americanatheists

There’s this town in Florida called Ft. Lauderdale. Some of you may have heard of it. About 20,000 atheists live there.

Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists (FLASH), an American Atheists affiliated group led by our Southern Florida Regional Director, put up a terrible sign.

Of course, there are some who can’t stand to have a harmless and positive-message billboard near them. They want to hate, but they have nothing to hate, so they just hate. They make their children drone on about how the sign must come down. They expose their own ignorance to their children, who clearly aren’t interested.

Congrats to Ken Loukinen and FLASH for the billboard and the press generated therefrom. And to those who hate the billboard, stop being so intolerant. The billboards are there because there are atheists there — in your neighborhood. Believe me, you know plenty of atheists, and they need signs like these.

And these — now in Idaho!

Stand with us against Rep. Kern’s anti-Oklahoma proclamation on July 2 at the State Capitol
Friday, June 26, 2009 at 8:51 p.m.

The ACLU of Oklahoma and other civic organizations are troubled by Representative Sally Kern’s “Oklahoma Citizen’s Proclamation for Morality,” which will be signed by Kern and others in a public ceremony to be held at noon July 2, on the first floor of the State Capitol. Kern has issued a divisive and inaccurate proclamation.

The proclamation blames the economic downturn we are currently experiencing on abortion, pornography, divorce, and same sex marriage, among other things. Kern does not mention the greed of Wall Street elitists or the inability of our government to effectively regulate questionable financial practices that might be the true cause of our nation’s economic difficulties. Her proclamation is silent to meaningful solutions to address the very issues she blames for the “downturn of morality.”

Kern’s proclamation, which amounts to a hate-filled diatribe, is full of inaccuracies. This proclamation alienates thousands of Oklahomans who are adherents to minority faiths or who practice no faith. It is unfortunate that she and others would promote such a divisive manifesto at a time when Oklahomans need to pull together to weather this current crisis.

Oklahoma is home to a diverse community, which should be respected and effectively represented.

We are asking all civic-minded Oklahomans who believe in the value of diversity, tolerance, and the freedom to follow one’s conscience to join us at Kern’s proclamation signing ceremony on July 2.

The ACLU of Oklahoma will stand against this proclamation along with other Oklahomans who believe in acceptance and equality for all.

Kern’s Proclamation follows:

OKLAHOMA CITIZEN’S PROCLAMATION FOR MORALITY

We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government…but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people…the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord,” and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the second day of July in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.

Posted by Blair Scott

I don’t usually disagree with Keith on such things, but I think this was tongue in cheek.

Last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Keith, as usual, presented his “Worst Person” segment. An atheist was honored by coming in number three (bronze) on his list. (We are assuming the person is an atheist. After all, we don’t really know for sure, do we?)

He pointed out that the person who coughed up the $10,000 to help fund the atheist bus ad campaign in NYC was an anonymous donor. As the campaign is geared to encourage atheists to come out, he found this move particularly amusing.

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From Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists

We are announcing today that, starting 1 July 2009, individual annual dues for American Atheists will be dramatically reduced to $20–and if two or more people living at the same address join, it will just be $35 for them. We’re making this change for two main reasons:
1. Some of our current members are under financial strain now and we cannot afford to lose them over the cost of dues.
2. American Atheists can only thrive and get stronger by having many more members than we have now. We need their intellectual support, their ideas, and, for those who can afford it, their voluntary dollars. A vigorous program will be put in place in the coming months to recruit new members nation-wide, but an important first brick in building that foundation is a dues rate that is low, affordable, and simple.

We want every Atheist in America to look up and say, “You mean I can join the best organization in America for advancing Atheism for only $20? What am I waiting for?” We want every current member to say to herself or himself, I care about this organization and I want to support it–I cannot afford to do what Helen Mitzman did and contribute $100,000. I will give what I can–but I can certainly say to my irreligious friends, ‘Here’s a brochure on American Atheists, the group you’ve been hearing about for nearly fifty years–and you can join for just $20!’”

Godless? Good!
Join us. $20.
American Atheists, www.atheists.org

In an effort to increase our membership and spur new activism, effective July 1 we will be lowering our dues to $20/year for a person and $35 for a family.

This blog, this web page, the board (with few exceptions), the State Directors, Regional Directors are all volunteer. I’m a volunteer. We are here for a cause, and we need your help. If you’re not a member, please join. If you are a member, please help us find new members!

This work is important, time-consuming, and expensive. Your help is greatly appreciated!

First off, thanks to Blair Scott for blogging while I was on vacation. Now on to the cheery subject of death.

This wasn’t a vacation for me, really, it was a “visit” — one of those yearly mandatory vacations to Florida to see your aging parents and other family members. The last time we went down was during the election, and since then things have gotten worse.

Dad has cancer and is 83. His body has withered from age and war injuries, but his mind is still sharp. My mother in law is is perfectly healthy, but her brain is going fast due to Alzheimer’s and she is beginning to lose her grip on reality. Their respective spouses are overwhelmed an terribly sad.

We returned in time for me to appear on CNN to talk (coincidentally) about life after death, which was soon canceled due to the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon.

So as you can see, death has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and I really wish it would go away. It’s times like this when I envy the theists who think they are going to live forever. Wouldn’t it be great if I had secure knowledge that after the eventual passing of my family members, that they’d somehow “be ok” forever? You can certainly see the advantage there.

I’m not one of those people that “accepts death as a part of life”, which it clearly is. Rather, I hate death. I wish it were gone. I can’t stand that some people hold back medical science like Stem Cell research which could prolong life in the name of an afterlife! There is no invisible place in the sky for our souls (don’t exist) to go. Death is death. That’s why it’s a tragedy.

A federal court has ruled that the Contra Costa library must allow a local Christian ministry to use its facilities. The library’s policy had been to disallow all religious services and did not discriminate against just Christian services. The Alliance Defense Fund carried on about how it was discrimination against Christians and that Christians have a First Amendment right as well. The ADF, as usual, is about promoting Christianity and not about promiting equality for all religions. They also failed to note, that the library’s policy excluded all religions from having religious services in the property.

You can read a biased report in the California Catholic Daily HERE.

Posted by Blair Scott

“God, No…”
Theater review
At: Generic Theater, Norfolk, Virginia
June 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28

Atheist Performer Shines

“God, No…” is a new play about the life of Madalyn O’Hair. The play takes the form of a biography, with a cast of one. The set consists only of a door, a few black blocks which at various times serve as a table, couch, and draped coffin, and still photos projected at the back of the stage. The photos include the row house in Baltimore where Madalyn grew up, her home in Austin, the Supreme Court building, and others. Each photo had the year on it to help the audience follow from scene to scene.

A nice touch was the addition of recorded classical music which included the Dvorak New World Symphony and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The Beethoven especially reminded me of Madalyn’s love for playing the piano — a talent she lost forever when the Baltimore police beat her to the point where she suffered permanent disability in her hands.

With such minimal resources and being just over an hour long, one would think that such a production could not do justice to America’s most famous Atheist. However, the play came to life in Sheila Walters’ brilliant portrayal of Madalyn O’Hair — especially when she delivered quotes from Madalyn’s speeches and writing. With a little imagination, it felt like I was once again hearing Madalyn in person. First class acting skills were evident, but it certainly cannot hurt when the actor is a member of Tidewater Atheists and can so naturally deliver the lines of America’s most hated Atheist.

The play covered all of the major personal events in Madalyn’s life. Activism included her part in the 1963 school prayer decision, her efforts to remove “under God” from the pledge, her efforts to remove “In God We Trust” from our money, the formation of American Atheists, her lawsuit against NASA, her lawsuit against the Pope, and her efforts to freeze the production of nuclear weapons. Most of the content was factual. However, the death scene left out Jon Garth, and two of the three murderers.

The Catholic writer, Chip Fortier, captured the refreshing brashness of Madalyn, and I found it touching when he had her speak to her children in a loving manner.  Unfortunately, he attributed the motivation for her Atheist activism to simple megalomania and seemed to miss her intellectual side altogether. Lines such as “There was no Atheist movement before me; I am the Atheist movement” and lines that implied that she was primarily motivated by the desire to make Bill, Jon, and Richard O’Hair famous were off the mark.

Still, there were many memorable lines. “An Atheist accepts that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist accepts that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated.” “Religion is a crock of shit.” “Only the crippled need crutches” (referring to the religious). “What is Atheism like? It is like the end of cowardice in your life.” “I don’t believe in miracles, angels, or a virgin having a child without sex.”

In the theater there is nothing wrong with dramatic liberty in the text as long as it does not create false impressions or attack someones character. Unfortunately, some dramatic (and false) liberty was taken with the character of Madalyn and Robin. Most offensive was when Mr. Fortier had Robin praying during her murder. How despicable and disrespectful to the memory of such a kind, loving, sensitive, and thorough Atheist!

Sometimes it was hard to know what was true and what was invented. Sometimes lines in the play did not fit with my understanding of Madalyn’s thoughts and her personality. One highly questionable line of Madalyn’s was “I believe in free will.” Another was the description of Susan, Robin’s birth mother, as having a “pasty Jewy face.” Still another was “They ruined my Christmas!” when referring to the reading of Genesis by the Apollo 8 astronauts.

In spite of the flaws in the writing, the play was still entertaining and had many moments. Hopefully, other plays will be written which will more accurately reflect the thoughts and personality of Madalyn and be more inclusive of Jon Garth and Robin.

Neal Cary

Posted by Blair Scott

AMERICAN ATHEISTS MEDIA ALERT
http://atheists.org

BLAIR SCOTT ON SOUTHERN PARANORMAL RESEARCHERS RADIO SHOW, TUESDAY, JUNE 30 2009

BLAIR SCOTT, National Affiliate Director and Alabama State Director for American Atheists will be a guest along with Robert Curry, President of Atheists of Florida, on the Southern Paranormal Researchers Radio Show on Tuesday, June 30 2009 @ 8 p.m. CST. Blair and Robert will be discussing the atheist viewpoint of the paranormal, with an emphasis on ghosts, ghost hunting, and sightings.

To tune into the show, visit the Southern Paranormal Researchers Web Page “Chattin’ With SPR Radio Show:”
http://www.southernparanormalresearchers.org/chattinwithsprradioshow.htm

WHO & WHAT: Blair Scott on “Chattin’ With SPR Radio Show” to discuss the atheist viewpoint of the paranormal.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 30 2009 @ 8 p.m. CST.

WHERE: http://www.southernparanormalresearchers.org/chattinwithsprradioshow.htm

TOPIC: Atheist Viewpoint of the Paranormal

MORE INFO:
American Atheists: http://atheists.org
Blair Scott: http://atheists.org/al and http://alabamaatheist.org
Atheists of Florida: http://atheistsofflorida.org
Southern Paranormal Researchers: http://www.southernparanormalresearchers.org

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

Posted by Blair Scott

American Atheists is incredibly proud to announce a new Affiliate!

Please take the time if it so pleases you to contact this new Affiliate and welcome them to the Affiliate program. American Atheists continues to be proud of the Affiliate program and the individual Affiliates that make the program work!

If you have a local group that is interested in affiliating with American Atheists, or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the Affiliate program, please contact Blair Scott, the National Affiliate Director, at bscott@atheists.org or visit the Affiliate Web Page at http://alabamaatheist.org/naod.

Omaha Atheists
http://omahaatheists.org
info@omahaatheists.org

Posted by Blair Scott