know one way or the other. Whoever made the claim simple drew his conclusion out of thin air. He didn't actually get a "message" from God, did he? And here's the kicker: If everyone did or didn't drink more water, what difference would it make to the price of tea? ... None.

What God wants and what God thinks doesn't make a bean's worth of difference upon reality. God's desires are only what someone says they are. And the price of a cup of tea will always be the price of a cup of tea regardless of what anyone says God wants.

The bottom line is this... theists must learn and accept the fact that what God wants, thinks and needs is just somebody's made up opinion and opinions (especially on what God wants) are a dime a dozen. They simply don't count for anything.

.The bottom line...

Religion: how to be on wrong side of almost everything...

2010-05-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

God-belief has lead people to be on the wrong side, on the immoral side, of so many issues that I have to say I'm truly surprised anyone still clings to it. By simply looking back at US history alone, it's and easy task to list one after another of cases where Bible followers have made their stand in wrong camps.

Slavery, an institution clearly supported by the Bible and defended openly on that alone, was from our beginnings an issue that nearly tore the country apart. Our founding fathers and every administration through the Lincoln years - that's 88 years worth of struggle - fought long and hard to eliminate slavery by every reasonable means available; and yet, there it stood, supported to the last by religion. Moreover, the lasting attitudes of the slavery issue, the racial hatred generated, remained an issue long afterword... into the sixties and throughout the years of the Black Civil Rights Movement. Its foul attitude continues even today and can be easily seen in signs carried by far right wing Tea Party religious fanatics.

As an aside, I'll mention that it especially surprises me that black Americans, a race so directly downtrodden by slavery, are so easily able, as if they were blind and deaf to what the Bible says their God stands for, to dismiss completely that which is openly touted - that slavery is moral and right - yet blacks by the million remain loyal Bible followers.

But to continue... slavery and racial hatred aren't the only issues which have seen religionists take the wrong side against reasonable morality. Religion has been on the wrong side of nearly every American socially moral question. Witch hunting, for example, the fair treatment of Indians, and consider a woman's right to vote, an issue of the early twentieth century that was dearly fought against primarily on religious grounds. Men were, according to the Bible, meant to be the dominating sex. And that hasn't changed in the scriptures. It still stands. The notion remains in the Bible, true, and is still practiced by some Christian sects even today. Take another issue, and an old one, that religion stands resistance to teaching evolutionary science. Beginning with the Scopes Monkey trial, this issue represents a clearly religious lead division between intellectualism and dogma - an issue where religion once again takes a very wrong side - the side that says learning and knowledge are NOT good things - as if stupidity were a virtue. Gay rights is another issue where religion would, if it could, severely restrict the freedom and liberty of some individuals only to selfishly satisfy their own religiously planted, Biblical supported, ideological thinking - and of course to satisfy what God wants. It, too, is a case where Bible references are called upon relentlessly in support of ideas that are unjust and unfair. And the same is true for abortion rights where, for entirely religious reasons, a woman's right to decide on what she may do with her own body would be denied.

All of these issues have had strong religious support in the past, and still do. Yet, religion has not been and is clearly not as morally correct as it claims itself to be....and this has caused reason derived morals, burdened by religion all the way, to take the lead in establishing better ways.

So why do people still follow religion when it is clearly so obviously and consistently wrong? How could they... how do they take pride in calling themselves believers of God, followers of Jesus or believers in scripture-given morals? I wonder, will they ever catch on?

.Religion: how to be on wrong side of almost everything...

What's the best way to decide something - anything?

2010-05-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

Given a problem to solve, any problem: how should people go about finding the best solution? Should they, pray, consult their chosen holy book, attend a religious service and then finally decide, or should they do something else, something that's more closely directed to examining the specifics of the problem?

It has frequently seemed to me that god-based decision making and problem solving is to often an end run around the line of reality to be a good first choice problem-solving tool for anything or anyone. Often, although a particular god-based solution may seem to satisfy and please the church and its community, the result ends up being a shade short of being the best possible solution. Words from the pulpit that say "God wants this or that" don't fit for most situations and I think this is an important message to spread to church-goers. The opinions of the church, and even the opinions of God as they may be written out in scripture, may not be the best ones to follow.

When faced with a decision in need of making or a problem in need of a solution, I hope it becomes a common practice for all people to think things through thoroughly first, to get all the facts and measure all the risks, twists and turns of possibility imaginable, and then to finally decide upon an answer or an action. If it feels right to pray afterwords... well fine. Pray if you'd like, but keep it in mind that 2+2 will always add up to 4 and the price for a cup of coffee will still be a buck twenty-nine.

If this message became the rule of thumb for everyone, our world would be a better place.

.What's the best way to decide something - anything?

Hmmm... How to debunk "Christian Heritage" propaganda

2010-05-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

There's no doubt in the minds of people who have checked the facts, that our nations "rich Christian Heritage" isn't as rich as some people are saying. But how in the world can the secular community debunk the claims of congress people and TV personalities who have all the ears of America listening, and who, with complete disregard for the facts, keep spreading their messages of misinformation.

This seems at be a situation calling for a thorough face-to-face debate held under the public eye. We need to get America's attention focused on this question and we need to do it on a very public stage.

If the right wing darling, Sarah Palin, or Congressman Randy Forbes with his handful of "evidence" had their feet held to the fires of scholarly argument against true historians, my bet is that they would lose hands down. The same is true for Glenn Beck and for all of the popular Christian radio and TV personalities who do nothing but parrot these unexamined "rich Christian heritage" claims in unopposed sound bytes.

It's time to call on the experts and on our most knowledgeable non-religious atheist/secularist community members to take the lead. We have got to set the venue to hear-out everything to the last detail. Somehow, we have to set the stage to spread the facts - all of the facts - out into open air.

Like science, history is well documented. There are thousands of early writings to draw upon that will no doubt overwhelm the few examples of "Christian evidence" being offered by the wing nuts of the fundamentalist crowd. Lets get it on.... The current flood of misinformation needs mopping up.

.Hmmm... How to debunk the "Christian Heritage" propaganda

Check out your local hospital - again.

2010-05-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

Because required return visits to my local hospital are on my schedule the situation of my local hospital has been on my mind and I've been ruminating thoughts about what a secular waiting area "ought" to be like. On my previous hospital visits (read it here and here) I've become aware that things as they currently stand just don't cut the fairness mustard when it comes to giving hospital patients and visitors the kind of needed "spiritual" support they may require.

As a non-theist, my comfort requirements in a hospital setting are easy to fulfill. Give me a cushy chair and a nice window view, perhaps a few news magazines and such, and I'll be good to go for a ten minute wait or a day-long vigil. On such occasions, I usually bring along my own reading materials anyhow. For theists, its likely a different case. They may find it necessary to consult a page or two of their personal favorite flavor of scripture in order to comfortably pass the time with less stress. No problem there, eh?

A Christian, for example, would probably appreciate having a handy Bible. A Muslim would prefer a Qu'ran. And that makes sense. But about the difference, I'll say in short that I see nohing wrong one way or the other.... until, that is, an obviously unfair imbalance is struck owing to attitudes and actions of the hospital.

The reality of what I've experienced at my local hospital, which happens to be a sharp bias for Christianity, is an epitome of imbalance. The spiritual "comforts and courtesies" as they're offered currently favor the Christian religion and specifically favor the Christian religion, Gideon-style.

What ought to be there instead..? I think the answer is quite simple. Variety. Choice. A bookcase.

If a small library of religious reading materials and a few non-religious selections as well, books reflecting the wide variety of world beliefs - Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Mormon, etc., etc. - were housed in a prominent bookcase in every waiting room area and on every hospital flood, who would be left to complain? Not even me and wouldn't that be nice?

I hope this kind of attitude of fairness catches on. Honestly... its a change that's long overdue. The Gideon are currently being given far to much in the way of special privilege. It's out of control and over the top. It's time to speak up and see this situation brought back to something more reasonable.

.Check out your local hospital - again.

Check out your local hospital...

2010-05-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm flabbergasted. The last time I made a visit to the hospital, it was littered with Gideon Bibles. This time it was even worse.

Just as before, all the tables in the ER waiting room were decorated by brown covered Bibles. (One table also had a blue one beside the brown one.) And now I've noticed that there is a neat little display advertising the services of Alcoholics Anonymous. You all recall that group, I'm sure - they're the ones that get you off your booze habit by hooking you on God.

What's up with theses hospitals? Do they think everyone in the whole frickin' world needs a dose of Christianity. Gosh. Why not just give out "Jesus" injections?

.Check out your local hospital...

Do you ever feel like... ?

2010-05-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Have you ever gotten the urge to make a random call to ask this: "Hey, has Jesus called you lately?"

I've often wondered if a simple reality check of that sort might help wake up a few sleepy-heads. After all, it's a no-brain-er that every honest response to the question would be have to be "No".

Hmmm.... Perhaps I'll give it a shot.
.Do you ever feel like... ?

What if we're the the gods?

2010-05-14T02:33:00.000-07:00

Since there is actually no one (other than ourselves) to say we aren't gods, why not claim the post? Humans are by far the highest level beings anywhere to be found on Earth and its a good bet we have no equals in our small part of the universe. So why not? Why not simply decide once and for all that we are the gods and there are no others.

I know, for example, without any hesitations at all that I'm a morally better god than Allah and the god of Abraham. I'm not in favor of subjugating or beheading infidels or genital mutilation, and I certainly have no stomach for flooding the world to rid it of whatever. Since I'm not a fan of slavery as Jesus was, I'd say I'm probably a better god than him. And as for honesty... you won't hear me making any promises of rags to riches favors just for following my advice and neither will I promise anyone life after death. Those notions just preposterous.

So what about it? What do you think? Are we or are we not the only gods around? (I think we are.) And if so, what grand design should we all work on together for our own good?

. What if we're the the gods?

No cows spared...

2010-05-11T17:06:00.001-07:00

The time has come (finally) to an era of understanding that ought to be common to everyone. There are no sacred cows. No faith or belief, no religion of gods can feel as comfortable today as in the past with the idea that having faith is above all criticism and insulated from accountability. One by one, the mechanisms of special privilege formerly assumed by religion are faltering; and, one by one, reasonable minds are filling in their place with reasoned orderliness, process, fair play and by the restoration of the individual personal rights to liberty which everyone naturally deserves, with honestly weighed equality.

Freethinkers, skeptics, atheists, agnostics and Humanists are, as one, setting free the religiously enslaved minds of yesterday. Notions of mysticism, supernatural beings with magical ability, life beyond death, intercessory prayer, divine moral and ethical absolutes, miracles and personal salvation are loosing their faith-born foundation - and reasonably so.

If ever the word Hallelujah had an appropriate time or place, it would be now, said not for its original Hebrew meaning, "Praise Yahweh," but as an expression of "Hey world... What took ya so damn long to wake up?"

.No cows spared...

Annie Laurie steps up to bat:

2010-04-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

If you haven't done so already, there are a slew of news videos to watch surrounding the recent ffrf win over the National Day of Prayer. And guess who's been out front under the spotlight... Annie Laurie Gaylor. Wow. That's good to see.

Women are too infrequently seen and heard from when it comes to speaking out for atheist issues. Annie Laurie is a welcomed exception to the rule. Check out ffrf in the news from their website or visit Youtube and search her by name. Our girl from Madison Wisconsin is on the job.

. Annie Laurie steps up to bat:

Who should answer...? Who will answer...?

2010-04-26T08:58:00.001-07:00

I'm a little frustrated by the apparent apathy and disregard for keeping the record straight on one simple question of the day - or rather on an important question of the age. It isn't at all uncommon to hear words of "Our country was founded as a Christian nation" spilling from the mouths of politicians on the public stage, the media and especially from little guys on the streets. And that's just humbug!

Mis-information, widespread misinformation, is dangerous.

The United States has achieved great things in a little more than two hundred years and at least a part of that success has to be attributed to a past which held a healthy attitude for living the original national motto "E. Pluribus Unum" - Out of many, one. Today, things are different. The original national motto has given way to become "In God We Trust"... Our currency, except for the one dollar bill, no longer bares the original motto, failing to give an accurate reflection of where we came from and why we've done so well. What's wrong with this picture?

Isn't it time to set the record straight? Shouldn't the nations historians be heard from on the simple question of our nation's founding? Our college professors have remained far to silent. The media fails to attend to seeking out facts. Where is the open debate? Who holds the keys to unlock this silence and bring the truth to light - to BRIGHT LIGHT!

The floor of congress has heard only sparse debate on the subject a year ago when engraving "In God We Trust" on a wall in the Capitol Visitors Center was a week-long hot potato. But since then, nothing. The experts weren't called upon - not then and not since. Why not? And how much longer must we wait for people of integrity on all tiers of society to rise to the top and demand that attention must be directed to ending the ignorance? This is a simple question of fact and it must be answered in simple terms for all to know.

We are NOT a Christian nation. And it's time to shout it clearly from the roof tops.

. Who should answer...? Who will answer...?

Scorned and pissed-off about it:

2010-04-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

The religiously lead battle wages on for official recognition on anything and everything having to do with government.

Our nation was begun as an experiment in government whereby the people were meant to be the highest voice of authority when deciding rule of law. Religion, and as well royalty, were scorned - marginalized and effectively set aside from participation in the process.

Royalty had no recourse. It bowed to the will of the people without a fuss when the American colonies defeated it militarily. Religion, on the other hand, geared itself up to fight on and to undermin the right of the people to govern on their own. It has been doing so ever since.

Throughout the history of the US we have seen landmark insurgencies upon secular authority. Like stamps and trademarks and like spray painted gang graffiti marking turf, religion has set a pattern to make itself appear as included into our ruling body. The enacted "Thanksgiving Day" celebration was one of the earliest of this kind of tactic. "In God We Trust" cast on coinage came along as another assault in the 1860s and later in the 1950s found its way to being printed on currency and to be recognized as a national motto. The words "under God" were inserted into the pledge of allegiance at around the same time. And today, the nations Capital Visitors Center is prominently decorated by the same words engraved in its walls.

And a current battle wages... a somewhat smaller struggle yet one that is of the same cloth. It's happened in the state of Oklahoma. Automobile license plates bearing the motto "In God We Trust" are now available there, but it took an action of a very few people and a giant step by a single religiously lead individual to get there. Nonetheless, the scorned and pissed-off religious sector of society has once again made another mark of "officially appearing recognition" by government. It has won another small day.... almost.

Fortunately for Oklahoma and for the nation, there is a counter. The contralateral message "In Reason We Trust" is also being made available. Order your own license here: In Reason We Trust.

. Scorned and pissed-off about it:

"The sky is falling. The sky is falling."

2010-04-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

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One of my earliest invitations into critical thinking was given to me in the important lesson of an Esopus Fable, "Chicken Little" - don't jump to conclusions and don't believe everything you hear.

As I recall the fable, Chicken Little ran off in a panic, certain that the sky was falling when in fact it was merely an acorn that struck his head; the poor little guy had to warn the King to do something. He raised quite a following of believers as he headed off on his self-appointed mission and soon a bunch of additional story characters, a goose, a turkey, and pig were all in a panic, all off to warn the King together.

In today's America there are a great number of Chicken Little characters and even more Chicken Little followers all scurrying about and each with his own version of "the sky is falling." It concerns me and it ought to concern every thinking citizen that the vast amount of misinformation currently circulating society is a great danger to us all. and while it certainly wouldn't be fair to say that it's all the fault of religion (and I won't) there is religious nonsense enough to divi-out a portion.

The fable of Chicken Little continues on to include a fox, Foxy Loxey, and here's where things get ugly. The fox being a fox takes advantage of the dim wits and dolts Chicken Little has amassed. And one by one he eats them.

Now I don't mean to say that religion puts people at risk of being eaten by foxes, but it isn't unfair to say that religions gather dim wits and dolts by the score and that foxy individuals take advantage of them ... and, more often than not, the foxiest individuals are of the church itself.

Read the original story of Chicken Little to your kids. They deserve a chance to escape the fox-like world they've been born into.
. "The sky is falling. The sky is falling."

A goal for the future: Debate hosting

2010-04-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

What place should the atheist/secular movement claim for itself on the stage of tomorrow? Our message is spreading. We've achieved an audible volume for our voice, but now what?

I don't anticipate that the non-religious community will grow into a united political party at any time soon, although that may become the case decades from now. But in the meantime, what are we to do?

Our "cat herding" difficulties are slowly becoming a thing of the past as we atheists and other non-religious people come to realize that our individual differences at the the level of party politics is of relative unimportance. In fact, I think we're beginning to recognize that our political diversity is actually a strength rather than a weakness. We stand united, at least loosely so, on a good many social issues of the day; gay rights, woman's rights, and too, on certain other first amendment questions. Some of what we stand for, as on questions surrounding church/state separation, we stand for very strongly in a very united way. And it's this combination of points that cause me to think that we atheists and secularists seem to be poised to claim the high ground of being America's most natural Patriots. We're the Thomas Paines, and James Madisons and Thomas Jeffersons of the present day. If this image of being natural patriots is true, how shall we use it to our advantage and make it work for ourselves and for the betterment of a larger society?

Almost every election season (but more so of the presidential election years) we're treated to a variety of political debates as nationally broadcast media events. A few hosting organizations have become mainstays over the years; The League of Woman Voters, The Jewish Defense League and even MTV are examples. Perhaps providing a stage for political debate ought to become a goal for our own movement to achieve. Rather than attempting to solidifying our political diversity and remold it into a single voting block (an action that would likely divide us rather than unite us) it may be to our advantage to simply become a willing host organization for fair and open debates... debates held before audiences of "We the People" - we the atheist/secular community.

I'd be interested in hearing the calculated words to speeches coming from would-be politicians mouth's knowing they stood before an audience that was largely non-religious. Under such a circumstance, do you think the words "God bless you and God bless America" would fall quite as easily from any hopeful's lips?

A move of this type might be good for everyone... What do you think?

. A goal for the future: Debate hosting

It ain't over yet...

2010-04-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be more pleased with the wisdom of a single person than I am by that shown in Judge Crabb of Wisconsin over her ruling on the National Day of Prayer. She gave the question a thorough going over right down to its 1952 origin and decided correctly that it amounted to a clear violation of church/state separation, an act of religious establishment by congress which is prohibited under the the first amendment. It's to bad that for 58 years this question was overlooked.

I applaud Freedom From Religion Foundation for bringing the case before the court and judge Crabb for hearing it favorably.

Now it's up to our president to decide whether to abide by the judges ruling immediately and ignore the usually heralded first Thursday of May or to cower under pressure to political prudence and add-in one last officially sanctioned Presidential proclamation for a day of prayer. There is a 30 day stay before the ruling is effective and President Obama has every right to act on his own. It's also up to the White House to decide if it will appeal the case since the President himself was a losing party in the suit. That, too, has a 30 day window.

This thing isn't over yet... it ought to be, but it isn't.

.It ain't over yet...

No More Prayer Day - Hurray!

2010-04-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

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Freedom From Religion Foundation's Dan Barker et. al., and that includes me and you if you subscribe also, has had a great day in the sunshine. By court decision, today marked the end of the National Day of Prayer. The 1952 Congressional decision to direct the President to call upon all Americans to recognize God through prayer is no more. And good riddance.

I have a scant recollection of small-screen black and white images of the Reverend Billy Graham's week long 1952 televised revival meeting from Washington DC. It was likely the only program being aired on WGN in Chicago at that time and my family huddled up in front of the Phillco to watch and listen. I recall that my dad was interested. I wasn't.

I had no idea then that I would be so pleased now by the turn of events. What began in '52 at the recommendation of a single preacher has since its beginning been a growing infection of division in our nation. Yet, I payed it little mind until soon after the Regan years when it became the established law for the first Thursday of each May to be dubbed "Prayer Day" while my own atheist sensibilities and the first amendment were snubbed and ignored completely.

But, no more. The National Day of Prayer can finally be swept into the rubble of history, a past problem solved. Thank goodness. And thanks ffrf.

. No More Prayer Day - Hurray!

Post script:

By Annie Laurie Gaylor
Co-President
Freedom From Religion Foundation
First, a personal note. When our litigation attorney Rich Bolton phoned Thursday shortly before lunchtime to give our our office the happy news that FFRF had won our legal challenge of the National Day of Prayer, the office exploded in whoops. I had to put the phone down so we wouldn't deafen Rich. I realized I was jumping up and down as I passed on the news to staff. Katie, one of FFRF's executive assistants, actually did a little dance.
This was a hard-won decision. The case was difficult and time-consuming, and was unusual for involving a lot of staff input, not just attorney's time. There was onerous discovery by the Obama Administration and we worked very hard to prove the Foundation's standing to sue, based on years of efforts to deal with the numerous complaints and repercussions of this unconstitutional act of Congress. The case seemed to hinge as much on (bad) history as on (bad) law. Several staff, our staff attorney, Dan, I, interns and clerical staff spent much of February 2009 doing research on the case, with lots of additional work in the summer (not to mention an all-day videotaped deposition I went through in December!) So this is also a very sweet victory for all involved.
We truly appreciate that a vitally important constitutional question was taken seriously on its merits by the District Court. We knew the Constitution was on our side. We know it is simply wrong for the President to dictate to Americans that they should pray, and set aside an entire day for prayer once a year. But being right doesn't always mean you can get your foot in the door these days. We are celebrating the fact that at least for now, reason really has prevailed. Hooray for FFRF, hooray for the judge's ruling, hooray for our litgation attorney Rich Bolton, hooray for justice!

I certainly agree with Annie Luarie's excitement...
.

Books for kids - the library

2010-04-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

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I know how this is going to look to a lot of you - censorship is an ugly thing and I hate it, too - but I'm very concerned that our kids aren't being protected well enough from the oodles and oodles of religious books and videos available to them through public sources. Nobody, especially libraries and librarians, have though things through far enough and nobody is holding anyone accountable.

A kid who enters a public library is immediately, naturally, drawn to its "Children's Section" and to stacks and stacks of unsorted materials there - all for their perusal. And isn't that nice? But what's there, really?

The fact is that libraries, and I'm speaking of Public libraries, generally don't sort out religious books aimed at kids from anything else a kid might enjoy. The same is true for video materials. A case in point: "Veggie Tales" are a popular series of old testament Bible story videos. They're very professionally made and they're a powerful indoctrinating tool aimed at the uncritical minds of kids. Check it out... You'll find "Veggie Tales" mixed in (unsorted for its religious content) with every other variety of video. and you'll find books on angels and yes, even on the life of Jesus.

From the book stacks, young readers will easily find that "Christmas" and "Easter" stories and "Jesus this and that" are all a part of the mix. Shouldn't a set-aside section of religious subject matter be provided for kids just as it is for adults?

Libraries sort adult selections with strict attention, but for kids books... its a willie-nillie oleo. Does anyone care? I know I care. Honestly folks, who's minding the store when it comes to what a kid can pick up at the library? Even the fictional Hogwarts library had a restricted section, and wasn't that wise?

. Books for kids - the library

Making news makes the difference:

2010-04-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Northwest Arkansas atheist groups are currently experiencing rapid member enrollment and its thanks to making headlines and TV appearances. Making the news is what its all about when it comes to generating new interest in atheism. Groups grow, almost automatically, as a result of all the chatter that media and publicity bring. But making news isn't an easy thing to accomplish and in the case of Northwest Arkansas where I live, there's a price tag attached. So here's a hint.

United Coalition of Reason, a national organization operating as part of the American Humanist Association, is a ready ally. Get in touch with them and see what they can do to help your non-religious group hit the spotlight. Its an easy step to take and, WOW, does it work.

. Making news makes the difference:

Loaded message email:

2010-04-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

It's been the case for email ever since email began that a continuous rash of religiously loaded misinformation and propaganda has been created and passed around as knee-jerk reactions by a thoughtless bunch of computer users - parrots, every one of them. I received another one a short while ago. It was a collection of attractive photos punctuated by a series of statements and questions that culminated in a "conclusion" that God gave us a beautiful world.

Gasp...!

I don't usually respond in any way to this relentless barrage of tripe. I usually just click "delete" and go on about my business. Today I was in a slightly different mood, I guess, because that changed. This time I responded.

My retort was brief and to the point: (speaking to the sender) "Emailing loaded messages to me will not help you overcome your personal doubts. I am not a part of your problems. In the future, you'll have to deal with yourself directly. Stop forwarding God-loaded propaganda to my inbox."

I hope it works... for the sake of my own peace. (...and screw the sender.)

. Loaded message email:

"God bless America"

2010-04-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

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I'm thinking ahead to all the political speeches we're about to have amplified in our direction. This is the beginning of another election season, after all, so we'd better prepare ourselves for what the windbags and wanna-bes will certainly be offering us as they take to the stumps, airways and platforms. It will be happening all in short order. Are you ready?

If you're like me, an atheist, you're bottom is already slightly puckered and your blood pressure has likely risen tad up from its normal resting level all in anticipation of hearing the tired out words "God bless America" at the conclusion of every political speech. Good gosh, will it ever relent?

In hopes of some small change to the norm that has become our typical day of politics, I've got my expectations set on hearing at least a few nods of recognition for our non-religious community from progressive candidates and perhaps from the mouths of a few socially sensitive moderate speakers - recognition a'la Barack Obama's inaugural address where he acknowledged America's "patchwork heritage" and then correctly noted that "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers."

It isn't likely we'll hear anything at all with significant enough value addressed directly to us or anything that will a make any real change in the general anti-atheist attitude of society... don't hold you breath. But, we ought to all be listening for a dollop or two of hints for the future and have hope that it will be enough to nudge society in the right direction. Even at 43 million people, more people than there are Jews, Jehovah Witnesses, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Mormons, Episcopalians, Muslims and Hindus combined, our organizations of non-religious members still remain far to small and way to discordant to realistically matter at the poles.

So... be prepared for this season. Buy a tube (or two) of Preparation H and squirt some up your Bazooka. Take a chill pill (or ten) for your hypertension; listen to this seasons speeches and then look ahead to 2012. Perhaps by then we'll be ready to take center stage and the spotlight to finally hear a concluded political speech punctuated without the words "God bless you and God bless the United States of America."

. "God bless America"

A better world.

2010-04-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I get philosophical... pragmatically so, and this is one of those moments. Today I'm stuck on the question "What would make the world a better place for everyone, my own world and everyone else's world, too?"

I tend to think that if we would each focus on the simple things we need, we'd easily come up with a few new ideas (and some old ones, too) that could actually happen to benefit everyone while harming no one. How about concentrating on things like clean water and food, for example? Imagine it... If there was always a ready supply of simple nutrition available - free for the taking - wouldn't the world be a nicer place? Think Raman noodles... Gosh, how much could that cost?

In the US, people seldom give much thought to needing food, but in fact there exists a marginalized segment of our own American neighbors who live just above the starvation crest most the time. They have to make hard choices in order to get by. And as for having something that's soooo necessary to life - how about having available clean water -cost free running water? Isn't it a crime that there really are a great numbers of American families who face water shut-off month after month after month.

The nation is about to move ahead with health care reform - socialized medical care. It's something that everyone needs and something that will actually benefit each of us in the long run. In deed, the nation ought to be thinking about solving a few additional problems by the same method, socialization, right along with health care.

All the basics as universally necessary to all of us as these are should be as high up on the list of things to do as they can possibly be. Do that, and the world will be a little better for everyone.

. A better world.

ffrf Forum:

2010-04-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

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Here's a link worthy of a bookmark. It's something every concerned atheist/secular activist ought to get tied into: ffrf Forum. It's the way to stay on top of the most important atheism related legal issues around the country. If there's news having to do with anything about church/state separation, you're likely to find its being talked about here.

The Forum format is divided into topic threads and that makes it easy to follow a specific subject as well as exchange opinions directly with other interested activists. Check it out. This is one of the very best organized communication tools the non-religious community has to offer and neglecting to link up to it can only cost you the price of remaining uninformed. I urge you to click the above link and get on board.

Join ffrf, subscribe to its news letters, listen to the weekly radio broadcasts by Dan Barker and link-up to ffrf Forum. We'll all gain something when you do.
. ffrf Forum:

Emergency...!

2010-03-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

I had reason to run to the hospital emergency room for a little help yesterday evening. Health-wise it worked out just fine, but...

The gosh darn hospital is virtually littered with Gideon Bibles. They're everywhere. And I'm not kidding.

I tossed four of them in the trash while I was there. The one off the waiting room table where I sat; the one I found on a vacant chair in the triage nurse's office; the one from the treatment room where I was seen by the doctor and finally the extra one I picked up passing through the lobby on my way out all went straight into the nearest bin. (You're welcome, everyone.)

Now I have to ask: If instead of Bibles these books had been Yellow Pages advertising books or copies of Darwin's Origin of the Species would the hospital and everyone else around be so numb to their presence? If these were General Motors auto repair books, wouldn't someone complain that a car manufacturer had no place hawking its products in a public facility? Why then are Bibles allowed? Is the church paying everyone's medical bills these days and are they providing salaries for the staff? Are they the ones who erected the building and maintain it? What's up with this special privilege for religion at our hospitals?

I don't think the Koran would get as warm a welcome or be so blindly tolerated as the Bible seems to be. And Gideon Bible or not, Koran or King James version or whatever, hasn't anyone got any sense of church/state separation left in them? Bibles are instruments of private religions. Hospitals are public places of science and medicine. The two don't mix at all.

Visit your local hospital and see for yourself. While you're there, toss a Bible in the trash. And let's ask a few questions about what's going to be done to put an end to this practice of selling religion in public places.

. Emergency...!

This is called organizing:

2010-03-31T15:22:00.001-07:00

Reprinted from an SCA newsletter, March 31, 2010
---------------------------------------------

SCA Executive Director Unveils Bold Plan for "Our Secular Decade"

The next ten years will bring about major advances for the secular movement, according to a plan unveiled to members of the secular and nontheist communities on February 26, following the historic meeting with administration officials. Sean Faircloth, the Secular Coalition for America's Executive Director, revealed a comprehensive, long-term strategy for realizing the goals of the secular movement and outlining the milestones that will indicate the kind of progress that will be made. Steps to move forward on this plan in the Secular Coalition for America's 2010 budget were approved by its Board of Directors at its January meeting.

Faircloth outlined eight primary tactics that the Secular Coalition for America will execute to bring Secular Americans further into the forefront of American society and give it greater political influence:

Expanding the issue base of the Secular Coalition for America
Increasing already-strong lobbying efforts in Washington
Producing communications materials that connect emotionally with a broader community
Engaging in more robust networking of secular and nontheist Americans
Undertaking a "50-state strategy" in which the SCA sparks a grassroots effort leading to active volunteer advocacy networks in all fifty states before December 2019
Seeking out the "apatheistic" and the functionally secular, expanding outreach to women and younger people and bringing the Secular Coalition for America's message to other potentially sympathetic groups, such as scientists, libertarians and LGBT nontheists--all in service of increased membership for the SCA's ten member organizations, and strengthening the coalition--see a list of SCA member organizations here
Holding a secular policy summit that is tailored to policy and coalition leadership strategy
Instituting an internship program on Capitol Hill

Said Faircloth of the plan in an article for Humanist Network News, "We believe strongly in a rational worldview. Our compassion and decency mandated by that worldview leaves no one out--even those with whom we disagree. This plan will lead Secular Americans to our rightful national leadership role."

-------------------------------------------

Let's get on the ball everyone. Organize your local on-the-ground groups and support the efforts of your national organizations.

. This is called organizing:

What makes good a meeting topic?

2010-03-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Have you heard enough debunking of the Bible? Do you really need to be shown a second, third or fiftieth time that the nonsense of religion is actually nonsense? Gosh, I don't. But what is there to discuss at an atheist meeting if not this?

Are you interested in Darwin? Are you ready to hear more about evolutionary changes over the eons of time since life emerged? Really? How much detail is enough? The subject spans more than a hundred years. If you need more, of it, then why not attend a university and take a class on the subject?

How about cosmology? Are you deep into physics enough so that you're ready to listen from the edge of your seat to a lengthy survey on that subject? Are you that hooked on particles?

History then...? The same sort of dried complaints could be applied, couldn't they?

It's my guess that many of you are as warn out on some of this stuff as I am. There are just so many hours I'm willing and able to commit to participating in the atheist/secular movement and I'm hardly prepared to invest that time attending a meeting that fails to address the kind of things that need voice. What are we doing to promote social change? How are we planning to overcome discrimination? Are we making progress at getting better assemblies and action groups established to lead our nation and our world into the next new age of enlightenment?

While some highlights of science subjects are appropriate to mention in passing and ought to be meted out in small doses they hardly make good meeting subjects when served up as the main course. The same is true for mocking and debunking tired out religions crap.... Let's leave didactics and academia for the classroom. Been there; done that. Let's move on to the real world for a change.

My idea of good meeting subjects (or of format, really) for atheists has evolved to become more that of desiring discourse on open questions rather than listening to a prepared lecture. I like the structure of an open forum and the bantering of ideas set to problem solving. Debate is healthy. This kind of thing is far, far more my style than submitting just to listen, and I'll bet that's true for most of us. I really don't enjoy hearing anything delivered from a top-down lecture point of view regardless of how well the assembled information may be stacked. Lets face it, classrooms and lecturers can be as boring as church meetings and preachers.

To have a good meeting, I say... kick ideas around the room. Ask for answers to practical questions; ask for solutions and see if your meetings start to become much livelier, better attended and more productive at effectively resulting in the kind of changes your community really needs. Start holding town meetings... forums... and debates at your meetings. You'll be glad you did.

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What makes good a meeting topic?

Have you read...?

2010-03-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

Have you read "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster"? No...? Hmmm. That's odd.

The purpose of this blog post is to point out the need of the freethough movement to begin opening its eyes to snuggling-up to an ally it didn't know it had. The Library.

Like atheists and agnostics and all the rest of our numbers by name, libraries are ubiquitous. There isn't a town anywhere that doesn't have one and it's high time we non-religionists take note of that. Libraries are like churches for atheists... or they ought to be. Our goals are quite similar, after all. Both the library and the non-religious community want to share knowledge on a broad basis. We want people to read widely and learn. We're both interested in building the best and most informed community we can have. We're a natural marriage couple, no doubt.

I don't intend to spoon feed how important this notion is to advancing secular society. You can all think that out on your own, but I do hope to encourage that you lend additional thought to using your local school and state library systems as partners - as churches of real knowledge - and that you ought to tailor the activities of you grassroots group-building efforts to take full advantage of this built-in ally by employing and exploiting everything it has to offer - meeting space, internet, A/V, books (the ones you want can be ordered) and an attitude to spread the knowledge of the world's real scholars.

I wonder... does the library shelve "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster"? Hmmm... good question. I'll ask.

Have you read...?

Get off your duff and do your stuff:

2010-03-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been active at organizing for atheism for some time now and I've arrived, again and again, at moments to take my breath, to pause just a moment or two, and then, to resume pressing forward. I'm doing what I know is right for myself, what's right for the sake of reason and what's right for America and the world. Yup... all of those!

Reluctance of leaders to organize, group to group across each state and state to state across the nation ought to be seen as a crime by atheists, yet it exists and its shameful! The problem is perhaps fear. "What will the community think?" "What will my friends and family say?" "What if I try and I fail?" Reluctance toward activism stinks.

A reluctant leader is no leader at all. Each of us must recognize a responsibility to take the lead when others won't. Lead yourself and others will follow. That's how grassroots movements work.

Now... Get off your duff and do your stuff. We have a movement to fuel. Get out there! Get going! Get organized! Have your ideas of what needs doing and do them. Share your goals with neighboring groups. Improve communication. Seek like minds and fellow activists. Work for change where change is needed but stand up to vigorously defend that which already works. We are the people.
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Get off your duff and do your stuff:

So far to the right they've fallen off the edge of the world...

2010-03-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

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The latest Harris poll shows just how far to the far-right the right wing has gone - way, way, way to far. Holy cows.

I suspect this poll marks the point where Republican party leadership has lost its grip on its' own party name. To a Republican "Republican" can no longer feel or mean what "Republican" meant just two years ago. The party name, it seems, has been stolen away from the greatest number of conservatives, moderate conservatives, and traditional right-wing voters, i.e., the name "Republican" has been jerked out from under the feet of most of the people who would have once called themselves Republican. And who's to blame? Can you say Sarah? Can you say Glen Beck or Fox News? Can you say hawk radio?

Honestly...! Who in the world would still be wacko enough to call themselves "Republican" after reviewing the wacko ideas and beliefs of what this, the latest poll, exposes about conservative America... See these current poll results (current ... as in 'right now'). The Harris Poll. Now, ask yourself: Is this for real..? Well, guess what, it is!!!

Extremism, far right radicalism, is being exposed for all of us to see. It's coming out in the open self-righteously, all on its own and it is ugly.
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About the poles...?

2010-03-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

I find it perplexing, even amusingly so, that two groups of people of reasonably equal intelligence can both live in and observe the same world, review the same data, digest it, and then arrive at entirely opposing points of conclusion on the question of gods, prayer, miracles, after-death life and such. Like North and South poles, that's the way things are on the topic of religion. And how strange all of that is.

But its a mirage, and an obvious one in fact, whenever one takes the time to look more closely. One of the polarized groups does more speaking from its pole than it does believing in it. Which group? Do you really have to ask... honestly? The religionists, of course.

How often do we here terms like cherry picker, hypocrite, and apologist preceding or following the name of anyone who would claim belief in gods? Not often enough, I'm disappointed to say since the facts of the matter, if anyone would bother to gather those facts, might tell us just how prevalent falsifying ones claim of belief truly is among believers. My impression is that they are all liars... none of them come close to believing what they say they do. And aren't they all so willing to admit their occasional struggle with doubt... Good gosh. When in the world will they ever think wisely enough upon that doubt to change their habits?

Ask a believer to tell how much he believes in a particular tenant of his religion, such as intercessory prayer or after-life or original sin, and then listen. The gyrations and mental gymnastics displayed while answering are amazing... and often very amusing. It's my habit to remind them of such whenever I get the chance. It's a conviction of mine that I have a moral obligation to feed the doubt of believers until they finally act upon it rationally.

In a world where atheists would occupy the North pole and believers would gravitate in precisely the opposite direction, I'd say the South pole would never see a first foot set upon it. The faithful don't believe even half of what they claim to believe.... They lie. And that's the truth.

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About the poles...?

This is fun... and useful all in one.

2010-03-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

It wasn't my idea, I'm sorry to say, but its a darn good idea and I hope you'll all have some fun with it. FREE WANT ADS.

Apparently it began with a few student-types down in Little Rock Arkansas who were tired of reading one after another of 'prayer items' and 'Bible quotes' in the daily want ad section of the newspaper. And taking an attitude of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," they decided to send in a few of their own opinions... but theirs were freethought and atheist opinions. The aim was to give the personal and announcement classified columns some better balance. The result was that it caught on... Atheist "Mystery" posts started popping up and nobody knew who or where they were coming from.

It reminded me of something I've discovered... you can't go into any community anywhere no matter how churchy it looks and expect it to be devoid of atheists. We are! And, we are everywhere. Now, even the personal ads and classifieds of the newspaper bares it out.

So have some fun... Post a free want ad or two. Here's my latest: a Chapman Cohen quote, "Gods are Fragile things; they can be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense." Truer words have seldom been spoken, and now, perhaps gods can also be killed by a FREE WANT AD.
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.............................................................................

UPDATE: Since posting this, I've elected to run a couple of ads in the paper and (funny thing) I received an email from a newspaper employee, the classified supervisor, about my ads. Hmmm... I wonder if they do that for every FREE classified requested? Here's the email:

Randall, if we run your opinion ads they must state your name and city you are in.

Do you wish to go ahead and place the ad? Also we will only run one at a time.

Thank the gods that you have reason and then realize by reason there
are no gods.

Thank you,
Cathy Wiles

Classified Supervisor
479-571-6421

Was the purpose of this communication meant to dissuade me to fearfully change my opinion or to cower and keep my opinion tucked away in the dark of a closet? I wonder...

Donate... SCA works.

2010-03-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Donate... SCA works.

Non-religious community service: here's a tip...

2010-03-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

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Many of our skeptic and freethought groups have gotten into taking community service seriously. Roadside clean-up is just one of the activities groups have opted to perform. Atheists have pitched in to pick-up and that's good.

And, thanks to the law, roadside cleanup can result in more than just a tidied-up ditch. It can also reach out to result in assisting to tidy-up messy thinking. Unauthorized roadside crosses erected by well meaning friends and meant to commemorate the tragedy of a lost life to auto accidents are... "unauthorized." It's that simple. These little religious reminders - knee jerk triggers to think god and pray - aren't officially allowed.

To the person who erected the cross, its an act of healing and a way to overcome temporary grief. Okay... good enough. And, I can understand and sympathize with those who feel the need to erect "memorial" crosses. But is this allowed on public land? No. Absolutely not. In fact, it's tantamount to an act of littering and/or vandalism.

People suffering the loss of family or friend to a roadside auto wreck (I'm so sorry to say) must find some other method to satisfy their grief. The law doesn't allow special privileges upon its public lands - crosses or no crosses - for erecting monuments, signs or whatnot when friends and relatives die. That's the way it is and that's the way it's got to be.

So... has your group decided to take on the duty to pick-up and clean-up a public way? Well... don't feel limited to collecting just tin cans from a single stretch of roadside. If you see a roadside cross, you have every legal permission you'd like (and perhaps some moral obligation as well) to jerk that stick of wood out of the ground and pitch it in the trash...

Help keep America beautiful. Dig up and toss out every unauthorized roadside cross you see!

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Non-religious community service: here's a tip...

The assumed welcome: Christian Prayer

2010-03-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

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It's been a hot issue all over the country - Christian prayer offerings - but who really asks for it?

There's an assumed welcome mat for prayer laying at the door of just about every public assembly of people everywhere. Town meetings, political gatherings, commencement exercises, sporting events and the like seem to all have become "fair game" to begin by prayer or to somehow otherwise include some sort of god recognition. It's an understood done-deal tradition... or at least it use to be.

Who asks for these prayer moments? Not me, that's for sure, and I really don't think that most of the people who attend these functions, Christian or not, actually give any honest thought to wanting a prayer said wherever they intend to gather in mass. So who's to blame?

Meeting and event organizers all seem stuck in the same gear. They have an agenda to fill and it's part of the job of organizing to fill it; but, why fill it with religious bias? Is it a knee-jerk on the part of meeting hosts? Is it failed creativity, failed empathy for minorities, failed understanding and respect for first amendment rights to liberty and justice for all? Just where does this assumed need for prayer come from?

In my mind its a mixed bag. Meeting planners and hosts, at least in the past few years, have become far more aware of the possibility for negative reactions to any inclusion of any planned group prayer they may offer at an event; (or at least they should have become more aware) yet, there has hardly been any sharp decrease of the habit to include such invocations and the like - more and more, it seems, at every turn. In fact, it sometimes appears that organized public prayer moments have popped up with greater frequency rather than not. Is it stubborn backlash? Personally, I think that could be it.

But what's to be done...? How about shouting out in protest? How about filing suit? How about getting a spot on the event planning committee and then changing the way things go? Try this on for size: Fiendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, posted this about invocational prayer.

Its high time to do away with the old notions that prayer at public meeting are universally welcomed. Especially since THEY'RE NOT!

Get involved in a freethought or skeptic group. There's plenty to do that needs your help.

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The assumed welcome: Christian Prayer

We've got the right formula.

2010-03-13T13:55:00.001-08:00

We've got the right formula.

Community building doesn't have to revolve around nonsense beliefs... Our atheists groups are managing to mix high ethical standards, intellectual integrity and community building successfully into our organizations and all for betterment of society tomorrow.

Unlike church-sponsored misinformation, offering its notions of superior absolutes in top down fashion to mere mortals, atheist communities celebrate the facts of reality, all of the facts - the nice ones and the not so nice ones included. We include everything which is brought to us from all levels of human participation and nature.

We've got the right formula. Knowing and accepting reality as it is is a far, far better way to find happiness than cowering under the ideas and words of false protection. The gods aren't there and we non-believers are able to live with it just as we we're able to let go of our Santa Clause fantasies as children.

Our communities are growing up healthy and strong and I suspect they will continue to do so.

Stop Texas...!

2010-03-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

Stop Texas...!

Whether to allow bias Christian brainwashing of our nation's children is a question that will be on the Texas board of education bargaining table this spring. Of course, the question won't be posed in quite those words, but that's the bottom line.

Text book companies are annually persuaded to write the pages of their school books according to the whims of the Texas school board. Why? Because Texas is the largest book buying state in the nation. It's that simple. The board of education in Texas wields so much power over the schoolbook business that if it should would one day decide that 2+2 does not equal 4 our nations kids might all have to re-learn the answer to this basic addition problem.

A key battle line is drawn in the sand and the sides are currently gathering troops. The question: Will the establishment clause of the first amendment be included as an important subject for study? Texas State Board Rejects Teaching About Establishment Clause Moreover, the agenda written by far-right evangelical fundamentalists goes farhter. It desires nothing less than to carry on with its dishonest program of spreading misinformation at every opportunity. From the Dallas Morning News: Board member Don McLeroy, R-College Station, said he would seek board approval today for several amendments to the U.S. history standards, including one that would highlight Judeo-Christian values in American history. "Highlighting Judeo-Christian values" means, in other words, that Mr McLeroy intends to overly emphasize the remarkably few Christian heritage references which can are found among actual history... and he intends to skew the import of those documents to forward his bis notions.

Omission of teaching the intent and meaning of the establishment clause, the very first item of our human rights as protected under the first amendment, and failing to teach history as history actually was will leave the door wide open for Christian aggressors to continue their agenda of spreading false notions about America's history and its heritage - a heritage they wish to falsely paint as one which is brightly colored in glittery Christian richness.

Reason minded people, we the atheist community and all of our non-religious allies must not overlook the far reaching importance of winning or losing this heavy-hitting controversial fight. Get with it atheists... stand up and demand that our country must be lead by common sense reason and intellectual honesty. Stop Texas. Nothing less will do.

Duck and cover - The Blitz is on.

2010-03-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Duck and cover - The Blitz is on.

I was there as a school kid in the fifties, hiding under my desk just like everyone else for every practice air-raid drill. It was an integrated part of growing up to learn that the US had a nasty enemy - the Soviet Union.

Today, kids ought to be practicing something similar to "duck and cover." They need to learn to shield their eyes and minds from a barrage of misinformation - a real barrage and not just a practice drill. Attacks on the actual events of history are increasing annually and, if evangelical Christianity gets their way, it is about to come from the pages of classroom textbooks. So you see, lessons to "duck and cover" are still needed in the US. We still have a nasty enemy and kids need to learn how to protect themselves from it.

But should kids be on their own to escape the BS that's tossed at them? Look at this Google list of articles found by a simple search: "Rewrite history, Christian nation, textbooks." The Christian propaganda machine is running at full speed ahead. Something has to be done to right the wrong.

Wake up America... Lets get cracking atheists... We've got serious work to do if we want to preserve liberty and justice for all here in our United States. History is history, after all, and it's on us to demand that the whole truth must be told as it actually was and not as it might be pleasing to the agendas of the god-believing crowd. A few cherry-picked "God" statements must not be allowed to become the painted representation of our nation's founding. Kids deserve better than to be brainwashed and we have a responsibility to protect them.

Stuff we've been waiting for

2010-03-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

This is the stuff we've been waiting for since Obama's election...

From the Executive Director [of the Council for Secular Humanism]
by Tom Flynn

On Taking a Seat at the Table
Getting into the White House (okay, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, just next door) is only slightly easier than getting onto an airplane. You get to keep your shoes on.

The scene was somewhat surreal on Friday, February 26. The bulletproof glass enclosures. The metal detectors. The taut-backed security agents whose ribbed sweaters couldn’t quite hide the telltale bulges of their body armor.

And milling through the checkpoints with me? Damn near everyone I know among the leaders of America’s “nonbeliever” organizations: Ed Buckner, president of American Atheists and some years ago executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism; Roy Speckhardt of the American Humanist Association; and Secular Coalition for America (SCA) founder Herb Silverman. (A few friends I’d looked forward to seeing weren’t there because a snowstorm had stranded them in New York City.) With me were the other members of the Council for Secular Humanism’s delegation: CFI/Office of Public Policy director Toni van Pelt, CFI/D.C. director Melody Hensley, and CFI/D.C. science adviser Stuart Jordan.

We were all there to spend an hour and a half exchanging views with the Obama administration in a White House briefing arranged by SCA (of which the Council is a member).

Perhaps sixty secular humanists, religious humanists, atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers, and more than half a dozen officials of the administration, gathered in a spacious auditorium in the Executive Office Building.

The Council Delegation: Melody Hensley, Tom Flynn, Stuart Jordan, and Toni van Pelt

White House rules preclude me from identifying the officials or what they said; suffice it to say that assistant secretaries of three departments were among them. Only a handful of us got to speak, and appropriately so, as time was tight. (As we knew we would, the rest of us had to content ourselves with sitting there and looking very, very secular.)

Into that hour and half were compressed inevitable platitudes but also incisive discussion (on the part of our community’s representatives) on three issues: religion-based child abuse and neglect, discrimination against nonbelievers in the armed forces, and constitutional issues involving the faith-based initiatives. SCA legislative director Sasha Bartolf and executive director Sean Faircloth kept the pace and the quality satisfyingly high.

And I don’t think I’m breaking the rules to say that the administration officials present appeared to listen intently and responded meaningfully to our concerns.

Was it all lip service? I honestly don’t know; future events will tell us whether our discussions will lead to any noticeable change. But the specific results of this briefing are less important than the simple fact that it occurred.

For the first time in the history of the United States, representatives of the nonbelieving community were invited to take part in national policy dialogue at the White House level. We have taken our seat at the table alongside every other properly recognized interest group. On one view, it’s easy to carp that this was far too late in coming; by one common measure there are nearly fifty million American men, women, and children who live without religious belief—more people than belong to any single American religious denomination except Roman Catholicism. By any common-sense standard we should have enjoyed this recognition decades ago.

Of course common sense has little influence on the long-standing American aversion to nonbelief. The usual suspects on the right were outraged. Some right-wing bloggers suggested that we’d sat down with Obama himself (sadly not)—not for a briefing but rather to plot together the final ejection of Christianity from the public square. Fat chance! Fox News bloviator Sean Hannity didn’t go quite that far, but he did treat his viewers to the dumbfounding claim that in meeting with nonbelievers, the Obama administration had done something for us that had never been offered to religious groups! (The White House spurns religious groups and leaders, right. And who was that with the Dalai Lama the other week—one of Obama’s body doubles?)

Never mind, for now, that our community’s recognition was overdue. Now is when that overdue recognition occurred. Now is when the first U.S. president to acknowledge our community in an inaugural address occupies the White House. And from this moment forward, our movement will be on the inside, not the outside looking in. One thing we absolutely know after this briefing: it will not be the only one. Secular humanists and all their allies will be full participants in policy dialogues from now on.

In three words, this is huge.

I’m proud that the Council for Secular Humanism could be a part of it. I’m gratified that nonbelieving Americans have taken their seats at the table. And I didn’t even have to take my shoes off.

Tom Flynn is executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism and editor of its magazine Free Inquiry

It's a good first step. Let's see where it goes from here.

Hurray for us... Secular Coalition for America

2010-03-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Hurray for us...

Secular Coalition for America, headed by Sean Faircloth, has hit a home run for all reason-minded Americans by meeting with President Obama and seeking actions that reflect a true patriotism and support for our US Bill of Rights as consistently shown in our non-religious community. SCFA... hats off to you!

Here's a reprint of the news:

Dear Randall,
We made history last week. On February 26, the Secular Coalition for America, along with a unified delegation of members of the secular movement from across the country, sat down with White House representatives for an official policy briefing-the first of its kind for American nontheists.

Never before has a U.S. presidential administration held such an event with the secular movement, and it's the latest indication that we are gaining significant momentum, and that secular Americans, numbering in the tens of millions, are a constituency that must be included in national policy decisions.

Since our meeting, rightwing groups have been telling the media that ours is a "hate-filled" coalition, but the truth is that our message could not have been more compassionate and constructive. We used this historic opportunity to call for protecting children from religiously-based medical neglect, ending military proselytizing, and ending tax-funded faith-based initiatives which discriminate and proselytize.

The Secular Coalition for America has big goals for the coming months and years. We're executing a strategy that will see us expanding our base of issues, increasing our lobbying efforts, and generating new and innovative ways for secular Americans to connect, network, and get active throughout America--but we need your help.
None of our plans can be realized without your support. Please donate now. Any amount you provide helps get us closer to becoming an undeniable political force which must be taken into account by those in power. Donate, and help Secular Americans claim our seat at the political table today.

Sean Faircloth
Executive Director
Secular Coalition for America

P.S. - Our official statements presented to the administration are available here. And we're still interested in your perspective on what additional issues you'd like to see emphasized as we go forward. If you were in the room with White House officials, what issues would you bring up? Vote now in our poll to let us know!
Questions? Comments? Contact us (Please DO NOT HIT REPLY -- no one will see your message.)

I wonder. I wonder...

2010-03-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

I wonder. I wonder...

Since a few weeks ago when Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute paid his visit to the University of Arkansas campus to sell (Hmmm... How shall I say it?) ...his load of crap, I've been curious about where and when the next creationist will surface - Luskin's Arkansas visit nearly took us by surprise. So far I've been surprised (and pleased). The ID folks have kept to themselves by staying close to home. (And ain't life just grand sometimes?)

But while perusing their site this caught my eye: a lecture title; The Role of Christianity in the Founding of Modern Science - Speaker: Jack Collins.

Um? Come on now guys and gals, is this a joke?

Honestly... if during this lecture only the facts are given, could 30 minutes of absolute silence even be considered a lecture? What could possibly amount to a "founding role" played by fundie-style Christianity for the spawning modern science?

But wait... Perhaps I'm assuming to much here. Perhaps the "role" played by primative fundies wasn't one giving support but rather that it was a role of tossing water on the original Bunsun burner. I wonder?

Good ideas in government are hard to keep:

2010-02-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

Good ideas in government are hard to keep:

There was a time when our congress thought facts were important enough to have reliable experts on hand with whom they could consult... Hmmm. That's not the case today. The Office of Technology Assessment is no longer funded thanks to Newt Gingrich and his 1995 Republican congress followers.

There's little doubt that our elected officials, no matter how smart they may be, are less than versed on all aspects of science and technology. Having experts to turn to for advice and understanding on complex subjects made good sense. Gosh! What happened?

Concerned scientists are now asking for a return to those better days of reason. They want to help. They want the Office of Technology Assessment funded once again and I hope congress is wise enough to recognize that help from science experts is needed - really needed!

I stand with the concerned scientists on this, and I'll take a parallel step on a related issue... history.

There's a heck of a lot of "history twisting" happening today; almost all of it revolving around questions of "American Christian heritage". The actual facts of history (as it is with the actual facts of science issues) seem unimportant to those congress men and women who are currently waiving the American flag in one hand and and the Christian cross in the other.

We need an Office of Historical Assessment as desperately as we need to reestablish the office of technology. It's time to set BS aside, folks. Let's all get behind truth and give it a shove in the right direction... Tell congress we want them to have the facts. They can keep their opinions and their skewed musings for Sunday meetings if they'd like - its their right - but when it comes to law-making, facts are what matter.

The good of America depends on reason. Let's have more of it.
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Do dinosaurs buy bull?

2010-02-17T20:48:00.001-08:00

Do dinosaurs buy bull?

There's a terrific book series out for preschoolers and brand new readers. Its the "How Does a Dinosaur..." collection by Jane Tolin. If you've got kids or grandkids, buy them every one written. The books teach good behavior by showing examples, good and bad, and they do it in a fun way for kids. I'd put this little readers book series at the top of the heap all by myself even if it hadn't already won the honors from every legitimate book award critic out there.

While I don't suspect we'll be seeing the title "How do dinosaurs know what's not Shinola?" coming off the author's desk at any time soon, the need is certainly there - for sure.

Behavior is one thing but learning to discriminate wisely is quite another. If Jane Tolin doesn't expand her series to teach critical thinking, somebody needs to fill in the gap.

Carl Sagan offered his "Bologna Detection Kit" to adults - a way to see all the way through bad science and the loads of other bunk ideas we each encounter on a daily basis. Simply put, Sagan's system is a very polished version of how one can easily know the difference between shit and Shinola - its excellent - yet it's unfortunately something that's out of reach on a skill level way above the understanding of those who need it most of all - little kids.

I hope our atheist and secular community will seek out its most thoughtful childrens book authors and promote the messages, good values and lessons they have to give. Kids need their own "New Atheist" authors... Let's all help find them.

Bigger and bigger and bigger:

2010-02-17T00:58:00.000-08:00

Bigger and bigger and bigger:

Occasionally its good to take stock. Atheism and the secular movement in America have come a long way and that's good for everyone.

What once seemed like cat herding has been getting to be an easier task... the cats are finding comfortable front porches all by themselves. Put up a sign - "Freethinkers meeting" - and new atheists are willing to flock to it like cats to the smell of fish heads. One after another, cities and towns are coordinating. National organizations are finding it easier to pay the bills and change for the better is happening. But we're not done yet.

If you aren't part of an on-the-ground group, join one. If your nearby group isn't near enough to join, start a new one.

Become an activist for social change and help keep religion out of government. We are today's patriots. We are "liberty and justice for all".

Now, everyone, let" get cookin'.

A+ for group involvement:

2010-02-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

A+ for group involvement:

Tampa Bay, Florida, has a brand new social service. Its the brainchild of Ellenbeth Wachs, an atheist activist and a very,very busy lady for her state. Take a good look at this:

Secular Organization for Sobriety -Tampa Bay

SOS is an alternative recovery method for those alcoholics or drug addicts who are uncomfortable with the spiritual content of widely available 12-Step programs [like alcoholics anonymous]. SOS takes a reasonable, secular approach to recovery and maintains that sobriety is a separate issue from religion or spirituality. SOS credits the individual for achieving and maintaining his or her own sobriety, without reliance on any "Higher Power."

Its a catchy name, SOS... much better than AA. And you can bet I'll be passing this little gem around to all the group leaders in my home state; I hope they'll all follow Ms. Wachs' lead.

There's very little room for doubt on this issue: secular groups (atheist or otherwise) are good for the future of America and where this particular social service is concerned, it's long overdue for drug and alcohol abusers to be rescued out of the hands of religionists. I look forward to hearing that a new crop of SOS programs across the country gain full recognition and the official nod of approval to receive government financial support and carry on their services - secular style.

Go ahead. Start an SOS group. What are you waiting for...?? help from the gods?

Hurray for you, Ellenbeth. You've climbed way high-up on my personal ladder of citizen heroes.

Addendum message from EllenBeth: "Thanks so much for the publicity and the kudos, Randall! Though I can't take credit for the idea, just the Chapter. SOS has actually been around for 25 years and was founded by James Christopher in CA. Each chapter is, however, its own entity and is run autonomously and has its own personality. "

"Plan A"

2010-02-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

"Plan A"

I really am impressed by the innovative ideas young people come up with, like one I've just been introduced to through my niece's high-schooler... an "A" shaped folded dollar bill. I've dubed it "Plan A" and its purpose is very simple. It's an attention getting portable atheists-welcome sign. Here's a quickie video to show you how it's done:

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What's the Discovery Institute up to...?

2010-02-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

What's the Discovery Institute up to...?

Fayetteville Arkansas and the University of Arkansas campus were paid a visit this evening by a member of the Seattle based creationist group, Discovery Institute. ID staffer Casey Luskin almost took us by surprise.

Stumbled upon just by chance, an alert member of NWA-United CoR sounded the alarm. It was just in the nick of time; only one day before the scheduled film and lecture event, dubed The Positive Case for Intelligent Design and Why It’s Being Expelled From Academia. It would have be on the university's launch pad and ready to soar under the radar at an unassuming student population without challenge if our heads-up atheists hadn't come along.

The Discovery Institute, one can only guess, has its sights set on rekindling the embers and spreading the word (and the misinformation) for its thinly disguised creation theory, Intelligent Design; the Institute, as measured by the tone of its speaker and his urgency to pitch his version of science, seems hot to make a brand new bid at seeing creationism taught in science classrooms everywhere. (Their dreaming, right?) Judging by this meeting alone, ID appears to be desperately running down a path toward a retrial of the Dover Pennsylvania court decision. They want it and they want it NOW. It appears that ID's heavy hitters, like Casey Luskin, are currently hard at work to set a whole new public stage. Be on the lookout Freethinkers. They may be headed for your town next.

The event program, in addition to subjecting audiences to a seat numbing 90+ minute long screening of Ben Stein's video movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," (a film that's been debunked again and again,) Casey Luskin followed up by talking as fast as he could to deliver even more numbing doses of misdirection info mixed with plenty of cold BS in the form of a very, very long long-winded and divisive Powerpoint lecture... And all of that came before Lufsin finally yielded to answer a few audience questions. And surprise, surprise, surprise... Mr. Luskin's version question-answering is: talk 'em ta death. For even the most common yes-or-no and either-or type of questions, Luskins launches a new mini-lecture response. He skips over opportunities to be direct but rants on into entirely new (and typically ten minute-long) rambling explanations; it was brain-numbing on everyone right down to the bone.

But enough... What was good about this surprise visit? It was this: The small auditorium rented from the University wasn't quite small enough. Only 54 people (by accurate head count) occupied the 250 seat room at any time throughout the program. And guess what? Nine of them were good fiends of mine. All members of our community atheist groups. Additionally, most of the young student types I observed, visited just long enough to quietly and wisely opt for the exit door. Smart!

The bottom line...? Be on the look out. Creationist wolves are on the prowl and stalking fresh meat on a campus near you.

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Addendum: This little gem of a rebuttal to the film "Expelled" was sent in by Leewood Thomas. Thanx Leewood. Read: Six Things in Expelled That Ben Stein Doesn't Want You to Know...

Atheism: Leading the way back to liberty

2010-02-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

Atheism: Leading the way back to liberty

There are no two ways about this: atheist national organizations and our local freethinker and skeptic groups are leading the way back to "liberty and justice for all". We're the modern-day American patriots.

That said, we need all the organizing we can stomach... That's right! Our states and regions must now concentrate on the things that turn grassroots movements into solid bodies with political clout. Improving communications between group leaders is tops on the list.

Here's another online tool that can help: Screenr.com It's an easy to use five-minute audio message recorder with oodles of possibilities for getting the word out about atheism and its concerns. Click for a quickie sample.

Group tip 101 - A Tool for Organizing

2010-02-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

Group tip 101 - A Tool for Organizing

There are times when distance and travel make meeting up and organizing locally (or even on a grand scale) take second place to doing nothing at all. Here's a tip that can help solve the problem. Dimdim.

Taking a page out of the big business corporate world handbook, groups can easily coordinate meetings through online video/voice conferencing just as the the big boys do. (Move over Microsoft, Belkin and Boeing.) Organizing group-to-group, statewide, region-wide or locally within a group no longer means that anyone has to travel that extra mile (or that extra hundred miles) to meet-up for planning and shareng their talents. Leaders from groups in the far reaching corners of even the largest state can take part regularly in what's happening at the Capitol city. This is an awesome reality.

Dimdim offers a public license open source program that's got all the bells and whistles of the high priced video conferencing services like Cisco's WebEx... but it's basic program is absolutely free. No crazy downloads that are impossible to install... no limited time trials... no extra software or equipment... ( Still, I'll be purchasing a higher-end pro package - no doubt! )

The basic package is FREE.

Take a good look at this excellent organizing tool and learn to use it to improve your group's communications, event planning and collaborative projects. It even makes a nice "substitute meeting" when bad weather threatens to close in on your regular face-to-face meetup.

Try it... you'll be glad you did.

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Group tips 101 - groups-within-the-group

2010-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Group tips 101 - groups-within-the-group

Most atheist groups have a regular meetup time, usually just once a week to "meet-n-eat" or "meet-n-drink" ... that's not enough!

The trouble is often on the part of the group leaders for trying to keep the group together and focused on a single set of ideas. Better leadership knows a better way.

Find the groups-within-the-group. For example, identify those who are interested in reviewing books or those who are interested in broadcasting a cable TV program, or those who like to coffee-clutch with friends, etc. and get them turned on to doing the things they like best. Cut them loose to meet on separate days however they need to and let them do their thing. Don't worry group leaders. Your little group will continue to gather with the bunch; and when they do give them room to tell about what they've been up to.

No group has a single personality or a single primary interest - that's a fact. The way to get the most out of a group is for the leaders to recognize this and to assist organizing clutches and clusters from within the group. The groups-within-the-group will be glad for being recognized as valuable and the greater group will grow because of it.

On-the-ground groups at work:

2010-02-06T03:13:00.000-08:00

On-the-ground groups at work:

Some groups are really getting into the game. They're writing alerts and letting their voices be heard. And that's what on-the-ground groups are made for.

Since the recent news that a federal judge ruled Forsyth Co. N.C. was in violation of the US Constitution for opening their meetings with sectarian prayers, our on-the-ground atheist groups have gotten busy. Here's what they're doing and here's how your group can make a difference.

City councils who are suspect of violating prayer-at-meetings law or those who employ regular non-sectarian invocations need to be called out. Taking a page from a heads-up group near my home town in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I'll pass on what might be just the thing for your local group.

Most city councils meet only a few times a month, but even so, it would be a difficult job for any single atheist activist to monitor every meeting held... Team up! Dividing the task of attending meetings "to watchdog" your public officials will make the task of discovering wrong-doing a great deal more efficient. Additionally, since all council meetings are public, a record in one form or another is kept of each one. Whoa... Those records are public property and they can be checked at leisure for evidence that church/state prayer violations have occurred. Once again, team up! An entire year of record searching would be quite a burden for a single activist, but a group can do it in no time at all. Ask for volunteers. Happy hunting.

"Take a bite out of crime." Organize the watchdog volunteers from your group. The law is on our side.
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National Prayer Breakfast: Who should attend...?

2010-02-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

Who should attend...?

The National Prayer Breakfast, an event that was initiated by Reverend Billy Graham and has taken place since the early fifties, is scheduled to happen again ... the bacon is on the grill.

I'm opposed to this kind of public display of Christianity by our nations leaders and I've sent the following letter to President Obama. Perhaps you should send one, too.

Dear Mr. President,

I urge you to take the right step with regard to the upcoming National Prayer Breakfast. Please disassociate yourself and your high office as our nation's president from taking part in this event. It is clearly bias in favor of Christianity and it neglects the non-religious community entirely.

Our nation must depend on you to set an example showing that church/state separation is a seriously important matter and one that needs to become a strictly held-to policy in the minds and actions of all public officials.

Please refuse taking part in the National Prayer Breakfast.

Thank you.

I have given you every trust with my vote.

Readers, I ask you: What would you think of a Nation Chant Breakfast...? Act now. Email your opinion to President Obama (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact)

Separation is a must in a democracy:

2010-01-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

Separation is a must in a democracy:

Have you considered why church and state don't mix? let's do that now.

The kind of good government we're all use to enjoying here in the US is called a democracy. That means the people make the laws through representation - we, the people, are the first and the final word in all decisions of law making. Churches don't work that way.

In religion, the final word on everything is left to church elders, scripture, religious laws, Popes and gods (and of the gods... they're only heard from when they're spoken for and interpreted by the priests - ordinary men and women). It works this way: religions are essentially organized as top-down governments. Its true. They're best compared to dictatorships where all the rules are imposed, top down, upon the bottom tier of members, the faithful followers. Those who sit at the top of the heap dictate to the bottom.

Moreover, religion and democracy don't mix for another reason. Unlike our constitutional government, a representative government which is designed to allow churches to function within its open society, religions are unprepared to reciprocate and do likewise. Religions are entirely intolerant of the democratic process - they just aren't made for. Think it over... Are the members of a church given the right to choose what their gods are allowed to demand? As an example, could they elect to add or subtract specific items from the ten commandments? Of course not; and it is this kind of basic difference of structure, a difference over who makes the rules, that cause religions to be entirely unsuitable as a partner in democracy.

Give this topic some additional though on your own time, if you will. And then, please step forward to join the secular society that stands firmly together keeping religion out of government.

Pre-Paid Politics:

2010-01-27T04:36:00.001-08:00

Pre-Paid Politics:

Since the federal government has now paved he way for corporate America to spend limitless amounts of money to influence our future election results, we'd better start taking a closer look at what corporate America stands for. Is it profit alone? It could be.

The following links lead to a three part documentary program that sheds some light on the character of corporations. Its worth the watch. Check it out.

Part 1
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-684415688278839051&ei=4xtdS8yLM4uUrALu_IGUDw&q=the+corporation+documentary&hl=en&client=firefox-a#

Part 2
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-684415688278839051&ei=4xtdS8yLM4uUrALu_IGUDw&q=the+corporation+documentary&hl=en&client=firefox-a#docid=-7052046910074531527

Part 3
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-684415688278839051&ei=4xtdS8yLM4uUrALu_IGUDw&q=the+corporation+documentary&hl=en&client=firefox-a#docid=7348963343777979199

Opportunity knocks... Let's seize it!

2010-01-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Opportunity knocks... Let's seize it!

First Lady, Michelle Obama, released a message from the White House for all Americans to offer input into the president's search for an appropriate honoree to receive our nation's second highest award for citizenship, the Citizens Medal. Her question was simple: "Who inspired you?"

For over 40 years, the President of the United States has awarded the Citizens Medal -- the second highest civilian honor in our nation -- to Americans who have "performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens."
Now for the 2010 Citizen's Medal, the White House is opening up the process to include an exciting source of nominations: you. President Obama is inviting the American public to nominate candidates he should consider for the Presidential Citizens Medal -- truly making this an honor of, by, and for the American people.
Who has inspired you? Whose selfless dedication to service has touched your life or the lives of others?
Watch the President explain the program in this web video and then nominate an unsung hero from your community...
Who inspired you?

As an atheist and a devoted citizen of my country, and a modern-day patriot, in fact, my thoughts immediately turned to the nation's founding fathers. But as great as they were, they won't do. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams and the like, Einstein, Kinsey, Sagan and their kind, and Madeline Murray O'Hare, a truly unsung heroine, are all long gone. Yet these were people who stood for the America I stand for, a secular America, and consequently my recommendation to President Obama of an appropriate candidate for the nation's Citizens Medal will have to live up to the standard these great people set.

Again, thinking as an atheist and as patriot of our country, I see an opportunity for the atheist community to join together and act as one in making a recommendation. Consider it... Which living American has been least selfish in their efforts to build a better America, a secular minded America, and a better world for everyone?

I have my own short list. It begins and ends with Paul kurtz - the man given credit for being the father of Secular Humanism. What could be more American that that?

Can you agree? If not, then who?

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Holy stamps... This is unbelievable!

2010-01-20T12:31:00.001-08:00

Holy stamps... This is unbelievable!

Yup... you're seeing it correctly. That's a US postage stamp and its honoring a famous religious figure, Mother Teresa.

Does that bother you? It bothers me!

The United States postal service is a government branch and it is subject to all the same church state separation laws set by the US constitution and the law. Additionally, the post office's own criteria of regulations for choosing appropriate commemorative candidates for honoring on stamps clearly says that it will not print stamps that "honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs."

What the...? Did someone at the post office forget how to read or are they to dense to realize that even little kids know Mother Teresa became famous for doing 'Gods work' and that she was a Roman Catholic nun. She's even been honored by the Pope, for goodness sakes. What could be more obvious?

Com'on guys and girls (and I don't mean just the atheists either...) Isn't it about time for everyone to make some noise and do some complaining over the extraordinary special privileges religions are getting... and all at the cost of the tax payer.

This is just plain WRONG!

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LOL ... This pure Christian silliness.

2010-01-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

LOL ... This pure Christian silliness.

An ABC news article on January 18th 2010 reported that a supplier of military quality weapon targeting telescopes has been inscribing a coded religious message embedded into the model number of every device he has manufactured and sold to the United States government. The supplier is Trijicon Incorporated of Wixom, Michigan.

Good gosh. How silly is this?

It is not within the US military's policy to purchase items that tout religious slogans or messages and now they are in a quandary over what to do. A supplier (and one who was likely aware of the government's attitude of religious neutrality) has craftily slipped one past them. What to do..? What to do..?

I certainly don't understand the quirky Christian habit of inscribing odds and ends religious messages on everything in sight and on everything that can't say "no" or how a Christian might think that doing so will bring them special blessings from their god or from their fellow god-believing buddies. I guess it all comes down to being some sort of cheap advertising gimmick, like that of the too familiar "Trust Jesus" graffiti found on bathroom walls, overpasses and bridges and back alley garage doors. We've all come to dislike this sort of thing so much over the past half century but what can be done about it? When will enough be enough?

I hope the government makes an issue of this case... honestly. This is just way over-the-top too silly.

Those who would be President:

2010-01-15T22:12:00.001-08:00

Those who would be President:

Pat Robertson did his best to rally the faithful behind his presidential bid back in 1988 and even beat George Bush Sr in the Iowa Republican caucuses... Holy Cows!

But guess what? He was just as flaky then as he is today and fortunately a somewhat more reasonable voting public recognized that good ole Pat, even with God in his heart, was a lousy choice to put in the chief executive's seat of the world's only super power nation. Thank the goodness of reason for that, eh? The voters made the right choice and this week's comment from Pat Robertson (video) (that Haitians brought on themselves and deserved God's wrath as payment for their sins) should serve as a stark reminder to us all that weeding out flakes and over-the-top wacko presidential hopefuls is a very serious business.

And what's coming down the road that we ought to take a serious Pat Robertson-type look at... hmm? How about Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee?

Good gosh! It's Pat all over again.

Yikes... What a way to start off the new year.

2010-01-04T01:45:00.000-08:00

Yikes... What a way to start off the new year.

I'm as sick as a dog with the worst head cold I've had in years (sniff sniff) and all the home remedies I've tried aren't helping. My nose is running. My head aches. My sinuses are clogged. My eyes itch like there are fleas biting them... ugh, I'm worn out, pooped out and ready to call it quits.

I guess its time to make a tough decision and call in some professional help. But who?

Should I send out an SOS to a Christian Science preacher or call Benny Hinn? Would an Indian medicine man or a Chinese acupuncturist be a better choice? Or perhaps I ought to just stop a passing truck driver and ask him to run me down in the street. Gee whiz, it sure is hard to make a good choice when the options don't include a blond haired cheerleader.

I guess I'll figure it all out by morning.

Would somebody please pass the NiQuil.

"Why Atheists go to church" by Cole Morgan

2009-12-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is interesting. One of our own good friends, an atheist, attends church almost every weekend and he publishes articles in the "Faith" section of the Kansas City Star... (Oh my goodness.) Here's a sample.

Why an atheist goes to church

By COLE MORGAN

Special to the Star

“Why do you go?” Friends ask me this whenever I mention that I enjoy going to Bible studies. I suppose that’s because they know I am an atheist.

About a year ago, some buddies and I started going together to different churches. The initial surprise on our fellow churchgoers’ faces when they learned we were nonbelievers was priceless.

To answer the question, there are a few reasons why I go. First of all, it’s fun. I like to learn, and attending a new church is always a rewarding experience for me. I like to hear how each denomination interprets the Bible, and why people think the way they do. So often we’ll hear someone explain why members of other denominations are not real Christians.

For the past four weeks, a group of us have been attending a 10-week “Alpha Course” at a church.The purpose of this class, the facilitator told us, is to provide a place where people can feel relaxed about coming and talking about their beliefs. We start off with dinner, then a DVD discussing Jesus, and finally we go to our small groups. The people are friendly and we don’t keep getting asked why exactly we’re there.

When I tell people there how I feel about religion, they don’t take offense. I like that. That hasn’t always happened at Bible studies I’ve attended. Still, I feel a disconnect with my new friends in the Alpha Course. They tell me to “open the door” (the door being my heart) and if I do, “Jesus will come in.” What does this mean? I can’t even begin to understand this idea of “letting Jesus into my heart.”

As a natural born skeptic, I know that the natural world is all we need and all we have. I find the natural world exciting -- there’s so much to learn. I stay active promoting science whenever possible. I feel we only have this life, so I encourage people to be active and to support research that will help us live longer and healthier.

I am a member and help organize several nonreligious meet up groups in the Kansas City area. We have movie nights, science nights, topic nights, breakfasts and picnics to keep us busy. We also keep each other informed with voting issues and other topics we feel are unfair in our society like women’s rights and gay rights. We invite Christians many times to our groups, but few ever accept and fewer show.

I would like it if we could learn to be more rational and laugh at our differences more often. That’s another reason why I go to church. It’s nice to be able to show Christians that we don’t have horns and tails. Atheists live normal lives just like Christians do. We just believe in one fewer god.

Cole Morgan is one of 13 contributors to the Faith Walk column. Reach him at faith@kcstar.com.

Good for you, Cole Morgan, and more power to you. (But personally, I think I'll still be skipping church.)
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WAR ENDS

2009-12-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

WAR ENDS

Now that the 25th of December has come and gone we'll have the opportunity to enjoy a lasting peace. Bill Donahou's War on Christmas has ended once more. And good riddance. Perhaps Bill will have the clarity of mind to neglect declaring the next offensive in 2010. Let's hope.

I have a though to share in the mean time. That the "War on Christmas" is a misnomer and a divisive one at that. What we've all just survived has not been a war "on" Christmas but rather it was the seasonal war "of" Christmas. Year after year it is nothing less than the same old persistently self-serving Christian attitude that the Christian Christmas Holiday is so exceptionally special it must be observed reverently by everyone ... Bah Humbug!

When next November and December come knocking, I hope this simple message will be remembered: The winter season belongs equally to everyone; Christmas does not.

United CoR, update:

2009-12-18T06:31:00.001-08:00

United CoR, update:

I promised to give a report on some of the "ins and outs" of getting involved with United Coalition of Reason... Well, the answer is an easy one. There are no "outs" to it.

United CoR does everything it claims, nothing more and nothing less. They give support to local area groups who are willing to work in a coordinated way and they lend their assistance to helping establish public recognition of those groups through their billboard and media assistance advertising program. It's a snap getting started as a United CoR affiliate group - no secret agenda, no strings attached, no fees involved.

Check it out and get your group together with your closest neighboring groups to form a Local CoR today. Its a reasonable thing to do. Here's the link: United Coalition of Reason.

What's your opinion? Cast your vote..!

2009-12-17T02:27:00.000-08:00

What's your opinion? Cast your vote..!

A controversy here in the Land of the Free is currently being settled across the country, case by case. The question: Does the winter holiday season, December, belong to everyone in cases where government and public property are involved?

In my home state of Arkansas, according to the courts, it apparently does. A two year struggle between Arkansas Society of Freethinkers and the State of Arkansas has culminated in a decision. This year, for the first time, a holiday display that competes with the traditional "single-view" Christmas display consisting of a manger and a tree has been given space on the Arkansas State Capital grounds to display its holiday message along side "what everyone expect to see," Christmas.

Did the judge decide correctly? Should space on public property be made available for displays that differ from the traditional "Christmas decorations"?

You can answer if you act quickly.... The local news media wants to know. Search the left hand column of this link and look for "Your Opinion": VOTE
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Oh my, look at who still doesn't get it... Bill O'Reily

2009-12-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

Oh my, look at who still doesn't get it...

Bill O'Reilly is far a drift on plenty of things, but on the Humanist winter celebration, he's outdone himself and is hopelessly lost at sea. Read his full "Bah.. humbug" painting of atheists and Humanists here: Have Yourself a Godless Little Christmas

Mr O'Reily... do your journalistic homework. Humanists have quite a nice little holiday celebration and we like it. The symbols and whatnot used as reminders to celebrate are commonplace among us... even Santa gets a nod right along side Happy Human and our Human Light decorations. You, Mr O'Reily, are apparently seeing only what you'd like to see. It's time to wake up, sir. Happiness and celebration are things that happen even in the absence of Jesus.

Happy Holiday to all... You, too, Bill.

On reading anything, first know the author

2009-12-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

On reading anything, first know the author

A few days ago, I caught myself thinking while reading, drifting off the subject and taking stock of the things found between the lines. Having such wandering thoughts while reading is sometimes an annoying occurrence yet it's more frequently a very valuable and sometimes useful habit. On this particular occasion, I was busy gleaning nuggets out of Susan Jacoby's "The Age of Unreason" and I wondered: How in the world has Susan amassed such an impressive command of scholarly knowledge? How astonishing she is...! Yet, there really isn't any wonder about it. She's smart.

Reflecting back on my fleeting thoughts of awe for Jacoby's ability has caused me to consider the importance of it. For her case, the facts are readily available. She's an accomplished author and scholar known to many. Her credibility is unquestionable. And now compare. Do the authors of such books as the Bible and the Qu'ran have equally known and reputable authors?

Some readers approach some books differently than others. They may carefully peruse a modern book's jacket for tid-bits of insight into what and who they are about to read before deciding to turn a page and lend an open mind to its writer. However, that same prospective reader may trade off his thoughtful book selection practices when electing to pick up a Holy book. But why?

In the case of the Bible, for example, knowing anything at all about the author(s) is nearly impossible - its authors are virtually unknown outside of the Bible itself. By contrast, in the case of the Qu'ran, Mohammad is well known; yet, does it follow without fault that he is a reputable source for what he claims? and the same could be said about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. By additional contrast, now consider the reputations of Confusious, Buddha and Lao-Tse, the founders of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Such men were well know in their own times; they were celebrated, revered and even criticized by their peers and each one was challenged to possess a credible reputation, in deed, the likes of which could satisfy any potential reader in much the same way we find satisfaction in knowing the reputation of any modern-day author - a Jacoby for example.

And now, I must ask: How should one pick up a holy book? ... as a blank slate ready to be inscribed - blindly trusting the book's author to speak knowledgeably and truthfully? ... or as one armed by forethought and by some reasonable knowledge of who he is about to read?

I recommend: On reading anything, first know the author.
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A friendly atheists advocate: Stephen Prothero

2009-12-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

A friendly atheists advocate: Stephen Prothero

In order to follow this blog well, I'll refer you to Hermant Mehta's blog, Friendly Atheist, where Hermant has written a commentary on Stephen Prothero's Time Magazine article urging atheists to soften their approach for advocating atheist popularity.

First: I will neither agree or disagree with Stephen Prothero and the aims of his article nor will I take any issue with Hermant. Each has made points well take and I'll leave it at that for now. My interest is to speak, instead, about Stephen Prothero, writer, religious scholar and historian.

I've recommended Prothero's books on other occasions, merely touching on them by title, and this seems an appropriate time to say a tad more. If there are first things to mention about Prothero, the man, they would have to include words like "intergity" and "fact-minded". His works could not be better grounded by his dedication to honest analysis and reporting than they appear to be. Prothero is religious, a Catholic, yet he seems as capable as the best science researcher at compartmentalizing his personal beliefs in order to avoid tarnishing his work - his books.

I was especially impressed by "American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon". It speaks mountains on the the subject of religious changes of attitude in America over the course of history. That book is a "must read" for anyone wanting to understand American religious (and, reading between the lines, non-religious) society today. Atheists ought to find it more than just interesting even though atheism is not its focus.

My bottom line...? Stephen Prothero may say otherwise, but he writes for the benefit of the atheist movement and advances our interests, knowingly or not - and in a friendly way, of course.

POST SCRIPT: Since writing this, I've heard from Stephen and he thanked me for the post while correcting an error I've made. He writes "Thanks for your kind words. I am not a Catholic, however. Steve Prothero "

My error... my apology.

On Atheist Activism:

2009-12-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

On Atheist Activism:

Defining the aims of atheist activism has come up as a topic in the past few days. Gretta Christian's and vjack's blogs have spoken on it and I want to add my two cents since I don't completely agree with either one of them.

Let me begin with Gretta's ideas. Simply put, she touts that an atheist activists ought to aim to tear down religion and god-belief straight to their foundations and abolish them. Her aim is for a religion-free world. Vjack takes a softer approach as seem in his definition.

Atheist activism refers to the process of promoting atheism through activities such as promoting a worldview free from gods, reducing the privileged status of religion in society, and promoting atheist civil rights.

While I can't say that I disagree entirely with either Gretta or vjack on all counts, I disagree with each enough to quibble.

I strongly support atheist involvement in all walks of life and I personally encourage non-believers to become involved and active. Atheist activism as I see it (and as I practice it) is merely taking steps to give venue to atheist opinions... to all atheist opinions. I try to take care not to narrow which atheist opinions ought to be given top priority but rather to simply encourage the sounding of atheist voices.

My own voice is certainly not one that I wish to muzzle nor would I like being told what to think - I have my own opinions and I reserve the right to state them. And herein is where I differ with both Gretta and vjack. My personal style of atheist activism is merely to help organize the stage for atheists to speak their minds. I prefer to promote, preserve and protect the liberty of atheist individuals and organizations without regard for any specific "atheist aims".

Let atheists define the aims of atheism... let atheist activists provide the stage.
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A local Holiday dispute: Settled

2009-12-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

A local Holiday dispute: Settled

The residents of Little Rock, Arkansas, had better prepare themselves to be rocked this holiday season thanks to the efforts of its Central Arkansas freethinging and skeptic groups. The dispute over weather or not atheists would be allowed to place a holiday display on the state capitol grounds along side the familiar Christian tree was a two year long struggle that has finally settled. Upon hearing the decision, Leewood Thomas, an atheist group member and one of the projects chief contributors exclaimed: "Hip Hip Hooray!!! State Capitol here we come!"

The last stages of the battle for equal representation were finally fought between Arkansas's Secretary of State and the local ACLU chapter as the story begin to raise broader interest, reaching media agencies online and on the air. Fayetteville CATV producer, Donald Morton, of FreeThought NWA said of the decision, "How ironic. We covered this issue in a taped show at same hour and the same day it was being settled."

To view the display, visit its website at: Arkansas Society of Freethinkers or wait a week or two and visit the real deal on the Little Rock Capitol Building grounds. It will be there.

Its time to get the word out:

2009-12-06T02:14:00.001-08:00

Its time to get the word out:

I've been as thrilled as I can be by one of the unexpected results of attending last month's highlighted events - Skepticons II. That result is the very strong possibility of a similar event following suit in Joplin this coming spring - Four State FreeThought Convention.

A handful of group leaders sat themselves down for breakfast on the second morning of Skepticons and did a little brainstorming. That brainstorming session is still happening and its fruit has grown into creating the first of what is likely to become an annual convention style meeting of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas freethinking groups. Whoopie...!

A Facebook page has been created to organize the ground workers for the event and it's been actively doing so right from the start. Check it out to get involved.

In memory of...

2009-12-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

In memory of...

A great deal of religious thought and energy is spent on contemplating "afterlife" or, in other words, on surviving the natural state of being dead as a door nail. Somehow this kind of thinking makes no sense to most non-religious people, me included.

Being saved to live on after death, ascending into Heaven (or going to Hell) or being raptured to live with Jesus, Allah, God or whomever one dreams holds the keys to his escape from ultimate oblivion has no real substance to give critical thinking minds reason enough to accept faith in an afterlife. So, what of it? Why does the devout believer go through so much personal sacrifice and torment on account of this empty hopefulness for surviving death when death is so obviously and empirically inescapable? What brings them to believe such nonsense?

The answer might be found somewhere hidden within the words "In memory of" since, as the preachers often put it, "Ones rightful place in heaven will be decided by how one lived his life."

It is argued by religionists, by Christians and others, that one cannot "buy" his way into Heaven - that making donations and doing good deeds is not enough; and yet, there are a seemingly endless stampedes of the faithful, each stumbling over the next and competing with his neighbor to be recognized for what good he gives to others and to his lord. I'm of a mind to say that this behavior, that of being focused on seeking positive recognition, is in deed an attempt to buy a seat in Heaven and to be thought of well enough by ones peers during life to insure being remembered equally well after death.

Eastern religions seem to have a better idea of how to treat the want we may have to be remembered well. They tout honoring their dead ancestors, but not as living souls having managed to cheat death, rather, as truly bygone lives, as passed lives, as dead people each having contributed a small part to the whole of humanity. and to life By this form of "afterlife remembrance" they gain comfort in spite of death's onset. Easterners allow themselves to know that each will ultimately die, truly die, and that each will become oblivious to everything that is such that they're able to realistically recognize the fact that all life is ifinite. This honest affirmation ultimately yields one very few concerns for imagining his own impending doom. Short of knowing that one may know pain and suffering during the process of daeth, living such a philosophy as theirs causes no dependence upon false beliefs. For anyone who has conducted his life honestly and morally, deadness is not feared.

It's not an attack, it's a counter-offensive.

2009-12-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

It's not an attack, it's a counter-offensive.

There are a whole lot of people complaining that atheists are ruining their Christmas. They claim that Christmas is under "attack". Bah, humbug.

In deed, our atheist and secular communities are laying claim to an equal share of the holiday season; we're grabbing up small segments of advertising space on buses and along roadsides, securing patches of grass on state capital grounds and erecting placards here and there - and for what? Well, how about for the purpose of celebrating our idea of what the winter holiday season is all about.... Its not only about the birth of Jesus H. Christ.

Atheists, agnostics, Humanists and the host of other non-religious people as well as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and the rest of the non-Christian religious population of America aren't "attacking" Christmas... not at all. Non-Christian Americans are merely stepping froward to celebrate the holidays according to their own ways of thinking. Attack? No. If it's anything, it is a counter attack. For every "Merry Christmas" wish heard, there can now be heard a resounding echo of "Happy Holidays" and for non-Christians, that's a nice change to hear.

What's happening on the little stage?

2009-11-29T22:29:00.001-08:00

What's happening on the little stage?

We get oodles of news on the national level, the big stage of the secular/atheist movement, but what's happening on our smaller stages? What are our local groups doing?

I really enjoy attending the monthly meetings of my local group, Fayetteville Freethinkers, Arkansas, and I also take time out to attend the meetings of a few other nearby groups - often, just to see what's going on. There's a good deal of variety out there and I encourage everyone to get their fill of it by visiting outside their own neighborhood once in a while. Here's why...

This month, my own group featured a Doug Kruger "original"... What a hoot. Doug has been giving presentations to our group for years. He's the author of "What is Atheism: A Short Introduction," he teaches at the collage level and he's a highly polished speaker - a real piece of human inventiveness especially when it comes to selecting topics. This month he offered an overview on dowsing, of all things. It's the art of ( ...the art of?) finding underground water, lost and hidden items, and a lot of other sorts of foolishness.

The conclusion: If dowsers would turn their dowsing attention and skills (...skills?) to seeking out nonsensical thinkers with foolish beliefs (and if dowsing worked) the seeking dowsers would end up chasing their own tails around endlessly, just like little puppies often do and they'd look just as brainless as they do when seeking out other such silliness as they claim to be able to do.

You can't guess what fun it is to look critically at the wacko ideas humans come up with... at all of it. Science and history, philosophy and ethics, politics and government are certainly not to be slighted in the least. Knowing these things is important; yet, doing without an occasional debunking of this and that or failing to poke some fun at the silliness some segments of our societies believe, kind of runs a close second in many, many categories.

Attend your local meeting... Don't miss it.

Preacher man, abandon your post!

2009-11-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

Preacher man, abandon your post!

If religion's thinking members (and there are plenty of them) would suddenly adopt courage enough to honestly recognize that the moral grounds applied by the holy scriptures are not entirely defensible, that the gods touted in the Bible, the Qu'ran and Torah and by all the other ancient holy texts are clearly not infallible in every way; then, the doors of a new dilemma, a modern intellectual dilemma, would open wide on the public stage. And that new dilemma, "What ought we to believe and live by?" is the single most neglected question of today's society.

But who should be called upon to take the first brave steps? Who should become the leaders of meaningful religious reform. Preachers; that's who!

One who assumes a leadership responsibility for others is obligated morally to examine the direction he advocates. Is it right to teach that those who fail to believe as others do deserve death? Is touting slavery as an institution a worthy endeavor? Is advocating "eye for an eye" justice a just avocation? And women... is it okay to to cast them as second class people, obedient to the whims of men as has been done since long before the year one? Are aggressive war and genocide supportable? Aren't there moral grounds today for casting off the amoral standards of the past, those less than holy standards reflected by old-world scriptures, whether they are said to be "divinely given" or not? ... I believe there are.

One at a time or as a mass exodus, a new clergy must take-up the lead for a new cause. That being: to officially and completely abandon any book of scripture and any religious doctrine that is so tarnished by such uncivilized teaching as the kind seen above such that whatever remaining good which might be derived from religion and its texts must be rescued away to begin again elsewhere, untarnished and based in reality.

Honest clergymen, wherever they can be found, must take the first steps out of their wrongfully taken yesterday-attitudes for idealization of that which is clearly not ideal. Preachers need to answer a new calling outside the old ideals of church and far away from the ill-thought moral teaching found in the old holy books.
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What non-believers DO believe

2009-11-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

What non-believers DO believe

Atheism, agnosticism and the trailing pack of additional isms that are so often attached to the first two as if they were mere after thoughts are not entirely devoid of belief, not even from the most extreme beginning, atheism - the ultimate abyss of nothingness and hopelessness as god-believers might call it. Certainly, a Taoist has beliefs and yet he claims no beliefs in gods.

"Hey... What's that? Beliefs?" you say.

It's true. Even atheists have beliefs.

I'm personally not an avid reader of philosophy, yet I do have a personal philosophy that I live by. We all do. I'll refer you to Richard Carrier to argue against this, if you'd like to refute the truth of the matter. Yet here, my purpose is simply. I wish to raise the level of awareness of for readers to recognizing the fact that we non-beleivers do, in fact, believe something.

Collectively speaking, it would be a fine mess to attempt lumping all non-believers into a single pile. Our beliefs vary enough from person to person that even listing the least common denominators of our every individual philosophy ofour midst would present a task of the highest order - it might be possible, of course, but impossibility is likely its nearest up-the-street neighbor. Yet let's try. Respect for basic honesty, respect for self and others, valuing and improving upon our own critical thinking skills, and accepting irrefutable reality might head such a list, (or not). But the point, I hope, is clear. We are not, any of us, entirely without beliefs.

I urge each of you to explore your own beliefs, and then to seek that which is common and uncommon between you and the guy or gal next to you. We all need to talk about our beliefs a lot more.

Hands-on projects

2009-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hands-on projects

There's nothing like contributing time and effort to a hands-on project... Give it a try where you live.

I've just come away from the great success of Skepticons II and sent out my personal thanks to some of the people who put heads and hands together pulling this event off. It was fantastic...!

I've done my bit in several ways, organizing new groups and setting the stage for local group meetings, organizing book tours and such, and I know the sort of feeling the Skepticons crew of contributors, from stage manager and information desk person to emcee and principal speaker, are each feeling today - pooped-out-wonderful and accomplished. Its a feeling I hope every one of us will one day experience by giving an effort to producing a project of his own projects.

Whether one chooses to help produce a large event like Skepticons or simply give a talk for their local group, whether its a large effort given or a small one, a pet project or a dutiful job, the reward is equal, the benefits are universal and its all found in the giving. Get involved, hands-on and on-the-ground. Make something you care about become real. Give your talents and yourself to making a difference for everyone's sake. You won't be disappointed that you did.

Congratulations to Skepticons II. And full speed ahead to the makers of all the projects that come next... Get involved - everyone.

Skepticons II... HOW KOOL IT WAS.

2009-11-23T18:43:00.001-08:00

Skepticons II... HOW KOOL IT WAS.

I almost hate to say it, Skeptions II has come and gone. But what a terrific seminar its was - it a was full two days and two nights to remember and it was a big, big booster shot for atheism here in the central region of the country. If you were there, you know what I mean. If not, I'm sorry.

If you recall the thrill of meeting up with a fellow atheist or agnostic, a skeptic and critical thinker yourself, multiply that feeling by 500 or so. There is no better surroundings for a rational mind than to be in the company of a small multitude of others like itself - all alert and tuned in to reality.

Ideas blossomed, common thoughts were shared and new friendships were made to the left, to the right and all around. Not age, not gender, not race not anything stood between us, the uncommon people, on our personal quests to seek others in common. This was an orgy of reason and a feast on the delicacies of what tastes so delightful to our hungry minds.

And here's a plus: one of the spin-offs of a great meeting like Skepticons II is that it can sometime help spawn a similar event... Guess what, that may be happening as we speak. Stay tuned to this blog for more information on this exciting topic. Something new is possibly brewing.

I'd like some proof, please:

2009-11-17T18:41:00.001-08:00

I'd like some proof, please:

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ, said that the motto and pledge recognize the “undeniable truth that our freedoms come from God.”

I'd like to see some proof of that Mr. Sekulow, wouldn't you? I'll bet you would since that might carry your case for you.

ACLJ...?

It stands for American Center For Law and Justice but it could just as easily mean American Center for Law and Jesus since by its own Mission statement "God-given... rights" are one of its chief reasons for being.

And now, the stage appears to be set and the time seems ripe for the lawyers on both sides of the "In God We Trust" issue, an issue aimed at blocking the legality for engraving "under God" and the "In God We Trust" motto on the Capitol Visitor Center walls, to put on their gloves.

Freedom From Religion Foundation filed its complaint against giving the go-ahead-nod to the engraver back in July and today US Representatives Michele Bachmann and John Kline answered. Backed by Representative John Boehner and 40 other conservatives of Congress, Bachmann and Kline delivered their brief for filing to the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, the home of FFRF.

This case has all the markings of the famed Monkey Trials from back in the twenties of the last century. Quite honestly, I suspect it will be a brawl, but we'll all have to wait and see how quickly the courts intend to act.

(Don't hold your breath....)

The God Virus Spreads and Spreads...

2009-11-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

The God Virus just spreads and spreads...

.. but guess what? That's good news for a change.

I received a recent update email on Dr Darrel Ray's marvelously energetic activities for atheism and non-religion. Dr Ray, as most people already know is the author of "The God Virus" and he has taken the time to share the experiences of what his writing efforts have yielded both for him and for the causes he represents.

Here's a reprint of his email:

Friends and friends of the book:

I just had to tell all that today the book hit #2 in books on atheism on Amazon. It is right behind Richard Dawkins mega best seller, The God Delusion. I never thought my book would be mentioned in the same sentence as Dawkins' and now it is #2 behind his and ahead of Hitchens mega best seller God Is Not Great.

I have been on book tour for the last three months and much more to come in the next three and doing a radio show or podcast on average, every two weeks. The emails I have received from people touched by the book have been incredible. The stories are often amazing to read. Most relate it directly to specific chapters in the book that brought them understanding about their own religious upbringing.

Our new organization, Recovering from Religion (RR) has grown rapidly and is over 20 groups across North America and adding new groups each week. Portland, OR, NY City, San Diego and Ivine, CA all started in just the last two weeks. I am off to New Orleans in Dec. and five stops throughout the South in January. You can listen to my latest interview on The Infidel Guy podcast/internet radio show. Here is the link: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=49897&cmd=tc I'll be on the Point of Inquiry podcast with DJ Grothe next week.

Forgive me for bragging, but this is just too much fun, I had to share it and enjoy it while it lasts. Its bound to come down sometime.

Darrel

Buy the book and give it a read. You'll very likely enjoy it just as well as I did. And for the record: Dr Ray is one heck of a great guy. I hope each and every one of you gets a chance to shake his hand in chat.

Coming Out Equals Gaining Liberty

2009-11-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

Coming Out Equals Gaining Liberty

For anyone who's faced the prospects of divulging his up-'til-that-moment secret of disbelief in gods to either a close friend or a family member, there is a world of anticipated trauma, anxiety and dread to carry around - a very heavy burden, in deed. And what is the cost of carrying that burden? Silence. Keeping silent on matters of ones personal beliefs comes at the high cost of yielding away ones most precious freedom, the right to openly speak an opinion.

Yet, just as one anticipates the possible traumas which may surround confessing his heretofore unspoken atheist thoughts, there exists a parallel plane of knowing that once divested of his secret, freedom awaits, and one can finally know liberty. And it is in that certainty of knowing such impending joy is at hand, of knowing it is possible and real, that the courage to move ahead drives us to seek openness fully in order to realize our own liberation, to often, from long-held years of silence.

What's at stake? What is the price of openly speaking ones mind? Sometimes its plenty but usually not.

A popular Twitter personality and blogger of Godless Girl, has written an account of her recent profession for atheism, titling the piece "I Came Out." Its worthy of a look and I encourage that what follows will likely be just as worthy since it is from what comes next that we will hopefully see and hear how she's benefited by her newly claimed liberty. Just one look at the photo attached to the article is already telling a lot.

Congrats, Godless Girl.

Group + Group + Group = Coordinated Groups

2009-11-14T20:32:00.001-08:00

Group + Group + Group = Coordinated Groups

I've recently gotten together with some people in my home state of Arkansas - atheist people - and we're planning to do what others have already done: get organize.

There is no obligation, financial or otherwise ... United CoR's efforts are cooperative and supplementary to the work already being done by national and local nontheistic organizations.

United CoR (United Coalition of Reason) has gotten our attention. They're one of the nationwide organizations who have been putting up billboards, and Arkansas is looking in CoR's direction to lend a helping hand. That's what United CoR does according to their website; and, according to the groups who have already sought help from CoR, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Morgantown, Dallas-Ft.Worth, Houston and others, they do what they do very, very well.

I certainly plan to share our experience with CoR from here in Arkansas with everyone interested in doing something similar in their own home state. The aim, of course, is to share what works. And since the people at Cor apparently have a few clues on what works, Arkansas is ready to learn them. I hope I'll be finding out what the first of those clues are in the next few weeks.

I do know this part... The beginning steps are easy enough: find out where groups near your area are located, contact them and make a plan to work together for the good of all; and then, make a call or send an email to United Coalition of Reason. The details are as simple as that and they're posted on the United CoR's website.

Watch for additional installments on this subject, and I hope your local group will soon decide to join in with others to organize and publicize non-religion.

The Catholic mystery of faith

2009-11-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Catholic mystery of faith

According to the US council of Catholic Bishops, there are 68,115,001 Catholics in the United States, (that's 22% of the U.S. population). This alone is somewhat of a mystery since it doesn't quite agree with other statistical reports, but that's not the subject of this blog. It's the mystery behind the mystery of proclaiming "the mystery of faith" that's got my attention today.

As part every Catholic mass there is time taken out to profess the mystery of faith, Catholic style. They all stand and recite together. I'm wondering if anyone adding a voice to these weekly choruses of profession has actually considered the meaning of the word "mystery" in a what he's saying.

Mysteries are generally unsolved questions... that's what makes them mysteries, isn't it? And if anyone knows the answer to a mystery it can no longer be called a mystery. Hmmm?

So... when making their profession of faith by reciting the Apostles Creed, aren't Catholics actually saying that they fully understand they haven't got a clue? Aren't they saying they're adrift and at sea? And, I wonder, does the garden variety Catholic realize what he's professing isn't knowledge that includes a precise answer to the mystery but rather that its a profession of ignorance?

The Apostles Creed makes it that clear enough that the content of the claims it includes are based only upon belief - the words "I believe" reoccur a couple of times, in fact. Wowzers. That means, that every time a Catholic recites the Apostles Creed, he's actually saying "Duh... I don't know the real answer but I'm gullible enough to follow along with the crowd?" ...that's a lot of following, I'd say.

I really wonder how many of the 68,115001 Catholics have given this question even a moments' thought... Someone must have, eh? I mean, gosh and golly, they say it week after week, don't they?

Europe is on the ball...

2009-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Europe is on the ball...

The European court has acted in a decision to ban displaying the Christian Cross in Italian public schools. That's good for them and good for all of us, too. Europe is certainly on the ball. And the United States could do itself well by taking a few lessons from Europeans.

It was decided by the European court that the aim of schools is to teach critical thinking skills to children and that displaying religious symbols was not in keeping with that ideal. European judges were not about to allow children to be "forced" by mere habit of familiarity into believe the unfounded notions of gods without preparing them first with a start-up of maturity and healthier state of mind for dealing with adult philosophy.

Here in the US, religious symbols are banned from public school classrooms... but not all schools are public schools, are they? And, not all public money for education is harbored exclusively for public school classrooms - some goes for subsidizing parochial schools, dosen't it?. And there's something wrong with the system which allows that practice to continue.

Historically, legal efforts to deny subsidized payments of public tax money to religious schools have been raised time and again, and arguments have been given at both the state and federal Supreme court level to end such practices. Mostly, they've failed, and the reasoning behind the failures is difficult to tolerate, at best. It amounts to hair little better than splitting where the thinking goes something like, 'Paying for secular books and computers used for parochial education isn't a subsidy of parochial education.' Bunk...! That's nothing but bologna no matter what else it might be called.

And, of course, we still have to deal with the legacy of Dub-ya, George Walker Bush's Office of Faith Based Initiative.

Eeek! Wake up America. Religious schools divide up our kids into opposing camps of belief. This is not how things ought to be in a united country.

Grrr...! Is the American Legion in it too?

2009-11-11T17:04:00.000-08:00

Grrr...! Is the American Legion in it too?

Atheist Camel raised a complaining issue recently - one that involved putting a new Christian twist on the ceremonial practice of folding the American Flag. Please note: You'll find NOTHING in the history of Christianity or in its Bible that calls for this kind of BS.

The comments to Hump's article have been interesting to read and I've followed them as each was added. The latest comment, however, revealed something disturbing, in deed. In part, here it is:

Hump, I just learned that (1) the American Legion is advocating these supposed meanings for the ceremony (2) the legion is taking this into public schools as part of their respect-the-flag campaign [which I otherwise applaud], and (3) that the legion is chartered by congress.

Now, I don't know what the actual source of this bad news is since I didn't discover it myself, and I certainly don't like spreading rumor, it's not nice; but if this is true, there's a fight to fight with the old American Legion vets. Personally, I have a great deal of respect for the military, for veterans and for the American flag, but contrastingly, I have little to no respect for Christian doctrine and even less for this newly concocted intended religiosity being added on to the already established flag folding ceremony.

My first impression was that the new christian notion is just nonsense - its worthy of a laugh at best; but this... when a group like the American Legion, gets bent over and out of shape to push this as an agenda, morover, to try to teach it to kids. Grrr...! Something stinks.

Check it out for yourself at Atheist Camel... be sure to read the comments.
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A low-fat article on "belief"

2009-11-10T20:38:00.001-08:00

A low-fat article on "belief"

If "belief" is the word which equates to what we stand for, and this is commonly the case when speaking in common circles, than we'd each do well to have a ready answer to a frequently asked question, "What do you believe? (...or 'believe-in' as religionists will often say it.)

Richard carrier has put some serious effort into reducing down what he sees as the garden variety of "atheist belief" - and, dissatified by the obvious negative "There are no gods," he concentrates on the positive. So what are they?

Here's a low-fat article that gives quick incite to Richard's ideas on the subject and I think he's struck some nails soundly on the head with it: What an atheist ought to stand for

Having a willingness to doubt, to make honest inquiry, to follow logical thinking methods, to cautiously apply value upon everything one knows and to pursue happiness: these are Richards bottom lines. Read it for yourself to see if you agree.

Richard Carrier is scheduled to make an address at Skepticons II on November 20th - 21st at the campus of Missouri State University, Springfield. He'll be sharing the spotlight with PZ Myers, Rebecca Watson, Joe Nickell, DJ Grothe, Victor Stenger, Robert M. Price, and Dan Barker, along with local presenters Dr. Mark Richter and JT Eberhard. (Don't miss it!)

Christians lay claim to the US Flag... What's next?

2009-11-09T10:01:00.001-08:00

Christians lay claim to the US Flag... What's next?

Holy cows...! Now they're claiming the flag...!

Atheist Camel, everyone's favorite dry hump, has uncovered the latest Christian tactic to take over the country - they've concocted a way to add "their God" to the traditional flag folding ceremony. How presumptuous is that..????

You can read Hump's original article here, but make sure you're sitting down and being careful about not having food or drink while reading... I don't want anyone to choke from laughing out loud. Hump's article.

Be sure to read all the comments and pass it on... this is to "good" a joke to keep to yourself.

See a "proper Christian flag folding" here: animation

The Catholic League - Donohue's War

2009-11-08T01:34:00.000-08:00

Donohue's War

In response to a new bus ad promotions by The American Humanist Association, placards displaying a Jolly Santa Clause along with the message "Why believe in God? Just be good for goodness sake," Bill Donohou, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, declared the first day of the war on Christmas. But he wasn't saying that he was at war against Christmas - he proclaimed his war as a defender of Christmas. The interview was carried by Fox News and AHA representative, Jesse Galef, was there to answer. (video)

The enemy, Mr Donohou claimed, is "a rash of militant secularists, sticking there noses where they don't belong [and] taking a cheap shot at Christmas. There's an agenda," he said, and he went on to drop a few names, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and Jeffery Dahmer, stating his opinion that they were all the product of philosophies like Humanism.

It seems to me that Mr. Donohou is a tad over-the-top on all of this. First off, "war" generally includes guns and bombs as opposed to bus signs; second, "militant" implies soldiers and not civilians; and finally, what in the world does Jeffery Dohmer have to do with anything...? Donohou's war, in sum, amounts to little more than firing off a few rounds of cannon fodder. He is willing to make a lot of noise, but he's not finding anything specific to aim at.

The fact is, as the bus signs tell us, "being good" doesn't require belief in God, Christmas or not.
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The End is Not Near

2009-11-07T17:00:00.001-08:00

The End is Not Near

If you're like most people, you aren't likely to put good money in something that won't last very long. You wouldn't, for example, buy a boat and water skis because there were lingering flood waters nearby; nor would you invest your hard earned cash in a personal library of ten thousand volumes on the day of your on hundredth birthday. It just wouldn't make sense to behave so foolishly knowing what you know about such matters.

Well then... figure this one out. Baptists are among those who claim intricate knowledge of "the end times" and "Armageddon" and "the rapture" and because of that they ought to be rather unwilling to toss away their savings on material things which will only be left behind here on Earth when they all fly up to Heaven to be with Jesus. That wouldn't make sense, would it? But apparently that isn't the way it is for Baptists in Dallas Texas. Do they know something all other Baptists don't?

According to Dallas Business Journal, First Baptist of downtown Dallas is preparing to invest $130 million dollars into a new state-of-the-art church campus. Have they lost their minds? Aren't they worried that it will all be for naught? What about the rapture? And what happened to the threats of impending Armageddon and the end times???

I can only guess, of course, that the end is actually not so very near (just as I'm sure investors into this new Baptists church must be guessing....) Or do you think they know? Could it be that, if truth be told, they're fully aware of the fact their Bible predictions are a bunch of bologna?

Hmmm... ?
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A point of view worthy of attention:

2009-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

A point of view worthy of attention:

I'm a regular reader of several bloggers and I want to take time out to recommend one: Paul Fidalgo.

Paul writes a daily Religion and Spirituality blog for Examiner.com and comes to my home state on Little Rock's page. He's also made a recent speaking presentation for the Northern Virginia Ethical Society which he calls "The New Atheism and the Great Divide (audio)." That engagement and what he spoke on was the subject of his blog this morning. I was impressed by what he had to say. You might be as well.

Download Paul Fidalgo's audio reproduction from his Examiner.com page or get it here: Download MP3

Special privilege: Church Group Discount

2009-11-06T04:38:00.000-08:00

Special privilege: Church Group Discount

Seeing himself as 'a majority of one' and by recognizing that his own opinion counted equal to that of any other citizen, Henry David Thoreau stood firmly in the way of social injustice. He rejected yielding to social subjugation, legal or otherwise, by opting instead to publicly exercise his personal right to take independent action even if it meant assuming a posture of civil disobedience. And, willing to suffer the consequence of jail for the sake of upholding his principle, Thoreau sat it out to make his voice understood. He would not yield.

Atheists will sometimes find themselves as alone as Thoreau, living in a virtual sea of religion where special privileges and special deals are granted to some for mere reasons of belonging to special groups, church groups. Discounted Sunday meals are a case in point. Its viewed as a boon to business for restaurants to offer "dollars-off" price reductions to customers presenting church bulletins when paying their tabs. And, although it isn't a permitted practice under federal law or in accord to most state law, some businesses boldly offer these discriminatory discounts. Atheists, having no churches, are left out in the cold when such policies are employed and that isn't fair. But what's for it?

If you're a Thoreau at heart and faced by such prejudice, you might raise a fuss on the spot... and, like Thoreau, you might wind up in jail. Thoreau's way isn't my recommendation, yet doing nothing at all isn't my recommended either.

When faced by illegal discrimination, neither turning tail nor standing alone makes much sense. First, doing nothing at all to thwart injustice fails to fulfill ones obligatory duties of citizenry - we must, each one of us, make every effort to demand equality and fair treatment in all situations. Second, acting the loner, likewise falls short of our obligation to one another. Single handed actions are unlikely to be as successful as steps taken with the strength of parallel support. Even the Lone Ranger depended on Tonto.

We non-believers have our own groups now, nationally recognized groups with reputations of success against religiously bias practices. It's my recommendation is to use that strength. Blow the whistle, sound the bell. Get help. Putting an end to religiously motivated inequality is the responsibility of everyone. Let's all see it done together.

Freedom From Religion Foundation can be easily reached by phone at: (608)256-8900. Americans United for Church and State Separation can be reached at: (202) 466-3234.

Make the call.